NPR 2010-05-14

Federal agents investigating the Times Square attempted bombing have custody 1 of three people. They were detained on alleged 2 immigration violations 3. Attorney General Eric Holder 4 says they were picked up during searches in parts of the northeastern US this morning.

"These searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation 5 since the attempted Times Square bombing and do not relate to any known immediate 6 threat to the public or active plot against the United States."

Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee today.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is wrapping up a four-day visit to Washington today that included more meetings with senior administration officials and a tour of a national landmark 7. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

President Karzai made a morning visit to Arlington National Cemetery 8. On a cool and overcast 9 day, he walked amongst the graves of US service personnel who had lost their lives in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, he visited with US troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, some who had lost multiple limbs during fighting in his country. How to end that war and deal with the insurgency 10 there was the focus of his four-day visit to Washington. Despite months of simmering tensions between the Karzai and Obama administrations, the Afghan leader was given a very warm reception during his time in D.C., meeting with senior officials and being hosted to a number of dinners and lunches. One of his last events was a televised give-and-take with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

Mayhem in central Bangkok where a senior anti-government leader suffered a head injury today. Thousands of anti-government protesters have been camped out in the Thai capital for months, demanding new elections. Today, the government expanded a state of emergency to cover 15 more provinces in a bid to keep more people from heading to Bangkok.

Oil giant BP says it has spent $450 million so far to fight the oil spill in the Gulf 11 of Mexico. Now, the company that owns the sunken oil rig at the source of the leak wants to cap what it can be sued for. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

Drilling contractor 12 Transocean is asking a federal court in Houston to limit its overall liability to less than $27 million which is the value of the company's interest in the Deepwater Horizon and its cargo 13. Transocean expects to get $560 million in insurance money. In its petition, Transocean denied any fault, negligence 14, unseaworthiness or lack of care that resulted in loss of life, injury or environmental damage. Under the 1851 Shipowner's Liability Act, if a vessel 15's owner can show no negligence, liability can be capped to the value of the vessel and its freight. Transocean faces more than 100 lawsuits 16 stemming from the rig explosion. The company says the primary goal of the court filing is to consolidate 17 those cases into a single court. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

Dow's down. This is NPR News.

Supreme 18 Court nominee 19 Elena Kagan made the rounds on Capitol Hill today to shore up congressional support for a confirmation 20. Kagan met with Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat who faces a tough primary next week. As a Republican, Specter voted against confirming Kagan to her current post as solicitor 21 general. He said Kagan was not open enough about how she could approach cases. Now, Specter describes the Supreme Court nominee as "very forthcoming".

Scientists say they have learned how to create a type of cell that's lost when people go deaf. NPR's Jon Hamilton explains.

Hearing depends on special cells in the ear that detect vibrations 22 in the air. When these hair cells are damaged or lost, hearing becomes less sensitive and the cells don't regenerate 23 on their own. So a team of researchers at Stanford has spent the past decade trying to create new hair cells in the lab. They've succeeded, using cells from mice. The team started with stem cells and was able to mimic 24 the developmental steps that usually occur in the womb. The result was cells with the same structure as mouse hair cells. This should make it easier to do research and if a similar approach works on people, it could lead to new treatments for deafness. The study appears in the journal, Cell. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

New unemployment claims dropped for a fourth week in a row. Today, the Labor 25 Department said the number of people filed for the first time dropped by 4,000 last week to a seasonally 26 adjusted 444,000. That was just about in line with what analysts 27 were expecting.

The Dow was down 114 points before the close at 10,783, NASDAQ down more than 30 at 2,394.

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