NPR 2010-01-02

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Barbara Klein.

The Iraqi government says it regrets the decision of a US judge to dismiss charges against five Blackwater security guards. They were accused of killing 1 unarmed civilians 2 in Baghdad in 2007. Iraqi authorities are vowing 3 to pursue the charges. NPR's Howard Berkes has more.

The statement issued Friday by an Iraqi government spokesman says Iraqi investigators 4 confirmed unequivocally that the Blackwater guards committed murder and used unjustified deadly force when they opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection 5 in 2007. The American prosecution 6 of the guards was thrown out of court Thursday. US District Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled that federal prosecutors 7 violated the constitutional rights of the accused by using sworn statements that had been given with guarantees of immunity 8. The Justice Department says it is reviewing the decision and considering options and appeal is possible. Attorneys for the guards say their clients are celebrating the dismissal. The status of the sixth defendant 9 is unclear. He had pleaded guilty and provided evidence against the others. Howard Berkes, NPR News.

Yemeni forces have killed 11 Shiite rebels according to government officials there. News of the clashes came shortly after the militants 10 appeared to seek peace talks with neighboring Saudi Arabia. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Government officials said the Yemeni security and military forces destroyed a number of vehicles belonging to the rebels. Yemen has been battling the rebels for five years. Last month, Saudi Arabia was joining into the fighting when a group of rebels crossed into the kingdom and seized a strategic hillside area. A rebel website called for dialog and peace between the rebels and the Saudis. The site featured a recording 11 said to be a rebel leader Abdul Malek al-Huthi. Yemeni officials claimed to have killed al-Huthi last year. But the voice on the recording which was similar to previous recordings 12 made by al-Huthi referred to recent events.  Yemen has drawn 13 an international attention lately for its growing al-Qaeda branch which claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day airliner 14 bombing attempt in the US. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

President Obama's nominee 15 to head the Transportation Security Administration admits he misled Congress. In October, Erroll Southers told lawmakers he once improperly 16 asked police to run a background check on the boyfriend of his estranged 17 wife. Now he says he himself conducted two inappropriate background checks. That's in a follow-up letter to Congress revealed by the Washington Post. Congress is under pressure to act on the nomination 18 in the wake of an attempted terror attack on a US-bound Northwest airliner on Christmas Day.

The CEO of Delta 19 Airline which owns Northwest says he is extremely disappointed the suspected terrorist was able to get on the plane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. In a recorded message to employees, Richard Anderson says airlines have followed government security guidelines since 9/11, and he plans to pressure Washington to do a job better.

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2009 was a brutal 20 year for Detroit's car business. General Motors and Chrysler went bankrupt and even now sales remain low. NPR's Frank Langfitt has more.

GM shed divisions and CEOs. Saab, Saturn 21, Pontiac and Hummer are either going or gone. CEOs Rick Wagoner and Fritz Henderson were forced out eight months apart. Analysts 22 say 2010 looks brighter for GM. The company is thought to have strong products in the pipeline 23 and would cap the year by launching the Volt 24, its electric sedan. The outlook for Chrysler is less certain and more worrisome. The company seems to have few vehicles on the way and many analysts aren’t sure where Chrysler is headed. Jessica Caldwell works for edmunds.com, the car consumer website.

"I am not utterly 25 sure what's happening there, you don't really know what's going on with its products, you don't know what's going on with its management, with business plans."

Of the Detroit three, Ford 26 has spared the best. Not taking federal bailout money has helped its image and the company has been building market share. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Washington.

Gay and Lesbian couples can now get married in New Hampshire.  At the stroke of midnight, New Hampshire became the nation's fifth state to allow same-sex marriage. About a dozen couples immediately took advantage of the new law in the state capital of Concord 27. New Hampshire joins Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa in allowing gay marriage.

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh says doctors found nothing wrong with his heart after he was hospitalized for chest pains. The 58-year-old commentator 28 was rushed to the hospital Wednesday while vacationing in Hawaii. In a news conference today, he said doctors don't know what caused the pains, but they are releasing him.

I’m Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.