NPR 2010-01-10

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

A purported 1 videotape of the Jordanian man who killed seven CIA employees in a suicide attack has been released. Today Al-Jazeera Television broadcast the tape, in which the double agent called for attacks on U. S. targets. Dale Gavlak reports.

In the video Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi said he was sending a message to the enemies of Islam, who he named as Jordan's Intelligence Service and the CIA. Balawi said he was avenging 2 the death of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and urged for more attacks on the US. Mehsud was killed by a CIA missile strike in August. Balawi's father in Oman confirmed the man pictured was his son. He said his zealous 3 son was very opposed to what was happening in Iraq, the occupation of Palestinian territory and the killings 4 of Muslims in Afghanistan. Balawi's suicide bombing killed seven CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence officer, a distant relative of King Abdullah. It was the deadliest attack against the CIA in decades. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Oman.

A New York City man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he received military training by terrorism organization. Adis Medunjanin, a Bosnian  American was arraigned 5 in federal court today. He was one of two men arrested early yesterday for alleged 6 ties to a terror suspect in a bomb plot against New York City.

Europe is iced over from Edinburgh to the Mediterranean 7 coast, making transportation dangerous across the region. Frank Browning has details from Paris.

A foot of snow has blanketed Arles, the normally sunny town where Van Gogh painted his sunflowers, while the bucolic 8 pasture lands in Normandy are so icy that the normally ultra-efficient train system is hardly budging 9. Germans, no strangers to snow in cold, were advised to stock up on food and water and stay home, while governments in London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam warned people to stay off the roads in all but extreme emergencies. The Europa Auto 10 Club said monthly that much of Germany could be paralyzed all weekend. High-speed Eurostar service between the Continent and London has promised at best 50% of its trains. Companies are being told to shut down or cut their hours to conserve 11 gas. Major airports are expecting heavy delays, even on international flights. For NPR News, I'm Frank Browning in Paris.

Police in Hong Kong are investigating an acid attack on a crowd today that injured at least 15 people including several tourists and a child. Local media report that bottled acid was dropped from a building on a busy street lined with shops and many snack venders. So far no arrest has been made. This is just the latest in a series of acid attacks in Hong Kong since December of 2008.

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After a devastating 12 attack in Angola yesterday, Togo's national soccer team reportedly has pulled out of the African Nations Cup. Newswires report the team's in shock after two members of the soccer delegation 13 were killed when their bus was ambushed 14 in Cabinda. The Angolan bus driver was also killed.

A former researcher at UCLA School of Medicine has pleaded guilty to illegally accessing confidential 15 medical records of celebrities 16, high-profile patients and co-workers. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

The UCLA employee, 38-year-old Huping Zhou, was a cardiothoracic surgeon from China who was doing research at the university medical system. On Friday he pleaded guilty in U. S. court to four counts of violating federal privacy laws. Zhou could face up to four years in federal prison. According to the U. S. Attorney's Office, Zhou accessed patient records, mostly of celebrities, more than 300 times after he had been warned that he would be fired. A UCLA spokeswoman says the university has cooperated fully 17 with the investigators 18 and is committed to continually improving patient confidentiality 19 policies. UCLA has disciplined dozens of employees since it was revealed that its personnel peeked 20 into the medical records of celebrities including Farrah Fawcett, Britney Spears and California's First Lady Maria Shriver. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

The creator of the pop culture phenomenon Gumby died yesterday. Art Clokey was 88 years old. Clokey's Gumby actually started as a student project at the University of Southern California in the early 1950s. Gumby made it to the Howdy Doody Show and the bendable figure eventually became a hot item in the toy industry.

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