NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-10-23

 Vice President Joe Biden is staying out of the 2016 race for president, ending weeks of speculation about his political plans in the wake of a family tragedy. NPR's AH reports Biden used the White House Rose Garden as the backdrop for his long-awaited response. After mourning his son's death, Biden says he now feels he's run out of time to mount a winning campaign. But still in an announcement at the White House Rose Garden, Biden at times sounded like a candidate, defending President Obama's legacy and talking about the need to do more for the middle class. 'I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation.' Without Biden in the race, the main battle in the Democratic primary now appears to be between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. AH, NPR news, Washington.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton faces a congressional hearing tomorrow on Benghazi Libya, site of the 2012 assault on a US mission that killed ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Controversy surrounding Clinton's handling of security at the facility when she was secretary of state has overshadowed her presidential campaign. NPR's KJ reports on the House-slected committee holding tomorrow's hearing. The committee was created in May14th and it's led by Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina. The penal's held only three public hearings since its creation but the one featuring former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton is clear to be the most closely watched. NPR's KJ reporting.
House Republicans will attempt to select their nominee for speaker next Wednesday before the full House votes the next day. If all goes according to plan, NPR's SC explains speaker John Boehner may get to leave office very soon. House speaker John Boehner may finally be getting his wish, leaving congress before the fall is even over. Boehner said he felt confident his plan of holding speaker elections next Wednesday and Thursday wont's unravel this time because he thinks Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan is a consensus candidate and that he will say yes to entering the race. 'I think Paul is gonna get the support that he's looking for as he laid out a very clear vision of how he would run for the speakership and I thought the members have respond very well to him'. Ryan has announced that he will run for speaker only if he gets backing from the most conservative members of his caucus. AC, NPR news, the Capitol.
The nuclear deal Iran struck with six world powers three months ago now has the endorsement of the Iran's highest authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But in a letter to Iran's moderate president, Khamenei says he still doesn't trust the US and urges greater vigilance on the part of the Iranian government. Before the closing bell, Dow was down 48 points. You're listening to NPR news. Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed to pay up to 8 million dollars to employees whose personal information was released last year in a hacking scandal. NPR's MB has more. Sony settled a combined class action law suit brought by current and former employees after their personal information was released during a cyber attack a year ago. US investigators blamed North Korean hackers for breaking into the company's computers in response to The Interview, a comedy in which Kim Jong-un is assassinated. The hack revealed embarrassing emails from Sony executives. It also released social security numbers and other personal information of Sony employees and their families. The law suits blamed Sony for negligence in protecting information and privacy violations. The 8 million dollars covers legal fees, identity theft losses and fraud protection. MB, NPR news.
Volkswagen has halted sales of its controversial diesel-powered vehicles across the EU. It's the latest in the fallout from the company's admission that some VW and Audi vehicles contain software that enable them to cheat on US emissions test. Toyota is recalling 6.5 million vehicles worldwide, more than 2.5 million of which are in North America. The company says it's concerned about a defective power window switch that overheat and cause a fire. One person reportedly suffered a hand burn as a result of the defect. Before the close, the Dow was down 48 to 17169. I'm LS, NPR news in Washington.