NPR 2009-11-29

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Craig Windham.

Russian officials are calling the bomb that caused a deadly train derailment last night the worst terrorist attack in that country in years. The blast forced a luxury high-speed train heading from Moscow to St. Petersburg to jump the tracks, killing 1 at least 26 people and injuring scores of others. The BBC’s Richard Galpin has more.

The head of the Federal Security Service or FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said it was a home-made bomb containing the equivalence of 7 kilograms of high explosive. Earlier investigators 2 at the scene of the crash were reported to have found parts of a bomb and a crater 3 by the tracks. Almost 24 hours after the incident, officials still say 18 people are missing. Many of the injured are in a serious condition and have been taken to hospitals in the capital or St. Petersburg.

The BBC’s Richard Galpin reporting. Investigators say a second less powerful blast went off beside the tracks while crews were clearing the debris 4 from the first explosion. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A major international conference on Afghanistan will be held in London at the end of January. The goal is to set conditions for a gradual transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan government, opening the way for the withdrawal 5 of NATO troops. Larry Miller 6 has more from London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says President Karzai will be told to supply 50, 000 troops for training over the next year, boost the police force and recruit regional and district governors who are not corrupt 7 and can deliver vital services to the Afghan people. He wants milestone 8 set and met. Brown said the UN Secretary General would be at the conference, along with representatives of the 43 nations connected to the NATO-led force. Brown also said he wants the conference to agree a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops. The Afghan war is becoming increasingly unpopular in Britain and Brown faces reelection early next year. The prime minister has said Afghanistan’s government is corrupt and he would not continue to risk British lives unless it reforms. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

A blitz of bargains in predawn store openings were apparently 9 only modestly successful in coaxing 10 consumers to spend more on the day after Thanksgiving. Preliminary sales data from the national research firm ShopperTrak finds that sales are up only 0.5% compared to the same day last year. But ShopperTrak’s Bill Martin says it’s a good start compared to last year’s dismal 11 results. “I think if the consumers continue to watch for the special, then lots of things that are available by the retailers 12 is then, were, actually aimed at about 1. 6% gain for the year holiday season.” Other research showed much stronger sales online yesterday. Coremetrics, a firm that analyzes 13 online sales, said the average online shopper on Black Friday spent 35% more than the same day last year.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Architects, painters, filmmakers and other artists have been hard-hit by the nation’s economic recession. Findings of a new survey provide a glimpse of just how hard and how they’re adapting. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair has the story.

The study pretty much confirms some well-known attributes of creative careers. Artists don’t make a lot of money. Most of them need to hold down other jobs to make ends meet. And they don’t have adequate health insurance. But they are very resourceful. Among the findings, 18% of the respondents said their incomes had dropped by half or more and 37% said grants they received are smaller. The survey was commissioned by a non-profit called Leveraging 14 Investments in Creativity. It was funded in part by the Ford 15 Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. More than 5, 300 artists responded to the survey, which was conducted for two months last summer. The survey found that morale 16 is still strong. Seventy-five percent said this is an inspiring time to be an artist. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

A school district near Cincinnati is suing a plastics plant, accusing it of releasing chemicals into the air that exceed government pollution standards. The school district shut down an elementary school across the street from the facility four years ago and says it has been unable to sell the building.

Florida Highway Patrol officers went to golfer Tiger Woods’ home today to question him about the circumstances surrounding his car crash early yesterday. Woods hit a fire hydrant and a tree after backing out of his driveway. The highway patrol plans to release tapes of the 911 call reporting the accident tomorrow.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.