NPR 2012-01-15

 Evangelical Christian 1 leaders meeting in Texas are throwing their support behind Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nomination 2. NPR's Joel Rose reports the attendees are hoping to give Santorum's candidacy a boost heading into the South Carolina and Florida primaries.

 
It took three rounds of balloting 3, but more than two thirds of the Evangelical leaders meeting at a ranch 4 outside Houston, Texas finally decided 5 to endorse 6 former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins announced the vote on a conference call with reporters.
 
"After a vigorous and passionate 7 discussion, there emerged a strong consensus 8 around Rick Santorum as the preferred candidate of this group."
 
Perkins says there was also enthusiastic support for Texas Governor Rick Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, but not, he conceded, for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt 9 Romney. After finishing a close second to Romney in Iowa, Santorum faded in New Hampshire. In South Carolina, polls show him trailing Romney and Gingrich by more than ten points. Joel Rose, NPR News.
 
A bomb exploded near the southern Iraqi city of Basra today. Officials say 53 people were killed and at least 130 people were wounded. This is the latest of several attacks against Shiite pilgrims visiting shrines 10 in Iraq. Today is the last day of forty days of Shiite observances, marking the anniversary of the death of a Shiite imam. Sunni insurgents 11 are suspected. Many Sunni Muslims fear being marginalized in the mainly Shiite country, especially now that US troops are withdrawn 12 from Iraq.
 
State television in Iran reported today that Iran has evidence that the CIA was behind the latest murder of one of its nuclear scientists. A bomb was attached to the scientist's car Wednesday, killing 13 him and his driver. The US has denied any role and condemned 14 the slaying 15.
 
Dozens of people are still missing after an Italian luxury liner ran aground off a Tuscan island last night. Officials say at least three people are confirmed dead. More than 4,000 people were rescued and taken to a nearby town on the mainland. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports some passengers described a chaotic 16 scene.
 
Some passengers told Italian media that it was like the Titanic 17. Panic broke out at dinner time, they said, when they heard a loud bang, the boat shivered and power went out. The 290-meter-long Costa Concordia is believed to have hit a reef off the island of Giglio and immediately started taking in water. Passengers and crew were evacuated 18 by lifeboats to the island of Giglio a few hundred yards away. People were also rescued by helicopters. But some passengers, apparently 19 in panic, jumped off the boat into the cold waters. By dawn, photos of the ship showed it listing at more than 80 degrees. It had set sail yesterday evening from the port of Civitavecchia for a Mediterranean 20 cruise. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Florence.
 
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The president of Taiwan won reelection today, barely. Officials say Ma Ying-jeou collected 51% of the vote, while the main opposition 21 leader had 46.3%. Ma had campaigned on his efforts to tie Taiwan's economy closer to China. He's also lowered tensions with Beijing.
 
Egyptian presidential contender Mohammed ElBaradei is withdrawing from the race. Baradei is a Nobel laureate who once headed the UN nuclear watchdog agency. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports he's released a statement saying there is still no real democracy in Egypt.
 
In the statement, ElBaradei writes, "My conscience does not allow me to run for the presidency 22 or any other official position unless there is real democracy." He compares the revolution to a boat, saying that the captains of the vessel 23 are still treading old waters as if the revolution did not take place. "We all feel that the former regime did not fall." he wrote. The statement comes after Egypt's parliamentary elections which the Carter Center called largely free and fair. Liberal groups which ElBaradei has championed fared particularly badly in the recent vote. But there is a growing concern here that the military junta 24 which controls Egypt is unwilling 25 to hand over power to a civilian 26 body. It has also been accused of repressive tactics including the use of torture and killings 27 against activists 28, something which ElBaradei condemned in his statement. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Cairo.
 
A bank in Ohio that took over another bank has found dozens of checks that had been written by famous Americans, including George Washington, Mark Twain and Thomas Edison. A plane dealer 29 in Cleveland reports a check written by Abraham Lincoln was made out to "self" for 800 dollars, and it was dated the day before Lincoln's assassination 30.