FBI issues warning: Al Qaeda could be plotting an Independence Day attack on US

A "Security Awareness" bulletin issued by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urges vigilance over the July Fourth weekend, as terror network al Qaeda might be contemplating an attack on the Independence Day.

The annual summer holiday "Security Awareness" Bulletin, a six-page document, says Al Qaeda had identified July Fourth weekend of 2011 as ideal for an attack, back in February 2010. Though "specific or credible information" regarding a terrorist strike isn't available, al Qaeda is believed to be contemplating large scale destruction on symbolic dates.

"As of February 2010, al Qaeda was contemplating large attacks in the homeland on symbolic dates and specifically identified U.S. Independence Day as a key date," the bulletin says.

"We currently have no specific credible information that any plotting targeting the homeland was developed based on this reporting, and are uncertain how widely al Qaeda's interest in timing attacks for symbolic dates has been shared or accepted within the group or among its affiliates and allies," the bulletin says. 

US officials reportedly connect the speculated attacks with the death of al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. In an attempt to seek revenge for their leader's death, the terror network members might strategically choose dates of national significance, increasing the symbolic effect of attacks, administrative officials believe.

Large gatherings, such as the congregation to enjoy New York City's annual fireworks display, make "especially attractive targets during the holiday season," the bulletin says. "Such targets offer the opportunity to inflict mass casualties, with the added objectives of causing economic and psychological damage on the United States."

The bulletin also says al Qaeda always had aspirations of executing a high profile attack inside the US, with lesser importance to when it occurs.

"Previous examples of this desire (executing a high profile attack) include the May 2010 attempted detonation of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Times Square, the guilty plea in February 2010 to an al Qaeda plot to attack the New York City subway using improvised explosive devices, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's inclusion of photos of and references to major U.S. cities in their Inspire magazine," the report says.

The bulletin covers the season from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and is intended to create awareness among public and private sector partners in the security and counter-terrorism sectors.

Prince William & Kate Arrive in Canada

They've arrived! Prince William and new bride Kate touched down in Canada for the first leg of their North American tour Thursday right on schedule at 2 p.m.

With much speculation about what Kate might wear on the 11-day swing through Canada and California, she began with a surprise – changing on the specially-loaned Canadian Forces airbus. With the blustery conditions playing havoc with her hair, she walked down the steps in a dress by Erdem Moralioglu, from Montreal, Canada.

Described as a navy, lace Cecile shift scoop-backed dress of contrast stone crepe with a navy lace overlay, it has a sheer lace sleeve with a scallop detail.

It was the second time Thursday that Kate paid tribute to her hosts. She boarded the plane in a navy blazer by Canadian designer Smythe Les Vestes, over a navy Manon dress by Roland Mouret. Her shoes are Manolo Blahnik "Calogera" pumps.

PHOTOS: Pippa Middleton's Summer Style

In London, she had been seen carrying Mulberry’s Polly Push Lock bag from the Autumn Winter 2011 Pre Collection.

As Kate made her first steps onto north American soil, William's new flag for use in Canada was flown out of the pilot's window. It was also on the couple's car as their 11-car motorcade pulled away from the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

There was just the shortest of ceremonies at Ottawa's international airport. The couple were greeted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the hon John Baird, who he presented the couple to a line-up of more than 15 local dignitaries. The duchess was handed a bouquet made up of roses and thistles, to signify Scotland.

Their first engagement is at the National War Memorial, where 3,000 fans greeted them with cheers. This will be followed by their first walkabout. Later, they'll have their first evening meal – cooked for them by students.

NBA headed for lockout at Midnight

NBA owners are expected to lock out players tonight after the two sides failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, union head Billy Hunter said.

WBoth sides met for three hours today in New York, with the midnight deadline approaching, but could not close the gap between, possibly jeopardizing the 2011-12 season. The last lockout caused the 1998-99 season to be reduced to 50 games. That was the only time games were lost to a work stoppage.

“We tried to avoid the lockout,” Matt Bonner, a member of the union ’s xecutive committee, told the Associated Press.“Unfortunately we couldn’t reach a deal.”

Hunter added that no further talks were scheduled, but said that both sides were cordial. “I thought we were gonna start singing ‘Kumbaya’ in there,” he said

Poland celebrates summer with 11,000 lanterns

 
Thousands of paper lanterns float toward the sky in Poznan, Poland, on June 21, the shortest night of the year

On the shortest night of the year, the late-setting sun wasn't the only thing illuminating the sky over Pozna?, Poland.


As part of celebrations to mark the official arrival of summer, crowds gathered near the Warta River last week and released thousands of paper lanterns into the air, resulting in a magical effect. Videos of the festival are just now getting attention online.

(Fans of the Disney movie "Tangled" may do a double take as the lantern-filled sky looked as if parts of animated film had come to life.)

YouTube: Watch the lanterns float over Poznan

The event was promoted on Facebook and billed as "Poznan's most romantic night." Participants were encouraged to buy the lanterns for 5 zloty each (about $1.80) and release them at exactly 10:30 p.m.
The goal: to beat Poland's previous record of lanterns launched into the sky at one time. Officials said that task was easily accomplished, estimating that more than 11,000 lanterns were released on June 21.
Organizers also hoped it would be enough to beat the Guinness World Record for the most lanterns flown simultaneously. (That honor is currently held by Indonesia with 10,318 lanterns.)

Plans are under way to organize an even bigger event in Poznan next year.

President Obama to hold first Twitter town hall on July 6 at 2 pm ET

Bridge Toll Hike Begins Friday

  Crossing the Delaware River in this area will put an even bigger dent in your wallet starting early Friday morning.


Starting at 2 a.m., tolls are going up on the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry bridges, along with a 10-percent PATCO fare increase.

“Tolls will increase going from $4 per car to $5 and there’ll be a 25-percent increase for all the other vehicles,” said John Matheussen, CEO of the Delaware River Port Authority.

He says the cash is dedicated to massive infrastructure projects, which have already begun.
“The authority is spending a little bit more than a billion dollars over the next five to seven years to rebuild the bridges, to rebuild the PATCO infrastructure and the train cars themselves,” he explains. “This stream of money is necessary to do that.”

Other spans will also increase their tolls. The Delaware Memorial Bridge jumps from $3 to $4. The Morrisville and New Hope bridges, operated by the Delaware Valley Joint Toll Bridge Commission, will go up a quarter to a dollar each way. But the Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol Bridges are staying pat at two bucks round trip, as they have for 11 years.

Time Editor Mark Halperin Calls Obama “Kind of a Dick” on MSNBC

  WATCH IT HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro8YrPDQTm0&feature=player_embedded

Obama vs. Romney in Pennsylvania

 

 Mitt Romney will travel to Pennsylvania Thursday on the same day as President Obama in a political move to hit the president over his handling of the economy and a clear symbolic step as the frontrunner in the GOP presidential field.

The former Massachusetts governor will hold a press conference outside Allentown Metal Works, a closed-down Pennsylvania factory Obama visited in 2009 while touting the economic stimulus package, before and after attending fundraisers in Philadelphia.


Meanwhile the president will attend two fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee also in Philadelphia. Thursday's trip is his thirteenth trip to the Keystone State since taking office and his third since announcing his re-election campaign April 4.

FEC approves comedian Stephen Colbert's super PAC

 


The Federal Election Commission today approved comedian Stephen Colbert's bid to set up a Super PAC.

"You may form your super PAC and proceed," the panel told Colbert.

The comedian appeared before the commission this morning and was scheduled to address the panel later today.

Colbert was seeking to start the political action committee that would allow him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, union and wealthy individuals.

While Colbert is using the moment to underscore the large amounts of money swirling around elections, his petition was deadly serious.

Iran has been testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload

 

 Iran has been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday.

He told parliament the tests were in clear contravention of U.N resolution 1929.

Iran, at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear programme, is carrying out a 10-day military exercise in a show of strength it hopes will warn Israel and the United States against any attack.

As part of the exercise, it test-fired surface-to-surface missiles on Tuesday with a maximum range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles).


Guard chief: Iran can build longer-range missiles

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander claimed on Tuesday that his country has the ability to produce missiles with an even greater range than those currently in its arsenal.

But Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guard's Aerospace Force, stressed that Tehran will not manufacture such missiles because Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf are already within reach.

The remarks came as Iran conducted a second day of large-scale military maneuvers, part of 10 days of war games that are the country's latest show of force amid a standoff with the West over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

 

Shareholders want TEPCO (Japans Power) to abandon Nuclear Power

Emotional shareholder demands Katsumata step down immediately as chair of Tepco meeting, but motion is defeated by a majority show of hands.

Some shareholders calling on Tepco to abandon nuclear power. Anti-nuclear protestors gathering at nearby park. Stiff security all around.

 

 -->Tokyo Electric Power Co. faces its shareholders today for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at its Fukushima Dai- Ichi plant, wiping about $36 billion off its market value.

Anti-nuclear shareholders are encouraged to gather in the park surrounding the Prince Park Tower Hotel, where the meeting is being held, according a protester website. About 30 protestors were near the hotel, holding banners saying "nuclear power sayonara.'' Police officers are stationed on all corners of the five-way Akabanebashi intersection near the hotel.

The catastrophe, the worst nuclear accident in 25 years, displaced 50,000 households after radiation leaked into the air, soil and sea. Today, shareholders in Tepco, as the utility is known, vote on whether the company continues with nuclear power and the future of 17 board members.

Six police buses and other official vehicles surround the venue, located in Shiba Park in the shadows of Tokyo Tower, which is still bent at the tip from the March 11 earthquake that led to the troubles now facing Tepco.

Staff from the utility are stationed on the pavements around the hotel, holding sign with directions to the venue. Journalists almost outnumber the police as they sought interviews with arriving shareholders, in one area being herded by the officials to keep the pavements clear.

Men in suits with "Police" armbands wandered through the crowds and TV trucks parked in the streets around the park, holding up early morning traffic.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/27/bloomberg1376-LNFXD107SXKX01-359VBJCKFKI97PM1J4VUGAF5SV.DTL#ixzz1QWztlPr1

Former Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty on 17 counts

 

A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts, finding he brazenly abused the powers of his office in a series of attempted shakedowns captured on undercover government recordings.

Blagojevich showed no reaction as the jury announced their decisions. Once the verdicts were read, he sat back in his chair with his lips pursed,  looked toward his wife Patti and whispered, "I love you."

As the first guilty verdict was read, Patti Blagojevich slumped into the arms of her brother, who stroked her head. She kept shaking her head "no" as the jurors left the courtroom, and once the judge was gone, the former governor grabbed his wife’s right hand and hugged and kissed her.

Blagojevich was convicted on all 11 counts on the sale of theU.S. Senate and all three counts on the shakedowns of Children’s Memorial Hospital and a racetrack executive.

The jury acquitted him on one count and deadlocked on a second count accusing him of shaking down a construction executive. It also deadlocked on the one count alleging Blagojevich shook down then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel.

 This marks the second time in less than a year that the 54-year-old Blagojevich, the onlyIllinois chief executive ever impeached and ousted from office, had been convicted of a crime. The jury at his first trial last summer found him guilty of lying to theFBI, though that panel deadlocked on all the other counts. That impasse set the stage for a retrial.

This time the verdict was unequivocal, with the jury of 11 women and one man finding Blagojevich guilty on 17 criminal counts he faced, including charges of wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery and conspiracy. The marquee charge in the case involved an attempt by Blagojevich in late 2008 to cash in on his power to name a replacement in theU.S. Senate for newly electedPresidentBarackObama.

The jury acquitted Blagojevich on one count and deadlocked on two others.

At the prosecution’s request, the judge imposed a travel restriction on Blagojevich, instructing him to not to leave northernIllinois.

Blagojevich, the fourth former Illinois governor convicted of felonies since 1973, likely faces a significant prison sentence.

Los Angeles Dodgers file for bankruptcy protection after Major League Baseball rejects TV contract deal

Dodgers owe $240,000 in L.A. business taxes dating back to 2007

The Dodgers’ bankruptcy filing lists the city of Los Angeles as one of the team’s creditors. According to the filing, the Dodgers owe Los Angeles $240,563 in business taxes from 2007-09. The team owes legendary radio announcer Vin Scully more than $152,000.

“As a lifelong Dodger fan, I’ve always dreamed of being in the company of Vin Scully, but this isn’t how I wanted it to happen,” City Controller Wendy Greuel said Monday.


She said she hopes the bankruptcy case will result in the city getting paid what it is due.
“Every penny counts,” she said. “Collecting any funds owed to the city is crucial because it translates into police officers, firefighters, after-school programs.”

Greuel, who said she attended her first Dodgers game at the age of 4, said she does not know what the best outcome may be in terms of ownership. But she said swift resolution was important.

“People want us to be able to focus on having a winning team ... and not be embroiled in the debate back and forth,” she said.

 

Tracking Severe Storms Hitting the NorthEast Today

LIVE RADAR: http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/  

WATCHES AND WARNINGS: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/severe-weather-watch-warnings_2010-04-02

TOR:CON Index is at a 2 : CLICK HERE
(the TOR:CON index is an estimate of the likelihood of tornado activity within a given time period.)

 

 

   

As an upper-level low and cold front begin to weaken in the East, a stalled front in the Central U.S. and new upper-level energy coming out of the northern Rockies will join the fray focusing scattered severe thunderstorms the next few days.
Full story: Eastern atmospheric bowling ball 

Tornado touches down near UofL, warning issued until 8:45

A tornado was reported to have touched down near the University of Louisville Belknap Campus, with a tornado warning issued for central Jefferson County until 8:30 p.m.

The tornado was moving northeast at 20 mph.


Debris was reported in the Churchill Downs area as well.



The tornado will also impact St. Matthews and Louisville Bowman field.


A tornado may have touched down in association with this system in Harrison County, according to the National Weather Service.

President Speaks LIVE Now

WATCH IT LIVE HERE: http://interactive.foxnews.com/livestream/live.html?chanId=&openAIR=true 

Obama Prepares to Recall Surge Troops From Afghanistan Amid Calls for Rapid Draw-down

President Obama, in a prime-time address Wednesday, will outline and justify his plan for withdrawing surge troops from Afghanistan by late 2012 -- as he faces pressure from both parties to accelerate the drawdown in the face of military commanders' advice. 

Fox News has learned that Obama will call for 10,000 troops to be withdrawn by the end of this year. Sources outside the White House say the rest of the surge troops -- about 23,000 -- will be removed by the end of summer in 2012. It is expected that all the surge troops will be out of Afghanistan by Sept. 1. 

A senior administration official, without commenting on the number of troops slated for withdrawal, said the president's decision centered on the progress made against Al Qaeda as well as on the objectives he outlined in late 2009 when he announced the 33,000-troop surge.

Ryan Dunn Update

UPDATE
Ryan Dunn was assumed to be traveling 140 mph in a 55 mph zone...
His blood-alcohol level was 0.196... The legal limit for drivers is .08

  http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/entertainment&id=8205699

 

 

Deadly Storm Rolls Through Tri-State

 

 

One person was killed in New Jersey when a fallen tree struck a car as a powerful storm moved through the tri-state area Thursday evening.

The fatality came as the tri-state area was bracing for an onslaught of strong to severe thunderstorms, which could potentially last into the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

Tornado Warning for parts of western Jefferson Co., S. Indiana

Tornado Warning:
http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=INZ090&warncounty=INC061&firewxzone=INZ090&local_place1=3+Miles+W+Pleasure+Ridge+Park+KY&product1=Tornado+Warning

Japan - 6.8 Quake / Tsunami Warning

Japan issue tsunami warning after reports of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake 85 miles south east of Hachinohe

Tornado warning issued for Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties in N.J.

Published: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 5:30 PM     Updated: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 6:18 PM

 

   

Nasty weather continues to pound parts of New Jersey at this hour, with severe thunderstorms, strong winds and reports of possible funnel clouds hitting the region.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Morris and Somerset counties, effective through 7 p.m.

Earlier this evening, the weather service issued tornado warnings for parts of Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Monmouth and Ocean counties. Those warnings have since been lifted.
The National Weather Service issued as severe thunderstorm warning for Monmouth, Ocean and northern Burlington County, and local officials reported possible tornado sightings in Jackson Township and Manchester.

Some storms rumbling through the state could produce hail, along with damaging winds of 60 mph or stronger, the weather service said in a bulletin issued this afternoon. The storms could also pack dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning.

The weather service is advising people in these counties to move indoors as a precaution.
In addition to the thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings, the weather service has issued flash-flood watches for several New Jersey counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic.
The flood watch is effective through 1 a.m. Friday, with more bad weather expected to hit the Garden State during the next two days.

Heavy Floods Sirens Sound Off... Live Video

Evacuation sirens in Minot, N.D., sound as Souris River begins to overtop levees

WATCH LIVE FOOTAGE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/43496174#43496174

Mayor Zimbelman: 500 Nat. Guard troops...door-to-door evacuations..."We will try to protect all infrastructure, schools, hospitals."

 

 

Tornado Sirens Blair in Chicago

  

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Tornado Warning at Chicago Ohare

   

Tornado warning extends farther nE into parts of cook and lake county il. If in red take cover http://fb.me/xN4bvKTv

 .......................................................................................................

Here comes a storm, #Chicago. Winds at the #Cubs game are so bad they can't get the tarp on the field http://twitpic.com/5ez9uz

 

Christie orders flags in N.J. be flown at half-staff following death of Springsteen saxophonist Clarence Clemons

Gov. Chris Christie ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on Thursday in honor of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons "in special recognition of his contributions to the state, people, and culture of New Jersey."


"Clarence Clemons represented the soul and spirit of New Jersey," Christie said in a statement. "His partnership with Bruce Springsteen and the rest of the E Street Band brought great pride to our state and joy to every fan of this music around the world. On a personal note, when I heard about the Big Man's passing on Saturday night, I was struck with an overwhelming feeling that the days of my youth were now finally over. My condolences to Clarence's family and all the members of the E Street Band.”

Clemons died on Saturday at age 69 due to complications from the stroke he suffered June 12.

Christie is an avid Springsteen fan and has attended 125 concerts.

Facebook Removes Ebert's Page Over 'Jackass' Comment

 

 

Roger Ebert's Facebook page was taken down after he tweeted, "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive," following the news of "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn killed in a car crash, reports said Tuesday.

Facebook said that Ebert violated its policies, and its take-down notice said, “Among other things, Pages that are hateful, threatening or obscene are not allowed." There were several profanity-laden comments left for Ebert criticizing his posting, according to the Washington Post.

But in an about-face, Facebook reinstated the page after another Ebert tweet, "“Facebook! My page is harmless and an asset to you. Why did you remove it in response to anonymous jerks? Makes you look bad.”

What Ebert wrote wasn't particularly insightful but was in bad taste. Apparently Facebook's terms of use are only valid if you're not famous.

Hong Kong declares scarlet fever outbreak

HONG KONG: Hong Kong has declared an outbreak of scarlet fever after it claimed the life of at least one child while infecting thousands of others in the city and elsewhere in China.

A seven-year-old Hong Kong girl died from the illness late last month while a five-year-old boy in the city died Tuesday morning from what health authorities said was a "very likely" a case of scarlet fever.

Hong Kong authorities have recorded 40 new cases in the past few days, pushing the total number to 459 so far this year, the highest annual total in the city and more than three times the figure for the whole of 2010.

The boy -- who also had chicken pox -- developed a fever last Wednesday and was admitted to hospital on Sunday with symptoms of the illness.

His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died Tuesday morning, Thomas Tsang, controller of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection, said.

Classes have been suspended at the boy's kindergarten for a week, a first for Hong Kong following a scarlet fever death.

"The situation is rather serious at the moment," Tsang said Tuesday.

"We are facing an epidemic because the bacteria that is causing scarlet fever is widely circulating in this region -- not only in Hong Kong but in mainland China and Macau."

Hong Kong radio station RTHK reported that 49 people had contracted the illness in Macau, a former Portuguese colony about an hour by ferry from Hong Kong, with nine taken to hospital but no fatalities.

Tsang said Tuesday that more than 9,000 people had been infected so far this year in mainland China, doubling the average figure in recent years. He did not say if there were any fatal cases.

Roger Ebert derided after tweet on Ryan Dunn's death

  

Hours after "jackass" star Ryan Dunn's death, film critic Roger Ebert tweeted on Monday: "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive." Since posting that tweet, Ebert has been eviscerated by friends of Dunn and his fans; one of Ebert's Facebook pages even disappeared for a bit.

Dunn's "Jackass" co-star Bam Margera wrote: "I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of s--- Roger Ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents." Perez Hilton later blogged that Ebert's comments were "insensitive." Late Monday, Ebert defended his earlier tweet, writing, "Perez Hilton's readers agree with me and not with Perez about my tweet on Ryan Dunn. He drank, he drove, 2 people died."

Ebert might be finding support via Perez Hilton readers, but on a Facebook page for Ebert that is still live, the comments and wall posts are nothing short of hateful. One of the only safe-for-work comments on his wall reads in part,"Mr. Ebert, your comments yesterday showed a true lack of tact and your inability to relate with the human race. I cannot believe you would, within 24 hours of the incident and before an autopsy, make such a deep and hurtful remark."

While the exact cause of the accident is yet to be determined, one thing is certain: Ebert has tripped into a hornets nest of loyal fans and angered a large, loyal population. Just look at the numbers: When "Jackass: The Movie" opened in 2002, it was made on a production budget of $5 million, and the film grossed more than $79 million worldwide. Eight years later, "Jackass 3-D" opened to a $50 million weekend and made more than $170 million worldwide during its run in theaters.

Obama to make prime-time address Wednesday on Afghan troop withdrawal

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: "At 8pm EDT on Wednesday, June 22nd, the President will address the nation from the White House to lay out his plan for implementing his strategy -- first unveiled in December 2009 -- to draw down American troops from Afghanistan."

President Obama plans to announce a substantial drawdown of troops from Afghanistan in a high profile speech in prime-time television Wednesday night, making good on his 2009 pledge to start bringing soldiers home by July 2011.

Mr. Obama coupled his decision to send a "surge" of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in 2009 with a promise to bring some of them home this summer.

The president will address the nation at 8:00 p.m. ET "to lay out his plan for implementing his strategy -- first unveiled in December 2009 -- to draw down American troops from Afghanistan," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement Tuesday. The remarks will be Mr. Obama's sixth address to the nation since taking office in January 2009, according to records kept by Mark Knoller of CBS News.

Published reports are all over the map as to how fast the drawdown will be or how many troops will be involved.

The Los Angeles Times reports Mr. Obama plans to say 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by year's end. The Associated Press reports Mr. Obama plans to reduce the number of troops by up to 5,000 next month, as well as a broader plan for recalling the additional 25,000 troops. That would still leave 70,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Administration officials told the New York Times that Mr. Obama would most likely pull out all 30,000 "surge" troops by the end of 2012.

Mr. Obama is scheduled on Thursday to visit the Fort Drum Army base in upstate New York, home of the 10th Mountain Division, which has been heavily involved in Afghanistan since shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday reiterated an earlier comment that any decision has to be politically credible and Mr. Obama has to factor in public and congressional opinion in any decision.

"It goes without saying that there are a lot of reservations in the Congress about the war in Afghanistan and our level of commitment, there are concerns among the American people who are tired of a decade of war," Gates told reporters at the State Department after a joint meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their counterparts from Japan. Clinton declined comment.
A final decision could come late Tuesday, when Mr. Obama has meetings in the Oval Office with top national security officials, including Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Green Mile and Lost actor, 51, marries a 16 year old Country singer in Vegas

 

Doug Hutchison, a character actor best known for roles in "The Green Mile," "Lost" and "The X-Files," married aspiring country singer Courtney Alexis Stodden on May 20 in Las Vegas.

He is 51. She is 16.

Mexico finds $2.4 million hidden in phone cable

Mexican customs inspectors say they've found more than $2.4 million in cash rolled up and stuffed into spools of telephone cable headed for Venezuela.

The customs service says the cash was taped up into 6,000 small rolls. The rolls were inserted into about 500 meters (yards) of thick phone cable, and the cable was coiled onto four spools.
The customs service added that a trained dog alerted his handler to the suspicious contents of the spools at the Mexico City airport.

A man listed as the owner of the shipment was detained.

Authorities say Venezuela is increasingly becoming a transshipment point for cocaine, and Mexican cartels often ship money back to South America to pay for the drugs.

Chilean ash cloud completes round-the-world tour

The ash cloud from a Chilean volcano that disrupted flights and stranded travellers as far away as Australia returned after its own round-the-world tour on Friday, civil aviation officials said.

"The tip of the cloud that has travelled around the world has more or less reached the town of Coyhaique," around 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) south of Santiago, said Pablo Ortega, head of Chile's civil aviation authority.
 

Chile's LAN airline said it had cancelled some flights to the deep south of the country because of the cloud, and flights to and from Australia, New Zealand and parts of neighbouring Argentina remained suspended.

The cloud from the Puyehue volcano, high in Chile's Andes, disrupted travel across South America, Australia and New Zealand for several days following its eruption on June 4, stranding thousands of travellers.

The thick ash billowing out of the remote volcano poses a danger to aircraft and the disruptions recall the widespread chaos caused in 2010 when an Icelandic volcano's eruption paralysed air traffic over Europe.

Chilean geologists have predicted the volcano will become less active in the next two weeks, and said the column of smoke had died down to three kilometres (1.8 miles) from a maximum height of 12 kilometres (7.5 miles).

 

 

Weiner Resigns From Congress Over Sexting Scandal

 

Scandal-scarred Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned his seat from the U.S. House on Thursday, but his departing speech left the door open for a comeback.

The speech centered on his years of service rather than his sexually-charged online affairs, as the outgoing congressman struck a down-but-not-out tone.

"I have never forgotten my neighbors because they represent the same middle class story as mine," Weiner said in opening remarks that sounded more like a candidate on the campaign trail than a defeated ex-lawmaker. 

"I went to public schools my whole life. My mother was a school teacher for 32 years. My father went to law school on a GI bill. The middle class story of New York is my story and I'm very proud of that."

Weiner's announcement at a Brooklyn senior center was met by cheers as well as heckling by some in the packed room. The seven-term Democrat said he was taking time out to redirect his energy offline.

"Today I am announcing my resignation from Congress, so my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative and most importantly that my wife and I can continue to deal with the damage I have caused," said Weiner, who announced over the weekend that he was going to take two weeks of leave from Congress so he could get "treatment" for an unnamed ailment evidently associated with his repetitive sexting practices.

Al Qaeda-Linked Site Posts 'Hit List' of U.S. Targets, Prompting Feds to Send Alert

   

The Department of Homeland Security has sent out an internal alert warning that jihadist websites last week posted a "hit list" of American executives, officials and companies -- an alarming development that could mark the start of a new phase in terror plots. 

The list, which covers dozens of names connected to the Iraq war, including executives at Halliburton and KBR, was compiled by users who vowed to "send explosive mail" to the "best target." The lists were published online around the same time American-born Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn released a video in which he called on Muslims in the U.S. to kill Americans.