NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-10-24

 The House-selected committee on Benghazi has been questioning former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for some six hours on the attack on the US compound in Libya three years ago. So far the hearing has shed little new light. NPR's DW reports lawmakers have focused almost entirely on Clinton's statements, emails and her associates. The Republicans-controlling the Benghazi penal peppered Hillary Clinton with questions about emails she received from former Clinton White House aide Sidney Blumenthal. So ranking democratic Elijah Cummings asked chairman Trey Gowdy why the penal has not made public its lengthy interview with Blumenthal.'You said from the beginning we want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Why don't we just put the entire transcription out  there and let the world see it. What do you have to hide?' But Gowdy flatly refused to do so. 'And I tell you what. If you think you've heard about Sidney Blumenthal so far, wait until the next round. ' That's the first of what's promised to several more rounds of Clinton's grilling. DW, NPR news, Washington.

The Pentagon says a US commando has been killed in Iraq, the first American combat death there since 2011 just before president Obama pulled US troops out of the country. White House spokesman Eric Schultz says president Obama knew Americans will be risking their lives when he launched the US-led campaign against IS. He was very candid that American would not be serving a combat role but they would be taking significant risks and they would be serving in a very dangerous place in the world. The US service member was part of an operation that rescue dozens of hostages being held by the IS in Iraq who the US says were in imminent danger of execution.
The tiny country of Slovenia has deployed its army to its borders and is asking for police backup from neighboring countries as it struggles to deal with an influx of migrants and refugees. LF is at Slovenia's border with Croatia and tells us they're flowing in. Slovenia says 10,000 migrants have entered the country in the past 24 hours and some 40,000 since Saturday. That's well beyond the 2500 a day the government said it could handle. Migrants set fire to tents at one overcrowded camp to protest conditions there. Others broke through police lines and another set off marching to the Austrian border. Reporter LF.
US auto regulators say the recall of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags could grow, given reports of possible issues with side mounted airbags. And they're calling for fast repairs. They now say 8 people have been killed, 98 injured by the airbags. On Wall Street today, big gains. Just before the close, the Dow was up 320 points. The NASDAQ was up 80.This is NPR. Existing home sales rose more than expected last month, a sign that the housing market continues to show strength. The National Association of Realtor says home resales increased 4.7% over August. All regions of the country saw gains. The group's chief economist has tribute it in part to low mortgage rates. Sesame Street has a new resident. NPR's EB reports the producer has introduced a illustrated muppet amed Julia who has autism. Sesame Street has been working to raise awareness about autism for over a year now with the campaign called 'Seeing Amazing in Our Children. Lots of kids have autism. That means their brains just work a little differently.' The new character Julia is not yet part of the TV series. She is the main character in a digital story book called 'We Are Amazing, One Two Three'. According to a spokeswoman, Sesame Street producer are waiting to hear back from the autism community before introducing her on the broadcast. Working with organization such as Autism Speaks and Autism Self-advocacy, the goal of there efforts is help reduce the stigma associated with the spectrum disorder. EB NPR news.
A cyber security bill is advancing in the senate with bipartisan support in a procedural vote. Senators are now debating amendments and a full senate vote is expected next week. The bill is intended to encourage companies and the US government to share cyber threat information. Opponents say it comes at the expense of American's privacy. I'm BC, NPR news in Washington.