NPR 2009-05-12

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

 Officials say a soldier opened fire on fellow soldiers at a US military base near Baghdad today, killing 2 five of them before being taken into custody 3. There are conflicting reports on whether there were additional injuries. Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense 4 Secretary Robert Gates says they are now trying to determine the events leading up to the incident.

 "We are still in the process of gathering 5 information on exactly what happened. But if the preliminary reports are confirmed, such a tragic 6 loss of life at the hands of our own forces is a cause for great and urgent concern."

 According to Pentagon officials, the shooting occurred at a stress clinic at the base where soldiers go to deal with personal issues and anxieties related to combat. Separately, Gates announced today he’s replacing his top military commander in Afghanistan General David McKiernan, calling for a fresh approach there.

 An attorney for a US Iranian journalist who's been held prisoner in Iran says she has been released. Chicago Public Radio's Tony Arnold reports.

 It's been almost a month since Roxana Saberi was convicted of espionage 7 by the Iranian government. The case drew attention from around the world as Saberi protested her 8-year sentence with a hunger strike. Students and faculty 8 at Northwestern University near Chicago held their own hunger strike to draw attention to her case. Journalism 9 professor Jack Doppelt was among them and taught Saberi when she was a student at Northwestern.

 "It's really edifying 10 to feel that the Islamic Republic decided 11 to do the proverbial right thing and release her."

 Doppelt says Saberi's arrest serves as a reminder 12 of the importance of having a free press. As a condition of her release, Saberi has been banned from reporting from Iran for five years. For NPR News, I'm Tony Arnold in Chicago.

 The State Department says it is worried that foreign fighters are again making their way into Iraq via Syria. Obama administration officials brought up the issue on their latest trip to Damascus. NPR's Michelle Kelemen has more.

 Two envoys 13, one from the State Department and one from the National Security Council are in Syria, exploring ways to renew a diplomatic dialogue. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says one issue they brought up was the Obama administration's concerns about Iraq.

 "We continue to have very deep concern about this issue of the flow of foreign fighters going into Iraq via Syria. And we can also continue to call on Syria to take immediate 15 and decisive action."

 He said the US is calling on Syria to do a better job of screening people at the airport and securing the border with Iraq. Last week President Obama renewed sanctions on Syria despite his diplomatic outreach. Michelle Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 155 points, ending the session at 8418. The NASDAQ lost 7 points; the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 19 points to close at 909.

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 Federal Aviation investigators 16 now say it appears the pilot at the controls of the commuter 17 plane that crashed into a home near Buffalo 18 in February lacked the required training with the critical safety system aboard the aircraft. Officials say the pilot also had failed several tests in aircraft simulators during his career. That's according to sources with the National Transportation Safety Board who spoke 14 with the Associated Press, the individuals asked not to be named since the agency has not yet released its official report on the crash. The plane, a Colgan Air commuter plane nosed into a home on its approach to the Buffalo Niagara international airport, killing all 49 people on the plane and one person on the ground.

 The Attorney General for the state of Massachusetts said today he's reached the 60-million-dollar settlement with Goldman Sachs for the bank’s involvement with subprime mortgages. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more.

 The settlement, the first of its kind, includes about 50 million dollars to provide relief for homeowners. That money would go toward modifying mortgages or writing down principal on the mortgage to reduce payments. It also includes a 10-million-dollar payment to Massachusetts to settle an investigation 19 into the role investment banks played in originating and securitizing mortgages. Laxness in lending to under-qualified borrowers and the subsequent crash in the subprime housing market dragged the financial sector 20 down. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said many of these loans were destined 21 to fail and that the settlement will help at least 715 homeowners plus thousands more whose loans are held by a company Goldman Sachs bought. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

 The weak economy coupled with job loss and fears of job loss apparently 22 is keeping more people close at home this summer. A new survey suggests fewer than half of those polled, just 42%, are planning a leisure trip this summer, that’s down from 49% a year ago.

 I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.