NPR 2008-12-02（在线收听）

President-elect Barack Obama has named his top national security team, Senator Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State, Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense to stay on and retired Marine General James Jones as National Security Advisor. NPR Pentagon correspondent JJ Sutherland has more.

A presidential transition is a dangerous time as power changes hands. Mr. Obama noted that, as he chose what he called an experienced team able to deal with two wars at the same time, and the continuing danger of terrorism, as seen in last week's deadly attacks in Mumbai. "Both myself and the team that stands beside me are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism and that is true wherever it is found. We cannot have, we cannot tolerate, a world in which innocents are being killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies. " Mr. Obama also named his choices for attorney general, ambassador to the UN, and Secretary of Homeland Security. JJ Sutherland, NPR News.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the US expects Pakistan to cooperate fully with the investigations into the bloody attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last week. Rice is to visit India on Wednesday. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Secretary Rice is cutting short her trip to Europe to show her support to India in the wake of the Mumbai rampage. She told reporters in London that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. "This is a time when everyone in the civilized world needs to unite, not just in condemnation of these terrorist attacks, but also in a commitment to be decisive in following up whatever leads there are.” Asked whether she believes Pakistan might have been involved, Rice said that she doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but expects complete transparency and cooperation from Pakistan in the investigation. Six Americans were among the dead in Mumbai. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

A private research group is confirming what a lot of average Americans probably have suspected for a while now. The US economy is in recession and it has been for some time. National Bureau of Economic Research, the group that officially marks recessions in the US, says the current recession began in December of 2007. Speaking to a group of business executives in Washington today, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also did not appear surprised. "The American people know that, and I think the American people have known that for some time, so I don't think this is gonna be big news, I think they know the economy slowdown we focused on it, and everything I'm doing is to address that slowdown the best way I know how, which is through stabilizing the financial system.” Paulson says the administration is looking at additional ways to tap into the government's 700-billion-dollar financial rescue program.

On Wall Street, the Dow plunged 679 points today. This is NPR.

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was led out of a New York police precinct in handcuffs today after surrendering on a weapons possession charge. Authorities say a teammate is also under investigation in connection with an accidental shooting at a Manhattan nightclub. Burress, the wide star receiver, who helped the Giants win the Super Bowl accidentally shot himself in the thigh while at a nightclub Friday. He was treated at a New York hospital and released on Saturday. It's not clear to what extent his injury will affect his ability to play. The star player had already been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Texas Chicken Processor Pilgrim's Pride has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company operates 35 processing plants and employs more than 48, 000 people. From Dallas, NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports.

Pilgrim's Pride has been suffering large losses of late. It is expected to post an 802-million-dollar loss for the quarter ending in September. Some of its wounds are self-inflicted after its acquisition of competitor Gold Kist Incorporated last year for more than a billion dollars. It now cannot pay the loans. And like Southwest Airlines, which recently posted its first quarterly loss in years, after taking big write-downs on its fuel hedges. Pilgrim's Pride lost money on its chicken-feed hedges when the price of feed dropped unexpectedly, added to that an oversupply of chicken which has kept prices lower in stores and you have the perfect holiday recipe for Chapter Eleven. The company says it expects to continue operations as it moves to the process. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.

Commerce Department says construction spending fell 1. 2% in October as builders had to deal with the economic downturn as a severe credit crisis. Much of that drop was due to the falloff in homebuilding.