NPR 2009-12-14

Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman has reportedly told Senate Majority Leader Harry 1 Reid he will vote against the Democrats’ health care overhaul 2 legislation in its current form. His announcement could be a significant setback 3 for the administration’s efforts to get the 60 votes it needs to counter an expected Republican filibuster 4 of the measure. The New York Times reports backers of the bill thought they had Lieberman’s agreement to support a compromise aimed in part at addressing his concerns of that so called public option.

The president’s top economic advisers 5 say they expect to see the economy begin creating new jobs by next spring. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Senior White House economists 6 predicted that the US economy will resume creating jobs early next year. The head of the White House National Economic Council Lawrence Summers told the Sunday Talk Shows that he thought the unemployment rate would start to tip down by spring. His counterpart at the White House Council of Economic Advisors 7 Christina Romer was slightly more optimistic. She said there could be job increases in the first quarter of 2010, though she was quick to add that there could be bumps in the road and the numbers could bounce around from month to month. Romer also said while the recession was over in official terms, Americans wouldn’t feel it was over until unemployment was back to normal. Normal unemployment in this country is about 5%. The jobless rate now is 10%. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

The Senate has approved an omnibus spending bill that combines 6 appropriation 8 bills to fund dozens of federal agencies through next fall when spending for mandatory 9 programs such as social securities included the total price tags just over 1 trillion dollars. The vote was largely along party lines with Republicans such as Arizona Senator John McCain sharply criticizing the measure. “Do not be surprised when the American people, I love you, less than a year from now, next November, rise up and reject this kind of behavior and practice of irresponsible spending.” McCain called on President Obama to veto the bill.

Federal Agents in Texas have grounded a helicopter that they suspected was set for shipment to Iran. Bill Zeeble of member station KERA in Dallas reports.

The US-made Bell helicopter was owned by Mexico and leased to an Italian firm which intended to ship it to Iran for offshore 10 oil work. A Dallas Morning News reports this civilian 11, not military use could still violate US regulations. That’s because the chopper might contain night vision and autopilot technology officials do not want to export to Iran. A US trade embargo 12 has been in practice against Iran for 14 years, but those restrictions 13 don’t apply to foreign governments. Use of that possible loophole has been looked into. A pair of similar helicopters were reportedly already sent to Iran by the Italian company. This one came to the attention of federal authorities before it’s been packed up and shipped off. It’s been unlimbered for more than one year. For NPR News, I’m Bill Zeeble in Dallas.

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Two civilian workers with the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur Region have been released. They have been held captive since being abducted 14 at gunpoint by militants 15 back in August.

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is spending the night in a hospital after being struck in the face with a statuette thrown by a man just a few feet away in Milan today. Berlusconi suffered a fractured nose, two broken teeth and injuries to his lips that require stitches.

Some models of Saab automobiles 16 may be produced in China in the future if a deal reportedly struck between a Beijing company and Swedish automaker comes to fruition. Teri Schultz has details.

Though the deal is not yet the final, media reports indicate Beijing Automotive Industry Holding is in line to buy the right to produce older versions of the Saab93 and 95. The two large family cars are both highly rated for their safety features. Saab’s parent company General Motors has warned it might shut down the car manufacturer altogether if it doesn’t find a buyer for the whole unit by the end of this month. Several potential buyers have been mentioned including the American Renco and Dutch Spyker Cars. There are about 45,000 jobs at stake. The agreement with Beijing Automotive would not affect the separate sale of the entire Saab brand but would give GM a financial boost as it recovers from bankruptcy 17. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz in Brussels.

Global consulting firm Accenture is ending its sponsorship agreement with golfer Tiger Woods. In a statement, the company said Woods is no longer the right representative for the firm after what it called the circumstances of the last two weeks. Accenture becomes the first sponsor of Woods to cut ties with him altogether after he admitted to marital 18 infidelity and said he was going to take an indefinite leave of absence from professional golf to work on his marriage.