NPR 2011-05-23

President Obama says the flap over his proposal to use Israel's pre-1967 border[s] in any future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal has gotten out of hand. Speaking to members of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC today in Washington, the president said he simply brought a much-discussed issue out into the open. "What I did on Thursday was to say publicly what has long been acknowledged privately 1. I've done so because we can't afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades to achieve peace. The world is moving too fast." The president also said the part of his proposal calling for border adjustments has been underreported.

A five-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near Baton 2 Rouge 3 remains 4 closed today. The Coast Guard shut down the river Friday after a towboat struck a bridge and three barges 6 sank. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports barge 5 traffic is halted until further notice.

Because of the high water, towboats have been under speed and weight restrictions 7. More barges than normal were already tied up in what amount to parking lots on the river. Says Merritt Lane, CEO of Canal Barge Company, "We're having to put more barges in fleets, which is what those parking lots are called." Some companies are now trying to offload their cargo 8 onto trains. A Coast Guard spokesman says the five-mile stretch of the Mississippi will remain closed until the three sunken barges are hauled up from the river bottom. As yet, the Coast Guard hasn't approved a recovery plan from the barge operator, the American River Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Archer 9 Daniels Midland. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer in New Orleans.

And in Yemen, the American, European and Gulf 10 Arab ambassadors had to be airlifted to safety after an armed mob attacked the embassy where they were meeting in the capital today. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has more from Cairo.

The ambassadors were said to have been flown to the presidential palace. Yemeni state television later showed the US ambassador and Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh standing 11 behind his ruling party leaders as they signed a pact 12, but Saleh himself didn't sign. It was a third time he called off signing the Gulf Arab-brokered deal after publicly agreeing to it. His latest excuse was that he wanted opposition 13 leaders to be present during the signing. The deal, which the United States backs, but that his opponents have mixed feelings about, would grant Saleh immunity 14 if he leaves office within 30 days. Protesters say the deal falls short of their demand for the Yemeni president's immediate 15 departure and the dismantling 16 of his regime. Soraya Sarhiddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.

Clouds of smoke rising above a naval 17 aviation station in Pakistan that's been attacked by militants 18. Up to a dozen are believed to be involved, and witnesses say they attacked three hangars of the station in the southern city of Karachi.

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Los Angeles police say they have detained one of two suspects they've been searching for in the brutal 19 beating of a San Francisco Giants fan. They say the suspect is one of several people detained for questioning after they served search warrants today. Bryan Stow was attacked in a parking lot after the Dodgers 20 home opener. Doctors say he suffered brain damage and remains in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital.

The French Open tennis tournament is under way in Paris. Eleanor Beardsley reports that sportscasters are predicting excitement on the men's side and unpredictability among the women.

The men's No.1 player Rafael Nadal is seeking his sixth title at Roland Garros, which would put him in a tie with 1970's tennis legend Bjorn Borg. The women's No.1 seed Caroline Wozniacki has never won a Grand Slam event. Third-seeded Roger Federer has won 16 Grand Slam titles, more than any other man. The third-seeded woman Vera Zvonareva has not won one, but Federer has not won a Grand Slam event since the 2010 Australian Open. Sports analysts 21 expect Nadal and No.2 Novak Djokovic to fight it out for the men's title this year. They say the women's side is completely unpredictable. Most of the game's biggest names will begin playing on Monday or Tuesday. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

American director Terrence Malick has walked away with the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His film "The Tree of Life" won the Palme d'Or, but he was not there to accept it. Malick's notoriously shy, so two of the film's producers accepted the prize in his stead. Kirsten Dunst won the best-actress prize for her role in the apocalyptic 22 saga 23 "Melancholia."

I'm Giles Snyder, and this is NPR News from Washington.