NPR 2008-05-04

Emergency workers are searching for more victims from deadly storms that raked Arkansas yesterday. At least eight people are dead and more are hurt in four more states. Dozens of homes have been damaged or destroyed. And the National Weather Service says as many as 25 tornadoes 1 may have touched down. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has declared states of emergency in seven counties. He’s ordered out the National Guard to help rescuers.

 The Democratic presidential candidates are campaigning in Indiana and North Carolina ahead of next Tuesday’s primary elections. Although Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both have similar views on many government policies, this week, they differed sharply on whether to suspend the federal gas tax temporarily over the summer. Clinton, like presidential candidate John McCain, supports the suspension. Obama says it wouldn’t really work. That’s because consumers would save about 28 dollars over three months.

 Republican candidate McCain has visited Colorado. He used the campaign stop in Denver to drum up support for his health care plan. But as Sarah Hughes reports, the event also attracted protesters.

 In a town hall meeting at a local community center, John McCain told a crowd of several hundred that his health care plan would give every family the option to have a 5000-dollar tax credit. “You’ve got 5000 dollars. You’ve got 5000 dollars to go out and then invest in health insurance.” Just outside of the community center, over a dozen protesters including Mike Cerbo, head of the Colorado AFL-CIO, gathered to protest the tax credit, calling it “too little, too late”. “The only measure that Senator McCain is offering to help perform, just not gonna be enough. It’s, it’s, it’s a crumb 2.” McCain is using the tax credit as one of the hallmarks of his health care plan. For NPR News, I’m Sarah Hughes, in Denver, Colorado.

 President Bush says Congress is partially 3 to blame for the high costs of gasoline and energy. Mr. Bush has visited St. Louis where he gave a speech. From member station KWMU, Adam Allington reports.

 With stimulus 4 checks starting to hit bank accounts this week, President Bush said an economic rebound 5 is on the horizon. Bush said the full effect of the stimulus won’t kick in immediately, but America can spend its way out of the current economic slowdown. “We want to make sure that people were encouraged to be consumers. We wanted there to be consumption in our society, and no better way to stimulate 6 consumption than to let you have some of your own money back.” Bush says with more cash on hand, Americans will be better able to cope with higher energy costs and rising food prices. Some fiscal 7 conservatives remain skeptical 8 that people will spend the rebate 9 checks on the kinds of things that actually stimulate growth. Overall, the economy grew at a meager 10 0.6% in the first quarter of 2008. For NPR News, I’m Adam Allington, in St. Louis.

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 Members of Zimbabwe’s political opposition 11 are meeting to decide whether to participate in a run-off election. The opposition claims it won March’s presidential election outright 12. Yesterday, Zimbabwean election officials finally released results of the voting. The ruling party acknowledges the opposition won, but not by enough to avoid a run-off election. If the opposition party rejects the run-off election, Zimbabwean law says the ruling party gets to stay in power.

 The space shuttle Discovery is a step closer to lift-off. Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center rolled the vehicle out to the launch pad for final testing before launch day at the end of this month. From member station WMFE, Pat Duggins reports.

 The trip to the launch pad goes at a snail’s pace. The shuttle is bolted to its external fuel tank and booster rockets. The whole spacecraft is then hoisted 13 onto a huge tractor for the trip out. Once Discovery is secured at the pad, engineers will load its main cargo 14. It’s a 30,000-pound Japanese science lab bound for the International Space Station. Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide’s part of the crew of space shuttle Discovery. He says he really can’t believe he’s going to space. “It hasn't sunk in yet for me. I’m feeling very calm and I’m hearing that sometimes it hits you, when the solid rocket booster ignites. So, we’ll see, we’ll see when it hits me.” Discovery’s cargo is the second part of the three-part Japanese Kebo complex on the space station. Once finished, it will be the biggest research lab on the orbiting outpost. For NPR News, I’m Pat Duggins, in Orlando.

 The US military says that an American soldier has been killed in Iraq. He died on patrol when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad. Two soldiers have been killed in May.