NPR 2010-02-03

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Klein.

President Obama is in New Hampshire to push his economic agenda. Speaking in Nashua last hour, he unveiled his plan to create jobs. "And we're gonna start where most new jobs start with small businesses. These are companies that begin in basements and garages when an entrepreneur takes a chance on his dream, or a worker decides it's time she becomes her own boss." The president plans to transfer some of the money returned from the bank bailout to small and community banks to encourage them to lend to small businesses. He also proposed eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investment.

A conservative backlash against Democrats 1 has been slow to affect party fundraising. 2009 financial report showed Democratic Party organizations ended the year with 50% more money available than their Republican counterparts. NPR's Peter Overby has details.

It was hardly a good year for Democrats to raise money. President Obama's poll numbers fell, his founded donor 2 base seemed to go away, the party lost in elections. But despite that, the Democrats managed to outrace the Republicans. Only the Republican National Committee surpassed its Democratic opposite number. The RNC raised 91 million dollars. That's seven million more than the DNC. It's on Capitol Hill, the prize in this fall's mid-term elections where Democratic committee stands strong. Their House and Senate Campaign Committees carry significant debt, but in available cash, they are reported to combine the 25 million dollars versus 3 10 million for the GOP. Democratic lawmakers transferred nearly 15 million dollars from their own campaigns to their party committees. Republican lawmakers: 3.4 million. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

Defense 4 Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate today he’s called for a year-long study on the effects of lifting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military. The Chairman of the Joint 5 Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, told Senators he personally believes the policy should be revoked 6. "No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens." Mullen also told the Senate panel US security will be imperiled if the US doesn't win the war in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban now has increasing influence in most Afghan provinces and that must be reversed.

Toyota estimates its worldwide recall of more than four million vehicles because of sticky gas pedals will cost the company about 900 million dollars. On top of that, the automaker says it's losing about 155 million dollars a week in lost sales.

On Wall Street, an hour before the close, the Dow was up 93, the NASDAQ is up 14.

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Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying off some 450 people, which amounts to more than 6% of its workforce 7. Sony says it's taking the step because of declining DVD sales. It's the company's second cutback in a year. Most of the cuts will be in the home entertainment and information-technology units.

One in eight Americans received emergency help from a food pantry or soup kitchen last year. That's according to Feeding America, the nation's largest emergency food provider. It's a huge jump from the last time the group conducted a survey four years ago. NPR's Pam Fessler has more.

It's no surprise that more people are relying on emergency food aid. Ever since the economic downturn, food banks and pantries have reported longer lines. But the numbers in the Feeding America survey are striking. The group, which used to be known as Second Harvest, says its network of food banks is now feeding an estimated 5.7 million people every week. That's a million more a week than the group served four years ago. Of the 37 million people who relied on emergency food aid last year, 14 million were children. Feeding America says its survey of tens of thousands of recipients 8 also found that almost half had to choose last year between buying food or paying for heat and utilities. It says millions of clients are families seeking help for the first time. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

This year's Oscar nominations 9 are out. Avatar and The Hurt Locker 10 lead the pack with nine nominations each, including Best Picture. Morgan Freeman, Jeff Bridges and George Clooney are among those up for Best Actor. Among nominees 11 for Best Actress is Sandra Bullock, Gabourey Sidibe and Meryl Streep.

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.