NPR 2009-01-27

President Barack Obama took several steps today aimed at boosting auto 1 fuel efficiency and curbing 2 greenhouse gases. Environmentalists say the moves represent a clean break with the Bush Administration. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

President Obama opened the door for California and other states to adopt stricter standards on tailpipe emissions 3, a move that the Bush Administration had blocked in 2007. He also called for a quick implementation 4 of higher fuel economy standard set by Congress that year. Mr. Obama called the moves "the first steps towards a cleaner planet and increased energy independence". "Increasing fuel efficiency in our cars and trucks is one of the most important steps that we can take to break our cycle of dependence 5 on foreign oil. It will also help spark the innovation needed to ensure that our auto industry keeps pace with competitors around the world. " Domestic automakers have resisted California's push for tougher tailpipe emissions but Mr. Obama argues making more fuel-efficient cars is in the companies' long-term economic interest. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The US companies announced another 40, 000 layoffs 7 today, everything from 20, 000 jobs as being eliminated by giant heavy equipment maker 6 Caterpillar 8, to 8, 000 job cuts at Sprint 9 Nextel to another 7, 000 job cuts at Home Depot 10. And analysts 11 say the jobs cutting may not be over. President Barack Obama mentioned the layoffs today, remarks as he called on Congress to move to approve his 825-billion-dollar economic stimulus 12 package. President said they "are not just numbers on a page but men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold".

General Motors announced today it will eliminate 2, 000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio. Detroit Public Radio's Jerome Vaughn reports.

GM says it will cut production down to a single shift at its plants in Delta 13 Township, Michigan and Lordstown, Ohio. The Delta Township plant produces the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn 14 Outlook crossover vehicles; about 1,200 jobs will be lost there. 800 jobs will be eliminated at the Lordstown plant where GM builds the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5. The company says the actions are part of ongoing 15 efforts to keep vehicle production in line with shrinking consumer demand. GM sales fell 31 percent last month compared with December 2007. The job cuts are scheduled to take effect in late March or early April. GM says several other assembly plants will also be idle for short periods of time as part of production cutbacks. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

The Senate has begun debate on the nomination 16 of Timothy Geithner to be the nation's next Treasury 17 Secretary with a vote expected this evening. Geithner is expected to win confirmation 18 handily, notwithstanding some lawmakers' misgivings 19 over his failure to pay taxes he owed earlier in the decade. Senate said today it's expected Geithner has as many as 65 votes in support of his nomination, a simple majority of 51 Senate votes is needed.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 38 points. The NASDAQ was up 12 points.

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Pharmaceutical 20 giant Pfizer announced today that it's buying rival Wyeth Pharmaceuticals 21 in a deal valued at 68 billion dollars. The merger 22 combines Pfizer, the maker of such blockbuster drugs as Lipitor and Viagra, with Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth, the maker of the world's top-selling vaccines 23. The move by Pfizer is part of an effort to diversify 24 ahead of the expiration 25 of patent rights for its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor which currently accounts for about a quarter of the company's revenues. With the move to acquire Wyeth, Pfizer says it will cut 8,000 jobs.

European Union foreign ministers have pushed off a decision on whether EU states will take in Guantanamo detainees. As Teri Schultz reports, they say there are many legal issues to be sorted out before they can even determine whether a joint 26 response to the Obama initiative is possible.

The 27 foreign ministers are unanimously pleased with the early Obama administration decision to close down Guantanamo within a year, but unity 27 stops there as many countries don't want to take in former detainees of asked. Some can't because of legal barriers and others think that EU should leave it to states themselves to decide. External Affairs Commissioner 28 Benita Ferrero-Waldner says well individual states have the right to decide. "We would like to see some sort of EU platform for a common response. This was a first discussion. This is a very sensitive and delicate measure and we will have to come back to this question. " Justice ministers must also be consulted, says current EU President and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who discourages anyone from expecting a quick answer. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

Crude oil futures 29 prices fell today. Light, sweet crude for March delivery was down 74 cents a barrel ending the session at $45.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.