NPR 2010-11-30

The White House is calling the whistle-blowing group Wikileaks and anyone linked to the release of classified materials criminals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is threatening aggressive steps to get to the source of the leak.

"This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests. It is an attack on the international community."The government's trying to find out how Wikileaks got hold of a quarter million diplomatic cables that reveal candid 1 and, in some cases, unflattering opinions of world leaders and policies. But noting a possible positive out of all of this, Clinton says the cables reaffirm growing concern about Iran, including from governments in the Middle East. From Jerusalem, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports on the Israeli prime minister's reaction today to the Wikileaks reports, saying the cables vindicate 2 Israel's position on Iran.

The Arab world has long labeled Israel as the greatest threat to the region. But the newly released Wikileaks documents show that privately 3 Arab leaders have been exhorting 4 the US to take out Iran's suspected nuclear program by any means necessary. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt variously used words like "existential threat" and "evil" to describe Iran's regime. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long publicly warned of the Iranian threat, told reporters here today that the documents show there is consensus 5 in the region. He added, if leaders will say in public what they say in private, there might be a breakthrough. Leaders should be ready to tell their people the truth, he said. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.

This week we'll get the latest report on home prices across the US. NPR's Chris Arnold says the closely watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index has been showing that a recovery in home prices may be stalling out.

Home prices have fallen around 30% from their peaks. Earlier this year, prices were starting to claw their way back up, but last month's report showed them slipping lower again.

"I think we are suffering kind of a secondary hangover."Chris Mayer is a housing economist 6 at Columbia University. He says that the market was stabilized 7 when the Federal Reserve brought down interest rates and the Congress passed tax credits to encourage home buying. But now the tax credits have expired and many Americans are finding it hard to qualify for those low mortgage rates.

"... which has again slowed the housing market, then we have kind of this excess sort of hangover ahead which is all of these delinquent 8 mortgages."So Mayer's in the camp of economists 9 who want to see more action to help the housing market. He'd like the federal government to make it easier for millions more Americans to qualify for those low interest rates. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 43 points at 11,049.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

The presidential election in Haiti is still a big question mark after most of the 18 candidates demanded the results be annulled 10. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Port-au-Prince that the uncertainty 11 is apparent in daily life.

Here in downtown Port-au-Prince, most businesses and shops remain closed. The government offices are also still shut. Street vendors 12, however, have started to come back to the sides of the streets. Public transport is moving again. They've allowed the motorcycles back onto the streets. But things are still a bit tense here in the capital as it partially 13 comes back to life after this election. Many people are still concerned that there could be violence in the wake of this controversial and disputed presidential election.

NPR's Jason Beaubien.

Civilian 14 federal workers are subject to a two-year pay freeze under a proposal President Obama announced today. He says there will also be additional measures to help reduce the more than trillion-dollar budget deficit 15.

In Minnesota, a hand recount of the state's governor's race is underway. More from Mark Zdechlik.

Hundreds of election officials will count more than 2.1 million ballots 16 as part of the mandatory 17 recount. State officials ordered it because Democrat 18 Mark Dayton's lead came in less than 0.5% over Republican Tom Emmer. Still, Dayton has a nearly 9,000 vote lead, and Democrats 19 are confident Dayton will prevail. This is Minnesota's second statewide recount in two years. Democrat Al Franken beat out Republican Senator Norm Coleman in the 2008 Senate recount. Local officials must complete the recount by early next week. A state board hopes to certify 20 the results on December 14th. For NPR News, I'm Mark Zdechlik in Minneapolis.