NPR 2009-03-30

NPR News has learned that the Obama Administration asked the Chairman and CEO of General Motors Rick Wagoner to step down and he has agreed to do so. The move comes as the president says GM and Chrysler need to rethink the reorganization plans they submitted to the government if they want more federal loans. “What we're trying to let them know is that we want to have a successful auto 1 industry, US auto industry. We think we can have a successful US auto industry, but it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge at the other end, much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is.” Mr. Obama on CBS's "Face the Nation" Today. His auto industry task force is expected to announce tomorrow what assistance the two companies will get and on what conditions. GM and Chrysler have asked for up to 22 billion dollars in additional loans on top of the 17-billion already received.

Officials in Fargo North Dakota and neighboring Moorhead Minnesota say the flooded Red River still poses a threat even the water levels have dropped a few inches. From Minnesota Public Radio, Tom Weber has the story

Fargo's mayor says the city got a wakeup call early this morning when the river briefly 2 breached 3 a dike 4. It was sealed but not before extensively damaging a school. River levels are falling but they're still at record levels and there is a lot of snow and ice that could cause more problems if it melts in coming days. There's also flooding in other areas not from levee breaches 5 but from backed up sewers 6. Moorhead Assistant Fire Chief Greg Doeden says crews have done a good job so far on finding problems quickly. “We expect that we’re still going to have a little spots jumping up, but, ah, we're trying to get ahead of the curve, and we’re hoping for good things happen today. People keep their heads up.” Military drones are flying over the area, offering analysis of water patterns. They could potentially warn officials of further problems. For NPR news, I'm Tom Weber.

In Pakistan, officials say Taliban militants 7 kidnapped 11 Pakistani policemen in the Khyber region on the Afghan border. The kidnapping follows the deaths of 72 people in the same region after a suicide bombing inside a packed Mosque 8. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

A government spokesman said militants disarmed 9 the policemen and then bundled them into vehicles. This is a region through which vital supplies are shipped to US and other NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan's president told a joint 10 session of parliament this weekend Pakistan needs to fight the escalating 11 extremist violence inside the country for its own good. But many here see the violence in Khyber and across the Northwest as a result of support for the US mission in Afghanistan. Pakistan has long seen the Taliban as a valuable ally in Afghanistan. Confusion about how to deal with the Taliban has so far rendered Islamabad’s war against terrorism incoherent. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Islamabad.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Police now say eight people, most of them patients, were shot to death when a gunman opened fire in a nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina today. Carthage Police Chief, Chris McKenzie. “Officer Garner 12 with the Carthage Police Department arrived to assist and encountered the assailant in a hallway of the nursing home. Both the officer and the assailant were shot.” McKenzie says the gunman is now in custody 13. Police have no motive 14 for the killings 15.

Spain's National Court has agreed to consider bringing charges against six former Bush administration officials. The case deals with the alleged 16 torture practices at the Guantanamo Bay detention 17 facility. Jerome Socolovsky reports from Madrid.

The case names former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Undersecretary of Defense 18 for policy Douglas Feith and four other officials from the Pentagon, the Justice Department and Vice 19 President Dick Cheney’s staff. It says these officials provided legal cover for torture to be practiced at Guantanamo. The allegations were presented by human rights lawyers. The lawyers argued that the Spanish court can try US officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction 20 for torture cases. They also noted 21 that in any case Spanish citizens have been held at Guantanamo. The case is now a step closer to an indictment 22 after an investigating magistrate 23 asked prosecutors 24 to review the allegations. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Socolovsky in Madrid.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says US officials have little doubt that North Korea’s upcoming satellite launch is a cover for the regime’s effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. But Gates tells Fox News Sunday the US military has no plans to try to shoot the missile down.