NPR 2011-12-14

 No changes to report following the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting of the year. Steve Beckner of Market News International has more.

 
The Fed is not injecting more stimulus 1 at this time, nor is changing its communication about where interest rates are headed. The Fed statement implies no compelling need to ease credit further just yet, noting the economy is expanding moderately, and there was some improvement in labor 2 market. But the Fed is keeping a loose money stance, leaving the key federal funds rate near zero, where it’s been for three years, and continuing efforts to push down longer-term rates. And it’s leaning toward future credit easing, siding significant downside risks from global financial strains. It said it is prepared with employers’ tools to promote stronger growth. For NPR News, I’m Steve Beckner in Washington.
 
Jerry Sandusky did not face his accusers today. The former Penn state assistant football coach charged with child sex abuse instead waived 3 his right to a preliminary hearing sending the case directly to trial. Ten alleged 4 victims were expected to testify today. Sandusky’s attorney Joseph Amendola says there will be no guilty plea of any kind because he says the truth is on their side.
 
“There have been no plea negotiations 5. There will be no plea negotiations. This is a fight to the death. This is the fight of Jerry Sandusky’s life. This goes beyond the Penn State-Miami game in '86. This is the game of his life.”
 
Sandusky will remain under house arrest until his court day.
 
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a nationwide ban on drivers using cell phones and other personal electronic devices. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman says no call, no text, no update is worth a life. NPR’s Craig Windham reports the recommendation goes well beyond the board’s previous stance of urging states to take action on their own.
 
The recommendation follows the board’s investigation 6 of a massive highway pileup in Missouri last year involving two school buses. Two people were killed, and more than three dozen others were injured. One of the drivers involved had been texting right up to the moment of impact. The NTSB is calling on all states to bar all non-emergency use of personal electronic devices by drivers. A recent government study found that at any given moment last year about one in 100 drivers was texting, emailing or surfing the web well behind the wheel. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.
 
Parents probably won't like hearing that a recent check of Head Start centers in seven states found 90% of them had toxic 7 chemicals within reach of the children, 70% had broken or unlocked gates leading to streets and parking lots. The inspector 8 general’s report also found many of the instructors 9 were teaching without a criminal background check.
 
On Wall Street with an hour left to the trading day, the market is mixed. The Dow is up 10; the NADAQ is down 14; the S&P down three. 
 
This is NPR News.
 
Defense 10 Secretary Leon Panetta is in Kabul, an unannounced visit to Afghanistan at a time of increasing violence and a decreasing US presence. He’ll be meeting with commanders to assess how the drawdown of US troop is affecting Afghanistan security. He’s also expected to discuss the eroding 11 relationship with Pakistan. That’s resulted in the closing of two border crossings used to move supplies to our troops in Afghanistan.
 
In recent years, according to a US-based human rights group, China has reduced executions by half. NPR’s Frank Langfitt reports that means China executes some 4,000 people a year, still far more than the rest of the world combined.
 
The details of how China implements 12 its death penalty are largely shrouded 13 in secrecy 14, but it’s rare for among the issue in China earlier this month. A Chinese professor said executions had dropped by 50% since 2007. In addition, it was revealed that China’s Supreme 15 People’s Court overturns about 10% of the death sentences it reviews each year. John Kamm, head of Dui Hua, a San Francisco-based human rights group, called the decline in executions “dramatic progress.” But he added the pace of change is still too slow, and that China should be more open in how it uses capital punishment. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Shanghai.
 
Scientists say they have narrowed down their search for the Higgs boson particle believed to be a basic building block of the universe. Based on new data they say, the particle popularly referred to as the God particle. It’s more likely to be found in a lower mass or energy ranges of the massive atom smasher that’s being used to track it down. Researchers hope that the particle does exist. It will help them explain many of the mysteries of the universe.
 
I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News.