NPR 2009-08-01

The government reports the nation's Gross Domestic Product fell one percent in the first quarter, a far slower contraction 1 than the previous quarter when GDP shrank 6.4%. President Obama called it progress resulting from his administration's actions.

"The progress is directly attributable to the recovery act. This and other difficult but important steps that we've taken over the last six months have helped us put the brakes on the recession." Mr. Obama also said today's report shows the recession was far deeper when he took office than analysts 2 had thought.

Within hours of learning the government's new "cash for clunkers" program was running out of money, the House today voted to rush an additional two billion dollars into the program. It provides rebates 3 to trade in gasguzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Michael Hibblen with station KUAR has reaction from one dealership 4 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

At Landers Toyota in Little Rock, customers like Don Griffin have been taking advantage of the program. He traded in a 14-year-old GMC Yukon for a new Toyota sedan. "I figured if the government was crazy enough to pay that kind of money, I would go ahead and take advantage of it." While the program has boosted sales, Steve Landers, who owns nearly two dozen dealerships, believes it was poorly conceived. "It's chaotic 5 with the government, and it's a good program for the customer, but we’ve yet not receive payment from the government on any of them. I don't think they thought through it real well." He believes the government underestimated customer demand. For NPR News, I'm Michael Hibblen, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In Baghdad today, at least 28 people were killed in bombing attacks on Shiite mosques 6 as worshippers left Friday prayers. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

Worshippers at six different Shiite mosques across Baghdad fell victim to car bombs today, shattering a period of relative calm. Violence is greatly reduced in the past year, but the bomb serves as a stark 7 reminder 8 that sectarian tensions remain just beneath the surface. Despite the continuing attacks, it is ethnic 9 tensions between Arabs and Kurds that have concerned American officials. The leader of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani, will be meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over the weekend. It will be the first time the two men have spoken in a year. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino has died. She was 76. Aquino was credited with the 1986 so-called "People's Revolution", replacing the 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos with democracy. The first female president of the Philippines, Aquino managed to stay in office through seven coup 10 attempts. She had battled colon 11 cancer.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 17 points at 9,171.

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The government coupons 12 that help TV viewers buy converter boxes said their old sets can receive the new digital signals stations are now broadcasting comes to an end at midnight tonight. We have more from NPR's Neda Ulaby.

Most Americans have come to rely on their televisions. In fact, the average American adult watches up to five hours of television a day, according to a recent Nelson study. But people without satellite, cable or digital tuners on their televisions were left with blank screens on June 12th. That's when the nation’s broadcasters went from analog 13 to digital signals. The Federal Communications Commission got nearly a million calls of complaint right after the switch. Since last year, the federal government has offered coupons to people who need digital to analog converter boxes for their older TVs. Nearly 40 million viewers have snapped the coupons up. But the program ends at midnight tonight. Consumers have a tiny bit of time left to order the coupons online, by fax or a letter if it's postmarked with today's date. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

The House of Representatives has approved a bill aimed at restricting excessive corporate 14 bonuses on companies with at least a billion dollars in assets. It would give shareholders 15 an annual non-binding vote on the companies' pay practices, and it would allow the government to bar pay incentives 16 considered risky 17 to the company or the economy. The Senate is due to consider the bill in the fall.

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd has been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. The ranking Democrat 18 says he will undergo surgery in August and then return to the Senate to continue his key role in health care overhaul 19 legislation.

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.