NPR 2010-01-05

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

A man with a shot gun walked into the lobby of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Las Vegas this morning and opened fire, killing 1 one court officer and seriously wounding another. The gunman fled the building and authorities pursued him. A barrage 2 of shots were then heard outside the Courthouse. A bystander captured the sounds on a video posted on YouTube. Authorities say the gunman was killed in the shoot-out.

The Transportation Security Administration has imposed tighter security measures on air travelers headed to the US from 14 countries today including Yemen and Nigeria, countries that have significant terrorism activity. As Larry Miller 3 reports from London, different countries are interpreting the measures differently.

Nigeria says its inclusion on the list of 14 is unfair. It plans to have body scanners at its international airports later this year and says passengers refusing a scan won’t board. Yemen is also cited by the US.  Its military forces have tightened 4 the security around the airport, fearing an attack by al-Qaeda. In Pakistan, passengers are being subjected to full body searches. The Swiss say there'll be extra rigorous check in place by tomorrow at airports in Geneva and Zurich. Officials at South Korean's main airport in Seoul, say they have lists of suspicious passengers based on nationality and travel patterns. According to an aviation official in Lebanon, everything is the same, there is no extra security. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

President Obama arrived back at the White House at midday after the first family wrapped up its vacation in Hawaii. The President will confer with intelligence officials tomorrow as part of his review of air travel security and watch list procedures. NPR's Scott Horsley has that story.

Intelligence Agencies have been looking at how they miss the warning signs that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was planning to carry out an attack on a US bound jet. President Obama says different agencies had bits and pieces of / information that could have and should have kept the young Nigerian off the plane. A senior administration official says that kind of lapse 5 of information sharing won't be tolerated. A second review has been conducted of airport security measures, starting today, passengers traveling from more than a dozen suspect countries are supposed to get increased screening at the airport before they are allowed to board a flight bound for the United States. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to start regulating paid tax preparers. It would require them to register with the government, pass competency tests and adhere to ethical 6 standards.

The stock market is up on the first trading day of the New Year. The rally comes after reports pointing to stronger manufacture activity around the world as well as a rise in oil prices. Wall Street at this hour: the Dow up 158 points, the NASDAQ is up 35.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says a surging al-Qaeda activity in Yemen has global implications. And the US is working to bolster 7 efforts by that countries' government to fight extremists.

It's time for the international community to make it clear to Yemen that there are expectations and conditions on our continuing support for the government so that they can take actions which will have a better chance to provide that peace and stability to the people of Yemen and the region.

The US Embassy in Yemen remains 8 closed for a second straight day also closed are the Embassies of Britain, France, Germany and Japan. Yemeni security forces today killed two suspected al-Qaeda militants 9 in a firefight north of the Capital.

Temperatures are well below normal in much of the US today, even in Florida. Residents are being advised to brace 10 for potentially sustained freezing conditions that could chill residents and crops alike. From member station WLRN Fill Lasman has more.

According to National Weather Service Miami meteorologist Kim Brabander this much cool weather over this long is.

Very unusual to have a week’s most of temperature is running 15 to 20 degrees below normal basically. That's why state officials want to normally tell the residents to prepare for temperatures near or below the freezing mark for a sustained period. That could hurt the state's agricultural cash cow the citrus industry, John Arnold who owned Showcase Citrus farm says, it will be a waiting game.

Most importantly is duration, the longer it is, at a freezing temperature, then we have reasons to worry. Growers say extra irrigation may be used to keep their citrus protected from an extended freeze. For NPR News, I'm Fill Lasman in Miami.

This is NPR News.