NPR 2012-04-19

 The Pentagon says it is disturbed by newly released photos in the Los Angeles Times today purported 1 to show American troops in Afghanistan posing near the bodies of insurgents 2 back in 2010. NPR's Tom Bowman reports the paper was warned that publishing the photos could prompt insurgents to incite 3 violence against US and Afghan forces.

 
The LA Times, however, says they decided 4 to show a small representative sample of these pictures because it shows a breakdown 5 in discipline in this unit of the 82nd Airborne Division. And such pictures and such actions by soldiers could endanger their fellow troops. 
 
NPR's Tom Bowman. Meanwhile, the US and NATO are preparing plans to pull their troops from the front lines in Afghanistan next year. Defense 6 and foreign ministers are gathered in Brussels for two days to finalize 7 details for shifting combat responsibilities back to Afghan forces.
 
The US Supreme 8 Court has ruled unanimously that organizations cannot be sued for the torture of American citizens under the Torture Victim Protection Act. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports the court's decision came in the case of a US citizen who is allegedly imprisoned 9, tortured and killed while in the custody 10 of the Palestinian Authority.
 
Azzam Muhammad Rahim immigrated 11 to the US in the 1970s and became a US citizen. In 1995, while on a visit to his home village on the West Bank, he was taken into custody by Palestinian Authority intelligence officers, imprisoned, tortured and killed. The US State Department issued a report concluding he died while in custody. His family living in the US filed suit against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO under the Torture Victim Protection Act. But today the Supreme Court ruled that federal law authorizes 12 suits only against individuals and not against organizations. Nina Tobenberg, NPR News, Washington.
 
In the US, Catholic bishops 13 say the proposed budget by House Republicans fails to meet moral criteria 14. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports the statement comes days after a leading Republican said his Catholic faith inspired the budget.
 
The bishops seemed to be responding to remarks by Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee. Recently, Ryan, a Catholic, said that the Catholic principle of subsidiarity suggests that people, not the government, should help the poor. His budget cuts programs for the poor. The comment outraged 16 liberal Christians 17. They urged the bishops to fight the Republican budget as vigorously as they fought the Obama administration's mandate 18 on birth control coverage 19. The bishops wrote that there must be shared sacrifice involving raising taxes, eliminating unnecessary military spending and addressing the cost of health insurance and retirement 20. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.
 
Dow is down 51 points; NASDAQ is up slightly. 
 
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President Obama is contrasting his economic policies with those of his Republican critics including Mitt 15 Romney. In Elyria, Ohio, a short time ago, the president touted 21 the need to end certain tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that have allowed them to pay a lower rate than those making far less money. That is a position supported by billionaire investor 22 Warren Buffett, who recently announced he will undergo treatment for early-stage prostate cancer. The White House says President Obama has contacted Buffett to wish him well.
 
A massive campaign to vaccinate 23 against childhood diseases is being launched in Haiti this week. NPR's Richard Knox explains US health officials believe tens of thousands of lives could be saved.
 
The campaign launch drew top US health officials to Haiti. The immediate 24 plan is to vaccinate children against eight diseases: polio, measles 25, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping 26 cough, hepatitis B and H flu, which causes meningitis. Later rotavirus and pneumonia 27 will be added. Haiti is also doing a pilot project to vaccinate against cholera 28. That's been controversial. But Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says it's time to move past that.
 
“I don't think it's really a question of disagreement. Let's figure out what makes the most sense to save the most lives. We should look carefully at the current and potential future role for cholera vaccine 29.”
 
Frieden met with officials on plan to bring clean water and sanitation 30 to more Haitians. Richard Knox, NPR News.
 
Stocks are mixed following news of lackluster earnings 31 reports from Intel and IBM, worries that Europe may still not have a firm handle on its debt crisis also creeping back into the markets. Dow is down 46 points; NASDAQ up two.
 
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