NPR 2012-06-07

 Democratic leaders are playing down Republican Governor Scott Walker's ability to survive yesterday's recall elections in Wisconsin. The Tea Party supported conservative defeated Democrat 1 Tom Barrett by a larger margin 2 than win the main faced-off in the 2010 gubernatorial race. NPR's Ron Elving says Republicans are expected to try to capitalize on Walker's victory. 

A great deal is going to be red into the selection from around the country, particularly, of course by supporters of Scott Walker. They'll say that this means the state of Wisconsin can, will be won by Mitt 3 Romney in November. Despite polls showing President Obama is still ahead in the state but that can change between now and then. And a lot of confidence is going to come out of this victory for Republicans.  NPR's Ron Elving.
 
 
The House Ethic 4 Committee is allowing a long-running case against Congresswomen Maxine Waters to move forward. The California lawmaker, senior member of the House Financial Services Committee is under investigations 5 for allegedly trying to wreck 6 money to a bank where her husband is a shareholder 7. Waters denies wrongdoing.
 
 
Twelve jurors and an alternate have been selected for Jerry Sandusky's trial on child sex abuse charges. The remaining alternates are expected to be finalized 9 this afternoon. NPR's Joel Rose gives us a glimpse into some of the jurors deciding the former Penn State coach's fate.
The first day of juror selection showed how big a role Penn State University plays in surrounding community. The jurors selected include a rising senior at Penn State, retired 10 professor of  Soil Science who spent 37 years at the university, and a woman who has been a football season ticket holder 8 since the 1970s. Lawyers on both sides say they are confident the jurors picked so far can be fair. Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at Penn State, denies charges that he abused ten boys over 15 years. The trial is expected to begin next week. Joel Rose, NPR News.
 
 
Defense 11 Secretary Leon Panetta tells New Delhi audience that India and the US are natural partners. He is urging India to step up its defense relationship with the US and become part of his new Asia-Pacific strategy. NPR's Larry Abramson reports that India's loyalties 12 are complicated.
Panetta said the two countries were fell apart during the cold war. Over the past decade, he said US-India military ties have gotten much closer.
But for this relationship to truly provide security for this region and for the world, we need to deepen our defense and our security cooperation.
Panetta said he had had productive talks with India's top officials during his visit, but he didn't name any new commitments for future military cooperation. India has been relocked into a buy by US restrictions 13 on the transfer of sophisticated military technology. Panetta said he would ask his deputy Ash Carter to work on smoothing out the transfer process. Larry Abramson, NPR News, New Delhi.
 
 
This is NPR.
 
 
Voters in two major California cities have approved cuts to retirement 14 benefits for city employees. Steve Julian of member station KPCC says the decision was overwhelming.
Supporters of bill in San Diego and San Jose called it a mandate 15 that may lead  to similar ballot 16 issues elsewhere in the country, where cities struggle with mounting pension obligations. In San Diego, 2/3 of voters approve Proposition B. Even more voters passed measure in San Jose 7 in 10 got behind it. The message was simple. Pensions for city workers were unaffordable. And more generous that many private companies offering the result, Libraries have to cut back hours, part of holes cannot be filled. The votes are expected to lead to link the challenges by public employee unions. For NPR's News, I'm Steve Julian, in Los Angeles.
 
 
The Honda Fit electric car is leaving its competitors in the dust. Environmental Protection Agency says the sub compact will be able to travel 82 miles on a single charge, outperforming the electric versions of the Ford 17 Focus and Nissan Leaf. The EPA estimates a Fit's annual fuel cost at 500 dollars.
 
 
Kia is recalling more than 20,000 Borrego SUVs because of possibly defective 18 brake pedal mounts that can break during collisions. The vehicles affected 19 are from the 2009 model year. Kia says the recall will begin later this month.
 
 
US stocks gaining ground today, with the Dow up 228 points at 12,356; NASDAQ is up 57 more than 2%; and the S&P 500 up nearly 2% at 1,309.