NPR 2009-04-07

Italian Premier 1 Silvio Berlusconi says authorities have now raised the death toll 2 to at least 150 after a powerful earthquake hit a mountainous region of Italy overnight. The quake which struck just before dawn flattened 3 buildings and left at least 1,500 people injured and an unknown number believed to be still pinned beneath debris 4. Reporter Christine Spolar is in the town of L'Aquila and says many are homeless.

“Most people are talking about that they were shook out of their beds and out of their homes. I talked to a group of young students from Israel, who are medical students here, and that they had been studying into the night and just finished studying when the earthquake hit. One young man was walking home and saw the road buckle 5 up and down in front of him as he said. And his own roommate, as he got to his home, jumped out of the front balcony as there was one story up. He said now he doesn't know where to go. And that's supposed to be dilemmas 6 to many of these people out in the field. And in L'Aquila, um, there are thousands of people without homes right now.”

Reporter Christine Spolar. The earthquake, the deadliest in the country in nearly three decades, with a magnitude 6.3, was centered  some 70 miles to the northeast of Rome.

Saying the US is not and will never be at war with Islam, President Obama today told Turkish lawmakers America is intent on rebuilding a partnership 7 with Turkey on a range of issues. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Istanbul.

Appearing before lawmakers in Ankara, President Obama raised a question many pundits 8 have posed—by including this majority Muslim state in his European trip is he trying to send a message to the world? Mr. Obama said the answer is yes. He praised Turkey's secular 9 and increasingly democratic political system, reiterated 10 his support for Turkey's goal of EU membership, and called Turkey a crucial ally in the Caucasus, the Middle East and elsewhere. On the touchy 11 issue of the World War I Armenian genocide, a term Turkey adamantly 12 rejects, Obama did not use the word genocide as he did during the campaign; instead he focused on recent progress in talks between Turkey and Armenia. The president also portrayed 13 the US and Turkey as united in the fight against terrorism, including the Kurdish PKK separatists that have troubled southern Turkey. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.

Officials at both the state and federal level are vowing 14 to crack down on third parties who prey 15 on borrowers who have gotten into trouble with their home loans. Officials say in some cases the fraudulent firms charged borrowers upfront fees of anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 dollars while promising 16 to help them modify their home loans. Treasury 17 Secretary Timothy Geithner said today they will seek to halt such scams. ”We will shut down fraudulent companies more quickly than before. We will target companies that otherwise would have gone unnoticed under the radar 18. And we will aggressively pursue individuals involved in mortgage rescue scams.” Government experts note help is available to homeowners behind on their mortgages for free from government-approved counselors 19.

On Wall Street today, the Dow fell 41 points; the NASDAQ slid 15 points.

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Defense 20 Secretary Robert Gates said today the administration is considering deep cuts to some major weapons programs, including the F-22 fighter, as the Pentagon takes a hard look at spending. Gates listed an end to production of the fighter jets which go for 140 million dollars a piece along with the cancellation 21 of a new presidential helicopter as areas where the military is looking to scale back. Gates also said his proposed Pentagon budget will profoundly reform the way the Pentagon buys weapons and conducts its business.

An annual report on the airline industry is out today, and it shows Hawaiian Airlines leads all domestic carriers in performance. Steve Julian of member station KPCC has more.

2007 was the worst year in a decade for customer satisfaction, but the airline industry bounced back last year. Fewer people flew but they were treated better, arrived on time more often, and still had most of their luggage after a flight. The downside? Fewer flights; prices went up; and some airlines began charging extra for any luggage. Behind Hawaiian Airlines in customer satisfaction were AirTran and JetBlue, which had the lowest rate of denied boardings for the second year in a row. AirTran did the best job of keeping track of luggage. American Eagle did the worst. Southwest Airlines had the fewest complaints. The study, based on government statistics, ranked 17 airlines. Legacy 22 carriers—American, Continental 23, Delta 24, and United—ran into the middle with regional carriers toward the bottom. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

AT&T and its largest unions are continuing to negotiate with contracts covering tens of thousands of workers expiring over the weekend. Under discussion are five contracts covering between 80 and 90 thousand workers of the giant telecommunications company.