NPR 2010-10-05

The White House says it doesn’t want Americans to stop traveling just to be vigilant 1 about their personal security. As NPR’s Scott Horsley reports, the Obama administration is trying to tamp 2 down fears a day after it warned US citizens in Europe of the possibility of terrorist attacks.

The administration says it’s working closely with European allies to address heightened concerns about security amid reports that terrorists may be plotting Mumbai-style attacks somewhere in Europe. The State Department issued an advisory  Sunday for Americans living or traveling in the region. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says it’s not a warning to avoid travel, just a recommendation to take common-sense precautions.

“In terms of being aware of your surroundings, understanding how to move throughout those surroundings, where to go in the event of an emergency.”

Gibbs says President Obama was briefed on the threats over the weekend. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The US Supreme 3 Court hit a milestone 4 today, beginning a new term with three women on the bench. Justice Elena Kagan is the most recent addition, but she had to recuse herself from two dozen cases because of work she did for the Obama administration as solicitor 5 general.

The high court has already turned down hundreds of appeals including a lawsuit 6 by some families affected 7 by the 9/11 terror attacks. NPR’s Margot Adler reports a group wants New York City to provide proper burial for material taken from the World Trade Center site.

The family members of 9/11 victims say the material may well contain ashes of some of those killed on 9/11. No remains 8 have been found for about 1,100 of the 2,752 people killed at Ground Zero that day. After the families brought suit against the city, lower federal courts dismissed the lawsuit, saying the city acted responsibly when it moved 1.6 million tons of material to a landfill in Staten Island and then began sifting 9 for human remains. The families say that more than 200,000 tons of material was never sifted 10 for remains and a landfill is not a proper burial site. Twenty thousand human remains were sent to the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. The work of identifying those remains continues. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Eleven people including Alabama legislators are charged in an alleged 11 vote-buying scheme aimed at expanding electronic bingo in the state. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer identified four of the most high-profile suspects allegedly involved in the conspiracy 12.

“Defendants Larry Means, James Prueitt, Quinton Ross and Harri Anne Smith, who are all current Alabama state senators, are charged with accepting or agreeing to accept and in some cases demanding these bribes 13.”

Alabama Governor Bob Riley strongly opposed state gambling 14. He said in a statement that today’s arrests were “disappointing but hardly surprising”.

Dow’s down 78 points at last check.

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In a major victory for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state Supreme Court says the governor had legal authority to furlough state workers. Schwarzenegger made the move last year to help close a multi-billion-dollar budget gap. NPR’s Carrie Kahn reports employee unions have dozens of lawsuits 15, trying to regain 16 back pay.

The high court’s ruling is a major victory for Schwarzenegger, who ordered the furloughs back in 2009 and then imposed another round last August as legislators continued to fight over the state’s budget. The cost-cutting measure last year saved the state about three billion dollars, but employees unions filed dozens of lawsuits, demanding back pay and arguing that the furloughs were illegal since only California’s legislators could pass such a plan. Lower courts had given mixed rulings over who has authority to furlough workers. The state Supreme ruling was unanimous. Schwarzenegger ordered two-day-a-month furloughs then expanded it to three days a month. That meant a pay cut of nearly 14 percent for more than 200,000 state employees. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

Authorities in southwest Georgia are now saying that 19 people were in a church van that overturned several times on a highway after a tire blew out yesterday. Four people died. Local media report 15 others were hurt. Children were among the victims. Members of the Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance congregation, which is based in Columbus, Georgia, were in the van. They were on their way to Florida when the accident occurred.

Stocks continue to move lower after the government reported that a big drop in demand for commercial aircraft. That was behind the drop in orders to US factories in August. The Commerce Department found orders fell 0.5 percent.