World/Nation Briefs May 14, 2013
Obama angrily denies any Benghazi cover-up
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama tried to swat down a pair of brewing controversies Monday, denouncing as "outrageous" the targeting of conservative political groups by the federal IRS but angrily denying any administration cover-up after last year's deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya.
Simultaneous investigations - and demands by Republicans for more - have put the White House on the defensive, emboldened GOP lawmakers and threatened to overtake a second-term Obama agenda already off to a rocky start.
During a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, the normally even-keeled Obama appeared agitated over the resurgent investigation into the September attack at a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi. He dismissed the Republican-driven effort as a "sideshow" that dishonors the four Americans who were killed, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
"There's no there there," Obama declared in his first public comments since GOP lawmakers launched new hearings on the matter. "The fact that this keeps on getting churned up, frankly, has a whole lot to do with political motivations."
Coincidentally, the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi was rocked by another deadly car bomb on Monday, with as many as 10 people killed near a hospital.
Seeking to keep another controversy from spinning out of control, the president rebuked the IRS for scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of groups with conservative titles such as "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their names.
Philadelphia abortion doctor guilty of murder
PHILADELPHIA - An abortion doctor was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy, "house of horrors" clinic.
In a case that became a grisly flashpoint in the nation's abortion debate, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of an abortion patient. He was cleared in the death of a fourth baby, who prosecutors say let out a whimper before the doctor cut the spinal cord.
Gosnell, who portrayed himself as an advocate for poor and desperate women in an impoverished West Philadelphia neighborhood, appeared hopeful before the verdict was read and calm afterward.
The jury reached its verdict on its 10th day of deliberations. It will return May 21 to hear evidence on whether Gosnell should get the death penalty.
Gosnell attorney Jack McMahon called it a "very difficult case" to defend and said there was "a little bit of feeling on the defense part of what salmon must feel swimming upstream."
Police identify suspect in mass parade shooting
NEW ORLEANS - Police identified a 19-year-old man as a suspect in the shooting of nearly 20 people during a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans, saying several people had identified him as the gunman.
Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said they were looking for Akein Scott of New Orleans. He said it was too early to say whether he was the only shooter.
"We would like to remind the community and Akein Scott that the time has come for him to turn himself in," Serpas said at a news conference outside of police headquarters.
A photo of Scott hung from a podium in front of the police chief. "We know more about you than you think we know," he said.
The mass shooting showed again how far the city has to go to shake a persistent culture of violence that belies the city's festive image. Earlier, police announced a $10,000 reward and released blurry surveillance camera images, which led to several tips from the community.
Assisted suicide law advances in Vermont House
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont House approved a measure Monday night that would allow doctors to provide lethal medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives.
If Gov. Peter Shumlin - a strong supporter of the bill - signs on, Vermont will join Oregon, Washington and Montana as states allowing physicians to provide deadly doses of medication to dying patients who seek it.
The vote was a reversal of the defeat of similar legislation in the House in 2007 and marked the first time any legislature in the country had seen such a measure all the way to passage.
By a 75-65 roll call vote, the House approved a bill largely copies a law passed by Oregon voters in 1997 for three years and then shifts to a system with less government monitoring.
For the first three years, Vermont's law would closely follow the Oregon model, which allows for several safeguards, including requirements that patients state three times - once in writing - that they wish to die. Others include a concurring opinion from a second doctor that a patient has less than six months to live and a finding that the patient is of sound mind.
- The Associated Press