NPR 2008-08-20

The United Nations Security Council is holding emergency consultations 1 on the conflict between Russia and the former Soviet 2 Republic of Georgia. The move comes amid reports that Russia has taken its first tentative steps toward pulling its forces out of the region as outlined under a peace accord, while at the same time parading a group of blindfolded 3 and bound Georgian prisoners and reportedly seizing four US Humvees. A small Russian column did leave the city of Gori. A Russian officer said they were headed for South Ossetia, the disputed province at the center of the conflict between the two sides.

NATO foreign ministers meanwhile met in Brussels today. NPR's Mike Shuster was there and said that while the ministers agreed there will not be business as usual with Russia.

There is a NATO-Russia council that has been involved in consultations between the alliance and Russia for some years, and for the time being, they're going to stop meeting in the NATO-Russia council. That may mean what no business as usual amounts to. NPR's Mike Shuster reporting from Brussels.

Barack Obama addressed the annual convention of the VFW in Florida today. He defended himself against John McCain's attacks made in the same venue 4 yesterday. More from NPR's Mara Liasson.

Obama accused McCain of using a typical laundry list of political attacks including the suggestion that Obama puts personal ambition before country. "I have never suggested and never will, that Senator McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I've not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interests. Now it is time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. " Obama criticized McCain for being wrong about the Iraq War and pointed 5 out that the Iraqi government favors his 16-month timeline for withdrawing combat troops. He said the central front in the war on terror was Afghanistan, and that as commander-in-chief, his first priority would be to take out the terrorists and finish the job against the Taliban. Mara Liasson, NPR News.

A Texas judge has removed a 14-year-old wife of Warren Jeffs from her parents' custody 6. NPR's Wade 7 Goodwyn reports.

At the hearing before Judge Barbara Walther, the state produced photos of the girl embracing and kissing Warren Jeffs at their alleged 8 wedding in 2006 when the girl was aged 9 12. She is the daughter of Merril and Barbara Jessop. Merril Jessop is one of the most powerful leaders in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and oversees 10 the Yearning 11 for Zion Ranch 12 in Eldorado, Texas. The girl's mother Barbara Jessop refused to answer questions on the stand, asserting her right not to incriminate herself. Judge Walther ruled the evidence of her wedding was "uncontroverted", and barred Jessop from contacting his daughter. Warren Jeffs has already been convicted of accomplice 13 to rape 14 in Utah, and is facing charges in Arizona. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130 points today.

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Tropical Storm Fay lost some of its punch today after making landfall in southwest Florida and moving inland. While the storm never became a hurricane, forecasters say it has mysteriously strengthened again, even as it moves over land bringing heavy rains and high winds. While there were downed trees and power outages, there were no reports of major damage. Still flooding remains 15 a concern as the storm heads up the Florida Peninsula. Forecasters continue to follow Fay, still not sure which direction it will take either north or possibly veering 16 to the west.

What killed tens of millions of people in the 1918 flu pandemic may not have been flu viruses. That's according to a new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases which blames different agents: bacteria. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

The bacteria infected the lungs once the flu virus had weakened them. That's according to National Institute of Allergy 17 and Infectious Diseases researchers. They studied preserved lung tissue from 58 soldiers infected by the flu who died in 1918 and 1919. They found tissue changes that are the hallmarks of bacteria, not viruses, as well as destruction of cells that normally protect lungs from bacteria. And they studied 1918 case reports where doctors themselves said they suspected a second infection. One doctor said then that the flu "condemns 18", but secondary infections "execute". The new research suggests that with the availability of effective treatments for bacterial 19 infections, a modern day pandemic might not be so deadly. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

Crude Oil Futures 20 ended the session up $1.66 a barrel to settle at $114.53 a barrel in New York.