NPR 2008-08-06（在线收听）

President Bush has arrived in South Korea at the start of his Asian tour. The president's plane landed today at a military airport near the South Korean capital. He is expected to meet with South Korea's president tomorrow. North Korea's nuclear program will be at the top of their agenda. Mr. Bush also hopes to persuade South Korea to commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan. Mr. Bush will also visit Thailand and attend the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Texas and Louisiana are preparing for Tropical Storm Edouard. The storm has top sustained winds of 65 mph and could strengthen into a hurricane before going ashore near Galveston. Jack Williams with member station KUHF reports.

Heavy rain and high winds are expected when Edouard comes ashore most likely near Galveston Island about 50 miles southeast of Houston. Emergency responders are on standby in case flooding and wind damage affect residents. Ed Emmett is the top administrator in Harris County. "There will be either a strong tropical storm or a very weak Category 1 hurricane. Nevertheless, 10 hours or so of constant wind and five, eight, ten, inches of rain can create dangerous situations." Officials in Galveston have not called for mandatory evacuations but do expect flooding. For NPR News I'm Jack Williams in Houston.

Nasty storms swept through northern Illinois last night, leaving tens of thousands of customers without power. Fans of the Cubs game had to clear the stands because of the intense storm. Steve Alshinburger lives in suburban Chicago. He was caught driving in it.

"There were trees down on my drive home and water pooling in streets that normally handle the rain as much as four or five inches deep. We see blocks without power, I didn't see any power lines down but it sounds like Commonwealth Edison is gonna have their hands full. " The National Weather Service says trained spotters reported seeing funnel clouds in two counties west of Chicago.

Wall Street will be watching Federal Reserve decision makers today. The Fed is widely expected to leave its key interest rate right where it is. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

With the economy sending downbeat signals, investors eagerly await the Central Bank's verdict on rates. On the one hand, oil prices have backed off their highs, but continuing concern about higher overall prices, rising unemployment and more potential weakness in the financial sector make the economic picture hard to assess. Many economists expect the policy makers will leave the rates unchanged. There is concern the economy is too weak to withstand a rate increase, but there is also concern that a further reduction could worsen inflation. Also this week, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will issue their rate decisions. Both US and European financial institutions continue to struggle from the aftermath of billions of dollars in bad housing loans. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

And from Washington, this is NPR News.

A strong earthquake has hit China's Sichuan Province. There have not yet been any reports of injuries or damage. The US Geological Survey puts the quake's magnitude at 6.0. It's the latest of scores of aftershocks from the more powerful quake that hit in May and killed at least 70, 000 people. Today's quake hit on the same day the Olympic torch was carried through Sichuan's capital on its way to Beijing where the Games will open on Friday. Meanwhile Olympic organizers are seeking to reassure the public that the Beijing Games will be safe after yesterday's attack that killed 16 police officers in western China.

The Transportation Security Administration says it's suspending new enrollments in a program to help airline passengers get through security checkpoints faster. The action was prompted by the theft of a laptop containing sensitive personal information. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

The suspension involves the Clear Registered Traveler program which has about 200, 000 customers so far. Verified Identity Pass, which runs Clear, says a company laptop containing sensitive information was stolen last week from San Francisco International Airport. Verified Identity Pass says the information includes names, addresses and birthdates for some 33, 000 new applicants and in some cases passport and driver's license numbers. It does not contain biometric data collected from applicants as part of a security check. The suspension only applies to new enrollments in the program. TSA says the company needs to ensure that future enrollment data is encrypted. One of the company's selling points has been that the information it collects is secure. Pam Fessler, NPR News Washington.