NPR 2011-05-26

President Obama calls the US-British alliance as vital as ever in asserting its influence on pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world, but in his address to the British Parliament today, the president said freedom cannot be imposed, just supported. "We will proceed with humility 1, and the knowledge that we cannot dictate 2 every outcome abroad. Ultimately, freedom must be won by the people themselves, not imposed from without." Mr. Obama was the first US president to address both houses of the British Parliament in Westminster Hall. Earlier, he and British Prime Minister David Cameron said they would keep up their pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

More reports of suspected tornadoes 3 today in parts of the plains in southern US, less than a day after the region suffered twisters that claimed at least 14 lives. NPR's Cheryle Corley is getting a first-hand look at damage in a trailer park in the small town of Chickasha, about 25 miles from Oklahoma City.

I met some families who had come to really salvage 4 whatever they could. I talked to an eleven-year-old, who was looking for his clothes, his DVDs and also his sister's puppy that they hadn't been able to find. This family had just moved here less than a year ago, and his parents say whatever happened they're grateful their family is safe.

That's NPR Cheryl Corley.

Whistleblowers at US companies could receive big compensation from the Securities and Exchange Commission under a new program approved by the commission today. As NPR's John Ydstie tells us, the rules were opposed by businesses.

The new rules would encourage whistleblowers to report wrongdoing by making them eligible 5 for cash rewards in cases where sanctions on the company exceed a million dollars. Whistleblowers could receive from 10% to 30% of the total amount. SEC Chair Mary Schapiro said the rules mandated 6 by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul 7 legislation are intended to break the silence of those who see [a] wrong. US businesses from Google to JP Morgan Chase opposed the rules, saying they will undermine compliance 8 programs that are already in place. The SEC's two Republican commissioners 9 voted against the rules. The US Chamber 10 of Commerce says the new rules create a bounty 11 program that rewards amateur sleuths in search of a big payday. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

Twenty-five hundred jobs coming to a General Motors plant in the Detroit area, GM says it's hiring more people to help build the new Chevrolet Malibu midsize car and the Impala large sedan. Expanded workforce 12 includes about 1,300 people who were laid off by GM.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 39 points at 12,395, and the NASDAQ was up 15 points at 2,761.

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Oprah Winfrey fans likely remember this big announcement. "After much prayer and months of careful thought, I have decided 13 that next season, season 25, will be the last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show." Well, that moment is here. The show's taped finale is airing today, and the whole thing isn't old to fans, many of whom have been following the show since it started a quarter century ago. This year, she launched the Oprah Winfrey Network. By the way, she also opened Harpo Studios back in 1990.

Fifty years after President John F. Kennedy made his famous call to land a man on the moon, a newly released tape recording 14 shows Kennedy struggling with what he saw as tough sells at the American people. NPR's Tovia Smith reports Kennedy fretted 15 the space program had "lost a lot of its glamour 16."

On the tape, JFK worries aloud about the approaching 1964 election and how it may be "open season" among his costly 17 space program. This looks like a hell of a lot of dough 18, JFK says, and "Eisenhower is going to be kicking us around." JFK strategizes with NASA administer James Webb to cast the lunar landing as more than "just a stunt 19" by focusing on its potential military benefit. "We can give this thing a military slant 20. We can justify 21 the military or national security route much better than we can justify the prestige these days." On the tape, Kennedy also sounds deflated 22 when told there's little chance the landing could happen on his watch even if reelected. This is a tough job, Webb tells him, a tough, tough job. Tovia Smith, NPR News, Boston.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.