NPR 2008-12-19

Speaking as he unveiled his choice to head the Security and Exchange Commission today, President-elect Barack Obama said not just regulators but his administration needs to push for more transparency in the financial markets. Obama made his remarks as he announced his chosen veteran regulator Mary Schapiro to head the SEC. The President-elect also said this needed to modernize 1 the aging regulatory system. “We are going to have to greatly strengthen our regulatory apparatus 2, and update it from what worked for a 20th century financial system, so that it works in a 21st century financial system." Along with Schapiro's announcement, Mr. Obama also named Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures 3 Trading Commission and Daniel Tarullo into a Federal Reserve seat.

NPR has learned a marine 4 scientist is said to be named the head of National Oceanic and Atmospheric 5 Administration. NPR's Christopher Joyce has more.

Jane Lubchenco is a professor of Zoology 6 and Marine Ecology in Oregon State University. Sources close to Lubchenco confirm she is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the scientific agency. Lubchenco has focused much of her research on the mysterious occurrence of dead zones along the coast of Oregon where low oxygen levels have been killing 7 marine lives. She has also been an advocate/ for research how climate changes affect the oceans. Lubchenco is former president of the American Associations for the Advancement 8 of Science, the largest scientific membership organization in the country. As head of NOAA, Lubchenco will be in charge of the government’s oceans research as well as a large array of weather satellites that monitor the global environment. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

Defense 9 Secretary Robert Gates has asked a plan to be drawn 10 up on how the military will shut down prisons in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. NPR’s JJ Sutherland reports.

President-elect Barack Obama during the campaign called repeatedly for the prison to be closed and now it seems the Pentagon is preparing to make his wishes reality. Pentagon's Spokesman Geoff Morrell says Secretary Gates wants to be ready with the plan when Mr. Obama takes office. “So when the president-elect takes over, this is one of those first orders of business he wants us to be prepared to be able to help them fashion a solution.” In the past Gates has said that he thinks closing the facility will take an act of Congress to deal with most dangerous prisoners being held there. JJ Sutherland NPR's News.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has swiftly rejected an 18-billion-dollar package of cuts in tax increases pushed through by the California legislature today, saying the proposal to reduce the states burgeoning 11 budget deficit 12 will do nothing but "punish/ the people of California". Republican Governor said lawmakers sent him a terrible budget that did not make deep enough cuts. Democrats 13 and Republicans have been unable to compromise a way to address the deficit that is expected to hit 42 billion dollars in the next 18 months.

On Wall Street today, the Down Jones Industrial Average fell 219 points, ending the session today at 8,604. The NASDAQ was down 27 points today. The S&P 500 fell 19 points. This is NPR.

Consumer confidence continues to wane 14 with the key measure of consumer sentiment falling last month. The non-profit business research group, the Conference Board, says its index of leading economic indicators 15 fell 0.4% in November, that follows even bigger 0.9% drop previous month. Conference Board economists 16 Ken 17 Goldstein says the latest numbers show an economy that has been in recession for a year, with little sign things will be improving in the near term.

Beer Company MillerCoors is taking the caffeine out of its popular Sparks alcoholic 18 drinks. The move came / after complains of attorneys general in 13 states. NPR's Robert Smith reports.

It's an age-old problem for partiers. How do you drink massive amount of alcohol and not get sleepy. The Sparks beverage 19 had that problem lift. It added caffeine, taurine and ginseng to the can, but consumer group started complaining the mixing alcohol and stimulants 20 could reduce a drinker's sense of intoxication 21 and actually increase dangerous behaviors like drinking and driving. A group of attorneys general also claim the beverage was marketed to underage drinkers. Now MillerCoors will change their advertising 22 and take out the caffeine. They also agree to never try the combo again. Earlier this year, Anheuser-Busch reformulated its Bud Extra and Tilt 23 alcoholic drinks to take out stimulants, Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

To find mortgage interest rates to the level as low as they are right now you'd have to go all the way back to 1971. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average rate in the 30-year fixed 24 rate mortgage fell to 5. 19% this week, the rates were even lower one point with rates briefly 25 dipping below five percent in some cases. Mortgage rates’ve been following response action by the Federal Reserve to try to restart the moribund 26 housing market. November the federal launched effort/ to boost housing by buying 600 billion in mortgage securities.