The areas in greatly need water are small rural communities in north California, the central valley and a serial of foothills. State officials are looking at a variety of stopgap measures like digging new wells, holing water into parch area and partnering small and larger water districts. But they say any approach will take time and money. California governor Jerry Brown declared a drop in emergency earlier this month, asking residents to voluntarily conserve 20% of their water use. Now he sent a mandatory message, saying that every day that drought goes on we’re going to have to tighten screws on what people are doing. Richard Gonzales, NPR News, San Francisco. 

 

President Obama continues his postal state of union road trip today, expanding on some of the ideas he scratched out on Tuesday night. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports the president used an engine factory in Wisconsin highlight the needs for improving job train. 

General Electric Waukesha engine factory is growing, adding more than 60 employees last year to bring a total to nearly 700. The company partner with an union, a local technical college and others to make sure incoming workers have the skills they need to land good-paid manufacturing jobs. President Obama says that’s a model for what he wants to see more off. 

“When we got to start by figuring out which skill is employees are looking for, then they got engaged in this entire community, we got help workers earn these skills they need to do the job it exists.”

Obama advised vice president Biden to lead that efforts it’s a kind of modest administration move the White House can make without Congress action. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Milwaukee. 

 

What starts off is a small investigation in the allegation of a drug use by a personnel in a air force missile base, it’s now widened into a far bigger investigation. officials are alleged of a extensive exam cheating. According an official discovered the half of 183 nuclear missile officers Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana are now implicated into a probe. Air force secretary Deborah Lee James explains what appeared to driving the cheating. 

“It’s severe didn’t cheat to pass, they cheated because they felt driven to get 100 percent. Getting 90% or 95% was considered a failure in their eyes.”

Malmstrom Air Base is one of 3 nuclear missile wings oversee the country 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. 

 

Federal prosecutors are calling on a @@ order bank of America to pay 2.1 billion dollars in penalty for knowingly selling bad home loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the height of housing bubbles. Document follows today as the government says it’s basically amount a total revenue derive from the fraud and steps of profits that were made. 

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 109, to 15,848; the NASDAQ gained 71 points. 

 

You’re listening to NPR News in Washington. 

 

Federal prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against the accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the final decision of the case made by US Attorney General Eric Holder. Twin bombings slamed into now 20 years old Tsarnaev and his brother, who died in a shootout with police, were also the death of 3 people last April. Prosecutors allege the pair ethnic Chechnya brothers, who have lived in US for about a decade, planed to a pressure cooker bombers near the finish line of the marathon. Tsarnaev is also charged with the death of a MIT police officer. 17 of the 30 charges against him carry a possible death penalty. 

 

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is moving to drop an appeal, but the decision has found city stopped and frisk policy unconstitutional. NPR’s Mark Idler reports the mayor was opposite the sidewalk searches once the case sent back the lower court. 

The district court found the city’s stop and frisk policy was unconstitutional by targeting Black and Latino men. Former mayor Bloomberg defended of the policy appealed. Mayor Blasio held a news conference which the plaintiff in the case and announced an agreement including a monitor to oversee reform for 3 years. Police commissioner William Bratton says reform is important because the stop and frisk:

“Instead of securing confidence, instead of securing legitimacy and instead raised doubts and concerns about the police force in this city”

Much has to be worked out, but once the lower court signed off found in an agreement between the parties. The city will formally ask to drop the appeal. Mark Idler, NPR News, New York. 

 

Big game hasn’t even started and in the appear of scalpers have already hearted worked. Federal authorities are announcing they have seized 21.6 million dollars for the counterfeit super ball jerseys and other items what they’re calling a major crackdown.