From NPR News in Washington,I'm Jack Speer.
Congressional leaders are reporting progress today in talks aimed at fashioning a bailout of the country's financial markets. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.
Negotiation's drum started after house Republicans joined the talks. Minority leader John Maynard says everyone agrees there's a crisis but GOP members want to see a less government centered response.We will not agree to a bill that sells taxpayers out to bail out Wall Street.House speaker Nancy Pelosi says the process is back on track.She appears open to at least some of the Republican market-based proposals.I don't think secretary could not accept some of those among the options he has to choose from in order to strengthen these institutions in order to bring stability to the markets and in order to turn around our economy.Pelosi says congress needs a bipartisan agreement to send the message to the market. Debbie Elliott,NPR News,the capital.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain are in Mississippi preparing for debate which is scheduled to begin in about two hours from now. McCain added several days of speculation of whether he will attend the event on the campus of old miss. Initially he called for the debate to be postponed while lawmakers in Washington continue to try to hammer out a financial rescue plan. For Obama had consistently said he would attend tonight's debate is first of three planned televised face between the pairs sponsored by the commission on presidential debates. As the contenders prepare for this evening's foreign policy debate, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is criticizing Republican Homeland Security efforts. Joe Palca with Wisconsin public radio reports.
Senator Biden spoke to firefighters at a fishfire lunch in the Milwaukee suburb of Cudahy. The Delaware Democrat said GOP presidential candidate John McCain and other Republicans have not provided enough Federal funding to help firefighters and police responded terrorist actions inside the US. He votes against giving you the money. He votes against pressing United States will not give you the money. Because philosophically he doesn't think it's a responsibility the Federal Government. It is a local responsibility. The McCain campaign says the Arizona Senator has a long record of supporting firefighters as a leader of the congressional fire services caucus. While in Wisconsin, Senator Biden also met with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. And pledged support for the former Soviet Republic. For NPR news, I'm // in Milwaukee.
Following what is being described as the largest collapse in US history. Depositors of Washington Mutual are being told their holdings are safe. Not so fortunate however the stockholders in the Seattle based thrift to pretty much lost everything when the government announced last night it was moving into engineer to sell the bank's assets to the JPMorgan Chase for one point nine billion dollars. The acquisition of WaMu Chase will have more than 5400 bank branches and deposits of nearly a trillion dollars.
On Wall Street the Dow was up 121 points today. This is NPR news.
House lawmakers today voted to approve legislation that would extend billions of dollars in tax credits for renewable energy but the bill still faces an uncertain future. The measure which passed by a vote of 226 to 166 are similar to a bill that cleared the Senate this week. Though unlike that version, it would include tax breaks into opposed by many Republicans. Both bills would extend for one year production tax credits for wind energy with an eight year extension of credits for solar energy projects. But also include tax credits for purchasing plug in electric vehicles. Unclear is whether the respective sides can work out a compromise before lawmakers leave town to begin campaigning for the November election.
When the officials in China insists that Olympic athletes and journalists were not serveed contaminated with Melamine, that's in response to concerns Chinese suppliers gave some of those parts the Olympics.NPR's Howard Berkes has more.
A spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Committee told around the rings dot com that the milk and yogurt served to Olympic athletes and journalists were checked by inspectors and found not to contain Melamine.The toxic chemical at the centre of growing food poisoning scandal in China.The only milk product served to athletes and media at the Olympic Villages and Venues were made by Olympic supplier Yili.Melamine has been found in Yili products.But Olympic spokesman Sun Wei told around the ring that food safety was strictly monitored during the Games.More than 50,000 children have been sickened and 4 died due to Melamine contamination.Some Chinese officials knew about tainted milk products before and during the Olympics,but kept that information secret.Howard Berkes,NPR News.
Crude oil features fell a dollar and thirteen cents a barrel to settle at 106 dollars and 89 cents a barrel. I'm Jack Speer. NPR news in Washington.
