NPR 2010-01-13

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carol Van Dam.

Federal regulator sued Bank of America today, accusing the bank of failing to disclose what it calls staggering financial losses at Merrill Lynch before a merger 1 of the company was approved. The suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US District Court in Manhattan is seeking an order to force the Bank of America to pay a civil penalty. The bank is accused of failing to inform shareholders 2 it was losing more than 15 billion dollars in the final quarter of 2008. A Bank of America spokesman calls the charges "totally without merit".

The US trade deficit 4 in November was much larger than expected. The Commerce Department says imports grew faster than exports, a sign consumers and manufactures' demand for foreign goods was on a rise. NPR’s Greg Allen has more.

With the slow economy, the US trade deficit, the difference between exports and imports is half of what it was last year. In recent months, as the economy has improved, consumers and manufacturers have spent more on goods and materials from overseas. The Commerce Department reports the trade deficit in November jumped to 9. 7% for a total of 36. 4 billion dollars. Imports rose by 2. 6%, with the rising price of oil as a factor. US exports also grew in November by 0. 9%, the seventh straight gain. That included more than 7 billion dollars in sales to China, the highest totally yet for products ranging from soybeans to semiconductors 5. It's a trend aided by a weaker US dollar and a sign that economies are improving overseas as well. Greg Allen, NPR News.

The State Department denies playing any role in today’s bombing and assassination 6 of an Iranian nuclear scientist, calling the accusation 7 "absurd". Iranian pro-government media claims the US and Israel were involved in the attack. Iran’s state-run news agency says Masoud Ali-Mohammadi was killed when a remote-controlled bomb strapped 8 to a motorcycle exploded outside his home in Tehran.

UN human rights officials express concern today about deep-rooted racism 9 against migrants in Italy after clashes in a southern town between African farm workers, police and local residents. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

The UN officials said the violence is extremely worrying since it reveals serious and deep-rooted problems of racism against migrant workers. The statement came after more than 1, 000 African migrants were evacuated 10 from the town of Rosarno in the southern Calabrain region after two days of violence that erupted when white youths shot two migrants with pellet guns. Earlier, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry 11 had called on the Italian government to protect migrants and minorities against widespread discrimination. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini replied that police were reacting to ordinary violence, unacceptable violence that has nothing to do with Egypt. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has yet to comment on the Rosarno clashes. Sylvia Poggioli NPR News, Rome.

On Wall Street at this hour, the Dow Industrials are down 56 points to 10, 607. The NASDAQ down 32 to 2, 279.

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Reports of serious bird run-ins with airplanes soared this past year, ever since pilot Sully Sullenberger landed his jet in New York's Hudson River. The government’s tally 3 of bird strikes for last year could reach or exceed 10, 000 for the first time ever.

Russia and the United States are expected to resume Strategic Arms Reduction Talks soon. More from Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that discussions will begin again in full force later this month. He says that Moscow and Washington are doing their homework right now, and that negotiations 12 are a working progress. Both sides were expected to agree to a new deal by the end of last year, but negotiations got bogged 13 down. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed Washington's plans for a missile defense 14 system in Eastern Europe for slowing talks. In September, President Obama agreed to alter former President George W. Bush’s plans for a missile defense in Russia’s backyard in an attempt to reset 15 relations, but the Kremlin has remained wary 16 of Washington’s plans to put land- and sea-based missiles in Eastern Europe. Both countries have agreed to drastically reduce their nuclear stockpiles. Russia and the United States hold some 90% of the world's nuclear weapons. For NPR News, I’m Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

Former CBS television news anchor Dan Rather has lost his 70-million-dollar lawsuit 17 against the network. New York State’s highest court ruled today he has no right to appeal of a lower court’s decision against him. Rather sued CBS and its top executives in 2007, claiming he was wrongfully removed from the anchor desk. The dispute began with a report that doubted the former President George W. Bush’s military service. Rather reported Mr. Bush received preferential treatment during his service in the Texas International Guard.

I'm Carol Van Dam, NPR News in Washington.