NPR 2011-01-06

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

The 112th Congress is in session with a newly empowered GOP. In the House, where Republicans are now in the majority, Congressman 1 John Boehner of Ohio is the new speaker of the House. He says the top priority for Republicans is to reduce the deficit 2.

"Our spending has caught up with us, and our debt soon will eclipse the entire size of our national economy. Hardwork and tough decisions will be required of the 112th Congress."

Now, new rules for conducting business top the House agenda this afternoon. NPR’s Andrea Seabrook is at the Capitol, where she says voting is expected to get underway soon.

In fact, Lakshmi, they are already voting. The new rules that the House will operate under for the next two year includes a provision that would strip certain delegates, including the delegates from the District of Colombia, Guam, Puerto Rico and so on, from their already limited voting rights on the House floor, and the delegate from Washington DC, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has moved to change those rules or to stop those rules from being enacted 3, and the very first recorded vote of this Congress will be to table that motion, and so they are already voting right now on that; otherwise, the Congress will be debating the rules that would govern debate for the next two years. I’m Andrea Seabrook in the Capitol.

In other news, the Labor 4 Department and coal mine giant Massey Energy have agreed to settle a landmark 5 lawsuit 6 against company mining a mine company in Kentucky considered too dangerous to operate without federal court supervision 7. NPR’s Howard Berkes reports that the agreement still puts the mine under a federal judge’s jurisdiction 8.

And that judge could cite Massey Energy’s mine managers for contempt of court if they fail to abide 9 by a long list of safety conditions in the company’s Freedom Mine No.1 in Pike County, Kentucky. The case uses, for the first time ever, a three-decade old enforcement tool considered the toughest under federal law. Massey is already in the process of closing the mine. The settlement seeks to protect about 16 mine workers during the several months it will take to dismantle 10 and remove equipment. Massey does not admit to operating the mine unsafely, but agrees to the safety procedures and court supervision. The company also avoids a hearing that was expected to include testimony 11 about production pressure while the mine amassed 12 hundreds of safety violations 13. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

There are reports of a high school shooting in Omaha, Nebraska. Police say two adult males were wounded, but no students were hurt. They have not confirmed reports that the shooting suspect is dead.

An unexpected jump in hiring is sending bond prices falling sharply and the US dollar rising. Payroll 14 processor ADP reported private companies hired nearly 300,000 people last month. Economists 15 were expecting an increase of 100,000.

At last check, the Dow was up 35 at 11,726. This is NPR.

Police in Morocco say they have broken up a terror cell led by a member of al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports it’s alleged 16 the affiliate 17 was setting up a base in disputed Western Sahara.

Quoting the Interior Ministry 18, the Moroccan news agency reports the police dismantled 19 a 27-member cell and discovered three weapons caches in Western Sahara, a territory of which Morocco claims sovereignty. The report says the group, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, was planning suicide bomb attacks against the police in Morocco and bank robberies to finance the group’s activities. A Moroccan government statement says members of the cell were to be dispatched to terrorist training camps in Mali and Algeria. Morocco says the cell is run by a Moroccan based at a camp in northern Mali run by al-Qaeda in North Africa. This al-Qaeda franchise 20 launched in Algeria in 2006. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Dakar.

Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an outspoken 21 critic of US occupation in Iraq, is back in his own country after living the last three years in Iran. He’s reported be staying in Najaf. An official with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office says Sadr arrived today but wanted to be low-key possibly because of security concerns. Sadr left Iraq in 2007. It is uncertain if he is back to stay.

On this first day of a new Congress, some Senate Democrats 22 planned to propose measures that would make it more difficult for the Republican minority to hold up legislation through filibuster 23. Democrats still control the Senate, but their majority shrank when Republicans picked up more seats in the fall. The GOP is the majority party in the House.