NPR 2008-12-30

There are more reports of Israeli aircraft firing missiles into Gaza, killing 1 additional Palestinians. According to officials, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at government buildings in Gaza City, flattening 2 several buildings and killing a number of people. The number of casualties from Israeli offensive that began over the weekend has now risen to more than 300. Israel also struck next the Hamas premier's home and destroyed a security compound and a university building. At least three people meanwhile reportedly have been killed by rockets fired into Israel. An exiled Hamas official is ruling out any talk of a ceasefire until Israel ends the air strikes and reopens Gaza crossings.

The Bush administration says it's working hard to rebuild the fractured ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. President Bush has spoken with several Arab leaders since Saturday. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe indicated the Bush administration is still looking for a lasting 3 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But Johndroe clearly blamed Hamas for the violence in Gaza and that the militant 4 group must take the first step to stop the bloodshed. "In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable 5 ceasefire. " Johndroe called Hamas a terrorist organization that had shown its true colors during the conflict in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has not called for Israel to stop its airstrikes against Gaza, saying that Israel needs to defend itself. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

The number of black male teenagers and young adults who have been killed or being killed in shootings has risen sharply since 2000. That's conclusion of a study released today. NPR's Paul Brown has that story.

Criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston say that as FBI data show murders have leveled off nationwide, there have been dramatic increases in shooting deaths among black male teenagers. The report says that last year 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 died in gun crimes. That's 40% more than in 2000. And the study shows nearly 1, 000 young black males committed fatal shootings in 2007. That is 38% higher than in 2000. The researchers say the number of young white men committing gun-related homicides also rose, but nowhere near as sharply. The study's authors criticized the Bush administration for cutting grants to local police and youth crime prevention programs. One of them urges new investment in programs to help children and families. Paul Brown, NPR News, Washington.

Two days after a deadline for a vote by bond holders 6 at General Motors finance arm has come and gone, there is still no word on whether they've approved the bond exchange. The exchange is viewed as critical for allowing the automaker's financial arm GMAC to tap into federal bailout money. GMAC bond holders had till December 26th to approve the exchange. It requires shareholders 8 convert 75% of their debt into equity 9 in GMAC, giving the company 30 billion dollars in capital.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31 points. The NASDAQ lost 19.

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The announcement that Kuwait has decided 10 to back out of a more than 17-billion-dollar joint 11 venture with Dow Chemical will likely result in some changes in terms of the company's future plans, possibly to include acquisitions according to analysts 12. Kuwaiti government announced because of the global financial crisis and the recent falloff in oil prices, it has decided the joint venture, known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, was "too risky 13". The venture was initially 14 built as giving both parties a larger share of the global chemicals market. Midland, Michigan-based Dow said it was extremely disappointed with Kuwaiti government's decision.

It was a record year for tourism in New York despite the recession. NPR's Robert Smith has more.

First the good news for a city racked by financial problems: 47 million people visited the Big Apple in 2008, nearly a million more than last year and those people came with open wallets. Tourists to New York generated 30 billion dollars in spending, also setting a new record. The challenging news for New York is that almost all the increase came from international tourists. They came to the city in droves earlier in the year spurred by the weak dollar. Now that the dollar has strengthened, officials worried that it might drop off. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg warns that the increase in spending this year was a smaller jump than years past. He said the ongoing 15 financial downturn is going to weight heavily on all of New York's hospitality industry. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has acquired a more than 9% stake in Carmike Cinemas. That's according to a filing with securities regulators. Cuban also owns the Dallas Mavericks 16 basketball team, reportedly purchased 1.2 million shares in Carmike, currently faces charges of insider trading in connection with another deal: the decision to bail 7 out the investment search-engine company Mamma.com that allowed him to avoid 750, 000 dollars in losses.