NPR 2009-06-29

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

There has been a coup 1 d'etat in the Central American nation of Honduras. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

By a show of hands, the Honduran Congress elevated the congressional President Roberto Micheletti to the position of head of state. President Manuel Zelaya, speaking at a press conference in Costa Rica where he's been exiled, says he was brutally 2 pulled from his bed by Honduran soldiers. The military put him on a plane and dropped him at the airport in Costa Rica. Soldiers patrolled the streets of Tegucigalpa, the capital and took over most public buildings. There are also reports that other members of Zelaya's government and some foreign diplomats 3 have been detained by the Honduran military. Governments throughout the hemisphere condemned 4 the coup d'etat. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was the most forceful, threatening to send troops into the Central American nation. US State Department officials meanwhile called for President Zelaya to be returned to power immediately. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Argentina held mid-term legislative 5 electionstoday widely viewed as a referendum on the popularity of the country's influential 6 first couple. President Cristina Fernandez succeeded her husband Nestor Kirchner in 2007.

US combat forces are officially supposed to be out of Iraq's urban centers by Tuesday. Ahead of that, Iraqi forces are trying to shore up security to prevent more violence despite that there were more bombings in the capital today, the latest in a string of attacks in recent weeks. But the top US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno says overall security is still improving.

"We have not seen increased violence across the country. We still have low levels of overall violence. However these high profile attacks, all they have done is kill innocent civilians 7 and in fact brought the ire of Iraqi civilians against these terrorist groups.” Odierno speaking on CNN.

The five-day disappearance 8 and extramarital affair of Republican South Caroline Governor Mark Sanford was the subject of the Sunday morning talk shows today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has details.

After Sanford stepped down as the head of the Republican Governors Association, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour took his place. He told CBS's Face the Nation his members need to abide 9 by their promises." Republicans need to do what they say they are gonna do, I mean that's the issue."  That includes curbing 10 government's spending, he said. But he said commenting on private lives is impolite. Lindsay Graham is a Republican Senator in South Carolina and godfather to the youngest of Sanford's four children. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, he said he hoped for a personal and political reconciliation 11 for the governor, a one-time Republican hopeful for a 2012 presidential ticket. "Second chances are not deserved or required, but if they are ever given, they can be a blessing 12. I hope Mark gets one with his family and the voters." YukiNoguchi, NPR News, Washington.

A standoff off Somalia's water is over. Pirates have released a Belgium ship two months after it was captured.

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A top official of the Obama administration is scheduled to preside at a town hall meeting in California's central valley as the state grapples with the shortage of water. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio reports.

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken 13 Salazar will meet with local and state officials, business operators and farmers about the problems they are facing due to a lack of water. A drought coupled with a reduction in allocations from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 14 has resulted in tens of thousands of acres of cropland aligned 15 fallow this year. Fresno County Farm Bureau spokesman Ryan Jacobsen appreciated Secretary Salazar making the cross-country trip.

"We are happy to see the Secretary coming here to hear from the people that are experiencing the current situation and making sure that the administration understands the significance of this problem."

California's agriculture industry is expected to lose more than $600 million this year because there isn't enough water. The state has asked the Obama administration for a disaster declaration. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley in Modesto, California.

Gay rights activists 16 took to the streets today for Gay Pride Parades. There was a big turnout along New York City's Fifth Avenue. Marchers observed the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings when a police raid on the gay-friendly Stonewall Inn prompted riots.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says thatSenate Judiciary Committee needs more time to review documents connected to Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme 17 Court nomination 18. He tells Fox News Sunday that the committee has received some 300 boxes of records in recent days. Hearings on the nomination are set to begin July 13th.

And in soccer, Brazil defeated the US 3:2 today for a second straight Confederations Cup title.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News Washington.