National and International news: backs

Mostrando postagens com marcador backs. Mostrar todas as postagens

quinta-feira, 31 de maio de 2012

Court backs extradition of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange

Founder and editor of the WikiLeaks website, Julian Assange, faces the media during a debate event, held in London in this July 27, 2010 file photo. (AP Photo / AP Photo/Max Nash, File)

RAPHAEL SATTERLONDON -- Britain's Supreme Court has endorsed the extradition of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange to Sweden, bringing the secret-spilling Internet activist a big step closer to prosecution in a Scandinavian court.

But a question mark hung over the decision after Assange's lawyer made the highly unusual suggestion that she would try to reopen the case, raising the prospect of more legal wrangling.

Assange, 40, has spent the better part of two years fighting attempts to send him to the Sweden, where he is wanted over sex crime allegations. He has yet to be charged.

The U.K. side of that struggle came to an uncertain end Wednesday, with the nation's highest court ruling 5-2 that the warrant seeking his arrest was properly issued - and Assange's lawyer saying she might contest the ruling.

Supreme Court President Nicholas Phillips, reading out the verdict, acknowledged that coming to a conclusion in the high-profile case had "not been simple."

But he said that the court had ultimately concluded that "the request for Mr. Assange's extradition has been lawfully made and his appeal against extradition is accordingly dismissed."

Assange lawyer Dinah Rose stood up after the verdict to complain that the court's ruling largely relied on a treaty whose interpretation she says she never had the chance to challenge, requesting time to study the judgment with an eye toward trying to reopen the case.

Such a maneuver is practically unheard of, according to attorney Karen Todner, whose law firm handles many high-profile extradition cases.

"It's very unusual," she told The Associated Press. "I've never known them to reopen a case."

Phillips gave Rose two weeks to make her move, meaning an extradition wouldn't happen until the second half of June at the earliest.

It could be much later. Even if the Supreme Court refuses to revisit its judgment, Assange could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, although Todner said he was unlikely to make much headway there unless he could argue that his physical safety or psychological well-being would be at risk in Sweden.

Assange, a former computer hacker from Australia, shot to international prominence in 2010 with the release of hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. documents, including a hard-to-watch video that showed U.S. forces gunning down a crowd of Iraqi civilians and journalists that they'd mistaken for insurgents.

His release of a quarter-million classified U.S. State Department cables in the final months of that year outraged Washington and destabilized American diplomacy worldwide.

But his work exposing government secrets increasingly came under a cloud after two Swedish women accused him of molestation and rape following a visit to the country in mid-2010. Assange denies wrongdoing, saying the sex was consensual, but has refused to go to Sweden, claiming he won't get a fair trial there.

He and his supporters have also hinted that the sex allegations are a cover for a planned move to extradite him to the United States, where he claims he's been secretly indicted for the WikiLeaks disclosures.

Those allegations, paired with the ponderous progress of Assange's appeals, have caused irritation in Sweden.

Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer who represents the two Swedish women who accuse Assange of sex crimes, expressed relief at the U.K. Supreme Court's decision, but said the British judicial system should have dealt with the case more quickly.

"Now, finally, we have a decision," Borgstrom told AP, saying the long wait had been stressful for his clients. He dismissed suggestions that the underlying motive behind the extradition was to hand Assange over to the United States.

"He is not at a greater risk of being handed over from Sweden than from Britain," Borgstrom said.

Australia's government said in a statement released after the verdict that it would "closely monitor" any proceedings against Assange in Sweden.

Unusually, Assange did not appear in court Wednesday; he was reportedly stuck in traffic. Attempts to reach him for comment weren't immediately successful.

---
Associated Press Writers Karl Ritter in Stockholm and Rod McGuirk in Sydney contributed to this report.

---
GET THE LATEST NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS FROM ABCNEWS.COM

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more U.S. & World News »

wikileaks, u.s. & world news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

sábado, 21 de janeiro de 2012

Rick Perry abandons presidential bid; backs Newt

Eyewitness NewsSOUTH CAROLINA -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry abandoned his presidential bid and endorsed Newt Gingrich Thursday, a move coming just two days before the pivotal South Carolina primary as Republican front-runner Mitt Romney struggles to fend off a challenge from the former House speaker.

Adding to the intrigue in the last hours of the South Carolina campaign, a bus emblazoned with Herman Cain's name sat in the hotel parking lot where Perry was to speak. Cain, a tea party favorite, dropped out of the race late last year.

Perry has faced calls in recent days to drop out of the race in hopes of compelling conservative voters, whose support has been divided among several like-minded candidates, to rally behind Gingrich in hopes of stopping Romney.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor considered the more moderate candidate in the race, has benefited thus far from having several conservative challengers competing for the same segment of voters. New polls show Romney leading in South Carolina but Gingrich gaining steam heading into Saturday's contest in a state where conservatives hold great sway in choosing the GOP nominee.

Perry's decision to endorse Gingrich does not necessarily mean conservatives will rally behind the former House speaker. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a champion of the anti-abortion issue, is still in the race and over the weekend was endorsed by a group of evangelical leaders.

And there's no guarantee that the Texas donors who fueled Perry's bid will shift to Gingrich, even if the governor asks them to.

Romney has been working to court them in recent weeks, having made repeated visits to Texas to meet with major Republican donors.

He also won the backing of former President George H.W. Bush.

Several Perry supporters said they have been approached by Romney's campaign and will support him as the most-likely candidate to face President Barack Obama in November.

At least three so-called "super" political action committees have sprung up since early 2011 supporting Perry. One, Americans for Rick Perry, raised about $193,000 during the first half of 2011, federal election records show.

But none of the groups has been more prominent than Make Us Great Again, which aired more than $3.3 million worth of ads in Iowa and South Carolina supporting the Texas governor. A spokesman for the group did not immediately return calls from the AP seeking comment about whom, if anyone, the PAC would support after Perry drops out.

Perry entered the race last August to great fanfare and high numbers in polls. But his standing quickly fell after a series of gaffes and other verbal missteps. Those errors called into question whether the Texas politician who had never lost a race during his three-decade career in elected office was ready for the national stage.

His biggest flub came in a nationally televised debate in early November, when he could not remember the name of the third Cabinet department he pledged to eliminate.

Perry could only manage to say, "Oops." Making fun of himself afterward, he told reporters: "I stepped in it."

It was a cringe-inducing moment replayed more than a million times on YouTube. The memory lapse not only solidified Perry's reputation for weak debate performances, it gave the impression that he couldn't articulate his own policies. The stumble further tamped down his already faltering poll numbers.

Perry, 61, was relatively unknown outside of Texas until he succeeded George W. Bush as governor after Bush was elected president in 2000. A former Democrat, Perry had already spent about 15 years in state government when he became governor. He went on to win election to the office three times - the most recent was in 2010 - to become the state's longest-serving chief executive.

Part of Perry's appeal came from his humble beginnings as a native of tiny Paint Creek, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M University and was a pilot in the Air Force before winning election in 1984 to the Texas House of Representatives. He switched to the GOP in 1989, and served as the state's agriculture commissioner before his election as lieutenant governor in 1998.

Perry's success as a politician suggested he would be a strong competitor to Obama. He had never lost a race in Texas, and his fight against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010 showed how tough he could be on a rival.

Perry picked Aug. 13 for his official announcement speech, the same day as the Iowa Straw Poll. While rival Michele Bachmann won that poll, the Texas governor cast a shadow over her victory by challenging her as conservatives' best hope for winning the nomination and defeating Obama.

He entered near the top of some polls. But his support of a Texas policy to allow children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates soon proved to be problematic with conservatives nationwide. So, too, did his 2007 order that would have required schoolgirls in Texas to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus. Although state lawmakers overturned the order, Perry defended the vaccination as necessary to combatting the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

His performance on the campaign trail also led to concerns about how his rhetoric would sound to a national audience. During a campaign stop in Iowa in August, he suggested that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be practically committing treason if he were to print more money and said, "I don't know what y'all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."

A Perry speech to a New Hampshire audience in October led to a damaging video, during which he appeared unusually animated - "loopy" to some observers - a stark contrast to the image of the serious, starchy governor he had projected. Amid questions, Perry later told reporters that he hadn't been drinking or taking medication at the time and called it "a pretty typical speech for me."

More flubs followed. While criticizing the nine-member Supreme Court to a newspaper editorial board, he referred to "eight unelected and frankly unaccountable judges" and struggled to come up with the name of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, then called her "Montemayor." He urged college students in New Hampshire to support his candidacy, "those of you that will be 21" on Election Day, though the voting age is 18.

The widespread criticism of those performances and his rivals' attacks on his immigration and vaccination policies led to a significant drop in support.

---
AP Special Correspondent David Espo in North Charleston and Associated Press writer Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

---
GET MORE POLITICAL NEWS FROM ABCNEWS.COM

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

2012 presidential election, politics & elections

View the original article here

segunda-feira, 5 de dezembro de 2011

Gillibrand backs bill to battle illegal gun sales

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Sunday that she's backing a bill that aims to crack down on corrupt gun dealers as well as eliminate the flow of illegal guns into New York.

Almost 90 percent of the firearms used in New York City gun crimes come from out of state, and most of those guns are illegal, according to the Democratic senator, who plans to introduce the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act this week.

It comes on the heels of an undercover probe into gun shows by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Investigators found an open marketplace for illegal weapons, with sellers disregarding mandatory background checks.

The probe also revealed a loophole in the law that holds the individual gun seller legally accountable but not the gun show operator. The legislation would close the nation's "gun show loophole" and keep operators responsible.

"The Attorney General's critical investigation shows just how easy it is for guns to end up in the hands of dangerous people," Gillibrand said in a statement. "By cracking down on gun dealers who blatantly disobey the law as well as illegal gun traffickers and their vast criminal networks, we can reduce gun violence and keep our families and neighborhoods safe."

The undercover operation led to criminal charges against 10 New York gun dealers.

Schneiderman said the probe "confirmed what too many already know: In America, guns are freely available to all, regardless of criminal history or other prohibitive factors."

The new bill toughens penalties, making such sales a crime and suspending a dealer's license.

Traffickers could face up to 20 years in prison. Kingpins who organize gun trafficking rings would be subject to an additional sentence of potentially five consecutive years in prison. And penalties could increase depending on the number of guns trafficked.

In addition, individuals engaged in a conspiracy to traffic guns would be punished equally to those who actually traffic a gun.

Corrupt dealers would be subject to a license suspension of up to six months and a fine of up to $2,500 per violation.

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more New York News »

new york city, kirsten e. gillibrand, gun, new york news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

terça-feira, 17 de maio de 2011

Appeals court backs NFL, lockout remains in place

By DAVE CAMPBELLMINNESOTA -- The NFL's lockout remains in place, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. That means the league likely won't get back to business until at least next month - and maybe much longer than that.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the lockout can stay until a full appeal is heard on whether it is legal. That hearing is scheduled for June 3 in St. Louis, before the same panel that issued this 2-1 decision.

The appellate court said it believes the NFL has proven it "likely will suffer some degree of irreparable harm without a stay." The court also cast doubt on the conclusions of U.S.

District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, who ruled April 25 that the lockout should be lifted to save the players from irreversible damage. The 8th Circuit panel put her decision on hold four days later.

"The league has made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits," the appellate court majority wrote.

The decision came as NFL owners and players finished their latest round of court-ordered mediation behind closed doors, a session that lasted more than eight hours. This was the fifth day of talks in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, the first since April 20.

Neither side would elaborate on the discussions, citing the judge's confidentiality order, but they said they planned to resume talks on Tuesday morning. Michael Hausfeld, an attorney for the retired players who joined the antitrust lawsuit against the league, said the players were reviewing a new proposal from the owners.

"It probably is not one that would be acceptable as is, but it clearly opens a dialogue," Hausfeld said.

Beyond that, both sides stuck to their message.

The owners want to stay out of court, blaming the players for preferring litigation. The players claim they're only interested in playing and that the owners are preventing them and fans from enjoying the game.

"We have an opportunity to resolve this matter and get the game back on the field, and that really should be our exclusive focus," NFL lead negotiator Jeff Pash said.

DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFL Players Association, said the players have prepared for a lockout for two years, suggesting they're not ready to relent in light of Monday's unfavorable ruling.

"Right now our guys are out there working out for free, because they dig the game," Smith said.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking to Buffalo Bills season ticket holders on a conference call, said he thinks there's "still time" to strike a new collective bargaining agreement.

"But time is running short. It's time to get back to the table and get those issues resolved," Goodell said.

NFLPA president Kevin Mawae told The Associated Press he was disappointed with the 8th Circuit's decision.

"The ruling in granting the stay of the injunction means that the NFL owners can continue to not let football be played," he said.

The appellate court said it would make its decision quickly, a "circumstance that should minimize harm to the players during the offseason and allow the case to be resolved well before the scheduled beginning of the 2011 season."

Indeed, with training camps just two months away and the first preseason game set for Aug. 8, there is restlessness around the league to go with all the uncertainty.

"We'd like to make progress, but it'll be hard to do. We have to wait to see what happens June 3," Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II said earlier on his way into the federal courthouse for Monday's mediation.

The 8th Circuit's decision to keep the lockout in place could be a signal of how the two sides will fare in the full appeal. The majority opinion, from Judges Steven Colloton and Duane Benton, sided with the NFL. Judge Kermit Bye dissented in favor of the players.

"The district court reasoned that this case does not involve or grow out of a labor dispute because the players no longer are represented by a union," the majority wrote. "We have considerable doubt about this interpretation."

The 8th Circuit has been seen as a more conservative, business-friendly venue for the NFL than the federal courts in Minnesota. Colloton and Benton were both appointed by Republican President George W. Bush; Bye was appointed by President Clinton, a Democrat.

Bye dismissed the conclusions of his fellow judges, just as he did on April 29 in dissenting against a temporary stay. He didn't buy the NFL's argument that it would be unable to "unscramble the egg" - a reference to the chaos of handling player transactions with no CBA in place.

"The preliminary injunction does not dictate the NFL's free agency rules, or any other conduct in general, outside of the lockout," Bye said.

The majority, however, said both sides will suffer "some degree of irreparable harm no matter how this court resolves the motion for a stay pending appeal," and then criticized Nelson sharply.

"We do not agree, however, with the district court's apparent view that the balance of the equities tilts heavily in favor of the players," the majority wrote. "The district court gave little or no weight to the harm caused to the league by an injunction issued in the midst of an ongoing dispute over terms and conditions of employment."

Still in the courts is a separate but related matter. U.S. District Judge David Doty is determining the fate of some $4 billion in broadcast revenue he previously ruled was unfairly secured by the NFL in the last round of contract extensions with the networks to use as leverage in the form of lockout insurance.

The players have asked Doty to put that money in escrow and for more than $707 million in damages, too.

The two sides also met for 16 days earlier this year before talks fell apart March 11 and the lockout began. Boylan presided over four days of mediation last month with no signs of progress.

Goodell, Pash and four team owners - Rooney, Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, John Mara of the New York Giants and Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers - were on hand with their legal team for Monday's session with Boylan.

Smith and three other lawyers for the players were present for their side. Linebacker Ben Leber, one of the players listed as a plaintiff in the still-pending federal antitrust lawsuit against the league, also attended. Hall of Famer Carl Eller and attorneys were there representing the retired players.

Eller helped organize a meeting of 10 fellow retirees over the weekend and another one is scheduled for next week in Chicago with former Bears coach Mike Ditka, sessions portrayed as an effort to unify their push for better benefits, at the NFL's request.

"That's kind of the first hurdle. Something that they want from us and something that we need to do," Eller said.

---
AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in New York and AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this report.

sports

View the original article here