NPR 2010-04-20

Transportation authorities in Europe are opening up more airspace to commercial airline flights despite some ongoing 1 concern about the cloud of volcanic 2 ash that has been lingering over the continent for days. The flights will be restricted to so-called “caution zones”. Alex Bristol is a spokesman for Britain’s air traffic control. He says governments are eager to get flights flying again.

“We’re ready to provide that service at the instant that we know there’s no ash cloud up there for the aircraft to fly through and do that safely.”

An estimated 40,000 Americans have been stranded 4 in Britain alone by Europe’s air travel problems.

Vice 3 President Biden says the killing 5 of two top leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq deals a potentially devastating 6 blow to the insurgent 7 group known as AQI for short. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports Biden praised both U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Biden said the attack highlights the growing strength of Iraq’s own security forces.

“The Iraqis led this operation and it was based on intelligence the Iraqi security forces themselves developed following their capture of a senior AQI leader last month.”

A stronger homegrown security force makes it easier for the U.S. to end its combat mission in Iraq this summer as promised and withdraw all troops next year. Biden notes Iraq’s political leaders still have to take the next step by forming an inclusive and representative government. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The sound of a ceremony in Oklahoma City today where survivors 8 and relatives have been marking the 15th anniversary of the bomb attack that left 168 people dead. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“We cannot guarantee there will not be another attack. No one can. But we are a strong and resilient country.”

Napolitano was a federal prosecutor 9 back in 1995 and assisted in the investigation 10 to bring Oklahoma City bomber 11 Timothy McVeigh to justice.

Dozens of gun-carrying demonstrators have been rallying in Virginia just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital to show their support for the Second Amendment 12. Organizers say it’s the first such demonstration 13 since the passage of a law allowing people to carry firearms in national parks. NPR’s Jamie Tarabay reports a group of unarmed demonstrators held a similar rally on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

They sat in picnic chairs and waved flags and cheered speakers like 34-year-old Nikki Goeser.

“I can assure you a police officer that is called to the scene of a crime would much rather find an innocent person with a smoking gun and a dead bad guy than the other way around.”

Her husband was shot and killed a year ago in Nashville, Tennessee. She says she could have prevented his death, had she been allowed to carry her gun. Something Tennessee law says isn’t allowed near places where alcohol is sold. Jamie Tarabay, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Streets, stocks are mixed. The Dow up 67; the NASDAQ down two points. This is NPR.

A key gauge 14 of future economic activity is up sharply, rising nearly 1.5% in March. That’s the fastest pace of growth for the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators 15 in ten months. Ken 16 Goldstein, an economist 17 with the group, says the increase bodes 18 well for the US economy.

“Here’s some suggestion from the Leading Economic Index that while we might not continue at the pace of March, some of that could well continue into May and June, July and August.”

Goldstein says the index is pointing to a slow recovery.

A new study finds that people who undergo intestinal 19 surgery tend to do slightly worse, if the operation is done in a teaching hospital. NPR’s Joanne Silberner has more.

Studies have shown that the best places for many complex surgeries are large high-dime teaching hospitals where experienced surgeons train younger ones, but a new study in the current Archives of Surgeries suggests that lower-key hospitals might be a little better for people getting parts of their colons 21 removed. Such surgeries are routine and they’re done for cancer, obstructions 22, abscesses, diverticulitis and other conditions. Researchers analyzed 23 the charts of more than 115,000 patients who had part of their colons removed. Patients had longer stays at the teaching hospitals and the risk of death was 3.9% in teaching hospitals and 3.7% in non-teaching hospitals. The researchers do note that teaching hospitals may have a lower death rate for colon 20 cancer surgery. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

The space shuttle Discovery is staying in orbit for an extra day after rainy weather forced cancellation 24 of this morning’s scheduled landing. NASA will try again tomorrow. Discovery has enough supplies and fuel aboard to remain in orbit until Wednesday.