NPR 2009-11-26

President Obama plans to unveil his strategy for Afghanistan next week. He'll give an evening address from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The White House says he will first brief members of Congress. The president's senior military commander in Afghanistan is requesting tens of thousands of troops to be sent there, and the president is widely expected to agree to some of the request. Mr. Obama says he is confident once Americans hear his rationale for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, they will support the mission.

There's more evidence today the U.S. economy continues to improve slowly. The number of new jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level in 14 months. NPR's James Rowley reports.

“The Labor 1 Department…

to international climate negotiations 2 there. Mr. Obama's participation 3 and the U.S.' pledge reflect progress in talks with China and India. The president will visit Copenhagen on December 9th. That's one day before he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in nearby Oslo. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.”

President Obama will address the nation next Tuesday night concerning his plans for Afghanistan. The president will travel to West Point to make the announcement after he briefs members of Congress about his decision earlier in the day. In addition to the anticipated announcement about whether he will send more troops to Afghanistan and if so, how many, Mr. Obama will also reportedly discuss eventual 4 plans for withdrawal 5 from the country. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today as U.S. begins its ninth year of military involvement in Afghanistan, “We are not going to be there another eight or nine years”.

Israel's Prime Minister is proposing a 10-month settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu says it is aimed at restarting stalled negotiations with the Palestinians. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Jerusalem.

“The settlement freeze would not include East Jerusalem or building projects already underway. According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu told members of his cabinet that he's proposing the partial and temporary freeze to 'present the world with the simple truth the Israeli government wants to enter into negotiations and it is very serious about its intention to advance peace'. A spokesman for the Prime Minister tells NPR that this is the farthest any Israeli government has ever gone in curtailing 6 settlement growth. The Palestinian authority has rejected the plan. It wants a complete settlement freeze especially in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians hope to have as the capital of their future state.  Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.”

There are reports of some delays at major airports today, though for the most part, things are said to be going relatively 7 smoothly 8 on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Passengers travelling by air this Thanksgiving are finding shorter lines and smaller crowds than past holidays. AAA is predicting roughly 38 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this year.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to end the session at 10,464. The NASDAQ gained six points, closing at 2,176. The Standard&Poor’s 500 rose four points today.

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In a sign that current recession is having a lasting 9 pain for many Americans, new statistics show the number of bankruptcy 10 filings in U.S. courts by businesses and individuals this year are up by a third. The numbers from the Administration's Office of the U.S. courts show there were around 1.4 million bankruptcy cases filed this fiscal 11 year. That's a 35% jump from a year ago.

The United Nations' effort to push a Rwandan Hutu-led militia 12 from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was being described as a failure. More from NPR's Gwen Tompkins.

“For several months now, the United Nations has been working alongside the Congolese army to vanquish 13 a Rwandan Hutu militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The militia is more popularly known by its French acronym 14 FDLR, and its leaders have been linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. But a group of experts commissioned by the UN to study the operation has found that the FDLR is still thriving in eastern Congo. The militia controls valuable mines in the region, and it's still exporting minerals illegally to international companies, but then saw many of the other militias 15 that are operating in eastern Congo as well as some units of the army. That region is both blessed and cursed with unimaginable mineral wealth, which has made it a battle ground of competing interests. And each group preys 16 on the civilian 17 population. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.”

Heavy rains are having a dire 18 effect on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj. According to officials in Saudi Arabia, the rains have caused huge traffic jams some 20 miles long, leaving many people trapped in Jiddah. The rainfall as much as 3 inches in some areas has also flooded roadways. That's as much rain as it gets in an average year.

I'm Jack 19 Speer, NPR News in Washington.