NPR 2010-02-07

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

A popular sound in the nation's capital where snow blowers are hard at work as white stuff keeps falling. Forecasters say the winter storm blanketing the Mid-Atlantic States could be the biggest in modern history. A record 2.5 feet or more is predicted for Washington D.C. For the most part, people are staying home, but hundreds of thousands of them across the region have to endure the cold without electricity. The storm has virtually paralyzed transportation. All flights out of the area airports were canceled through this afternoon. So what to do when there is no place to go? NPR's Craig Windham trudged 1 over to Washington's Dupont Circle. After getting a tip on Facebook about a snowball fight, turns out, it was a whopper.

It's a war zone out here. This is a park in the middle of one of the traffic circles in the city. It started out as a pretty mild-mannered competition with two teams. One team is defending the frozen site in the middle of the circle, the other is attacking it. But it's still, uh, getting pretty crazy. There are salvos of snowballs flying through the air. I can tell you this reporters like me are sitting ducks. We are pelted 2 wherever we walk, anywhere near here. There are probably a good thousand or more people out here. This plan was set up on Facebook, and it's a good relief for people who have nothing better to do in the city that's gridlocked by snow.

That's NPR's Craig Windham reporting from Washington's Dupont Circle.

It's election day in New Orleans. Voters are choosing a mayor to replace the term-limited Ray Nagin. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.

It's something of a magic weekend for New Orleans. The carnival 3 parades are rolling, the Super Bowl party is already underway, and the city will soon have a new mayor. Candidates have been pushing hard to get the attention of voters distracted by the Saints’ first appearance in the Super Bowl. Turnout was strong for early voting. Many voters think this election is critical to jump-start the city's uneven 4 recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana Lieutenant 5 Governor Mitch Landrieu is making his third bid for the job once held by his father Moon Landrieu in the 1970s. Businessmen Troy Henry and John Georges are considered to be in tight competition to make it into a run-off with Landrieu. Other candidates include housing advocate James Perry and former judge Nadine Ramsey. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, New Orleans.

A US missionary 6 held by North Korea for 43 days is heading home. Robert Park was taken to Beijing today where he was due to leave for the US. The 28-year-old from Arizona crossed a frozen river from China to North Korea on Christmas Day with letters protesting Kim Jong-il's government. On Friday, Pyongyang announced it would release Park, saying he now believes North Korea allowed complete religious freedom for all people.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

Defense 7 Secretary Robert Gates says he's skeptical 8 that Iran's close to reaching an agreement with the United Nations on its nuclear program. This week in Ankara, Gates urged Turkish officials not to underscore the threat that, he says, Iran posed. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadienjad recently indicated that his country would be willing to send much of its low-enriched uranium abroad for processing in line with the UN proposal. Iran says it is interested in developing energy, not nuclear weapons as the West suspects.

Well, there's been another clash between Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists 9 in the waters off Antarctica. It's the second collision of boats belonging to the two groups in as many months. From Sydney, Stewart Colleen has details.

A Japanese whaling ship and a boat from the anti-whaling group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, have collided in Australian waters near Antarctica. It's the second collision of boats belonging to the two groups in as many months. The head of the Sea Shepherd Society says the Japanese harpoon 10 ship intentionally 11 rammed 12 his boat, the Bob Barker, tearing a three-foot long gash 13 in the hull 14 of the ship above the waterline. Nobody was injured in the collision and the ship isn't in danger of sinking. The boat is indeed named for the former host of "The Price is Right" Bob Barker who donated millions of dollars to the Sea Shepherd Society. Last month, another Japanese whaling ship collided with a high-tech 15 trimaran owned by Sea Shepherd. That collision ripped the bow off the multi-million-dollar trimaran and forced the crew to abandon ship. The boat later sank while being towed back to port for repairs. For NPR News, I'm Stewart Colleen in Sydney.

Floods and mudslides are threatening some homes in foothills of Los Angeles following a second round of storms, but no injuries have been reported.

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