NPR 2009-01-01

Israel appears to be moving rapidly toward a possible ground offensive in Gaza following the rejection 1 of calls for a 48-hour ceasefire. There are reports today columns of tanks and army vehicles massed along an access road. In the meantime, Israeli airstrikes over Gaza continue as does rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.

According to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, President Bush spoke 2 today with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "I think the purpose of the call in general was to get an update from Prime Minister Olmert on where he sees the current situation right now as it relates to Gaza, and to think about what the future steps are. " White House also says Hamas needs to stop its rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas for its part has said no truce 3 proposals can be considered until Israel halts its assault. So far the death toll 4 in Gaza is at least 390. At least four people have been killed by rocket fire in Israel.

Federal prosecutors 5 say they need more time before they can indict 6 Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich is accused of influence peddling 7 for allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Chicago Public Radio's Ben Calhoun reports.

When prosecutors filed charges, they can do it with a criminal complaint or an indictment 8. An indictment is kind of a step up because it has to get approved by a grand jury. When authorities arrested and charged Blagojevich earlier this month, they filed a criminal complaint. From that point, they had 30 days to present their evidence to a grand jury and get an indictment. Prosecutors are now asking for an extra 90 days, which would push their deadline from January to April. In a motion filed today, they say because of the complexity 9 of the case, the amount of evidence and the court system's holiday breaks, the original deadline's too tight. The court's scheduled to consider the prosecution's request on Monday. For NPR News, I'm Ben Calhoun in Chicago.

Hundreds of thousands of revelers will pack the intersections 10 at Time Square tonight. That's despite sub-freezing temperatures and strong winds predicted for midnight. NPR's Robert Smith reports.

Down jackets and earmuffs are the clothing of choice tonight for New Year's Eve in New York. Tourists are having to wear their funny hats on top of their wool caps. The payoff for the suffering will be a new larger crystal ball set to drop at midnight. Tim Thompkins from Time Square Alliance says the new ball will dazzle the crowds. "There is a lot of light to compete with in Time Square. So for this ball to stand out, it had to be really really bright and that's what the 33, 000 Philips LEDs hopes it do, it's really beaming up the light. " Add to that the thousand balloons and more than a ton of confetti and the six-hour wait in the cold might just be worth it. The button to start the countdown at 11: 59 will be pushed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

On Wall Street, on this final trading day of 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by 108 points to end the session at 8, 776.

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Authorities in Bangkok, Thailand are now placing the death toll following a new year's nightclub fire at at least 54, with upwards 11 of 100 others injured. The fire broke out as revelers were ringing in the New Year at the two-story nightclub in the Thai capital. Officials say it's not clear what caused the blaze though there is speculation 12 firecrackers brought in by guests or spark from a countdown display on the nightclub stage may have been to blame. Most of those killed were apparently 13 in the club's basement.

Spain's prime minister is condemning 14 this morning's car bomb attack against the headquarters of the Basque broadcasting company. Police had evacuated 15 the building in the port city of Bilbao, following a warning call from the outlawed 16 separatist group ETA. Jerome Socolovsky reports from Madrid.

Reports say the stolen vehicle contained more than 200 pounds of explosives. The front of the circular glass building was engulfed 17 in flames. And then clouds of smoke billowed into the sky. The Basque regional television Euskal Telebista was able to continue transmitting despite the attack on its headquarters. ETA's show of force comes after its leader Miguel de Garikoitz Aspiazu alias 18 "Txeroki" was arrested in November just across the border in a village on the French side of the Pyrenees. A few weeks later, his successor was apprehended 19 in the same area. Spanish officials insist ETA is getting weaker as a result of the arrests. Prime Minister Jos Luis Rodr guez Zapatero says "ETA may attack, but it will lose all its battles". For NPR News, I'm Jerome Socolovsky in Madrid.

To find mortgage rates as low as they are this week, you'd have to go back to 1971. That's according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac which says the average rate on a 30-year loan this week dipped to 5.1%. Rates on mortgages have now fallen for nine consecutive 20 weeks. Much of the decline comes as the Fed has moved into the market.