NPR 2009-02-26

Details of the Obama administration's budget blueprint 1 scheduled to be released tomorrow are beginning to trickle 2 out. Among other things, the plan is expected to set a goal of cutting the blooming budget deficit 3 in half by the end of the president's first term. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says unlike past spending plans, it will also try to clearly outline the price tag of the US war in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I think you'll see in the president's budget that he considers honest and transparent 4, while it may not be a perfect accounting 5 of what one might ultimately find, I think you'll find an effort, a good effort, to denote in that budget that there will be costs." Budget package is also expected to include a tax hike for the wealthiest Americans, families earning more than $250, 000 a year, in part by letting some of the tax cuts put in place under the Bush administration expire.

The Obama administration confirmed today that it's ready to begin a so-called "stress test" to gauge 6 the health of the nation's banks and whether they have sufficient capital to withstand additional shocks to the economy. While speaking on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke seemed to throw cold water on the idea of nationalizing banks. When asked about that, Bernanke said nationalization generally involves seizing banks and zeroing out shareholders 7, and he said we don't plan on anything like that.

The Justice Department says it has dealt a crushing blow to one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

Attorney General Eric Holder 8 says more than 750 people have been rounded up in the US and Mexico in a crackdown on the Sinaloa drug cartel. He said authorities confiscated 9 an enormous amount of weapons and drugs including 12,000 kilos of cocaine 10. "Mexican government has been courageous 11 during the last two years to directly confront the drug trafficking cartels and I stand before you today to say that we're ready and willing to continue the fight." Holder called the battle against drug cartels a US national security concern. The Sinaloa cartel, he added, had infiltrated 12 many communities across the US. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

The former head of Qwest Communications Joe Nacchio is again facing prison time after an appeals court upheld his insider trading conviction. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

The full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has reaffirmed a 2007 jury conviction that found Nacchio guilty of 19 counts of insider trading. Prosecutors 13 said he sold 52 million dollars of Qwest stock all the while knowing the company was in big trouble. Qwest has since recovered, though its share price has remained in the low single digits 14. Nacchio is expected to appeal to the Supreme 15 Court. He faces six years in prison and more than 70 million dollars in fines and forfeited 16 gains. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 80 points today. The NASDAQ was down 16 points.

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At least nine people were killed today when a Turkish Airlines jet crashed into a muddy field while landing at Amsterdam's main airport. Officials say the Boeing 737-800 was en route from Istanbul and it broke into three pieces after hitting the ground just short of the runway. Among those killed in the crash were the plane's two pilots and an apprentice 17 pilot. Investigators 18 have found the plane's data recorders and begin trying to figure out what went wrong. At least 50 others were injured in the crash. The plane which was reportedly (be) carrying a total of 135 people was relatively 19 new.

An international tribunal has convicted three former rebel commanders in Sierra Leone of multiple war crimes for their role in the 11-year-old civil conflict in the West African nation. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

The verdict was the third collective judgment 20 handed down by the UN-sponsored Special Court for Sierra Leone, which was set up to try those accused of the most serious crimes against humanity in a war that's killed 50, 000 people. The court heard how the rebel leaders committed atrocities 21, including the killing 22, rape 23, and mutilation of civilians 24. They were also found guilty of forced marriage, namely making sex slaves of young girls. The judges concluded that the rebel chiefs significantly contributed to a joint 25 criminal enterprise with former Liberian President Charles Taylor. He stands accused of using the illicit 26 trade of Sierra Leone's so-called "blood diamonds" to fuel the war effort on both sides of the border. Taylor is also on trial, indicted 27 for masterminding the conflict in Sierra Leone. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Harare.