NPR 2009-05-06

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack 1 Speer.

 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke expects the US downturn will end later this year with the economy beginning to grow again. Those comments came today in testimony 2 before Congress. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

 Bernanke sounded cautiously optimistic in testimony before the Joint 3 Economic Committee, economic contraction 4 seems to be slowing, consumers are spending more and the all-important housing market in decline for three years may be bottoming. But commercial real estate is still in trouble, business spending is still depressed 5 and Bernanke said the economic turnaround will not happen quickly.

 We expect that recovery will only gradually gain momentum 6 and that economic slack will diminish slowly. In particular businesses are likely to be cautious about hiring, implying that the unemployment rate could remain high for a time even after economic growth resumes.

 The economic recovery can be sustained, Bernanke said, only if the financial system is stabilized 7. Banks, he said, remain under considerable stress and consumer credit remains 8 tight. Tom Gjelten NPR News, Washington.

 With signs the swine flu virus outbreak in the US is turning out to be milder than first thought, government health officials are now backing off their earlier calls to shut down schools for two weeks if suspected cases surface. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today even though hundreds of schools have been closed, government is now changing that advice instead simply urging parents to keep their sick children home. The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the US is now over 400. Meanwhile the number of deaths in the US attributed to this swine flu has risen to two. Texas Health officials have confirmed a woman who had underlying 9 health concerns died this week after contracting the virus.

 Advocates of a health care system totally financed by the government said they are being left out of the health care debate in Washington. NPR's Julie Rovner has more.

 The event was actually a round-table organized by the Senate Finance Committee to discuss ways to cover the uninsured. But representatives of groups that support a single-payer health care system rose from the audience to confront panel chairman Max Baucus directly. This was Russel Mokhiber of single-payer action.

 "Let me get this straight here, there are 50 seats at the table and not one for single payer? Why is that? "

 Baucus, however, who said repeatedly that single payer can't pass his committee or the Congress, ignored the protest when another protestor said she needed a seat, he replied: “We want police.”

 The Capitol police say eight people were arrested and charged with unlawful conduct. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

 Nation's service sector 10 continued to show signs of contraction in April. That's according to the Institute for Supply Management of purchasing managers group. According to the group its service sector index was at 43. 7 in April, a bit better than March's reading but still showing the service sector that is shrinking.

 On Wall Street today the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points to close at 8410; the NASDAQ was down 9 points today.

 This is NPR.

 Two financial industry workers have been charged with insider trading by the government's major Wall Street watchdog group. Securities and Exchange Commission today accused a securities salesman at Deutsche Bank of tipping off a former portfolio 11 manager in 2006 by possible changes in terms of a bond that being issued by a Dutch publishing firm. According to the SEC, the tipped-off portfolio manager who was employed at the time by Millennium 12 Partners to make 1.2 million dollars, first of its kind case dealt with what are known as "credit default swaps 13".

 Comedian and celebrity 14 chef Dom DeLuise has died. The bearded, rotund actor did just about everything, plays on and off Broadway, TV and movies, even opera. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation 15.

 Dom DeLuise was a screwball comic who starred in a lot of screwball comedies. He worked with Mel Brooks 16 in movies like "Blazing Saddles" and "Robin 17 hood 18: Men in Tights". And he played Burt Reynolds sidekick in "Cannonball Run". "I'm really sorry, I'm late. But one of my hamsters had an anxiety attack, I couldn’t leave him. "

 Raised in Brooklyn, the son of Italian immigrants, Dom DeLuise attended Manhattan's High School for the Performing Arts and then Tufts University. With his exaggerated ethnic 19 accent, his heft and encyclopedia 20 of hilarious 21 expressions, Dom DeLuise became a household name in the 1960s and 70s. He also wrote children's books and popular cookbooks. He often joked about his battles with his weight, saying things like "I made friends with the enemy - celery." Dom Deluise died in Los Angeles, he was 75. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

 Crude oil futures 22 fell 63 cents a barrel today, ending the session at $53. 84 a barrel in New York.

 I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.