NPR 2011-04-22

President Obama's taking his domestic agenda to voters in the western US. His latest stop is Reno, Nevada, where he pledged to protect consumers from price gouging 1 in the wake of higher oil and gas costs.

"The Attorney General's putting together a team whose job is to root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices - and that includes the role of traders and speculators."

The president will head back to California, where NPR's Ari Shapiro reports Mr. Obama earlier encountered protesters whose voices broke through the campaign rhetoric 2.

The Presidents Day started with a fundraiser, San Francisco St. Regis hotel. There were about 200 guests in all. Some paid more than $35,000 for breakfast with the president. A few minutes into Mr. Obama's comments, a woman stood up and said, "We wrote a song for you, Mr. President." Then the table began to sing. The chorus was "We paid our dues. Where's our change?" They held up signs that said "Free Bradley Manning." Manning has been held in solitary 3 confinement 4 for allegedly leaking documents to the website Wikileaks. The president seemed to take the protest in stride. When the song ended, he said "over the last two and a half years, change turned out to be tougher than a lot of us expected." But he added, "I could not be prouder of our track record." Ari Shapiro, NPR News, traveling with the president.

BP's agreed to provide a billion dollars to repair damage to the Gulf 5 of Mexico's environment caused by the oil spill a year ago. More details from NPR's Christopher Joyce.

The BP money is meant to restore beaches, marshes 6, barrier islands and wildlife habitats that were damaged by the four million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf from the broken well. Half the money is available now with the rest due in six months. The federal government and the five Gulf states - Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama - negotiated the deal. The states will get $100 million each for projects they choose. The federal government will choose restoration projects of its own. The one billion dollars does not substitute for any damages the BP is expected to pay under a legal assessment 7 now underway at the Department of Justice. Christopher Joyce, NPR News.

Hundreds of Libyans and foreigners were ferried to Benghazi from Misrata, Libya, site of some of the deadliest fighting in the civil war, and the bodies of two photojournalists killed yesterday in Misrata were on that ferry. British and US officials are watching in Benghazi to collect the journalists' remains 8 to be flown out of the country.

Defense 9 Secretary Robert Gates says President Obama is green-lighting the use of armed Predator 10 drone aircraft in Libya.

"The president has said that where we have some unique capabilities 11, he is willing to use those, and in fact he has approved the use of armed predators 12, and I think that today may in fact have been their first mission. So I think that will give us some precision capability 13."

NATO's still in charge of enforcing no-fly operations.

This is NPR.

New restrictions 14 are under way around the nuclear plant damaged in Japan's big earthquake last month. John Matthews reports from Tokyo that authorities are preventing people from getting within 12 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant without prior approval.

Government cars traveled in places like Minami Soma, broadcasting to residents inside the 12-mile zone to evacuate 15 as soon as possible. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, the ban is meant to secure the health and safety of area residents. Temporary visits will be allowed, so people can get their belongings 16 except within two miles of the plant, where no one's allowed. Many residents have raised concerns that the radiation levels are by no means equal in the evacuation zone. But Edano says that prevailing 17 winds could change, shifting the threat within the zone. He also says that although the situation is solely 18 improving, there is potential for a further disaster, threatening the entire 12-mile area. For NPR News, I'm John Matthews in Tokyo.

Jobless claims are down from their sharp rise a week earlier in the US. The number of American filers dropped by 13,000 to a seasonally 19 adjusted 403,000, a much different picture from the week before when applications rose by more than 30,000. Economists 20 attribute the increase in part to disruptions in the auto 21 industry and more workers waiting until the new quarter to file for benefits.

More encouraging news for economic activity in the coming months. The Conference Board's Index of leading economic indicators 22 rose 0.4% in March. That's the ninth monthly increase in a row.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 53 at 12,506, and NASDAQ had gained 18; it was at 2,820.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.