NPR 2009-11-24

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack 1 Speer.

President Obama says the nation’s economy is in good shape for the long term. He pointed 2 to what he saw as the economy’s core strength such as universities innovation and dynamic workforce 3. Meanwhile, there were some better-than-expected housing numbers out today. The real estate industry’s main trade group says sales of previously 4 owned home shot up a record 10.1% last month. That was their biggest jump in some two and half years. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist 5 for the National Association of Realtor, says much of the rise came as buyers sought to get in ahead of a federal tax credit that had been set to expire at the end of this month.

“The tax credit dollar amount, 8,000 dollars, yet carries a bigger weight in the Midwest, the affordable 6 region of the country. So we are beginning to see prices actually turned up in the Midwest.”

Another big reason sale’s been up is lower mortgage interest rates and attractive home prices. Nationally the median sales price for the average home was 7.1% below a year ago at 171,100 dollars.

Iraq’s Parliament has passed a new version of the election law that was vetoed last week. But it’s unclear whether this will allow national elections to proceed as planned in January. NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports from Baghdad.

Word from the office of Iraqi Vice 7 President Tariq Al-Hashimi says he may veto this new version of the law as well, arguing that it still doesn’t give fair representation to Sunni Arabs like himself. The law is essential in setting up national parliamentary elections which were supposed to be held before the end of January. Iraq’s Election Commission has suspended preparations for that vote until the law is clarified so it may not be ready to hold January elections even if the law escapes Hashimi’s veto. General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, has said that the drawdown of American troops could begin about 60 days after the election is held. It’s still not clear when that election will take place. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

Hate crimes based on sexual orientation 8 and religion rose in 2008. That’s according to the FBI. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports.

Race-based hate crimes have always been the most common and that remains 9 true in 2008. But crimes based on religion and sexual orientation both increased by about 10% from the previous year. Three quarters of the race-based hate crimes were committed against African-Americans. Two thirds of the religion-based hate crimes were committed against Jews. And 58% of the hate crimes based on sexual orientation were against gay man. This year, Congress passed a new hate crimes law that lets the FBI track crimes based on gender 10 and gender identity. This is an incomplete picture and the FBI discourages year-to-year comparisons. State and local officials report hate crimes to the federal government voluntarily, but many places do not report or they report zero hate crimes which experts in the field say is not accurate. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street the Dow rose 132 points.

This is NPR.

A federal agency has released preliminary results of tests in imported Chinese drywall. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says it found that emissions 11 from the toxic 12 drywall corrodes 13 metal pipes in homes where it’s used. From Miami, NPR’s Greg Allen reports.

The federal finding confirms what earlier tests conducted by private firms have already established. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says a study of 51 homes determine that Chinese drywall emits hydrogen sulfide gas, which corrodes air conditioning coils, copper 14 pipes and ground wires in homes where it’s present. Between 2004 and 2007, about a half billion pounds of Chinese drywall was imported and used in the construction of thousands of homes nationwide. Home owners complain that the odors and gas emitted by the drywall cause headaches and sore throat, forcing many to move out of their homes. Members of Congress from Florida and Louisianan pressured the CPSC to investigate. The agency says federal researchers are still looking at whether there may be long-term health and safety issues. The CPSC says it’s also working on developing a low cost test for home owners who suspect they may have toxic drywall. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

Speculation 15 that British candy maker 16 Cadbury may be the objective of a bidding battle helped to lift the company’s share price today. So far Kraft Foods is the merger’s major bidder 17 though there are reports of other global confectionary players including US-based Hershey. And Switzerland’s Nestle may also be considering making a play for Cadbury. Craft has bid 16.4 billion dollars in cash and stock for Cadbury.

The number of people traveling by air of this Thanksgiving is expected to be down. That’s according to the Air Transport Association. Due to the weak economy the group is forecasting a 4% decline from a year ago in the number of airline passengers.

I’m Jack Speer, NPR News, in Washington.