NPR 2010-07-20

BP is getting more time to keep testing a cap on a ruptured 1 oil well in the Gulf 2 of Mexico if the company promises to watch for any new leaks on the seabed. This despite detecting seepage 3 which White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described a short time ago.

"There is seepage about three kilometers away from the wellhead. There are bubbles that are visible on the underwater camera, which we continue to monitor."

Reuters news service reports that BP believes the seepage is unrelated to the blown-out well.

The Department of Justice is setting up shop in a New Orleans office building for a criminal investigation 4 into the oil rig explosion in the Gulf. NPR's Carol Van Dam has more from New Orleans.

Justice Department officials and the Environmental Crime Unit have rented two entire floors of the black granite 5 building across the street from the federal courthouse in New Orleans. It's one more indication that the heart of the investigation will take place here in New Orleans rather than in Houston, where rig owner, Deepwater Horizon, is based. Boxes marked "Dell Computers" are stacked high on empty tables behind locked glass doors in the rented office base. The move means a New Orleans jury will hear the case, people who may have been directly affected 6 by the spill. More than 200 lawsuits 7 have been filed since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank in the Gulf in April, killing 8 11 workers. The worst spill in US history has caused millions of dollars in damages to the environment and the economy in five states along the Gulf Coast. Carol Van Dam, NPR News, New Orleans.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived under heavy security in Kabul. She is one of dozens of foreign ministers arriving in Afghanistan to take part in an international donor 9 conference. NPR's Jackie Northam is traveling with the secretary.

Senior representatives from nearly 60 countries are here in Kabul to attend the donor conference. It's being seen as an international show of support for Afghanistan and its government. Still, it's expected there will be some hard issues addressed when the conference gets underway on Tuesday, including steps the Afghan government has made to curb 10 the widespread corruption 11. Still, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to ask donors 12 to funnel 13 more of the financial aid through his government in an effort, he says, to use the funds more efficiently 14. En route to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan, Clinton said the conference is going to show what she called 'more Afghan ownership and leadership', which is something the US has been encouraging. The other issue likely to arise is a peace process and how the Taliban and other militants 15 fit into that process. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Kabul.

President Obama's urging congressional Republicans to get behind an extension of unemployment benefits.

"We need to pass it for all the Americans who haven't been able to find work in an economy where there are five applicants 16 for every opening."

The president speaking from the White House Rose Garden earlier today.

On Wall Street, the Dow's up 57 at 10,154.

This is NPR News.

As many as 1,200 National Guard troops will start heading to the US-Mexico border August 1st. General Craig McKinley.

"By September, we should have our full forces in the field working with our partners."

The administration says it's part of a plan to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants, weapons and drug smuggling 17. The largest deployment 18 will be to Arizona. This, as the Justice Department challenges the constitutionality of the state's new immigration law, requires state and local police to investigate anyone suspected of being in the US illegally. That law is due to take effect July 29th.

A new study finds a greater incidence of the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, among Latino men and black women. As NPR's Patti Neighmond reports, the study in the Archives of Dermatology compared whites, who have the highest rates of melanoma, with minorities living in Florida.

Researchers from the University of Miami found a 20% higher incidence of melanoma among Hispanic men and a 60% higher incidence among black women, compared to their white counterparts. Skin pigment 19 can protect against melanoma, but researchers say it's not 100% protective, especially in the sunshine state of Florida, which has more UV radiation from the sun than anywhere else in the country. Researchers say public health campaigns target whites who are more vulnerable to melanoma, but these findings suggest messages begin to advocate sun-smart behaviors for everyone. That means regular use of sunscreen, protective clothing like hats and longer sleeves, and seeing a doctor as soon as a mole 20 on the skin changes or gets larger. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.