NPR 2009-10-28

President Obama visited a massive solar power facility in Florida today to announce a multibillion dollar push for upgrades to the nation's electric grid 1. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

With acres of solar cells stretching out behind him, Mr. Obama said it's time for the US to move its electric grid into the 21st century. The administration is awarding nearly 3.5 billion dollars in stimulus 2 funds to so-called Smart-Grid Projects around the country. Mr. Obama says those upgrades will make it easier for power companies to tap in the clean energy sources like this one in rural Southwestern Florida. "The stronger, more efficient grid would be able to transport power generated at dams and wind turbines from the smallest towns to the biggest cities." The president's announcement came as several cabinet secretaries were on Capitol Hill testifying in support of a carbon trade energy bill that's designed to address global warming. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Arcadia, Florida.

The FAA has confirmed it is revoking 3 the licenses 4 of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot the Minneapolis airport by some 150 miles last week. The announcement comes as the National Transportation Safety Board says it will not seize laptop computers belonging to the pair who claimed they were immersed in looking at schedules online when they flew past the airport. As the plane crews passed the airport on autopilot, the plane's radio was apparently 5 tuned 6 to a frequency used by Denver air traffic controllers, leaving the aircraft out of touch for more than an hour.

The job market continues to make American consumers gloomy. Consumer confidence fell for a second month in a row. NPR's Brian Reed reports.

Consumers became more pessimistic this month about both the current economic situation and the likelihood of things getting better soon. That's according to the consumer confidence index, which is based on a nation-wide survey of 5,000 households. The measure for October dropped sharply from September, reaching the second lowest level since May. Lynn Franco oversees 7 the survey. She says consumers have a grim outlook on job prospects 8, but people who do have jobs are still worried about their paychecks. "This is, you know, the first time, / in 42 years of doing this survey that in terms of income expectations, pessimists 9 continue to outnumber the optimists 10.” Franco says she doesn't expect consumer confidence to turn around until the job market starts to improve. And that could mean bad news for retailers 11 as they head into the holiday shopping season. Brian Reed, NPR News.

Bad weather forced delay in the scheduled test flight of an unmanned prototype moon rocket today. NASA says clouds and a boat that wandered into the launch zone force the agency to reschedule the lift-off of its more than 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket until tomorrow morning. The flight is part of 445-million-dollar NASA technology demonstration 12 aimed at coming up with a replacement 13 for the soon-to-be retired 14 space shuttle.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14 points to close at 9,882. The NASDAQ lost 25 points. The S&P 500 dropped three points today.

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Insurgent 15 attacks in Afghanistan have claimed the lives of eight more US troops, bringing the total death toll 16 for October to at least 55. With the latest deaths which officials say took place in Kandahar Province, it has now become the deadliest month on record for US forces in now eight-year-old war. The military described the latest assault as multiple complex bomb strikes that occurred as troops were patrolling in military vehicles.

The war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic resumed today in The Hague, but the defendant 17 was once again absent. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli's covering the trial.

The prosecution 18 began its opening statements, laying the foundations for the war crimes charges against Karadzic. Those include genocide for the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre 19 at Srebrenica. Once again, the defendant's chair was empty. Karadzic claimed he hadn't been given enough time to prepare for this case, he wants nine more months. Presiding judge O-Gon Kwon ruled that the trial can proceed in the defendant's absence and he warned that if Karadzic persist in boycotting 20 the trial, the court might consider appointing a lawyer in his behalf. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, The Hague.

New York City customs agents say they have recovered two more than 2,000-year-old Italian vases that were illegally excavated 21 in Italy and were being offered for sale in the US. One dated to 350 B.C. while the other was from around 460 B.C. The artifacts were jointly 22 recovered by US customs agents and Italian authorities and reportedly have a combined value of around 120,000 dollars. Authorities say the smuggling 23 ringleader believed responsible has also apparently brought other looted items into the US, including some that have been vended 24 up in locations including the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.