NPR 2008-12-23

The five men accused of plotting to attack the Fort Dix army base in New Jersey 1 were found guilty on federal conspiracy 2 charges today. They now face possible sentences of life in prison. Peter Crimmins of member station WHYY was in the courtroom.

The jury came back with a split verdict: the five young Muslim men were found guilty of conspiring 3 to kill military personnel but not guilty of attempted murder. Acting 4 U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said the investigation 5, prosecution 6 and verdict was not based on the defendants 7' religion or affiliation 8. "This is a group of people that came here as immigrants one way or the other, whether legal immigrants or not, and chose to go down a course, a very twisted criminal course of conduct." Members of the defendants' families reacted to the verdict with tears and anger. One relative was removed from the courthouse for punching a wall. Defense 9 attorney Michael Riley said the suspicions Muslims face in America today is similar to the way the Japanese were treated after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For NPR News, I'm Peter Crimmins.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is contending his state faces a financial crisis, and today he said he hopes to strike a budget deal with Democratic leaders before Christmas. The Republican governor said that the failure to reach an accord on a plan to tackle the state's 42-billion-dollar budget shortfall has held the work up with 2,000 municipal projects. "Everything from highways, the roads, the on lands, off lands, hospitals, schools, levies 10, everything will be affected 11. " Schwarzenegger said he and Democrats 12 are making progress on an 18-billion-dollar proposal that was passed without Republican support. However, taxpayer 13 groups have threatened to sue if the governor signs the budget plan, saying it violates the State constitution by raising taxes without a two-thirds vote in the legislature.

Toyota is forecasting its first annual operating loss in 70 years. Detroit Public Radio's Jerome Vaughn has more.

Toyota says it expects an operating loss of more than 1. 6 billion dollars for the fiscal 14 year ending in March that compares to a profit of 25.2 billion dollars in the previous fiscal year. Officials say they do expect an overall profit for the year over about 555 million dollars, because of dividend 15 income. The Japanese automaker says dramatically lower vehicle demand in the U.S., coupled with a strong Yen 16, are responsible for the projected loss. Toyota’s U.S. sales fell nearly 34% in November compared to year-ago figures. Toyota also lowered its forecast for the number of vehicles that it expects to sell worldwide during this calendar year to 8.96 million, as down from early projections 17 of 9.5 million. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

Price of gasoline continues to come down amid further signs of economic slowing in a fall of oil prices, AAA says the average price of self-serve unleaded fell by half a penny to an average of $1.66 a gallon nationwide.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points. This is NPR News.

Pentagon officials are announcing the deployment 18 of another 2,800 troops to Afghanistan amid what is expected to be a further buildup there through the summer. Pentagon says an aviation brigade from the 82nd Airborne will bring at least 100 more helicopters to the region, part of an effort to help battle a resurgent Taliban. The announcement comes as one infantry 19 brigade from the 10th Mountain Division in New York State is already on its way to the country with some 3,500 troops, expecting to arrive by the end of next month.

Pope Benedict today reiterated 20 the Vatican's opposition 21 to same-sex marriage, saying the church must protect the human being from self-destruction. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

In his annual holiday audience with Vatican administrators 22, the Pope said saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior is as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. A sort of ecology of man, he said, is needed. Stressing church teaching on the sacramental marriage as a tie between a man and a woman, Pope Benedict told the gathering 23 of prelates that this is a matter of faith in the Creator, the contempt of which would mean mankind’s self-destruction and therefore the destruction of God's work. Benedict added that what's meant by the word 'gender 24' results in the self-emancipation of man from creation and the Creator. The Catholic Church holds that homosexuality is not in itself sinful, but that homosexual acts are. A leading Vatican official recently called homosexuality a deviation 25 and an irregularity and a wound. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Crude oil future's prices fell $2.45 a barrel today, ending the session at 31.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.