NPR 2010-03-11

President Obama welcomed Haitian President Rene Preval at the White House today. Preval is in the US thanking Americans for their help after Haiti’s devastating 1 earthquake in January. Mr. Obama says the quake was one of the most devastating incidents ever to strike the western hemisphere. "To offer just some perspective on the awful scale of Haitian loss, it's as if the United States, in a terrible instant, lost nearly eight million people, or it’s as if , 1/3 of our country, 100 million Americans suddenly had no home, no food or water." Haitian President Preval says the challenges in his country are not over; he is looking ahead to this rainy season. He says homeless people must be relocated quickly.

US Chief Justice John Roberts says that the scene at President Obama’s State of the Union speech this year was so troubling. It raises the question of whether the Supreme 2 Court should attend in the future. NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports.

During this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama criticized the recent high-court decision that by 5-4 votes struck down the century-old ban on corporate 3 and union spending in candidate elections. Six of the nine justices were present, and one of them Justice Samuel Alito mouthed ‘not true’ when the president said the decision will open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations. Last night, Chief Justice Roberts, speaking at the University of Alabama Law School, struck back, questioning whether the justices should attend the State of the Union at all. "To the extent the State of Union has degenerated 4 into a political pep rally. I’m not sure why we are there." Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has won a libel case against Russian broadcaster. The broadcaster had accused him of planning the murder of a former KGB agent in London in 2006. NPR’s Rob Gifford reports from London.

Boris Berezovsky sued Russian broadcaster RTR over a program that alleged 5 he was behind the poisoning death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko was killed with a lethal 6 dose of rare radioactive isotope 7 that was slipped into his tea in a London hotel in November 2006. In the ruling, the British judge said there was no evidence that Berezovsky had any part in the murder of Litvinenko and awarded him 225,000 dollars in damages. Berezovsky, who is in court for the verdict, said in a statement he was pleased the court had, as he put it, "unequivocally demolished 8 RTR's claims". RTR did not take part in the hearings and called the judgment 9 illegal. From his deathbed in London, Litvinenko had in 2006 accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his murder. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

The Senate, this just in, the Senate has voted 62 to 36 to extend certain unemployment benefits.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 11 points and you are listening to NPR News.

A United Nations special investigator 10 says mega-sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and World Football often result in extensive violations 11 of the right to adequate housing. As Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva, the investigator has submitted findings to the UN Human Rights Council.

UN investigator Raquel Rolnik says she has received a great many complaints and allegations of violations of housing rights from residents of city that have hosted mega-sporting events. "Particularly on the practice of forced evictions and displacements 12, on criminalization of homeless persons and criminalization of informal activities." Rolink says shantytowns often are erased 13 without any warning and homes are confiscated 14 without any compensation. She is calling on the IOC and FIFA to minimize the abuse by carefully scrutinizing 15 bids before awarding the games. For NPR News, I’m Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

All schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota, remain on lockdown. Minneapolis police learned of a threat earlier today that someone would open fire at school but a specific building was not named. Access to the schools has been limited. Minneapolis authorities plan to release students at the end of day as usual.

Democratic leaders in Congress say they will limit a practice that helps lawmakers send money to their home districts. The practice is known as earmarking. Congressman 16 David Obey says lawmakers will no longer be able to stick earmarks in annual spending bills but will not eliminate the practice entirely 17.

I’m Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.