NPR 2012-01-12

 The US needs to reward companies for keeping jobs in the United States. That message from President Obama today, he held a meeting this morning at the White House with business executives and cabinet members and the topic was jobs. Mr. Obama says even though the employment rate is dropping, more still needs to be done to help people find work.

 
 
 
“After shedding jobs for more than a decade, American manufacturers have now added jobs for two years in a row. That’s good news. But when a lot of folks are still looking for work, now is the time for us to step on the gas.”
 
 
 
The president highlighted companies that have kept workers in this country instead of outsourcing them abroad. The president now is heading to Chicago for three fundraisers for his re-election campaign.
 
 
 
It's on the South Carolina now for the Republican presidential hopefuls, but for former Senator Rick Santorum the New Hampshire primary was a major disappointment. NPR's Don Gonyea says this time Santorum finished well behind Mitt 1 Romney.
 
 
 
A week ago, Santorum was the big story of the Iowa caucuses 2, losing to Mitt Romney just by eight votes. Last night, he finished some 30 points behind Romney. He came in New Hampshire, hoping to use Iowa to build momentum 3. He drew lots of media and good-sized crowds, but his social conservative use did not fit in with the independents and fiscal 4 conservatives of New Hampshire. Here’s Santorum last night.
 
 
 
“We wanted to respect the process here. We wanted to respect the fact that we were going to campaign in every single state, states that, you know, were good for us and states that may be a little tougher.”
 
 
 
But Santorum's advisors 5 predict a friendlier climate for him in South Carolina which votes in 10 days. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Manchester. 
 
 
 
Federal health officials have delayed a controversial decision about whether to test the anthrax vaccine 6 on children. As NPR's Rob Stein reports, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wants a presidential commission to examine whether such testing would be ethical 7.
 
 
 
Anthrax is a potentially deadly infection that is among the most likely weapons that a bio-terrorist might use. But the anthrax vaccine has been never been tested in children. So officials have proposed sponsoring it in experiment. They want to determine how well the vaccine works in kids and what dose to give them. But the proposal has generated intense debate. Critics say the hypothetical risk of an anthrax attack is outweighed 8 by the possible risks of exposing children to the vaccine. So the HHS secretary has asked the presidential bioethics commission to conduct a thorough review of the ethical considerations of testing the vaccine in children. Rob Stein, NPR News.
 
 
 
Wall Street is mixed at this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 35 points at 12,427. The NASDAQ is the one bright spot, up five points at 2,708. The S&P 500 is also in negative territory, down one point right now at 1,291. Oil prices are also lower, down 59 cents.
 
 
 
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A bomb blast has killed an Iranian nuclear expert. Officials say two people on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the man's car. Mostafa Roshan, was a chemistry expert and a professor at an Iranian university. He was working at a key nuclear facility. His driver was also killed. Nobody has claimed responsibility, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States had no involvement in his death.
 
 
 
Thousands of mourners are gathering 9 at an indoor arena 10 in Utah for the funeral of a police officer killed during a gun battle last week. Five of their officers were injured, as NPR's Howard Berkes reports.
 
 
 
Jared Francom's death in a drug raid gone right has shaken the city of Ogden, Utah. Francom leaves behind a wife and two young children and his funeral in an indoor arena that seats more than 11,000, also includes a 90-minute procession to the Ogden City Cemetery 11. Police officers from across the country were attending. The five narcotics 12 agents who were also shot are recovering. Suspect, the military veteran Matthew Stewart, remains 13 hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Prosecutors 14 have revealed few details but say they expect to charge Stewart with aggravated 15 murder and seek the death penalty. Howard Berkes, NRP News, Salt Lake City. 
 
 
 
A security firm hacked 16 by the group anonymous 17 over Christmas is now back online as of today. Hackers 18 stole thousands of Strafor clients' credit card numbers and other personnel information, posting some of them online. Strafor provides political, economic and military analysis to help clients to reduce risk. Officials say they didn’t encrypt that info, but now will by moving it to a third party system
 
 
 
Another check on Wall Street at this hour, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 40 points.