NPR 2010-03-27

The US and Russia have an agreement for each nation to scale back nuclear arsenals 1 by a third. After months of deadlock 2, today president Obama announced a landmark 4 deal to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which expired in December.

“Today, we’ve taken another step forward by—in leaving behind the legacy 5 of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children. We’ve turned the words into action. We’ve made progress that is clear and concrete.”

Presidents Obama and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia plan to sign the new pact 6 on April 8th.

The final results of this month’s parliamentary elections in Iraq are out and they’re revealing a major setback 7 for Prime Minister’s Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition 8. In Baghdad, the BBC’s Andrew North reports Maliki is already appealing the results.

This looks like a spectacular victory for former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and an incredible upset for the incumbent 10 Nouri al-Maliki. But it was very tight, according to the results announced by Iraq’s electoral commission: 91 to 89 seats. And with Mr. al-Maliki’s party making allegations of irregularities, there're still concerns over whether the result will be accepted. But the United Nations, which helped Iraqi election organizers, says these elections were credible 9. The BBC’s Andrew North reporting.

Many Iraqis voted, hoping the election would help stabilize 11 their country, but violence persists. And the latest twin bombings north of Baghdad today killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more.

The Obama administration has unveiled a new plan to tackle record high home foreclosures. It’s the latest in a string of efforts to stabilize this nation’s troubled housing market. We have more on this from NPR’s Scott Horsley.

Treasury 12 officials say the new assistance efforts are designed to address the changing nature of the foreclosure crisis. It’s no longer driven primarily by costly 13 subprime mortgages, but by borrowers who’ve lost jobs or who simply owe more than their homes are worth, and so have little motivation to keep paying off their loans. The new programs are designed to help these underwater borrowers refinance into cheaper loans and provide temporary relief to borrowers who’re out of work. They’ll also encourage lenders to reduce the principal that borrowers owe rather than just cutting interest rates. The federal government has tried repeatedly to help millions of borrowers at risk of foreclosure, but programs so far have made only a small dent 3 in the problem. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

A final look at the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter reveals the economy didn’t grow as much as we thought. The government is revising down the GDP from an annual rate of 5.9% to 5.6%. That’s still the strongest showing in six years and not likely to be repeated any time soon.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up nine points at 10,851.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

South Korea is investigating an attack on one of its navy vessels 14 today and whether North Korea was involved. More than 100 sailors were onboard the ship when it sank. More than half of them have been rescued.

Authorities in Kentucky are investigating one of the deadliest traffic accidents in recent state history. Ten members of a Mennonite family including children were killed when their van crashed on the highway this morning. A family pastor 15 says the victims were on their way to a wedding when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and slammed into the van. The driver of the truck was also killed. The National Transportation Safety Board has joined the investigation 16.

Eight teams are playing tonight in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The winners will make the quarterfinals. NPR’s Mike Pesca has a preview.

Duke, a No. 1 seed, is in action against Purdue, a school that’s quickly learning how to play after the season-ending injury to their team leader Robbie Hummel last month. If Duke wins, they join Kentucky as the only regional No. 1 seed to advance to the quarterfinals. The other game held in Houston this evening pits the St. Mary’s Gaels and their valuable and voluble center Omar Samhan against the Baylor Bears. Samhan has abused the defenses he’s faced thus far, but Baylor’s post players are tough. That could curtail 17 Samhan’s post game press conference witticisms 18. In the Midwest, the Ohio State Buckeyes play the Tennessee Volunteers. The winner will draw either Michigan State or Northern Iowa. Michigan State’s top scorer Kalin Lucas was lost for the season after being injured in the Spartans’ last game. Mike Pesca, NPR News.