NPR 2009-08-25

President Obama has approved the creation of a special interrogation task force that would be dedicated 1 to gathering 2 intelligence from so-called high-value detainees suspected of terrorist activities. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

 The new elite 3 unit would be led by the FBI and would include interrogators from the FBI, CIA and Department of Defense 4. While the FBI would run the unit, the White House’s National Security Council would oversee 5 it. There had been some talk of having the Deputy Attorney General supervise the group, but the White House apparently 6 wanted to be more hands-on. The unit will be required to follow the guidelines set out in the Army Field Manual, but that will only be the starting point. The unit will also take a look at other strategies that might be effective in the interrogation room. Experts say that the field manual is woefully out of date and doesn’t take into account the research into human behavior that has been done in the last several decades. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

 Attorney General Eric Holder 7 also announced today he's picking 才 John Durham to investigate the alleged 8 CIA mistreatment of terror suspects.

 The Associated Press, citing law enforcement officials, has ruled entertainer Michael Jackson’s death a homicide. That report, comes on the same day into the released search warrant affidavit 9, says Jackson had lethal 10 levels of a powerful anesthetic 11 drug in his system at the time of his death. The document, which allowed officials of the LA coroner’s office to raid the Houston offices and a storage facility of Jackson’s doctor last month, showed the singer had the drug propofol in his body.

 Car dealers 13 will be given a little more time under the "Cash for Clunkers" program. They had to submit their applications for rebates 14 by 8:00 p.m. tonight， although the Department of Transportation has now extended that deadline to noon tomorrow. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair reports.

 The computers are down. That’s what dealers have been reporting to their trade association in DC. John McEleney is the group’s current chair. He’s also a dealer 12 in Clinton, Iowa. He says they‘'ve sold about 145 new cars in the "Cash for Clunkers" program. But he says they’re having trouble submitting all of their applications. "Since about 11 o’clock this morning, we've tried to access it about every two minutes unsuccessfully. So it may be running but it’s overwhelmed. And it’s preventing dealers from, at least in many cases, being able to get in and submit their applications." The Department of Transportation is now giving dealers until noon Tuesday to file applications. The deadline for sales under the "Cash for Clunkers" program is still 8:00 p.m. tonight. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

Irish drug maker 15 Warner Chilcott has agreed to buy Procter & Gamble’s pharmaceutical 16 business for just over three billion dollars. With the move, Chilcott is expected to be able to more than triple its revenues and significantly expand its product line.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up three points to end the session at 9,509. The NASDAQ lost two points. The S&P 500 was off a fraction today.

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An Iraqi official says bombs attached to two minibuses exploded southeast of Baghdad today, killing 17 at least 20 people and wounding at least ten more. The official says the bombings occurred in the Shiite city of Kut with the first bomb exploding around 1:00 p.m. and the second bomb going off a short time later. The bombings are the latest in a series of attacks in Iraq that have claimed the lives of hundreds of people in recent weeks. It comes as US forces have been turning over much of the day-to-day security operations in Iraq to Iraqis.

Forest fires that have burned thousands of acres East of Athens could turn into a political crisis for the Greek government. As John Psaropoulos reports, the already weak ruling Conservatives now face criticism for their handling of the fires, especially one that destroyed dozens of homes.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis visited the Fire Service’s operational center three times over the weekend, but his statements were limited to thanking firefighters. Thousands of acres of pine forests were burned over three days. Homes and farms were lost miraculously 18 without loss of human life. This marks the second time in these many years that this government has confronted an ecological 19 catastrophe 20 within sight of Athens. A massive fire burned the capital’s only fir forest in 2007. Now as then, the Fire Service is being accused by mayors in the stricken areas for being slow to avert 21 disaster. The fire began close to a landfill site the government imposed on the reluctant local community. For NPR News, I'm John Psaropoulos in Athens.

Crude oil futures 22 prices ended the session higher today. Crude oil futures rose 48 cents a barrel to end the session at $74.37 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange.