NPR 2011-12-15

 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Afghanistan, visiting US troops for the holidays, says the US has reached a turning point in the-decade long war.

 
“For all the sacrifice that you are doing, the reality is that it is paying off and that we are moving in the right direction and we are winning this very tough conflict here in Afghanistan.”
 
Panetta does admit there are still challenges, but says the US will take them on.
 
The Senate is saying ‘no’ to two proposals to amend 1 the Constitution to compel Congress to come up with a balanced budget every year. The votes effectively shut off the constitutional approach for forcing Congress to live within its means. Passing a balanced-budget amendment 2 has been a key goal of Republicans and a minority of Democrats 3, who say it's the only way to make lawmakers take meaningful action to eliminate deficits 4 of a trillion dollars a year. 
 
A new government study finds as many as 2.5 million young adults have gained health insurance since last year. Apparently 5 it’s a direct result of the Affordable 6 Care Act. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, the study is a small piece of good news for the embattled federal health law.
 
Both the Census 7 Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics reported earlier this year that more young adults were gaining coverage 8 because of the law's requirement that they be allowed to stay on their parents' health plan until they reach age 26. But those earlier estimates were much smaller around a half million and one million additional people respectively. The new estimates take into account both students who graduated last spring and those who had to wait to re-enroll in their parents' plans during an open season. Republicans, however, are still intent on repealing 9 the entire health law, which includes a requirement that nearly every American have health insurance starting in 2014. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.
 
Americans bought more cars, electronics and clothing last month, pushing retail 10 sales up a modest 0.2%. Danielle Karson reports online spending has been strong, even though there’s usually a low in early December.
 
While retail sales overall were lackluster in November, e-commerce shot up a whopping 15%. To date, Americans have shelled out more than 24 billion dollars online. John Morris, a retail analyst 11 with EMO Capital markets, says the Internet has become a power tool for shoppers this holiday season.
 
“We have a consumer that's really getting used to shopping on the Internet. This year is the year of free shipping 12, and I think that’s what’s in part enticing 13 the consumers to shop a little bit more in e-comm, and that is also helping 14 to drive the e-commerce sales.”
 
Online sales are expected to peak this week. Analysts 15 say most shoppers complete their orders by mid-month to allow time for presents to arrive by Christmas. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Karson in Washington.
 
Losses today on Wall Street, the Dow is down 144.
 
This is NPR News.
 
New efforts are underway to restore the Gulf 16 Coast after the massive oil spill last year. A group of state and federal environmental officials wants to start with eight projects, including one that would help oyster 17 beds in Mississippi and Louisiana and another that would improve beaches in Alabama and Florida. The report concluded the damage to the gulf was widespread and extensive and will take years to assess completely.
 
Police in Indonesia's Aceh province are in hot pursuit of punks, punk rockers that is. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Jakarta police in the region, which enforces Islamic law, arrested more than 16 punks over the weekend and are now trying to reform them. 
 
Young Indonesians with mohawks and body piercings flocked to a charity concert in Banda Aceh, the provincial 18 capital, on Saturday night. They were promptly 19 rounded up by the Shari’ah police, the only such unit in the Muslim majority but secular 20 nation. Banda Aceh's deputy mayor declared the punks part of a new social disease, which was at odds 21 with Islam. The punks were not charged with any crime, but were nonetheless taken to a police school to be shaved, issued new cloths and toothbrushes. The Jakarta Globe newspaper published a picture of the punks shown off their spiky 22 hairdos and sitting on the ground in neat roads, looking much like a gang of crest-fallen skinheads. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jakarta.
 
The Reverend Billy Graham is said to be recovering well from his latest bout 23 of pneumonia 24. His son Franklin told CBS’s the Early Show today that his 93-year-old father is the only person he knows who enjoys the hospital and the people he meets there. He also says his father tries to work a little every day, answering mail.
 
I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News in Washington.