NPR 2011-06-27

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone.

The Souris River is cresting 1 in Minot, North Dakota even as thousands struggle with the impact of the surging river water. In Sawyer, North Dakota, restaurant owner Connie Arnhold says that she's doing everything she can to protect her business.

"I have two daughters that live in Minot with my grandchildren and their husbands. Both of their houses are gone. It is up to their roof, and other thousands of others' homes as well. So it is very very scary."

Restaurant owner Connie Arnhold.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ken 3 Simosko says that the weather will probably cooperate as the region hopes for a retreat of the river.

"There will be improving weather and improving stages, but we're still above the record stage and above major stage, and that's going to continue for the forseeable future, probably for a couple weeks."

The river has damaged thousands of homes.

Vice 2 President Biden told Ohio Democrats 4 this weekend that the Obama administration will not agree to spending cuts that would make middle-class America "carry the whole burden of deficit 5 reduction."

"They're just straight up telling the American people. They're not pretending to cut taxes of the middle-class. They're not pretending to preserve Medicare."

On Fox News Sunday, No.2 Senate Republican Jon Kyl said that in budget talks the GOP will not give in to higher taxes.

"It you want to kill the economy, raise taxes. Are we going to vote to absolutely put another anchor around the neck of the economy, which is struggling to try to recover here. Absolutely not."

President Obama is taking over Washington's stalled budget talks with a White House meeting with Senate leaders tomorrow.

Minnesota's Democratic governor and Republican legislative 6 leaders are holding another day of talks this afternoon in an attempt to resolve a budget stalemate. Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepic has more.

Governor Mark Dayton and Republicans who control the legislature have been at odds 7 for months over how to close an estimated five-billion-dollar gap in Minnesota's two-year budget. The governor wants to raise income taxes on top earners. Republicans say they can erase 8 the deficit just by cutting spending. If there's no deal by Friday, nearly all state services would cease, state parks would close, so would many daycare centers that get public money and 36000 state workers would be laid off. State government shut down once before in 2005, and at that time Minnesota prisons, police and other services deemed essential to public safety continued operating. That scenario 9 is likely if there's another shutdown. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepic in St. Paul.

The latest victim of insurgent 10 violence in Afghanistan is an eight-year-old girl. Security officials there say insurgents 11 gave the child a bomb concealed 12 in a bag and told her to take it to police forces. Authorities say the insurgents detonated the bomb as the girl approached police. She was killed.

This is NPR.

The Syrian army is in control in Jisr al-Shughour after violent clashes with anti-government protesters. The Syrian government and the opposition 13 are trading charges about brutality 14. NPR's Deborah Amos has more.

The Syrian government invited a small group of journalists in. They have a story that they want to tell, which is they say that there was a group of armed men who opened fire, who were trying to take over this town. That's why they blocked us to get to Jisr al-Shughour, and they're bringing us to buildings that had been burned. It's still conflicted to tell. The military spokesman today told us that there were no peaceful protesters, while the mayor here told us that there was, but they were infiltrated 15 by armed gunmen. The Syrian government has been trying to tell the story for a while. We are the third who have come up in Jisr al-Shughour to look at the buildings, to talk to people here and, as Syrians said, to tell their side of the story.

NPR's Deborah Amos in Syria.

In New York, a huge turnout for the Gay Pride parade. NPR's Margot Adler says it's become a celebration of the state's new same-sex marriage law.

Before the parade started, Governor Cuomo talked a lot about sort of the same thing he said when the bill first passed basically that this was part of a long progressive tradition in New York. That had to do with, you know, feminism and had to do with the beginning of the union movement, and this was all of a part.

NPR's Margot Adler.

I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.