NPR 2008-11-18

Congressional lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill this week for a special session on the nation's teetering auto 1 industry. Today the Senate began debate on whether to come to its aid. NPR's Brian Miller 2 reports.

As domestic carmakers teeter on the brink 3 of insolvency 4, the Senate has begun debating whether and how to help. Florida Democrat 5 Bill Nelson says the industry has, as he put it, sailed against the winds of change. "And have failed to produce vehicles for the 21st century. For that matter, for the last half of the 20th century. " Still Nelson says he would support bridge loans to help the industry with conditions, such as replacing current management, but with no consensus 6 on what to do. Lawmakers may put off action until the new Congress in January. Brian Miller, NPR News, the Capitol.

Some democrats 7 have proposed using part of the 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout package for Detroit. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said today President Bush opposes that strategy. "We want the automakers to succeed and we support using an existing program to help them do so. " That program, the White House says, involves government loans that Congress has already approved.

Citigroup says it will soon cut 53, 000 jobs through both direct lay-offs and the sale of business units. It’s the second biggest lay-off announcement ever made by a U. S. company. The bank has already shed 22, 000 jobs this year. Citigroup has lost billions of dollars in subprime mortgages and it had losses in the last four quarters.

The nation's top military officer says it will take up to three years to remove all U. S. troops and their equipment from Iraq. The time frame is longer than one proposed by President-elect Barack Obama who wants most American forces out in 16 months. NPR's Tom Bowman has more.

Admiral Mike Mullen says he continues to believe that security consideration should dictate 8 how fast U. S. forces leave Iraq. Still Mullen says he'll carry out whatever direction he gets from the next administration. Preparing, he says, to give Obama his best military advice on Iraq. There are now about 150, 000 U. S. troops in Iraq. Obama wants all combat troops out by the spring of 2010, and says a residual 9 American force may remain to train Iraqis and pursue al-Qaeda. His advisors 10 say that force could total tens of thousands of troops. Meanwhile, a security agreement now before the Iraqi Parliament calls for U. S. forces to leave the country by the end of 2011. Tom Bowman, NPR News, the Pentagon.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 224 points at 8, 273. The NASDAQ lost 34 points to close at 1, 482. The S&P lost 22 points.

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In Southern California, calm winds, cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity are helping 11 fire fighters battle wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate 12. 3, 000 homes are still threatened.

Most of the countries that signed the Kyoto Climate Treaty are falling short on their pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 13. That's according to data released today by the United Nations Climate Agency. NPR's Richard Harris has details.

It's proving very difficult to cut down on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to climate change. The latest numbers mark progress between 1990 and 2006. In that time, Spain, for instance, has increased its emissions by 50%. New Zealand's emissions are up more than 25 %. Italy's emissions are up 10%. Just a few western countries are on track to cut emissions, for example, the United Kingdom, Sweden and France. Countries in Eastern Europe like the former Soviet 14 Union have lower emissions today. But that's because their industrial economies collapsed 15 in the 1990s. The United States is not part of the Kyoto treaty, but the Energy Department says emissions here increased 15% between 1990 and 2006. Richard Harris, NPR News.

The U. S. Navy says Somali pirates have hijacked 16 their largest ship yet, a Saudi oil tanker 17, three times the size of an aircraft carrier. It's carrying more than 100 million dollars worth of Saudi oil. The hijacking 18 occurred Saturday in the Gulf 19 of Aden where U. S. and European patrols have increased to thwart 20 Somali pirates. But the supertanker was on a different than usual course.