From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the turmoil unfolding in North Africa underscores a broader strategic challenge confronting the global community. In Mali, France is battling Al-Qaeda linked Insurgents and in neighboring Algeria Islamist militants have kidnapped 41 people at an energy plant.
"The situation is very fluid. It's in a remote area of Algeria near the Libyan boarder. The security of our Americans who are held hostages are highest priority, but of course, we care deeply about the other Algerian and foreign hostages as well."
Reports of casualties during an attempted Algerian military rescue have not been independently verified.
Trouble continues to mount for Boeing's Dreamliner. The European Aviation Safety Agency is now the latest to ground the 787s and investigators are concern lithium batteries in the planes can leak corrosive fluid and start fires.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week will consider its own chairman for a key cabinet post. As NPR's S.V. Date reports Senator John Kerry will face questions from his committee members regarding his pick as President Obama's. Secretary of State.
The Committee has set Senator Kerry's nomination hearing for next Thursday at 10am. The President chose Kerry after UN ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration. Republican Senators indicated they will block her confirmation over her public statements regarding an attack in U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Kerry was a Democratic presidential nominee in 2004 and he's chaired Foreign Relations Committee since 2009. He is expected to win the approval of his committee as well as confirmation by the full Senate. S.V. Date, NPR News.
As flu continues to grow most of the U.S., there may soon be a way to speed up vaccine production. NPR's Richard Knox reports federal regulators have approved a new type of vaccine that avoids the need to grow the flu virus in eggs.
Ordinary flu vaccine is made by first growing virus in eggs, then extracting, killing and purifying it. That can take many months. The new vaccine called Flu Block is made without eggs. Scientists put a flu virus gene into a virus infected insects. The insect cells churned out flu virus protein to make vaccine. Protein scientists which developed Flu Block says the process of making a new flu vaccine takes only 21 days, so a properly matched vaccine could be a production much faster. The U.S. government has subsidized the new technology, because it could speed vaccine production when a new pandemic virus emergence. Some Flu Block should be available this spring. Its maker says 5 million doses will be ready for next year's flu season. Richard Knox, NPR News. "
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Fewer homes are moving into foreclosure in the U.S. evident by yet another decline posted in 2012. NPR's Dave Mattingly has that story.
Realty Trac's Daren Blomquist says foreclosure filings were down 3% last year to a level more than 1/3 of its peak. 'The big picture trend is definitely downward, looking back now over last 3 years, we can see repeat with this foreclosure crisis in 2010 with 2.9 million properties, receiving foreclosure filings nationwide that year.' That number last year was lower by more than a million. Florida, Arizona, and Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rates, despite the improvements. Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.
Fewer Americans have filed for unemployment insurance than any other time in the last 5 years. Labor Department reveals today benefit applications drop to 335,000 last week. The less volatile 4 week average also fell. It's under 360,000. However, the job figures tend to fluctuate at the start of the year as employers lay off workers who are hired just for the holidays.
Debate continues over the anti-gun violence proposals, president Obama announced yesterday. The head of National Rifle Association told CBS he has no problems with tighter background checks for gun buyers. But David King says the administration should pay less attention to banning certain firearms and more attention on improving the country's 'broken mental health system'.
US stock trading higher with Dow gaining 111 points to 13,622. NASDAQ up to 21. SP&500 up 11.
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