NPR 2008-04-22

In her last chance to speak to the voters of Pennsylvania before tomorrow's primary, Senator Hillary Clinton went on a cross-state campaign swing today. Mark Nootbaar of member station WDUQ has more from Pittsburgh.

 Senator Clinton spoke 1 about making health care and education affordable 2 for everyone, getting the troops out of Iraq, transition into clean energy, ceding 3 biomedical research and investing in the nation's transportation infrastructure 4. "We haven't done that for at least 25, 30 years in the way that we need to, but I believe we could do the same we did during World War II when we sold war bonds. Let's sell Build America Bonds and let people buy those bonds, put them to work here in Pittsburgh and across Pennsylvania. " Clinton also spoke of making the tax code fair for working Americans and creating trade laws that help America. In the most recent polls, Hillary Clinton retains a small lead over Senator Barack Obama who’s been closing the gap in recent weeks. Obama will end his day in Pittsburgh with a rally on the University of Pittsburgh campus. For NPR News, I'm Mark Nootbaar, in Pittsburgh.

 Barack Obama, in the Keystone State today, accused the Clinton camp of playing on voters' fears. He pointed 5 to an ad campaign Clinton has been running, showing the image of Osama Bin 6 Laden 7, the stock market crash and the bombing of Pearl Harbor designed to promote herself as the best candidate to handle an uncertain world. In an interview with NPR today, Obama accused his rival of playing politics as usual. "On critical issues of both domestic and foreign policy, Senator Clinton has generally embraced the conventional view. She has oftentimes gone along with the politics of the moment. " Obama has already hinted while he believes Hillary Clinton will win tomorrow's Democratic primary, he thinks it will be closer than many people think. Up for grabs in Pennsylvania are 158 Democratic delegates.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is campaigning in Alabama today. All this week, he is touring parts of the country that have been left behind economically. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

 John McCain visited the bridge in Selma where civil rights marchers were beaten in 1965. He said those marchers helped to overcome the nation's indifference 8 to racial discrimination, but that 43 years later, people in Selma and other areas are still struggling. "There must be no forgotten places in America, whether they have been ignored for long years by the sins of indifference and injustice 9, or have been left behind as the world grew smaller and more economically interdependent. " McCain offered little in the way of government help, saying only that the government should remove roadblocks that keep people from making choices for themselves. He will also be talking this week about using competition to improve education. Scott Horsley, NPR News.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24 points to end the session at 12,825. The NASDAQ gained five(10以下数字请用英文写^^) points.

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 Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have issued a warning to Baxter International, maker 10 of the blood-thinning drug heparin, saying the company's current supplier has failed to ensure its manufacturing process can remove all impurities 11. The letter is in reference to a Chinese supplier of an ingredient in the drug. The announcement from the FDA comes as Chinese officials have voiced doubts the contaminant found in the blood-thinner used in various surgeries to prevent blood clotting 12 is the cause of severe allergic 13 reactions in hundreds of patients. It has been blamed for 62 deaths.

 A large study of cancer survivors 14 finds people with melanoma on their scalp or neck almost twice as likely to die than those with melanoma on other parts of their bodies. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

 Researchers at the University of North Carolina analyzed 15 more than 50, 000 cases of the skin cancer melanoma. They found that 14% of people who had melanoma of the scalp or neck died from the disease. This compares to only six percent(10以下数字请用英语写^^） for those with melanoma elsewhere, such as on face or ears. Researchers say it's possible that cancers on the scalp are diagnosed later than those on the face or extremities 16. But this alone does not explain the big difference in survival. UNC dermatologist 17, Nancy Thomas, says people who spend a lot of time outdoors should cover their heads. "Wearing a hat would be excellent protection. And in addition, applying sunscreen on any areas of thin hair on the part would be helpful. " The study is published in the Archives of Dermatology. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

 The price of oil continues to set new records to the upside. Crude oil futures 18 began the week by gaining another 79 cents a barrel to settle at $117.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.