The Political Purpose Of Obama And Boehner's Golf Game

Host Michel Martin checks-in with NPR's Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving about developing stories in politics. They discuss which Congressional members are increasingly upset about the U.S. involvement in Libya, and why. They also talk about the impasse with the debt limit, and this past weekend's golf summit between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137298601/the-political-purpose-of-obama-and-boehners-golf-game?ft=1&f=1014

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Rory McIlroy: It's Not The Feat, It's The Humility

Thank you, Rory McIlroy. Now I have a new rooting interest.

In case you weren't watching, this poodle-haired 22-year-old from Northern Ireland ripped the lungs out of the field this weekend at golf's U.S. Open.

Those who don't care about golf may not read past this paragraph — though I urge you to do so. He will be on your TV and your teenage daughters will take notice.

But for hackers and scratch handicappers alike, what happened at Congressional Country Club outside Washington, D.C., was transcendent. For some of us, it filled a void that has been empty since Tiger Woods' recent series of unplayable lies.

Because a star is born. And maybe not just a star. Maybe a supernova.

It's not just the quality of play, which was superb. Like Tiger at Pebble Beach in 2000, McIlroy set or tied 12 U.S. Open records.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137286337/rory-mcilroy-its-not-the-feat-its-the-humility?ft=1&f=1057

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NATO: Libya Airstrike May Have Killed Civilians

The acknowledgment came after Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi said the airstrike on a residential Tripoli neighborhood killed nine people, including two children. NATO said the errant strike early Sunday may have been due to "a weapons system failure."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/19/137281971/libya-nato-airstrike-kills-9-civilians?ft=1&f=1004

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Winds To Challenge Crews Battling U.S. Wildfires

Extremely high winds are expected to challenge firefighters trying to protect homes threatened by a pair of fires in southern and eastern Arizona on Sunday.

The small New Mexico town of Luna is in the path of the massive Wallow Fire burning in eastern Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Fire breached a containment line along Highway 180 on Saturday and about 200 residents were ordered to evacuate and remained out of their homes Sunday.

The evacuation order came on the same day that some other residents displaced by the fire that began May 29 were allowed to return home.

The threat to Luna lessened late Saturday but was expected to return Sunday afternoon as wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were expected to drive the flames.

Only about half the town's residents actually left, and the rest have been told to stay off the roads so they don't get in the way of fire crews, Catron County Undersheriff Ian Fletcher said Sunday. Few people went to a Red Cross shelter set up in Reserve, New Mexico.

The blaze has consumed nearly 800 square miles, a little more than 511,000 acres, and more than 3,500 firefighters were trying to stop its advance. The blaze is larger than a 2002 fire that burned 732 square miles and destroyed 491 buildings that had been the largest in state history. Despite its size, the latest fire has destroyed just 32 homes and four rental cabins. Containment rose to 44 percent Sunday.

In southern Arizona, a wildfire south of Sierra Vista jumped containment lines, prompting authorities to order new evacuations.

Fire spokesman Bill Paxton said Sunday afternoon that all pre-evacuation notices have been converted into mandatory evacuations.

The Monument fire has already forced nearly 7,000 people to flee 2,600 homes. At least 44 homes have already been lost.

The blaze has burned nearly 33 square miles or 21,000 acres since it broke out on June 12. On Sunday, about 1,000 firefighters were on the lines trying to make a stand in the face of fierce wind gusts that had limited the use of aircraft to fight the fire. Winds were blowing steadily at about 30 mph with gusts on the ridges of about 50 mph. The blaze remained 27 percent contained.

Residents of Alpine, Ariz., were allowed to return to their homes Saturday morning after being forced out by the Wallow Fire for more than two weeks, but residents of the resort town of Greer still remained evacuated.

Meanwhile, the remaining evacuations from a fire burning on both sides of the New Mexico-Colorado border were lifted Saturday morning for residents of communities outside of Raton, N.M.

Containment on the nearly 28,000-acre Track Fire jumped to 80 percent Sunday morning and fire officials said existing fire lines were holding despite strong winds in the area.

Investigators from New Mexico State Forestry and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway said Saturday that fire apparently was started June 12 by engine exhaust from an all-terrain vehicle.

They said the rider was trespassing onto land owned by BNSF railway through access from nearby private property. The Colfax County Sheriff's Department was seeking information on the person or persons riding or operating ATVs near the origin of the fire.

Another wildfire in Cochise County, Ariz., called the Horseshoe Two was 75 percent contained after charring about 210,000 acres, nearly 330 square miles.

All of the Arizona wildfires are believed to be human caused. Investigators believe a campfire was the most likely cause of the Wallow fire.

More fires were burning north of Santa Fe, New Mexico; near Yakima, Washington state, and in southern Colorado.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/19/137286598/winds-to-challenge-crews-battling-u-s-wildfires?ft=1&f=1003

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Finals Might Be The Last NBA Action For Some Time

The NBA finals delivered some great basketball this year, but it may be the last professional basketball we see for a while. The NBA and its players' union are miles apart when it comes to a new contract. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, parts or all of next season may be in jeopardy due to an NFL-style lockout.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/19/137278497/finals-might-be-the-last-nba-action-for-some-time?ft=1&f=1003

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Karzai: Afghanistan, U.S. Negotiating With Taliban

President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that Afghanistan and the United States are engaged in peace talks with the Taliban, even as suicide bombers stormed a police station near the presidential palace, killing at least two police officers.

The brazen attack in the heart of Kabul's government district provided a sharp counterpoint to Karzai's announcement that the U.S. and Afghan government are in talks with the Taliban, the first official confirmation of such discussions. The violence also underscored the difficulty facing any possible negotiated settlement to the decade-long war.

Men dressed in Afghan army uniforms stormed the police station near the presidential palace and opened fire on officers as they tried to enter the building, said Mohammed Honayon, an eyewitness.

The crackle of gunfire could be heard across the capital as insurgents and security forces fought for control of the station. Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said the fighting ended by 3 p.m. local time. He said that two police officers had been killed and one injured. All three suicide attackers had also been killed, he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to The Associated Press, saying three suicide bombers attacked the police training center.

The assault occurred shortly after Karzai, who is a strong proponent of peace discussions, announced during a speech at the presidential palace that his government and the U.S. have begun preliminary negotiations with the Taliban aimed at ending the conflict.

"In the course of this year, there have been peace talks with the Taliban and our own countrymen," Karzai said. "Peace talks have started with them already and it is going well. Foreign militaries, especially the United States of America, are going ahead with these negotiations."

Karzai said some of the Taliban emissaries that have met with members of the peace council he set up were only representing themselves, while others were speaking for the broader movement.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.

The triple suicide attack in Kabul is rare. The capital is one of seven regions scheduled to be handed over to Afghan security control in late July. It is part of NATO's efforts to begin handing over guarding the nation ahead of its planned 2014 withdrawal from the country. The U.S. also plans to start a drawdown of troops in July.

The last major attack in Kabul was last month when a suicide bomber wearing an Afghan police uniform infiltrated the main Afghan military hospital in Kabul in late May. He killed six medical students. A month before that, a suicide attacker in an army uniform sneaked past security at the Afghan Defense Ministry, killing three.

Attacks have increased in Afghanistan since the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and the start of the Taliban's yearly spring offensive.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/18/137266419/karzai-afghanistan-u-s-negotiating-with-taliban?ft=1&f=1004

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'Green Lantern': A Hero's Light, Shuttered By Clutter

Labored exposition, hokey dialogue and silly cloud villains mean Hollywood's latest superhero origin story can't overcome its own supernerdiness. Director Martin Campbell delivers a movie for the fans ? and that's the problem.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/17/137150776/green-lantern-a-heros-light-shuttered-by-clutter?ft=1&f=1057

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