NPR 2010-10-23

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

President Obama's campaign swing through the West Coast takes him to California, where he is speaking at a fundraiser for Senator Barbara Boxer 1 and touting 2 her commitment to helping 3 the middle class.

"There's only one candidate in this race who has spent her career fighting for California's families, and that is Barbara Boxer. There's just one candidate who's done that."

Faced with growing frustration 4 over the Democratic Party's handling of the US economy, the president will also attempt to shore up support for Senate Majority Leader Harry 5 Reid tonight in Nevada.

Worker frustration is mounting in France, where more clashes broke out today at a major oil refinery 6 near Paris. Unions promised more disruptive national strikes as the French Senate approved plans to reform the pension system including hiking the retirement 7 age from 60 to 62.

Cries of desperation outside a Haitian hospital in Saint-Marc as hundreds of people suffering from an apparent outbreak of cholera 8 seek treatment. At least 140 people have been killed and another 1,500 are sick from an epidemic 9 that broke out nine months after a devastating 10 earthquake. More from Ruth Morris of member station WLRN in Miami.

Aid groups are rushing antibiotics 11 and dehydration 12 salts to the Artibonite region. Reports emerging from the area describe patients lying on blankets in a hospital parking lot, hooked up to IVs and waiting for treatment. Artibonite did not experience serious damage from Haiti's massive January earthquake, but thousands of victims fled there. The outbreak has awakened 13 fears that disease could spread with lightning speed through Haiti's tattered 15 makeshift camps, which are often unsanitary. For NPR News, I'm Ruth Morris in Miami.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of American adults suffering from diabetes 16 will dramatically rise by the year 2050. Ann Albright heads the CDC's Diabetes Division.

"Recent past had indicated that one in ten adults would be developing diabetes, and now the projections 17 are looking much closer to one in three to one in five."

Albright says many people wrongly believe diabetes is not a serious disease, though reporting has increased.

Wikileaks, the website that leaked a large number of Afghanistan war documents a few months ago, may be preparing to release a record number on the Iraq war. It announced on Twitter a major announcement would come down early tomorrow. The Pentagon has said it is not expecting any big surprises but remains 18 concerned for the safety of American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have mixed showings on Wall Street. At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 14 points at 11,132 in trading of about two billion shares; NASDAQ was up 20 at 2,479.

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The British government's released secret autopsy 19 papers about a weapon scientist in an attempt to end speculation 20 about his death. NPR's Philip Reeves says the documents bolster 21 the official claim that the scientist, David Kelly, committed suicide.

Kelly's death has long been the subject of controversy 22 in Britain. It happened in 2003 after he was publicly exposed as the source of a BBC story accusing the office of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair of sexing up intelligence reports to justify 23 the invasion of Iraq. Blair ordered an inquiry 24, which found Kelly had died from blood loss after slashing 25 his wrist with a knife, but a group of doctors has been arguing the verdict was unsafe. The documents that have just been released said Kelly died from blood loss from cuts to his left wrist, aided by painkillers 26 and heart disease. They said the wounds were typical of a "self-inflicted injury". Britain's Justice Minister Ken 14 Clarke said he decided 27 to release the documents to end speculation over the scientist's death. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

The Obama administration's asking Congress to approve a two-billion-dollar military aid package for Pakistan. Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the five-year deal was critical to maintaining US-Pakistan relations in a post-9/11 world.

Taliban fighters reportedly attacked a NATO convoy 28 in southeastern Afghanistan today. The Associated Press cited an Afghan official saying three drivers were killed in the attack last night in Shahra Safa in Zabul province. Insurgents 29 have stepped up attacks in recent months on NATO convoys 30 in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

Dow's down 14 at 11,132 at last check.