NPR 2008-08-22

Russia has stopped military cooperation with NATO in response to NATO's decision earlier this week to freeze consultations 1 with Russia. The standoff comes because of Russia's refusal to pull its troops out of Georgia. NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Brussels.

RIA, the Russian news agency quoted Moscow's Ambassador to NATO Dimitri Rogozin as saying the Russian Defense 2 Ministry 3 has frozen military cooperation with the alliance. How long this freeze will last and what precisely 4 it will mean is not yet clear. But the action was confirmed by NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero who said NATO had heard from the Russian defense ministry that it had halted military cooperation with the Brussels-based alliance. Earlier this week, NATO took similar action, declaring there would be no business as usual with Russia as long as Russian troops remained in Georgia. NATO and Russia have cooperated in various ways for many years including some joint 5 exercises. Perhaps most important, this year Russia agreed to let NATO use its territory to transport some supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Neither side could say whether this would be affected 6 by the mutual 7 freeze. Mike Shuster, NPR News, Brussels.

There are continued mixed reports out of the former Soviet 8 Republic of Georgia today where some observers report seeing Russian tanks rolling through the Georgian countryside towards home even as Russian troops were digging trenches 9 and building fortifications in key areas of Georgia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that forces will pull back from Georgia tomorrow. The cease-fire agreement calls for Russian and Georgian forces to both pull back into respective positions held before fighting erupted there two weeks ago.

Torrential rains continue to fall in central Florida as barely-moving Tropical Storm Fay torments 10 the state again today, flooding thousands of residents out of their homes. From member station WLRN in Miami, Phil Latzman reports.

Fay is still spinning just off Florida's northeast coast near Daytona Beach with tropical storm force winds. Its motion is nearly stationary 11, meaning it will continue dumping buckets of rain on already waterlogged areas that could see more than two feet of precipitation. Police and National Guard troops have been busy evacuating 12 residents from flooded areas in hard-hit Brevard County. At an EOC briefing this morning, Florida Governor Charlie Crist urged residents not to panic. "Floridians should continue to monitor local news for information pertinent 13 to their geographic 14 location. They should stay calm, stay smart and make sure that they stay safe. " Although Fay has stalled, forecasters do expect it to come ashore 15 in Florida for a third time in a week, then cross over the peninsula, drenching 16 the northern part of the state through the weekend. For NPR news, I'm Phil Latzman in Miami.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and central bankers are gathered this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for their annual symposium 17. But most analysts 18 are expecting few details about future possible Fed actions. Bernanke is scheduled to speak tomorrow morning at the conference.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points today closing at 11,430. The NASDAQ lost eight points.

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It turns out there may have been something to all that talk about speculators influencing the oil market after all. According to a published report today, a single energy conglomerate 19, at one point last month, held more than 10% of all futures 20 contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Washington Post reports that when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission examined the books of a private Swiss energy conglomerate, it found the firm held 11 percent of all the oil contracts on the Exchange. CFTC says it found more than 80 percent of oil contracts on the NYMEX were held by financial firms speculating either for themselves or clients.

Nearly a decade after US health officials declared measles 21 officially eliminated in the US, cases now are on the rise. NPR's Patti Neighmond reports.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 131 new measles cases so far this year. That's already more than three times the number of cases reported for all of last year. In some cases, children were too young to be vaccinated 22. But in half the cases, children were not vaccinated because of parents' religious beliefs. Many were home schooled and so not subject to vaccination 23 rules that apply to public schools. Fifteen patients were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Before the measles vaccination was available, millions of people got infected every year. Thousands were hospitalized and hundreds died. Health officials say they are working to educate parents about the safety of the vaccine 24 and the lack of evidence of dangerous side effects. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.

Big jump in oil prices today, the near month contract for benchmark grade crude was up $5.62 a barrel to end the session at $121.18 a barrel.