NPR 2011-09-22

 The Federal Reserve is taking another unorthodox step to try to stimulate the US economy. NPR's Chris Arnold says the Fed is engaging in what's being called the "Twist."

 
The Fed says it'll sell 400 billion dollars in short-term treasuries and buy up to 400 billion dollars worth of longer-term treasury debt. The hope is that the move will push down or at least keep down interest rates for home loans and some business loans.
 
"The Fed has declared its commitment to continue this policy for a while, probably at least two more years."
 
David Kotuck is chief economist at Cumberland Advisors. He says that stability for low rates could help to encourage businesses and average Americans to spend some more money. But many economists say that the Fed can't do everything itself, and they wanna see more action and less fighting in Congress. Chris Arnold, NPR News.
 
President Obama's calling on Israelis and Palestinians to stand in each other's shoes and be ready to compromise. "Peace is hard," he told the UN General Assembly today in a wide-ranging speech that NPR's Michele Kelemen reports recounted uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
 
President Obama calls it a "remarkable year." The longtime rulers of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Ivory Coast are no longer in power.  
 
"Osama bin Laden is gone, and the idea that change could only come through violence has been buried with him."
 
He used his speech to the UN General Assembly to keep the word focused on supporting human rights, and he challenged countries to step up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But most attention at the UN this week has been on the Palestinian bid to join the world body as a full member, a move the US opposes. President Obama is trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks, saying peace requires negotiations and compromise. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the United Nations.
 
The two American hikers jailed for more than two years in Iran on charges of spying are now in Amman. Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were released from an Iranian prison earlier today.
 
Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed tonight 7 p.m. local time in a case that's been drawing worldwide attention. We have details from Jeanne Bonner of Georgia Public Broadcasting.
 
Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal can't intervene, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Davis's request for clemency on Tuesday. Doubt about Davis's guilt remains, says University of Georgia law professor Donald E. Wilkes Jr.. He says the Paroles Board said in 2007 it wouldn't execute Davis unless his guilt was certain.
 
"This time they denied clemency, and they said nothing about whether guilt was certain or not."
 
Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Davis at his 1991 trial have recanted their testimony. For NPR News, I'm Jeanne Bonner in Atlanta.
 
At last check, the Dow was down more than 280 points.
 
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(Everybody hurts…) It's an end of era for REM. (Sometimes…) The group considered one of America's best rock & roll bands is calling it quits after more than 30 years millions of record sales and numerous hits including "The One I Love," "Losing My Religion" and "Everybody Hurts." (Hold on, hold on...)
 
Stability has returned to college sports for now. Late last night, the Pac-12 Conference announced it will not expand. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, that ends the recent frenzy over conference realignment.
 
Saying we have a strong conference structure, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott made the no expansion announcement Tuesday night that kept the dominoes of college sports from falling. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech were poised to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-12, which would have made it the first 16-team super conference. That also would have left the Big 12 in tatters and prompted a possible merger between the Big 12 and Big East, which lost two teams this past weekend to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now it appears the Big 12 will survive as long as the schools can work out a way to share TV money more equally. Texas has its own cable network. The university president says he is willing to talk about a new model for revenue sharing. Tom Goldman, NPR News.
 
Here's the latest from Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrial Average down 284 points before the close or about 2.5% at 11,125; NASDAQ off more than 50 points or more than 2% at 2,538.
 
I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.