NPR 2010-04-14

President Obama is urging world leaders who’re meeting in Washington today to act and not just talk about safeguarding nuclear materials. NPR’s Scott Horsley has more.

President Obama called nuclear terrorism one of the greatest threats to global security. And it’s a threat, he says, no one country can solve on its own. Enriched uranium and plutonium is now scattered 1 around dozens of countries. Mr. Obama warned unless steps are taken to safeguard that material, it could wind up in the wrong hands with deadly results.

“Terrorist networks, such as al-Qaeda, have tried to acquire the material for a nuclear weapon, and if they ever succeeded, they would surely use it.”

The U.S. has agreed to help other countries secure or get rid of nuclear stocks with money and technical advice. Leaders are planning a follow-up meeting in South Korea in two years. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

The White House says the president will go to Poland this weekend to attend the funeral of the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski. The Polish leader, his wife and 94 other people died in a plane crash in Russia last weekend. The president will travel to Krakow, Poland on Saturday night for the Sunday funeral. Mr. Obama also plans to meet with Senate leaders from both parties next week to discuss a Supreme 2 Court nomination 3. As NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports, the president is vetting 4 people to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Next Wednesday morning, four key senators will visit the White House. Majority Leader Harry 5 Reid of Nevada and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy from Vermont and Ranking Member Jeff Sessions of Alabama. President Obama hosted a similar meeting a year ago before he nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter. This week, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs knocked down rumors 6 that a nomination could come right away.

“Look, guys, we will have many weeks to spin the big wheel and play the name game.”

He then repeated “many weeks”. Justice Stevens said he would like to see his replacement 7 confirmed over the summer, and President Obama and Senator Leahy say they share that goal. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin says he’s asked a former federal mine official to lead a state investigation 8 of the disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine. Twenty-nine miners were killed there in an explosion last week. The body of the last victim was taken from the mine before dawn today. Manchin told the Associated Press he is asking J. Davitt McAteer to become his special advisor 9 on the incident.

Consumer Reports magazine is urging motorists to avoid buying a certain Toyota model, the Lexus GX 460. The magazine testers say that in certain conditions the rear part of the car slides and could roll over in an accident. Consumer Reports rated the car “don’t buy”. Toyota says it will meet with the automotive testers and emphasizes that the car meets U.S. government testing requirements.

On Wall Street just before the close, the Dow was up 14 at 11,020.

This is NPR.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association pinpoints 10 specific epilepsy drugs that may be associated with suicidal thoughts and actions. NPR’s Joanne Silberner has more.

The association between epilepsy drugs and a low but measurable risk of suicidal thoughts and actions has been known for several years. Harvard Medical School researchers identified 827 suicide attempts or actual suicides among several hundred thousand people using anticonvulsant medications, and they found a range of risks depending on the drug. Among the highest were oxcarbazepine and tiagabine. Gabapentin (Neurontin) was also on the list. The lowest risk was topiramate. The risk might be worth it for epilepsy, they say, but people taking the drugs for chronic 11 pain or bipolar disease might want to consider different drugs, and they caution people should talk to their doctors before making any changes. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

Astronauts in the space shuttle Discovery have installed a new storage tank on the International Space Station. It carries ammonia, but there’s been a glitch—one of the tank’s valves is stuck and the tank can’t be pressurized properly. NASA engineers are working on the problem.

The Commerce Department reports the U.S. trade deficit 12 grew in February. Consumers bought more goods from overseas, such as electronic devices. The difference between what the U.S. sold overseas and what it imported was nearly 7.5%. The gain in imports suggests consumers are spending more money, and that in turn points to a recovery in consumer spending. That’s good news for the struggling U.S. economy.