NPR 2011-04-21

An acclaimed 1 photojournalist and filmmaker based in New York is reportedly among the casualties in today's fighting in western Libya. Vanity Fair and a photo agency say Tim Hetherington was killed in mortar 2 attacks in Misrata. Various reports say other journalists were there, but their conditions are unknown.

It's been one year since the BP oil disaster that claimed 11 lives and caused an unprecedented 3 oil spill that wreaked 4 environmental damage in several Gulf 5 Coast states. Anger among residents is widespread. In Louisiana, Billy Nungesser, Plaquemines Parish President, says there's still oil to be cleaned up.

"I stand here today, a year later, and I still can't look you in the eye and tell you who's in charge. We need to make sure we begin coastal 6 restoration this week."

Candlelight vigils and other observances are being held in several states.

Investors 7 who lost money as BP's stock price plummeted 8 last spring in the wake of the disaster are now trying to sue the oil giant. NPR's Jeff Brady reports a Supreme 9 Court decision last year could make that more difficult.

The lawsuits 10 generally argued that BP misled investors when the company said it puts safety first. But last June, the Supreme Court ruled in another case that investors couldn't use US courts if they purchase their shares overseas. Many BP investors bought their stock on the London Exchange. Barbara Hart is a New York attorney specializing in securities litigation.

"It was absolutely commonplace that those claims were vindicated 11 in the US courts, and now they are being dismissed time and time again."

Investors could sue BP in London, but that's riskier 12 than filing suit in the US because of a “loser pays” provision in England's law. Jeff Brady, NPR News. 

President Obama's holding a town hall meeting at the corporate 13 headquarters of Facebook in Palo Alto, California. NPR's Mara Liasson reports the venue 14 indicates how important social networking will be at the president's re-election effort.

The president is at Facebook to sell his deficit 15 reduction plan, but he's also there to recruit supporters for his bid for a second term. Facebook is the biggest town square in the world and in history, with 600 million members, more than twice the population of the United States. It's also a mother lode 16 of young people, the mainstay of the president's campaign in 2008 and a constituency the White House wants to re-energize for 2012. The president was a pioneer in the use of social networking, even hiring Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. But in 2012, he'll have lots of competition as every Republican candidate is also planning to exploit social networking as much as possible, to reach voters and to organize volunteers. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

Continued surge in oil prices which today topped $111 a barrel. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up nearly 190 points at 12,454 before the close.

This is NPR News.

More details emerging today on the new terror alert system soon to replace the color-coded version implemented 17 after 9/11. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says people will be alerted in various ways, including Twitter and Facebook. The alerts will be more specific, and Napolitano says that unlike the color-coded system, the alerts will have expiration 18 dates.

"I don't want people to live in fear. We want people to live in a state of alertness and awareness 19, and we want people to know how they can help themselves, how they can assist their community."

Napolitano says the US remains 20 at its highest alert level because of a growing threat from homegrown and international terrorists.

A grand jury has charged a former Rutgers University student with bias 21 intimidation 22. NPR's Joel Rose reports the student allegedly used a webcam to spy on his male roommate's intimate encounter with another man.

Indictment 23 charges Dharun Rav with 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and evidence tampering 24. The charges stemmed from events in September of 2010, when Rav allegedly used a computer to watch his roommate's sexual encounter with another man. That roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide. Rav was already charged with invasion of privacy, but the new charges carry a greater possible penalty because the grand jury alleges 25 that Rav was trying to intimidate 26 Clementi on the bases of his sexual orientation 27. Dharun Rav has since withdrawn 28 from Rutgers. His lawyers say the webcam stream was viewed only on a single computer and did not show the man having sex. Joel Rose, NPR News.

Firefighting efforts continue today in Texas, where authorities say a firefighter has died from his injuries.

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