NPR 2012-05-08

 Uncertainty is rippling 1 across world markets about Europe’s ability to deal with its debt crisis. Voters in two countries have punished political leaders who favored austerity measures in order to help rescue Europe’s ailing 2 economies. In France, the people have voted out President Nicolas Sarkozy and elected Socialist 3 Francois Hollande, the first such victory for Francois left since 1995. Hollande has pledged to temper the Germany-driven austerity push across Europe. And a day after austerity-weary voters in Greece overwhelmingly rejected their mainstream 4 politicians, Greece’s conservative leader Antonis Samaras has handed back the mandate 5 to form a new government. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports the task now goes to the leader of the second largest party, the Coalition 6 of the Radical 7 Left.

 
Debt-burdened Greece is in a political impasse 8. The results of Sunday’s election produced no viable 9 government. New Democracy leader Samaras, whose conservative party came in first at under 20%, met with other key party leaders. But by evening he said, “We did everything we could. It was impossible to form a government.” If the deadlock 10 continues, analysts 11 predict another election in a few weeks just at the time when Greece has to begin slashing 12 the budget by another 50.5 billion dollars. With the country facing a period political instability, there are concerns that international creditors 13 could cut off multi-billion-dollar loans and force Greece out of the eurozone. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Athens.
 
Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay 1.5 billion dollars in one of the largest settlement of its kind ever in the US. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports the federal government accuses Abbott of falsely marketing 14 a drug to nursing home patients.
 
Authorities say Abbott Labs promoted the epilepsy drug called Depakote to elderly people in long-term care facilities for years, even though the drug had dangerous side effects such as dehydration 15 and malnutrition 16. Tim Heaphy, the US attorney in the Western District of Virginia, says the idea was a deliberate corporate 17 strategy, not a case of rogue 18 sale agents. As part of the settlement, Abbott executives agree to change the way they pay sales people. And its top official will sign off on annual reports to a federal judge. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.
 
The White House says the administration will not negotiate with al-Qaeda, even though it wants the 70-year-old American aid worker being held by the terrorist group to be released unharmed. It is responding to a video released by al-Qaeda yesterday in which Warren Weinstein says his life is in President Obama’s hand. Weinstein was kidnapped in Pakistan nine months ago. His captors are demanding the release of imprisoned 19 al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world.
 
Before the close, the Dow was down 30 points at 13,009. 
 
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The five men accused in a bomb plot near Cleveland, Ohio have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The group has been described as a fringe element of the Occupy Cleveland movement not endorsed 20 by leading activists 21 of the economic quality movement.
 
Next Saturday is looming 22 large in the minds of tens of thousands of the nation’s long-term unemployed 23. NPR’s Alison Keyes tells us people in eight states are set to lose their emergency federal jobless benefits.
 
In California, at least 93,000 people will be cut off from their federal long-term unemployment pay. That’s as much as 450 dollars a week for some. In 2009, the federal government supplemented the normal 26 weeks of state jobless benefits, but extensions had added up to a total of 99 weeks of unemployment pay. But the current federal extension benefits expire [slip] May 12 because the state’s unemployment rate has dropped. Long-term unemployed in Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas will also lose their emergency benefits on that day. Allison Keyes, NPR News.
 
President Obama’s reelection campaign is out with a new television ad that defends the incumbent’s handling of the US economy against critics, who argue that economic recovery will pick up the pace with a Republican in the White House. The commercial acknowledges the country is still not where needs to be in job creation.
 
Before the close on Wall Street, US stocks are mixed with the Dow off 30 points at 13,009 in trading of two billion shares, NASDAQ up one at 2,958, and the S&P 500 up slightly at 1,370.