NPR 2010-06-11

The Secretary of the US Army delivers a stinging indictment 1 today against those accused of sloppy 2 record keeping at Arlington National Cemetery 3.  And John McHugh tells the families of those resting in that hallowed ground that he is deeply sorry. Today McHugh announced the results of a seven-month investigation 4 that found deficiencies including cremated 5 remains 6 mistakenly left in a dirt landfill or placed in a grave already in use. The report renders 76 separate findings.

“Some of which, disturbingly, are a repeat of the deficiencies detailed 7 in the 1997 inspection 8 report by the military district of Washington’s IG, deficiencies which apparently 9 have gone largely unaddressed for the past 12 years.”

The cemetery’s longtime superintendent 10 announced his retirement 11 last month.

After coming under more heat from the Obama administration and the public, BP is promising 12 to speed up its process, prepaying claims to those directly affected 13 by the Gulf 14 oil spill. This is officials from the Gulf Coast headed to Capitol Hill to ask who is in charge of the cleanup, President Obama or BP. Details from NPR’s Brian Mann.

At a Senate Homeland Security hearing, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser accused BP in the federal government of allowing bureaucracy to trump 16 a rapid response to the spill. “I still don’t know who’s in charge. Is it BP? Is it the Coast Guard? I have spent more time fighting the officials of BP and the Coast Guard than fighting the oil.” The testimony 17 came on a day when families of the oil spill workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion were visiting the White House. President Obama will make a fourth trip to the Gulf Coast on Monday. Brian Mann, NPR News, New Orleans.

Russia maintains that it still has the right to sell surface-to-air missiles to Iran, even after the UN approved the fresh round of sanctions against the Iranian regime over its nuclear program. But NPR’s David Greene says Russia has been sending mixed signals about the potential sale.

It’s been more than two years since Russia agreed to sell so-called S300 missiles to Iran. The US and Israel have always opposed the deal, since the missiles could help Iran defend its nuclear sites against attack. As for Russian officials, they have always been dodgy about whether they will ever deliver the weapons. That remained the case this week. After Russia backed the new round of sanctions, the well-sourced Russian news agency Interfax quoted an unnamed person in the Russian arms industry who said the new sanctions meant the contract to deliver S300 missile systems was frozen. Then within hours, a foreign ministry 18 spokesman stressed that the new sanctions do not cover the missile systems, thus he said Russia is not required to scrap 19 the deal. Analysts 20 have long said Russia likes using the potential sale as leverage 21 over Iran and over the countries who are confronting Iran. David Greene, NPR News, Moscow.

US stocks surged alongside the euro. Dow was up more than 270 points at last check.

This is NPR.

New unemployment claims in the US were down for a third-straight week. The Labor 22 Department is reporting applications dropped by 3,000 to a seasonally 23 adjusted 456,000 nearly what it was in January.

Latest snapshot of the trade deficit 24 finds the gap is growing over $40 billion in April. It was below $40 billion a month before. The Commerce Department finds foreign demand was weaker in April and that hurt US exports.

Researchers have discovered how a gene 25 linked to a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease causes damage to brain cells. The story from NPR’s Jon Hamilton.

It’s been 15 years since scientist discovered the presenilin gene which runs in families and can cause people in their thirties to develop Alzheimer’s. But it’s been unclear how mutations to this gene actually hurt brain cells until now. Researchers at New York University found that in mice presenilin mutations prevented cells from recycling proteins the way they usually do, and when this process broke down, brain cells died. The researchers also found that the gene mutations can kill brain cells even when there is no buildup of amyloid plaque 15 in the brain. Amyloid has long been suspected of causing Alzheimer’s, but this finding suggests protein recycling is also part of the equation. The new research appears in the Journal Cell. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

The search is under way for a sixteen-year-old southern California girl attempting to sail solo around the world. The spokesman for Abby Sunderland’s family says the girl was believed to be in trouble in the southern India Ocean after her emergency beacons 26 went off. Relatives are working with the US government trying to organize a search for the girl.