NPR 2012-05-01

 White House counterterrorism adviser 1 John Brennan has given the most extensive justification 2 so far for the US’s use of unmanned drone strikes against suspected terrorists. The strikes have been controversial because they can even target US citizens without judicial 3 oversight 4. As NPR's Larry Abramson reports, Brennan claimed the strikes were both legal and the most ethical 5 way to prevent potential terrorist attacks. 

 
Speaking at a Washington DC think tank, Brennan launched into an extensive defense 6 of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to launch lethal 7 strikes. He said these attacks protect the lives of Americans and innocent civilians 8 on the ground.
 
"It’s this surgical 9 precision—the ability, with laser-like focus, to eliminate the cancerous tumor 10 called an al-Qaeda terrorist while limiting damage to the tissue around it—that makes this counterterrorism tool so essential.”
 
Brennan's speech is time to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the killing 11 of Osama bin 12 Laden 13 on May 2nd of last year. The administration has been using the occasion to trumpet 14 what they see as successes in the fight against terrorism. Larry Abramson, NPR News Washington.
 
A federal judge has blocked a new Texas law that would have prevented Planned Parenthood clinics across the state from receiving state funds for health screening and contraception. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports the clinics do not provide abortions 16 or provide abortion 15 counseling, but the state cut off their funding because they are affiliated 17 with separately funded Planned Parenthood clinics that do.
 
Judge Lee Yeakel appointed by President George W. Bush said that a new state law enacted 18 by a Republican-dominated legislature would likely violate the First Amendment 19 rights of Planned Parenthood clinics by denying them funding because of their affiliation 20 with those who advocate and perform abortions. That he said would appear to be a clear violation 21 of the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of expression and association. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.
 
Diplomatic ties between the US and China are being tested by news that the US embassy is giving refuge to a blind Chinese activist 22 who had escaped house arrest. In Washington, President Obama would not comment on the matter specifically other than to say that the issue of human rights remains 23 at the forefront of US-China discussions.
 
"Every time we meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up. It is our belief that not only is that the right thing to do because it comports 24 with our principles and our belief in freedom and human rights, but also because we actually think China will be stronger.”
 
The president spoke 25 during a joint 26 news conference with Japan's prime minister.
 
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A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit 27 against ‘Three Cups of Tea’ author Greg Mortenson. Four readers of his best-selling book about efforts to build schools in Pakistan claimed that the author defrauded 28 them by making up some of the story. NPR's Pam Fessler has details.
 
US District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed the suit against Mortenson and his publisher the Penguin 29 Group as imprecise, flimsy and speculative 30. The suit was brought after news reports that Mortenson fabricated parts of the book, including that he was kidnapped by the Taliban. Defendants 31 had sought refunds 32 for all those who purchased the bestseller. Mortenson used his book to help raise millions of dollars for his charity, the Central Asia Institute, which has helped to build schools in Pakistan. Earlier this month, Mortenson agreed to pay the charity one million dollars after Montana’s attorney general found that the author had mismanaged the group's funds. Pam Fessler, NPR News.
 
One World Trade Center under construction since the twin towers were destroyed in the 9/11 terror attacks now edges up the Empire State Building, is the tallest in New York City. Workers raised a steel column to the top of the building today, putting it just over 1,250 feet. But Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 33, says there’s much more to the skyscraper 34 than meets the eye.
 
“What we build is not only the tallest skyscraper in New York, it is a tower that will be the safest and most secure in the world, one that will also be the most environmentally sustainable office building of its size, anywhere.”
 
The building’s not done. Floors are still being added. It's not expected to reach its full height for at least another year.
 
I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.