World/Nation Briefs 6.1.2012
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — John Edwards’ campaign finance fraud case ended in a mistrial Thursday when jurors acquitted him on one of six charges but were unable to decide whether he misused money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress while he ran for president.
The trial exposed a sordid sex scandal that unfolded while Edwards’ wife was dying of cancer, but prosecutors couldn’t convince jurors that the ex-U.S. senator and 2004 vice presidential candidate masterminded a $1 million cover-up of his affair.
‘‘While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,’’ Edwards said on the courthouse steps.
He also said he had hope for his future.
‘‘I don’t think God’s through with me. I really believe he thinks there’s still some good things I can do.’’
———
Alongside Obama, George W. Bush steals the show in White House return for portrait unveiling
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s Barack Obama’s house now, but his predecessor and political foil, George W. Bush, stole the show at the White House on Thursday with his wisecracks and grin.
‘‘Thank you so much for inviting our rowdy friends to my hanging,’’ the former president said, referring to members of his family and former staff, invited back to the executive mansion for the unveiling of his and Laura Bush’s official portraits. ‘‘Behave yourselves,’’ he jokingly admonished his crowd.
Bush told the current president he was pleased to know ‘‘that when you are wandering these halls as you wrestle with tough decisions, you will now be able to gaze at this portrait and ask, ‘What would George do?’’’
Free from the stress of the presidency and after three years spent largely out of the spotlight, a relaxed and jovial Bush came back with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, for a rare gathering of three commanders in chief. Former first lady Barbara Bush was there, too, as were George W. and Laura’s daughters, Jenna and Barbara.
While Bush, Obama and their wives spoke about the warmth between their families, there was little of that on display between the two presidents. They traded handshakes but no hugs. There was little casual small talk as they entered and exited the East Room or as they stood on stage together.
———
It’s a day of stunts, stagecraft, scripts in Obama-Romney presidential campaign
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Stunts, stagecraft, scripts — and a touch of the surreal — shaped the presidential campaign Thursday as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama sought an edge on voters’ No. 1 issue, the economy.
On one coast, Romney made a surprise trip to the former California headquarters of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra to accuse Obama of currying favor with campaign supporters by giving a federal loan to the green energy company that later went bankrupt.
‘‘This half-a-billion-dollar taxpayer investment represents a serious conflict of interest on the part of the president and his team,’’ the Republican presidential candidate said as he stood outside the shuttered company and held it up as Exhibit A of presidential missteps on the economy.
He offered no proof of his claim during a visit that was shrouded in a highly unusual amount of secrecy because, aides said, the campaign feared Obama would interfere with his Republican rival’s plans to appear there.
At roughly the same time across the country in Boston, Obama’s campaign staged its own event outside Massachusetts’ Statehouse to argue that Romney’s record as governor from 2003 to 2007 proves he is ill-prepared to manage the nation’s economy.
———
Defense of Marriage Act heads to Supreme Court after appeals court finds law unconstitutional
BOSTON (AP) — A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.
The court didn’t rule on the law’s more politically combustible provision — that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it’s legal. It also wasn’t asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.
The court, the first federal appeals panel to rule against the benefits section of the law, agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 concluded that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by state Attorney General Martha Coakley.
———
AP’s ’napalm girl’ photo is savior, curse for survivor of attack in Vietnam 40 years ago
TRANG BANG, Vietnam (AP) — In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing ‘‘Too hot! Too hot!’’ as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village.
She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava.
She will always be a victim without a name.
It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong ‘‘Nick’’ Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.
But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It’s the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would serve as both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life’s plan for her.
———
Clinton, scolding Russia, outlines US reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The U.S. is heaping new pressure on Russia to change course and support international action in Syria, warning that intransigence by Moscow may lead to open civil war that could spill across the Middle East with devastating effects.
Speaking on Russia’s doorstep in Denmark, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton derided the Russian government for continuing to support Syrian President Bashar Assad, even after last week’s massacre of more than 100 people in the town of Houla. In pointed remarks Thursday, she said Russia’s position ‘‘is going to help contribute to a civil war’’ and rejected Russian officials’ insistence that their stance actually is helping to ease the crisis.
On the first stop of a European tour, Clinton said Russia and China would have to be on board before the U.S. and other nations might engage in what could become a protracted conflict in support of a disorganized rebel force.
Russia, along with China, has twice vetoed U.N. Security Council sanctions against Syria. Russia is Syria’s closest ally other than isolated Iran, and Clinton said that without its support the international community is essentially frozen from taking concrete steps to end the violence.
‘‘The Russians keep telling us they want to do everything they can to avoid a civil war because they believe that the violence would be catastrophic,’’ Clinton said, noting that they are ‘‘vociferous in their claim that they are providing a stabilizing influence.’’
———
Snigdha Nandipati, 14, wins 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling ’guetapens’
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Snigdha Nandipati heard a few words she didn’t know during the National Spelling Bee, but never when she stepped to the microphone.
Calm and collected throughout, the 14-year-old from San Diego spelled ‘‘guetapens,’’ a French-derived word that means ambush, snare or trap, to win the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. She beat out eight other finalists in the nerve-wracking, brain-busting competition.
After she spelled the word, she looked from side to side, as if unsure her accomplishment was real, and, oddly, she was not immediately announced as the winner. Applause built slowly, and a few pieces of confetti trickled out before showering her. Then her 10-year-old brother ran on stage and embraced her, and she beamed.
‘‘I knew it. I’d seen it before,’’ Nandipati said of the winning word. ‘‘I just wanted to ask everything I could before I started spelling.’’
A coin collector and Sherlock Holmes fan, Nandipati aspires to become a physician or neurosurgeon. She also plays violin and is fluent in Telugu, a language spoken in southeastern India.
———
Photos: Faces say it all at the National Spelling Bee
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The National Spelling Bee is — of course — all about words. But their faces say it all, too. The pondering, confusion, relief and ultimately — either triumph or defeat. The kids competing in the spelling bee were whittled down to 50 and eventually two and finally one on Thursday night.
Along the way there were hands to the head, fingers clutching the face, shrugs, furled brows and even some smiles.
Here’s a look at the faces of the National Spelling Bee.
———
Police: ’Hero’ saved lives in Seattle cafe shootings, said he ’would never hide under a table’
SEATTLE (AP) — Someone inside an artsy Seattle cafe where a gunman opened fire threw stools at the assailant during a shooting rampage police described as ‘‘callous, horrific and cold,’’ a move that allowed others to run to safety.
Ian Lee Stawicki was armed with two .45-caliber handguns and began shooting Wednesday morning at Cafe Racer, killing four people. Police said he fled and later killed a female motorist, taking off with her SUV.
Stawicki later killed himself as police closed in.
Police said more people could have been injured or even killed at the cafe were it not for the actions of the man, whom they identified only as ‘‘Lawrence.’’ They did not say whether he was a patron or an employee.
‘‘The hero picked up a stool and threw it at the suspect. Hit him. Picked up another stool, as the suspect is shooting and now pointing (a gun) at him and hits him with another stool,’’ Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said.
———
Marathon Man Isner of US loses 18-16 in 5th set at French Open to wild-card Mathieu of France
PARIS (AP) — This, then, is who John Isner is for now: The Marathon Man of Tennis, the guy who plays and plays and plays, for hours on end, until the last set seems interminable.
At Wimbledon two years ago, he won 70-68 in the fifth, the longest set and match in tennis history. At Roland Garros on Thursday, as afternoon gave way to evening, the 10th-seeded American lost 7-6 (2), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 18-16 to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the second round, a 5-hour, 41-minute test of stamina and attention span.
This one goes in the books as the second-longest match, by time, in French Open history.
‘‘I just didn’t get it done. I felt like I got caught in patterns that weren’t ideal for me,’’ said a somber Isner, whose exit means there are no U.S. men in the third round for the first time since 2007. ‘‘I wasn’t going for my shots at certain points in the match, and that comes from a little bit of a lack of confidence.’’
If the 6-foot-9 Isner, who led Georgia to an NCAA title, is going to become more than a novelty act, he needs to win encounters like Thursday’s, and not because of the duration but because it was a first-week Grand Slam match against a player ranked 261st who got into the field thanks to a wild-card invitation from the tournament.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — John Edwards’ campaign finance fraud case ended in a mistrial Thursday when jurors acquitted him on one of six charges but were unable to decide whether he misused money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress while he ran for president.
The trial exposed a sordid sex scandal that unfolded while Edwards’ wife was dying of cancer, but prosecutors couldn’t convince jurors that the ex-U.S. senator and 2004 vice presidential candidate masterminded a $1 million cover-up of his affair.
‘‘While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,’’ Edwards said on the courthouse steps.
He also said he had hope for his future.
‘‘I don’t think God’s through with me. I really believe he thinks there’s still some good things I can do.’’
———
Alongside Obama, George W. Bush steals the show in White House return for portrait unveiling
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s Barack Obama’s house now, but his predecessor and political foil, George W. Bush, stole the show at the White House on Thursday with his wisecracks and grin.
‘‘Thank you so much for inviting our rowdy friends to my hanging,’’ the former president said, referring to members of his family and former staff, invited back to the executive mansion for the unveiling of his and Laura Bush’s official portraits. ‘‘Behave yourselves,’’ he jokingly admonished his crowd.
Bush told the current president he was pleased to know ‘‘that when you are wandering these halls as you wrestle with tough decisions, you will now be able to gaze at this portrait and ask, ‘What would George do?’’’
Free from the stress of the presidency and after three years spent largely out of the spotlight, a relaxed and jovial Bush came back with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, for a rare gathering of three commanders in chief. Former first lady Barbara Bush was there, too, as were George W. and Laura’s daughters, Jenna and Barbara.
While Bush, Obama and their wives spoke about the warmth between their families, there was little of that on display between the two presidents. They traded handshakes but no hugs. There was little casual small talk as they entered and exited the East Room or as they stood on stage together.
———
It’s a day of stunts, stagecraft, scripts in Obama-Romney presidential campaign
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Stunts, stagecraft, scripts — and a touch of the surreal — shaped the presidential campaign Thursday as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama sought an edge on voters’ No. 1 issue, the economy.
On one coast, Romney made a surprise trip to the former California headquarters of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra to accuse Obama of currying favor with campaign supporters by giving a federal loan to the green energy company that later went bankrupt.
‘‘This half-a-billion-dollar taxpayer investment represents a serious conflict of interest on the part of the president and his team,’’ the Republican presidential candidate said as he stood outside the shuttered company and held it up as Exhibit A of presidential missteps on the economy.
He offered no proof of his claim during a visit that was shrouded in a highly unusual amount of secrecy because, aides said, the campaign feared Obama would interfere with his Republican rival’s plans to appear there.
At roughly the same time across the country in Boston, Obama’s campaign staged its own event outside Massachusetts’ Statehouse to argue that Romney’s record as governor from 2003 to 2007 proves he is ill-prepared to manage the nation’s economy.
———
Defense of Marriage Act heads to Supreme Court after appeals court finds law unconstitutional
BOSTON (AP) — A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.
The court didn’t rule on the law’s more politically combustible provision — that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it’s legal. It also wasn’t asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.
The court, the first federal appeals panel to rule against the benefits section of the law, agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 concluded that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by state Attorney General Martha Coakley.
———
AP’s ’napalm girl’ photo is savior, curse for survivor of attack in Vietnam 40 years ago
TRANG BANG, Vietnam (AP) — In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing ‘‘Too hot! Too hot!’’ as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village.
She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava.
She will always be a victim without a name.
It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong ‘‘Nick’’ Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.
But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It’s the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would serve as both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life’s plan for her.
———
Clinton, scolding Russia, outlines US reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The U.S. is heaping new pressure on Russia to change course and support international action in Syria, warning that intransigence by Moscow may lead to open civil war that could spill across the Middle East with devastating effects.
Speaking on Russia’s doorstep in Denmark, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton derided the Russian government for continuing to support Syrian President Bashar Assad, even after last week’s massacre of more than 100 people in the town of Houla. In pointed remarks Thursday, she said Russia’s position ‘‘is going to help contribute to a civil war’’ and rejected Russian officials’ insistence that their stance actually is helping to ease the crisis.
On the first stop of a European tour, Clinton said Russia and China would have to be on board before the U.S. and other nations might engage in what could become a protracted conflict in support of a disorganized rebel force.
Russia, along with China, has twice vetoed U.N. Security Council sanctions against Syria. Russia is Syria’s closest ally other than isolated Iran, and Clinton said that without its support the international community is essentially frozen from taking concrete steps to end the violence.
‘‘The Russians keep telling us they want to do everything they can to avoid a civil war because they believe that the violence would be catastrophic,’’ Clinton said, noting that they are ‘‘vociferous in their claim that they are providing a stabilizing influence.’’
———
Snigdha Nandipati, 14, wins 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling ’guetapens’
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Snigdha Nandipati heard a few words she didn’t know during the National Spelling Bee, but never when she stepped to the microphone.
Calm and collected throughout, the 14-year-old from San Diego spelled ‘‘guetapens,’’ a French-derived word that means ambush, snare or trap, to win the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. She beat out eight other finalists in the nerve-wracking, brain-busting competition.
After she spelled the word, she looked from side to side, as if unsure her accomplishment was real, and, oddly, she was not immediately announced as the winner. Applause built slowly, and a few pieces of confetti trickled out before showering her. Then her 10-year-old brother ran on stage and embraced her, and she beamed.
‘‘I knew it. I’d seen it before,’’ Nandipati said of the winning word. ‘‘I just wanted to ask everything I could before I started spelling.’’
A coin collector and Sherlock Holmes fan, Nandipati aspires to become a physician or neurosurgeon. She also plays violin and is fluent in Telugu, a language spoken in southeastern India.
———
Photos: Faces say it all at the National Spelling Bee
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The National Spelling Bee is — of course — all about words. But their faces say it all, too. The pondering, confusion, relief and ultimately — either triumph or defeat. The kids competing in the spelling bee were whittled down to 50 and eventually two and finally one on Thursday night.
Along the way there were hands to the head, fingers clutching the face, shrugs, furled brows and even some smiles.
Here’s a look at the faces of the National Spelling Bee.
———
Police: ’Hero’ saved lives in Seattle cafe shootings, said he ’would never hide under a table’
SEATTLE (AP) — Someone inside an artsy Seattle cafe where a gunman opened fire threw stools at the assailant during a shooting rampage police described as ‘‘callous, horrific and cold,’’ a move that allowed others to run to safety.
Ian Lee Stawicki was armed with two .45-caliber handguns and began shooting Wednesday morning at Cafe Racer, killing four people. Police said he fled and later killed a female motorist, taking off with her SUV.
Stawicki later killed himself as police closed in.
Police said more people could have been injured or even killed at the cafe were it not for the actions of the man, whom they identified only as ‘‘Lawrence.’’ They did not say whether he was a patron or an employee.
‘‘The hero picked up a stool and threw it at the suspect. Hit him. Picked up another stool, as the suspect is shooting and now pointing (a gun) at him and hits him with another stool,’’ Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said.
———
Marathon Man Isner of US loses 18-16 in 5th set at French Open to wild-card Mathieu of France
PARIS (AP) — This, then, is who John Isner is for now: The Marathon Man of Tennis, the guy who plays and plays and plays, for hours on end, until the last set seems interminable.
At Wimbledon two years ago, he won 70-68 in the fifth, the longest set and match in tennis history. At Roland Garros on Thursday, as afternoon gave way to evening, the 10th-seeded American lost 7-6 (2), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 18-16 to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the second round, a 5-hour, 41-minute test of stamina and attention span.
This one goes in the books as the second-longest match, by time, in French Open history.
‘‘I just didn’t get it done. I felt like I got caught in patterns that weren’t ideal for me,’’ said a somber Isner, whose exit means there are no U.S. men in the third round for the first time since 2007. ‘‘I wasn’t going for my shots at certain points in the match, and that comes from a little bit of a lack of confidence.’’
If the 6-foot-9 Isner, who led Georgia to an NCAA title, is going to become more than a novelty act, he needs to win encounters like Thursday’s, and not because of the duration but because it was a first-week Grand Slam match against a player ranked 261st who got into the field thanks to a wild-card invitation from the tournament.
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