World/Nation Briefs September 4, 2013
Deep uncertainty surrounding Obama trip
WASHINGTON - Deep uncertainty surrounding military action against Syria hangs over President Barack Obama's three-day overseas trip to Sweden and Russia, which takes him away from Washington just as he's seeking support on Capitol Hill for a strike.
Before he departed Tuesday night, Obama urged lawmakers meeting with him at the White House to support his plan to punish Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons to attack its own people. The president won the backing of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, though that hardly guarantees support in the fractured House of Representatives.
The president also will seek to bolster international support for a strike during talks with world leaders this week at the Group of 20 summit. Those efforts will pit him against Russian president and summit host Vladimir Putin, who has perhaps done the most to stymie international efforts to oust Syria's Bashar Assad.
War vote on Syria may haunt White House hopefuls
WASHINGTON - Backing President Barack Obama's plea for military action against Syria could haunt Senate Republicans thinking hard about a White House bid in 2016.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a leading anti-interventionist within the GOP ranks, was steadfast in his opposition on Tuesday, saying he was unlikely to back even a narrow resolution giving Obama the authority to respond militarily to the Syrian government.
Paul tangled with Secretary of State John Kerry at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing, repeatedly asking the top diplomat for assurances that U.S. military action wouldn't hurt Israel or destabilize the region.
A libertarian favorite, Paul also engaged in a fierce debate over the constitutional power to use military force, and whether Obama would ignore an unfavorable vote in Congress. Kerry sought to reassure Paul that the administration didn't consider congressional action meaningless.
National Guards won't give same-sex benefits
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas National Guard refused to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits on Tuesday despite a Pentagon directive to do so, while Mississippi won't issue applications from state-owned offices. Both states cited their respective bans on gay marriage.
Tuesday was the first working day that gays in the military could apply for benefits after the Pentagon announced it would recognize same-sex marriages. The Department of Defense had announced that it would recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Texas and Mississippi appeared to be the only two states limiting how and where same-sex spouses of National Guard members could register for identification cards and benefits, according to an Associated Press tally. Officials in 13 other states that also ban gay marriage - including Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan and Georgia - said Tuesday that they will follow federal law and process all couples applying for benefits the same.
Maj. Gen. John Nichols, the commanding general of Texas Military Forces, wrote to service members in a letter obtained by the AP that because the Texas Constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman, his state agency couldn't process applications from gay and lesbian couples. But he said the Texas National Guard, Texas Air Guard and Texas State Guard would not deny anyone benefits.
Christie: Rival's comment a dig at his weight
NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused his Democratic opponent Tuesday of making a mocking reference to his weight when she suggested that the image of him "frolicking on the beach" was not a boost to tourism.
State Sen. Barbara Buono denied taking aim at Christie's size. Her campaign said she was questioning the effectiveness of tourism-promotion commercials featuring the governor and his family that ran all summer in an effort to bring visitors back to the Jersey Shore, parts of which were devastated by last fall's Superstorm Sandy.
In a clip from a campaign event posted on YouTube last week, Buono says: "I don't know about you, but seeing Chris Christie frolicking on the beach is not going to drive me to go to the shore."
NAACP chapter, KKK organizer meeting a first
DENVER - A meeting between the Wyoming chapter of the NAACP and an organizer for the Ku Klux Klan over the weekend is believed to be the first of its kind.
The meeting between Jimmy Simmons, president of the Casper NAACP, and John Abarr, a KKK organizer from Great Falls, Mont., took place at a hotel in Casper, Wyo., under tight security, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the United Klans of America said Tuesday that the meeting is a first.
Abarr told The Associated Press that he met with Simmons Saturday and ended up filling out an NAACP membership form so he can get the group's newsletters and some insight into its views. He said he paid the $30 fee to join, plus a $20 donation.
But Abarr said he didn't ask anybody at the meeting if they would like to join the KKK.
Richard III's worms of discontent: Experts say hunchback English king infected with parasite
LONDON (AP) - Not only was Richard III one of England's most despised monarchs, but it now turns out the hunchback king was probably infected with parasitic worms that grew up to a foot in length.
Researchers who dug up Richard III's skeleton underneath a parking lot in Leicester last year now report they discovered numerous roundworm eggs in the soil around his pelvis, where his intestines would have been. They compared that to soil samples taken close to Richard's skull and surrounding his grave. There were no eggs near the skull and only traces of eggs in the soil near the grave.
In a study published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet, experts say that suggests the eggs near the skeleton's pelvis were from an infection during the king's life, even though it's unlikely the worms did him any serious damage. In children, roundworm can lead to stunted growth and a reduced IQ but for a well-fed English king, the parasites were just a minor annoyance.
"Richard probably had more than enough food that he could share with his worms," said Piers Mitchell, a professor of biological anthropology at Cambridge University, one of the researchers. Mitchell said it was the first time any English monarch had been shown to have been infected with worms.
Still, the deposed king would have suffered some symptoms of worm infection, which typically occurs after someone eats the eggs in contaminated food. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae travel to the lungs and throat, where they get ingested back down into the small intestines.
Pennsylvania university kicks Geraldo Rivera off JFK panel for half-nude cellphone picture
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Duquesne (doo-KAYN') University says Geraldo Rivera isn't welcome to appear on a panel at the Pittsburgh school because of a half-naked "selfie" he posted this summer.
Duquesne says the cellphone picture the TV personality posted on Twitter in July was inappropriate and not in line with the school's values as a Catholic university. Rivera had been scheduled to moderate a panel to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Rivera says he learned of the cancellation last week. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare didn't immediately respond to a question about whether Rivera will be welcome at future events.
Love and love: Serena Williams win 1st 6-0, 6-0 US Open quarterfinal in 24 years; Li Na next
NEW YORK (AP) - From an ace on the first point to a stinging return on the last, Serena Williams was close to perfect in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
The score said it all Tuesday night: 6-0, 6-0.
Yes, Williams is looking better and better with each match at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. With two more wins - no matter the exact scores - she'll earn a fifth title at Flushing Meadows and 17th major championship overall.
The No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Williams shut out 18th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, the first "double bagel" in a quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows since 1989, when 18-time major title winner Martina Navratilova did it to Manuela Maleeva.
"When you play against Serena," Suarez Navarro said, "you know these things can happen."
- Associated Press