NPR 2012-04-24

 A bleak 1 forecast for Social Security, the government says today the trust funds that support the program will run dry in 2033. And Medicare's hospital insurance fund is forecast to run out of money even sooner in 2024.

 
 
President Obama will do tomorrow what everyone thought he'd already done—knock up the Democratic nomination 3. NPR's Peter Overby says five states hold primaries and that will give him a majority of the convention delegates.
 
 
It's not that Mr. Obama was unopposed for the nomination, just unopposed by any viable 4 candidates. Federal records list 38 other declared Democratic candidates, but only one left unmarked. Anti-abortion activist 5 Randall Terry polled 18% in Oklahoma's primary. Even then, the state party said he wasn't a bona fide Democrat 2, so he didn't win any delegates. Four years ago, Mr. Obama didn't nail down the nomination till the last day of the primaries. The candidate he beat then is now his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.
 
 
If Mitt 6 Romney knows exactly who he wants on his Republican presidential ticket, he's not saying "I don't think I have any comments on qualifications for individuals to serve in various positions in government at this stage. That's something that we're going to be considering down the road as we consider various potential vice 7 presidential nominees 9." Well, some might say one hint of a running mate is Marco Rubio. The freshman 10 Florida senator campaigned today with the presumptive GOP nominee 8 in Aston, Pennsylvania.
 
 
Jennifer Hudson has given emotional testimony 11 in the trial of her estranged 12 brother-in-law, William Balfour. He's accused of killing 13 the Oscar winner's mother, brother and nephew four years ago. Hudson was the first witness to take the stand. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports a judge earlier instructed jurors to decide the case solely 14 on testimony and not sympathy for Hudson.
 
 
Prosecutors 15 say it was a gift of balloons that sent Jennifer Hudson's then brother-in-law into such a jealous rage that he shot her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew to death. William Balfour was estranged from his then wife, Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson's sister, and court records indicate Balfour had issued several threats against his wife and her family when he learned his wife was dating another man. The couple's divorce was finalized 16 last year. Balfour claims he wasn't anywhere near the Hudson family home when the killings 17 occurred in October of 2008. Jennifer Hudson has vowed 18 to attend every day of the trial which is expected to last about a month. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.
 
 
The Sanford, Florida police chief strongly criticized for his department's handling of the Trayvon Martin case has formally resigned. Bill Lee announced his departure just hours after the teen's shooter, George Zimmerman, was released on 150,000 dollars bail 19.
 
 
At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 119 points.
 
 
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A forensic 20 team looking for clues in a more than three-decade-old missing child's case are analyzing 21 what they've gathered in the excavation 22 site, a Manhattan building. Today they finished digging up the basement where they were searching for any signs of human remains 23 that could belong to Etan Patz. The six-year-old vanished in May 1969 on his way to school. His disappearance 24 captured national attention and changed parents' attitudes about letting their children out alone.
  
A spring snowstorm is moving into Buffalo 25, New York. From member station WBFO, Eileen Buckley reports much of the region is under a winter storm warning through early tomorrow.
 
 
Forecasters are predicting an inch of snow per hour. Less than a foot of snow could accumulate in the city of Buffalo. But well south of the city, up to 16 inches is expected. The biggest concern with the springtime storm is heavy wet snows. With some trees already in bloom, heavy snows could snap tree limbs and power lines, causing widespread power outages. The National Weather Service in Buffalo says it already received a few reports from rural areas of some downed trees and power lines. Buffalo like much of the nation experienced a mild winter with little snowfall. But if the storm packs a punch, it could make the record books for high snowfall amounts for the month of April. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Buckley in Buffalo.
 
 
Investors 26 renewed fears over Europe's financial situations, certainly weighing on US stocks. Today Dow's down 121 points, nearly 1%, at 12,908; NASDAQ down 1%; S&P 500 also down nearly 1%.
 
 
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