NPR 2011-06-12

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says al-Qaeda in Africa has been dealt a serious blow with the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the man accused of being the mastermind of the deadly 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 people. Edith Bartley, whose father and brother were killed in Kenya, welcomes the news.

"Very pleased. We're coming up on the 13th anniversary of the embassy bombing, and this individual was part of the original indictment 1 in the first al-Qaeda trial in 2001, and so it's long overdue 2."

Fazul was killed this week by Somali security forces in Mogadishu.

Syrian refugees continue to stream into Turkey amid the second day of a Syrian army assault. It's under way in the same northern province where more than 100 security personnel were killed this week. NPR's Deborah Amos is monitoring events in Syria from Beirut.

Army units have burned farm fields, shelled neighborhoods and shot protesters in towns near the Turkish border in what the Syrian government calls an operation to restore order. Activists 3 who reached the area by phone say the targets are defectors as well as protesters. Some security forces who refused orders to shoot civilians 4 were trapped or stayed behind in the town of Jisr al-Shughour as most of the residents fled. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Beirut.

Embattled Congressman 5 Anthony Weiner is asking for a leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek professional treatment, though he doesn't specify 6 what kind. The request comes as a growing number of Democrats 7 today publicly call for Weiner to step down after he admitted to having inappropriate online contact with women for several years. NPR's Andrea Seabrook tells us House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Steve Israel are among the influential 8 lawmakers putting pressure on Weiner.

To me, that is a coordinated 9 effort. In fact, I have been told by senior Democratic aides, well-placed aides that it was a coordinated effort. These leaders have been talking to Anthony Weiner all week, and his decision to seek treatment, the pressure of the Sunday morning talk shows, which, you know, generate a lot of news usually and can put a lot of political pressure on members. All of these things plus the Congress coming back on Monday. You know, these leaders felt like it was time to go out, put their foot down and say we will not accept this in the Congress.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Fire crews say they are awed 10 by the vast Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona. Firefighter Pierre Maletare.

"Just a lot of fire everywhere, as just that we will care for out there as this scary."

A break in the weather helped crews get control of some of the fire, but high winds are expected to return today and tomorrow.

This is NPR News.

More than 30 baggage screeners at Honolulu International Airport are about to be fired for security lapses 11. The Transportation Security Administration says investigations 12 late last year found checked bags were allowed onto flights without being properly screened for explosives. The workers' union says pressure to ensure morning international flights depart on time led to the screeners' actions.

Canada could be facing a major disruption in air travel. From Toronto, Dan Karpenchuk reports the union for the country's biggest airline has served a 72-hour strike notice.

Here Canada says it plans to minimize the inconvenience to passengers and intends to continue to operate a regular schedule. The Canadian Auto 13 Workers union, which represents the airline's 3,800 customer service and sale staff, gave the strike notice on Friday. That means the workers could walk out just after midnight on Tuesday if the two sides can't reach a deal. They've been talking for more than two months, but the main sticking point is a change to the employees' pension benefits. The union claims that proposed changes would be massive and gut 14 the existing pension plan. The union says it's willing to talk through the weekend. But it's pushing for major concessions 15. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Anti-nuclear demonstrators are marking today's three-month anniversary of Japan's earthquake and tsunami 16. Masses gathered in Tokyo, carrying banners calling on the government to shutter 17 the country's nuclear plants. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is visiting the tsunami-damaged region. He's been criticized for the way he handled the disasters and recovery efforts. The magnitude 9 quake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 23,000 people and triggered one of the world's worst nuclear accidents.

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.