NPR 2009-07-31

President Obama says he expects government numbers due out tomorrow will show the U.S. economy continue to shrink in the second quarter, but not as much as it did earlier in the year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

President Obama says the consensus 1 of experts is the sharp contraction 2 of the economy has eased somewhat over the last few months. Financial markets have settled down and there are signs of stabilization 3 in the housing market. The president says the U.S. is no longer at the edge of an economic cliff. But he warns job losses are still a huge problem.

"We are not gonna rest until we have seen not just a technical improvement in GDP, but until the American people's job prospects 4, their incomes have rebounded 5. And that's gonna take some time." A new NPR poll shows voters are more concerned about the economy than any other issue. An aide said the President will hold a series of events next month to highlight his economic efforts. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Mr. Obama is due to have a casual White House get-together 6 this hour with black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and white Cambridge, Massachusetts police officer Jim Crowley. The White House is serving beer to all three, in an effort to douse 7 a firestorm over accusations 8 of racial profiling after Crowley arrested Gates at his home on charges of disorderly conduct. President Obama later added fuel to the controversy 9 by saying that the police acted stupidly. He says he wants to lower the temperature on the debate.

The U.S. special envoy 10 to Sudan says some of the sanctions against Khartoum are getting in the way of U.S. aid efforts in Darfur and in the south of the country. NPR's Michele Kelemen has details.

Retired 11 Air Force Major General Scott Gration told lawmakers that there is no evidence to keep Sudan on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. He says that's a political decision. And he said the sanctions that come with the designation are hurting aid efforts. Gration also said that the level of violence in Darfur is far different than it was in 2003 and 2004, when the Bush administration labeled it a genocide.

"The level of violence that we're seeing right now is not a coordinated 12 violence, but it is violence that we must end and in fact there are other areas of Sudan where the violence is considerably 13 greater." His comments are in stark 14 contrast to the U.S. ambassador to the UN who has said there is an ongoing 15 genocide in Darfur. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

The leader of an Islamist sect 16 in Nigeria has been killed by police hours after being taken into custody 17. Muhammad Yusuf, a militant 18 preacher has been blamed for several days of deadly clashes in northern Nigeria that killed at least 150 people.

On Wall Street today, the Dow climbed 83 points. The NASDAQ picked up 16 points and the S&P rose 11.
This is NPR News.

This month has been the deadliest for American forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust 19 the Taliban from power. More than 40 American troops have been killed in July.

The New York Times is reporting that two star sluggers from the Boston Red Sox tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003. According to the report, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were on the list of about 100 players who tested positive. NPR's Tom Goldman has more.

The New York Times says it got the information about Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz from lawyers who knew about the test results but spoke 20 anonymously 21, because the testing information is under seal by a court order. The 2003 tests were initial attempt by baseball to gauge 22 the scope of the steroids problem. The identities of players who tested positive were not supposed to be revealed, but a few high-profile names have leaked out, including Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa. And now, according to the Times, Ramirez and Ortiz; they were key members of the Red Sox Team that won a dramatic world series title in 2004, breaking the team's infamous 23 86-year championship drought and prompting many and elderly Red Sox fan to proclaim, "Now I can die happy." Ortiz has never been linked to banned drugs. Ramirez, now with the LA Dodgers 24, recently ended a 50-game ban for violating baseball's drug policy. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

A bankruptcy 25 judge has approved the sale of auto 26 supplier Delphi to its lenders and former parent General Motors. The federal ruling paves the way for Delphi to emerge from nearly four years' of bankruptcy. The judge overruled objections by retirees who could lose some of their pensions.