World Nation Briefs March 7, 2013

Senator mounts lengthy debate, blocks vote on CIA nominee

WASHINGTON - A Republican critic of the Obama administration's drone policy mounted a self-described filibuster Wednesday to block Senate confirmation of John Brennan to take over as director of the CIA.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took the floor shortly before noon. With intermittent support from other conservatives holding similar views, plus Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Paul spoke almost continuously for five hours before Majority Leader Harry Reid tried but failed to move to a vote on Brennan.

Paul resumed his oration, snacking on candy at the dinner hour while continuing to speak. At one point, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, who walks haltingly with a cane because of a stroke, delivered a canister of hot tea and an apple to Paul's desk, but a doorkeeper removed them.

Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, Paul read from notebooks filled with articles about the expanded use of the unmanned weapons that have become the centerpiece of the Obama administration's campaign against al-Qaida suspects. As he moved about the Senate floor, aides brought him glasses of water, which he barely touched. Senate rules say a senator has to remain on the floor to continue to hold it, even though they can yield to another senator for a question.

The Kentucky senator, who is the son of former Texas congressman and libertarian leader Ron Paul, offered to cease if President Barack Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement assuring that drones would not be used in the United States to kill terrorism suspects who are U.S. citizens.

Amid questions, masses say farewell to Hugo Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela - By the hundreds of thousands, Hugo Chavez's tearful supporters carried their dead president through streets still plastered with his smiling image, an epic farewell to a larger-than-life leader remembered simply as "our commander."

In a display of raw, and at times, unruly emotion, generations of Venezuelans, many dressed in the red of Chavez's socialist party, filled Caracas' streets Wednesday to remember the man who dominated their country for 14 years before succumbing to cancer.

Chavez's flag-draped coffin floated over hundreds of thousands of supporters as it made its way atop an open hearse on a seven-hour journey to a military academy in the capital. Mourners followed the lead of a grim drum major, with some shouting out "nuestro comandante" - "our commander," in English - as the coffin passed.

At the academy, Chavez's family and close advisers, as well as the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay, attended a funeral Mass before the president's open casket. Later, the public slowly filed past in a show of respect expected to go on late into the night.

But even amid the outpouring of grief, questions about the country's future could not be put off for long, with worries amplified by the government's lack of regard for the letter of the constitution and the military's eagerness to choose political sides.

About 250K lose power in Mid-Atlantic snowstorm

WASHINGTON - A winter storm marched into the Mid-Atlantic region Wednesday, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow in some places and knocking out power to about 250,000 homes and businesses. It largely spared the nation's capital, which was expecting much worse and had all but shut down.

Officials in Washington didn't want a repeat of 2011, when a rush-hour snowstorm stranded commuters for hours, so they told people to stay off the roads and gave workers the day off. Dubbed the "snowquester," the storm closed federal government offices, just as the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester were expected to do.

The storm pummeled the nation's midsection on Tuesday, killing at least four people in weather-related traffic accidents. It was forecast to head to the northeast today, bringing strong winds, more snow and the possibility of coastal flooding to New England.

The National Weather Service was predicting up to 7 inches of heavy, wet snow in southeastern Connecticut through Friday morning and wind gusts that could hit 50 mph, bringing possible power outages.

A coastal flood warning was in effect starting this morning for east-facing shores in Massachusetts, with up to a 3-foot surge at high tide in some areas. Central Massachusetts was bracing for 4 to 8 inches of snow, while Boston was expected to get a little less.

In Washington, where as much as 10 inches had been forecast, the storm did little but drop harmless snowflakes that rapidly melted amid warmer-than-expected temperatures. Federal offices in the region will be open today.

Man held without bail in crash that killed couple, unborn child

NEW YORK - A man suspected of fleeing the scene of a grisly New York crash that killed a pregnant woman and her husband was arrested at a Pennsylvania convenience store on Wednesday after a friend arranged his surrender, and he was ordered held without bail.

Julio Acevedo walked to officers waiting in cars in the parking lot in Bethlehem, Pa., and was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of an accident, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said. Acevedo said nothing to officers who took him into custody, Browne said.

Acevedo is accused of speeding down a Brooklyn street at 60 mph early Sunday and crashing into a car carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber. The Glaubers, both 21 years old, died Sunday, and their premature son, delivered by cesarean section, died Monday.

The surrender of Acevedo on Wednesday evening was brokered by a friend who had been in touch with police earlier in the day. The friend met officers at New York's Grand Central Terminal and then led them to Acevedo in Bethlehem, about 80 miles away, police said.

- The Associated Press