NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2015-09-26(在线收听

 Pope Francis is preparing for another historic address this one to world leaders at the UNs tomorrow. He's about to leave the Washington DC area for New York. Francis drew big crowds while he was in the nation's capital where he received a standing ovation hours ago in his address to a joint meeting of congress. Francis spoke of the sanctity of life and need to preserve a family and he appeals to all in the audience to embrace immigrants. We must not been taken aback by the * but rather you are their best sons seeing their faces and listening their stories trying  as best we can to reservation. The Pope's trip to the US will end in Philadelphia following his UN appearance in New York city. The UN gathering will be the side of a pivotal shift in US-Russia relations. NPR's SH says president Obama will take part in direct talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. President Obama has sharply limited diplomatic contact with the Russian president for more than one year in an effort to isolate Putin and in protest of  Russia's annexation of Crimea and its military meddling in eastern Ukraine. But White House confirms Obama will accept Putin's invitation for a meeting in New York next week on the sidelines of the UNs general assembly.The administration says Obama believes it's important to test whether high-level engagement with the Russians could produce progress in Ukraine. While Ukraine is expected to be the focus of their meeting, the two leaders might also discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria where Russia backs a leader who the US insists must step down. SH, NPR news, the White House.

A New Jersey bank will pay nearly 33 million dollars to settle claims of mortgage discrimination against black and hispanic communities. NPR's JR reports the Department of Justice says it's the biggest mortgage redlining settlements in its history. Federal prosecutors say Hudson City Savings Bank was happy to serve customers in well-off mostly white suburbs. The US attorney Paul Fishman says the bank illegally avoided serving urban neighborhoods that were predominantly black or hispanic. 'They eliminated where their branches were. They directed people to offices that were tremendously inconvenient. And they specifically target their marketing and advertising efforts outside of those neighborhoods.' The regional lander has agreed to pay about 27 million dollars for loan subsidy and outreach programs as well as a 5.5 million dollar penalty. The New Jersey based lander doesn't admit any wrongdoing. Federal regulators are expected to rule soon on a proposed acquisition of Hudson City by the larger M&T Bank. JR,NPR news.
Four people are now confirmed dead from a crash involving a charter bus and an impervious tour vehicle in Seattle. This is NPR news.
There has been a breakthrough in peace talks between and Columbia government and a Marxist rebel group who've been fighting for more than half a century. The two sides say they plan to sign a final peace accord within six months. JN has the latest. Columbia president Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement in Havana where his government has been negotiating with FARC guerrillas for the past three years. It came after negotiators agreed on a framework for compensating war victims and for setting up special tribunals to judge rebels accused of human rights abuses. If the talks remain on track, Santos said a peace accord could be signed by the end of March. Within 60 days of singing up this treaty, Santos added the FARC would begin to disarm. That will bring an end to Latin America's longest-running guerrilla conflict which has killed 220,000 people. For NPR news, I'm JN. More layoffs are coming to the construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar. The company reportedly plans to cut as many as 5000 jobs this year, mainly among its salaries and management work force. It says total cuts could exceed 10,000 people as it looks to trim factories and manufacturing sites over the next couple of years.
The average US rate on thirty-year mortgages have fallen this week to 3.86 percent. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac also reports the rate on the 15-year loan slid to 3.08 percent. The Fed recently announced it would keep interests rates unchanged for at least another month. This is NPR news.
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