NPR 2009-05-05

Turkish media reports are now saying at least 41 people are dead and 3 others have been wounded following an attack on a wedding ceremony in southeastern Turkey today. According to reports, assailants with bombs and automatic weapons opened fire on the ceremony being held in the village there, the wounded were taken to nearby hospital. It’s still not clear who carried out the attack. Turkish soldiers and pro-government village guards have been fighting Kurdish guerrillas in that region.

Mexican officials have dialed down their swine flu alert and also announced today they would allow universities, cafés, museums and libraries to reopen this week. There are 700 confirmed cases of swine flu with 26 confirmed deaths there. But officials said there were signs that the spread of the virus may be leveling off. Meanwhile, in the US, there are now 298 confirmed swine flu cases in 37 states. Briefing reporters today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sounded somewhat optimistic but said US officials want to avoid being overconfident. “We have started to see encouraging signs that this virus may be mild and that the spread may be limited. We are therefore cautiously optimistic. But nevertheless we realize this is not the time to rest.” Napolitano did say the public should not be alarmed that the World Health Organization ups its threat level, saying a pandemic declaration would describe geography and not necessarily severe of the current outbreak.

Mexico City’s mayor says the economic disruption the swine flu virus is currently causing won't have a long lasting 2 effect on the economy. James Blears reports.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says the economic effect will very much depend on how many weeks or even months of suspending, controlling, curbing 5 the H1N1 flu virus, but things looking more hopeful all the time. “I think that the middle term effect is not going to be so severe as we can imagine a week ago.” Ebrard also says it's irrelevant 6 in which country this virus started rather it’s vital for coordinated 7 international cooperation to curb 4 its progress any further. For NPR News, I am James Blears in Mexico City.

Defense 8 Secretary Robert Gates is in the Mideast this week, meeting with US allies. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Secretary Gates will not be stopping in Iran, but questions and concerns about Iran are sure to rank high on the agenda everywhere he does stop. Speaking with reporters on the plane en route to Cairo, Gates noted 9 concerns throughout the region about Iran’s influence in Baghdad. Gates praised Egypt for taking steps to re-engage with the Iraqi government and he said sending more ambassadors and stepping up engagement with regional security initiatives would help. “I think that if the Arab world is concerned about Iranian influence in Baghdad than the way to deal with that is to have more Arab influence in Baghdad.” After Cairo, Secretary Gates heads next to Riyadh. Mary Louise Kelly NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 214 points today, that’s a gain of 2.6%.

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President Obama has been on the phone to a number of key Senators who will play a role in the process of confirming any Supreme 10 Court nominee 11. According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the president today spoke 12 with Senators, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, to talk about the vacancy 13 created by last week’s announcement by Supreme Court Justice David Souter. He will leave the court before the start of the next term. Both Senators are members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.

The NAACP says Detroit and its auto 1 industry should be its focus. That message was delivered last night by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at the organization’s annual dinner. Amy Miller 14 with member station WDET reports.

The election of the country’s first black president is a significant milestone 15 for the nation’s largest civil rights organization. But it’s not the end of the mission. The annual NAACP fight for freedom fund dinner in Detroit draws about 10,000 people. Last night, keynote speaker, Reverend Jesse Jackson told the crowd that fighting to save jobs, carmakers and schools should be part of the new mandate 16 for the NAACP. Jackson said blacks are disproportionally suffering in the current economic crisis as evidence by Michigan having the highest jobless rate in the country. NAACP Chapter President reverend Wendell Anthony told attendees that the unemployment rate for blacks is still more than double that of whites. Jackson told the crowd the Detroit’s automakers are the lifeline, and that it’s time for a righteous rebellion to help save the industry. For NPR News, I am Amy Miller in Detroit.

Some better than expected economic numbers: according to the Commerce Department, construction spending was up  0.3 percent in March, the best showing since last September. And the National Association of Realtors says its Pending 3 Home Sales Index rose by 3.2 percent.