NPR 2008-08-17

President Bush is hailing Russia's signing of a ceasefire agreement with the former Soviet 1 Republic of Georgia. He called on Russia to withdraw its troops immediately. And he cautioned Russia against trying to take over two breakaway regions. They are at the heart of the conflict in Georgia. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

The president said the international community is clear that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia. And he said Russia's decision to lay claim to them was a major issue in resolving the conflict. Speaking at his ranch 2 in Crawford, Texas, he said there's no room for debate on this matter. "We'll continue to stand behind Georgia's democracy. We'll continue to insist that Georgia's sovereignty and independence and territorial 4 integrity be respected." The president also said that Moscow's decision to sign a ceasefire agreement was a hopeful step. Jim Zarroli NPR news.

But Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters any withdrawal 5 of troops will depend on what he called "additional security measures" being put in place, although he did not elaborate. And Lavrov added that Russian forces will stay in Georgia as long as they are needed. NPR's Gregory Feifer is in the key Georgian city that is occupied by Russian troops.

In the Georgian city of Gori, although food is scarce, people say they are surviving that they haven't enough food to get by. The food is being handed out by the Russian forces occupying the city, as say, sort of gesture of good will. I guess, I guess that you can call it that. But the Georgians are certainly grateful for that and anything they can get. NPR's Gregory Feifer in Gori, Georgia.

Florida's governor has issued a disaster declaration as Tropical Storm Fay churns its way toward the state. Forecasters say it could reach hurricane strength over the next day or so before reaching the Florida Keys. In Key West, public information officer Becky Herrin says it's time for people to start getting ready. "We need people to begin putting their hurricane plans in place and deciding what they are going to do individually, and getting their supplies together, deciding if they are going to leave or if they are going to stay. " Herrin says the entire island chain is vulnerable because it's basically at sea level.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is indicating that congressional Democrats 6 may be willing to support some additional offshore 7 oil drilling. "We'll consider opening portions of the Outer Continental 8 Shelf for drilling with appropriate safeguards and without taxpayer 9 subsidies 10 to Big Oil. " But Pelosi in the Democrat's radio address said drilling is just part of the Democrat's plan for winning the nation from dependence 3 on foreign oil and for our bringing down high gas prices. "Our plan will reduce the price at the pump within 10 days by releasing oil from the 700 million barrel federal stockpile" The Bush administration though and Republican presidential candidate John McCain oppose using oil from the nation's strategic petroleum 11 reserve to help put down repressure on oil prices.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Firefighters are dropping retardant chemicals and digging containment 12 lines around five wild fires sparked by a lightning storm in California's Los Padres National Forest. All of the blazes are burning out of control, but so far no evacuations have been ordered.

Canada is facing an embarrassing security breach 13 after a sensitive government document was found on a street in Ottawa. More from Dan Karpenchuk.

The document, made up of 131 pages, was found on a rain-soaked street in a brown envelope. It was titled " Nemesis 14", a classified database used by officers to track and prosecute 15 polluters and environmental law breakers. It detailed 16 a number of the system's failings and even described how the data could be attacked by industrial hackers 17, and environmental activists 18 or organized crime. If someone were able to shut down or corrupt 19 the system, officers might not be able to prosecute cases. One analyst 20 says the document was labeled "Protected B", meaning it was not top secret, but should still be handled with special care. A spokesperson for Environment Canada would not give details about how the document ended up on the street, but said the department will look into the incident. For NPR news, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Mega-swimmer Michael Phelps goes after a record-breaking 8th gold medal at the Beijing Olympics tonight as he swims in the 4*100 meter medley 21 relay. Also today 41-year-old American swimmer Dara Torres competing in her 5th Olympics will go for gold in the 50m freestyle event. In other action, the US men's basketball team remained undefeated, trouncing world champion Spain. Venus and Serena Williams have clinched 22 at least a silver medal in Doubles Tennis. And in men's water polo, the US upset world champion Croatia.