World/Nation Briefs September 5, 2012
First lady's speech featured at convention
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - First lady Michelle Obama lovingly praised her husband Tuesday night in a prime-time Democratic Convention speech as a devoted spouse and caring father at home and a "man we can trust" to revive the nation's weak economy as president, beckoning the country to return him to the White House despite agonizingly slow recovery from recession.
"He reminds me that we are playing a long game here ... and that change is hard, and change is slow and it never happens all at once," she told a nation impatient with slow economic progress and persistently high unemployment of 8.3 percent. "But eventually, we get there, we always do," she said in a speech that roused Democrats packed into their convention arena and blended scenes from almost 20 years of marriage with the Obamas' time in the White House.
Mrs. Obama, given a huge ovation and emotionally describing herself as the "mom in chief," made no mention of Republican challenger Mitt Romney. But those who preceded her to the podium on the first night of the president's convention were scathing.
"If Mitt was Santa Claus, he'd fire the reindeer and outsource the elves," declared former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in one biting speech.
Tapped to deliver the keynote address, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said Romney was a millionaire politician who "quite simply, doesn't get it" when it comes to the needs of the middle class. Referring to the Republican's support for mandatory health insurance when he was governor of Massachusetts, he added, "Gov. Romney has undergone an extreme makeover, and it ain't pretty."
Shooting incident mars Quebec separatists' win
MONTREAL - Police say a man has been arrested after shooting two people during a victory rally for Quebec's new premier.
Police said early today that a 50-year-old man entered the hall and fired at least one shot, wounding two people, one of them critically.
The incident occurred around midnight as Pauline Marois, leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois, was declaring victory in the French-speaking province's election on Tuesday. Marois was whisked off the stage.
Party organizers informed the crowd there had been an explosive noise and they needed to clear the auditorium. Police say the man started a small fire behind the building before he was arrested.
Marois returned to the stage after the incident and asked the crowd to peacefully disperse.
Pentagon: Book on bin Laden has classified data
WASHINGTON - A former Navy SEAL's insider account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden contains classified information, the Pentagon said Tuesday, and the admiral who heads the Naval Special Warfare Command said details in the book may provide enemies with dangerous insight into secretive U.S. operations.
Rear Adm. Sean Pybus told his force Tuesday that "hawking details about a mission" and selling other information about SEAL training and operations puts the force and their families at risk.
"For an elite force that should be humble and disciplined for life, we are certainly not appearing to be so," Pybus wrote in a letter to the roughly 8,000 troops under his command. "We owe our chain of command much better than this."
The letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
At the Pentagon, press secretary George Little said that an official review of the book, "No Easy Day," determined that it reveals what he called "sensitive and classified" information. He was not more specific but said the author was required to submit the book to the Pentagon before publication for a formal review of potential disclosures of such information.
Down syndrome boy not allowed to board airplane
FRESNO, Calif. -
A California family not allowed to board a cross-country flight said Tuesday that they believe they were discriminated against because their son has Down syndrome.
Robert Vanderhorst, his wife, Joan, and 16-year-old son Bede, who is disabled, were booked to fly on an American Airlines flight from Newark to Los Angeles on Sunday when the boy and his parents were not allowed on the plane.
The family from Porterville had upgraded to first class tickets at an airport kiosk, and asked the airline to seat the boy and one of his parents together, Vanderhorst said - a request the airline granted.
When the family was ready to board, they were stopped by airline personnel, told their son was a "security risk" and would not be allowed on the flight. The parents protested, and later were rebooked to fly coach with another airline.
American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the disabled boy was agitated and running around the gate area prior to boarding, which his parents dispute. The airplane's pilot observed the boy, Miller said, and made the call based on his behavior.
- The Associated Press