World / Nation briefs December 15, 2011
Romney raises criticism of Gingrich
IOWA CITY, Iowa - His attacks growing ever more personal, Mitt Romney on Wednesday questioned chief rival Newt Gingrich's temperament, spending habits and allegiance to both the GOP and the middle class while hecklers confronted Gingrich in the lead-off caucus state.
During a series of interviews while fundraising in New York, Romney told one media outlet that "zany is not what we need in a president" and another that Gingrich had "an extraordinary lack of understanding of how the economy works." To yet another, Romney mocked Gingrich's past accounts at a tony jeweler, saying: "He's a wealthy man - a very wealthy man. If you have a half-a-million-dollar purchase from Tiffany's, you're not a middle-class American."
Ex-inspectors charged with bribery
SAN FRANCISCO - Two former health inspectors have been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for passing hundreds of restaurants on food safety exams in a city known for its culinary scene, officials said Wednesday.
In addition to bribery charges, Ajamu Stewart and Clifton Sanders face felony counts for falsifying public records, said District Attorney George Gascon and City Attorney Dennis Herrera. Stewart and Sanders have pleaded not guilty and are due in court next month.
City officials said Stewart, 54, and Sanders, 41, allegedly pocketed thousands of dollars by selling safety certifications to nearly 350 restaurants in San Francisco dating as far back as 2007.
Gascon said the former inspectors' scheme showed total disregard for state laws and violated the public's trust.
Officials said the former inspectors for the health department's Food Safety Program worked in tandem over an 18-month period and accepted bribes of between $100 and $200 from several hundred restaurant owners and employees to give passing grades on written food safety exams.
Survey: 1 in 4 women attacked by partner
ATLANTA - It's a startling number: 1 in 4 women surveyed by the government say they were violently attacked by their husbands or boyfriends.
Experts in domestic violence don't find it too surprising, although some aspects of the survey may have led to higher numbers than are sometimes reported.
Even so, a government official who oversaw the research called the results "astounding."
The survey, released by the CDC Wednesday, marks the beginning of a new annual project to look at how many women say they've been abused.
One expert called the new report's estimate on rape and attempted rape "extremely high" - with 1 in 5 women saying they were victims. About half of those cases involved intimate partners. No documentation was sought to verify the women's claims, which were made anonymously.
European Union summit optimism fades
FRANKFURT, Germany - Investors have soured on the latest attempt to resolve the European debt crisis.
Stocks tumbled around the world Wednesday, the euro slid to an 11-month low and borrowing costs spiked for heavily indebted Italy. The markets' jitters reflect rising doubts about the deal European Union leaders reached at a summit last Friday in Brussels.
The agreement requires the 17 countries that use the euro and nine other EU countries to balance their budgets and gives the International Monetary Fund up to $264 billion to help countries with high debt loads.
It was unclear how the agreement, which is being written into a treaty, would be enforced and whether some of the countries that signed on might end up dropping out because of resistance to budget cuts back home. Britain has rejected the deal.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi praised the agreement made in Brussels. But so far he has rejected calls for the bank to make large-scale purchases of European bonds, something financial markets are hoping for and that would help put downward pressure on government borrowing costs.
US to meet with NKorea to discuss food aid
WASHINGTON - The United States will hold talks with North Korea in Beijing on Thursday on the possibility of providing food aid to the impoverished country, the State Department said.
The Obama administration has been deliberating on the issue for months. The United Nations and U.S. charities say aid is badly needed, but it remains a controversial issue. North Korea has plowed resources into a nuclear weapons program even as its people go hungry.
Special envoy for North Korean human rights issues Robert King and senior aid official Jon Brause will meet with North Korea's director-general for North American affairs, Ri Gun. The American officials arrived Wednesday in the Chinese capital for talks that start the following day.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday the two sides would primarily discuss the need for strict and clear monitoring should the U.S. decide to give aid - amid concerns food could be diverted to North Korea's powerful military and Workers' Party elite.
- The Associated Press