G-8 SUMMIT
Iran, Syria among top for G-8 and NATO
CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — Leaders of the largest industrialized countries are displaying strong unity in pursuing both diplomacy and sanctions against the development of an Iranian nuclear bomb and found common ground in focusing on political transition in violence-wracked Syria. That from a senior U.S. official.
The senior Obama administration official says that while Russia has stopped short of calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev supported efforts to find a process for political change in the country.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the private session.
The discussion among the Group of Eight leaders occurred over a dinner in the secluded woods of Camp David.
FACEBOOK IPO
Facebook finishes first day of trading at about where it started
NEW YORK (AP) — At the end of its first day on the stock market, a share of Facebook stock is right about where it started.
After surging about 10 percent in the opening minutes, shares returned to their initial offering price, and finished the day just pennies above that level.
A finance professor at DePaul University who's an expert on initial public offerings, Ann Sherman, says it shows that even the best stocks can be over-hyped.
Analyst Nick Einhorn of Renaissance Capital says, "It wasn't quite as exciting as it could have been." But he adds, "I don't think we should view it as a failure."
The small jump in price could be seen as an indication that Facebook and the investment banks that arranged the IPO priced the stock in an appropriate range.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Obama holds 2-to-1 cash advantage over Romney
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama holds a cash advantage of more than 2-to-1 over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, but the president's money advantage is beginning to dwindle.
Obama's campaign reported $115 million in the bank through April, and the Democratic National Committee had about $24 million in its account at the end of last month.
Romney began raising money last month with the Republican National Committee and hauled in a combined $40 million, nearly on par with Obama and Democrats.
Romney's side reported $61.4 million in the bank in April.
That means in only a month, Obama's 10-to-1 cash advantage has declined to 2-to-1 as Republicans prepare for the general election. Republicans are expected to be helped by GOP-leaning outside groups planning to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat Obama.
IRAQ SHOOTING-COURT MARTIAL
Soldier faces murder charges in Iraq base deaths
SEATTLE (AP) — The Army says murder charges have been filed against a sergeant accused of killing five other soldiers in May 2009 at a mental health clinic in Iraq.
The charges against Sgt. John Russell were listed in a statement Friday from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He faces five charges of premeditated murder, one of aggravated assault and one of attempted murder.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The charges result from an investigation into the shooting at the Camp Liberty Combat Stress Center near Baghdad.
No date for the court-martial has been set. Russell is being held at the base about 40 miles south of Seattle.
While in Iraq, his Bamberg, Germany-based unit was assigned to a unit from JBLM.
BOEHNER-GUN PROBE
Boehner: All options on table in gun-running probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says "all options are on the table" in the ongoing congressional investigation into the "Fast and Furious" operation and whether the House would move to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt should he refuse to fully comply.
Boehner says Congress wants "to hold everyone at the Department of Justice and the administration accountable for what happened or what didn't happen in 'Fast and Furious,' adding that all options are on the table." Boehner made the comments Friday in an interview for ABC's "This Week" to air this Sunday.
The House GOP leadership sent a letter to Holder Friday that cited a "lack of full cooperation from the Department of Justice."
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi dismissed any suggestion Holder might be in contempt.
EDWARDS TRIAL
Jurors in Edwards trial will resume talks Monday
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Jurors deliberating in John Edwards' campaign corruption trial are going home for the weekend and will resume their discussions Monday.
A judge dismissed the jurors after they deliberated for about five hours on Friday. The jurors requested a list of all of the trial exhibits as well as office supplies, suggesting they were settling in for detailed discussions.
Edwards is accused of orchestrating a plan to use money from wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress during his run for the 2008 White House.
His attorneys say he did not knowingly break the law and that the payments were gifts, not campaign contributions.
Edwards is charged with six criminal counts. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
GAY STUDY-APOLOGY
Researcher apologizes for study of gay therapy
NEW YORK (AP) — A prominent retired psychiatrist is apologizing to the gay community for a decade-old study that concluded some gay people can go straight through what's called reparative therapy.
Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, who worked at Columbia University, now says he no longer believes his work showed that.
For the study, Spitzer had interviewed 200 people who'd claimed some degree of change. In a letter to a journal that published his work, Spitzer says the "fatal flaw" is that there is no way to judge the credibility of their accounts.
AIRPORT TERMINAL EVACUATION
Chemical sends 5 from Fla airport to hospital
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was closed for a time after an unknown chemical sent five people to the hospital with respiratory complaints.
Terminal 2 was evacuated for about two hours Friday as hazardous materials technicians investigated what caused several people to become ill.
The cause remains under investigation, though an airport spokesman says it appears an aerosol can discharged.
Broward County Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles says three Transportation Security Administration agents and two passengers were affected by the irritant.
Investigators collected air samples and determined it was safe for people to re-enter. More than 1,000 passengers have been delayed and several inbound flights were diverted to other airports.
CHINESE STUDENTS SHOT
LA Police: 2 arrests in Chinese student killings
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say two suspects have been arrested in the killings of two Chinese graduate students who were shot to death near the University of Southern California campus.
LAPD Detective Gus Villanueva announced the arrests Friday night. He had no further details pending a news conference scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PDT
Ming Qu and Ying Wu were shot on April 11 while sitting in a BMW about a mile away from the campus.
Police say Wu was found in the passenger seat and Qu on the steps of a nearby house where he collapsed while trying to summon help.
The shooting sent shockwaves through the school, which has the largest number of international students of any U.S. university.
DEFIBRILLATOR STOPS KNIFE
Man's defibrillator stops knife during attack
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man's implanted heart defibrillator may have saved his life in an unexpected way — by stopping a knife.
San Diego police say the 57-year-old got into an argument with an acquaintance early Thursday near some elevators at the trolley station for the Fashion Valley shopping mall.
Police say the acquaintance pulled a folding knife and stabbed the man in the chest. The knife hit the man's defibrillator, a device that shocks the heart if it gets dangerously out of rhythm.
Police say the man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. His name hasn't been released.
Authorities arrested 60-year-old Richard Kiley at another trolley station on suspicion of attempted murder. He remained jailed Friday.
Facebook
Obama: Help is on the way to hurricane zone
