NPR 2009-01-16

All 153 people aboard a US Airways 1 flight that crashed into New York's Hudson River this afternoon are safe. That's according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Alberto Panero was aboard the plane and told CNN what happened. "All of a sudden, you just heard a loud bang. And the plane shook a bit. And, immediately, the, you know, the, you could smell like smoke or like fire. And, we knew something was going on. 'cause, we're, look, we are turning back. Nothing was happening that smoke was still there, you could smell that. No one knew what was going on. All of a sudden, the captain came on and said 'Brace 2 for impact'. And that's when we knew we were going down. " US Air Flight 1549 plunged 3 into the river's frigid 4 waters near Manhattan after leaving LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. The FAA has not confirmed the cause of the accident.

Hamas says an Israeli airstrike killed Gaza's interior minister, the most significant Hamas leader to be killed in Israel's offensive so far. NPR's Anne Garrels has details.

Said Sayyam was considered to be among the top leaders of Hamas in Gaza. In his post as interior minister he was in charge of thousands of Hamas's security forces. According to Hamas, a top aide, Sayyam's son, brother and his father family were also killed in the attack. Israeli officials have said many of Hamas's political leaders are hiding in bunkers which Israeli officials say are hidden beneath civilian 5 structures like hospitals. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region, said he expects Israel to make an important decision later today on whether to agree to a ceasefire. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Jerusalem.

A special Foreign Intelligence Appeals Court has affirmed the government's right to conduct warrantless wiretapping under certain circumstances. NPR's Martin Kaste has details.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review doesn't usually publish its secret rulings. But it's made an exception for an opinion that handed down last August. In a partially 6 redacted version released today, the court says spy agencies do not necessarily have to get the permission of a court to tap Americans' communications with people overseas, as long as there are sufficient and internal safeguards. Civil Liberty's groups have long argued that it's not enough to trust the government to police itself. They say the only way to keep spy agencies honest is to have judges looking over their shoulders. But in this ruling the very courts charged with doing that have said they don't mind that they were kept out of the loop. This ruling is not binding 7 on other wiretapping lawsuits 8, but it may be cited as a precedent 9. Martin Kaste, NPR news.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 12 points at 8, 212. The NASDAQ gained 22 points to close at 1, 511.

This is NPR News.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time jumped sharply last week. The Labor 10 Department says 54, 000 more people filed claims. That's more than expected.

Weather forecasters say temperatures in and around Chicago tonight could drop to 29 below zero with the wind chill. Mike Rhee of WBEZ in Chicago reports city workers are already out on the streets, looking for anyone who needs help.

People from the city's Department of Family and Support Services have been out all week, trying to get homeless people indoors. Mary Ellen Caron is the department's acting 11 commissioner 12. "We have more human service workers on the streets today even than we did yesterday. The police are working with us. The Health Department, everybody is focused on making sure that we get as many people inside as possible. " Caron says as of noon today, more than a hundred people took advantage of one of the city's six warming centers. She also says there are 5, 000 beds available at homeless shelters across the city tonight. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning for the region until noon Friday. For NPR News, I'm Mike Rhee in Chicago.

Recapping the hour's top story, everyone aboard a US Airway's flight that crashed into New York's Hudson River this afternoon has survived. 148 passengers and 5 crew members were aboard the Airbus 320 heading from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina when it plunged into the river near Manhattan. Early reports suggested the aircraft's engine was disabled after striking a flock of birds, but the FAA can't confirm the cause of the accident.