NPR 2009-04-05

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

Three officers are dead and two more were injured in what is being called the deadliest day in Pittsburgh Police history, following a domestic disturbance 1 call. Arnie Bernard of member station WDUQ reports.

At about 7: 30 this morning, officers Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at a residence in Northeast Pittsburgh. As they approached the door, 22-year-old Richard Poplawski opened fire on the officers with an AK-47 assault rifle, fatally wounding the three and began a nearly four-hour standoff in which Poplawski and SWAT team personnel exchanged over 100 rounds. The suspect eventually surrendered to police negotiators after being wounded in the gunfight. Police Chief Nate Harper says it's a tragic 2 day for officers in the city. "It's a very sad and solemn day. Anytime you lose a family member, and we mourn as if we are the immediate 3 family.” The two officers injured in the incident are in fair condition. Poplawski faces three counts of homicide and aggravated 4 assault. For NPR News, I'm Arnie Bernard in Pittsburgh.

Police in Binghamton, New York say the man who killed 13 people at an immigration center in Bingham had been wearing body armor. That means he may have wanted a standoff with police.

President Obama speaking at the end of the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, France, says NATO is taking a giant step forward by vowing 5 to send an additional 5,000 non-combat troops and trainers to Afghanistan. Mr. Obama says the decision will bolster 6 security against insurgence 7 in the region, be it al-Qaeda or other types of militants 8. "The whole point of the strategy was to get beyond this notion that somehow there's one kind of troop, and one kind of way of accomplishing our mission in Afghanistan.” Chancellor 9 Angela Merkel of Germany says NATO must ensure no more terrorist danger emanates 10 from Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown chimed in, saying building a successful democratic Afghanistan will make the streets safer in Britain.

A suicide bomber 11 has struck in Pakistan's capital. Officials say at least eight people were killed. NPR's Philip Reeves heard the explosion and he's at the scene.

At around dinner time in the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad, there was a loud explosion. It happened in the middle of the city, eh, a couple of issues followed by a burst of gunfire and about five minutes later the sound of more gunfire. The security sent is rushed to the scene in an up-market part of Islamabad, near an area called Jinnah Market." NPR's Philip Reeves in Islamabad.

President Obama says NATO is drawing its support behind efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s moves to take care of its people. He says he's glad that other world leaders are putting NATO stamp of approval on his strategy for the volatile 12 region. He says the US and its NATO allies will provide Pakistan with more aid.

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Forty-one years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 13 on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In Atlanta, some of King's children remember their father and focused on today's civil rights issues. From member station WABE in Atlanta, Charles Edwards has this report.

At the King National Historic Site, many reflected upon the civil rights icon 14 and his influence. King Jr. pastored at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther King III wonders what his father would preach today if he were still alive. The younger King knows his father would be proud America elected its first black president. However, King III also assures his father would remind people there's still work to be done. "But he would probably rush to tell us that until we address the issues of poverty and militarism that the world is nowhere near complete.” In Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr's eternal flame has been refurbished and relit to increase the flame's visibility. For NPR News, I'm Charles Edwards in Atlanta.

Police have found the bodies of 11 people shot to death around Mexico, some of whom bore signs of torture, typical of drug gang violence. Police say four of the victims were found in a car along with a message from one criminal gang threatening another. Six other slain 15 bodies were found in different cities. They too have been tortured. Mexico's drug violence has killed some 9,000 people in the past three weeks.

There's been another large eruption 16 at Alaska's mountain Redoubt. The Volcano had been relatively 17 quiet for about a week. The National Weather Service says radar 18 detected a plume 19 of volcanic 20 ash some 50, 000 feet into the sky. It's one of the largest eruptions 21 since the volcano became active two weeks ago.