According to The Wall Street Journal and CBS News, General Motors is planning to pull its ads from Facebook.

That would be a big move because GM has spent about $10 million in Facebook ads and the news comes just days before Facebook goes public on Friday.

The Journal reports:

"Asked about the move, GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick said the Detroit auto maker 'is definitely reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although the content is effective and important.' Content refers to the unpaid Facebook pages many companies use to promote their products.

"GM, started to re-evaluate its Facebook strategy earlier this year after its marketing team began to question the effectiveness of the ads. GM marketing executives, including Mr. Ewanick, met with Facebook managers to address concerns about the site's effectiveness and left unconvinced advertising on the website made sense, according to people familiar with GM's thinking."

CBS reports that GM is the third-largest advertiser in the U.S. And while $10 million is a small portion of Facebook's $3.7 billion revenue, "losing a high-profile customer like GM could raise fears about other advertisers abandoning the service."

Reuters is reporting that it has received a statement from GM that confirms the Journal's report.

President Obama welcomed the Los Angeles Galaxy to the White House today in celebration of their Major League Soccer title.

The team, which has won three cups, is star studded. But there is no one bigger than David Beckham and president Obama took advantage of the opportunity to give the international soccer star a ribbing.

It's a "rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear," the president said in reference to Beckham's underwear line for H&M. According to the AP, the president also made fun of the 37-year-old's age, saying half his teammates, "could be his kids. We're getting old, David."

This picture pretty much tells the story:

Carlos Fuentes, one of the most prolific and best known Spanish-language authors, has died. His death was reported on Twitter by Mexican president Felipe Calderon. The Mexican daily Reforma, which Fuentes often wrote for, reports the author died after experiencing heart problems.

He was 83.

"I am profoundly sorry for the death our loved and admired Carlos Fuentes, writer and universal Mexican. Rest in peace," Calderon wrote on Twitter.

El País, the Spanish newspaper that carried some of his essays, confirmed his death.

El Universal spoke to Consuelo Saizar, director of the National Council for Culture and Arts, who said Fuentes possesed a "great literary body of work."

"He was a vital man like his prose," Saizar said. "And dies without his very much deserved Nobel prize."

In the United States, Fuentes is best known for his novel Gringo Viejo, or The Old Gringo, which was made into a film in 1989 starring Gregory Peck.

Among his major literary awards was the Cervantes Prize in 1987.

Update at 3:39 p.m. ET. A Bit Of Biography:

Fuentes was born in Panama City in 1928. As the obit in El País notes, Fuentes' father was a Mexican diplomat so he moved around quite a bit. He was schooled in places like Argentina, Chile, Brazil and in the United States for eight years.

El País notes that when he was 12-years-old, Fuentes read Cervantes' El Quijote and that left such a mark that "Fuentes turned into one of the premiere experts on the first modern novel."

Update at 3:47 p.m. ET. His Work:

The AP has a bit more on Fuentes' body of work:

"His generation of writers, including Colombia's Gabriel García Márquez and Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa, drew global readership and attention to Latin American culture during a period when strongmen ruled much of the region.

"The Death of Artemio Cruz, a novel about a post-revolutionary Mexico that failed to keep its promise of narrowing social gaps, brought Fuentes international notoriety.

"The elegant, mustachioed author's other contemporary classics included Aura, Terra Nostra, and The Good Conscience. Many American readers know him for The Old Gringo, a novel about San Francisco journalist Ambrose Bierce, who disappeared at the height of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution. That book was later made into a film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda."

Update at 3:55 p.m. ET. Searching For Identity, Searching For Differences:

Back in 2002, NPR's Morning Edition spoke to Fuentes. The occassion was his latest novel Inez, the tale of "a lovelorn orchestra conductor, a young Mexican soprano and a mysterious crystal seal."

Very little of that novel was based in Mexico. The lead character, Inez, was Mexican but the action took place across the world.

Fuentes told Bob Edwards that he would be surprised by modern Mexican literature. In the past, he said, Mexican literature was about identity.

"But, now, we have an identity," he said. "We know what it means to be Mexican."

The literature in Inez, he said, goes a step further by focusing on discovering differences.

Edwards, after noting that the author had more than 20 novels under his belt, asked Fuentes where his Nobel prize was.

"My Nobel was is in the pockets of Gabriel García Márquez," he said, adding that Márquez had received the honor for a whole generation of Latin American writers. He said he would leave the prize for a new generation.

We have a fondness for stories about centenarians, we have to admit.

There was Fauja Singh, the 100-year-old "Turbaned Tornado," who finished the Toronto Marathon last year.

And we've posted about Tennessee's Evelyn "Mama Bird" Johnson, who died last week at the age of 102. She held the Guinness world record for most hours logged by a female pilot.

Now we're hearing about Marie Kelleher in Virginia, who at the age of 99 is still setting swimming age-group records. Counted as being 100 because United States Masters Swimming rules "use the swimmer's age as of December 31 for competitions held in 25-meter courses," according to Virginia Masters Swimming, she just became "the oldest known American woman to have competed at a USMS-recognized meet."

The Richmond Times-Dispatch says that "Kelleher swims four days a week, usually logging about 10 laps per session. She arrives at the Tuckahoe YMCA at 5 a.m. on her swimming days, driving herself 9 miles from her home to arrive exactly when the Y opens."

"I need the swimming," she told the newspaper, with a grin. "I'm not much at walking anymore. ... I told somebody recently that I staggered when I walk. He said that didn't sound too good. So let's just say I wobble."

NATO has just asked the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to attend the May 20-21 summit in Chicago. The AP says the overture signals that the rift between NATO and Islamabad may be coming to a resolution.

If you remember, after an American airstrike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November, Pakistan closed its Western border to Afghanistan, effectively stopping an important supply route for coalition troops.

The AP adds:

"The U.S. expressed regret for the airstrikes and has been quietly pressing Pakistan to reopen the routes over the last two weeks. Washington and NATO stepped up those efforts in recent days by making it clear Islamabad would not be welcome at the two-day summit beginning Sunday in Chicago unless it did so.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen phoned President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday afternoon to invite him to the meeting, according to a statement from the Pakistan government and NATO.

"'This meeting will underline the strong commitment of the international community to the people of Afghanistan and to its future,' NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in Brussels, where the alliance is based. 'Pakistan has an important role to play in that future.'"

The AFP reports that Pakistan has all but accepted the offer and this marks a "return from the cold for Islamabad, which boycotted the last major international talks on Afghanistan, held in Bonn in December."

The wire service reports that a cabinet meeting on Wednesday is widely expected to approve the reopening of the supply routes.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said a bomb detonated in the middle of Bogotá, the country's capital and largest city, was intended to kill former interior minister Ferdnando Londoño Hoyos.

El País reports that Santos condemned the attack, saying the bomb exploded next to the armored vehicle Londoño was travelling in.

The AP reports at least two people are dead, while Radio Caracol is reporting that at least five are dead with 19 injured. Two of the dead, reports Caracol, were Londoño's body guards. Londoño was injured, the president said, but is now out of danger.

It's still not clear whether the bomb was thrown at the vehicle or whether it was a car bomb. Photos from the scene show the bombed-out remains of a small bus.

"We don't understand what the purpose of this is," Santos said, according to Caracol. "But rest assured, the government will not allow itself to be derailed by these terrorist acts."

Update at 5:23 p.m. ET. Government Points Finger At FARC :

Radio Caracol reports that Andrés Villamizar, director of the country's national protection unit, says Londoño had been threatened by the guerilla group FARC because of his work with the Álvaro Uribe administration and because of his work as journalist currently.

Caracol reports the bomb was placed on the former interior minister's car using a magnet.

Aletta — a modest tropical storm spinning of the western coast of Mexico with 40 mph winds — is already special because of two reasons: It the first tropical storm in the Western Hemisphere and it has now broken a 41-day streak in which Earth did not see a cyclone.

Jeff Masters at Weather Underground provides a little more detail:

— First, he says, this season is off to an early start. "Since record keeping began in 1949, there have only been two that have formed by May 15—Hurricane Alma of 1990, and an unnamed 1996 storm."

— Second: "The formation of Aletta ends a 41-day streak without a tropical storm anywhere in the world. According to the UK Met Office, the 41-day period storm-less period is the longest span Earth has gone without a tropical storm in at least 70 years."

Aletta, by the way, is not expected to bother anyone. That's why The Washington Post jumps ahead and asks: Does this early storm — the Atlantic Hurricane season doesn't start until June 1 — mean we're in for an early start?

"The birth of Aletta in the eastern Pacific signals activity is picking up in tropical regions around the world," the Capital Weather Gang reports. "The agitated appearance of the cloud field in the eastern Pacific suggests there may be more development there in during the next few days."

Back in April, William Gray, the legendary meteorologist, released his forecast (pdf) for the hurricane season. He said he expected a season with "reduced activity."

"We anticipate a below-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the United States coastline and in the Caribbean," Gray wrote.

The Justice Department has begun looking into JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion-and-counting loss from a hedge account, The Wall Street Journal reports. It cites "a person familiar with the matter" as its source.

The Journal adds that "the probe is at an early stage and it isn't clear what possible legal violation federal investigators may be focusing on."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is already conducting its own probe into the bank's billion dollar blunder.

Meanwhile, at JPMorgan's annual shareholder meeting today in Tampa, CEO Jamie Dimon "survived a shareholder push ... to strip him of the title of chairman of the board," The Associated Press reports, and "won a shareholder endorsement of his pay package from last year, which totaled $23 million."

During the meeting, Dimon said the trading loss, "should never have happened. I can't justify it. Unfortunately these mistakes were self-inflicted." He pledged to learn from the mistakes "and fix them."

Update at 12:35 p.m. ET. Reuters Says New York Office Of The FBI Is Leading The Probe:

"The New York office of the FBI has opened an investigation into JPMorgan Chase & Co's $2 billion trading loss, a source familiar with the probe said on Tuesday. The source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the probe was in a 'preliminary' stage."

Republican Ron Paul is not shuttering his presidential campaign, his chief strategist says in a memo sent this morning to supporters and the news media.

"Let me be very clear," said Jesse Benton, "Dr. Paul is NOT dropping out or suspending his campaign."

"As Dr. Paul has previously stated, he is in this race all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August," Benton said. The campaign will, though, be "maximizing our resources" by not investing in remaining primary states, he said.

Benton's statement comes after reports over the past 24 hours characterized the Texas congressman's move to curtail his activities in the remaining primary states as an end to his campaign. (As Eyder reported Monday, though, the Paul campaign's "carefully worded statement about its plans spelled out how it would continue hunting for delegates.)

"We will," Benton said today in his statement, "continue to run strong programs at district and state [party] conventions to win more delegates and alternate delegates to the national convention.

"New Phase" Starts Friday; Read More:

Francois Hollande took the oath of office today in pouring rain as France's latest leader and lost no time in turning to the country's economic problems. One of his first acts was to cut his salary by nearly a third. Now he's flying to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about an unpopular European austerity program championed by his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Their meeting should be interesting.

The pact calls for "strict budgetary discipline" according to Spiegel, and Germany is its biggest supporter. Hollande opposes it, unless it can be amended with proposals for growth; these reflect his view that austerity should be coupled with spending on certain investments. It's something Merkel's not likely to support, says the Economist.

Back at home, Hollande not only cut his own salary but those of his ministers; capped wages of top leaders at some large companies; and froze government spending, Spiegel adds. He's vowing to impose new taxes on the wealthy and on banks, lower the retirement age for some workers and cut back on nuclear energy, notes the AP.

But Hollande's leading plan appears to be stimulus spending to help France climb out of its growing debt; the BBC says he'd launch big infrastructure projects paid for by bonds. Critics say France shouldn't go into more debt to solve its red ink.

The new president shrugged off his first challenge of the day: as he perched out the sunroof of the car driving him up the Champs-Elysees, he was soaked to the skin by heavy rain. Reuters says while wet through, Hollande continued on to the Arc de Triomphe and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Already in the spotlight over whether it executed one innocent man — Cameron Todd Willingham — in 2004, the state of Texas now faces questions about whether another man may have been wrongly condemned to death.

Columbia Law School's Columbia Human Rights Law Review has posted online a 400-page, multi-media investigation that concludes it was mistake to have put Carlos DeLuna to death in 1989 for the murder of Corpus Christi convenience store clerk Wanda Lopez.

Basically, the Review's investigation concludes that the state put too much faith on unreliable testimony from one witness and that DeLuna wasn't provided with adequate legal representation. It was another man named Carlos, most likely, who committed the murder, according to the Review.

Prosecutor Disputes; Read More:

Two bits of economic news this morning:

— Consumer prices overall were unchanged in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, thanks in large part to a 2.6 percent drop in the price of gasoline.

— Consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent in April from March, the Census Bureau says. According to Bloomberg News, some of the slowdown in spending growth may have been because unusually warm weather and pre-Easter shopping pushed March sales up more than expected.

It's only for women — and only for one woman at a time, it seems.

But officials in Ichihara City, Japan, claim they've created the "biggest public toilet in the world."

As The Japan Times reports, outside the city's train station there's now a fenced-in, "200-sq.-meter plot of land" with flowers, plants, pathways and — "smack in the middle" — a toilet enclosed in a glass box.

"Why make it so unusual?" the newspaper asks. According to an official from the Ichihara City Tourism Promotion Department, "it's hoped that the toilet will become a tourist attraction for visitors to next year's Ichihara City Art Festival, which is currently in its planning stages. The festival is a government-led initiative to improve the area through the 'renovation of public facilities with the help of arts,' which they hope will attract more tourists and boost the region's economy."

The 6 1/2-high wall is supposed to help provide privacy. There also appear to be curtains that can be drawn around the inside of the toilet's glass box.

Cost of this project: About $125,000.

We'll ask before you do: Money well spent, or has it been flushed down the drain?

(H/T to ABC News' Akiko Fujita.)

Good morning - if it's Tuesday, somebody somewhere is voting. Here are some stories we're following:

Former Murdoch Editor Facing Criminal Charges In Hacking Scandal.

Facebook Ups Its Forecast: Says Shares Will Sell For $34 To $38.

Gen. John Allen Expected To Leave Afghan Command, Take Over U.S. European Command By Next Year. (Washington Post)

Francois Hollande Takes Oath Of Office As France's New President. (Euronews)

Primary Elections Held Today In Nebraska And Oregon. (UPI)

Greek Leftist Politicians To Reject Greek President's Plan To Form A 'Technocrat' Government; May Force New Election. (Reuters)

John Edwards' Eldest Daughter Expected To Testify At His Corruption Trial Today. (CBS)

Reports: A Man Sets Himself Afire Outside Trial Of Norwegian Mass Shooter. (Sky News)

U.S. Astronaut And Two Russian Cosmonauts Blast Off, Head For International Space Station. (MSNBC)

Tropical Storm Aletta Forms In Pacific Off Mexico's Southwestern Coast. (NHC)

Strong demand for its first public sale of stock has led Facebook to raise its forecast for how much each share will sell for when the company goes public on Friday.

"We anticipate that the initial public offering price will be between $34.00 and $38.00 per share," the company says in a statement filed earlier today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier, the social medial giant had expected shares would sell for $28 to $35 each.

As Dow Jones Newswires says, "The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that the company would raise the price due to overwhelming demand by investors." CNN.com adds that "Facebook executives and the company's IPO underwriters have spent the past two weeks on the road meeting with potential investors and measuring the demand for the company's stock."

About 337 million shares are going on sale. Think you'll be able to get some at the initial price? Well, as The Associated Press reports, "you'll need Facebook friends at very high levels — or a lot of money. Most people who like the idea of owning Facebook's stock will have difficulty getting it at the offer price. ... Unless you know the right people at Facebook, you'll likely need to have a large, active account with one of the big banks or brokerage firms directly involved in the stock sale."

The Wall Street Journal notes that of the 337 million shares, "only a fraction of that amount will go to small investors" because most brokerages have set "steep eligibility requirements" for those seeking to get in on the action. "For example, at Fidelity, clients must have at least $500,000 in their account or have made 36 trades in the past year. Long-tenured clients with the most assets and who trade the most frequently will have preference, says a spokesman."

The first top editor from Rupert Murdoch's U.K. tabloids to face criminal charges related to the hacking scandal that has rocked his media empire is Rebekah Brooks, who prosecutors allege tried to "pervert the course of justice" last year by seeking to cover up what had been going on at Murdoch's News of the World.

As NPR's Philip Reeves reminds our Newscast Desk, before resigning from the company last summer after the scandal broke, Brooks was chief executive at News International, which runs Murdoch's British newspapers. She also in the past was editor of News of the World.

News of the charges against her — three separate allegations that carry maximum sentences of live imprisonment — emerged earlier today in London.

Even before the announcement, Brooks and her husband (who also faces charges related to the alleged coverup) were attacking the prosecutor's decision.

"We deplore this weak and unjust decision. After the further unprecedented posturing of the [prosecution office] we will respond later today after our return from the police station," the couple said in a statement, according to The Guardian.

The hacking scandal, you may recall, exploded last summer as it was revealed that News of the World had hacked into the phone of a missing teenage girl — who later turned out to be a murder victim. Those misdeeds at one point gave the girl's parents hope that their daughter might still be alive, because News of the World deleted some of her voicemails.

As authorities looked into that case, it emerged that News of the World had been hacking into the phones of British celebrities, politicians and even members of the royal family. Murdoch shut down the tabloid, but the scandal has spread to other News Corp. properties in the U.K. There's also been evidence of payments to politicians and police officials.

There's a Reuters timeline of the scandal's early days here.

Along with Brooks and her husband Charlie, four of her former assistants also face charges.

For a third day in a row, the violence of Syria spilled into the northern city of Tripoli in Lebanon.

The AP reports that the Alawites, who support the regime of Bashar Assad, and the Sunnis, who support the Syrian uprising, traded fire in Lebanon using assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. Five people were killed and 100 were wounded in Lebanon's second-largest city.

The AP reports:

"The recent clashes were sparked by the arrest of Lebanese national Shadi Mawlawi, an outspoken critic of Assad. The Sunni fighters say the root of the latest conflict in Tripoli is across the border.

"'Syria. It wants it this way. It wants to start a battle here so it can say, look, even in Lebanon the Sunnis are killing the Alawites,' said Mustafa Nashar, 35, whose family lives in an apartment overlooking Syria Street, which cuts through the overwhelmingly Sunni Bab al-Tabbani neighborhood."

Mawlawi, reports Reuters, will face a military trial for what the government said was "involvement with an unnamed terrorist organization."

Reuters adds that tensions started rising on Saturday and that three people were killed over the weekend.

"Islamist groups and officials were meeting in Tripoli on Monday to try to solve the crisis," Reuters adds.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners agreed to end a hunger strike, today. In exchange, Israel agreed to end solitary confinement for the detainees.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia Navarro filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"Some of the hunger strikers have not been eating for more than 70 days, making this the longest hunger strike ever by Palestinians and certainly the largest.

"At least 1,200 Palestinians have participated in the protest and it's had an effect. The deal signed at an Israeli prison will see increased family visitations rights for prisoners from the Gaza strip and the end to solitary confinement. Among the initial demands were an end to the use of administrative detention in which palestinian prisoners can be held indefinitely without charge. Israel will continue the controversial practice. Apart from helping to end the srike and improve the lives of palestinian prisoners, The deal, say activists, shows that the Palestinian push towards non-violent resistance is having an effect."

The New York Times reports that Israel's internal security agency said they agreed to the deal after prisoners said the would "completely halt terrorist activity inside Israeli prisons," and "refrain from all activity that constitutes practical support for terrorism, including recruiting people for terrorist activity, guidance, financing, coordinating among recruits, aiding recruits."

Israel, reports the Times, also agreed to resume family visits for prisoners from Gaza.

The Christian Science Monitor adds that the deal was mediated by Egypt, which also mediated the prisoner swap that freed Sgt. Gilad Shalit.

The emotional and financial costs of caregiving have been a central theme in Morning Edition's special series called "Family Matters: The Money Squeeze." It profiles three families struggling with the complexities of living in multigenerational households and facing difficult financial decisions: how to afford care for an elderly relative while paying for college and saving for retirement.

"There's all these life milestones that we go through and caregiving is one of them. Yet it's often overlooked," says Denise Brown, who runs Caregiving.com, a online community for caregivers.

According to AARP, nearly 44 million Americans are taking care of an older family member at any given time. And, as the nation's baby boomers age, this number will only increase. In fact, as the population ages, the average worker will be a caregiver, according to Cheryl Matheis, senior vice president for policy at AARP. She recently spoke with Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep.

Currently, the average caregiver is female, 49 years old and working, and she spends roughly 20 hours a week on caregiving duties. And, the impact on the caregiver's life can be significant.

"[Caregivers] lose on average $325,000 in lifetime income in lost wages, lost social security, and lost pensions," Matheis says.

The National Alliance for Caregiving found nearly 70 percent of working caregivers reduced their work hours, took a leave of absence or chose early retirement due to their caregiving duties. According to a Pfizer-ReACT/Gallup poll, when caregivers did come to work, they were less productive than non-caregivers.

Many of our listeners wrote in about their own caregiving experiences.

Melissa Fitzpatrick wrote: "Thank you so much for this series! It really speaks to me. My mother-in-law, who has moderate dementia, moved in with us 1 1/2 years ago (shortly after I went through a particularly harrowing caregiving stint with my own mother when she was going through chemotherapy). Trying to figure out how to provide my mother-in-law with the care she needs, while also balancing taking care of my kindergartner and working has been tough."

Read More

Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas, issued a carefully worded statement today, saying his team will no longer campaign in the rest of the primary states.

Does that mean he's bowing out of the GOP primary and leaving the nomination all to Mitt Romney? Not really.

"Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process," Paul said in the statement. "We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that Liberty is the way of the future."

He goes on to ask his supporters in the remaining primary states to vote for him, even though he can't spend the "tens of millions" it would take to succesfully win their states.

"I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions," Paul said. "I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned."

Update at 2:50 p.m. ET. Convention Worry:

Paul's campaign made some news this weekend. His supporters booed Romney's son off stage during an Arizona Republican Party convention. And in Oklahoma Paul supporters brawled with Romney supporters.

As the left-leaning Talking Points Memo reports, all of this has led to some worry that the Republican Convention could be a chaotic event, because Paul has enough delegates to make his presence felt.

Update at 3:42 p.m. ET. How Much Money Does Paul Have?

NPR's Padmananda Rama tells us that at the end of March, "the Paul campaign had just under $2 million in cash on hand." Romney had $10 million.