NPR 2009-01-24

President Obama met this morning with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss the economic stimulus 1 package. Afterward 2, leaders of both parties said they expected to have a proposal ready for the president by mid-February. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

President Obama said he knows the stimulus package is a heavy lift for lawmakers, weighing in at more than 800 billion dollars and he thanked them for moving quickly. Mr. Obama acknowledged disagreement about some details of the plan, but added there is no disagreement that fast action on the economy is needed.

"What I think unifies 3 this group is recognition that we are experiencing an unprecedented 4, perhaps, economic crisis that has to be dealt with, and dealt with rapidly."

Republican lawmakers say they are concerned about some of the government's spending in the stimulus proposal and they wanna see more tax cuts. But those disagreements are not likely to keep the bill from reaching Mr. Obama's desk before the President's Day weekend. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Abortion 5 rights opponents are criticizing a decision by President Barack Obama to sign an executive order that would end a ban on federal funds for groups that perform abortion services or provide abortion information abroad. Officials say the signing of the executive order this afternoon comes one day after the 36th anniversary of Roe 6 Versus 7 Wade 8, the 1973 Supreme 9 Court ruling legalizing abortion. The policy has been reinstated and reversed repeatedly by presidents since Ronald Reagan. President Bill Clinton similarly ended the ban in 1993 which was subsequently reinstated by George Bush in 2001.

Federal judges in Washington are asking whether the Obama administration wants to redefine enemy combatants for trials that are in progress. The administration's answer could provide an early sign of what President Obama would do with terrorist detainees. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

President Obama has ordered that the Guantanamo Bay prison camp be closed within a year, but he'll have to start making tough decisions about detainees much sooner than that. There are more than 200 detainee court cases now in progress here in Washington. These are habeas corpus challenges from people who say they are being wrongly held, and those cases won't wait for Guantanamo to close. Many detainees' lawyers argue that their clients are not enemy combatants. The Bush administration defined enemy combatants very broadly. President Obama is likely to take a narrower view. Now two separate judges have asked the Obama administration to explain how it will define enemy combatants. Judge Gladys Kessler gave the administration until next Thursday; Judge John Bates set a deadline of February 9th. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Giant General Electric announced fourth-quarter earnings 10 fell by 46 percent. GE's considered by many to be a bellwether 11 for the broad economy because of its diversification 12. GE makes everything from locomotives to jet engines to refrigerators.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points to end the week at 8, 077. The NASDAQ gained 11 points today. The S&P 500 was up 4 points.

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Officials in Pakistan say at least 14 people were killed today by two suspected US missile strikes. They say the strikes occurred near the Afghan border and are the first such attacks since President Barack Obama was inaugurated. The officials say, in the first attack, missiles fired from an unmanned drone hit a village near where al-Qaida militants 13 hide out. The strike reportedly destroyed two buildings and killed at least nine people. Hours later a second missile reportedly hit a home in the same area, killing 14 at least five more people. In 2008 the US carried out around 30 attacks on suspected al-Qaida militants using missiles fired from pilotless drones.

The Food and Drug Administration has given its approval to begin studies of a new therapy based on human embryonic 15 stem cells. NPR's Joe Palca has more.

Since they were first successfully grown in the laboratory in 1998, researchers have been excited by the potential of human embryonic stem cells to treat diseases. The reason is these cells can turn into any cell type of the body and they can grow indefinitely in the laboratory. That means in theory it could be an inexhaustible supply of replacements 16 for cells damaged or destroyed by disease. The biotech company Geron was one of the first to embrace research on human embryonic stem cells, now they are the first to receive approval to test spinal 17 cord cells derived 18 from embryonic stem cells in patients with spinal cord injuries. The initial studies will be primarily intended to address safety, but researchers will be watching closely for any indication that the cells are restoring some movement in paralyzed patients. Joe Palca, NPR News, Washington.

With weak demand for air travel due to the current recession, Dallas-based Southwest announced today it will begin selling seats to almost everywhere it flies starting at $49 to $99 each way. The fares were matched by a number of other airlines