NPR 2009-05-03

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the US has risen to more than 175 in 26 states. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most of the cases in this country have been mild compared to those in Mexico. President Obama says since health officials are not sure why that is, the government is taking all necessary precautions in the event the outbreak in the US worsens. "The current strain of H1N1 can be defeated by a course of antiviral treatment that we already have on hand. We began this week with 50 million courses of this treatment in the Strategic National Stockpile. Over the course of last few days, we've delivered one quarter of that stockpile to states so that they are prepared to treat anyone who is infected with this virus." Mr. Obama speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address today.

Health officials in Mexico say the swine flu outbreak there appears to be stabilizing 1. There's been only one confirmed new death in the last 24 hours. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Mexico City.

Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova says the number of people being admitted to hospitals and clinics with flu-like symptoms is dropping. In a press conference, Cordova said the numbers are getting better everyday. He said efforts in Mexico to get people to seek treatment immediately and limit person-to-person contact, particularly in the capital, seem to be working. The health secretary went on to say that the virus may not be as aggressive as originally feared. Mexico City remains 2 nearly empty on Day 2 of a 5-day weekend. The president asked people not to work on Friday. This coming Monday and Tuesday were already gonna be holidays. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Treasury 3 says the swine flu outbreak is costing Mexico billions of dollars and could cut the country's gross domestic product by as much as half a percentage point. Jason Beaubien, NPR New, Mexico City.

Attorneys for Chrysler are filing motions today asking for a bankruptcy 4 court's approval to sell most of the company's assets to Italian automaker Fiat 5. And at the hearing Monday, lawyers will ask a judge to let Chrysler use billions of dollars in government loans so it can operate under bankruptcy protection. NPR's Paul Brown has more.

The US government has agreed to loan Chrysler up to eight billion dollars in addition to the four billion dollars taxpayers 6 have already provided. The new money was depended on Chrysler's linking up with Fiat. Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved a number of motions on Friday after Chrysler's Thursday bankruptcy filing, but still unresolved is how to deal with some creditors 7 who balked 8 at White House pressure to take less than they wanted for their investments in Chrysler forcing the company into bankruptcy. The creditors could still try to force Chrysler to liquidate 9. Chrysler is idling all of its plans until the deal with Fiat closes. Meanwhile, Chrysler has reported a plunge 10 in April sales from March and from a year earlier. Paul Brown, NPR News.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Stone-throwing militants 11 clashed with police in Berlin early today in what a city official is calling the worst May Day violence there in four years. From Berlin, NPR's Eric Westervelt has this story.

During most of the day and into the evening yesterday, tens of thousands protested peacefully here. Demonstrations 12 over rising joblessness and economic disparities mixed with festive 13 street parties. But after midnight and into the early morning hours, several hundred liquored-up leftists threw homemade gasoline bombs as well as rocks, bricks and bottles at riot police. More than 200 police were injured, 14 seriously. Police used pepper spray and tear gas to quell 14 the unrest and arrested nearly 300 demonstrators. Many blamed the violence on the worsening economic crisis, but Berlin's Interior Minister Ehrhart Koerting today called the rioting mindless. For the most part, they weren't motivated by politics, he said. Throwing slabs 15 of pavement at police has nothing to do with social unrest, he told a news conference, adding they only wanted violence. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Berlin.

Billionaire businessman Warren Buffett says he believes the financial outlook for most newspapers in the US is bleak 16. Speaking to a meeting of shareholders 17 in Berkshire Hathaway, the company he has, he says he would not buy stock in most newspapers at any price, because he says they have the possibility of nearly unending losses. Berkshire owns the Buffalo 18 News and a major stake in the Washington Post. Buffett says most papers lack a sustainable business model. Several large newspapers in the United States have closed in recent months, and others such as the Boston Globe are struggling. Charlie Munger, Berkshire's vice 19 chairman, called the decline of newspapers in this country a national tragedy.