NPR 2010-11-23

More than 300 people are dead in a stampede at a water festival in Cambodia. The prime minister says hundreds more are injured. Thousands of people had gathered for the three-day river festival in Phnom Penh. One bystander said several people passed out in the crowd, causing panic that started the stampede. And as the panic grew, the crowd tried to flee over a bridge. Many fell into the water.

A jury has found a Salvadoran immigrant guilty of murdering Capitol Hill intern 1 Chandra Levy 2 in 2001. As NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, Levy's disappearance 3 made national headlines after she was romantically linked to then-Congressman Gary Condit.

Condit was once a suspect in the case, but last year prosecutors 4 charged Ingmar Guandique with the murder, alleging 5 he attempted to rob Levy as she jogged in a park. The jury has convicted him on two counts of first-degree murder despite no DNA 6 evidence and no eyewitness 7. Two women testified that they were attacked by Guandique around the same time, and a former cellmate said Guandique had confessed to the killing 8. Defense 9 attorneys contend the investigation 10 was mishandled and their client is a scapegoat 11. Guandique could face 30 years to life in prison. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

Less than a day after agreeing to accept a massive bailout, Ireland's government is in disarray 12. NPR's Philip Reeves says this is complicating 13 the task of hammering out details of the rescue plan with the European Union and the International Monetary 14 Fund.

Ireland's financial crisis is spawning 15 a political hiatus. Its coalition 16 government has a majority of just three. That now seems to be melting away. The Irish are furious with the way their government's handled the crisis. That's forced their small nation to go cap in hand to the European Union and the IMF for a Greek-style bailout. The government's junior coalition partners, the Greens, said today they want an election in January after the bailout package is in place. Several independent parliamentarians who supported the coalition are also wavering. This is a bad time for political instability. European officials are trying to persuade the markets that the rescue plan for Ireland will work so as to stop the crisis spreading to several other eurozone countries. Philip Reeves, NPR News.

Flight attendants should be allowed to skip the invasive security scans at airports just as pilots can. Delta 17 Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson has asked the TSA to let flight attendants follow the same procedure as pilots, who are allowed to skip those scans and pat-downs if they are in uniform and they show two forms of ID that will be checked against a flight list. Meanwhile, White House officials say the government will take into account the public's complaints and concerns over those new security scans. Spokesman Robert Gibbs says the government is desperately 18 trying to balance security while minimizing invasiveness.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is off 52 points at 11,151, the NASDAQ is up six at 2,524, and the S&P 500 is down four right now at 1,195.

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The US drone attacks continued in Pakistan's tribal 19 belt today with reports that two missiles fired on a car and a motorcycle killed five people. The drone program evokes 20 heated debate in Pakistan over its sovereignty. As NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Islamabad, it's the fourth such attack this past week.

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity 21 said Monday's attack occurred in the Khushali area of North Waziristan believed to be a hotbed of Taliban activity in Pakistan's tribal region. The US refuses to acknowledge the drone strikes publicly, but privately 22 officials have said that the missile attacks have killed several senior Taliban and al-Qaeda militants 23 over the years. The Obama administration has drastically accelerated the CIA-run program with more than 100 such missile attacks taking place this year, half of them in the past two and a half months. The US has sought to expand the territory in which the drones can operate, but Pakistan has said "no". It has, however, reportedly allowed expansion of CIA operations in and around the Pakistani city of Quetta, where the US believes the Afghan Taliban leadership convenes 24. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

As part of a broader insider trading probe, the FBI raided two hedge funds, the Level Global Investors 25 of Greenwich, Connecticut and the Diamondback Capital Management of Stamford, Connecticut. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the FBI and other agencies are investigating insider trading by hedge funds and investment bankers.

Another major car brand is facing a possible probe by federal regulators of an unintended acceleration 26. This time it's the Honda Accord Hybrid 27. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a woman claimed a 2005 Accord Hybrid accelerated on its own, leading to a fatal accident. Twenty-five thousand cars might be affected 28.