NPR 2010-05-26

Energy company BP is moving ahead with plans to try to clog 1 up the blown-out oil well in the Gulf 2 of Mexico tomorrow with mud. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

BP officials say they now have gear in place to measure the huge buildup of pressure inside the damaged well. That information is necessary in order to go forward with their plan to plug up the well by dumping in heavy fluid called "drilling mud". This procedure's called a "top kill", and it sometimes works on blowout, but it has never been tried in water this deep. They hope to try that Wednesday. If it doesn't work, BP's new backup plan is to chop off the leaking pipe right at the top of the blowout preventer and to lower a gadget 3 over the leak. It's called a LMRP, and it's designed to capture all the oil and gas that's currently spewing into the ocean. Previous attempts to capture oil underwater have come up short. Richard Harris, NPR News.

President Obama is to visit the Gulf Coast region again at the end of this week. He's reviewed efforts taken so far to stop the huge oil spill.

A senior State Department spokesman says North Korea's decision today to cut ties with South Korea is odd. North Korea says it will sever 4 all communication and relations with Seoul after South Korea blamed the North for sinking one of its warships 5. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

Pyongyang's decision to cut ties with South Korea is the latest in a tit for tat between the two neighbors on the Korean Peninsula. US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley questioned the wisdom of Pyongyang's decision, given that North Korea's economy is failing, and the government is already unable to feed its own people.

"I can't imagine a step that is less in the long-term interest of the North Korean people than cutting off further ties with South Korea."

The US has thrown its full support behind South Korea which on Tuesday called North Korea its main enemy. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is wrapping up talks in China. North Korea has been a main topic, especially that country's secretive nuclear program. Clinton is calling for shared cooperation with China to deal with the North.

President Obama is prepared to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border. It's a step that former President George W. Bush took four years ago when he sent guardsmen to the border to support border patrol agents. The guardsmen did not perform significant law enforcement duties.

A new report says home prices dropped in March. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index dropped 0.5% in March. The index checks the prices in 20 US cities. Prices fell in 13 of them. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes were up more than 7.5%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25 points before the close at 10,024. The NASDAQ was down about three points at 2,209.

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Comedian 6 Tina Fey will receive this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.

"Good evening, my fellow Americans."

Tina Fey's uncanny imitation of Sarah Palin might have amused Mark Twain.

"And I can see Russia from my house."

Fey would be the 13th recipient 7 of the Humor Prize which the Kennedy Center created to recognize people whose work is similar to Mark Twain's, who, in their words, was a fearless observer of society. Past honorees have included Bill Cosby and Lorne Michaels. Fey becomes the third woman to receive it after Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg. As a writer, performer and TV producer, the Kennedy Center says Tina Fey stands out for her quick, unapologetic wit and social commentary. In a written statement, Tina Fey said she was thrilled. She added: "I assume Betty White was disqualified for steroid use." The Mark Twain Prize will be presented to Tina Fey at the Kennedy Center in November. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is going back to jail. The judge ruled he violated his probation 8 that's stemmed from his conviction for obstructing 9 justice. Kilpatrick was supposed to pay the city of Detroit a million dollars as part of a plea agreement. But today, the judge ruled Kilpatrick lied about his money and failed to meet other conditions of his probation.

The astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis are on track for tomorrow's landing. They're scheduled to arrive at Florida's Cape 10 Canaveral just before 9AM Eastern Time. If landing is waved off because of say bad weather, the shuttle can stay in orbit for several more days. This is supposed to be the last flight for the Atlantis shuttle before it retires.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.