NPR 2010-06-30

Wall Street's confronted with a crisis of confidence, keeping stocks way down. We last saw the Dow losing more than 260 points at 9,869, NASDAQ down nearly 4% at 2,135. Few factor is playing into this. Details are now from NPR's Yuki Noguchi.

The European financial sector 1 remains 2 on shaky ground; interbank lending there tightens 3; the Chinese economy also doesn't seem to be growing as much as thought; and in the US, consumer confidence numbers released today suggested lingering worry about the slow jobs recovery. All of that underscored fears of a so-called "double-dip recession". That includes concerns of stimulus 5 from last year is starting to peter out without creating significant private sector job growth. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

We'll revisit the numbers shortly. Another news: Supreme 6 Court nominee 7 Elena Kagan is distancing herself from her work as a Democratic policymaker. NPR's Carrie Johnson on Kagan's balancing act.

Elena Kagan has no experience as a judge, so Senate Republicans are picking out documents she wrote earlier in her life as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and as a lawyer and policy advisor 8 to President Bill Clinton, but Kagan says those jobs have nothing to do with how she will approach cases on the nation's highest court. Kagan tells lawmakers her politics will be completely separate from her judging style. Senate leaders say that Kagan is likely to win confirmation 9 even though some of the questions are tough. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

Capitol Hill abuzz with antiwar protesters during a recess 4 in the Senate confirmation hearing for General David Petraeus today, now a step closer to becoming the next top US commander in Afghanistan. NPR's Jackie Northam reports the Senate Armed Services Committee has approved Petraeus's nomination 10.

There was an assumption made by many Senate Committee members that it wasn't if but when Petraeus would be confirmed as the top US commander in Afghanistan. Members gently prodded 11 Petraeus about how he saw progress in the war effort. Petraeus said he would look hard at the current rules of engagement that limit US fire power and air strikes in order to protect civilians 12, and he stressed that the plan to begin bringing home troops in July 2011 isn't a rush to the exit.

"My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months."

Petraeus said that it will take years before Afghan security forces can go alone. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

An 11th person suspected of being a Russian spy has been picked up in Cyprus a day after the FBI announced ten others were arrested as part of a long-running probe.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.6% at 9,870, NASDAQ down 85 points at 2,135, S&P 500 down 33 at 1,041.

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The city of Manila is preparing for Wednesday's inauguration 13 of the Philippine's 15th president, Benigno Aquino III. From Manila, Simone Orendain has this preview.

Rehearsals 14 are in full swing at the Grandstand along Manila Bay, where Aquino will be sworn in at high noon. Big-name entertainers practice music written especially for the occasion. The lyrics 15 say the answer to poverty is to fight corruption 16, which was Aquino's main message during the campaign. Aquino is the son of the slain 17 democracy leader who opposed Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s, and his mother was a popular president in the later 80s. Organizers say more than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend the event. The new president is continuing festivities through the night with a street party open to all in his neighborhood. Thousands of police officers are on hand with support from the military. For NPR News, I'm Simone Orendain, in Manila.

Hope of finding landslide 18 survivors 19 in southwestern China is fading. Rescuers were out in full force this morning, using heavy machinery 20 to get to the more than 100 victims trapped in a storm-triggered slide since yesterday afternoon. Xinhua news agency says this morning villagers found the first body, that of a child.

The Taiwanese government hailing a milestone 21 in trade with its historic political rival China, one of the world's largest economies. They have signed a pact 22 that removes tariffs 23 on hundreds of products. The deal is expected to bolster 24 trade that already tops $100 billion a year.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.