NPR 2011-07-18

The phone-hacking 1 scandal in Britain has taken a sudden new twist. NPR's Philip Reeves says the country's most senior police officer has now resigned.

The scandal is spreading. Sir Paul Stephenson, head of London's Metropolitan 2 Police， has resigned, citing accusations 3 about links at a senior level between his force and Rupert Murdoch's News International. Stephenson said his decision particularly related to a man called Neil Wallis. Wallis is a former deputy editor of the News of the World, the paper at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal. He was recently arrested. It's emerged that after leaving the paper in 2009, three years after the police began investigating hacking allegations, Wallis secured a consultancy contract for the Metropolitan Police. Stephenson's resignation came just hours after the arrest of Rebekah Brooks 4, former chief executive of News International, a close aide to Murdoch and a friend of the Prime Minister David Cameron. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

There are conflicting reports about the health of the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. His lawyer claimed that he had fallen into a coma 5, but the BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo doctors of the hospital denied the report.

Hosni Mubarak's lawyer said that the former president's health had suddenly deteriorated 6, and he was now in a full coma. Mr. Mubarak has been in hospital in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since he was arrested several months ago. The lawyer's version of events was quickly contradicted by the head of the hospital, who said Mr. Mubarak's health had not got worse. Another doctor of the hospital was quoted as saying that the former president already fell into a coma occasionally, so nothing had changed.

The BBC's Jon Leyne reporting.

The White House budget director says President Obama believes there's still time to get something big done on a deal to reduce the nation's deficit 7 and raise its borrowing limit. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

Budget Director Jack 8 Lew made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, insisting on ABC's "This Week" that the nation won't default on its bills next month because lawmakers know that's not an option.

"I think Congress knows what it has to do. It's got time to do it. The president's made clear what he's prepared to do."

Arizona's Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, agrees that lawmakers will work something out to avoid a default, but told ABC there will be no big deal if it includes tax hikes.

"Unless the president gets off of his absolute obsession 9 with raising taxes, Republicans are not going to agree to do anything that will harm our economy."

Governors from both parties are among those urging lawmakers to make a deal. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

The president has picked former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head a new consumer protection agency. He's to make the announcement at the White House tomorrow. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will oversee 11 mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Carmageddon never materialized. For weeks, officials in Los Angeles were warning motorists that shutting down part of Interstate 405 to demolish 12 a bridge this weekend could cause huge traffic jams. But traffic was described as lighter 13 than usual, and workers finished the job earlier than expected. Officials reopened the highway about an hour ago one day early.

Space shuttle astronauts are spending the day packing to come home. They're filling a cargo 14 canister, the size of a bus with trash and discarded equipment from the International Space Station. The crew will undock Tuesday, return home Thursday.

It's been a long way, but Darren Clarke has won this year's British Open. Larry Miller 15 reports from London that the long-suffering Clarke becomes the third Northern Ireland golfer to win a Major in the last 14 months after Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

The crowd at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England comfirming to Darren Clarke he was not dreaming that he had just won the British Open, his first major title, 22 years after turning pro 10. Clarke won with a five-under-par 275 just three strokes ahead of Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

"But it's been a long and bumpy 16 road. I have had good things happened to me, bad things happened to me."

It's been a decade since Clarke was a serious Grand Slam contender. He came into the Open of 40-1 long shot. He goes out nearly 1.5 million dollars richer. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

In women soccer, the World Cup is under way in Frankfurt, Germany. The US and Japan are vying 17 for the championship. There's no score after 64 minutes of play. This would be the American third World Cup title.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.