NPR 2009-10-01

President Obama meets for several hours this afternoon with military and diplomatic leaders as part of a reassessment of the US strategy in Afghanistan. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

 It’s a powerful assembly in the situation room as generals, ambassadors, cabinet secretaries and the vice 2 president weigh in on Afghanistan. President Obama is asking his advisors 3 to rethink the assumptions underlying 4 US strategy there. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says any decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan is several weeks away.

 "And the president is in the process of at doing exactly what he said he would do after the elections, and that is assess where we are. General McCrystal has been there for a couple of months, saw through his assessment 1 on the ground the situation that had deteriorated 5 more rapidly than people had expected. "

 Last month, suspect election in Afghanistan has forced the US to reevaluate whether it has a reliable partner in the Afghan government. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 Indonesia's health minister is calling the strong magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rocked the island nation today “a high scale disaster.” Officials there are saying the earthquake claimed at least 75 lives while leaving thousands trapped beneath collapsed 6 buildings.

 Officials in the Samoa islands now say the death toll 7 there has risen to more than 100 after earthquake-spawned tsunamis 8 roared ashore 9 yesterday, flattening 10 buildings and washing cars and people out to sea. New Zealand is sending tents, stretchers, and a temporary morgue to the region. Pentagon Press Secretary Jeff Marvell says the US is offering military bases in California, Hawaii, and Guam. “These are basically staging areas for operations to provide aid and assistance to those in American Samoa.” The quake was centered 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa.

 It was mixed news concerning some key economic indicators 12 today. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.

 The Commerce Department update on the spring Growth Domestic Product indicates the economy was contracting at a slower-than- expected pace 0.7 percent, compared to a predicted 1.1 percent slide. That was seen as a sign the recession is ending, because it meant businesses and consumers didn't curtail 13 spending as sharply as expected during the second quarter. But other news today is more somber 14. There was a surprised drop in a key regional economic indicator 11, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. It fell to 46.1 in September, far below an anticipated 52. That suggests a middle-western manufacturing sector 15 that is weaker than analysts 16 thought. Also out today, new figures on home foreclosures from US bank regulators. Foreclosures jumped 16 percent during the second quarter. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29 points, ending the session at 9,712. The NASDAQ was down a point today.

 This is NPR News.

Penske Automotive is confirming / it has terminated its talks with General Motors about acquiring Saturn 17. In a statement issued today, Bloomfield Michigan based Penske cites concerns directly related to the future supply of vehicles. Penske said an agreement with another manufacturer to continue producing Saturn vehicles after GM stop making them fell through. Penske had agreed in June to take over the Saturn brand and dealerships. The price of the deal was not disclosed. General Motors now says it will shut down the Saturn unit.

A senior US government official says Iran's nuclear program is of great concern. It will be the focus of discussions when the five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany meet Iranian representatives in Geneva Thursday. More from NPR's Lisa Schlein.

The US and other western powers suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies this. It claims its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes only. The senior government official acknowledges Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program. But he notes Teheran's credibility is very low, especially since the discovery of a secret uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. He says Iran was caught cheating and will have to come clean before it can be considered a reliable partner in these negotiations 18. He urges Iran to open the Qom site for inspection 19 by the International Atomic Energy Agency. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

According to a new report, Reno Nevada is among the hardest hit areas in terms of the downturn in construction and building related to the recession. Study from the Associated General Contractors 20 of America says Reno ranks 337th in the nation of percentage of construction jobs lost.