“One in 88 children has been identified with autism. This represents a 23% increase since our last report,” which was more than six years ago. The rate of autism spectrum disorders among boys is one in 54, nearly five times that of girls. The higher numbers are due in large part to better screening and reporting. 

 

The GOP-led House is approving a 3.5-trillion-dollar budget plan that would overhaul Medicare, make cuts on a wide range of programs and rejects removing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. It is expected to be voted down in the Senate. 

 

Weekly jobs claims are down again to their lowest level in nearly four years. Details from NPR's Chris Arnold.

 

The numbers for last week were better than expected, though the prior week was revised upwards. Gus Faucher is an economist with PNC Financial Services Group. He says the unemployment situation is continuing to improve.

 

“The economy’s been creating more than 200,000 jobs on net every month. That's good news. We still got a long way to go. We’re still down by more than five million jobs from where we were prior to the recession, but that process has picked up recently.”   

 

The big question is whether that pickup will continue. Many economists are a bit worried about more sluggish overall economic growth numbers as well as higher gas prices. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas billionaire whose 15 million dollars in super PAC money has sustained Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, says Gingrich now appears to be [slip] running out of time. NPR's Peter Overby says Adelson assessed all of the GOP candidates Tuesday during a conference at one of his casino hotels.

 

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles posted video of Adelson talking with reporters at the conference. Adelson said Gingrich is a bold decision maker, while Mitt Romney is not. But he said the GOP nomination seems to have slipped beyond Gingrich's reach.

 

“It appears as though he's at the end of his line.”

 

Adelson said he talked with Romney and Gingrich about forming a ticket, but realized that politically it wouldn't work. And as for Rick Santorum. 

 

“I know Rick. I like him. We’re friendly. But I got to tell you something, I don't want him to run my country.”

 

Adelson said he considered Santorum too hard-line on social issues, and he said Santorum doesn't have the entrepreneurial experience of creating things and taking risks. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 21 points at 13,147; NASDAQ was down ten at 3,095; and the S&P 500 down two points.

 

This is NPR News.

 

The Arab League is holding its annual summit in Iraq for the first time in a generation. In the pursuit of regional security, ministers are endorsing a UN-backed peace plan to end the year-old conflict in Syria. But as NPR's Kelly McEvers reports from Baghdad, attendees were reminded of the security threats that exist just outside their gathering.

 

Standing here on the lawn just outside the palace where the summit is taking place, we did hear a couple of booms, and it was confirmed that they were either mortar or rocket fire near the Iranian embassy, which is not far from the site here, but that there were no casualties.

 

NPR's Kelly McEvers.

 

The French oil company, Total, says it's figured out the source of a major gas leak beneath one of its platforms in the North Sea. NPR's Philip Reeves says it could take months to fix.

 

Total says the leak is in an old plugged well at a rock formation 4,000 meters down. Flammable gas is bubbling up to the surface, forming a large cloud around Total's Elgin platform, 150 miles east of Scotland. There are fears the gas could explode. Total's evacuated all the platform's 700 workers. It's also sent a couple of firefighting ships to stand by outside a two-mile exclusion zone that's been set up to protect shipping. There's speculation the gas might be ignited by a flare that’s still burning at the top of the platform, though Total’s been trying to ease these worries, saying the winds pushing the gas in the opposite direction. The main casualty so far is Total's share price. It's been dented by fears the company could end up with a big repair bill. Philip Reeves, NPR News.

 

US stocks ending the day mixed apparently with the Dow up 21, while NASDAQ is off ten.

 

This is NPR News.