Morning Edition - Thursday, May 1, 2008

America's Host:  Steve Inskeep; Newscasts: Paul Brown and Jean Cochran
Northern California Host: Donna Apidone; Newscasts: Steve Shadley

StoryCorps, NPR's oral history project, is in Sacramento until mid-May. More informaiton is at capradio.org.

Schools around California are planning smaller budgets for the coming academnic year in light of cuts to the state budget.  KXJZ's Marianne Russ reports at 6:33 and 8:33.

The State Department yesterday released its annual assessment of global terrorism. Host Steve Inskeep speaks with the State Department's top counterterrorism official, Ambassador Dell Dailey, about U-S efforts to reduce the flow of foreign fighters entering Iraq.  Dailey also discusses the threat posed by al-Qaeda nearly seven years after the September 11th attacks. That's at 6:10 and 8:10.

This week we're talking about debt in America. Today, Host Steve Inskeep speaks with Philip Reed, consumer advice expert at automotive Information site Edmunds.com, about auto loans. Reed says auto loan delinquencies are at a 17 year high as more Americans find themselves behind the wheel of a car they really can't afford.  We'll have that story at 6:21 and 8:21.

The US Army is dealing with another crisis, following reports of substandard care at Walter Reed and other military hospitals. There have been at least 15 recent deaths at Army hospitals. At least six of the deaths have resulted from an accidental overdose of prescription medications. More at 5:45 and 7:45.

Thanks for listening!