NPR 2008-12-25

Pope Benedict XVI today celebrated 1 the traditional Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, focusing on the plight 2 of many of the world's children. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome.

Delivering his homily in a crowded and resplendent St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict said that night in Bethlehem God himself came down as a child to the lowly stable, the symbol of all humanity's neediness 3 and forsakenness 4. With the birth of Jesus, the Pope added, God became a child and said to mankind, you can no longer fear me, you can only love me. Benedict then turned his thoughts to those children who were denied the love of their parents. "Let us think of those street children", he said," who do not have the blessing 5 of a family home, of those children who are brutally 6 exploited as soldiers and made instruments of violence, instead of messengers of reconciliation 7 and peace." "Let us think of those children," he added, "who are victims of the industry of pornography and every other appalling 8 form of abuse." Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

Mixed picture on the economy today, the Labor 9 Department reported weekly jobless claims shot up by another 30,000 to a seasonally 10 adjusted 586,000. That's the highest level since 1982. Orders of longer lasting 11 manufactured items also fell last month and consumer spending declined for a fifth straight month. The one adjusted for inflation was actually up slightly. Alec Young is an equity 12 analyst 13 at Standard & Poor's. He says most of the news is already factored in by the markets. "So they certainly are pressed in a lot bad news, the question is what's the timing 14 of the recovery. And I think on that front, eh, a lot of people still need to be convinced." Most analysts 15 said they expected further declines in consumer spending in the month ahead as well as additional layoffs 16 as companies struggle to cut cost.

There've been steep declines in advertising 17 revenue for most newspapers and magazines. Today the New York Times Company said its November ad revenues were down nearly 21%, below the same level last year. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

The sharp declines in classified and national ads spending at the New York Times Company can be partly explained by the recession. But the market was also weakened by readers and advertisers who turn to the Internet. The company's ad revenue makes up nearly two thirds of total revenue. September and October also saw declines though not as steep. Classified ads in the New York Times, the flagship newspaper, dropped 33% and the main declines in advertising were in automotive, books and financial services. While Internet revenue gained over the year, it also dipped in November 2%. Total Internet revenue which includes newyorktimes.com and about.com accounted for 12% of revenue last month. Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.

Despite the dismal 18 economy, there was some good news on the mortgage front today. The cost of borrowing money to buy a home is now at its lowest level in some 37 years. The average rate on a 30-year-fixed-rate loan has now fallen to 5.14%.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49 points, the NASDAQ was up three points.

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The leader of a coup 19 in Guinea paraded into the country's capital today, followed by several thousand soldiers. Captain Moussa Camara stood in the first truck of a military convoy 20 as crowd cheered him on, yelling" Long live the president! " For residents of the West African capital, it was the first time many had adventured outside since the military coup was declared in the country Tuesday. Renegade army Captain and the other members of the military announced the coup following the death of country's longtime dictator. Coup leaders had initially 21 promised a presidential vote within 60 days but now say they will stay in power until elections could be held in 2010.

An avalanche 22 in northern Utah killed two snowmobilers today. Authorities are warning conditions throughout the backcountry Rocky Mountain region are dangerous. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

The two snowmobilers died on Logan Peak, north of Salt Lake City near the Utah-Idaho border. Authorities had warned conditions could be dangerous there. Near Park City, a backcountry skier 23 reportedly escaped injury by clinging to a tree during two separate avalanches 24. Winter storms have dumped plenty of new snow across the rocky mountains. Steep slopes with large unstable 25 drifts are the most dangerous, especially at or above the tree line. The holiday is a tempting 26 time for snow enthusiasts 27, but this year avalanche centers in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming have issued warnings. Authorities say this is not a good time to play in the backcountry. As more storms are predicted to roll through the region, the avalanche danger will only worsen. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Denver.

Home explosion in Northern California today sent a fireball four stories into the air. The branch in Rancho Cordova reported it left five people injured, three of them critically. TV footage showed a little more than cinders 28 where the house had stood.