NPR 2010-04-02

President Obama is on a quest to get skeptical 1 Americans on board with new health care law. In Portland, Maine this afternoon, the president echoed key selling points of that law: greater accountability for insurers, coverage 2 for millions more Americans, and hefty savings 3 for the economy.

“And over time, costs will come down for families, businesses, and the federal government, reducing our deficit 4 by more than one trillion dollars over the next two decades. That’s what this reform will do.”

But Republicans including two Senators from Maine say the plan at the cost of nearly a trillion dollars over ten years will burden the economy and affect job growth.

The Obama administration’s setting tougher gas mileage 5 standards for new cars and trucks. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, in signing final rules that raise mileage standards by 5% a year. Automakers also have to make sure cars and trucks emit about 5% less in greenhouse gases annually 6. LaHood says it’s a win-win proposition.

“Putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road isn’t just the right thing to do for our environment, it’s also a great way for Americans to save a lot of money at the pump.”

The rules are supposed to be fully 7 implemented 8 by 2016. The new rules are expected to bolster 9 development of gas-electric hybrids 10 and efficient engines.

That once-a-decade head count of Americans is back around again and today’s especially important. It’s the reference point for census 11 data, as NPR’s Howard Berkes reports.

Today is the day that counts when filling out census forms since the data referred to in response to census questions, including where you live and the size of your household. But it’s not a deadline day. There are still several weeks before the failure to return a form triggers a visit from a census taker. The Census Bureau has events scheduled around the country today to urge people who’ve already received forms to fill them out and mail them back. About half the mail forms have been returned so far. The states with the highest mail-back rates are the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. More than 60% of the forms delivered in those states have been returned. The lowest return rates are down near 40% in Puerto Rico, Alaska and Washington, D.C. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

Flood damage assessment’s underway in New England, especially in Rhode Island where the governor said it experienced the worst flooding in some 200 years. Some financially strapped 12 businesses may be forced to close for good after enduring extensive damage from recent storms.

We are seeing another drop in the number of Americans who file their first unemployment claims. A Labor 13 Department report shows applications for jobless insurance dropped last week by 6,000 to a seasonally 14 adjusted 439,000. By the way, we’re expecting the monthly jobs report to be out tomorrow.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up more than 70 points at 10,927.

This is NPR News.

In an unannounced trip, Russia’s president has gone to Dagestan today, a day after 12 people were killed in twin bombings in the southern Russian republic. The trip also came three days after suicide bombers 15 struck the Moscow subway system and killed 39 people. As Peter Van Dyk reports from Moscow, the Russian leader is calling for harsher methods to fight terrorism.

President Dmitry Medvedev flew into Dagestan’s capital for an emergency meeting with security officials and regional leaders. He outlined his strategy to more effectively fight terrorism in Russia’s North Caucasus, including by strengthening security agencies and the courts, helping 16 people who want to leave militant 17 groups, and developing the region’s economy. Medvedev has been trying to improve the security situation in the North Caucasus with social and economic initiatives, but too little effect. He was accompanied by the head of Russia’s Security Service who said several suspects had been arrested over the attacks in Moscow and Dagestan, and that the organizers had been identified. A militant leader in Chechnya has claimed responsibility for the Moscow subway bombings. For NPR News, I’m Peter Van Dyk in Moscow.

In China, state media reporting a gas explosion killed at least 12 people in central China today. Authorities say 32 other people are believed missing. This as rescuers search for victims at another mining site in northern China. On Sunday, more than 150 people were trapped underground when the shaft 18 they were working in flooded.

In the US, a latest snapshot of new projects: Builders scale back faster than expected in February. Construction spending fell 1.3% to their lowest point in eight years.

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.