NPR 2011-03-22

Coalition 1 jets are enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya with more air strikes. Gen. Carter Ham, the US military commander in Africa, says a dozen cruise missiles were fired on Libyan defense 2 sites. This after a weekend of relentless 3 air strikes. Gen. Ham says he doesn't know where Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is. And in Tripoli, nobody's talking. In the capital, NPR's David Greene says supporters still at Gaddafi's compound are vocal 4 about giving their lives.

A lot of his supporters have basically decided 5 to remain there, and some of the people have been welcomed in and are sleeping at the compound, and they say that they are serving as very willing human shields if the Gaddafi compound were to be targeted again.

NPR's David Greene.

The US and its allies are also keeping close watch of what's unfolding in Japan, where the earthquake-triggered tsunami 6 touched off a nuclear crisis, with fears of radiation contamination rising. The head of the UN's nuclear agency says the situation at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant remains 7 very serious, but NPR's Philip Reeves reports Yukiya Amano says there are some signs of improvement.

Amano spoke 8 in Vienna at an emergency meeting of the governors of his organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It was convened 9 to discuss the crisis in Japan, the world's worst nuclear accident in a quarter of a century. Amano, who's just back from a trip to Tokyo, made little secret he thinks his agency needs stronger powers to impose safety standards. The IAEA can only advise. Enforcing regulations is up to individual countries. This lack of teeth has been widely criticized in the ten days since a huge earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Amano said the agency's role in nuclear safety may now need to be reexamined, but the first priority is figuring out exactly what went wrong in Japan. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Vienna.

Some disappointing numbers out today for the housing market. Sales of existing homes fell 9.6% in February. Reviewing the latest report from the National Association of Realtors, NPR's Chris Arnold found that home prices also fell by more than 5%.

The median price of a home in the US is now $156,000, and prices haven't been that low in nine years. 

"That it's a discouraging picture that you see in the quantities of sales and starts. It's very tricky 10 to call when markets are gonna turn."

Karl Case is a housing economist 11 with Harvard University. He says that despite the continued housing slump 12, he's actually been feeling a bit more optimistic lately. That's because it keeps getting more affordable 13 to buy a house as the price of housing keeps falling.

"It's down 30% nationally. It's down more than 50% in some places. Interest rates are very low."

At some point, Case says that has to lead to a recovery in housing as more people decide to buy, but apparently 14 not yet. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

This is NPR.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics have some new advice on kids and car seats. As NPR's April Fulton tells us, they're urging children to stay in their car seats longer.

Since 2002, pediatricians have recommended that babies under one be strapped 15 into car seats that face backward rather than forward, but new evidence suggests they should face backward till they're two. Flora 16 Koplin Winston heads the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"For children under two, they're 75% less likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash if they're rideing rear-facing."

The report also has recommendations that are not likely to be popular with the elementary school set. The new advice says children should stay in booster seats until they reach a height of 4'9". For smaller kids, that can means sitting in a booster up to age 12. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children four and older. April Fulton, NPR News, Washington.

A Boston hospital declares a new milestone 17 with the first full face transplant ever performed in the United States. Doctors released details today about an operation performed last week on a 25-year-old patient. Dr. Bohdan Pomahac led a medical team of 30 people to replace Dallas Wiens' lips, nose, facial skin, muscles and nerves. Although this full facial transplant was the first in the US, last year Spain became the first in the world to perform the full facial transplant operation.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow up 178 points at 12,036; NASDAQ up 48 to 2,692.