NPR 2010-04-24

President Obama is taking aim at an Arizona immigration bill that requires police to question people suspected of being in the country illegally. At a naturalization ceremony in Washington, D.C. today, Mr. Obama seized on the controversial state measure to make the case for an overhaul 1 of the nation’s immigration laws. More on this from NPR’s Scott Horsley.

President Obama called the Arizona proposal misguided and if it passes, he’s directed the Justice Department to be on the lookout 2 for possible civil rights violations 3. Mr. Obama warned that reactions like Arizona’s are likely elsewhere until the federal government moves forward with both border security and the path to legalization for millions of undocumented residents.

“Indeed, our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others.”

The president said he welcomed the move by leading Democrats 4 in Congress to take up immigration reform. He spoke 5 during a Rose Garden ceremony for two dozen new Americans whose citizenship 6 was fast-tracked by their military service. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

There is still no sign of the 11 oil workers who’ve been missing in the Gulf 7 of Mexico since an explosion and fire on their rig Tuesday night, but it’s generating debate over the administration’s plans to expand offshore 8 drilling. Today, spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president is still pressing ahead.

“The president still continues to believe that the great majority of that can be done safely, securely and without any harm to the environment.”

The oil spill from Tuesday’s rig explosion shows no sign of getting close to Louisiana shoreline anytime soon, but authorities say that could all change if the winds shift.

The latest surge in new home sales is like none other the country has seen in decades. The Commerce Department reports sales shot up 27% in March. And as Danielle Karson tells us, that put an end to a four-month losing streak 9.

With the government’s homebuyer tax credit set to expire at the end of the month, people have been snapping up properties to the tune 10 of 411,000 new home sales in March. They went up almost 36% in the Northeast and a whopping 44% in the South. But John Lonski, chief economist 11 for Moody’s Capital Markets Group, is putting the numbers in perspective.

“As impressive as the monthly jump was, it remains 12 at a pace that is less than half of the nearly 900,000 unit sales pace of the 2001 recession. ”

Lonski expects home sales to drop once the homebuyer tax subsidy 13 expires, but he says they should pick up again by summer. For NPR News, I’m Danielle Karson.

This news certainly having an impact on U.S. stocks today, at last check the Dow was up nearly 70 points at 11,203, NASDAQ up 11 at 2,530.

This is NPR News.

As the clerical sex abuse scandal surrounds the Vatican, the latest target in this ordeal 14 is a bishop 15 of the Belgian city of Bruges, Roger Joseph Vangheluwe. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli has this story from Rome.

The 73-year-old prelate, Belgium’s longest-serving bishop, stepped down after admitting sexually abusing a young boy. This is the first resignation in Belgium since the child sex abuse scandal exploded in Europe in February. Belgium’s Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard announced the resignation, saying it shows the Belgian Catholic Church wants to resolutely 16 turn a page on a very painful topic. On Thursday, the Vatican announced Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of an Irish bishop who acknowledged failing to report abuse to police. And in Germany, Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg offered to resign. Mixa is accused of hitting children decades ago when he was a priest as well as financial fraud at a Catholic orphanage 17 where he served. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Greece is calling in reinforcements to tackle its debt troubles. The government has formally requested an emergency loan package that’s backed jointly 18 by the European Union and the International Monetary 19 Fund. Officials had hoped to bolster 20 investor 21 confidence when the eurozone promised last month to support Greece if the need arose. However, the country’s financial troubles continue to rattle 22 world markets.

A hospital in Spain says it has carried out the world’s most complex full-face transplant. A man severely 23 injured in a shooting accident received new skin, jaws 24, cheekbones and other facial features. University Hospital, Barcelona says the operation lasted more than 20 hours. The patient is said to be recovering well.