NPR 2008-08-23

There are confusing reports about Russian actions in the former Soviet 1 Republic of Georgia today. While journalists on the ground there reported seeing tanks and military convoys 2 leaving key positions and heading back toward Moscow, US officials including White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said today that Russia is failing to live up to the terms of the cease-fire. "They've not completely withdrawn 3 from areas considered undisputed territory and they need to do that. " The mayor of a Georgian port city where troops are permitted under the cease-fire says there are still two Russian roadblocks there. Under terms of the French-brokered cease-fire agreement, both Russian and Georgian forces were to pull back to positions they held before fighting began August 7th over the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Still no word on who will be Barack Obama's running mate. Meanwhile the Obama campaign is filling news vacuum by taking shots at Republican rival John McCain. More from NPR's Ina Jaffe.

Here's what we know about Barack Obama today, not much. He's gone to the gym and he's working on the speech he'll deliver at the Democratic Convention. He did say yesterday he's already decided 4 on the running mate. The mystery name will be revealed first by text message and email to supporters who have signed up on his website. At the top of the speculation 5 list have been Senators Joe Biden and Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Meanwhile the Obama campaign is staging more than a dozen events in battleground states and putting a second commercial on the air, slamming John McCain for not being able to remember how many houses he owns with his wife Cindy. The Obama campaign says that shows he's out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Americans. Cindy McCain is an heiress reportedly worth about 100 million dollars. The McCains own at least eight homes. Ina Jaffe, NPR News, Chicago.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to face questions about their financial position. Today a top credit rating agency downgraded shares of the companies, saying they've limited access to capital. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Moody's Investors 7 Service said the companies are having trouble getting capital on economically attractive terms. And it said there's an increased likelihood they'll have to turn to the government for financial assistance. That could expose the companies to greater restrictions 8 on their business activities. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a critical role in the US housing market, but they've suffered big losses in the housing downturn. Their stock prices (have) fallen sharply. Last month, Congress approved a rescue plan that would provide the companies with capital if they need it. A government bailout could end up diluting 10 shares of the companies. And investor 6 Warren Buffett says there's a good chance that people who own them would see their holdings wiped out. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 197 points today to end the session at 11, 628. That was a gain of 1. 75 percent. The NASDAQ was up 34 points. The S&P rose 14 points today.

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Airplane builder Boeing is now threatening to possibly bail 9 out of the bidding for a politically charged 35-billion-dollar air refueling tanker 11 project. Boeing said today it needs more time from the Pentagon to put together a competitive offer. The latest development comes after Boeing lost the initial contract for the project to Northrop Grumman and its partner Airbus back in February. However, the bidding process was reopened after significant errors were found in the Air Forces' handling of the contract. Pentagon hopes to replace 179 Eisenhower-era refueling tankers 12. The first of three contracts eventually involving 600 of the aircraft.

A Russian court 6, 000 miles from Moscow has rejected a parole bid by a jailed oil tycoon 13. He was arrested in 2003 on what many believed were politically motivated charges. NPR's Anne Garrels has the story.

Vladimir Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man is serving his sentence in a remote Siberian prison. Now stripped of his wealth, Khodorkovsky told the parole hearing if freed he would devote his life to humanitarian 14 work and his family. He did not mention politics. In refusing to grant him parole, the local judge said Khodorkovsky had failed to take part in a prison re-education program. Many believed the Kremlin targeted Khodorkovsky because it wanted to control his oil business and because he posed a political threat. His conviction sent a chill through business circles, which say then-President Vladimir Putin made it clear any business which wants to survive can not confront the Kremlin. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Moscow.

Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal announced today it will buy a Pennsylvania coal company for 1. 3 billion dollars. The Russian company says its purchase of PBS Coals will give it more control of the raw materials it needs to make steel.