Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Iran nuclear talks stumble after missing deadline, heading for double overtime
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — With even a vague outline of an Iran nuclear deal eluding their grasp, negotiators headed for double overtime Wednesday night in a marathon attempt to find common ground for a more important task — forging a final deal by the end of June.
Iran and six world powers had cited progress in abandoning their March 31 deadline for the basic understanding that would prepare the ground for a new phase of negotiations on a substantive deal. But as differences persisted into late Wednesday, the State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry was postponing his departure and would remain until at least Thursday morning.
The talks — the latest in more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear prowess — will hit the weeklong mark on Thursday, with diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany scrambling to reach a framework accord with Iran.
"We continue to make progress but have not reached a political understanding," spokeswoman Marie Harf said in announcing Kerry's decision.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said negotiators were still facing a "tough struggle."
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NJ Sen. Bob Menendez indicted on corruption charges, accused of abusing office to aid donor
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants who rose to become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic members of Congress, was charged Wednesday with accepting nearly $1 million worth of gifts and campaign contributions from a longtime friend in exchange for a stream of political favors.
Menendez predicted he would be "vindicated" and said "this is not how my career is going to end" in a defiant statement in front of reporters and cheering supporters Wednesday evening.
"I am not going anywhere. I'm angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service and my entire life," he said.
A federal grand jury indictment accuses the New Jersey Democrat of using the power of his Senate seat to benefit Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor who prosecutors say provided the senator with luxury vacations, airline travel, golf trips and tens of thousands of dollars in contributions to a legal defense fund.
The indictment from a federal grand jury in Newark contains 14 counts — including bribery, conspiracy and false statements — against Menendez and also charges Melgen, a political donor to Menendez and other Democrats.
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Iraqi declares 'magnificent victory' over the Islamic State extremists in Tikrit
TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) — The government declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday over extremists of the Islamic State group, and it warned the militants holding other Iraqi provinces that they would be the next to fall.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walked triumphantly along a street in Tikrit, carrying an Iraqi flag and surrounded by jubilant forces.
Across the border in Syria, however, Islamic State fighters made their deepest foray yet into the capital of Damascus by infiltrating a Palestinian refugee camp, according to opposition activists and Palestinian officials.
Iraq's victory over the extremists in Tikrit was seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province.
Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi announced the victory, saying security forces have "accomplished their mission" in the monthlong offensive to rid Saddam Hussein's hometown and the broader Salahuddin province of the militant group.
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Arkansas governor calls for changes to religious-objections bill criticized as anti-gay
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson backed away Wednesday from his promise to sign a controversial religious-objections bill, bowing to pressure from critics that included his own son and some of the state's biggest employers, who say the legislation is anti-gay.
The Republican governor said he wants the Legislature either to recall the bill from his desk or pass a follow-up measure that would make the proposal more closely mirror a federal religious-freedom law.
Hutchinson said his son, Seth, was among those who signed a petition asking him to veto the bill.
"This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial," the governor said. "But these are not ordinary times."
Hutchinson initially supported the bill, and on Tuesday, his office said he planned to sign it into law. But a day later, his position had changed.
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Governor faces political firestorm over Indiana law as his 2016 decision looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a week ago, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was considered one of the few Republican presidential prospects who could unite the GOP's business wing with religious conservatives.
Today, his standing with both groups is threatened as the national backlash intensifies over his state's law on religious freedom.
Pence spent much of Wednesday behind closed doors to pursue "a fix" to legislation he signed six days earlier. Business leaders have been among the most aggressive critics of the law, which was cheered by the GOP's evangelical wing as a needed protection for business owners should they refuse services to same-sex couples on religious grounds.
Pence, lesser known than some Republican White House prospects, has become the central figure in the contentious debate, offering him both opportunities and risks just as the 2016 presidential primary season begins and he decides whether to run. Yet so far, the debate is deepening the very divisions within his party that he hoped to bridge.
"Pence was the guy who theoretically could bring the business community together with the evangelical community, but now they are at each other's throats," said veteran Republican strategist John Feehery. "This whole thing has been a complete disaster."
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California governor orders officials to impose mandatory water restrictions for first time
ECHO LAKE, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered officials Wednesday to impose statewide mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history as surveyors found the lowest snow level in the Sierra Nevada snowpack in 65 years of record-keeping.
Standing in dry, brown grass at a site that normally would be snow-covered this time of year, Brown announced he had signed an executive order requiring the State Water Resources Control Board to implement measures in cities and towns to cut the state's overall water usage by 25 percent compared with 2013 levels.
The move will affect residents, businesses, farmers and other users.
"We're in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action," Brown said at a news conference at Echo Summit in the Sierra Nevada, where state water officials found no snow on the ground for the first time in their April manual survey of the snowpack. "We have to pull together and save water in every way we can."
After declaring a drought emergency in January 2014, Brown urged all Californians to cut water use by 20 percent from the previous year. Despite increasingly stringent regulations imposed on local water agencies by the state, overall water use has fallen by just half that amount, prompting Brown to order the stronger action by the water board.
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Nigerians celebrate Buhari's electrifying election victory but challenges loom for new leader
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — As Nigerians celebrated the electrifying victory Wednesday that returned one of its harshest former dictators to power, sobering challenges confront Muhammadu Buhari, from an Islamic insurgency that has killed thousands to widespread poverty and graft.
The 72-year-old Buhari made history as the first opposition party candidate to win elections in Africa's most populous nation, ending President Goodluck Jonathan's bid for another term. For a former general who three decades ago led Nigeria following a coup, it was an amazing transformation to a democratically elected president.
Fresh from his victory, Buhari warned the country's brutal Boko Haram insurgents that he would be coming after them.
"Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our will and commitment to rid this nation of terror," he said Wednesday as he received a certificate attesting to his victory. "We shall spare no effort until we defeat terrorism."
The bespectacled president-elect also warned that corruption would not be tolerated after he takes office on May 29.
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Cynthia Lennon, first wife of John Lennon, dies of cancer in Spain at age 75
LONDON (AP) — Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of former Beatles guitarist John Lennon, died of cancer Wednesday at her home in Spain. She was 75.
Her death was announced on the website and Twitter account of her son, Julian Lennon and confirmed by his representative.
Julian Lennon posted a moving video tribute to his late mother with a song he had written in her honor.
"You gave your life for me, you gave your life for love," it begins, showing footage of him as a young boy with his parents. It also shows footage of Cynthia with John during the early days of Beatlemania.
"The love you left behind will carry on," Julian, 51, sings in a style influenced by his late father.
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Minority Leader Harry Reid's retirement sets off struggle in Senate Democratic ranks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's decision to retire has sparked a very public feud between the No. 2 and No. 3 Senate Democrats, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Chuck Schumer of New York.
The two are longtime colleagues and former housemates in a group home on Capitol Hill who have clashed for power in the past.
This time, Durbin stood aside in the hours before Reid's retirement became public Friday morning, throwing his backing to Schumer and allowing the outspoken New Yorker to lock up support for the job of Democratic leader. Reid, D-Nev., publicly blessed Schumer, long seen as his likeliest successor, and Democrats hoped a messy leadership fight had been avoided.
The mess was still to come.
According to Durbin's version of events, in the same conversation where Durbin told Schumer he would not challenge him for leader, Schumer pledged his support for Durbin to hang onto the No. 2 job as Democratic whip.
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11 Atlanta educators convicted in vast cheating scandal; 'Very, very dangerous business'
ATLANTA (AP) — In one of the biggest cheating scandals of its kind in the U.S., 11 former Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a scheme to inflate students' scores on standardized exams.
The defendants, including teachers, a principal and other administrators, were accused of falsifying test results to collect bonuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta school system. A 12th defendant, a teacher, was acquitted of all charges by the jury.
The racketeering charges carry up to 20 years in prison. Most of the defendants will be sentenced April 8.
"This is a huge story and absolutely the biggest development in American education law since forever," said University of Georgia law professor Ron Carlson. "It has to send a message to educators here and broadly across the nation. Playing with student test scores is very, very dangerous business."
A state investigation found that as far back as 2005, educators fed answers to students or erased and changed answers on tests after they were turned in. Evidence of cheating was found in 44 schools with nearly 180 educators involved, and teachers who tried to report it were threatened with retaliation.
