President Obama says there's no doubt the US economy is weaker now than it was [at] the beginning of the year, and the downturn in Europe could make matters worse. Mr. Obama says the tax breaks and government spending in his jobs plan would help to cushion the blow. He asked why Republicans are lining up to vote for the bill which some private economists say would support nearly two million jobs.

 

"But I haven't heard them offer alternatives that would have that same kind of impact, and that's what we need right now."

 

Mr. Obama also says he's comfortable with an alternative Senate plan to fund the measure using a tax surcharge on incomes over a million dollars a year. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

 

The Bank of England is taking a dramatic step to stimulate Britain's faltering economy. It says it will inject 115 billion dollars into the economy by buying assets. At the same time, Europe's central bank is offering new emergency loans for about a year to help out as eurozone banks struggle to deal with the debt crisis in Greece. 

 

A Pakistani commission says a doctor who allegedly helped the US track down Osama bin Ladan should be tried for treason. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports the recommendation is expected to further strain ties between the two countries.

 

The commission investigating the US raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan said its questioning of Osama bin Laden's wives and daughters was complete, and they were now free to leave Pakistan. But the fate of one doctor, Shakil Afridi, looks far less certain. The commission recommended that a case of conspiracy and high treason be brought against him. Afridi is said to have helped the Americans run a phony polio vaccine program in the town where the al-Qaeda leader hid in a bid to obtain a DNA sample from him at his secrete compound. The move is likely to aggravate already fraught relations between Pakistan and the US, which has pressed Pakistan to release Afridi. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

 

IPhones, iPads and iMacs are lit up the world over transmitting images and tributes to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He died last night at the age of 56. NPR's Richard Gozalez tells us Jobs is being fondly and admiringly remembered at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

 

The people I'd talked to were all the people who remember what life was like before Steve Jobs and his products, and what they talk about basically is how much, you know, his work changed their lives, talk about how much it improved them and how much fun they've had with Apple products. 

 

NPR's Richard Gozalez at Apple headquarters where flags are flying at half-staff.

 

Just before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 179 points.

 

This is NPR.

 

Mortgage rates already hit a historic low. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.94%. The first time it's falling below 4%.

 

The International Olympic Committee says it's disappointed by today's decision to overturn a controversial IOC rule that banned athletes convicted of doping from competing at the Olympics. NPR's Tom Goldman reports the decision clears the way for a number of athletes to compete in London Summer Games next year.

 

The IOC adopted Rule 45 in 2008. It said athletes who were suspended more than six months for a doping violation could not take part in the next Olympics, even if their suspension was over and they were competing again. Thursday, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport struck down Rule 45, calling it invalid and unenforceable. Several anti-doping advocates praised the decision. They didn't like the way the IOC unilaterally imposed Rule 45 without going through the widely accepted World Anti-Doping Code. Among those benefiting from Thursday's decision, American track star LaShawn Merritt, the defending Olympic 400-meter champion, was banned from London, even though he completed a doping suspension and was running again this season. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

 

A Muslim American woman is suing Southwest Airlines for being removed from a flight from San Diego in March after crew members said her behavior seemed suspicious. Irum Abbasi, who was wearing a hijab or Islamic headscarf, was talking on her cell phone as the flight was preparing to take off. When a flight attendant became concerned about something, she thought she overheard. Abbasi, who immigrated from Pakistan, was flying to San Jose, where she's a graduate student.