NPR 2011-01-13

Four days after being shot in the head, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is said to be making progress. One of her doctors says the Democrat 1 is less sedated 2 and making small movements. Giffords was among 14 people injured Saturday, when police say the alleged 3 gunman, Jared Loughner, opened fire. Six people died.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will attend a memorial event tonight in Tucson. The White House says before the service, Mr. Obama plans to meet privately 4 with the victims' families.

While the South is well under way in its cleanup from this week's major snowstorm, the Northeast is playing catch-up. The region was just hit last night with as much as two feet of snow reported in parts of New England. John Dankosky of WNPR in Hartford reports on the Connecticut governor's response to the stormy mess.

Dan Malloy has already held several press conferences about winter weather since taking office one week ago, but this snowstorm is providing a new challenge. More than 20 inches of snow have piled up across his state, and Malloy told nonessential state workers to stay home. He even suggested that private companies follow suit, and many have as interstate highways remain impassable in places. The Merritt Parkway, a main route for commuters into New York City, was closed for a time. Train service on Amtrak, a commuter 5 line, has been disrupted, and hundreds of flights have been canceled at New York and New England airports. The mayors of Danbury and Bridgeport, Connecticut have essentially 6 shut those cities down, and they've been communicating with residents via Twitter, with Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch 7 tweeting this plea: "Stay home. Please stay home". For NPR News, I'm John Dankosky in Winsted, Connecticut.

In Australia, the swollen 8 Brisbane River is still rising, forcing thousands of people to evacuate 9 their homes in and around the country's third largest city. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Brisbane that the worst flooding to hit Australia in a century has left at least 16 people dead and 43 missing.

The floodwaters are expected to peak early Thursday morning local time and remain high into the weekend. Authorities have shut down the city center and Brisbane's port. Roads and power in many areas are out. The premier 10 or governor of the state of Queensland, Anna Bligh, told residents threatened by the floods that there was no time left to hesitate.

"Anybody who has the slightest concern that you might be anyway near rising water, please leave your homes."

Bligh said that the floods were having a catastrophic impact on the state's agricultural sector 11 and its coal mining industry, which could take weeks or months to resume full production. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Brisbane.

The Federal Reserve reports the US economy ended last year on an up note, with all parts of the nation showing improvements in factories, consumer spending and companies hiring. And on news of this uptick in US stocks, the Dow's up 90. This is NPR.

Defense 12 Secretary Robert Gates appears to be playing down the possibility of a rift 13 within China's military and civilian 14 leadership. While Gates was speaking to reporters in Beijing, NPR's Louisa Lim says Chinese officials were again denying claims they were trying to upstage Gates' visit.

Robert Gates tried to dampen down speculation 15 about a gulf 16 between China's generals and its political leaders. This had its roots in the maiden 17 flight yesterday of China's first stealth fighter on the day Gates was meeting China's President Hu Jintao. A Pentagon official has said China's civilian leaders appeared to be unaware 18 and then surprised the flight had taken place. But speaking on the Great Wall, Gates was keen to stress that both military and civilian leaders wanted to take that relationship with the US to the next level. Meanwhile, a Chinese official again reiterated 19 that the stealth fighter's test flight was not connected to Gates's visit. But the heavily controlled state-run media have widely reported the test flight, leading some analysts 20 to wonder if it was a political stunt 21. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Beijing.

Five more NATO troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan, raising the alliance's death toll 22 in the war zone to 15 this year. Three were killed today in eastern Afghanistan; another died somewhere in the south. NATO isn't saying exactly where the troops were killed, nor is disclosing the nationalities of the fallen troops.

Another suicide bombing is reported out of northwest Pakistan. The attack against a police station and a mosque 23 killed at least 11 people and reportedly injured more than 30. Northwest Pakistan is home to many insurgents 24 who stage attacks against NATO-led forces fighting in neighboring Afghanistan.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.