NPR 2008-04-26

After an eight-week trial before a judge in Queens, New York, three detectives accused in the killing 1 of Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets were acquitted 2 of all charges today. Bell had left a strip club after a bachelor party before his wedding when he was shot by police who were investigating vice 3 at the club. NPR’s Margot Adler reports from New York.

 When Justice Arther Cooperman delivered the verdict “acquittal on all counts”, there were gasps 4 in the courtroom. Bell’s mother shed tears. The judge said the police officers’ version of events was more credible 5 than the victim’s version, and that the prosecution 6 had not proved that the shootings were unjustified beyond a reasonable doubt. Bell’s family quickly went to the site of Sean Bell’s grave. Michael Hardy 7, the family attorney, had these words: “It is clear, what the answer is to this family about what the value of the life of an innocent person is in our community. We then have to deal with that and we will.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there are no winners in a trial like this: an innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom 8, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

 A key measure of consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in more than 25 years. University of Michigan says its survey of consumer confidence in April fell by almost seven points. Richard Curtin is director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan. He says the downturn in consumer sentiment appears to be picking up steam. “It was certainly surprising that it dropped so much and the decline has recently accelerated. And this indicates that the downturn will be a little longer than we had anticipated a few months ago, and perhaps a little deeper as well.” The report also found nine of ten respondents believe the US economy is already in a recession.

 Democratic and Republican leaders of the US House joined together today to tell Americans that economic help is on the way in the form of one-time rebates 9 that will begin going out next week. NPR’s Debbie Elliot has more.

 In a rare show of bipartisanship, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Leader John Boehner stood together beside a giant 1800-dollar check made out to American families. “These checks will come not a moment too soon for families struggling with the economic downturn. But they are a good strong step.” Minority Leader Boehner said the influx 10 of cash should get the economy moving. “Whatever the American people do with these checks will benefit the economy, whether they're buying products, whether they're helping 11 to pay their gas bills, or whether they're paying off their credit cards, putting more liquidity 12 back into the market.” Pelosi promised a second economic stimulus 13 package aimed at struggling homeowners and people who’ve lost their jobs. Debbie Elliot, NPR News, the Capitol.

 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43 points to end the week at 12, 891. The S&P 500 gained nine points.

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 Increased tensions in the Middle East are being blamed for sending oil prices higher again today. An incident in which the US Navy says a Defense 14 Department contractor's ship fired flares 15 and warning shots to small boats in the Persian Gulf 16 sent prices up more than two dollars a barrel today. Naval 17 spokeswoman says the ship was in international waters when it was approached by the two vessels 19. Both were believed to be Iranian, though the Navy said the origin of the ships was unclear. Iran today denied there had been any confrontation 20 between its forces and US ship in the Gulf.

 Patients unhappy with the results of LASIK('s) eye surgery told federal health officials today they were never informed about the potential bad side-effects. Advisors 21 to the Food and Drug Administration are weighing whether warnings about the surgery’s risks are sufficient. NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports.

 Advisors to the FDA listened for two hours to back-to-back stories from patients who say they’ve been harmed by LASIK eye surgery. Some complained of irritation 22 such as dry eyes and starbursts, a phenomenon one patient described as seeing sparks like those from Fourth of July sparklers. Others say their pain and blurry 23 vision have left them anxious and mentally unstable 24. Eye surgeons, who also spoke 18 at the hearing, reiterated 25 findings from surveys that show most LASIK patients are happy with the results of their surgery---the surgeons say up to 95 percent of them. The FDA will begin a clinical trial next year to get a better handle on the prevalence of complications and bad results. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

 Crude oil futures 26 ended the session higher today. The near-month contract for benchmark crude was up $2.46 a barrel, closing at $118.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.