NPR 2011-07-31

From NPR news in Washington, I'm Nora Raum.

It's a long hot weekend in Washington where both the House and the Senate are in session, and the debt ceiling deadline looms 1. NPR's Louise Schiavone has the lastest.

Repubilcans donimated House has slapped down the measure from Senate mojority leader Harry 2 Reid. On this vote, the yeas are 143, the nays 3 are 246, two thirds not voting in the affirmative, the rules are now suspended and the bill is not passed.

Stand in the way of the Senate vote of the Senate bill before midnight, even as 43 Republican Senators have told Reid they will vote no, said Reid, It really as worth possible time be, conducting the f** of us. that we'd plan to raise the debt ceiling by 2.4 trillion dollars, Republicans complain its too large an incease would defense 4 bearing too great a portion of the reductions. Louise Schiviavone, NPR news, Washington.

So what's next? President Obama has called the top two Congressional Democrats 5 to the White House for an up-date. Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi are meeting the President at this hour. On the Republican side, House speaker John Boehner is holding a news conference right now. We just got underway a few minutes ago. The administration and many economists 6 warn that if the limit isn't raised by Tuesday, the Government won't have money to pay its bills.

NATO said it has disabled Lybian television because it was a tool of Moammar Gadhafi in harming civilians 8. Terry Shalts reprorts the alliance's airforce might not have accually blocked Lybian leader's airwaves.

NATO spokesman Conel says the alliance striked three ground-based satellites in Tripoli to, in his words, silence Gadhafi's terror broadcasts.

TV was been used as an intergoal component 9 of the regime apparatus 10 designed to systematically 11 oppress and threaten civillians and to incite 12 attacks against them. In light of our mandate 13 to protect civillian lives, we had to act.

NATO said it was careful to protect both civillians and the long term capability 14 of Lybian TV to operate after the conflict ends. However, it may also have preserved short term capability as reports from Tripili say state TV is still on the air. NATO has no immidiate explanation for the discrepancy 15. For NPR news, I'm Terry Shalts.

Officals in Afganistan say 10 people were killed in bomb in the estern part of the country yesterday. Most of the dead were Afgan soldiers. Two NATO service members were also dead. A local offical identified the two as Americans. Also yesterday ** hit a bomb in southern Afganistan, 18 Afgan civilians were killed. US officals say the insurgents 16 are getting more sophisitcated and lethal 17 devices from Iran.

Federal regulators took over 3 more banks last night, one each in Indiana, Virginia, and South Carolina. This raises to 61 of the number of bank failures this year. This is NPR news.

A plane originated in New York crashed in Dianna today. Officials say there were no death but there were several injuries. There were 163 people aboard when the Carribian Airline's jet appparently overshot the ranway while trying to land in rainy weather and broken too. The US National Trasportation Safety Board is being asked for help in the investigation 18.

Turkey is facing turmoil 19 within its millitay this weekend. Istanbul is scrambling 20 to appoint new chief of staff after the resignation of the county's top 4 military officers. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Istanbul the crisis marks a test of strength between the millitary and the government.

Just days ahead of an importan annual millitary meeting, the commanders of Turkey's air, land, and sea forces resigned along with the Chief of the general staff. The military has been angered by the arrest of large numbers of senior officiers in cases of alleging 21 a millitary plug several years ago to destablize Turkey and topple the moderately Islamic ruling AK party. Analysts 22 say the unprecedented 23 mass resignation signial a new level of tension between the civilian 7 government and the millitray leadership that reflects unease among cecular Turks at the AK party's growing power. But resignations were unlikely to affect ongoing 24 operations including Turkey's contributions to NATO, and its crackdown on Kurdish separasist militants 25 in southern Turkey. Peter Kenyon, NPR news, Istanbul.

Authorities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia annouce today that Ramadan will begin Monday. During the holy month Muslims are expected to abstain 26 from food, drink, smoking and sex from Dawn to Dusk. It's also a tridition to pardon prisoners. A lawyer for two American hikers jailed in Iran for two years is hoping his clients will be among them.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR news in Washington.