NPR 2010-02-10

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.

President Obama met with Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the White House today. They discussed job creation programs, health care and cutting the deficit 1.

"I'm gonna continue to seek the best ideas from either party as we work to tackle the pressing challenges ahead."

Mr. Obama spoke 2 with reporters at the White House as well today who asked him about a variety of issues including Iran. Iranian media says Teheran has started to enrich uranium, a process the U.S. fears could be a cover for a weapons program. Mr. Obama says Iran is risking new punishment.

"What we are gonna be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated 3 they are from the international community as a whole."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry 4 says new sanctions would be a mistake.

Some 100 Iranians protested at the Italian Embassy in Teheran today, throwing eggs and shouting slogans against Italy and its Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told the Senate that the protest was hostile, and that the group tried but failed to assault the building. He said about 100 members of Iran's religious militia 5 dressed as civilians 6 shouted "Death to Italy" and "Death to Berlusconi." He said the attackers hurl 7 stones at the embassy, but Iranian police intervene to stop a full-blown assault. Italy is one of Iran's main European trading partners. Last week on a visit to Israel, Prime Minister Berlusconi announced Italy was scaling back its economic dealings with Iran and wants tighter sanctions against the Teheran government. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

A winter storm blowing to the Midwest has forced school closures. And in Chicago, authorities have canceled flights of the city's airports. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

Slip roads, school closures, flight delays, all the stuff of winter is playing out in the Midwest. The city of Chicago has put its full fleet of 275 snow plow 8 trucks on the streets in an effort to keep the roads passable. A blizzard 9 watch is in effect until tomorrow. And the National Weather Service is forecasting more than a foot of snow for the Chicago area with winds that could gust 10 up to 40 mph. With the snow has come plenty of flight cancellations and delays, more than 500 flights have been canceled at Chicago's O'Hare Airport because of earlier snow on the East Coast along with the snow here. For flights that have been getting out, there's been a delay of 90 minutes or more. At Chicago's Midway Airport, Southwest Airlines canceled all of its flights through tomorrow morning. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials are up 168 points at 10,081 on trading of some 3.5 billion shares; the NASDAQ is up 25 at 2,151; the S&P 500 is up 14 points.

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President Obama has signed an executive order creating a task force aimed at getting government agencies to work together to combat childhood obesity 11. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

As First Lady Michelle Obama unveils details of a campaign dubbed 12 "Let's Move" aimed at encouraging more physical activity and healthier eating, the president is asking his cabinet secretaries to put their heads and agencies together to come up with some sound strategies to nudge families towards healthier lifestyles. Signing the executive order, Mr. Obama said obesity is one of the most urgent health issues the nation faces.

"This has enormous promise in improving the health of our children, in giving support to parents to make the kinds of healthy choices that oftentimes are very difficult."

He said without effective intervention 13 aimed at combating obesity, many more children will endure serious illnesses that put a strain on the nation's health care system. Allison Aubrey, NPR News, Washington.

Toyota is recalling its next batch 14 of vehicles to fix problems. Nearly 440,000 Prius and Lexis vehicles need repairs for brake problems. Some drivers have complained of a lag when pushing on brakes, especially when driving over bumpy 15 roads. The brake problem adds to Toyota's recalls for millions of vehicles with gas pedals. Some of these are sticky, others have gotten trapped underneath 16 floor mats.

Authorities in Southern California are warning hundreds of people to leave their homes for fear of mudslides. There's a flash flood watch posted from neighborhoods to the northeast of Los Angeles that were in the burned path of wildfires last year. There's nothing to hold back flood water or mudslides as a new round of storms bears down on the region.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.