Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 49 Top Stories.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Suicide car bombs kill five at Baghdad Green Zone

by Ammar Karim, AFP

Mon Apr 18, 12:34 pm ET

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Two suicide car bombings killed five people and wounded 15 on Monday at the entrance to Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, where an Arab League summit is due to be held next month.

Officials said the bombings occurred at around 8:30 am (0530 GMT) at the western gate into the Green Zone, which houses the offices of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq’s parliament and the US and British embassies.

A queue of cars was waiting to enter the Green Zone when the vehicles exploded, a security official said.

AFP

2 Taliban breaches Afghan defence HQ, kills two

by Sardar Ahmad, AFP

31 mins ago

KABUL (AFP) – A gunman in Afghan army uniform opened fire inside Kabul’s defence ministry Monday, killing two soldiers and wounding seven in an audacious strike at the heart of government claimed by the Taliban.

The attack, which the militants said was aimed at France’s visiting defence minister Gerard Longuet, was the third major assault on Afghan security targets in four days and one of the worst security breaches in years.

“A person in Afghan army uniform opened fire on his comrades, killed two soldiers, injured seven others, then was targeted himself and was brought down,” Afghan army spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.

3 Scramble to rescue refugees trapped in Libya’s Misrata

by Marc Burleigh, AFP

9 mins ago

MISRATA, Libya (AFP) – A ferry rescued almost 1,000 people from Misrata on Monday and Britain said it plans to pick up 5,000 more, as UN officials said Moamer Kadhafi’s government has guaranteed “safe passage” for foreign aid workers and to let a UN mission into the besieged port city.

The safe passage was part of an accord on humanitarian access to the capital and other Libyan cities secured in Tripoli on Sunday by UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, said deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq.

The Kadhafi government also agreed to let a United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs mission into Misrata, said UN humanitarian spokeswoman Stephanie Bunker.

4 Kadhafi forces pound Ajdabiya and Misrata

by Guillaume Lavallee, AFP

Sun Apr 17, 3:59 pm ET

AJDABIYA, Libya (AFP) – Regime forces bombarded rebels west of Ajdabiya on Sunday, forcing hundreds of residents and some fighters to flee the key crossroads town, as a refugee rescue operation in the besieged city of Misrata prepared to get underway.

The intense pounding of Ajdabiya came a day after at least eight people were killed and 27 wounded as the forces loyal to Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi fired rockets at rebel positions there, hospital officials said.

“Kadhafi’s forces approached the city, they bombed the western gate. The sound of the guns are coming closer, that’s why many are leaving,” said Omar Salim Mufta, a 27-year-old resident rebel supporter who has not taken up arms.

5 Snipers, cluster bombs panic Libya’s Misrata

by Marc Burleigh, AFP

Mon Apr 18, 12:12 pm ET

MISRATA, Libya (AFP) – Snipers, cluster bombs and intense shelling are spreading panic in the Libyan city of Misrata, an AFP reporter said on Monday, as a doctor reported 1,000 people killed in six weeks of fighting in the besieged city.

With fears growing that refugees will attempt a chaotic mass escape by sea from the city of 400,000, UN envoys in Tripoli demanded an end to attacks on Misrata by forces loyal to strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

The International Organisation for Migration warned that the vast numbers wanting to flee Misrata, about 215 kilometres (130 miles) east of Tripoli, was threatening to overwhelm an international sea rescue operation.

6 Four dead in new Syria protests as Assad pledges reform

AFP

Sun Apr 17, 4:19 pm ET

DAMASCUS (AFP) – At least four people were killed and around 50 wounded when Syrian security forces opened fire on a funeral procession in Talbisseh near the central town of Homs on Sunday, witnesses said.

Regime supporters also broke up two rallies in southern Syria, wounding five people after a presidential vow to end emergency rule within a week was dismissed as not enough and was followed by new protests.

In the country’s major port, Latakia, around 10,000 people took to the streets late on Sunday after the funeral of a protester killed on Friday, a rights activist told AFP.

7 Deadly riots hit north Nigeria as results show Jonathan wins

by Aminu Abubakar, AFP

2 hrs 15 mins ago

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) – Deadly riots erupted across Nigeria’s north on Monday as results from presidential elections showed incumbent Goodluck Jonathan had won the contest that reflected deep regional tensions.

Results from all of Nigeria’s states announced by the electoral commission showed Jonathan had handily beaten his northern rival, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. The electoral commission was yet to officially declare him the victor.

Returns from all 36 states and the capital showed Jonathan with more than 22 million votes compared to some 12 million for Buhari.

8 S&P sees ‘negative’ outlook for US debt

by Paul Handley, AFP

2 hrs 43 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut the outlook on US sovereign debt to “negative” Monday, sending stocks plunging as it doubted Washington’s ability to tackle its huge debt and fiscal deficits.

“Because… the path to addressing these (problems) is not clear to us, we have revised our outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable,” S&P said.

Other countries with the same coveted AAA rating had taken firm action to deal with their deficits, S&P officials said, but Washington remained locked in a political battle that only fueled further deterioration.

9 Portuguese bailout talks start under Finnish shadow

by Thomas Cabral, AFP

Mon Apr 18, 1:21 pm ET

LISBON (AFP) – European and IMF officials began tough talks with Portugal Monday on the terms and conditions of a bailout as a Finnish anti-EU party’s election success cast doubt on its viability.

Negotiations on a deal expected to be worth up to 80 billion euros ($115 billion) follow a technical mission last week to Lisbon by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

A spokesman for the EU representative in Lisbon said the officials were in Lisbon to get “the opinions and arguments of all the parties” as they went into talks with Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos and other leaders.

10 Hamilton surges to victory in China F1 Grand Prix

by Gordon Howard, AFP

Sun Apr 17, 10:47 am ET

SHANGHAI (AFP) – Britain’s Lewis Hamilton dramatically ended world champion Sebastian Vettel’s dominant start to the 2011 season when he drove to a spectacular victory in a thrilling Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.

The 26-year-old McLaren driver, world champion in 2008, surged through the field on fresh tyres in the closing stages before brilliantly passing the German with less than five laps remaining.

The win in Shanghai was the 15th victory of Hamilton’s Formula One career and brought Vettel’s recent winning streak to an end.

11 High-tech weapons sow fears of chip sabotage

by Dan De Luce, AFP

Sun Apr 17, 5:51 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – As NATO countries weigh whether to arm Libya’s rebels, military planners may give a thought to adding a remote “kill switch” to some weapons to keep them out of the wrong hands, experts say.

Even if allied governments conclude that building in a remote control to disable anti-tank launchers might be more trouble than it’s worth, the mere possibility is transforming the role of high-tech weapons in warfare.

“The more advanced technology becomes, the more it becomes integrated in networks, the more opportunities there are for attacks,” David Lindahl, a research scientist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, told AFP.

12 India Marxists face vote for survival in W. Bengal

by Sailendra Sil, AFP

Mon Apr 18, 4:00 am ET

KOLKATA (AFP) – The Indian state of West Bengal went to the polls Monday in a vote that looked set to end three decades of uninterrupted rule by the world’s oldest democratically elected communist government.

The Left Front, led by the Communist Party of Indian (Marxist), or CPI-M had, until recently, won every election in the eastern state since 1977.

But straight successive losses in council, parliamentary and municipal polls have left the communists struggling for survival.

Reuters

13 U.S. stings Rajaratnam with phone tap to end case

By Grant McCool, Reuters

1 hr 37 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors stung accused Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam with one more phone tap recording as his lawyers rested the defense case on Monday at his trial on insider trading charges.

Rajaratnam, the central figure in the biggest Wall Street insider trading trial in decades, sat expressionless in Manhattan federal court as the jury heard a September 30, 2008 FBI phone tap with co-conspirator and fellow trader Danielle Chiesi.

“Look, the other thing is right, it’s been widely speculated. What people don’t know is the time,” Rajaratnam was heard telling Chiesi as they discussed chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s then imminent sale of a manufacturing business.

14 Citi profit sags as revenue shrinks, expenses grow

By Maria Aspan, Reuters

49 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc’s first-quarter profit fell 32 percent as shrinking loans and poor trading results pressured revenue while expenses surged.

The results highlighted how the third-largest U.S. bank, which teetered on the brink of collapse in the financial crisis, has stabilized but is still struggling to generate real growth.

The results were better than expected, which supported Citigroup’s stock on a day when the U.S. equity market was falling. But like other big banks, the company’s profit came mainly from dipping into money previously set aside to cover bad loans.

15 Philips CEO turns off TV in search of profit

By Roberta B. Cowan, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 1:18 pm ET

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Philips is hiving off its once leading television business, the first step by new chief executive Frans van Houten to boost flagging profit at Europe’s biggest consumer electronics maker.

Philips is moving its loss-making TV business to a 30/70 joint venture with Hong-Kong based monitor maker TPV and has the option to sell out. The Dutch group has struggled to compete with lower-cost Asian rivals Samsung and LG Electronics.

Van Houten, a restructuring expert who took over as CEO this month, said he was assessing the profitability of Philips’s 400 or so business areas and “taking the blanket off” its laggards, a hint that further sales could be on the cards.

16 S&P threatens to cut U.S. credit rating on deficit

By Steven C. Johnson, Reuters

16 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Standard & Poor’s threatened on Monday to downgrade the United States’ prized AAA credit rating unless the Obama administration and Congress find a way to slash the yawning federal budget deficit within two years.

S&P, which assigns ratings to guide investors on the risks involved in buying debt instruments, slapped a negative outlook on the country’s top-notch credit rating and said there’s at least a one-in-three chance that it could eventually cut it.

A downgrade, which would leave Germany and France with a higher rating, would erode the status of the United States as the world’s most powerful economy and the dollar’s role as the dominant global currency.

17 Finnish veto threat clouds Portugal aid talks

By Noah Barkin and Andrei Khalip, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 1:59 pm ET

LISBON (Reuters) – A crucial new phase of Portugal’s bailout negotiations began under a cloud on Monday after an anti-euro party scored big gains in a Finnish election and immediately vowed to derail the pending rescue.

Portuguese debt premiums rose to new record highs, also pushed up by mounting speculation that Greece will be forced to restructure its debt.

Representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are in Lisbon to set the terms for what would be the euro zone’s third bailout in a year after multi-billion euro deals for Greece and Ireland.

18 Euro zone crisis escalates on Greek debt fears

By Matthias Sobolewski and George Georgiopoulos, Reuters

48 mins ago

BERLIN/ATHENS (Reuters) – Fresh fears that Greece will have to restructure its mountain of debt, possibly as early as this summer, sent the euro and some euro zone bond prices tumbling on Monday as the bloc’s debt crisis escalated.

German government sources told Reuters in Berlin that they did not believe Greece, which sealed a 110 billion euro ($158 billion) bailout from the EU and IMF a year ago, would make it through the summer without a restructuring.

Market confidence was also hit by a new threat to Portugal’s pending bailout from the rise of an anti-euro party in Finnish elections.

19 Greece insists not seeking debt restructuring

By George Georgiopoulos, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 11:14 am ET

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek officials denied again on Monday that some form of debt rescheduling was imminent as sources within the German government said Athens was likely to do so before the end of the summer.

Financial markets are increasingly convinced Greece will have to renegotiate the terms of its public debt, recognizing that its economy cannot grow fast enough to service a burden that is set to swell to 160 percent of national output.

German government sources said on Monday that Athens, which is struggling to impose national belt-tightening aimed at regaining creditors’ faith, would not avoid opting for a restructuring before the end of the summer.

20 True Finns set for government, challenge EU bailout

By Terhi Kinnunen and Jussi Rosendahl, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 11:22 am ET

HELSINKI (Reuters) – The True Finns, the anti-euro party voted into a powerful role in the Helsinki parliament at the weekend, expect the European Union to change plans for a bailout of Portugal, its leader said on Monday.

The True Finns’ hostility to the bailout is the biggest hurdle in talks that begin this week, when the right-leaning National Coalition will reach out to the populist party and opposition Social Democrats to form a majority government.

“Of course there will have to be changes,” Timo Soini said of the Portugal package, a day after the party more than quadrupled its share of the vote to turn Finland’s pro-EU politics on their head.

21 Libyan forces pound Misrata, 1,000 evacuated by sea

By Michael Georgy, Reuters

2 hrs 45 mins ago

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – A chartered ship evacuated nearly 1,000 foreign workers and wounded Libyans from Misrata on Monday as rebels said they had gained ground in fighting with government forces in the besieged city.

“We wanted to be able to take more people out but it was not possible,” said Jeremy Haslam, who led the International Organization for Migration (IOM) rescue mission.

“Although the exchange of fire subsided while we were boarding … we had a very limited time to get the migrants and Libyans on board the ship and then leave.”

22 Yemen forces fire on Sanaa protest march, 22 hurt

By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari, Reuters

Sun Apr 17, 5:42 pm ET

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemeni forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired at a protest march in Sanaa on Sunday, wounding at least 22 people, doctors said, as opposition leaders met Gulf Arab mediators in Saudi Arabia.

Doctors said around 200 more demonstrators were overcome by tear gas during the clashes when they marched outside their normal protest zone in the streets near Sanaa University, a hub of pro-democracy demonstrations that have lasted three months.

“We neared the Sanaa Trade Center when police confronted us with tear gas, and suddenly opened heavy gunfire on us from all directions,” said Sabry Mohammed, a protester.

23 Assad pledge fails to quell Syria anger; troops fire

By Suleiman al-Khalidi, Reuters

Sun Apr 17, 3:32 pm ET

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters at a funeral on Sunday, witnesses said, and an announcement that President Bashar al-Assad would lift 48-years of emergency rule failed to quell fury on the streets.

Two witnesses said security forces killed three mourners when they opened fire on a funeral for a man killed the day before, which turned into a demonstration on a highway outside the town of Talbiseh, north of the central city of Homs.

One resident said he counted five tanks and saw soldiers wearing combat gear deployed around the town.

24 Insurgent strike inside Afghan Defense Ministry, 2 dead

By Hamid Shalizi, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 2:17 pm ET

KABUL (Reuters) – An insurgent killed two people in the Afghan Defense Ministry on Monday in the third attack on security installations in four days, with the violence likely to raise questions about military transition plans due to start this year.

A man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire in the ministry in central Kabul, killing two employees and wounding seven, said Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy.

The man was also wearing a suicide-bomb belt, but did not have time to detonate it, said Azimy, who had earlier described the man as a soldier rather than an insurgent in army uniform.

25 Most Japan voters want new PM, approve quake tax

By Linda Sieg and Yoko Kubota, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 8:35 am ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – Most Japanese want a new prime minister to lead rebuilding after last month’s earthquake and tsunami, newspaper polls showed on Monday, as the head of government was again scolded in parliament for his handling of the nuclear crisis that followed.

Japan is struggling to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control after it was crippled by the March 11 natural disasters, a process that could take the rest of the year.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on Sunday it hoped to achieve a cold shutdown to make the reactors stable within six to nine months.

26 Analysis: Japan nuclear crisis could drag on long past timetable

By Mayumi Negishi, Reuters

Mon Apr 18, 4:44 am ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co faces hurdles in its plan to shut down its crippled nuclear reactors in six to nine months. The operation could be delayed or derailed altogether if unknown factors, like another powerful quake, are taken into account.

A list of the things that could go wrong shows that the operation could take longer — or be derailed altogether if unknown factors are considered, like another powerful quake.

Even the government was quick on Monday to lower expectations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference that the time frame could be achieved if “everything goes smoothly.”

27 Nigeria’s Jonathan sure of victory in election

By Matthew Tostevin and Nick Tattersall, Reuters

Sun Apr 17, 6:57 pm ET

ABUJA (Reuters) – President Goodluck Jonathan secured election victory on Sunday as votes were tallied from around Nigeria, fuelling anger in the mainly-Muslim strongholds of rival Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari, a former military ruler from the arid, dustblown north, had hoped to at least force a second round against Jonathan, the first head of state from the swamps and creeks of the oil-producing Niger Delta.

But a Reuters tally of results from 35 of 36 states across Africa’s most populous nation showed Jonathan on 22 million votes to 12 million for Buhari. Nowhere near enough voters were registered in the remaining state for him to catch up.

AP

28 Syrian activists begin sit-in for Assad ouster

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press

42 mins ago

BEIRUT – More than 5,000 anti-government protesters in Syria took over the main square of the country’s third-largest city Monday, vowing to occupy the site until President Bashar Assad is ousted and defying authorities who warn they will not be forced into reforms.

The government, however, blamed the weeks of anti-government unrest in the country on ultraconservative Muslims seeking to establish a fundamentalist state and terrorize the people, in the latest official effort to portray the reform movement as populated by extremists.

The Egypt-style standoff in the central city of Homs followed funeral processions by more than 10,000 mourners for some of those killed in clashes Sunday that a rights group said left at least 12 people dead. It also brought a high-stakes challenge to security forces over whether to risk more bloodshed – and international backlash – by trying to clear the square.

29 S&P warning: Fix deficit or risk credit rating

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

28 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A key credit agency issued an unprecedented warning to the United States government Monday, urging Washington to get a grip on its finances or risk losing the nation’s sterling credit rating.

For the first time, Standard & Poor’s lowered its long-term outlook for the federal government’s fiscal health from “stable” to “negative,” and warned of serious consequences if lawmakers fail to reach a deal to control the massive federal deficit.

An impasse could prompt the agency to strip the government of its top investment rating in the next two years, S&P said. A loss of the triple-A rating would ripple through the American economy, making loans more expensive and credit more difficult to obtain.

30 Radiation near Japan reactors too high for workers

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 11:43 am ET

TOKYO – A pair of thin robots on treads sent to explore buildings inside Japan’s crippled nuclear reactor came back Monday with disheartening news: Radiation levels are far too high for repair crews to go inside.

Nevertheless, officials remained hopeful they can stick to their freshly minted “roadmap” for cleaning up the radiation leak and stabilizing the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant by year’s end so they can begin returning tens of thousands of evacuees to their homes.

“Even I had expected high radioactivity in those areas. I’m sure (plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.) and other experts have factored in those figures when they compiled the roadmap,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

31 AP IMPACT: Asia nuclear reactors face tsunami risk

By ROBIN McDOWELL and MARGIE MASON, Associated Press

2 hrs 20 mins ago

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The skeleton of what will soon be one of the world’s biggest nuclear plants is slowly taking shape along China’s southeastern coast – right on the doorstep of Hong Kong’s bustling metropolis. Three other facilities nearby are up and running or under construction.

Like Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi plant they lie within a few hundred miles of the type of fault known to unleash the largest tsunami-spawning earthquakes.

Called subduction zones, these happen when one tectonic plate is lodged beneath another. And because the so-called Manila Trench hasn’t been the source of a huge quake in at least 440 years, some experts say tremendous stresses are building, increasing the chances of a major rupture.

32 Car bombs in central Baghdad kill 9

By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 1:59 pm ET

BAGHDAD – Suicide bombers detonated two explosives-packed cars Monday outside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, killing at least nine people and wounding 23, officials said.

The blasts marked the start of a violent day in the Iraqi capital, where two more bombings and a jewelry heist left three more dead and 15 wounded.

The twin suicide car bombs rattled windows across Baghdad shortly after 8 a.m. The cars blew up just outside a security checkpoint on a heavily traveled road leading into the Green Zone from Baghdad’s international airport.

33 Scientists: Gulf health nearly at pre-spill level

By CAIN BURDEAU and SETH BORENSTEIN, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 12:26 pm ET

BAY JIMMY, La. – Scientists judge the overall health of the Gulf of Mexico as nearly back to normal one year after the BP oil spill, but with glaring blemishes that restrain their optimism about nature’s resiliency, an Associated Press survey of researchers shows.

More than three dozen scientists grade the Gulf’s big picture health a 68 on average, using a 1-to-100 scale. What’s remarkable is that that’s just a few points below the 71 the same researchers gave last summer when asked what grade they would give the ecosystem before the spill. And it’s an improvement from the 65 given back in October.

At the same time, scientists are worried. They cite significant declines in key health indicators such as the sea floor, dolphins and oysters. In interviews, dozens of Gulf experts emphasized their concerns, pointing to the mysterious deaths of hundreds of young dolphins and turtles, strangely stained crabs and dead patches on the sea floor.

Lies and spin from BP and Obama.

34 AP Enterprise: BP is looking strong a year later

By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press

1 hr 21 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS – It’s hard to tell that just a year ago BP was reeling from financial havoc and an American public out for blood.

The oil giant at the center of one of the world’s biggest environmental crises is making strong profits again, its stock has largely rebounded, and it is paying dividends to shareholders once more. It is also pursuing new ventures from the Arctic to India. It is even angling to explore again in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it holds more leases than any competitor.

“BP has a critical role to play in meeting the world’s ever-growing need for energy,” BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said at the company’s annual meeting in London last week.

35 Ladies and gentlemen, the (new) Beetle

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer

Mon Apr 18, 12:40 pm ET

NEW YORK – In its 73-year history, the Beetle has evolved from the hippie ride of choice to a cute chick car. Now Volkswagen is reinventing it again.

The company introduced an edgy design Monday for its signature model, giving it a flatter roof, a less bulbous shape, narrowed windows and a sharp crease along the side. Gone is the built-in flower vase on the dashboard.

It’s the first overhaul since 1998, when Volkswagen came up with the New Beetle. VW, which wants to triple its U.S. sales of cars and trucks over the next decade, says the changes will appeal to more buyers, especially men.

36 What leads gay, straight teens to attempt suicide?

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

Mon Apr 18, 6:28 am ET

CHICAGO – Suicide attempts by gay teens – and even straight kids – are more common in politically conservative areas where schools don’t have programs supporting gay rights, a study involving nearly 32,000 high school students found.

Those factors raised the odds and were a substantial influence on suicide attempts even when known risk contributors like depression and being bullied were considered, said study author Mark Hatzenbuehler, a Columbia University psychologist and researcher.

His study found a higher rate of suicide attempts even among kids who weren’t bullied or depressed when they lived in counties less supportive of gays and with relatively few Democrats. A high proportion of Democrats was a measure used as a proxy for a more liberal environment.

37 Republican legislative gains tug nation to right

By ANN SANNER and CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 3:20 pm ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In state after state, Republicans are moving swiftly past blunted Democratic opposition to turn a conservative wish-list into law.

Their successes, spurred by big election gains in November, go well beyond the spending cuts forced on states by the fiscal crunch and tea party agitation. Republican governors and state legislators are bringing abortion restrictions into effect from Virginia to Arizona, expanding gun rights north and south, pushing polling-station photo ID laws that are anathema to Democrats and taking on public sector unions anywhere they can.

All this as the thinned ranks of Democrats find themselves outmaneuvered in statehouses where they once put up a fight. In many states, they are unable to do much except hope that voters will see these actions as an overreach by the Republicans they elected – an accidental revolution to be reversed down the road.

38 Japan’s auto parts makers struggle after disaster

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 12:36 am ET

ISHINOMAKI, Japan – In the days after Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, Masahiko Horio knew he had to get his factory back online quickly.

Customers were clamoring. The backlog of orders swelled.

The zinc and aluminum widgets made by his company, Horio Seisakusho Co., appear insignificant at first glance. But the tiny metal components represent a vital fraction of the thousands of parts used in a single car.

39 FAA gives tired controllers an extra hour to rest

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

Sun Apr 17, 2:52 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The government said Sunday it is giving air traffic controllers an extra hour off between shifts so they don’t doze off at work, a problem that stretches back decades. But officials rejected the remedy that sleep experts say would make a real difference: on-the-job napping.

“On my watch, controllers will not be paid to take naps. We’re not going to allow that,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

That’s exactly the opposite of what scientists and the Federal Aviation Administration’s own fatigue working group say is needed after five cases disclosed since late March of sleeping controllers. The latest one occurred just before 5 a.m. Saturday at a busy regional radar facility that handles high altitude air traffic for much of Florida, portions of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

40 AP Exclusive: Ivory Coast warlord cites heavy toll

By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press

Sun Apr 17, 4:57 pm ET

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – A renegade warlord who began the battle to wrest Ivory Coast’s commercial capital from soldiers who fired rockets and mortars on a poor neighborhood said Sunday that a lack of military coordination cost too many lives, infrastructure damage and unnecessary looting.

Ibrahim Coulibaly, whose so-called “Invisible Commando” suddenly emerged two months ago to fight soldiers loyal to strongman Laurent Gbagbo, denied rumors his fighters might challenge the authority of the government installed at the cost of thousands of deaths and injuries.

In an exclusive interview Sunday with The Associated Press, he called himself a general, used his nickname IB, and pledged his allegiance to democratically elected President Alassane Ouattara.

41 Super rich see federal taxes drop dramatically

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press

Sun Apr 17, 4:02 pm ET

WASHINGTON – As millions of procrastinators scramble to meet Monday’s tax filing deadline, ponder this: The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.

The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year. The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.

Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent.

42 After US pullback, Iraq envoys are more vulnerable

By LARA JAKES, Associated Press

Sun Apr 17, 2:26 pm ET

BASRA, Iraq – Make no mistake, Mazin al-Nazeni hates Americans. Soldiers, diplomats, oilmen – the militant leader in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, considers all of them to be Enemy No. 1.

But U.S. diplomats in the southern port city say they’re here to stay – even if it’s at their peril.

It’s a quandary for the Obama administration as the U.S. tries to move from invading power to normal diplomatic partner. But with the last American troops obligated to be gone by year’s end, the protection of American diplomats will fall almost entirely to private contractors and Iraqi security forces.

43 Lobster shells valuable for golf balls, plant pots

By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press

Sun Apr 17, 5:05 pm ET

ORONO, Maine – Lobsters aren’t just for eating anymore.

The shells from Maine’s signature seafood are being used to manufacture decorative tiles, trivets and drinking-glass coasters. Work is under way to utilize them in countertops and tabletops. And at the University of Maine, a professor has developed prototypes of biodegradable golf balls and plant pots made out of ground-up lobster shells.

“Instead of dumping the shells at landfills, the idea is to add value to the product, which hopefully will funnel back into the industry,” said David Neivandt, a professor of chemical and biological engineering who created a biodegradable golf ball with a core made of lobster shells.

44 Chicago Mayor-elect Emanuel names schools chief

By DEANNA BELLANDI, The Associated Press

33 mins ago

CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel on Monday picked Rochester, N.Y., schools superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard to be the new Chicago Public Schools chief, selecting a leader who recently earned a no-confidence vote from his local teachers but someone Emanuel praised as not being afraid of “tough choices.”

“And that is what Chicago students need today,” Emanuel said of Brizard, whom he called “J.C.” while introducing him at a press conference at a nearly empty Chicago high school because students are on spring break. Chicago is the nation’s third-largest district with more than 400,000 students and 675 schools.

Brizard’s appointment was Emanuel’s first major personnel announcement as he prepares to take over City Hall from retiring Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who didn’t seek a seventh term. Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former White House chief of staff, easily won February’s election and will be sworn in to office May 16. He’s out to remake the city’s schools, including crusading for a longer school day and other reforms to improve student learning and teacher quality.

45 Obama’s tax return: Income down – to $1.7 million

TOM RAUM, Associated Press

1 hr 18 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is making less money than he used to, though it’s still a lot: He and wife Michelle reported income of $1.73 million last year, mostly from the books he’s written, according to his just-filed tax return. That was down from the $5.5 million of a year earlier.

The president, who has been campaigning to raise taxes on the wealthy, paid the government $453.770 in federal taxes, about a quarter of the income. Just last week, he renewed his push to end Bush-era tax cuts for households with annual incomes above $250,000 – noting that that would include him.

The White House released tax returns for the Obamas and for Vice President Joe Biden and his wife on Monday, the deadline for Americans to file.

46 Entergy sues to keep Vermont nuclear plant open

By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press

2 hrs 9 mins ago

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The owners of Vermont’s troubled nuclear plant sued state officials Monday to stop them from closing the plant next year, setting up a court fight about who has jurisdiction – state or federal nuclear regulators.

New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., which recently won a new 20-year license for Vermont Yankee but has fought with state officials since the discovery of radioactive tritium at the plant, says the state doesn’t have the authority to prevent continued operation of Vermont Yankee.

“The question presented by this case is whether the state of Vermont … may effectively veto the federal government’s authorization to operate the Vermont Yankee Station through March 21, 2032,” the lawsuit says. “The answer is no.”

47 Legacy of Bay of Pigs weighs on Alabama families

By BOB JOHNSON, Associated Press

2 hrs 14 mins ago

GOLDVILLE, Ala. – Janet Ray Wineger was 6 years old and playing on the swings at her elementary school just outside Birmingham in 1961 when she first realized something happened to her dad, who was an Alabama National Guard pilot on a clandestine mission in Cuba.

Her home was across the street and she saw “a big shiny car pull up and three men in suits get out.” It was an unusual sight. Most men in town worked in the steel and iron mills and only wore suits to church on Sundays.

She later learned the men worked for the federal government and told her mother that her father had been killed in a plane crash in Cuba. It would be years before she would learn he was one of the four Alabama guardsmen killed in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

48 Gov’t: Mortgage co. owner Farkas led $3B fraud

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, AP Business Writer

2 hrs 52 mins ago

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Prosecutors told a jury Monday that the owner of what had been one of the nation’s largest private mortgage companies ran one of the largest and longest running fraud schemes in the U.S., dismissing his assertion that he was unaware of the crimes that occurred around him.

A federal jury heard closing arguments in the case against Lee B. Farkas, the former chairman and majority owner of Ocala, Fla.-based Taylor Bean and Whitaker. Prosecutors said Farkas was the ringleader of a scheme that has already resulted in six guilty pleas to a fraud that totaled nearly $3 billion. Taylor Bean collapsed in 2009, causing its more than 2,000 employees to lose their jobs. Taylor Bean’s primary banker, Alabama-based Colonial Bank, also collapsed in 2009 – the sixth-largest bank collapse in U.S. history.

Federal officials have said the case against Farkas is the most significant to develop out of the nation’s financial crisis.

49 Calif. debates place of gay history in textbooks

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press

Mon Apr 18, 12:41 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – California conservatives were outraged in 1966 when the state Board of Education adopted a new junior high school history textbook. The book’s inclusive treatment of the civil rights movement and influential black Americans would indoctrinate students, undermine religious values and politicize the curriculum, they said.

Forty-five years later, gay rights advocates say similar arguments are being advanced to defeat a bill that would make the state the first to require the teaching of gay history in public schools. The California Senate approved the landmark measure last week, but it needs to clear the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

Yet the debate about what children should learn about sexual orientation mirrors earlier disputes over whether groups such as 20th Century German immigrants, women, Muslims and Jews would have a place for their heroes and heartbreaks in the history books.

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