Morning Edition

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And there were protests and arrests at the Wells Fargo annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco yesterday. The demonstration - led by the Occupy Movement - was over the bank's foreclosure and lending policies. Hundreds of protesters bought bank shares so they could attend the meeting and disrupt proceedings. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: While hundreds sought to disrupt the meeting, several dozen people representing community groups had purchased stock.]

Apple announced higher-than-expected earnings for the most recent quarter — profits nearly doubled over last year. Apple's stock is back up, after falling in recent weeks over fears of a slowdown in iPhone sales. Those fears proved unfounded. Sales of iPhone and iPads beat company estimates.

Wal-Mart's stock price has fallen sharply this week after The New York Times published an investigative story on how the retailer's rapid growth in Mexico involved systematic bribes. Steve Inskeep talks to Mexico-based business journalist Eduardo Garcia about the Wal-Mart bribery story.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

A new poll suggests President Obama has an excellent chance of winning the youth vote. He leads voters under 30 by a wide margin.

MONTAGNE: But that's not exactly the question in a hard-fought campaign. The president does not lead among young voters by the same margin as in 2008.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

During almost two weeks since a cease-fire took effect in Syria, hundreds of people have been killed. The killing continues despite the agreement by Syria's government and rebels, and despite the presence of United Nations monitors. NPR's Kelly McEvers is tracking this situation from Beirut.

Hi, Kelly.

KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: Hi.

INSKEEP: What's gone wrong?

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

After all the reports about massive debts and credit downgrades, we have a story this morning of a credit upgrade. The ratings agency Fitch upgraded Ford.

INSKEEP: The company was at junk bond status, meaning a loan to Ford was considered a major gamble. Now, it's been moved to investment grade, the lowest investment rating: BBB minus.

The town of Boring, Oregon, is twinning with the village of Dull, Scotland. The idea came after a Scottish cyclist passed through Boring. She thought Dull would make a great sister community. Scotland's tourism agency says the partnership could attract visitors to Dull.

As part of Morning Edition's Family Matters financial literacy series, Renee Montagne talks to Jane Gross, author of A Bittersweet Season, about caring for her aging mother, and what she wishes she had known before she started.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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On Monday, Disney announced the first of six planned Starbucks locations is scheduled to open at Disney California Adventure park in June. More locations are planned at Disneyland park and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.