NPR 2009-02-28

President Barack Obama made it official today in a speech to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He said US combat troops will be out of Iraq by August of next year. NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Camp Lejeune.

The president's announcement means some 100, 000 troops will be pulled out of Iraq, but a residual 1 force of as many as 50, 000 will remain in place. Speaking in a field house full of Marines, he said the situation allows the US to step back. "We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars. America's men and women in uniform, so many of you, have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future." The Marines in the audience cheered. For them the announcement means not an end to a fighting but a new assignment. Most here will see tours of duty in Afghanistan as the mission escalates 2 there. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Camp Lejeune.

US economy shrank at a much more rapid pace in the fourth quarter of last year than initially 3 thought. That's according to the latest numbers from the Commerce Department today, which showed the nation's Gross Domestic Product the broadest measure of the overall US economy contracting at 6.2% annual rate. Bernard Baumohl is chief global economist 4 with the Economic Outlook Group. He says the weakness was broad-based and led by a major retrenchment 5 by consumers. "The entire private sector 6 of the economy is in hibernation 7. This economy is starved of demand. You're not getting any kind of purchases by consumers or by businesses." White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said today the sharply lower quarterly GDP numbers underscored the pressing need for action by the administration on the economy, with the steepest decline in quarterly economic output since 1982.

A number of southern states have been experiencing severe weather today and that's causing problems in Alabama. Alabama Public Radio's Brett Tannehill reports.

An apparent tornado 8 touched down in Shelby County, Alabama, knocking out power to around 20,000 households. The powerful winds blew windows out of cars and knocked down trees. One tree fell on a vehicle trapping its occupant inside. The storms were also being blamed for causing a major accident on Interstate 20 bringing traffic to a standstill. I-20 runs between Birmingham and Atlanta, Georgia. The biggest problem may be yet to come as heavy rains are creating the potential for flash flooding. Up to six inches of rain is expected in some areas. And to make things a bit more interesting, there's also the unusual prospect 9 of snow across much of Alabama after the storm system blows through. For NPR News, I'm Brett Tannehill in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week down 119 points to close at 7, 062. The NASDAQ lost 13 points today closing at 1, 377. The S&P 500 dropped 17 points to close at 735.

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General Motors has announced plans to spin off its German Opel unit into a separate entity 10, bringing it to an end 80 years of sole ownership of the company. The automaker also says it needs 3.3 billion euros or around 4. 2 billion dollars in state aid if it's to avoid job cuts and plant closures. The announcement from GM follows weeks of speculation 11 concerning the fate of Opel. GM says under the proposed plan, the automaker would maintain a majority stake in the company with outside investors 12 owning roughly a quarter of Opel.

The Vatican is not satisfied with an apology issued by dissident Bishop 13 for statements he made dismissing the Holocaust 14. Those earlier statements on the Holocaust seriously damaged Jewish-Catholic relations and embarrassed Pope Benedict XVI. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli has more.

Bishop Richard Williamson reportedly issued an apology Thursday for statements broadcast by Swedish TV last month. A Catholic news agency had reported that the bishop said: "I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors 15 and relatives of victims of injustice 16 under the Third Reich, I would not have made them." But Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Williamson's statement does not seem to respect the conditions set forth 17 by the Vatican on February 4th. At that time, it ordered Williamson to, in an absolutely unequivocal and public way, distance himself from his positions regarding the Holocaust. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.

General Electric today declined a comment on reports by the business news channel CNBC the company will cut its quarterly dividend 18 from 31 cents a share to 10 cents. According to reports, such a move could save GE upwards 19 of nine billion a year.