NPR 2010-06-03

A rescue plan to cap a blown-out well deep in the Gulf 1 of Mexico is stalled. BP is using undersea robots to free a saw that got stuck while it was cutting through a pipe on the wellhead assembly. The goal is to at least contain the oil spill. With anger building over the leak, President Obama's pushing for an overhaul 2 to energy policy. He's just back from a gathering 3 in Pittsburg, where Mr. Obama said the Gulf spill may be the result of human error, corporations taking shortcuts 4 or a combination of both, but he says there's another factor to consider.

"We have to acknowledge that there're inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth, and these are risks, these are risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes."

We're seeing parts of the oil slick are threatening Florida coastal 5 areas. Governor Charlie Crist:

"(Our state resources have determined 6 that the oil sheen,) with it, are thousands of tar 7 balls. Skimmers have been deployed 8 near Pensacola. The goal is to remove that oil from nearshore waters."

Federal regulators meanwhile have approved the first new oil well in the Gulf since a brief ban on shallow-water drilling was lifted. An extended moratorium 9 on deepwater drilling is still in effect.

Another day of anti-Israeli protests in Turkey where demonstrators have been rallying near the Israeli ambassador's residence in Ankara, Israel is facing a firestorm of criticism for its deadly raid on a humanitarian 10 flotilla earlier this week. Today, Turkey, once Israel's close Muslim ally, said at least three of the nine people killed were Turks. The Turkish parliament now wants to review all ties with Israel. Israel's prime minister meanwhile is defying international condemnation 11 of Monday's raid. Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel regrets the deaths of nine activists 12 but must continue its blockade of the Gaza Strip. NPR's Peter Kenyon has this from Jerusalem.

Netanyahu decried 13 what he called a wave of hypocritical international attacks against Israel's commando raid of a Turkish aid vessel 14. He said the Islamist Hamas movement is committed to attacking Israeli civilians 15, and he accused Syria and Iran of trying to supply weapons to the Gaza militants 16. That's why, he said, the blockade will continue.

"I want the world to know what the results will be if we don't do this. It will be an Iranian proxy 17 in Gaza."

As Israel moved to deport 18 all the several hundred international activists detained in Monday's raids, another aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, was set to be heading toward the eastern Mediterranean 19. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Jerusalem.

US stocks moved up 2% into the close. At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 220 points at 10,250 in trading about three billion shares, NASDAQ Composite Index up nearly 60 points at 2,281, S&P 500 up 28 at 1,098.

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A taxi driver in northern Britain has gone on a shooting rampage, killing 20 12 people, wounding 25 others before he turned the gun on himself. NPR's Rob Gifford has details from London.

Police were called to a street in the small town of Whitehaven in the county of Cumbria, northwest England this morning. There were reports of a man randomly 22 opening fire. The man fled by car and appears to have continued to shoot people on nearby roads and in neighboring villages. After several hours, police say they found the body of the man they were searching for, a 52-year-old local taxi driver named Derrick Bird in a wooded area nearby, where he appears to have taken his own life. No motive 23 for the shooting has yet been determined. Cumbria, where Britain's well-known lake district is located, has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. Gun crime, especially random 21 shooting such as this, is extremely rare in Britain, which has strict gun control laws. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

As Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for peace with the Taliban, militants attacked with rockets and gunfire. Violence erupted outside a nationally televised peace conference today in Kabul just as Karzai was making his opening remarks. At least three attackers were killed, and no one at the peace jirga was hurt. About 1,600 people were attending the gathering, which runs for about three days.

China won't be one of the Asian nations hosting Defense 24 Secretary Robert Gates this week, saying it's just bad timing 25, but there's also some tension between Beijing and Washington. The Obama administration angered Chinese officials over (the) decision to sell six billion dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.