NPR 2010-04-07

The Obama administration has released its Nuclear Posture 1 Review, the guideline for how nuclear weapons fit into the nation’s defense 2 plans. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it’s designed to make clear states like Iran and North Korea all options are on the table in dealing 3 with them. NPR’s Tom Bowman has more.

Defense Secretary Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that the Nuclear Posture Review sends a very clear message to states like Iran and North Korea, as well as terrorist groups who might acquire nuclear weapons. Gates says the review is very explicit 4 that the fundamental role of the US nuclear weapons arsenal 5 is for deterrence 6. Still, he says, the US will not square off first use of nuclear weapons as long as control of those weapons around the world is uncertain. President Obama released a statement, saying the new strategy will maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent 7. But the president pledged not to conduct nuclear testing or develop new warheads. Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

In the past several days, over 100 people have been killed and scores wounded from attacks around Iraq’s capital. As NPR’s Jonathon Blakeley reports from Baghdad, the latest bombing happened today, leaving nearly 50 people dead.

There were at least seven bombings around the city, targeting apartment buildings, a restaurant and a market. Rescue workers picked through rubble 8 for hours, looking for victims. Iraqi security forces are leading the investigation 9 with some support from US forces. Both are blaming al-Qaeda-backed groups for the latest spate 10 of bloodshed. US military spokesman Lieutenant 11 Colonel Eric Bloom says there’s been no real pattern to the attacks.

“Others then saying: hey, you know, we’re still around. We don’t see any specific targets from the other day's to today’s.”

Monday, six members of a Shiite family were shot and killed in a home just outside Baghdad. On Sunday, three car bombs targeted foreign embassies, leaving 40 people dead. And on Friday, 24 Sunnis were executed in a village just south of the capital. Jonathon Blakeley, NPR News, Baghdad.

Rescuers cannot yet reach a West Virginian mine where 25 miners died in an accident yesterday. Poison gas is keeping them back. Crews are trying to locate four missing miners. They need to drill holes into the mine to properly vent 12 the gas, making it safe for rescuers to go in. It’s not clear what triggered the explosion, but Kevin Stricklin of the US Mine Safety and Health Administration says investigators 13 will find it.

“It’s quite evident that something went very wrong here for us to have the magnitude of this explosion. So it’s apparent that something was wrong. And I would just ask to give us an opportunity to conduct a full investigation, and we’ll leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom and tell you exactly what was not going right here when this explosion did occur.”

The CEO of the mine told the Associated Press the first hint of trouble occurred when alarms signaled problems with carbon monoxide.

On Wall Street before the close, the Dow was down five points at 10,968.

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Federal agents have arrested a Washington state man and charged him with threatening Washington Senator Paddy Murray. Sixty-four-year-old Charles Wilson is accused of phoning Murray’s office several times and threatening to kill her.

“One more go.” That is what the University of Connecticut women’s basketball fans are saying. The Huskies play Stanford in tonight’s NCAA Championship Game. A UConn victory makes Connecticut the first women’s team in history to go undefeated in two straight seasons. NPR’s Tom Goldman reports.

There’s an old sports cliché about the unpredictability of outcomes. “That’s why they play the games,” the saying goes. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is banking 14 on that cliché as her team prepares for the steamroller that is UConn women’s basketball. VanDerveer knows the Huskies have won 77 straight games. She also knows Stanford has gotten close, close in UConn terms. Last December, Stanford lost by 12 points after leading by two at halftime, while the coach says she’s focused on how that game got away. She also knows getting off to a fast start is important tonight. “We gotta stay in contact with them,” she says, “We’re not a super athletic 15 team that can come back from being down 15.” UConn again will look to star players Tina Charles and Maya Moore, and a smothering 16 defense that's held tournament opponents to an average of 42 points a game. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

The first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation has died. Chief Wilma Mankiller was 64. She led for a decade between 1985 and 1995. Mankiller worked to triple the tribe's enrollment 17 during her tenure 18, worked to increase employment and widen health programs. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry says Mankiller also improved life for her tribe, state and nation. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday.