NPR 2011-07-23

It has been a day of bloodshed in Oslo, Norway. At mid 1 afternoon local time, a mass explosion tore apart a government building housing the prime minister's office. At least seven people are dead there. The prime minister was not in the building at the time of the blast. At a nearby youth camp, there are unconfirmed reports of many dead after a gunman opened fire just hours after the blast in downtown Oslo. NPR's Philip Reeves is tracking events.

The center of Oslo sealed off by the police after a very large blast outside the main government building. Hours afterwards, there are unconfirmed reports of people still trapped. The attack in a quiet city known for its association with the Nobel Peace Prize scattered 2 rubble 3, blast and papers over a wide area. The Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says all government ministers are thought safe but described the situation as "very serious." The city was still gripped by shock as reports emerged that a man dressed as a police officer had opened fire on an island near Oslo, venue 4 for a youth meeting of Norway's Labor 5 Party. The prime minister's due there tomorrow. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

All sides continue to posture 6 as the deadline for raising the country's debt ceiling looms 7 closer. President Obama took his message to a gathering 8 in the Washington suburbs of Maryland, saying that any agreement must include tax increases in addition to spending cuts. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner says there is no deal, and that negotiators will spend a hot weekend in Washington. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats 9 have rejected a House Republican measure that would have cut six trillion dollars from the deficit 10 over the next 10 years. The so-called "cut, cap and balance" plan would have also called for a balanced budget amendment 11 to the Constitution. Speaker Boehner says if the Senate Democrats don't like the plan, they should offer one of their own.

Hot weather continues to be a problem across much of the South, Midwest and East today as heat points blanket parts of 13 states from Nebraska to Mississippi. From member station WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee, Brandon Hollingsworth reports little relief is in sight.

A ridge 12 of high pressure is the culprit, cranking daily high temperatures in the region to dangerously high levels. Chris Duke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Memphis, says even for a part of the country accustomed to hot summers, this year's heat is serious business.

"Usually, you know, we get this type of heat for, you know, few weeks at a time during the June, July and August months, but it's been more of a prolonged peak. You see those heat advisories 13 and heat warnings just, you know, stay up for days and days and days."

Nighttime doesn't provide much respite 14 as overnight lows are falling only into the mid to upper 70s. Duke says there's little change in the forecast for days to come. For NPR News, I'm Brandon Hollingsworth in Knoxville.

The Labor Department says unemployment in the US crept up to 9.2% with increases in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 63 points at 12,661; the NASDAQ Composite is up 23 points at 2,857.

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Nuclear negotiators for the two Koreas say they are willing to try to restart stalled nuclear disarmament talks. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Bali, Indonesia that today marks the first time the Koreas' nuclear envoys 15 have met in three years.

North Korea's Ri Yong-ho and the South's Wi Sung-lac called their two-hour meeting "constructive 16" and said that the two sides would try to restart six-party talks soon. The two met on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, which holds ASEAN's chairmanship, called the envoys' talks "significant."

"The fact that the two Koreas met at this senior official level should not be underestimated because if we do it right, we can create fresh momentum 17."

Also here today, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi assured Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that China is doing all it can to get North Korea back to the negotiating table. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Bali.

Tensions are again high in Damascus, Syria as hundreds of thousands of Syrians are turning out for a planned day of protest against President Bashar Assad's government. The weekly Friday protests have been deadly for months. Last week, 32 people were killed, and today activists 18 say at least five people have been killed. Early reports said the military had turned out in big numbers ahead of the protest. There is no way to independently confirm those claims as Western media are not allowed in the city.

Hurricane Dora is weakening off the Mexican coast. Dora is now a Category 1 storm, but coastal 19 areas from the Baja California peninsula and south are remaining on alert. Heavy waves have damaged a number of resort areas in the region.

I'm Jim Howard, NPR News in Washington.