Electricity grids fail across half of India

Electricity grids fail across half of India

An Indian barber holding a candle, has a haircut for a customer at his shop in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Electric crematoria were snuffed out with bodies inside, New Delhi's Metro shut down and hundreds of coal miners were trapped underground after three Indian electric grids collapsed in a cascade Tuesday, cutting power to 620 million people in the world's biggest blackout.

While Indians were furious and embarrassed, many took the crisis in stride, inured by the constant - though far less widespread - outages triggered by the huge electricity deficit stymieing the development of this would-be Asian power.

Hospitals, factories and the airports switched automatically to their diesel generators during the hours-long cut across half of India. Many homes relied on backup systems powered by truck batteries. And hundreds of millions of India's poorest had no electricity to lose.

"The blackout might have been huge, but it wasn't unbearably long," said Satish, the owner of a coffee and juice shop in central Delhi who uses only one name. "It was just as bad as any other five-hour power cut. We just used a generator while the light was out, and it was work as usual."

The crisis was the second record-breaking outage in two days. India's northern grid failed Monday, leaving 370 million people powerless for much of the day, in a collapse blamed on states that drew more than their allotment of power.

At 1:05 p.m. Tuesday, the northern grid collapsed again, energy officials said. This time, it took the eastern grid and the northeastern grid with it. In all, 20 of India's 28 states - with double the population of the United States - were hit in a region stretching from the border with Myanmar in the northeast to the Pakistani border about 3,000 kilometers (1,870 miles) away.

Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread jams in New Delhi. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked office workers to go home and rushed generators to coal mines to rescue trapped miners.

Sahiba Narang, 17, was taking the Metro home because school bus drivers were on strike, "but this power failure's messed up everything."

S.K. Jain said he was on his way to file his income tax return when the Metro closed. The 54-year-old held his head, distraught that he would almost certainly miss the deadline. Hours later, the government announced it was giving taxpayers an extra month to file because of the chaos.

By evening, power had been restored to New Delhi and the remote northeast, and much of the northern and eastern grids were back on line. Electricity officials said the system would not be back to 100 percent until Wednesday.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the new crisis had the same root as Monday's collapse.

"Everyone overdraws from the grid. Just this morning I held a meeting with power officials from the states and I gave directions that states that overdraw should be punished. We have given instructions that their power supply could be cut," he said.

But others were skeptical of Shinde's explanation, saying that if overdrawing power from the grid caused this kind of collapse, it would happen all the time.

"I just can't believe that there is no system in place to check whether the states are drawing more than their limit or not," said Samiran Chakraborty, head of research at Standard Chartered, a financial services company. "There has to be a much more technical answer to that question."

At a contentious news conference, R.N. Nayak, chairman of Power Grid Corp., which runs the nation's power system, said his staff was searching for the cause of the problem and pleaded for patience.

"We have been running this grid for decades. ... Please trust us," he said.

The blackouts came amid consumer anger with the recent increase in power fees, including a 26 percent hike in Delhi, that government officials said were needed to pay for the steep rise in fuel costs.

The Confederation of Indian Industry said the two outages cost business hundreds of millions of dollars, though they did not affect the financial center of Mumbai and the global outsourcing powerhouses of Bangalore and Hyderabad in the south. Like many, the group demanded a widespread reform of India's power sector, which has been unable to keep up with the soaring demand for electricity as the economy expanded and Indians grew more affluent and energy hungry.

"India has outgrown its own infrastructure," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, a strategist at SMC Global Securities.

India's Central Electricity Authority reported power deficits of more than 8 percent in recent months, and many economists said the power deficit is dragging down India's economy.

"Without power we cannot run an economy at 8 percent, 9 percent growth or whatever your ambition is," Chakraborty said.

Part of the problem is that India relies on coal for more than half its power generation and the coal supply is controlled by a near state monopoly that is widely considered a shambles.

A recent survey showed nearly all the coal-fueled plants had less than seven days of coal stock, a critical level, said Chakraborty, and many of the country's power plants were running below capacity. Government bureaucracy has made it difficult to bring more plants online.

In addition, vast amounts of power bleeds out of India's antiquated distribution system or is pirated through unauthorized wiring. Farmers, with a guarantee of free electricity that is driving many state electric boards to bankruptcy, have no incentive to conserve energy.

The power deficit was worsened this year by a weak monsoon that lowered hydroelectric generation, spurred farmers to use pumps to irrigate their fields long after the rains would normally have come and kept temperatures higher, keeping air conditioners and fans running longer.

The opposition said officials should have located the first fault and fixed it before getting the whole system back on line Monday.

"The power minister owes an answer to the prime minister, owes an answer to the nation why this is happening," Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.

Instead, as part of a planned Cabinet shuffle, Shinde was promoted in the middle of the day to the powerful job of home minister, putting him in charge of the nation's internal security even as the power crisis dragged on.

By contrast, the power chief in the state of Uttar Pradesh was summarily fired by his chief minister Monday for his handling of the first power crisis.

Phelps swims into history with 19th Olympic medal

Phelps swims into history with 19th Olympic medal

From left, United States' Michael Phelps, United States' Conor Dwyer, United States' Ricky Berens and United States' Ryan Lochte pose with their gold medals for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

LONDON (AP) -- Michael Phelps lingered on the blocks, not wanting to make another shocking blunder. The 19th medal was his. All he had to do was avoid a DQ, then set off on what amounted to four victory laps.

Down and back, then down and back again, the roars getting louder with each stroke.

When Phelps touched the wall, he finally had gold at his final Olympics.

And a record for the ages.

Phelps swam into history with a lot of help from his friends, taking down the last major record that wasn't his alone. He took the anchor leg for the United States in a gold medal-winning performance of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay Tuesday night, earning the 19th Olympic medal of his brilliant career, and the 15th gold.

A more appropriate color.

"I've put my mind to doing something that nobody had ever done before," Phelps said. "This has been an amazing ride."

About an hour earlier, Phelps took one of his most frustrating defeats at the pool, blowing it at the finish and settling for silver in his signature event, the 200 butterfly.

That tied the record for career medals held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, but it was hardly a triumphant moment. Phelps slung away his cap in disgust and struggled to force a smile at the medal ceremony.

But any disappointment from that race was gone by the time he dived in the water on the relay, having been staked to a huge lead by teammates Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens.

Before the race, they all huddled together, fully aware of their role in history.

"I thanked those guys for helping me get to this moment," Phelps said. "I told those guys I wanted a big lead. I was like, 'You better give me a big lead going into the last lap,' and they gave it to me. I just wanted to hold on. I thanked them for being able to allow me to have this moment."

Berens handed off a lead of nearly 4 seconds to Phelps, who was extra cautious with the exchange, knowing the only way he could ruin this one was to get disqualified.

Lochte stood on the deck, waving his arms. Dwyer and Berens pumped their fists. And Phelps touched the wall for his first gold of the London Games with a cumulative time of 6 minutes, 59.70 seconds.

No one else was close. France's Yannick Agnel swam a faster final leg than Phelps, but it wasn't nearly good enough, his country taking silver in 7:02.77. China was far back in third at 7:06.30.

Phelps might have backed into the record a bit by failing to win any of his first three events at these games, but there's no denying his legacy as one of the greatest Olympians ever - if not THE greatest.

"The legacy he has left behind for swimming is fantastic," said South African Chad le Clos, the guy who beat him in the butterfly. "Even in Africa, everyone knows Michael Phelps."

Phelps has 15 golds in his career, six more than anyone else, to go along with two silvers and two bronzes. After failing to medal in his only race at the 2000 Sydney Games, he won six golds and two bronzes in Athens, followed by his epic eight gold medals in Beijing. And now the swan song, not nearly as epic but enough.

Latynina won nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes from 1956-64.

"You are now a complete legend!" the public-address announcer bellowed, accompanied by the Foo Fighters' song "Best of You."

Phelps still has three more events in London before he retires, three more chances to establish a mark that will be hard for anyone to touch.

"It has been a pretty amazing career," the 27-year-old said, "but we still have a couple races to go."

Several fans held up a bedsheet with "PHELPS GREATEST OLYMPIAN EVER" handwritten on it.

Hard to argue with that, though this hasn't exactly been the farewell Phelps was hoping for - a sluggish fourth-place finish in the 400 individual medley, a runner-up showing in the 4x100 free relay, then another silver in the 200 fly.

The 200 fly was a race he had not lost at either the Olympics or world championships since Sydney, when he finished fifth as an unknown 15-year-old just soaking up the moment, a kid with big dreams but no idea they would turn out like this.

Phelps, after leading the entire race, tried to glide into the wall instead of taking one more stroke. Le Clos took that extra stroke and beat Phelps by five-hundredths of a second.

"Obviously I would have liked to have a better outcome in the 200 fly," Phelps said. "I was on the receiving end of getting touched out. Chad swam a good race. I've gotten to know him a little over the last year. He's a hard worker, he's a tough competitor and he's a racer."

Le Clos pounded the water when he saw the "1" beside his name.

"He has always been an inspiration to me and a role model," le Clos said. "I've watched all his races a million times and I've run the commentary over and over. Now, I guess I can watch my race."

Phelps hung on the lane rope and buried his face in his hands, disgusted with himself for having squandered what looked like a sure gold. Le Clos won South Africa's second swimming gold of the games in a time of 1:52.96. Phelps finished in 1:53.01, while Japan's Takeshi Matsuda took the bronze in 1:53.21.

"It's obviously my last one," Phelps said. "I would have liked to win, but 1:53 flat isn't a terrible time. When you look at the picture of it, it's a decent time."

But the finish was a stunner, given that Phelps had won a memorable race at Beijing when a rival made the very same error. Milorad Cavic of Serbia thought he had the 100 fly in the bag after his final stroke, but Phelps made the split-second decision to get in one more stroke and slammed into the wall - one-hundredth of a second ahead of Cavic.

This time, it was Phelps on the losing end. He was again denied a chance to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three straight Olympics, though he can still do it in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly.

Lochte was also feeling better about himself, having struggled in two straight events after opening the Olympics with a dominating win in the 400 individual medley. He swam the anchor of the 4x100 free relay, but was chased down by Agnel after being handed a comfortable lead. Then he was fourth - far behind Agnel - in the 200 free.

"After that relay, my confidence went down," Lochte said. "Everyone just kept on telling me, 'You know what, you're better than that. Just forget about it and move on.' I didn't swim at all this morning, which I thought helped. I woke up this morning and I was back to myself. I was that happy-go-lucky guy, so I think that's what really helped me throughout the whole day."

In the first final of the night, American Allison Schmitt won the 200 freestyle with a dominating performance that left everyone else, including teammate Missy Franklin, battling for the other medals.

Schmitt won in an Olympic-record 1:53.61. France's Camille Muffat took silver in 1:55.58, almost a body length behind, while Bronte Barrett of Australia took the bronze over Franklin by a hundredth of a second. Barrett touched in 1:55.81. Franklin, who led after the first 50, was fourth in 1:55.82.

"I was just racing," said Schmitt, who is quietly becoming one of the stars of the pool. "I knew I had to kick it. I just look at that scoreboard and see 53 and first place. I couldn't be happier."

She captured her first career gold medal, to go along with a silver in the 400 free and a bronze in the 4x100 free relay.

The 17-year-old Franklin was denied her third medal of the games, one night after her gutsy victory in the 100 backstroke earned her a tweet-out from pop star Justin Bieber.

"I was trying to do the best that I can," said Franklin, who still has four more events in London. "I was in an incredible heat. I really wanted to go best time."

China's Ye Shiwen set an Olympic record to win her second gold of the London Games, adding the 200 individual medley title to a world-record performance in the 400 IM that sparked suspicions about doping. Everyone from her fellow swimmers to the International Olympic Committee have come to her defense, and she put aside any distractions to win again.

The questions didn't stop. The teenager was peppered with drug-related queries at her news conference, including a reporter asking her point-black if she had ever used banned substances.

"Absolutely not," Ye said through a translator.

The 16-year-old took the lead in the final lap and clocked 2:07.57, shaving 0.18 off her own mark set in Monday's semifinal. Alicia Coutts of Australia touched in 2:08.15 to take the silver medal and Caitlin Leverenz of the United States finished in 2:08.95 to take bronze.

Defending champion Stephanie Rice of Australia was fourth.

But this night was all about Phelps, who endured both gut-wrenching disappointment and thrilling triumph.

After losing the 200 fly, he retrieved his cap, went over to congratulate le Clos, and hustled out of the pool to get ready for the relay. Before that, Phelps had to return to the deck for a medal ceremony that he clearly would have preferred to skip. He bit his lip, leaned over to have the silver medal draped around his neck, and forced a weak smile.

It sure didn't feel like a celebration.

But the mood was much different when he came out with his teammates to accept gold for the relay. He bantered playfully with the crowd. He posed with an American flag. He propped up a chair trying to reach his mom and two sisters, sitting in the front row.

As Phelps lingered on the deck, doing television interviews, a crowd of U.S. supporters broke into a chant.

"Four more years! Four more years!"

But, really, what's left for someone who's already the greatest?

Colo. suspect charges: Murder, attempted murder

Colo. suspect charges: Murder, attempted murder

In this courtroom sketch, suspect James Holmes, third from right, sits in district court Monday, July 30, 2012, in Centennial, Colo. Holmes was charged Monday with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder in the shooting rampage at an Aurora movie theater. The July 20 attack at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie left 12 people dead and 58 others injured.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) -- James Holmes appeared just as dazed as he did in his first court hearing after the deadly Colorado movie theater massacre.

Holmes, 24, sat silently in a packed Denver-area courtroom on Monday, as a judge told him about the charges filed against him, including murder and attempted murder, in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

After the charges were read, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over whether a notebook that news reports said Holmes sent to his psychiatrist and had descriptions of the attack was privileged information.

It's an argument that foreshadows one of the case's most fundamental issues: Does Holmes have a mental illness and, if so, what role did it play in the shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 others injured?

Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver, said there is "pronounced" evidence that the attack was premeditated, which would seem to make an insanity defense difficult. "But," he added, "the things that we don't know are what this case is going to hinge on, and that's his mental state."

In all, prosecutors charged Holmes with 142 counts in the shooting rampage at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie.

Holmes faces two first-degree murder charges for each of the 12 people killed and two attempted first-degree murder charges for every one of the 58 injured in the July 20 shooting.

The maximum penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is death. The multiple charges expand the opportunities for prosecutors to obtain convictions.

"It's a much easier way for the prosecution to obtain a conviction," said Denver defense attorney Peter Hedeen. "They throw as many (charges) up as they can. If you think you can prove it three different ways, you charge it three different ways."

Unlike Holmes' first court appearance July 23, Monday's hearing was not televised. At the request of the defense, District Chief Judge William Sylvester barred video and still cameras from the courtroom, saying expanded coverage could interfere with Holmes' right to a fair trial.

A shackled Holmes did not react as the charges were read. At one point, Holmes, his hair still dyed orange-red, leaned over to speak with one of his lawyers and furrowed his brow. When the judge asked him if he was OK with postponing a hearing so his team could have time to prepare, he said softly: "Yeah."

Some court spectators Monday wore Batman T-shirts. Several people clasped their hands and bowed their heads as if in prayer before the hearing. At least one victim attended, and she was in a wheelchair and had bandages on her leg and arm.

For the murder charges, one count included murder with deliberation, the other murder with extreme indifference. Both counts carry a maximum death penalty upon conviction; the minimum is life without parole.

In addition, Holmes was charged with one count of possession of explosives and one count of a crime of violence. Authorities said Holmes booby trapped his apartment with the intent to kill any officers responding there the night of the attack.

A conviction under the crime of violence charge means that any sentence, including life terms, would have to be served consecutively, not concurrently, said Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver.

That ensures that if laws change in the future, the person convicted would still serve a lengthy sentence, Silverman said.

Analysts expect the case to be dominated by arguments over the defendant's sanity.

Under Colorado law, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if their minds are so "diseased" that they cannot distinguish between right and wrong. However, the law warns that "care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives, and kindred evil conditions."

Holmes' public defenders could argue he is not mentally competent to stand trial, which is the argument offered by lawyers for Jared Loughner, who is accused of killing six people in 2011 in Tucson, Ariz., and wounding several others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

If Holmes goes to trial and is convicted, his attorneys can try to stave off a possible death penalty by arguing he is mentally ill.

Prosecutors will decide whether to seek the death penalty in the coming weeks.

Prosecutor Tamara Brady said Monday she will subpoena University of Colorado, Denver, psychiatrist Lynne Fenton, whom Holmes had been seeing, to testify in a dispute over whether the notebook is privileged because of a possible doctor-patient relationship.

Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers disputed news reports that the notebook contained descriptions of an attack.

On Friday, court papers revealed that Holmes was seeing Fenton. They did not say how long or if it was for a mental illness or another problem. An online resume listed schizophrenia as one of Fenon's research interests.

Holmes' public defenders want to know who leaked the information to the news media. Prosecutors say the notebook was inside a package Holmes reportedly sent to Fenton at the university. Holmes came to the school's competitive neuroscience doctoral program in June 2011 and dropped out a year later.

Authorities seized the package July 23, three days after the shooting, in the mailroom of the medical campus where Holmes studied. A hearing on the matter was set for Aug. 16.

Sylvester set an Aug. 9 hearing on news organizations' motion seeking to unseal the case docket.

Sylvester has tried to tightly control the flow of information about Holmes, placing a gag order on lawyers and law enforcement, sealing the court file and barring the university from releasing public records relating to Holmes' year there.

Tens of thousands flee Syria's largest city

Tens of thousands flee Syria's largest city

In this Sunday, July 29, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army soldiers gather at the border town of Azaz, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Aleppo, Syria. The U.N. said 200,000 Syrians have fled the embattled city of Aleppo since intense clashes between regime forces and rebels began 10 days ago. The government forces turned mortars, tank and helicopter gunships against rebel positions on Monday, July 30, 2012.

BUKULMEZ, Turkey (AP) -- Smoking a cigarette outside a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border, a man in a gray gown and flip-flops held his sleeping 2-year-old daughter, Aya. On Aya's right eye was a bandage. In her left hand was a chocolate bar.

Aya lost her eye when she was struck by shrapnel from a shell that also killed her 8-month-old brother, Mohammad, and their mother. The father and daughter were among some 200,000 people who the U.N. said late Sunday have fled Syria's largest city, Aleppo, during days of clashes between rebels and the military.

Aleppo residents, some severely wounded, are packing up belongings and loading them onto cars, trucks and even motorcycles to seek temporary shelter in rural villages and schools outside the city and dusty tents across the border in Turkey.

In interviews with The Associated Press, refugees described a city besieged by government troops and beset by incessant shelling. Food supplies and gasoline are running low and black market prices for everyday staples are soaring.

As the violence intensified, the country's most senior diplomat in London defected. Charge d'affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi is the latest in a string of high-profile diplomats to abandon President Bashar Assad's regime over a crackdown that, according to rights activists, has killed more than 19,000 people since March 2011.

The battle for Aleppo, a city of 3 million that was once a bastion of support for Assad, is critical for both the regime and the opposition. Its fall would give the opposition a major strategic victory with a stronghold in the north. A rebel defeat, at the very least, would buy Assad more time.

Activists said regime forces were shelling rebel-held districts of the city and a cluster of surrounding villages relentlessly on Monday, sending entire families and panicked residents fleeing. Many went to Turkey, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away, where tens of thousands of Syrians have already found refuge during the uprising.

Reem, a woman in her 30s who fled Aleppo's rebel-held district of Saif al-Dawleh, was among those who showed up in Turkey on Monday.

"The situation in Aleppo is dreadful," she told the AP soon after arriving at the Bukulmez illegal border crossing, where she was greeted by Turkish soldiers.

"Had it been merely bearable I wouldn't have left my home," she said.

Wearing a black head scarf and black robe and sandals, Reem described hiding for three days in a room near the entrance of the building in which she lived. She then fled to a village near the Turkish border before crossing over on Monday.

"I blame the regime for everything. People in the city used to go out and protest peacefully, but they just shot at them," said Reem, who would not give her last name.

Turkish troops ordered an AP team to leave shortly after journalists began interviewing refugees at the border crossing Monday.

Outside the state-run hospital, Aya's father recounted how his family's tragedy unfolded.

"I was at work when I received the call that a shell had hit my house," he said. "As soon as I returned, I found my wife and son dead on the floor. Part of my son's skull was blown off, and Aya was wounded."

"The whole city is destroyed," said Aya's father, who would not give his name but said that he was from the rebel-held district of Bustan al-Qasr.

The U.N. said 200,000 Syrians have left Aleppo over the past 10 days as the government trains its mortars, tanks and helicopter gunships on the neighborhoods seized by the rebels.

"I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo," Valerie Amos, the top U.N. official for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement late Sunday. "Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas," she added. "They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water."

"It is not known how many people remain trapped in places where fighting continues today," she warned.

In online videos, people can be seen scurrying through streets against a backdrop of gunfire and climbing onto any form of transportation available to escape, including trucks, cars and even heavily laden motorcycles.

The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified.

"Dozens of families are packing their belongings and leaving in cars and trucks," said an activist in a village near Aleppo, who declined to give his name for security reasons. "They are taking only light possessions that they can carry, like a few clothes, some valuables and that's it."

"I saw cars with eight, nine people packed in them fleeing the bombing," he added. He said rebels had seized a nearby checkpoint early Monday and captured several tanks. The regime responded by shelling the rural area just northwest of the city. "Entire families are leaving."

Videos of the attack on the checkpoint in Andan posted on the Internet show fierce exchanges of fire in the early morning and then later, victorious rebels hauling out boxes of ammunition and taking heavy machine guns for the fight in Aleppo.

Among those wounded in Aleppo province on Monday was Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Khashram, who was hurt by shrapnel after a mortar round fell near his car, a colleague said.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry defended its offensive in Aleppo province, saying it was meant to protect innocent people.

In two letters addressed to the head of the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. Secretary General, Syria said that "armed terrorist groups" backed openly with funds and weapons by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have committed "horrifying crimes" against innocent civilians. It accused the rebels of using residents as human shields.

Syrian state media reported the army had "purged" Aleppo's southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted "great losses" upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

Activists, however, disputed these claims. The assault has knocked down power lines, and the neighborhood has been without electricity since the morning.

President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone on Monday and agreed to "coordinate efforts to assist the growing numbers of displaced Syrians, not only within Syria, but in Turkey and the broader region," according to a White House statement.

The Turkish state-run Anadolu agency reported Monday that Turkey is deploying more troops to the border, sending tanks, armored combat vehicles, more missile launchers and infantry troops.

In addition to Turkey, the violence in Syria has sent refugees flooding into Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. Greece has responded by quadrupling the number of guards on its borders with Turkey out of fear of a potential influx of Syrian refugees.

Al-Ayoubi, the Syrian diplomat in London, is the fourth high-ranking envoy to defect. He was preceded by the charge d'affaires in Cyprus, her husband, a diplomat in the UAE, and by the ambassador to Iraq.

A Foreign Office spokesman said al-Ayoubi was staying in a safe location in the United Kingdom and was in contact with British officials. His departure leaves five staff at the embassy and there has been no indication that they would be leaving their posts as well.

Turkey also reported that the deputy head of security for Syria's Latakia region, a regime stronghold, had defected as well.

The brigadier general was among a group of 12 Syrian officers who crossed into Turkey late Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. His defection raised to 28 the number of generals who have left for Turkey since the start of the 17-month-old uprising.

Van Stone Productions Online Ministry School Program Helps To Create Ordained Ministers by Van Stone frontpagenews1@yahoo.com (267) 293-9201

Van Stone Productions Online Ministry School Program Helps To Create Ordained Ministers by Van Stone frontpagenews1@yahoo.com (267) 293-9201

Dr. Michael Anthony Morgan, D.D.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Van Stone Productions Foundation Community School, otherwise known as VSP, the largest online school ministry to anyone who wants to become a licensed or ordained minister in the state of Pennsylvania, has reached an extraordinary milestone in its Ministry Training School program. Announced during the organization’s 17^th anniversary last month, an astonishing 100,000 articles and training materials have been published online for around the world since the program began 17 years ago. This program, funded through charitable donations, has made a crucial difference in advancing the VSP Foundation Community School ministry in the United States.

In June 1995, training materials was launched to meet a pressing need: In many of these troubled neighborhoods in cities across America, thousands of ministers being trained as community counseling specialist by VSP Foundation School of Ministry and eager to evangelize and disciple adults locally in the VSP Foundation School of Training program had the funds to buy the curriculum to do so. Through hard work, VSP printed the curriculum at its headquarters in East Lansdowne, Pa., and then emailed pages of the curriculum for a minimum fee to the ministry’s workers abroad. The high-quality of scriptural lessons that make up the curriculum make the Ministry comes alive for adults.

The leader of VSP Foundation School of Ministry Dr. Michael A. Morgan, D.D. captured the effectiveness of this program when he said: "We are thankful to VSP for those who have a heart for providing the materials to enable our trainees to effectively take the Ministry to adults. The VSP Foundation Licensed and Ordained Minister program has enabled hundreds more to be reached with the How to become a Better Minister Training Manual and has greatly encouraged those trainees who, due to financial abilities, have been able to afford the materials."

The manual How to Become a Better Minister provided a written representation of the many tasks that must be accomplished to get the curriculum around the world, such as fundraising, writing, printing, binding and shipping, to name a few.

The number of training materials emailed has steadily increased each year. In 2010, 12,000 were sent out and in 2011, the total was 16,000. This year, the VSP ministry school expects to more than 18,000 emails in the U.S.A. As a result, the number of adults VSP School of Ministry Trainees has steadily increased through the years. Going back to 1999, the ministry was able to reach just 1 million adults. Last year, the organization reached more than 5 million adults worldwide in 180 cities and territories around the country.

"VSP Foundation School of Ministry has been a popular charitable cause," Dr. Michael A. Morgan, D.D., executive vice president of VSP Foundation Community School, said in a recent interview. "The program fills a concrete need, and as soon as those training materials are received, the community benefit greatly."

Police: South Jersey Family Targeted In Home Invasion Robbery

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, Nj. (CBS) — A Gloucester Township, New Jersey family was apparently targeted by two men in a home invasion robbery on Saturday night.

According to police, the suspects gagged and bound a female victim when she walked into her Jefferson Drive home in Laurel Springs shortly after 9 p.m. and found them searching for cash or jewelry. Police say they didn’t leave empty handed when told there was nothing there.

For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

EYES ON LONDON: Records, a surprise and dark skies

EYES ON LONDON: Records, a surprise and dark skies

United States' Dana Vollmer embraces United States' Claire Donahue after Vollmer's gold medal win in the he women's 100-meter butterfly swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012.

LONDON (AP) -- Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:

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THE DAY'S ACTION

So, two more swimming world records were broken on Sunday and Spain's highly favored football team tumbled out of medal contention after losing to Honduras.

American Dana Vollmer won the 100 butterfly in a world record and was followed by Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa, who set a world mark to win the 100-meter breaststroke.

The biggest surprise of the day came from France's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team, which upset the favored United States and Australia.

- Mike Corder - Twitter http://twitter.com/mikecorder

---

FOREBODING SKIES

It's a personal battle against the elements that evokes the drama of the high seas. But this is an Olympics K1 canoe slalom event in a man-made environment in east London.

In a single frame, AP photographer Kirsty Wigglesworth has captured a man's bid for glory under foreboding skies.

Here's a link to the picture which is also in the attached photo gallery: http://bit.ly/PdHKKl

-James Collins - Twitter http://twitter.com/jimcollinsAP

---

GATES HERE

AP's Steve Wade saw Bill Gates as he slipped into the table tennis venue to watch Ariel Hsing. "I'm wishing her good luck but she has a really great opponent," said Gates. "She's done very well to get this far."

He asked if Gates had ever won a point off Hsing. "Not legitimately. She beat me when she was 9, easily. She has been nice to me in social situations."

- Stephen Wade - Twitter http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP

---

SEEN AT THE GYMNASTICS

Spotted: Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, leaving the gymnastics qualifier with a smile.

- Cassandra Vinograd - Twitter http://twitter.com/cassvinograd

---

TWITTER TRASH TALK

Hope Solo's angry Twitter rants are U.S. coach Pia Sundhage's latest challenge.

The U.S. women's soccer team won 3-0 Saturday against Colombia, but Solo, the U.S. goalie, took exception on Twitter to comments by her former colleague Brandi Chastain, who is now a TV commentator.

"The game has changed from a decade ago," Solo tweeted.

Sundhage says she spoke with Solo and reminded her that the most important thing now is the team's next Olympic game against North Korea on Tuesday. But the coach says she's not going to bother stopping her star goalie from tweeting.

"It's all about the next game," Sundhage said.

- Joseph White - Twitter http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

---

LOW EXPECTATIONS

British swimmer Rebecca Adlington was probably the most surprised by her bronze medal swim in the 400 meters final.

Her tweet from earlier Sunday: "Just sneaked into tonight's final in 8th place! Not expecting anything tonight, all I can do is my best :-) thank you for all the support."

- Jenna Fryer - Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer

--

SOLDIERS FOR FREE

AP's Cassie Vinograd says some of those empty seats that have been a feature of the games so far are being filled by uniformed British soldiers at the women's gymnastics event. They've taken up about eight rows.

Still, many seats in the lower level remain unaccounted for.

- Cassandra Vinograd - Twitter http://twitter.com/cassvinograd

---

EYEING THE ODDS

Determined to see a British sports book, I discovered William Hill in Euston. It's nothing like Las Vegas.

Think more like an empty OTB. One television showed the Olympics. The rest were airing dog racing.

But the variety was interesting. They've got bundled bets such as Usain Bolt winning the 100 and 200 meters and the U.S.A men and women's basketball teams both winning gold at 9-to-4. A soccer bet at 8-to-1 bundles the Brazilian men and the American women to win the gold.

The overwhelming favorite is David Rudisha of Kenya in the 800 meters at 1-to-12. The next closest is the American women's basketball team at 1-to-10.

For a big payoff, go for the "Olympic Football Yes/No." Pick all six correctly, including if all six substitutes will be used in the Britain vs. Cameroon women's soccer match, and it pays 33-to-1.

- Jenna Fryer - Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer

---

BRITS AND HOOPS

Football's the undisputed king of sports in Britain. But basketball is capturing the imagination here at the Olympics.

After being disappointed in the road race on Saturday, Britons flocked to the basketball arena for their team's hoops opener against Russia.

The upper level is jammed, the Union Jack is flying proudly and the crowd is roaring at every basket by Luol Deng or Joel Freeland.

-Jon Krawczynski - Twitter http://www.twitter.com/APKrawczynski

---

GATES VISIT

Organizers are readying the table tennis venue for a visit by Bill Gates where he'll watch Ariel Hsing against the No. 2 seed, Li Xiaoxia of China on Sunday night.

In the past, Gates has played a few practice shots with Hsing and she refers to him as "Uncle Bill."

- Stephen Wade - Twitter http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP

---

BEDS REMADE

They were at the center of the Olympics opening ceremony's tribute to Britain's cherished National Health Service.

Now the 320 beds that director Danny Boyle had in a dance sequence that showed British nurses tending to sick children will be used in real hospitals in Tunisia.

Organizers said the beds' elaborate lighting effects and wiring were being removed by volunteers before they were to be loaded into shipping containers and sent overseas.

The beds are being sent to the Hospital Habis Burguiba De Medenine and the Hospital de Taouine in Tunisia.

- David Stringer - Twitter http://twitter.com/david-stringer

---

SEA OF FANS

There was a real sea of people out at the ExCel center Sunday where table tennis, judo and boxing topped the agenda. To get a sense, here's a picture: http://bit.ly//O9mGbW

- Fergus Bell - Twitter http://twitter.com/fergb

---

YIKES FROM YI

So far Chinese basketball star Yi Jianlian has had difficulty finding playing time in the NBA.

That may change. After scoring 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds Sunday in a loss to a Spanish team full of NBA players, Chinese coach Bob Donewald says he has no idea why his best player can't get minutes stateside.

"I don't know why he didn't play in Dallas but I think he's one of the best players in the world," Donewald says. "And he showed that tonight."

- Jon Krawczynski - Twitter http://www.twitter.com/APKrawczynski

---

BROKEN JAW (AND DREAMS)

Ghana's flagbearer is out of the Olympics after failing to recover in time from a broken jaw sustained in a qualifying fight.

Maxwell Amponsah had surgery to reset his jaw following the fracture on May 5 but it hasn't fully healed, meaning he carried his country's flag at Friday's opening ceremony but won't get to compete.

Ghana's Olympic committee says "there are potential major complications if he re-fractures his jaw."

- Gerald Imray - Twitter http://twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

---

LEBRON'S LEAP

Nothing like an Olympics to boost your social media profile, it seems.

LeBron James has acquired almost 600,000 new Facebook fans in the last week, with Kobe Bryant coming in second in terms of popularity with an extra 78,000.

But Kobe's still the top Olympian on the social media site in terms of overall numbers.

Facebook has released the following overall fan figures:

Kobe - 13.57 million

LeBron - 11.93 million

Roger Federer - 11.23 million

Maria Sharapova - 7.8 million

Usain Bolt - 7.07 million

- Ian Phillips - Twitter http://www.twitter.com/phillipsian

---

LONELY SEATS

The rows of empty seats at some Olympic venues have enraged sports fans in London who tried but failed to get Olympic tickets.

And now the seats are putting their side of the story across - through Twitter, naturally.

An account, (at)Olympic seat, emerged on Sunday evening.

"I feel so empty," read one post, accompanied by an avatar of empty seats.

"It was my lifelong ambition to be an Olympic seat," read another tweet. "To provide rest and comfort for cheering sports fans. I feel like such a failure."

- Rob Harris - Twitter http://twitter.com/robharris

---

BELLE OF THE BAR

The Americans dominated the afternoon qualifying for women's gymnastics, but Britain's athletes got the loudest cheers.

An ovation greeted Britain's Beth Tweddle, who earned a 16.133 on the uneven bars for the top score of the session.

"I was nervous," she admitted later. "It was nerve-wracking to do the bars last."

Tweddle, at 27, is the oldest member of the team and Britain's most decorated gymnast. She's never won an Olympic medal, however.

Her performance Sunday helped Britain make the team finals, four years after they missed the last slot at the Beijing Games.

"We know we're not going to be able to touch USA, Russia, China," Tweddle said. "We are the level below them. Four years ago, we wouldn't be looking at that, so we are getting better."

- Jenna Fryer - Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer

---

IT'S OKAY, ROOMIE

Jordyn Wieber has released a statement of support for close friend Aly Raisman, who bumped her out of the all-around gymnastics finals.

Wieber, the reigning world champion, had to watch Raisman's performance knowing a strong showing would keep her out of the individual competition. She left the arena sobbing after missing the cut.

"It was hard because of course I wanted that spot. But I also wanted Aly to do her best for the team," she said.

The two are roommates here at the London Games. Wieber will be relegated to cheerleader now as Gabby Douglas and Raisman compete for the all-around title.

"It has always been a dream of mine to compete in the all-around final of the Olympics," she said. "I'm proud of Aly and Gabby and happy that they reached the all-around and I was able to help the team get to the Finals. It was always going to be close between the three of us doing all-around and in the end it is what it is."

Jackson move to Mayo could point to complications

Jackson move to Mayo could point to complications

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., is seen during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. The Mayo Clinic says Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is being treated for depression at its hospital in Rochester, Minn.

CHICAGO (AP) -- The announcement that Jesse Jackson Jr. had been transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota pinned down his whereabouts for the first time in weeks and gave clear confirmation that the Illinois congressman is suffering from depression.

It also was the first mention that he's now being treated for a "gastrointestinal issue," which some experts said Saturday was a sign his condition is becoming more complicated.

The Chicago Democrat and son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has been on a secretive leave of absence for nearly seven weeks, during which his office has released only occasional snippets of information, including that he was undergoing treatment for a "mood disorder" at an undisclosed inpatient facility.

A new, three-sentence written statement from the congressman was distributed by the Mayo Clinic late Friday during the national broadcast of the Olympics' opening ceremony, when public attention was more likely fixed half a world away.

As in the past, the statement gave scant detail, an apparent ongoing strategy in the face of pressure from congressional colleagues and constituents clamoring for an in-depth explanation.

It said he had been transferred to the Mayo Clinic for "extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues," but gave no information on the nature of his depression, where Jackson was being treated prior to arriving at the Mayo Clinic or his progress.

The clinic said Saturday it could not release anything further.

Mention of a gastrointestinal problem raised new questions - whether it's linked to the depression, entirely unrelated or a complication from a 2004 procedure he underwent to help him lose weight.

"Certainly some people do, as part of their depression or anxiety disorder, manifest it with gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea," said Matthew Lilly, a psychiatrist in Rochester, Minn., who did a yearlong fellowship at Mayo in 2010 before going into private practice.

"But for them to even comment on that would, to me, sound as if it's a significant issue and not just a mild symptom associated with his illness," he said.

The Mayo Clinic has a highly rated gastrointestinal department as well as a free-standing inpatient psychiatric unit, said John Anderson of the Associates in Psychiatry and Psychology in southeastern Minnesota.

He said people receiving psychiatric care are often transferred to the clinic when a physical illness develops since both can be treated there.

"Mayo does an excellent job in terms of combining those, so they can treat what's essentially a dual diagnosis," Anderson said.

Phone messages left Saturday for Jackson's spokesman weren't immediately returned.

There was no word Saturday on how long Jackson might remain at the Mayo Clinic.

Typically, Mayo will keep someone as a psychiatric inpatient anywhere from several days to several weeks, Lilly said, though he added the use of the phrase "extensive inpatient evaluation" suggested to him it could be longer for Jackson.

"That would be pretty unusual for someone to stay as an inpatient more than a couple of weeks unless there were some pretty complicated issues going on," Lilly said.

The Mayo Clinic has treated other high-profile figures, including Saudi King Abdullah, and has a reputation for top-level security and strict patient privacy, which is evidently important to the congressman and those around him.

Clinic spokesman Ginger Plumbo said it released the brief statement only because Jackson's staff requested it.

"We would never just release information about any patient without their request or consent," Plumbo said.

The timing of Jackson's medical leave has raised questions, in part because Jackson is facing an ethics investigation in the U.S. House connected to imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The congressman went on leave June 10, but his office didn't disclose it until weeks later. Initially, his office said Jackson was being treated for exhaustion. Since then, the office has said his condition was more serious and required inpatient medical treatment.

Earlier this month, a statement from an unidentified doctor said Jackson was receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for "a mood disorder."

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Jackson was involved in discussions about raising money for Blagojevich's campaign in exchange for the then-governor appointing him to President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Jackson was not charged and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

US sees Israel, tight Mideast ally, as spy threat

US sees Israel, tight Mideast ally, as spy threat

FILE - In this March 5, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Washington's political praise has reached a crescendo ahead of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's anticipated visit this weekend with Netanyahu in Israel. Their relationship has spanned decades, since their brief overlap in the 1970s at the Boston Consulting Group. Both worked as advisers for the firm early in their careers, before Romney co-founded his own private-equity firm. Romney in a speech this week called Israel “one of our fondest friends,” and criticized President Barack Obama over what he called the administration's “shabby treatment” of Israel.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CIA station chief opened the locked box containing the sensitive equipment he used from his home in Tel Aviv, Israel, to communicate with CIA headquarters in Virginia, only to find that someone had tampered with it. He sent word to his superiors about the break-in.

The incident, described by three former senior U.S. intelligence officials, might have been dismissed as just another cloak-and-dagger incident in the world of international espionage, except that the same thing had happened to the previous station chief in Israel.

It was a not-so-subtle reminder that, even in a country friendly to the United States, the CIA was itself being watched.

In a separate episode, according to another two former U.S. officials, a CIA officer in Israel came home to find the food in the refrigerator had been rearranged. In all the cases, the U.S. government believes Israel's security services were responsible.

Such meddling underscores what is widely known but rarely discussed outside intelligence circles: Despite inarguable ties between the U.S. and its closest ally in the Middle East and despite statements from U.S. politicians trumpeting the friendship, U.S. national security officials consider Israel to be, at times, a frustrating ally and a genuine counterintelligence threat.

In addition to what the former U.S. officials described as intrusions in homes in the past decade, Israel has been implicated in U.S. criminal espionage cases and disciplinary proceedings against CIA officers and blamed in the presumed death of an important spy in Syria for the CIA during the administration of President George W. Bush.

The CIA considers Israel its No. 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency's Near East Division, the group that oversees spying across the Middle East, according to current and former officials. Counterintelligence is the art of protecting national secrets from spies. This means the CIA believes that U.S. national secrets are safer from other Middle Eastern governments than from Israel.

Israel employs highly sophisticated, professional spy services that rival American agencies in technical capability and recruiting human sources. Unlike Iran or Syria, for example, Israel as a steadfast U.S. ally enjoys access to the highest levels of the U.S. government in military and intelligence circles.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about the sensitive intelligence and diplomatic issues between the two countries.

The counterintelligence worries continue even as the U.S. relationship with Israel features close cooperation on intelligence programs that reportedly included the Stuxnet computer virus that attacked computers in Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities. While the alliance is central to the U.S. approach in the Middle East, there is room for intense disagreement, especially in the diplomatic turmoil over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"It's a complicated relationship," said Joseph Wippl, a former senior CIA clandestine officer and head of the agency's office of congressional affairs. "They have their interests. We have our interests. For the U.S., it's a balancing act."

The way Washington characterizes its relationship with Israel is also important to the way the U.S. is regarded by the rest of the world, particularly Muslim countries.

U.S. political praise has reached a crescendo ahead of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's scheduled meeting Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Their relationship spans decades, since their brief overlap in the 1970s at the Boston Consulting Group. Both worked as advisers for the firm early in their careers before Romney co-founded his own private-equity firm. Romney said in a speech this past week that Israel was "one of our fondest friends," and he criticized Obama for what he called the administration's "shabby treatment" of the Jewish state.

"The people of Israel deserve better than what they've received from the leader of the free world," Romney said in a plain appeal to U.S. Jewish and pro-Israel evangelical voters.

Obama, who last year was overheard appearing to endorse criticism of Netanyahu from then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has defended his work with Israel. "We've gotten a lot of business done with Israel over the last three years," Obama said this year. "I think the prime minister - and certainly the defense minister - would acknowledge that we've never had closer military and intelligence cooperation."

An Israeli spokesman in Washington, Lior Weintraub, said his country has close ties with the U.S. A text message Saturday from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report "false."

"Israel's intelligence and security agencies maintain close, broad and continuous cooperation with their U.S. counterparts," Weintraub said. "They are our partners in confronting many mutual challenges. Any suggestion otherwise is baseless and contrary to the spirit and practice of the security cooperation between our two countries."

The CIA declined comment.

The tension exists on both sides.

The National Security Agency historically has kept tabs on Israel. The U.S., for instance, does not want to be caught off guard if Israel launches a surprise attack that could plunge the region into war and jeopardize oil supplies, putting American soldiers at risk.

Matthew Aid, the author of "The Secret Sentry," about the NSA, said the U.S. started spying on Israel even before the state was created in 1948. Aid said the U.S. had a station on Cyprus dedicated to spying on Israel until 1974. Today, teams of Hebrew linguists are stationed at Fort Meade, Md., at the NSA, listening to intercepts of Israeli communications, he said.

CIA policy generally forbids its officers in Tel Aviv from recruiting Israeli government sources, officials said. To do so would require approval from senior CIA leaders, two former senior officials said. During the Bush administration, the approval had to come from the White House.

Israel is not America's closest ally, at least when it comes to whom Washington trusts with the most sensitive national security information. That distinction belongs to a group of nations known informally as the "Five Eyes." Under that umbrella, the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand agree to share intelligence and not to spy on one another. Often, U.S. intelligence officers work directly alongside counterparts from these countries to handle highly classified information not shared with anyone else.

Israel is part of a second-tier relationship known by another informal name, "Friends on Friends." It comes from the phrase "Friends don't spy on friends," and the arrangement dates back decades. But Israel's foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, and its FBI equivalent, the Shin Bet, both considered among the best in the world, have been suspected of recruiting U.S. officials and trying to steal American secrets.

Around 2004 or 2005, the CIA fired two female officers for having unreported contact with Israelis. One of the women acknowledged during a polygraph exam that she had been in a relationship with an Israeli who worked in the Foreign Ministry, a former U.S. official said. The CIA learned the Israeli introduced the woman to his "uncle." That person worked for Shin Bet.

Jonathan Pollard, who worked for the Navy as a civilian intelligence analyst, was convicted of spying for Israel in 1987 when the Friends on Friends agreement was in effect. He was sentenced to life in prison. The Israelis for years have tried to win his release. In January 2011, Netanyahu asked Obama to free Pollard and acknowledged that Israel's actions in the case were "wrong and wholly unacceptable."

Ronald Olive, a former senior supervisor with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who investigated Pollard, said that after the arrest, the U.S. formed a task force to determine what government records Pollard had taken. Olive said Israel turned over so few that it represented "a speck in the sand."

In the wake of Pollard, the Israelis promised not to operate intelligence agents on U.S. soil.

A former Army mechanical engineer, Ben-Ami Kadish, pleaded guilty in 2008 to passing classified secrets to the Israelis during the 1980s. His case officer was the same one who handled Pollard. Kadish let the Israelis photograph documents about nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet and the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system. Kadish, who was 85 years old when he was arrested, avoided prison and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. He told the judge that, "I thought I was helping the state of Israel without harming the United States."

In 2006, a former Defense Department analyst was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat and two pro-Israel lobbyists.

Despite the Pollard case and others, Olive said he believes the two countries need to maintain close ties "but do we still have to be vigilant? Absolutely. The Israelis are good at what they do."

During the Bush administration, the CIA ranked some of the world's intelligence agencies in order of their willingness to help in the U.S.-led fight against terrorism. One former U.S. intelligence official who saw the completed list said Israel, which hadn't been directly targeted in attacks by al-Qaida, fell below Libya, which recently had agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

The espionage incidents have done little to slow the billions of dollars in money and weapons from the United States to Israel. Since Pollard's arrest, Israel has received more than $60 billion in U.S. aid, mostly in the form of military assistance, according to the Congressional Research Service. The U.S. has supplied Israel with Patriot missiles, helped pay for an anti-missile defense program and provided sensitive radar equipment to track Iranian missile threats.

Just on Friday, Obama said he was releasing an additional $70 million in military aid, a previously announced move that appeared timed to upstage Romney's trip, and he spoke of America's "unshakable commitment to Israel." The money will go to help Israel expand production of a short-range rocket defense system.

Some CIA officials still bristle over the disappearance of a Syrian scientist who during the Bush administration was the CIA's only spy inside Syria's military program to develop chemical and biological weapons. The scientist was providing the agency with extraordinary information about pathogens used in the program, former U.S. officials said about the previously unknown intelligence operation.

At the time, there was pressure to share information about weapons of mass destruction, and the CIA provided its intelligence to Israel. A former official with direct knowledge of the case said details about Syria's program were published in the media. Although the CIA never formally concluded that Israel was responsible, CIA officials complained to Israel about their belief that Israelis were leaking the information to pressure Syria to abandon the program. The Syrians pieced together who had access to the sensitive information and eventually identified the scientist as a traitor.

Before he disappeared and was presumed killed, the scientist told his CIA handler that Syrian Military Intelligence was focusing on him.

Man found guilty of molesting young girl

Brian Long, 42, was convicted Friday afternoon on two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and sexual battery.

Long, retired from the U.S. Navy, was arrested in February 2011 based on evidence that he sexually abused young Jacksonville girl from June 2004 until November 2009. Prosecutors say the victim was under the age of 12 when the abuse started.

The victim told authorities that Long threatened if she did not behave he would tie her up in his bedroom. Police served a search warrant at Long's home and found cloth restraints attached to his bed.

"Justice has finally been served for the victim and her family. The victim was able to face her abuser in court today with support from her family as well as Bikers Against Child Abuse," said Assistant State Attorney Erin Wolfson. 

Long faces life in prison. His sentencing date will be set on Sept. 10, 2012.

Copyright 2012 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Story posted 2012.07.28 at 09:49 AM EDT

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Federal lawsuit challenges early voting changes

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Democratic Party and several Jacksonville voters on Friday filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Florida Legislature's changes to the election law limiting cutting back on early voting are discriminatory.

The changes are essentially be in place for the first time this coming week, as early voting for the Aug. 14 primary election would have started across the state on Monday had the law not changed.

Under the new law, early voting will begin on Saturday, Aug. 4, giving voters five fewer days to cast a ballot than under the old law, and giving local supervisors more discretion to decide exactly when polls will be open for early voting. It also eliminated voting on the Sunday before Election Day. Florida voters have been able to go to the polls ahead of Election Day since 2004.

Brown and the other plantiffs gathered on the steps of the Federal Courthouse in Jacksonville on Friday to announced the filing of the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville. She and the other plaintiffs want a judge to block the state and the Duval County elections supervisor from enforcing the changes.

While a decision isn't likely in time to add early voting days before the primary, critics of the law say it's more important to allow for additional early voting in the November general election. They argue the new reduced voting times hit Democrats harder, in part because early voting has proven very popular in African American communities.

Brown's lawsuit alleges that the changes violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

"Early voting has worked extremely well for all Floridians and especially for African American voters," Brown said. "In fact, more than any other racial or ethnic group, African Americans have come to rely on early voting."

Brown said the only explanation for restricting early voting was that "it seems that Gov. Scott simply does not want people to vote."

A spokesman for the state Division of Elections said filing the lawsuit at the last minute would cause more harm than good by confusing voters.

The spokesman, Chris Cate, also noted that the new law actually requires a day of Sunday voting, unlike the previous law, which only required that some voting be allowed on weekends.

Duval County's Supervisor of Elections, Jerry Holland, said that while there are fewer days of early voting, there really is just as much access to vote early.

"Before, in 14 days of early voting, we had 96 hours of early voting. Now, in eight days, we still have 96 because they went from eight-hour days to 12-hour days, which means now that people can vote before and after work, which may actually increase the chance for those to take advantage of early voting," Holland said.

Voters can also request an absentee ballot, which allows them to vote by mail anytime up to Election Day.

Early voting was instituted in Florida after thousands were turned away from overcrowded polls. Since 2004, Floridians have had access to the polls for eight hours a day, for 15 days right up until the last weekend before Election Day.

The lawsuit cites statistics from Dr. Daniel A. Smith, University of Florida professor of political science and research professor, that 22 percent of those voting early in the 2008 general election African-Americans, while blacks only make up 13 percent of the state's registered voters.

His research also found more African Americans voted during the early voting period than on Election Day or and absentee ballot combined. In 2008, African-Americans accounted for roughly 34 percent of votes cast on the Sunday before the election -- an early voting day that will not occur under the new rules.

These trends are amplified in Duval County where 58 percent of African Americans voted early in 2008. In last year's local elections, blacks cast roughly 34 percent of the early votes, even though they comprised less than 30 percent of the electorate, and the majority of those who voted on the Sunday before the election were African-Americans.

"There is absolutely no explanation for restricting early voting other than intentional voter suppression. In fact, it seems that Gov. Scott simply does not want people to vote," Brown said. "We should be making it easier for people to get to the polls, not harder."

The change, made by the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature in the 2011 session, was part of a wide-ranging elections bill that amended voting and election procedures in a number of ways –- many of them widely criticized by Democrats. Other changes required in the bill, for example, made it harder to vote when a voter has had to change an address, and restricted groups that do so-called third party voter registration, though that part of the law has been overturned by another court.

As of Friday, the case hadn't been assigned to a judge or set for a hearing.

Copyright 2012 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Story posted 2012.07.27 at 06:01 PM EDT

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Federal lawsuit challenges early voting changes

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Democratic Party and several Jacksonville voters on Friday filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Florida Legislature's changes to the election law limiting cutting back on early voting are discriminatory.

The changes are essentially be in place for the first time this coming week, as early voting for the Aug. 14 primary election would have started across the state on Monday had the law not changed.

Under the new law, early voting will begin on Saturday, Aug. 4, giving voters five fewer days to cast a ballot than under the old law, and giving local supervisors more discretion to decide exactly when polls will be open for early voting. It also eliminated voting on the Sunday before Election Day. Florida voters have been able to go to the polls ahead of Election Day since 2004.

Brown and the other plantiffs gathered on the steps of the Federal Courthouse in Jacksonville on Friday to announced the filing of the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville. She and the other plaintiffs want a judge to block the state and the Duval County elections supervisor from enforcing the changes.

While a decision isn't likely in time to add early voting days before the primary, critics of the law say it's more important to allow for additional early voting in the November general election. They argue the new reduced voting times hit Democrats harder, in part because early voting has proven very popular in African American communities.

Brown's lawsuit alleges that the changes violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

"Early voting has worked extremely well for all Floridians and especially for African American voters," Brown said. "In fact, more than any other racial or ethnic group, African Americans have come to rely on early voting."

Brown said the only explanation for restricting early voting was that "it seems that Gov. Scott simply does not want people to vote."

A spokesman for the state Division of Elections said filing the lawsuit at the last minute would cause more harm than good by confusing voters.

The spokesman, Chris Cate, also noted that the new law actually requires a day of Sunday voting, unlike the previous law, which only required that some voting be allowed on weekends.

Duval County's Supervisor of Elections, Jerry Holland, said that while there are fewer days of early voting, there really is just as much access to vote early.

"Before, in 14 days of early voting, we had 96 hours of early voting. Now, in eight days, we still have 96 because they went from eight-hour days to 12-hour days, which means now that people can vote before and after work, which may actually increase the chance for those to take advantage of early voting," Holland said.

Voters can also request an absentee ballot, which allows them to vote by mail anytime up to Election Day.

Early voting was instituted in Florida after thousands were turned away from overcrowded polls. Since 2004, Floridians have had access to the polls for eight hours a day, for 15 days right up until the last weekend before Election Day.

The lawsuit cites statistics from Dr. Daniel A. Smith, University of Florida professor of political science and research professor, that 22 percent of those voting early in the 2008 general election African-Americans, while blacks only make up 13 percent of the state's registered voters.

His research also found more African Americans voted during the early voting period than on Election Day or and absentee ballot combined. In 2008, African-Americans accounted for roughly 34 percent of votes cast on the Sunday before the election -- an early voting day that will not occur under the new rules.

These trends are amplified in Duval County where 58 percent of African Americans voted early in 2008. In last year's local elections, blacks cast roughly 34 percent of the early votes, even though they comprised less than 30 percent of the electorate, and the majority of those who voted on the Sunday before the election were African-Americans.

"There is absolutely no explanation for restricting early voting other than intentional voter suppression. In fact, it seems that Gov. Scott simply does not want people to vote," Brown said. "We should be making it easier for people to get to the polls, not harder."

The change, made by the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature in the 2011 session, was part of a wide-ranging elections bill that amended voting and election procedures in a number of ways –- many of them widely criticized by Democrats. Other changes required in the bill, for example, made it harder to vote when a voter has had to change an address, and restricted groups that do so-called third party voter registration, though that part of the law has been overturned by another court.

As of Friday, the case hadn't been assigned to a judge or set for a hearing.

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Story posted 2012.07.27 at 06:01 PM EDT

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Syrian troops kill 6-year-old fleeing into Jordan

Syrian troops kill 6-year-old fleeing into Jordan

A relative holds the body of 6-year-old Syrian boy Bilal El-Lababidi during his funeral in Ramtha, Jordan, Friday, July 27, 2012. The boy was shot dead by Syrian border guards as his parents and around a dozen other Syrians tried to cross the border to seek refuge in Jordan, his mother said.

RAMTHA, Jordan (AP) -- The family crept across farmland under night's cover, heading for the border, when Syrian troops opened fire. Bullets whizzed around them as they broke into a mad dash, survivors say. The 6-year-old boy, holding his mother's hand, broke away and ran ahead. He nearly made it into Jordan when he fell dead, a bullet in his neck.

The boy, killed in the early hours Friday, was the first Syrian shot to death by border guards while trying to escape into neighboring Jordan from the bloodshed of their homeland's 17-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. The slaying underlined not only the dangerous of the passage, but the fine line Syria's neighbors have to tread in trying to help Syrians while avoiding being dragged into the conflict.

Bilal el-Lababidi and his parents were in a group of around a dozen Syrians trying to sneak into Jordan just after midnight, the latest of more than 140,000 Syrians who have taken refuge in the kingdom.

"He is a martyr who is now in a better place. I'm sure he is in heaven," said el-Lababidi's mother before the boy's burial later Friday at a cemetery in the northern Jordanian city of Ramtha. She made it across with her two younger sons - but her husband fled back amid the shooting.

"The criminal Bashar is the reason," she said, slapping her face with her fists as she wept. She wore a veil over her face and a traditional Muslim head-to-toe robe. "Bashar is killing his people and the whole world is watching and doing nothing." She would only identify herself as Umm Bilal, or "mother of Bilal," as conservative women often do in public rather than using their real names.

The family - Bilal's father, mother and their three sons- were fleeing from their southern Syrian hometown of Daraa, which was where their country's uprising began 17 months ago and which has continued to be a major battleground between rebels and regime forces. Bilal's father is a corporal in the regime military but had decided to defect, the mother said.

They and the others in the group were slipping across farmland and olive groves between the Syrian town of Tal Shihab, near Daraa, and the Jordanian border village of Turrah. The two towns are only about a mile (1.6 kilometers) apart at their closest point. The border running between them is marked only by a ditch with an old rusty string of barbed wire running down it - unmaintained and full of gaps, more of a marker than a barrier.

Their group made their way to about 50 yards (meters) from the ditch, their path dimly illuminated by a half-moon and the lights of nearby Turrah. That's when Syrian troops opened fire, and the refugees broke into a run, Umm Bilal said.

The Syrian troops emerged from behind nearby trees and began shooting, said two members of the Syrian rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, who helped organize the group's escape and later spoke with those who made it across.

The soldiers sprayed the area with bullets, according to a Jordanian border officer and a relative of Bilal who made it into Jordan with his mother. Jordanian guards on their side of the border fired in the air to try to scare off the Syrian troops, the Jordanian officer said.

"Bullets were coming from all directions. It was scary," said the relative, a frail man who sported a long beard and who spoke on condition he not be identified for fear of retaliation against the family in Syria. "I didn't know if one hit me and I couldn't look back to see if the others were wounded."

Bilal was running with his mother, the relative said. But then Bilal "slipped from his mother's hand" and went ahead and was shot just yards (meters) from the border ditch, he said.

Umm Bilal said the Jordanians took her son in and tried to save him, "but he was already dead."

Bilal's father and most of the others in the group ran back into Syria amid the gunfire, Umm Bilal said.

The Jordanian border official said he believed that amid the firing, the boy was specifically targeted because he was closest the fence. "It looks like a sniper targeted him to scare the others," the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The whole shooting appeared to be an ambush by the Syrian troops, who were likely tipped off to the escape plan by an informer in Daraa, said the two FSA members who helped organize the dash for the border. They noted that the troops were waiting behind the trees for the group. The two FSA members, one of whom was now hosting Umm Bilal and her two surviving sons at a house in northern Jordan, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity over their group's presence in the kingdom.

Syrian army troops frequently fire at those trying to cross the border to stop them, but not always - it depends on whether they are busy with quelling protests or rebels in nearby towns, the Jordanian border official said. Around 700 Syrians crossed on Thursday with no shots fired at them.

Last November, one woman was shot in the leg. In April, troops fired at a large group of around 900 refugees, wounding dozens, many of whom - including women - were then arrested and taken back into Syria.

But el-Lababidi is the first person to be killed, the border official and other Jordanian officials said. An FSA commander based in Turkey who monitors the border movements into Jordan, Ahmed Kassem, also said the boy was the first killed.

Jordan has been trying not to be dragged into what is now a civil war in Syria. In Amman, Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah insisted that Friday's shooting "will not draw Jordan into Syria's crisis."

"This unfortunate incident is an internal Syrian matter," he told The Associated Press.

Jordan had been even reluctant to set up the tents camps near the border that house most of the Syrian refugees, possibly to avoid angering Assad's autocratic regime by showing images at his doorstep of civilians fleeing his military onslaught. While Syria's rebels are present among the refugees and buy weapons in Jordan's black market, they must lie low and the government says it gives them no support.

Syria has been one of Jordan's largest Arab trade partners, with bilateral trade estimated at $470 million last year - and Syria is a vital route for Jordanian exports to markets in Turkey and Europe.

Last Sunday, Jordan's king announced that security along his northern frontier has been tightened, but Syrian refugees fleeing violence will still be allowed to enter.

"It is our duty to protect citizens, but at the same time, we have to open our doors to our Syrian brothers, and I'm very optimistic that the situation is moving in the right direction," King Abdullah II said at a Cabinet session.