NPR 2012-05-19

 The New president of France is assuring President Obama that French troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by year's end as he pledged in his campaign. Hollande spoke 1 through a translator after meeting with Mr. Obama at the White House. 

We also discussed Afghanistan and I reminded President Obama that I made a promise to the French people to the effect that our combat troops would be  withdrawn  from Afghanistan by the end of 2012.
For his part, President Obama told reporters. 
It's important that we sustain our commitment to helping 2 Afghans build security and continue down the path of development.  
 
 
Leaders of the world's eight leading economies are gathering 3 at Camp David today, A two-day Nato summit begins in Chicago, Sunday. Massive protesters ** there. 
 
 
Federal House officials are proposing that all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C. NPR's Richard Harris tells us the virus kills 15,000 Americans a year. 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 2 million people born between 1945 and 1966 are infected with hepatitis C. Most people don't know they are carrying this blood-born virus. But it's a leading cause of liver diseases, including cancer. Hepatitis C is usually tradable if it's detected before someone get seriously ill. So health officials are now calling for a national campaign, indeed, Baby Boomers. Most infected Americans are in that cord, because the virus spread silently for many years before there was a test to detect it. The CBC is proposing a one-time testing campaign aimed at this age group. It could identify 800,000 infections. The recommendation is currently a proposal open to public comment and will be finalized 4 later this year. Richard Harris, NPR News.
 
 
More than 18 billion dollars worth of Facebook share sold today, starting at 38 dollars a share, climbing in early trading, but falling back towards its opening price by day's end. We get details from NPR's Wendy Kaufman.
More than 100 million shares of Facebook traded in the first minutes on the stock exchange reflecting an incredible appetite for the social networking company. But after the opening popping price, the stock struggled to stay off the IPO figure. And sources told the Wall Street Journal that Facebook's underwriters stepped in to support the price and keep it from falling further. Some traders reported difficulty is changing, or canceling order's suggesting problems with NASDAQ's queue. At its current share price, Facebook is valued more than 100 billion dollars and some analysts 5 and investors 6 question whether the company can generate the revenue and profit to justify 7 that figure. Indeed, the company received what is likely the first sell rating of its stock that Pivotal Research Group said a per share price of 30 dollars. Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
 
 
On Wall Street, approaching the close, the Dow was down 89 at 12,354; The NASDAQ down 36. 
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The Labor 8 Department is reporting that unemployment rates dropped in 37 states last month, the greatest decline in three months. Nationally, April's unemployment rate was 8.1%. 
 
 
Did former senator John Edwards as a presidential candidate break the law when money from wealthy donors 9 was used to hide his pregnant mistress. The question is now before a jury in Greensboro, North Carolina. The panel today asked for office supplies and evidence, specifically eight exhibits and all of the notes from a wealthy heiress.
 
 
A worker at a defense 10 plant in Russia has been convicted of treason. Jessica Gallaher reports the man was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay a fine. 
A regional court in Yekaterinburg sentenced Alexander Gniteyev to eight years in prison and ordered him to pay a more than 3,000 dollar fine for devoting missile secrets to foreign intelligence. Russian officials refused to say, however, which country Gniteyev was spying for. Russia News agency is reporting that Gniteyev passed secrets about the Bulava missile, meant to arm the latest generation of Russia's nuclear subs. The verdict follows February's conviction of a Russian military officer accused of spying for the CIA. Relations between Moscow and Washington has been tensed recently, as the two countries continues to disagree over Washington's plans to put a missile defense system in eastern Europe. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher, in Moscow. 
 
 
In a commencement address, at ** Georgetown  University in Washington, Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius was briefly 11 interrupted by anti-abortion heckler in her speech. She paid tribute to the US commitment to separation of church and state.