NPR 2009-04-06

Pittsburgh police say the gunman who shot dead three police officers responding to a domestic disturbance 1 call was “lying in wait”. Police Chief Nate Harper describes what happened. "Stinace, the officer, stepped in to the doorway 2. He was immediately met with gunfire, receiving a wound fatally to the head. Second officer received a wound fatally to the head as well." Harper says he doesn't know why Richard Poplawski did what he did, but friends say he was recently despondent 4 over losing his job. Police are portraying 5 the gunman in the Binghamton, New York shooting rampage as an angry troubled 41-year-old man who recently lost his job and struggled with drugs. Jiverly Wong shot and killed 13 people before killing 6 himself.

European leaders are praising President Obama's Afghan strategy as the NATO Summit wraps up in France. They've also agreed to send up to 5,000 extra military trainers and police to the region. As the summit in France is due to a close, a group of anti-NATO protesters in Strasbourg set fire to a hotel on the outskirts 7 of the city. Eleanor Beardsley filed this report from Strasbourg.

About 100 hard-line masked demonstrators also set fire to a pharmacy 8 and an empty customs building. A heavy police presence had captured demonstrators out of the center of Strasbourg. Earlier in the day, a couple hundred activists 9 made a last attempt to reach the downtown area. They were held back by riot police who pinned the demonstrators in by a bridge on the outskirts of the city. Lea Koenig from Germany says the police abused their power just like NATO. "They are keeping us out with brutal 10 violence. It's unimaginable. There are, I don't know how many thousands of cops here, and we are 200 and we had no right. No demonstration 11 was allowed in Strasbourg. This is not democratic."  These peace activists said they have not been involved in clashes with police. They blamed the violence on anarchists 12 who they say have infiltrated 13 their group. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Strasbourg.

Pakistani officials say the American aid worker abducted 14 by gunmen two months ago has been freed. John Solecki was abandoned by his captors in the southern part of the country. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Solecki was kidnapped in Quetta, where he worked for the United Nation's refugee agency. The gunmen, who ambushed 15 his car, killed his driver. Although the Taliban's active in the area, his abductors turned out to be from an unknown militant 16 group fighting for the secession of Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and poorest province. They later released the video in which Solecki said he was sick and in trouble. The militants 17 tried to use Solecki as a hostage to pressure for the release of many hundreds of prisoners and at one point threatened to kill him within 72 hours. UN officials recently warned he could be gravely ill. He's thought to have heart problems and diabetes 18. Officials say he's now been located and is being taken to Quetta where he'll receive treatment. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Islamabad.

Meantime, a suicide bomber 19 attacked a paramilitary base in Islamabad, killing eight people. This is NPR.

The British government has given billions of dollars to UK banks but it now finds it is running short of money for thousands of English high school students. Larry Miller 20 has more from London.

After campaigning for students to stay in education longer and promising 21 state high schools' funding for the next academic year, the British government says due to miscalculating student numbers, it's 90-million-dollar short. Under the British systems, students specialize in three to four subjects in their last two years of school. An estimated 35,000 English high school students may be left without a place this September. The chairman of the Head Teachers Association said jobs will now go leading to bigger classes and fewer courses. He says small science, math, language and IT courses are the most likely to face the axe 22. The education minister said he tried to find the funding. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

In Texas, Wheeler County authority say residents of Wheeler can go back home after being told to evacuate 23 because of an approaching wildfire. Officials told residents to leave this afternoon. A county information officer says the fire's still burning, but the town is no longer in immediate 3 danger. The wildfire jumped the North Fork of the Red River and was moving toward the town near the Texas-Oklahoma border earlier today.

Fans and players are enjoying a big night tonight in Detroit. Ford 24 Field is hosting the NCAA men's basketball final four games. Connecticut and Michigan State are playing at this hour. This is Michigan State's fifth trip to the games. North Carolina meets Villanova later tonight.