World/Nation Briefs April 10, 2012
Syrian troops fire over borders with Lebanon, Turkey
BEIRUT - Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders Monday, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a cease-fire plan that seems all but certain to fail.
Across Syria, activists reported particularly heavy violence with more than 125 people killed in the past two days.
The Obama administration expressed outrage at the violence spilling over the frontiers, saying the Syrian government appeared to have little commitment to the peace plan that was negotiated by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan.
The latest bloodshed was a sign of how easily Syria's neighbors could be drawn into a regional conflagration as President Bashar Assad's crackdown on a year-old uprising becomes increasingly militarized, despite desperate diplomatic efforts.
Annan brokered a deal that was supposed to begin with Syria pulling its troops out of population centers by Tuesday morning, with a full cease-fire by both sides within 48 hours. But hopes for the plan collapsed after a fresh wave of violence and new demands by the regime for written guarantees that the opposition will lay down arms first.
Facebook to buy photo-sharing company for $1B
NEW YORK - Facebook is spending $1 billion to buy the photo-sharing company Instagram in the social network's largest acquisition ever.
On the surface, that's a huge sum for a tiny startup that has a handful of employees and no way to make money.
But the lack of a business model rarely dampens excitement about hot tech upshots these days. As Facebook has shown, itself without ads or revenue in its early days, money goes where the users are.
Instagram lets people share photos they snap with their mobile devices. The app has filters that can make photos look as if they've been taken in the 1970s or on Polaroid cameras. Its users take photos of everything from their breakfast egg sandwiches to sunsets to the smiling faces of their girlfriends.
In a little more than a year, Instagram attracted a loyal and loving user base of more than 30 million people. Apple picked it as the iPhone App of the Year in 2011.
Trayvon Martin death won't go to Florida grand jury
ORLANDO, Fla. - A grand jury will not look into the Trayvon Martin case, a special prosecutor said Monday, leaving the decision of whether to charge the teen's shooter in her hands alone and eliminating the possibility of a first-degree murder charge.
That prosecutor, Angela Corey, said her decision had no bearing on whether she would file charges against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who has said he shot the unarmed black teen in self-defense. Corey could still decide to charge him with a serious felony such as manslaughter, which can carry a lengthy prison sentence if he is convicted.
Corey has long had a reputation for not using grand juries if it wasn't necessary. In Florida, only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries.
Tulsa shootings may stem from '10 confrontation
TULSA, Okla. - The explanation for a shooting rampage that terrorized Tulsa's black neighborhood and left three people dead may lie in a killing that took place more than two years ago.
Carl England, whose son is accused in the weekend shooting spree, was fatally shot in 2010 by a man who had threatened his daughter and tried to kick in the door of her home.
The man was black, and police say England's son may have been seeking vengeance when he and his roommate shot five black people last week.
Police documents given to the Associated Press said the two suspects have both confessed. According to a police statement, 19-year-old Jake England admitted shooting three people and 32-year-old Alvin Watts confessed to shooting two.
Romney begins transition togeneral election
DES MOINES, Iowa - Mitt Romney faces a daunting to-do list as he transitions into the role of likely Republican presidential nominee.
Among the tasks: Raise as much money as possible for the general election campaign against President Barack Obama. Hire more people and send them to the most critical states in the fall race. Hone his message to appeal to voters across the political spectrum.
And do it all quickly while fending off challenges from GOP rivals who refuse to quit the primary race.
Obama, with the advantages of an incumbent, is well ahead of Romney on fundraising, organization and broad pitches to voters. So Romney can be expected to spend part of his time over the next three weeks trying to catch up. There's a break in the primaries lasting until April 24, when several Northeastern states vote.
- The Associated Press