NPR 2011-02-03

The Egyptian military is appealing for calm in the streets of Cairo, where pro- and anti-government protesters have been clashing in Tahrir Square. A spokesman said on state television that the military got the message and now it's time for normal life to return to Egypt. But that message [is] apparently 1 difficult to reach protesters in Cairo. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is on the scene.

It seems that this is the last stand if you will, I mean, that's the feeling certainly of people that we've talked to in the square as they read the Twitter that's going on. I should mention that the Internet has been turned back on again. Mr. Mubarak, last night in a speech, expressed that he was not fond of these protesters. He does not see them as people who have legitimate 2 grievances 3. He talked about legitimate protests that have been co-opted by people who are causing chaos 4 and are a threat to the security in the country. And it appears his forces are trying to clear these people from the square. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Obama is calling on all sides to show restraint and for the crackdown on protesters to stop in Egypt.

"It is imperative 5 that the violence that we are seeing stop, and that the transition that was spoken about last night begin immediately."

The revolt in Egypt is taking a heavy toll 7 on Egypt's financial sector 8. Moody's Investors 9 Service says it has downgraded its ratings for five Egyptian banks so far.

In other news, the National Guard has been dispatched to areas in Wisconsin where dozens of motorists are stranded 10 on an interstate. From member station WUWM in Milwaukee, LaToya Dennis reports a close portion of Interstate 94 isn't expected to reopen before late this afternoon.

Interstate 94 between the Wisconsin-Illinois border and Racine County is impassable. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation closed that section of the highway at around 3:00 a.m. Before the closure, snow and wind gusts 11 topping 50 mph. That's whiteout conditions and a number of accidents. Dilla Shegger is with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He says the weather is still presenting problems.

"With still an inch of snow, even as we talked, added up, the winds will continue on through good part of the day. So visibility is still gonna be an issue."

According to the National Weather Service, Racine is one of the hardest-hit cities with nearly two feet of snow. For NPR News, I'm LaToya Dennis in Milwaukee.

An end to the growing winter may come sooner than people think, if you put any stock in Punxsutawney Phil's famous predictions. Today, the groundhog emerged and one of his handlers delivered this message to thousands gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennylvania this morning.

"He surveyed his surroundings carefully and found that there was no shadow around. So an early spring it will be."

Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Club at a ceremony today.

This is NPR.

A powerful cyclone 12 has forced thousands of Australians to evacuate 13 their homes in the country's northeast. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Manila that around 400,000 people live in the storm's path.

Cyclone Yasi made landfall shortly after midnight local time. Yasi has been rated a Category 5 storm comparable in strength to Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans six years ago. Yasi's winds are gusting 14 up to nearly 190 miles an hour. Earlier today, the Pemier of the state of Queensland, Anna Bligh, urged residents to evacuate while they still could.

"Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety. Remember that people are irreplaceable."

The area threatened by the cyclone is the gateway 15 to the Great Barrier Reef, a top tourist destination. Queensland is still cleaning up from devastating 16 floods last month, which killed more than 20 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Manila.

Another mail bomb's been found in Athens, Greece. Police say they detonated the explosive outside the Justice Ministry 17 in Greece. There were no immediate 6 reports of injuries. Athens is the site of a string of letter bombings at embassies in November. A local militant 18 group claimed responsibility for those attacks. However, there's no word yet on who was behind today's attempted bombing.

The number of US Muslims accused in terror plots is down by more than half. A study released today by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security found that 20 Muslim Americans were suspects in 2010. That's compared with 47 the year before.