NPR 2009-09-04

Defense 1 Secretary Robert Gates meeting with reporters at the Pentagon today said he realizes there is growing impatience 2 with the war in Afghanistan. But he took exception to the idea the war, in his words, “is slipping through the administration's fingers”. And Gates told reporters he disagrees with those who say it's time for the US to withdraw.

"I absolutely do not think it is time to get out of Afghanistan and I think that the notion that you can conduct a purely 3 counter-terrorist kind of campaign and do it from a distance simply does not accord with reality."

Earlier this week, the new US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, delivered a classified assessment 4 on the war which has now been sent to the president for his review. The document is widely believed to be a lead into a request for more troops and more money for the now eight-year-old war in the weeks ahead.

A wildfire is still burning northeast of Los Angeles today. The station fire has burned more than 200 square miles of forest, and it’s 40% contained. There are three primary areas of concern, as Steve Julian of member station KPCC reports.

The first is Mount Wilson, the peak that houses dozens of radio and TV towers and a historic observatory 5. It’s still under some threat though ground crews have kept the peak safe so far this week. A few miles to the west, a flare-up this morning forced about two dozen people to leave their homes in the Pacoima Canyon 6. Crews there are confident they can cut this fire off and keep it from heading north into a very populated region of Los Angeles, the Santa Clarita Valley. The third location is in the wilderness 7 in the southeastern portion of the station fire. This is rugged 8 and steep terrain 9 above several foothill communities where people have built homes against and, in some cases, into the forest. The attack planned today includes about 20 helicopters, eight air tankers 10 and three larger airplanes that can drop thousands of gallons of water or gel at a time. For NPR News, I'm Steve Julian in Los Angeles.

The Labor 11 Department says new jobless claims fell slightly last week, but by less than had been expected. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

There were 4,000 fewer new unemployment claims last week than the week before. But that still meant a total of 570,000 new claims for jobless benefits last week. The largest increases were in California, Ohio and New Hampshire. There are growing signs that the economy is recovering, but a turnaround in the job market is lagging, an indication that companies are still reluctant to hire and that lay-offs in many industries continue. On Friday, the Labor Department will release unemployment figures for August and many economists 12 expect the jobless rate to rise from the 9.4% in July. Some predict the rate will hit 10% before the end of the year. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 63 points. The NASDAQ was up 16 points today.

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Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration have ordered the replacement 13 of some speed sensors 15 on Airbus jets. The decision to replace the speed sensors follows the crash of an Air France jet earlier this year in which all 228 people on board were killed. A faulty sensor 14 on the plane is suspected of playing a role in the crash of the air plane which went down in the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The FAA says its replacement notice covers A330 and A340 model jets. The order will affect two US airlines that use the Airbus planes Northwest, now part of Delta 16 and US Airways 17.

The Italian Journalists’ Federation 18 backed by fellow European organizations is planning a major demonstration 19 later this month to protest what it says Prime Minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s attempt to muzzle 20 the Italian and foreign press. Sylvia Poggioli reports.

Over the last week, Berlusconi has announced he is suing several Italian and European newspapers for what he claims as slander 21. The main Italian target is the leftist-leaning La Repubblica which for several months has been posing ten questions to the Prime Minister, seeking clarifications about his relations with teenage girls and a self-professed prostitute. Berlusconi claims the questions in themselves are defamatory. The latest suit is against the leftist newspaper l'Unita for articles allegedly vilifying 22 his personal life and sexual behavior. A brief, filed by the Prime Minister's lawyers, cites quotes taken from a TV comedian 23 insinuating 24 that Berlusconi takes Viagra, saying the jokes are "personally damaging" as they represent Berlusconi is affected 25 with erectile dysfunction which the brief claims “he is not”. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

Crude oil futures 26 closed down nine cents a barrel to end the day at $67.96.

I'm Jack 27 Speer, NPR News in Washington.