NPR 2008-03-28

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

In the wake of fierce fighting between Shiite militiamen and security forces, officials in Baghdad have now put in place a weekend curfew in an effort to calm things down. The BBC's Crispin Thorold is in Baghdad. He says it shows the extent of the violence there.

All movement has been banned in Baghdad from now until early on Sunday morning. The enforcement of curfew is an indication of how insecure the capital has become. There have been several clashes here, including one between American forces and the fighters from the Mahdi Army. Throughout the day, rockets and mortars 2 were fired towards the Green Zone where the governments and embassies are based. Many reached their targets, but some fell short, killing 3 civilians 4. There has also been extensive fighting in Basra, where the number of dead has risen steeply. Local people say that they're beginning to run out of food and water. The BBC's Crispin Thorold.

Among the dead today was a US government official killed in a rocket attack. The violence comes as followers 5 of radical 6 Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have gone on the offensive after a government crackdown against his military forces in Basra.

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton unveiled a new economic proposal at a campaign stop in North Carolina today. From member station WUNC, Laura Leslie reports.

Clinton kicked off her primary campaign in North Carolina at one of the state's top community colleges, where she announced a 2.5-billion-dollar initiative for workforce 7 training. Clinton said she will start a universal assistance program to help retrain all workers who lose their jobs. And she wants to offer financial aid to workers who are still employed. "You shouldn't have to produce a pink slip to get help training for a new higher paying job, you should be able to get help while you are still in the job that you currently have." Clinton also proposed universal tax deferred 8 retirement 9 accounts for workers whose employers don't offer 401k(s). She says she'll pay for the programs by cutting corporate 10 tax subsidies 11 for oil and drug companies. For NPR News, I'm Laura Leslie in Raleigh.

Speaking in New York today, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama outlined his plan to boost the lagging economy. Along with calling for an overhaul 12 of government regulation on Wall Street, the Democratic frontrunner also proposed a 30-billion-dollar economic stimulus 13 package to help rescue homeowners on the brink 14 of losing their homes. "It's not a windfall for borrowers, as they will have to share any capital gain. Instead, it offers a responsible and fair way to help bring an end to the foreclosure crisis." Obama made his remarks not far from Wall Street which has been affected 15 by problems in the housing market and the ongoing 16 credit crunch 17. He said it shows problems long faced by middle class Americans are now being felt more widely.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 120 points to end the session at 12,302. The NASDAQ dropped 43 points today, the S&P 500 was down 15 points.

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All Americans crossing the border from Canada and Mexico by land will soon be required to show a passport or similar secure document. That's beginning in June of next year. That's according to a new rule announced today by the Homeland Security Department. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

The rule is no surprise. The department has been phasing in stricter ID requirements at the border for a few years. In January, travelers had to start showing either a passport or some other proof of citizenship 18 such as a birth certificate. But many border state lawmakers and businesses think the stricter passport requirement will be an impediment to cross border travel and trade. Congress passed legislation last year forbidding the department from implementing 19 the new rules before June 1st, 2009. And then, only if steps are taken to ease the transition. The Homeland Security Department says it will accept a new secure driver's license 20 issued by Washington State as an alternative to the passport requirement. The agency is negotiating similar deals with other border states. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

State police around the Charlottesville Virginia area say they are still looking for multiple suspects in a number of vehicles, after an incident where vehicles were fired upon on the interstate highway there. The shootings left several people injured, apparently 21 none critically. The incident has resulted in the shutdown of a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 64 for around 6 hours this morning. Police say they have no motive 22 for the shootings.

Well, the economy appears to have dodged 23 the traditional definition of recession for now to find its back-to-back quarters of negative growth clearly was decelerating sharply in the final 3 months of last year. In its final reading of fourth quarter economic growth, the government says the economy grew at just a six-tenths of a percent rate.

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