NPR 2009-04-09

In a major about face from the policies of the previous president, the Obama administration said today it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over the country's suspected nuclear program. State Department spokesman Robert Woods says the decision means the U.S. will join senior diplomats 1 from the five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany in meeting with Iranian officials.” If Iran accepts, we hope this will be the occasion to seriously engage Iran on how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns about its nuclear program." U.S. and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and a subsequent hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. The Bush administration had labeled Iran a part of what it termed "the axes of evil".

The death toll 2 in central Italy's devastating 3 earthquake has risen to 260 as the country prepares to bury some of its dead in a mass state funeral on Friday. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from the city of L'Aquila.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited the earthquake area for the third day in a row. He said a total of 28,000 people had lost their homes with 70,000 now living in tents, and the rest in free hotel rooms or staying with relatives. Berlusconi also announced the draft of a new tough law against looting. In fact, the severely 4 damaged Historic Center of the city has been declared off-limits to residents. Aftershocks continued after Monday's major tremor 5, Italy's worst in three decades. A tremor on Tuesday at 5.6 magnitude caused further damage to the basilica and to a 16-century castle. Early estimates put the cost of the earthquake's damage at 1.5 to 2.2 billion dollars, a severe blow for an economy that is reeling from its worst recession in decades. Sylvia Poggioli,NPR News,L'Aquila.

General Motors and Chrysler both launched supplier-support programs today designed to help keep suppliers in business with the help of federal funding. Michigan Radio’s Tracy Samulton has more.

U.S. auto 6 suppliers are hurting as auto production continues to slide. The U.S. Treasury 7 said last month that it would give Ford 8, Chrysler and GM five billion dollars to pass on to their most critical suppliers. Ford declined the aid. GM get about two billion dollars in supplier funds and Chrysler about 1.5 billion. Jim Joe Ladison, auto analyst 9 with CSM Worldwide. "I do have serious doubts that the amount that’s allocated 10 to Chrysler and General Motors, and I would take Chrysler in particular, ah, may not be enough to, to carry it through this very difficult time." The automakers have not said which suppliers will receive the money but American Axle could be at the top of GM's list. The supplier is in bad shape and its survival is crucial for GM. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samulton in Ann Arbor 11.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47 points to end the session at 7,837.The NASDAQ rose 29 points. The S&P 500 gained 9 points.

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Police from Pittsburg and surrounding regions gathered today to pay the respects to three police officers killed by a gunman after they responded to a reported domestic dispute. Police band pipes played as the bodies of Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo were carried into Pittsburg City County Building today. The men were shot to death after responding to an argument between a woman and her 22-year-old son. The man is currently jailed on homicide charges. It’s alleged 12 the man laying way for the police officers. Following a viewing today, a public memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow.

The Food and Drug Administration has Okayed a test that can tell if someone is infected with a dangerous bird flu virus in minutes rather than hours. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

If the so-called H5N1 bird flu virus learns how to spread rapidly among humans as health officials fear it might, fast action will be necessary to prevent a global pandemic. Previous tests for H5N1 infection took up to four hours to get results and were more cumbersome 13 to use in rural areas where bird flu is often popped up. The new test gets results in forty minutes, the FDA says, it picks up a bird flu protein in throat or nose slobbers and doesn't require a blood sample .A California company called Arbor Vitae developed the test in collaboration 14 with the U.S.Navy. The World Health Organization reports more than 400 cases of H5N1 bird flu since 2003 concentrated in South Asia and Northern Africa, more than 60% of victims have died .Richard Knox, NPR News.

Some better than expected inventory 15 numbers at the wholesale 16 level, the Commerce Department says the nation's wholesalers reduce the stock pile of unsold goods and backlogs 17 in warehouse 18 shelves by the steepest amount in 17 years in February. Government says wholesale inventories 19 fell by 1.5%.