The president and first lady Michelle Obama participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow today. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
By Mark Memmott
President Barack Obama has arrived in Moscow for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at which they hope to make progress on arms control. The two leaders also plan a news conference. It's scheduled to get started around 10:30 a.m. ET and we're planning to live-blog as it happens.
On Morning Edition NPR's Anne Garrels spoke from Moscow with co-host Renne Montagne about the summit and the arms control talks:
As The Financial Times writes, the two leaders "are expected to announce a preliminary 'framework' agreement on a new nuclear arms control pact."
In other breaking news, there have been deadly riots in China's western region of Xinjiang, where members of the Uighur ethnic Muslim minority have battled with the Han majority. At least 140 people are reported to have been killed. NPR's Carl Kasell introduces this report from NPR's Anthony Kuhn, who is at the scene:
According to BBC correspondent Chris Hogg in Shanghai, the clashes are among China's most serious since the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown in 1989.
As for other stories making headlines this morning, they include:
-- CNN.com -- "Ousted President Shut Out Of Honduras": "Deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya landed in El Salvador late Sunday after a failed attempt to return to his homeland. Zelaya told the Venezuela-based news network Telesur that his jet was denied permission to land Sunday evening in the Honduran capital, where military vehicles were arrayed on the runway. At least one person was killed and eight wounded after security forces opened fire and used tear gas on several thousand protesters who ringed the airport, said Hugo Orellana, a Red Cross director in Honduras."
Related report on Morning Edition -- Some Celebrate Zelaya's Ouster. From Tegucigalpa, NPR's Juan Forero reports that Zelaya's opponents feared he would grab more power and turn Honduras into a socialist state:
-- Anchorage Daily News -- "FBI Says Palin Isn't Under Investigation": "The FBI is taking the unusual step of declaring that Gov. Sarah Palin is not under investigation, as Palin herself left for Western Alaska and communicated to the world through her Twitter account."
-- Detroit Free Press -- "Judge OKs Sale Of Good Assets To New GM": "General Motors this morning has cleared what could be the final hurdle to sell off its good assets to create a new GM, setting the stage for the automaker to emerge from a government-forced bankruptcy within weeks of filing."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Shift By Influential Clerics Bolsters Iran Opposition": "Some members of Iran's powerful clerical class are stepping up their anti-government protests over Iran's election in defiance of the country's supreme leader, bringing potential aid to opposition figures as the regime is increasingly labeling them foreign-sponsored traitors."
Related story by The Washington Times -- "Iran Releases Washington Times' Reporter."
-- Morning Edition -- Michael Jackson's Most Valuable Asset Was His Share Of ATV Music Publishing. NPR's Elizabeth Blair looks at the tangled web of Michael Jackson's finances:
Related story by the Los Angeles Times -- "LAPD Probes Michael Jackson's Medical History": "The Los Angeles Police Department has executed at least three search warrants in attempts to determine whether prescription medication played a role in Michael Jackson's death. Sources familiar with the investigation told The Times that the warrants were part of an effort to reconstruct the performer's medical history, a task made difficult by the number of physicians who treated him over the years."
-- The Tennessean -- "Girlfriend Had Hoped To Wed McNair": "It started about six months ago, when former Titans quarterback Steve McNair exchanged phone numbers with Sahel Kazemi, a then-19-year-old waitress working at Dave & Buster's restaurant at Opry Mills. Saturday, the relationship ended in tragedy, as the couple was found shot to death in a downtown condominium. Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the events leading up to the deaths, but according to friends of Kazemi, she was smitten and so was McNair."
categories: Culture, Foreign News, Morning Roundup, National News
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