NPR 2011-09-14

 From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst.

 
The White House says President Obama will continue to press his case for a new jobs bill every day and challenge congressional Republicans if they fail to act on the measure. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Mr. Obama used a high school in Columbus, Ohio as a backdrop for today's jobs pitch.  
 
The Civil War era campus of Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School has just undergone a multi-million-dollar modernization creating advanced classrooms for students and much-needed jobs for construction workers. President Obama says the jobs bill he submitted to Congress this week would pay for similar improvements at some 35,000 schools nationwide.
 
"There are construction projects like these all across the country just waiting to get started. And there are millions of unemployed construction workers who are looking for a job. So my question to Congress is: What on earth are we waiting for?"
 
Congressional Republicans are skeptical that new government spending will boost the economy, even more so after Mr. Obama proposed paying for the bill by reducing tax breaks for the wealthy. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Columbus, Ohio.
 
Seven Afghans were killed, 15 wounded when gunmen attacked the US embassy in Kabul today with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. NATO headquarters was also targeted, but there is no word of injuries there or at the US embassy. These attacks coincided with suicide bombings elsewhere in the capital. Taliban has claimed responsibility.
 
Political contributions from the drugmaker Merck to Texas Governor Rick Perry are substantially higher than Perry says. NPR's Peter Overby reports Perry lowballed the number in the Tea Party presidential debate Monday night.
 
In the debate, Representative Michele Bachmann accused Perry of mandating a statewide inoculation program using Merck-made vaccine after Merck gave money for his 2006 campaign. Perry said the contribution was just 5,000 dollars.
 
"And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended."
 
But the numbers tell a different story. The 2006 contribution was for 6,000 dollars. Since 2001, Merck has given Perry a total of 28,500 dollars. And there is more. The watchdog group Texans for Public Justice says that over the past five years, when Perry was raising money for the Republican Governors Association, Merck gave the RGA 377,500 dollars. The total? A shade over 400,000 dollars, about 80 times more than what Perry said. Peter Overby, NPR News , Washington.
 
More than two years after their arrests, freedom could be near for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. The pair had been held in a Tehran prison and convicted of spying after Iranian authorities arrested them along the Iran-Iraq border in 2009. An Iranian court today set bail at 500,000 dollars each.
 
Nice move on Wall Street today. The Dow up 44 points, closing at 11,105; the NASDAQ up 37; S&P 500 up 10.
 
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A US highway safety agency says states should ban texting and cell phone use by truckers and other commercial drivers when they’re behind the wheel. The National Transportation Safety Border passed the recommendation after a hearing in Washington revealing a truck driver making a call with his cell caused a crash that killed 11 people on a Kentucky interstate last year.
 
National Basketball Association players and owners emerged from labor negotiations today, sounding pessimistic about a onetime star for the upcoming NBA season. NPR's Tom Goldman reports the two sides still are far apart on the issue on how to control player salaries.
 
Players and owners met for about five hours. The bulk of that time, owners reportedly huddled by themselves, discussing a proposal by the players that offered a big giveback in salaries in exchange for keeping the current salary structure. That structure has a so-called soft salary cap. It lets teams exceed a ceiling on total salaries, but the owners want a hard cap meaning teams can't go beyond. Owners say that's the only way to control costs that led to a reported 300-million-dollar loss last season. After Tuesday, session union president Derek Fisher of the LA Lakers said he'll tell fellow players we may not start on time.The regular season is scheduled to begin November 1st. Tom Goldman, NPR News.
 
Amtrak is resuming full service between Chicago and California later this week. Now the track damage from flooding and a derailment has been repaired. Amtrak says service will resume this Thursday.
 
Twister and Rubik's Cube are finalists for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Also among the 12 nominees, Transformers, Star Wars action figures, Hot Wheels and the pogo stick. Two will be selected for induction in November.
 
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