World/Nation Briefs July 6, 2011

Casey Anthony cleared of murdering 2-year-old daughter

ORLANDO, Fla. - Casey Anthony was acquitted Tuesday of murdering her 2-year-old daughter in a case that became a national sensation on cable TV, with its CSI-style testimony about duct-tape marks on the child's face and the smell of death inside a car trunk.

After a trial of a month and a half, the jury took less than 11 hours to find Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse.

She was convicted only of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators who were looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter, Caylee.

Tears welled in Anthony's eyes, her face reddened, her lips trembled, and she began breathing heavily as she listened to the verdict. Anthony, 25, could have gotten the death penalty if convicted of murder.

Many in the crowd of about 500 people outside the courthouse reacted with anger after the verdict was read, chanting, "Justice for Caylee!" One man yelled, "Baby killer!"

Obama to Congress: Don't avoid long-term deficit reduction

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama prodded Congress Tuesday to reach a sweeping long-term deal within the next two weeks to raise the nation's borrowing limit rather than "kick the can down the road" with a makeshift, short-term solution, and he declared it must include the tax hikes Republicans strongly oppose.

He said he was summoning leaders of both parties to the White House on Thursday to try to get it done and beat an Aug. 2 deadline to avert a first-ever federal default that could shake economic markets worldwide.

Obama said he opposed a stopgap, short-term increase, as suggested by some lawmakers. But he stopped short of ruling out a limited extension, and his spokesman Jay Carney later declined to say whether the president would veto such a measure.

Obama renewed his stand that any deal must include not only spending cuts but also new revenue - tax increases vehemently ruled out by many Republicans in Congress.

Britain tabloids hit new low, hack into victim's cell phone

LONDON - Britain's voracious tabloids may have hit a new low: The News of the World was facing claims Tuesday that it hacked into a missing 13-year-old's phone messages, possibly hampering a police inquiry into her disappearance.

Milly Dowler was found murdered months later and the report that her messages were tampered with has horrified Britons. Major advertisers - including Ford UK - have pulled their ads from the paper.

Britons are used to seeing their tabloid press harass royals, sports stars and celebrities, constantly eavesdropping and paying even the most tangential sources for information about stars' sex lives and drug problems.

But the latest hacking case was met with revulsion from everyone from British Prime Minister David Cameron to movie stars to people who commented on Twitter.

Military could be key player in Venezuela's political future

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's military took center stage in the country's bicentennial celebrations Tuesday, and it likely will be a key player in the country's political future if Hugo Chavez is eventually forced out of the presidency by cancer.

Thousands of troops marched beneath thundering fighter jets and helicopters while an announcer's booming voice declared that the nation is "free, socialist, independent."

Top brass appeared alongside Chavez, a former paratrooper, as he saluted and addressed the parade from his presidential palace. The image brought to mind key moments of Chavez's career, such as a 2002 coup against him, in which military loyalists came to his rescue.

Despite the appearance of a fully unified Bolivarian National Armed Force, some analysts and former officers say there are long-standing internal divisions between those who solidly stand behind Chavez's drive for socialism and those who do not. If Chavez's health worsens, some believe latent tensions could erupt within the ranks and the military could end up playing a key role in any transition to new leadership.

Nearly 200 African migrants feared drowned near Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Nearly 200 African migrants were feared drowned Tuesday after a boat carrying them to Saudi Arabia caught fire off Sudan's northeastern coast, a semiofficial news agency reported.

The Sudan Media Center said three migrants were rescued. The boat had launched from Red Sea State, one of Sudan's 26 states, and sailed for four hours in Sudanese territorial waters before the blaze broke out, according to the news agency.

Local authorities were still searching for possible survivors, it said. The report could not be independently confirmed.

- The Associated Press