NPR 2009-10-21

President Obama is continuing to say plans to wind down US operations in Iraq are on track. Meeting this morning in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the president reaffirmed the expected pullout of combat forces by next summer. Mr. Obama also said he would be closely watching for nation-wide elections to be held in Iraq and for the resumption of full commerce there.

"And to reemphasize, my administration's full support for all the steps that can be taken, so that Iraq can not only be a secure place and a democratic country, but also a place where people can do business."

Its combat troops to be out of Iraq by next August and all US troops to be out of the country by the end of 2011.

US Supreme 1 Court has stepped back into the controversy 2 over what to do about detainees at Guantanamo who've been found to pose no threat to the US. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The justices said today that they will review the case of 13 Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, held at Guantanamo since 2002. These are individuals whom the government has long agreed are not enemy combatants and are no threat to the United States. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts have the power to order the release of men who have been held without justification 3 and a federal judge here in Washington did just that, ordering two Uighurs released into Virginia. A federal appeals court overturned that decision, declaring that the lower court judge had exceeded his authority. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to determine whether these men and by implication others may be held in prison while the US seeks to find some other country to accept them. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

More bad news for college students and their parents. The average tuition cost of both public and private universities this fall is up significantly. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

The College Board's Annual Survey Trends in College Pricing found that despite the budget cuts, lay-offs and bigger class sizes to save money, public colleges and universities raised tuition by an average of 6.5%. That's 430 dollars more than last year, pushing average tuition to more than 7,000 dollars. Tuition of private colleges is up to 26,300 dollars, a 4.4% increase. This does not include room and board in either case. Although federal aid for students is up considerably 4, the average family still had to pay over 1,600 dollars out of pocket towards tuition at public institutions, 12,000 dollars at private colleges. Claudio Sanchez, NPR News.

Sun Microsystems waited until after the markets closed today to announce a major layoff 5 in advance of its takeover by Oracle 6. Santa Clara California-based Sun confirmed the company will cut as many as 3,000 jobs. Oracle agreed to take over the company for 7.4 billion in April.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50 points.

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The president of a university in Pakistan hit by suicide bombers 7 says the assault by militants 8 is designed to in his words “create panic in the capital city.” The attack by two suicide bombers at a women's cafeteria and a faculty 9 building on the campus of Islamabad’s International Islamic University claimed the lives of four people and left more than 18 others wounded. The university's president says the attack is meant to divert attention from the military's ongoing 10 offensive against the Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border.

The Israeli government is considering launching an independent enquiry into the army's actions in Gaza last winter after the report was endorsed 11 by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Linda Gradstein reports.

The government today discussed the recent report by South African jurist Richard Goldstone that accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. The report calls on both sides to launch independent investigations 13. If that doesn't happen, it says the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for Israeli military officials. Israeli Defense 14 Minister Ehud Barak today said there was no need for an independent enquiry and that the army can investigate itself according to a statement from his office. But a senior Israeli official said no final decision has been taken on an independent probe. International pressure on Israel to launch an independent investigation 12 has been growing since the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the report last week. For NPR News, I'm Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem.

A survey on consumers' holiday spending plans is likely to provide little solace 15 for retailers 17. The survey done by the National Retail 16 Federation 18 shows consumers will spend 3.2% less this holiday shopping season than a year ago.