Colombia, FARC sign historic peace deal ending long conflict

Colombia, FARC sign historic peace deal ending long conflict

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, front left, and the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono, known by the alias Timochenko, shake hands after signing the peace agreement between Colombia’s government and the FARC to end over 50 years of conflict in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Behind, from left, are Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Cuba's President Raul Castro, and Spain's former King Juan Carlos.

  

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel movement signed a historic peace accord Monday evening ending a half-century of combat that caused more than 220,000 deaths and made 8 million homeless.

Underlining the importance of the deal, President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed the 297-page agreement before a crowd of 2,500 foreign dignitaries and special guests, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Many in the audience had tears in their eyes, and shouts rose urging Santos and Londono to "Hug, hug, hug!" But in the end, the two men just clasped hands and the rebel commander, also known as Timochenko, put on a pin shaped like a white dove that Santos has been wearing on his lapel for years. Seconds later five jets buzzed overhead in formation trailing smoke in the colors of Colombia's flag.

During a minute of silence for the war's victims, 50 white flags were raised. Everyone at the event wore white as a symbol of peace.

Santos proclaimed after the signing that the accord will help Colombia to stop the killing, to end the deaths of young people, the innocent, soldiers and rebels alike. He led the crowd in chants of "No more war! No more war! No more war!" and he urged Colombians to vote to accept the accord in the Oct. 2 national referendum that will determine if it takes effect.

Londono called Santos "a courageous partner" in reaching the peace deal through four hard years of negotiations, calling the accord "a victory for Colombian society and the international community."

He also praised FARC's fighters as heroes of the downtrodden in the struggle for social justice, but repeated the movement's request for forgiveness for the war. "I apologize ... for all the pain that we have caused," he said.

The signing was greeted by wild cheers by about 1,000 FARC rebels in Sabanas del Yari, where the group recently concluded its last congress by endorsing the peace deal. "Yes, we can; yes, we can; yes, we can," they shouted, followed by calls for Timochenko to be president.

"Let no one doubt that we are going into politics without weapons," Londono said in his speech after the signing. "We are going to comply (with the accord) and we hope that the government complies," he added.

Earlier in the day, Santos and foreign dignitaries attended a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, at a baroque church named for St. Peter Claver, a 17th century Jesuit priest revered as the "slave of slaves" for his role aiding tens of thousands of African slaves brought to the New World as chattel.

In a stirring homily, Pope Francis' envoy praised Colombians for overcoming the pain of the bloody conflict to find common ground with the rebels.

"All of us here today are conscious of the fact we're at the end of a negotiation, but also the beginning of a still open process of change that requires the contribution and respect of all Colombians," the cardinal said.

Across the country Colombians marked the occasion with a host of activities, from peace concerts by top-name artists to a street party in the capital, Bogota, where the signing ceremony was to be broadcast live on a giant screen. It was also celebrated by hundreds of guerrillas gathered in a remote region of southern Colombia where last week top commanders ratified the accord in what they said would be their last conference as a guerrilla army.

Colombians will have the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in the Oct. 2 referendum. Opinion polls point to an almost-certain victory for the "yes" vote, but some analysts warn that a closer-than-expected finish or low voter turnout could bode poorly for the tough task the country faces in implementing the ambitious accord.

Among the biggest challenges will be judging the war crimes of guerrillas as well as state actors. Under terms of the accord, rebels who lay down their weapons and confess their abuses will be spared jail time and be allowed to provide reparations to their victims by carrying out development work in areas hard hit by the conflict.

That has angered some victims and conservative opponents of Santos, a few hundred of whom took to the streets Monday to protest what they consider the government's excessive leniency toward guerrilla leaders responsible for scores of atrocities in a conflict fueled by the country's cocaine trade.

To shouts of "Santos is a coward!" former President Alvaro Uribe, the architect of the decade-long, U.S.-backed military offensive that forced the FARC to the negotiating table, said the peace deal puts Colombia on the path to becoming a leftist dictatorship in the mold of Cuba or Venezuela - two countries that along with Norway played a vital role sponsoring the four-year-long talks.

"The democratic world would never allow bin Laden or those belonging to ISIS to become president, so why does Colombia have to allow the election of the terrorists who've kidnapped 11,700 children or raped 6,800 women?" he told protesters gathered in a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Cartagena.

The stiff domestic opposition contrasts with widespread acclaim abroad for the accord - a rare example in a war-torn world of what can be achieved through dialogue. On Monday, European Union foreign policy coordinator Federica Mogherini said that with the signing of the peace agreement, the EU would suspend the FARC from its list of terrorist organizations.

Asked whether the U.S. would follow suit, Kerry was less willing to commit but expressed a possible openness to similar action.

"We clearly are ready to review and make judgments as the facts come in," he told reporters. "We don't want to leave people on the list if they don't belong."

The FARC was established in 1964 by self-defense groups and communist activists who joined forces to resist a government military onslaught. Reflecting that history, the final accord commits the government to addressing unequal land distribution that has been at the heart of Colombia's conflict.

But as the war dragged on, and insurgencies elsewhere in Latin America were defeated, the FARC slipped deeper and deeper into Colombia's lucrative cocaine trade - to the point that President George W. Bush's administration in 2006 called it the world's biggest drug cartel.

As part of the peace process, the FARC has sworn off narcotics trafficking and agreed to work with the government to provide alternative development in areas where coca growing has flourished.

Only if the accord passes the referendum will the FARC's roughly 7,000 fighters begin moving to 28 designated zones where, over the next six months, they are to turn over their weapons to U.N.-sponsored observers.

"This is something I waited for my whole life - that I dreamed of every day," said Leon Valencia, a former guerrilla who is one of the most respected experts on Colombia's conflict. "It's like when you're waiting for a child that is finally born, or seeing an old love or when your favorite team scores a goal."

Clinton, Trump poised for must-see debate showdown

Clinton, Trump poised for must-see debate showdown

People wait in the hall for the presidential debate between Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016.

  

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- With millions watching and the American presidency on the line, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are poised for a must-see showdown Monday night, pitting the Democrat's call for steady, experienced leadership against the Republican's pugnacious promises to upend Washington.

The 90-minute televised debate comes six weeks before Election Day and with early voting already getting underway in some states. Despite Clinton's advantages, including a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation and a favorable electoral map, the race is exceedingly close.

For Clinton and Trump, the first of three debates is a crucial moment to boost their standing with voters who view both candidates negatively. Clinton struggles with questions about her trustworthiness, while Trump has yet to prove to some voters that he has the basic qualifications to serve as commander in chief.

National interest in the race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch Monday's event at suburban New York's Hofstra University. Both candidates were continuing intensive debate prep nearly until air time.

Clinton aides spent the days leading up to the debate appealing for the media and voters to hold Trump to a higher standard than they believe he has faced for much of the campaign. Their concern is that if the sometimes-bombastic Trump manages to keep his cool onstage, he'll be rewarded - even if he fails to flesh out policy specifics or doesn't tell the truth about his record and past statements.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Monday that he was "concerned that Trump is going to continue to lie."

On the other side, Kellyanne Conway, who took over as Trump's campaign manager last month, accused Clinton's team of engaging in "very public and very coordinated attempts to game the refs." She said the effort reflected worries among Clinton supporters about the Democrat's debating skills.

Trump and Clinton have spent months tangling from afar and are divided on virtually every major issue facing the country. They're sure to face questions about domestic terrorism and police shootings given recent incidents in New York, North Carolina and elsewhere.

The centerpiece of Trump's campaign has been a push for restrictive immigration measures, including a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and an early proposal to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from coming to the U.S. But he's been less detailed about other ideas, including his plan for stamping out the Islamic State group in the Middle East, and Conway suggested he'd be similarly reticent in the debate.

"You will get his view of how best to defeat the enemy - without telling ISIS specifically what it's going to be," Conway said.

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is banking on voters seeing her as a steady hand who can build on the record of President Barack Obama, whose popularity is rising as he winds down his second term in office. She's called for expanding Obama's executive orders if Congress won't pass legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system and for broader gun control measures. Overseas, she's called for a no-fly zone in Syria but has vowed to keep the military out of a large-scale ground war to defeat the Islamic State group.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Obama but has yet to fully embrace her. Mook told "CBS This Morning" that she understands she still needs to earn voters' trust.

"When she's had the opportunity to talk about not just what her plans are to make a difference in people's lives, but how this campaign is really part of a lifelong mission to fight for kids and families, she's done really well," Mook said.

Former President Bill Clinton planned to travel to the debate with his wife, but it was unclear whether he planned to watch the event from inside the debate hall.

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation. While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he's banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top on Election Day.

Trump was often a commanding presence in the Republican primary debates, launching biting personal attacks on his rivals. But at other times, he appeared to fade into the background, especially during more technical policy discussions - something he'll be unable to do with just two candidates on stage.

Clinton has debated more than 30 times at the presidential level, including several one-on-one contests against Obama in 2008 and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. But Monday's contest will be her first presidential debate against a candidate from the opposing party.

Walking To Beat The Stigma Attached To Drug Addiction

Walking To Beat The Stigma Attached To Drug Addiction

  

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Tens of thousands will take over Penn’s Landing on Friday for the annual recovery walk.  While walking their goal is to stop drug overdose deaths by getting more people into recovery.
Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health estimates that 150,000 residents are battling addiction, but less than 20 percent seek help. Last year, 700 people died of drug overdose in Philadelphia- double the number lost to homicide.

Roland Lamb is deputy commissioner for the department of behavior health said there is a misconception.

“Folks have been made to think there is something wrong with them– that they have, you know, a moral issue,” Lamb said.

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

Witness says Philippine president ordered killings of 1,000

Witness says Philippine president ordered killings of 1,000

Former Filipino militiaman Edgar Matobato shows the kind of tape they use to wrap up dead bodies as he testifies before the Philippine Senate in Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines on Thursday Sept. 15, 2016. Matobato said that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings, and acknowledged that he himself carried out about 50 deadly assaults as an assassin, including a suspected kidnapper fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao del Sur province.

Rights groups have long accused Duterte of involvement in death squads, claims he has denied, even while engaging in tough talk in which he stated his approach to criminals was to "kill them all." Matobato is the first person to admit any role in such killings, and to directly implicate Duterte under oath in a public hearing.

Human Rights Watch late Friday urged the Philippine government to order an independent investigation into the "very serious allegations" of direct involvement by Duterte "in extrajudicial killings."

Brad Adams, the rights group's Asia director, said: "President Duterte can't be expected to investigate himself, so it is crucial that the United Nations is called in to lead such an effort. Otherwise, Filipinos may never know if the president was directly responsible for extrajudicial killings."

The Senate committee inquiry was led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

Matobato said Duterte had once even issued an order to kill de Lima, when she chaired the Commission on Human Rights and was investigating the mayor's possible role in extrajudicial killings in 2009 in Davao. He said he and others were waiting to ambush de Lima but she did not go to a part of a hilly area - a suspected mass grave - where they were waiting to open fire.

"If you went inside the upper portion, we were already in ambush position," Matobato told de Lima. "It's good that you left."

The recent killings of suspected drug dealers have sparked concerns in the Philippines and among U.N. and U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, who have urged Duterte's government to take steps to rapidly stop the killings and ensure his anti-drug war complies with human rights laws and the rule of law.

Duterte has rejected the criticisms, questioning the right of the U.N., the U.S. and Obama to raise human rights issues, when U.S. forces, for example, had massacred Muslims in the country's south in the early 1900s as part of a pacification campaign.

Matobato said under oath that the killings went on from 1988, when Duterte first became Davao city mayor, to 2013, when Matobato said he expressed his desire to leave the death squad. He said that prompted his colleagues to implicate him criminally in one killing to silence him.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers. These are the kind we killed every day," Matobato said. But he said their targets were not only criminals but also opponents of Duterte and one of his sons, Paolo Duterte, who is now the vice mayor of Davao.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of evidence and witnesses.

Philippine human rights officials and advocates have previously said potential witnesses refused to testify against Duterte when he was still mayor out of fear of being killed.

There was no immediate reaction from Duterte. Another Duterte spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said at a news conference that while Matobato "may sound credible, it is imperative that each and every one of us properly weigh whatever he said and respond right."

Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to a wealthy businessman from central Cebu province who was killed in 2014 in his office in Davao city, allegedly because of a feud with Paolo Duterte over a woman. The president's son said the allegations were without proof and "are mere hearsay," telling reporters he would "not dignify the accusations of a mad man."

Other victims were a suspected foreign militant whom Matobato said he strangled, then chopped into pieces and buried in a quarry in 2002. Another was a radio commentator, Jun Pala, who was critical of Duterte and was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking home in 2003.

After a 1993 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Davao city, Matobato said Duterte ordered him and his colleagues to launch attacks on mosques in an apparent retaliation. He testified he hurled a grenade at one mosque but there were no casualties because the attacks were carried out when no one was praying.

Matobato said some of the squad's victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three secret pits, while others were disposed of at sea with their stomachs cut open and their bodies tied to concrete blocks.

"They were killed like chickens," said Matobato, who added he that backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.

He left the protection program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed, and said he decided to surface now "so the killings will stop."

Matobato's testimony set off a tense exchange between pro-Duterte and opposition senators.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano accused Matobato of being part of a plot to unseat Duterte. "I'm testing to see if you were brought here to bring down this government," he said.

De Lima eventually declared Cayetano "out of order" and ordered Senate security personnel to restrain him.

Another senator, former national police chief Panfilo Lacson, warned Matobato that his admissions that he was involved in killings could land him in jail.

"You can be jailed with your revelations," Lacson said. "You have no immunity."

Duterte has immunity from lawsuits as a president, but de Lima said that principle may have to be revisited now. "What if a leader is elected and turns out to be a mass murderer?" de Lima asked in a news conference after the tense Senate hearing.

Obama calls on Americans to embrace diversity on 9/11

Obama calls on Americans to embrace diversity on 9/11

President Barack Obama, right, with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, center, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, stand at attention as the national anthem is played during a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

  

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Sunday marked the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by calling on Americans to embrace the nation's character as a people drawn from every corner of the world, from every religion and from every background. He said extremist groups will never be able to defeat the United States.

Obama spoke to hundreds of service members, and relatives and survivors of the attack that occurred at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Defense Department's headquarters, killing 184 people. The youngest victim was only 3 years old.

In all, about 3,000 people lost their lives that day as a result of the planes that crashed into New York City's World Trade Center and in a Pennsylvania field.

The president said extremist organizations such as the Islamic State group and al-Qaida know they can never drive down the U.S., so they focus on trying to instill fear in hopes of getting Americans to change how they live.

"We know that our diversity, our patchwork heritage is not a weakness, it is still and always will be one of our greatest strengths," Obama said. "This is the America that was attacked that September morning. This is the America that we must remain true to."

Obama spoke on warm, mostly sunny morning, noting that the threat that became so evident on Sept. 11 has evolved greatly over the past 15 years. Terrorists, he said, often attempt strikes on a smaller, but still deadly scale. He specifically cited attacks in Boston, San Bernardino and Orlando as examples.

In the end, he said, the enduring memorial to those who lost their lives that day is ensuring "that we stay true to ourselves, that we stay true to what's best in us, that we do not let others divide us."

"How we conduct ourselves as individuals and as a nation, we have the opportunity each and every day to 

live up to the sacrifice of those heroes that we lost," Obama said.

Obama's comments also came in the heat of a presidential election in which voters will weigh which candidate would best keep America safe.

Republican nominee Donald Trump said he would suspend Muslim immigration into the United States, a policy he later amended by saying he would temporarily ban immigration from "areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats." Obama's speech Sunday reinforced themes he has emphasized in recent months when he has described Trump's proposals on Muslim immigration as "not the America we want."

Obama also marked his final Sept. 11 observance as president with a moment of silence inside the White House to coincide with when the first plane hit the Twin Towers. Atop the White House, the American flag flew at half-staff. Obama invited governors, interested organizations and individuals to follow suit.

Obama said he has been humbled by the people whose 9/11 stories he's come to learn over the past eight years, from the firefighters who responded to the attacks, to family members of those who died, to the Navy Seals who made sure "justice was finally done" in the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. He said the nation's security has been strengthened since 9/11 and that other attacks have been prevented.

"We resolve to continue doing everything in our power to protect this country that we love," he said, facing the benches that are a hallmark of the Pentagon Memorial.

Behind the president, a U.S. flag stretching some three stories tall hung on the section of the Pentagon that was struck on Sept. 11. The president said 15 years may seem like a long time, but he imagined that for the families, it can seem like yesterday. He said he has been inspired by their efforts to start scholarship programs and undertake volunteer work in their communities.

"In your grief and grace, you have reminded us that, together, there's nothing we Americans cannot overcome," Obama said.

Vanished flag from famous 9/11 photo returns to ground zero

Vanished flag from famous 9/11 photo returns to ground zero

Shirley Dreifus, the original owner of the American flag, left, that firefighters hoisted at ground zero in the hours after the 9/11 terror attacks, speaks during an interview at the Sept. 11 museum, Thursday Sept. 8, 2016, in New York. After disappearing for more than a decade, the 3-foot-by-5-foot flag goes on display Thursday at the museum.

  

NEW YORK (AP) -- An American flag raised at ground zero on Sept. 11 in a defining moment of patriotic resolve took its place at the site Thursday after disappearing for over a decade.

The 3-foot-by-5-foot flag took a symbolic and curious journey from a yacht moored in lower Manhattan to the smoking wreckage of the World Trade Center, then to a firehouse about 2,400 miles away in Everett, Washington - and now to a glass case at the National Sept. 11 Museum. A TV show, a mysterious man and two years of detective work helped re-establish its whereabouts.

"In a museum that's filled with such deeply powerful artifacts, this newest of artifacts is certainly one of the most emotionally and historically powerful," museum President Joe Daniels said as the display was unveiled Thursday, three days before the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks.

The flag's absence, he said, "just felt like a hole in the history of this site."

The flag is the centerpiece of one of the most resonant images of American fortitude on 9/11. After plucking the flag from a nearby boat, three firefighters hoisted it amid the ashen destruction as photographer Thomas E. Franklin of The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey, captured the scene. The Pulitzer Prize-winning picture inspired a postage stamp, sculpture and other tributes.

Meanwhile, the flag was signed by New York's governor and two mayors and flown at Yankee Stadium, outside City Hall and on an aircraft carrier near Afghanistan - except it wasn't the right flag. It was bigger, and by 2004, the yacht's owners had publicly broached the error.

By then, officials had no idea what had happened to the real flag.

They were in the dark until November 2014, when a man turned up at an Everett fire station with what is now the museum's flag, saying he'd seen a recent History channel piece about the mystery, according to Everett Police Detective Mike Atwood and his former colleague Jim Massingale.

The man, who gave firefighters only the name "Brian," said he'd gotten it as a gift from an unnamed National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration worker who'd gotten it from an unidentified 9/11 widow.

The detectives gathered surveillance video and circulated a police sketch, but they haven't found the man or been able to confirm his explanation of the flag's provenance. DNA tests of material found on electrical tape wrapped around the flag's halyard didn't match the firefighters or other people known to have handled the flag.

But a forensic expert analyzed dust on the flag and halyard and found it consistent with ground zero debris. Meanwhile, the detectives scrutinized photos and videos of the flag-raising and consulted one of the yacht's former crew members to compare the flag's size, material, stitching, hardware and halyard.

Taking all the evidence together, "we feel it's very likely the one captured in the photo," said Massingale, now with the Stillaguamish Police Department on the Stillaguamish Tribe's reservation in Washington.

The yacht's owners, Shirley Dreifus and the late Spiros E. Kopelakis, were so surprised when first told the flag might have resurfaced that Kopelakis wondered whether the call was a prank, Dreifus said. She and Chubb insurance donated the flag to the museum.

A documentary about the flag's recovery airs Sunday on History.

Prosecutors want 13 other women to testify against Cosby

Prosecutors want 13 other women to testify against Cosby

Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016.

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Prosecutors hoping to paint actor Bill Cosby as a serial predator at his upcoming sexual assault trial sought Tuesday to put on testimony from 13 other women who say Cosby gave them quaaludes, other drugs or alcohol before molesting them.

The criminal case against the 79-year-old entertainer involves a single 2004 encounter at his home near Philadelphia with former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. The presiding judge at a hearing Tuesday vowed to start the trial by June 5.

However, Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill did not immediately rule on any of the pretrial disputes over evidence, including the prosecution effort to call other women as witnesses. Under Pennsylvania law, they could be allowed to testify to show an alleged pattern of behavior, even if no charges were ever filed.

Prosecutors said they reviewed accusations made by 50 Cosby accusers and concluded that 13 said they were also drugged or intoxicated and then molested by Cosby. One woman said she declined his offer of quaaludes but accepted Champagne that she believed was spiked. She later woke up naked in a hotel room and said she had been sexually assaulted. Another said she took quaaludes from him, while a third said she believed her drink was spiked with the powerful, now-banned sedative.

The defense is expected to oppose any testimony from other accusers.

The defense will also ask to have the trial moved to another county, given that the decision over whether Cosby should be arrested became a flashpoint in last fall's election for district attorney. Cosby was arrested on Dec. 30, as incoming prosecutor Kevin Steele eyed the approaching 12-year deadline to file felony charges.

Constand told police that Cosby gave her three unmarked pills and then molested her as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Cosby's lawyers meanwhile asked the judge Tuesday to suppress a 2005 telephone conversation recorded by Constand's mother in Toronto. Cosby had called her from California. The defense said the call violated Pennsylvania's two-party consent law on wiretaps. But prosecutors who played the tape in court argued that 

Cosby said he heard beeps on the call and asked if he was being taped. Gianna Constand denied it.

Cosby in the conversation described the sex act as "digital penetration" but refused to say what pills he had given her daughter. In his deposition, he later said he feared sounding like "a dirty old man" on the call.

Steele will fight to use both the phone call and Cosby's potentially damaging deposition from Constand's sexual battery lawsuit. Cosby settled the suit after four days of questioning. He acknowledged having a sexual encounter with Constand, but said it was consensual. He also admitted to a string of extramarital affairs and sexual "rendezvous," some with women in their late teens and early 20s.

Cosby was arrested in December after the investigation into the allegation Constand first brought in 2005 was reopened, following disclosure of the entertainer's deposition and a stream of new allegations by women going back decades.

Cosby looked noticeably healthier Tuesday than he has at earlier hearings, although his lawyers told the judge that he is blind. O'Neill offered whatever accommodations he might need at trial, but the defense didn't immediately ask for any.

Cosby clutched an aide's arm as he walked, but his eyes appeared less milky and he seemed more engaged and animated as he spoke with his legal team.

As O'Neill pushed for a trial date, lead defense lawyer Brian McMonagle of Philadelphia said he has other trials booked until June.

Cosby has replaced one top-tier Los Angeles law firm with another on his defense team, the second such switch in about a year.

Cosby has so far lost his efforts to have the charges thrown out.

Cosby became known as "America's Dad" for his top-rated show on family life that ran from 1984 to 1992. 

He had been in the limelight since the early 1960s, when the Philadelphian was tapped to star in "I Spy," becoming the rare black actor to star in a network TV show at the time.

The women who accuse him of sexual misconduct for nearly that long say the charges were a long time coming.

Cosby's defenders instead suggest he is a wealthy target for the many women he met during five decades as an A-list celebrity.

Defense lawyer Angela Agrusa told reporters after the hearing that the accusers have been "paraded" before the press by lawyer Gloria Allred and others, without their accounts of abuse being investigated.

"We have seen a barrage of new accusers claiming, 'Me too,'" Agrusa said.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt brought race into the equation, saying Allred and others have trampled on Cosby's civil rights. Many of the accusers, including Constand, are white.

"Mr. Cosby is no stranger to discrimination and racial hatred, and throughout his career Mr. Cosby has always used his voice and his celebrity to highlight the commonalities and has portrayed the differences that are not negative - no matter the race, gender and religion of a person," he said in a statement.

Allred rejected Wyatt's accusations, accusing Cosby of becoming desperate in his defense of the case, and stating that several of the alleged victims she represents are African American.

"With his latest pathetic attack on me, he unsuccessfully tries to portray himself as a victim rather than as a defendant in a criminal case accused of aggravated indecent sexual assault," Allred wrote in a statement. She said the case is not about racial bias, but whether Cosby "has committed acts of gender sexual violence."

It is unclear whether Allred represents any of the 13 women prosecutors are seeking to call as witnesses against Cosby. She has held numerous press conferences with women accusing Cosby of sexual abuse and lobbied for legislative hanges in several states.

Allred also represents Judy Huth in a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court that accuses Cosby of underage sexual abuse.