NPR 2009-02-02

Key Senate Democrats 1 say they are willing to consider changes to their economic stimulus 2 proposal. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois. "We're very open, very open to this. For instance, some of the Republicans have been saying to us, 'Put more money in infrastructure 3. Invest in the roads and highways and bridges. Make sure that we create good-paying jobs here in America that we can see.'" Lawmakers from both parties reportedly expect up to $30 billion in additional spending on infrastructure to be targeted in the legislation. But Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, member of the Finance Committee says the bill needs a major overhaul 4 because it's too heavy on spending. "And it's ineffective. I think the theory of it is if you throw enough money, somehow or other it'll trickle 5 down to people and that will help stimulate 6 the economy. But the economists 7 that we've talked to said that's not going to work. I think the people understand that. And so I see support in the Senate actually eroding 8." Both Durbin and Kyl were on "FOX News Sunday".

Negotiators for the nation's major oil companies and the union representing refinery 9 workers are back at the bargaining table after the union agreed to extend by at least 24 hours the expiration 10 of the current national contract that covers about 24, 000 refinery workers. NPR's Margot Adler has the story.

On Thursday, union negotiators turned down the most recent offer of a 2.5% wage increase for each of the next three years. Changes in medical coverage 11 are also under negotiation 12. If refinery workers strike, Valero Energy, the nation's largest refiner, and BP have said they will shut down some facilities. Exxon and Shell have said they will use non-union workers, but their operations will continue. A spokeswoman for the United Steelworkers which represents 30, 000 refinery workers said there had been some progress right now there is an agreement for a rolling 24-hour extension which allows the union to give one-day notice for a strike. Workers will report for work on Monday. Industry experts are divided as to whether a strike would affect consumers. Refiners have already cut production and with job losses, motorists are driving less. Margot Adler, NPR News.

Iraqi officials say the turnout in yesterday's provincial 13 elections was just over 50%. There were no reports of any major violence, but some Iraqis are complaining that they were not allowed to vote. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports from Baghdad.

There were few reports of fraud or intimidation 14 at the polls, but thousands of voters complained their names weren't on the voter lists and they weren't able to vote. Many of those people are among the hundreds of thousands who were forced from their homes during the sectarian civil war here in 2006 and 2007. The Independent High Election Commission blamed those voters for not re-registering in their new neighborhoods. The two groups most affected 15 are Sunnis living in Baghdad and Kurds in a disputed area of Diyala Province, both of whom are now suspicious they may have been intentionally 16 disenfranchised by the Shiite government. JJ Sutherland, NPR News, Baghdad.

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The Obama administration's new special envoy 17 to the Middle East, former Senator George Mitchell, is in Saudi Arabia today. It's his last stop on a regional tour aimed at reviving the Middle East peace efforts and shoring up the shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Kelly McEvers reports from Riyadh.

Mitchell met with Saudi King Abdullah to discuss how the two allies can help bring a lasting 18 peace after the recent Israeli military operation in Gaza. Yesterday Mitchell met Jordanian officials and reassured 19 them the new US administration is giving priority to the Middle East. He delivered a similar message on previous stops in Egypt and the West Bank. One Saudi official, former ambassador to the US, Prince Turki al-Faisal, recently wrote that if the US wants to keep playing a leadership role in the Middle East, it must drastically revise its policies on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 2002, Saudi Arabia floated its own comprehensive peace plan, but analysts 20 here say that plan was largely ignored by the US and Israel. For NPR News, I'm Kelly McEvers, Riyadh.

Most of the thick glaze 21 of ice that blanketed the Western Kentucky after last week's storm has now melted, but clearing away debris 22 and downed trees and power lines has proven to be a difficult task even with the help of thousands of National Guard troops. Andrew Melnykovych is a spokesman for the Kentucky Public Service Commission. "A lot of the areas are rural and fairly inaccessible 23, as a lot of roads that are still blocked by fallen trees, so it's hard for the utility workers to get around." Melnykovych says more than 400, 000 homes and businesses across Kentucky are still without electricity nearly a week after the ice storm struck the state.