NPR 2009-04-01

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack 1 Speer.

World leaders including President Obama have converged 2 on London for the G-20 meeting scheduled for this Thursday. It marks the first official foreign tour for the president since taking office. Even as leaders were gathering 3, however, the US was acknowledging that other countries are not necessarily going to go along with the US-style stimulus 4 package. The president meets tomorrow with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and with Queen Elizabeth.

Congress has passed legislation that triples the number of slots in the AmeriCorps Service Program and funds more volunteer opportunities for Americans of all ages. NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

The National Service Bill will fund summer programs for teens, fellowship programs for retirees and more short-term Peace Corps 5 positions. It also creates specialized 6 service programs focused on healthcare, education, energy efficiency and service to veterans. California Democrat 7 George Miller 8 says the bill could not come at a better time. "Families are losing their income, our public infrastructure 9 is crumbling 10 and communities are losing revenues and vital services. Our public needs are growing while our resources for meeting them are disappearing. This bill will help meet some of those very urgent needs." President Barack Obama called for passage of the service legislation in his first speech to Congress and it heads next to his desk. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

Testifying today before a Senate committee, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said if she is confirmed as the country's next Health and Human Services Secretary, healthcare reform will be "her mission". The governor also told lawmakers inaction in terms of healthcare reform is not an option. Calling the status quo unacceptable, Sebelius said the high healthcare cost for the families are a drag on the economy.

Ford 11 and General Motors have both launched plans to cover the monthly payments of customers who lose their jobs after they purchase a car. Jerome Vaughn of Member Station, WDET has more.

Ford announced that it will make car payments for customers who lose their jobs for a period of up to a year. The automaker says the plan will provide up to 700 dollars per month. Later in the day, General Motors said it would make payments of up to 500 dollars per month for a period of nine months for customers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Both automakers are following the lead of Korean automaker Hyundai which allows customers to return cars within a year if they become unemployed 13. The GM and Ford offers are being launched as the auto 12 industry suffers from a dramatic slumping 14 vehicle sales generated by falling consumer confidence and tight credit. GM is in the midst of restructuring effort required by the federal government to receive billions of dollars in bridge loans. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

The government is warning people not to eat pistachios or any foods containing pistachios. The Food and Drug Administration says California-based Setton Pistachio, the nation's second largest pistachio processor has agreed to voluntarily recall more than 2 millions pounds of roasted nuts. Two people called the FDA complaining of illnesses associated with nuts, though the link has not been confirmed.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed up 86 points today.

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Speaking ahead of the start of this week's G-20 Summit Meeting in London, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on his counterparts to discuss creation of a modern currency system. In a joint 15 news conference with German Chancellor 16 Angela Merkel, the Russian leader said the current system is not ideal. The two will join other leaders from the world's largest industrial nations to discuss the current state of the global economy and what might be done to fix it.

Meanwhile, the world economy will shrink at a much faster pace than predicted just a few months ago. That's according to forecasts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Anita Elash explains.

The OECD says government stimulus measures will stop the economic crisis from reaching the depth of the Great Depression. But it says the situation will likely get worse before it gets better. It predicts the gross domestic product of its 30-member countries including the US will drop by an average of 4.3% this year before it gradually picks up through next year. The report also forecasts unemployment will reach double digits 17 by next year and peak at 10.5% in the US. The report comes just ahead of the G-20 Summit in London and includes recommendations for policies to ensure recovery. It says countries must come up with a coherent strategy to tackle what it calls the mess in financial markets. For NPR News, I'm Anita Elash in Paris.

Another major daily newspaper has announced it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 18. The Chicago Sun Times which also owns dozens of suburban 19 papers said the decline in ad revenues as the reason for its filing. With the filing by the Sun, both of Chicago's major dailies are now in Chapter 11. The Tribune Company, parent company of the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times filed for bankruptcy in December.