NPR 2010-07-24

The NPR family in the broader world of journalism 1 is remembering a giant among us. NPR News Analyst 2 Daniel Schorr died this morning at the age of 93, leaving behind footprints from a lifetime of pioneering work in the industry. In this 2002 interview about his memoir 3, Mr. Schorr was asked what he thought his legacy 4 would be.

"My legacy is that when journalism is pursued right, you make some contribution to people's knowledge of things that I think people need to know."

Among those who worked most closely with Mr. Schorr was NPR's Scott Simon, who offers this appreciation 5.

Dan Schorr was born before people had radio in their homes. He lived to report the news over satellites and the World Wide Web. Dan became a reporter at the age of 12, when a woman jumped off the roof of his apartment building and Dan called the Bronx Home News. He was one of the last reporters hired by Edward Amara with CBS and reported on the Cold War and Water Gate. He refused to reveal who leaked him a copy of a congressional report on the CIA and FBI in 1976, telling the committee, "to betray a source would be to betray myself, my career and my life." Dan parted ways with CBS, became CNN's first Washington News presence and then NPR senior news analyst in 1985, starting a third career at the age of 69 that would last a generation. Scott Simon, NPR News.

Ships drilling a second relief well at the site of the BP oil spill in the Gulf 6 of Mexico are preparing to get out of the way of tropical storm Bonnie, which could hit by tomorrow. The government's point man on the cleanup, retired 7 Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, says it's likely the crew will be able to return to work shortly after the storm hits.

"Assuming that the storm passes within 48 hours at some point after that we can look to returning the vessels 8 back on scene. But again this is highly dependent on the weather, the wind, and the assessment 9 of on scene conditions by the folks that are operating the vessels because they will make the final call."

The storm is about 55 miles southeast of Naples, Florida.

President Obama is urging the Senate to approve a measure designed to help small businesses. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the president wants a vote before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess 10.

President Obama scored a partial victory this week, when the Senate agreed to extend unemployment benefits for workers who've been out of a job more than six months. But Mr. Obama says additional relief checks are not enough.

"Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that people who are looking for a job can find a job. And that's why it's so important for the Senate to pass the additional steps that I've asked for to cut taxes and expand lending for America's small businesses."

One of those steps is a 30-billion-dollar loan fund designed to encourage community banks to lend more to small businesses. It was restored to the Senate's small business package with the help of two Republican votes. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Last check, Dow's up more than 100 points at 10,424. This is NPR.

Washington, D.C. is the latest city affected 11 by staff cutbacks because of performance issues. Chancellor 12 Michelle Rhee says 241 teachers have been laid off most for performing poorly in a new evaluation 13 system. She says cities in general are reevaluating their systems.

"In New York City and Chicago, Denver, places like that, the number of teachers who are dismissed every year is, you know, less than 1%. And so you've got these systems of, you know, tens of thousands of teachers yet. Maybe one teacher each year is fired for poor performance. And that just doesn't line up with the fact that students are being failed every day in our schools."

Rhee speaking on MSNBC.

Three city leaders in Southern California are resigning after a public outcry over their salaries. Steve Julian of member station KPCC says one of the three makes nearly $800,000 a year.

That's Robert Rizzo, city manager for Bell, a town of 40,000 people on the outskirts 14 of Los Angeles. The assistant city manager also has agreed to leave. She earns nearly $380,000 a year. And Police Chief Randy Adams, who earns more than 450,000 a year, also resigned. All three will stay on the job without pay for another month or two. Many residents were outraged 16 and called for their resignations when the Los Angeles Times recently revealed the salaries. Now that they're leaving, there's even more outrage 15 over their pensions. Rizzo, for example, is entitled to more than $650,000 a year for life. He is given credit for pulling Bell out of heavy debt over 17 years. The state attorney general is leading one of three investigations 17 into the salary practices. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

And I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington