NPR 2010-05-22

Louisiana's starting to see more oil spill damage. People predict it would happen since last month's rig explosion. Authorities shut down public beaches on a resort island community south of New Orleans today as thick oil moves in. Governor Bobby Jindal says the oil is already affecting ecologically fragile marshes 1.

"We've got heavy oil that's coming up to those wetlands. You look at NOAA's projections 2; they're showing that oil is coming west of the river. It's only a matter of time before we begin to see even more oil here in Terrebonne, here in Timbalier Bay."

BP's setting up an operation to pump heavy mud into the top of a blown-out well deep undersea that's been gushing 3 thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day.

President Obama is ordering federal agencies to start development of national mileage 4 and emission 5 standards for vehicles, including, for the first time, big rig and work trucks.

"Today, we're going even further, proposing the development of a national standard for medium and heavy-duty trucks, just as we did for cars and light trucks."

President Obama calling for more fuel efficiency in vehicles at a ceremony in the Rose Garden today.

A court ruled that three detainees at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan may not challenge their captivity 6 in US courts. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports the ruling hands the Obama administration a big victory.

The federal appeals court in Washington says allowing Bagram detainees to challenge their detention 7 presents too many practical obstacles. The court rules the airbase and all of Afghanistan are still war zones. Here's why this decision is a victory for the White House. The Justice Department has been fighting for years to keep Bagram off-limits to American courts. The government says it needs a place to hold terrorism suspects. It considers too dangerous to release. And a civilian 8 court could order release against the government's wishes. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

In Germany, lawmakers are backing a series of measures in hopes of propping 9 up the struggling euro and helping 10 European countries weigh down with huge amounts of debt. We have more on this from Thomas Marzahl in Berlin.

The hugely unpopular rescue package could end up costing German taxpayers 11 $184 billion, and that's on top of another major bailout for Greece passed just two weeks ago. Chancellor 12 Angela Merkel had appealed for cross-party support. Instead, a dozen members of her own conservative coalition 13 either abstained 14 or voted 'no'. That outcome is not seen as a vote of confidence in the German leader whose poll numbers have dropped in recent weeks. Most Germans are against helping what they deem free-spending European neighbors, such as Greece, Portugal and Spain. Merkel, meanwhile, wants investors 15 to pay for the crisis as well. She is pushing G20 governments to enact 16 a global tax on financial transactions. For NPR News, I'm Thomas Marzahl in Berlin.

Up triple digits 17 in the final minutes on Wall Street, at last check, the Dow was up more than 125 points at 10,194. NASDAQ up 25 at 2,229.

This is NPR.

Texas Board of Education may vote today on a series of curriculum changes, triggering a mix of support and outrage 18 among educators across the country. Critics say conservative board members are putting their stamp on measures to amend 19 or water down what's taught in social studies and history. One proposal suggests the nation's founders 20 might not have wanted the separation of church and state. Grapevine, Texas' resident, Terrien Kelly, supports it.

"I think separation of church and state we don't find it anywhere in our laws. You know, it's not actually in our constitution."

Opponents rallied outside the meeting today.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants North Korea to be held responsible for sinking a South Korean warship 21. As Doualy Xaykaothao reports from Seoul, tension on the Korean Peninsula has been dominating Clinton's week-long trip to Asia.

After meeting with Japan's foreign minister, Clinton told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea's provocative 22 actions have consequences. She said South Korea's investigation 23 which included US, UK and other nations proved North Korea torpedoed 24 the South's warship. Clinton added there must be an international response to this attack on South Korea. North Korea denies any involvement and offered to send its own team of investigators 25 to Seoul. South Korea has yet to agree to this. And Friday morning, its president held an emergency meeting with his National Security Council to consider countermeasures to the North's attack. After meetings with officials in Japan, Clinton heads to China and then travels to South Korea next week. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Seoul.

At least 22 people are dead and more than 50 injured from a car bombing in northern Iraq today. The attack was in Khalis where a similar bombing killed dozens two months ago.