NPR 2008-07-30

Southern Californians have been dealing 1 with more than two dozen aftershocks following a major earthquake that struck today. The quake caused buildings to sway in downtown Los Angeles and triggered some precautionary evacuations. Los Angeles resident Athena Evans was on the phone when the quake hit. “I told my daughter 'Alright, I'm on the fifth foor. I can see things rolling. I need to go.' And I immediately grabbed all my computers and ran down the stairwell. You know, it's pretty bad. It lasted for a long time. I was really amazed at the length. But it wasn't rolling, it was a shaker.”

Geologists 3 say the earthquake is among the larger ones to hit an urban area in the US in recent years. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports.

The 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck just before noon today local time near the town of Chino Hills, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Quakes this size are considered moderate and occur about once a year in California. But they are big enough to cause considerable damage to buildings and highway structures. Geologists have tracked the source of this quake to a region  between two well-known faults, the Whittier and the Chino faults. They say there was no evidence of unusual seismic 4 activity before the quake. Two smaller quakes hit the region about ten minutes after the first one along with numerous aftershocks. The California Northridge earthquake of 1994, which killed 72 people, was a 6.7 magnitude, over 30 times as strong as this quake. Chirstopher Joyce, NPR News.

Alaska Senator Ted 2 Stevens has been indicted 5 on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped redo his home. A federal indictment 6 alleges 7 Stevens failed to report a quarter of a million dollars worth of gifts from a major oil services company and its CEO. Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican and the first sitting senator to face a federal indictment since 1993. He’s up for re-election in November.

The mood of American consumers improved slightly in July. That's according to the Consumer Confidence Index released by the Conference Board today. NPR's John Ydstie reports.

The index moved up nearly one point to 51.9, but it remains 8 at its lowest level since the recession of the early 1990s. The Present Situation Index was virtually unchanged. But the Expectations Index, which measures the consumer outlook for the next six months, improved a bit. The Conference Board, a private research group, characterized the index as showing no significant improvement or deterioration 9. Another report today could dampen the mood further. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 cities showed the fall in home prices continues to accelerate as they dropped 15.8% on average from a year ago. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

The consumer confidence reports and falling oil prices helped to boost the Wall Street today. The Dow up 266 points. The NASDAQ closed up 55 . This is NPR.

There has been an explosion in a training camp run by the Islamist Hamas group in Gaza. Hamas says at least four of its members have been injured. It's not clear what caused the blast. The camp is near the southern Gaza town of Kahn Younis.

There have been clashes in downtown Belgrade between police and some of the demonstrators protesting a plan to extradite former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. The clashes broke out when some of the protestors threw flares 10 and stones. Riot police responded with tear gas and baton 11 charges. Karadzic is expected to be transferred to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. He was arrested last week after years on the run.

A federal judge has temporarily upheld a new Florida law allowing residents to keep guns locked in their vehicles while at work. From member station WLRN in Miami, Phil Latzman has more.

US District Judge Robert Hinkle, who has previously 12 criticized the wording of the new law, has nonetheless allowed it to remain on the books, at least for now. He's issued a preliminary injunction, pending 13 a court hearing to discuss the merits of the case. The new so-called "guns at work law” was passed by the state legislature this year and went into effect on July 1st. It's been challenged by the Florida Chamber 14 of Commerce and Florida Retail 15 Federation 16, who believed it compromises the safety of workers. Judge Hinkle, who's yet to issue his final ruling, heard arguments against the law last month, and at the same time, commented that it was so badly written. It was "stupid". For NPR News, I'm Phil Latzman in Miami.

The restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have filed for bankruptcy 17 protection. It's not clear how many of the restaurants owned by their parent company will be closed, but locations owned by franchisees 18 were not part of the filing.