By Susan Snyder
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Four students at the University of Delaware have been identified with "probable" cases of swine flu, the University of Delaware announced in a special health alert to staff and in a notice on its web site tonight.
The students, who were experiencing mild flu like symptoms, were treated at the university's health services center on Monday, and the Division of Public Health received preliminary test results confirming the probable cases on Tuesday, the university said.
None of the four students have traveled to Mexico recently, said Jay Lynch, health and social services department spokesman. One had been to New Jersey, one to Florida and one to Chicago over spring break, however. Officials are unsure how the students may have come in contact with the illness, he said.
Lynch noted that a new definition of "probable" swine flu cases was issued at 3 p.m. yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and that under that definition, the University of Delaware cases qualified. The day before they would not have.
"This is really evolving," he said.
He said it made sense for the university, a sprawling campus of 20,000 students and many buildings, to remain open, as opposed to the school in New York, which shut down after many cases were reported.
"The University of Delaware is not just one building," he said.
What's important is that students with symptoms stay away from others as they would if they had other illnesses.
He's not sure when the CDC will have the results of the tests which are needed to confirm whether the students have swine flu.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell will hold a news conference at 11 this morning in his office in Wilmington to provide details on the cases.
The university and the public health division plan to conduct clinics on campus this morning to assess and treat other students with symptoms. The location of the clinic was to be announced this morning.
But classes will continue as usual, officials said, although some large campus activities may be rescheduled.
About 9 p.m. tonight, shortly after the university began sending out emergency messages by text and email to staff and students, more students showed up at the health center for medical help, said Andrea Boyle, a university spokeswoman.
The campus community is in a state of "concern" about the probable swine flu cases, she said.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Toddler in Texas becomes 1st swine flu death in US
HOUSTON (AP) — A 23-month-old toddler in Texas became the first confirmed swine flu death outside of Mexico as authorities around the world struggled to contain a growing global health menace that has also swept Germany onto the roster of afflicted nations. Officials say the death was in Houston.
Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Houston Health and Human Services Department, said Wednesday that the child had traveled with family from Mexico to Brownsville in South Texas. The child became ill in Brownsville and was taken to a Houston hospital and died Monday night, she said.
"Even though we've been expecting this, it is very, very sad," Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday of the infant's death. "As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family."
President Barack Obama said this morning that Americans should know the government is doing all it can to control virus. Obama also says schools should consider closing if the spread of the swine flu virus worsens.
Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Britain and Germany also have reported cases of swine flu sickness. Deaths reported so far have been limited to Mexico, and now the U.S.
As the United States grappled with this widening health crisis, Besser went from network to network Wednesday morning to give an update on what the Obama administration is doing. He said authorities essentially are still "trying to learn more about this strain of the flu." His appearances as Germany reported its first cases of swine flu infection, with three victims.
"It's very important that people take their concern and channel it into action," Besser said, adding that "it is crucial that people understand what they need to do if symptoms appear.
"I don't think it (the reported death in Texas) indicates any change in the strain," he said. "We see with any flu virus a spectrum of disease symptoms."
Asked why the problem seems so much more severe in Mexico, Besser said U.S. officials "have teams on the ground, a tri-national team in Mexico, working with Canada and Mexico, to try and understand those differences, because they can be helpful as we plan and implement our control strategies."
Sixty-six infections had been reported in the United States before the report of the toddler's death in Texas.
The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies — and that decision hasn't been made yet — it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.
"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.
The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.
"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.
Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."
Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States rose to 66 in six states, with 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one each in Indiana and Ohio, but cities and states suspected more. In New York, the city's health commissioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases.
The WHO argues against closing borders to stem the spread, and the U.S. — although checking arriving travelers for the ill who may need care — agrees it's too late for that tactic.
"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas. We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That's not the case here," Besser told a telephone briefing of Nevada-based health providers and reporters. "The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible."
"Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva, recalling the SARS epidemic earlier in the decade that killed 774 people, mostly in Asia, and slowed the global economy.
Authorities sought to keep the crisis in context: Flu deaths are common around the world. In the U.S. alone, the CDC says about 36,000 people a year die of flu-related causes. Still, the CDC calls the new strain a combination of pig, bird and human viruses for which people may have limited natural immunity.
Hence the need for a vaccine. Using samples of the flu taken from people who fell ill in Mexico and the U.S., scientists are engineering a strain that could trigger the immune system without causing illness. The hope is to get that ingredient — called a "reference strain" in vaccine jargon — to manufacturers around the second week of May, so they can begin their own laborious production work, said CDC's Dr. Ruben Donis, who is leading that effort.
Vaccine manufacturers are just beginning production for next winter's regular influenza vaccine, which protects against three human flu strains. The WHO wants them to stay with that course for now — it won't call for mass production of a swine flu vaccine unless the outbreak worsens globally. But sometimes new flu strains pop up briefly at the end of one flu season and go away only to re-emerge the next fall, and at the very least there should be a vaccine in time for next winter's flu season, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health's infectious diseases chief, said Tuesday.
"Right now it's moving very rapidly," he said of the vaccine development.
Besser appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN and CBS's "The Early Show."
Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Houston Health and Human Services Department, said Wednesday that the child had traveled with family from Mexico to Brownsville in South Texas. The child became ill in Brownsville and was taken to a Houston hospital and died Monday night, she said.
"Even though we've been expecting this, it is very, very sad," Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday of the infant's death. "As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family."
President Barack Obama said this morning that Americans should know the government is doing all it can to control virus. Obama also says schools should consider closing if the spread of the swine flu virus worsens.
Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Britain and Germany also have reported cases of swine flu sickness. Deaths reported so far have been limited to Mexico, and now the U.S.
As the United States grappled with this widening health crisis, Besser went from network to network Wednesday morning to give an update on what the Obama administration is doing. He said authorities essentially are still "trying to learn more about this strain of the flu." His appearances as Germany reported its first cases of swine flu infection, with three victims.
"It's very important that people take their concern and channel it into action," Besser said, adding that "it is crucial that people understand what they need to do if symptoms appear.
"I don't think it (the reported death in Texas) indicates any change in the strain," he said. "We see with any flu virus a spectrum of disease symptoms."
Asked why the problem seems so much more severe in Mexico, Besser said U.S. officials "have teams on the ground, a tri-national team in Mexico, working with Canada and Mexico, to try and understand those differences, because they can be helpful as we plan and implement our control strategies."
Sixty-six infections had been reported in the United States before the report of the toddler's death in Texas.
The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies — and that decision hasn't been made yet — it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.
"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.
The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.
"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.
Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."
Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States rose to 66 in six states, with 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one each in Indiana and Ohio, but cities and states suspected more. In New York, the city's health commissioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases.
The WHO argues against closing borders to stem the spread, and the U.S. — although checking arriving travelers for the ill who may need care — agrees it's too late for that tactic.
"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas. We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That's not the case here," Besser told a telephone briefing of Nevada-based health providers and reporters. "The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible."
"Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva, recalling the SARS epidemic earlier in the decade that killed 774 people, mostly in Asia, and slowed the global economy.
Authorities sought to keep the crisis in context: Flu deaths are common around the world. In the U.S. alone, the CDC says about 36,000 people a year die of flu-related causes. Still, the CDC calls the new strain a combination of pig, bird and human viruses for which people may have limited natural immunity.
Hence the need for a vaccine. Using samples of the flu taken from people who fell ill in Mexico and the U.S., scientists are engineering a strain that could trigger the immune system without causing illness. The hope is to get that ingredient — called a "reference strain" in vaccine jargon — to manufacturers around the second week of May, so they can begin their own laborious production work, said CDC's Dr. Ruben Donis, who is leading that effort.
Vaccine manufacturers are just beginning production for next winter's regular influenza vaccine, which protects against three human flu strains. The WHO wants them to stay with that course for now — it won't call for mass production of a swine flu vaccine unless the outbreak worsens globally. But sometimes new flu strains pop up briefly at the end of one flu season and go away only to re-emerge the next fall, and at the very least there should be a vaccine in time for next winter's flu season, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health's infectious diseases chief, said Tuesday.
"Right now it's moving very rapidly," he said of the vaccine development.
Besser appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN and CBS's "The Early Show."
Monday, April 13, 2009
Portuguese water dog Obama girls name their new puppy 'Bo'
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Bo? No jest. The first family has settled on a first pet — a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls are naming Bo.
The selection was one of the White House's most tightly kept secrets.
President Barack Obama's daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, picked a black and white pup, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press Saturday night.
The dog is a gift from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who owns several Portuguese water dogs himself.
"We couldnt be happier to see the joy that Bo is bringing to Malia and Sasha," Kennedy said in a statement. "We love our Portuguese water dogs and know that the girls — and their parents — will love theirs, too."
The Washington Post reported in its online editions Saturday night that Obama's daughters chose the name Bo for the pup because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley. The name for the dog was an apparent reference to the singer "Bo" Diddley.
White House aides told the AP that the office of the first lady arranged an exclusive deal on the dog story with the Post. The officials, who demanded anonymity because of the deal with the Post on exclusive details, said the dog was not in the White House as of Saturday evening.
Throughout the day Saturday, celebrity Web sites and bloggers were abuzz with rumors of the first family's selection of a Portuguese water dog; one site even claimed it had pictures of the future first pet.
The president had embraced the frenzy: "Oh, man, now, that's top secret," Obama joked Friday to reporters.
Obama promised his daughters a puppy during the campaign.
"This is Washington. That was a campaign promise," Obama said when he appeared on Jay Leno's talk show last month, as the audience roared with laughter. "No, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."
The president and first lady had said their choice was down to either a Portuguese water dog or a Labradoodle because they were considered good pets for children who have allergies, as Malia does.
WASHINGTON – Bo? No jest. The first family has settled on a first pet — a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls are naming Bo.
The selection was one of the White House's most tightly kept secrets.
President Barack Obama's daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, picked a black and white pup, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press Saturday night.
The dog is a gift from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who owns several Portuguese water dogs himself.
"We couldnt be happier to see the joy that Bo is bringing to Malia and Sasha," Kennedy said in a statement. "We love our Portuguese water dogs and know that the girls — and their parents — will love theirs, too."
The Washington Post reported in its online editions Saturday night that Obama's daughters chose the name Bo for the pup because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley. The name for the dog was an apparent reference to the singer "Bo" Diddley.
White House aides told the AP that the office of the first lady arranged an exclusive deal on the dog story with the Post. The officials, who demanded anonymity because of the deal with the Post on exclusive details, said the dog was not in the White House as of Saturday evening.
Throughout the day Saturday, celebrity Web sites and bloggers were abuzz with rumors of the first family's selection of a Portuguese water dog; one site even claimed it had pictures of the future first pet.
The president had embraced the frenzy: "Oh, man, now, that's top secret," Obama joked Friday to reporters.
Obama promised his daughters a puppy during the campaign.
"This is Washington. That was a campaign promise," Obama said when he appeared on Jay Leno's talk show last month, as the audience roared with laughter. "No, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."
The president and first lady had said their choice was down to either a Portuguese water dog or a Labradoodle because they were considered good pets for children who have allergies, as Malia does.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Is America on The Road to Fascism?
By John Wallace
Mr. G. Richard Wagoner, the chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors, was recently forced to resign his position because of pressure from the Obama administration. He was told that if he didn't leave, the Obama administration would not give General Motors any more federal bailout money. President Obama also told General Motors and the Chrysler Corporation that if they wanted more federal bailout money, they would have to shrink and refocus their businesses according to his (the federal government's) wishes.
In our country's history, there have been some limited instances of the federal government exercising some sort of control over private industry, but that was during wartime. The current assault on American capitalism by the Obama administration is unprecedented in both its scope and speed and should raise the red flag of alarm for all freedom-loving Americans.
World history has shown us that the implementation of strict government controls over private industries has been one of the first steps in the introduction of various forms of Fascism to formerly free countries. The practice of a government taking control of private industries was refined by Benito Mussolini in Italy in the 1920's and it is called 'corporatism.'
According to Wikipedia, political scientists use the term 'corporatism' to describe "a practice whereby a state, through the process of licensing and regulating officially-incorporated social, religious, economic, or popular organizations, effectively co-opts their leadership or circumscribes their ability to challenge state authority by establishing the state as the source of their legitimacy, as well as sometimes running them, either directly or indirectly." Mussolini described it more simply when he said, "Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."
Some corporatist-style regimes of the 20th century included those of Benito Mussolini of Italy (1922-1945), Adolph Hitler of Germany (1933 to 1945); Francisco Franco of Spain (1936 to 1973); Juan Peron of Argentina (1943 to 1955) and even our own President Franklin Roosevelt (1933 to 1945) during the 'New Deal.' The Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and Peron regimes were brutal, totalitarian, Fascist dictatorships, but not all the regimes that had a corporatist foundation were fascist. The Roosevelt administration, despite its many faults, could not be described as fascist, but the 'New Deal' program was definitely corporatist.
Corporatism boils down to this: The government tells industry (and eventually labor unions) what to do and that they must do it for the supposed good of the country, or else their individual leaders will pay a price. Does this sound similar to what is happening to the auto industry today?
Where in the U.S. Constitution does it authorize the President of the United States to fire the head of a major private corporation just because he disagrees with his management policies? Where in the U.S. Constitution does it authorize the President of the United States to decide what kind of cars a private company will build? or what kind of car I will drive? President Barack 'Mussolini' Obama is taking this country down a very dangerous road and a road that America has never taken before.
Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Are the 'corporatist' policies of President Obama and his administration just the first steps of many in a move towards a government takeover of our major industries? Are these policies much different than those that Mussolini and Hitler initiated in the early stages of their rise to power?
With the Politburo in our expanding federal government now having the power to hire and fire the leaders of major private corporations and to tell the auto makers what cars they can produce, will they soon be telling Americans what kind of cars they can drive; how much money they can earn; where they can go to school, what sodas they can drink, what foods they can't eat, where they can travel, what national ID card they must carry at all times and it will impose any number of other restrictions on them. Look at California, where the state legislature is currently considering banning black cars by 2012, for some bogus global warming reason.
Thomas Jefferson said: "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Americans must remember that we cannot fully enjoy our freedoms and liberties in America unless we keep our government limited. As our government grows and becomes more intrusive, as it is today, it is our freedoms and liberties that are becoming limited.
Welcome to the United Socialist States of America!
If we continue on President Obama's road to socialism, the American people will no longer be free. The question is: "Will we learn to accept our captivity at the hands of our new masters or will we be willing to do something about it?"
John Wallace
"For Freedom, Liberty and Sovereignty"
New York Campaign for Liberty
Chatham, New York
www.NYCampaignForLiberty.com
Mr. G. Richard Wagoner, the chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors, was recently forced to resign his position because of pressure from the Obama administration. He was told that if he didn't leave, the Obama administration would not give General Motors any more federal bailout money. President Obama also told General Motors and the Chrysler Corporation that if they wanted more federal bailout money, they would have to shrink and refocus their businesses according to his (the federal government's) wishes.
In our country's history, there have been some limited instances of the federal government exercising some sort of control over private industry, but that was during wartime. The current assault on American capitalism by the Obama administration is unprecedented in both its scope and speed and should raise the red flag of alarm for all freedom-loving Americans.
World history has shown us that the implementation of strict government controls over private industries has been one of the first steps in the introduction of various forms of Fascism to formerly free countries. The practice of a government taking control of private industries was refined by Benito Mussolini in Italy in the 1920's and it is called 'corporatism.'
According to Wikipedia, political scientists use the term 'corporatism' to describe "a practice whereby a state, through the process of licensing and regulating officially-incorporated social, religious, economic, or popular organizations, effectively co-opts their leadership or circumscribes their ability to challenge state authority by establishing the state as the source of their legitimacy, as well as sometimes running them, either directly or indirectly." Mussolini described it more simply when he said, "Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."
Some corporatist-style regimes of the 20th century included those of Benito Mussolini of Italy (1922-1945), Adolph Hitler of Germany (1933 to 1945); Francisco Franco of Spain (1936 to 1973); Juan Peron of Argentina (1943 to 1955) and even our own President Franklin Roosevelt (1933 to 1945) during the 'New Deal.' The Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and Peron regimes were brutal, totalitarian, Fascist dictatorships, but not all the regimes that had a corporatist foundation were fascist. The Roosevelt administration, despite its many faults, could not be described as fascist, but the 'New Deal' program was definitely corporatist.
Corporatism boils down to this: The government tells industry (and eventually labor unions) what to do and that they must do it for the supposed good of the country, or else their individual leaders will pay a price. Does this sound similar to what is happening to the auto industry today?
Where in the U.S. Constitution does it authorize the President of the United States to fire the head of a major private corporation just because he disagrees with his management policies? Where in the U.S. Constitution does it authorize the President of the United States to decide what kind of cars a private company will build? or what kind of car I will drive? President Barack 'Mussolini' Obama is taking this country down a very dangerous road and a road that America has never taken before.
Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Are the 'corporatist' policies of President Obama and his administration just the first steps of many in a move towards a government takeover of our major industries? Are these policies much different than those that Mussolini and Hitler initiated in the early stages of their rise to power?
With the Politburo in our expanding federal government now having the power to hire and fire the leaders of major private corporations and to tell the auto makers what cars they can produce, will they soon be telling Americans what kind of cars they can drive; how much money they can earn; where they can go to school, what sodas they can drink, what foods they can't eat, where they can travel, what national ID card they must carry at all times and it will impose any number of other restrictions on them. Look at California, where the state legislature is currently considering banning black cars by 2012, for some bogus global warming reason.
Thomas Jefferson said: "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Americans must remember that we cannot fully enjoy our freedoms and liberties in America unless we keep our government limited. As our government grows and becomes more intrusive, as it is today, it is our freedoms and liberties that are becoming limited.
Welcome to the United Socialist States of America!
If we continue on President Obama's road to socialism, the American people will no longer be free. The question is: "Will we learn to accept our captivity at the hands of our new masters or will we be willing to do something about it?"
John Wallace
"For Freedom, Liberty and Sovereignty"
New York Campaign for Liberty
Chatham, New York
www.NYCampaignForLiberty.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Michelle Obama's Still Recessionista Chic in J.Crew
by CRISTINA GIBSON
Michelle Obama may be the first lady now, but she's still got love for affordable fashion from J.Crew.
While across the pond in London for Thursday's G-20 summit, she wore J.Crew head to toe on Wednesday, including a pencil skirt, tank and cardigan ensemble from the store.
Total cost for her outfit? Under 500 bucks...$474 to be exact.
Granted, it's still fairly expensive for the average soccer mom, but for a first lady and celebrity with loads of pricey couture to choose from, it's dirt cheap.
Michelle Obama may be the first lady now, but she's still got love for affordable fashion from J.Crew.
While across the pond in London for Thursday's G-20 summit, she wore J.Crew head to toe on Wednesday, including a pencil skirt, tank and cardigan ensemble from the store.
Total cost for her outfit? Under 500 bucks...$474 to be exact.
Granted, it's still fairly expensive for the average soccer mom, but for a first lady and celebrity with loads of pricey couture to choose from, it's dirt cheap.
U.S. Seeks to Drop Case Against Former Sen. Stevens
By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Justice Department filed court papers this morning asking a federal judge to toss out the conviction of former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on corruption charges.
The move comes as a federal judge was preparing to conduct hearings to probe allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the team that tried one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress. Stevens, 85, was convicted in October on seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms to hide about $250,000 in gifts and free renovations to his Alaska home. Stevens's attorneys have urged U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop the case and prevent prosecutors from seeking to retry the former senator, who lost a reelection bid about a week after his guilty verdict.
They have argued that prosecutors with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section withheld key pieces of evidence and mishandled witnesses.
During the trial, Sullivan chastised prosecutors several times for such errors. More recently, the Justice Department was forced to disclose a memo written by an FBI agent who complained of the same things. Sullivan recently held several prosecutors in contempt for failing to comply with a court order. Six members of that prosecution team then withdrew from the case in matters dealing with allegations of misconduct.
In a statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said he and other Justice lawyers had reviewed the case and "concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial."
"In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," Holder said.
"The Department's Office of Professional Responsibility will conduct a thorough review of the prosecution of this matter," he added. "This does not mean or imply that any determination has been made about the conduct of those attorneys who handled the investigation and trial of this case."
Brendan Sullivan, Stevens's lead attorney, has a meeting scheduled at the Justice Department for 10 a.m. He could not be reached for comment, but Stevens's attorneys issued a statement this morning that said they were "grateful" to learn about the department's decision. "That decision is justified by the extraordinary evidence of government corruption in the prosecution of Senator Stevens," they said in the three-page statement. They said the alleged misconduct "was stunning."
Stevens also could not be reached. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who beat Stevens in November, issued a statement saying that "the decision by President Obama's Justice Department to end the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens is reasonable. I always said I didn't think Senator Stevens should serve time in jail and hopefully this decision ensures that is the case."
In a three-page memo filed this morning in U.S. District Court, Justice Department lawyer Paul M. O'Brien, who was brought on to review the case, said he discovered evidence that prosecutors did not turn over notes from an interview in April 2008 with the case's key witness, Bill Allen.
Allen is the former head of Veco, a now defunct oil services company, and a close friend of Stevens who allegedly gave the former senator many of the gifts and funded most of the home renovations.
At that interview, Allen said he did not recall talking to a friend of Stevens's about giving a bill to the former senator for work done on the house, O'Brien wrote.
Two prosecutors took notes on that interview with Allen but did not turn them over to the defense, according to O'Brien.
At trial, Allen testified that he was told by a close friend of Stevens to ignore a note the former senator sent the Veco executive seeking a bill for the home remodeling work. "Bill, don't worry about getting a bill" for Stevens, Allen said the friend told him. "Ted is just covering his [expletive]."
The prosecutors' notes also indicated that Allen estimated the work done on Stevens's house to be about $80,000. Veco billing records, assailed as inaccurate by defense lawyers, estimated the work to have cost $188,000.
"The information could have been used by the defendant to cross-examine Bill Allen and in arguments to the jury," O'Brien wrote.
O'Brien added that granting a new trial "is in the interest of justice." But, "based on the totality of circumstances," the Justice Department would not seek a new trial and would instead ask the judge to "set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment with prejudice."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters this morning that the Justice Department's actions cost Republicans a Senate seat.
"No question, had this decision been made last year, he'd still be in the Senate," McConnell said.
McConnell said, on a personal note, that the Stevens family no longer has a cloud of potential jail time hanging over the 85-year-old's head. "He and his family must be relieved," McConnell said.
Staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Justice Department filed court papers this morning asking a federal judge to toss out the conviction of former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on corruption charges.
The move comes as a federal judge was preparing to conduct hearings to probe allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the team that tried one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress. Stevens, 85, was convicted in October on seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms to hide about $250,000 in gifts and free renovations to his Alaska home. Stevens's attorneys have urged U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop the case and prevent prosecutors from seeking to retry the former senator, who lost a reelection bid about a week after his guilty verdict.
They have argued that prosecutors with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section withheld key pieces of evidence and mishandled witnesses.
During the trial, Sullivan chastised prosecutors several times for such errors. More recently, the Justice Department was forced to disclose a memo written by an FBI agent who complained of the same things. Sullivan recently held several prosecutors in contempt for failing to comply with a court order. Six members of that prosecution team then withdrew from the case in matters dealing with allegations of misconduct.
In a statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said he and other Justice lawyers had reviewed the case and "concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial."
"In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," Holder said.
"The Department's Office of Professional Responsibility will conduct a thorough review of the prosecution of this matter," he added. "This does not mean or imply that any determination has been made about the conduct of those attorneys who handled the investigation and trial of this case."
Brendan Sullivan, Stevens's lead attorney, has a meeting scheduled at the Justice Department for 10 a.m. He could not be reached for comment, but Stevens's attorneys issued a statement this morning that said they were "grateful" to learn about the department's decision. "That decision is justified by the extraordinary evidence of government corruption in the prosecution of Senator Stevens," they said in the three-page statement. They said the alleged misconduct "was stunning."
Stevens also could not be reached. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who beat Stevens in November, issued a statement saying that "the decision by President Obama's Justice Department to end the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens is reasonable. I always said I didn't think Senator Stevens should serve time in jail and hopefully this decision ensures that is the case."
In a three-page memo filed this morning in U.S. District Court, Justice Department lawyer Paul M. O'Brien, who was brought on to review the case, said he discovered evidence that prosecutors did not turn over notes from an interview in April 2008 with the case's key witness, Bill Allen.
Allen is the former head of Veco, a now defunct oil services company, and a close friend of Stevens who allegedly gave the former senator many of the gifts and funded most of the home renovations.
At that interview, Allen said he did not recall talking to a friend of Stevens's about giving a bill to the former senator for work done on the house, O'Brien wrote.
Two prosecutors took notes on that interview with Allen but did not turn them over to the defense, according to O'Brien.
At trial, Allen testified that he was told by a close friend of Stevens to ignore a note the former senator sent the Veco executive seeking a bill for the home remodeling work. "Bill, don't worry about getting a bill" for Stevens, Allen said the friend told him. "Ted is just covering his [expletive]."
The prosecutors' notes also indicated that Allen estimated the work done on Stevens's house to be about $80,000. Veco billing records, assailed as inaccurate by defense lawyers, estimated the work to have cost $188,000.
"The information could have been used by the defendant to cross-examine Bill Allen and in arguments to the jury," O'Brien wrote.
O'Brien added that granting a new trial "is in the interest of justice." But, "based on the totality of circumstances," the Justice Department would not seek a new trial and would instead ask the judge to "set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment with prejudice."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters this morning that the Justice Department's actions cost Republicans a Senate seat.
"No question, had this decision been made last year, he'd still be in the Senate," McConnell said.
McConnell said, on a personal note, that the Stevens family no longer has a cloud of potential jail time hanging over the 85-year-old's head. "He and his family must be relieved," McConnell said.
Staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.
G-20 protesters break into Royal Bank of Scotland
I think it will be a year or two maybe even less before America will follow England as rejecting these banksters. Hopefully we will get the peoples out there and it will say "stop handing out our money to your friends" The banks who knew they were screwing people over in the long run with bad debts.
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
LONDON – G-20 protesters in downtown London have smashed windows and entered the Royal Bank of Scotland building. They have also tried to storm the Bank of England.
At least 4,000 protesters have jammed into London's financial district for demonstrations Wednesday. Protesters broke windows and scrawled the word "thieves" on the side of the Royal Bank of Scotland building.
Protesters were also pelting riot police with eggs and fruit and confronting them at barricades.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference in London ahead of the Group of 20 summit being held Thursday. World leaders are gathering with hopes of resolving the global financial crisis.
Eight people have been arrested in the G-20 demonstrations so far. There have been no reports of injuries.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of G-20 protesters jammed downtown London on Wednesday and some tried to storm the Bank of England, pelting police with eggs and fruit and rocking the barricades designed to control them.
Demonstrators shouted "Abolish Money!" and clogged streets in the financial district known as "The City" even as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference elsewhere in the British capital.
Protesters had branded the day "Financial Fool's Day" ahead of Thursday's summit of world leaders who are gathering in hopes of resolving the global financial crisis that has lashed nations and workers worldwide.
"Every job I apply for there's already 150 people who have also applied," said protester Nathan Dean, 35, who lost his information technology job three weeks ago. "I have had to sign on to the dole (welfare) for the first time in my life. You end up having to pay your mortgage on your credit card and you fall into debt twice over."
Demonstrators hoisted effigies of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse," representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and homelessness.
"The greed that is driving people is tearing us apart," said Steve Lamont, 45, flanked by his family and protesters who were banging on bells, playing drums and blowing whistles.
At least eight people were reportedly arrested for having police uniforms. One police officer lost his helmet and demonstrators tossed it around like a trophy and chanted slogans.
Helicopters hovered above the protests and some buildings were boarded up in case the protests turned ugly. Many banks had extra security and hundreds of police officers lined the streets.
Despite the pushing and shoving along the police barricades, there were no reported injuries.
Fearing they would be targeted by protesters, some bankers swapped their pinstripe suits for casual wear and others stayed home. Bolder financial workers leaned out their office windows Wednesday, taunting demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them.
Especially in Britain, bankers have been lambasted as being greedy and blamed for the recession that is making jobless ranks soar.
"It seems like everything is in a mess," said protester Steve Johnson, 49, an unemployed construction worker. "You get bankers getting massive bonuses, and the MPs (British lawmakers) are lining their own pockets."
Musician and political activist Billy Bragg said the time was now to make a difference.
"It's better than sitting down shouting at the television at these bankers," he said. "We cannot go back to the way things were before to the million-dollar bonus culture."
Protesters included anarchists, anti-capitalists, environmentalists, students, unionized workers, unemployed workers and others hurt by the global financial crisis.
One protester dressed as the Easter bunny managed to hop through the police cordon but was stopped before he could reach the Bank of England. Another black-clad demonstrator waved a fake light saber at officers.
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
LONDON – G-20 protesters in downtown London have smashed windows and entered the Royal Bank of Scotland building. They have also tried to storm the Bank of England.
At least 4,000 protesters have jammed into London's financial district for demonstrations Wednesday. Protesters broke windows and scrawled the word "thieves" on the side of the Royal Bank of Scotland building.
Protesters were also pelting riot police with eggs and fruit and confronting them at barricades.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference in London ahead of the Group of 20 summit being held Thursday. World leaders are gathering with hopes of resolving the global financial crisis.
Eight people have been arrested in the G-20 demonstrations so far. There have been no reports of injuries.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of G-20 protesters jammed downtown London on Wednesday and some tried to storm the Bank of England, pelting police with eggs and fruit and rocking the barricades designed to control them.
Demonstrators shouted "Abolish Money!" and clogged streets in the financial district known as "The City" even as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference elsewhere in the British capital.
Protesters had branded the day "Financial Fool's Day" ahead of Thursday's summit of world leaders who are gathering in hopes of resolving the global financial crisis that has lashed nations and workers worldwide.
"Every job I apply for there's already 150 people who have also applied," said protester Nathan Dean, 35, who lost his information technology job three weeks ago. "I have had to sign on to the dole (welfare) for the first time in my life. You end up having to pay your mortgage on your credit card and you fall into debt twice over."
Demonstrators hoisted effigies of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse," representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and homelessness.
"The greed that is driving people is tearing us apart," said Steve Lamont, 45, flanked by his family and protesters who were banging on bells, playing drums and blowing whistles.
At least eight people were reportedly arrested for having police uniforms. One police officer lost his helmet and demonstrators tossed it around like a trophy and chanted slogans.
Helicopters hovered above the protests and some buildings were boarded up in case the protests turned ugly. Many banks had extra security and hundreds of police officers lined the streets.
Despite the pushing and shoving along the police barricades, there were no reported injuries.
Fearing they would be targeted by protesters, some bankers swapped their pinstripe suits for casual wear and others stayed home. Bolder financial workers leaned out their office windows Wednesday, taunting demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them.
Especially in Britain, bankers have been lambasted as being greedy and blamed for the recession that is making jobless ranks soar.
"It seems like everything is in a mess," said protester Steve Johnson, 49, an unemployed construction worker. "You get bankers getting massive bonuses, and the MPs (British lawmakers) are lining their own pockets."
Musician and political activist Billy Bragg said the time was now to make a difference.
"It's better than sitting down shouting at the television at these bankers," he said. "We cannot go back to the way things were before to the million-dollar bonus culture."
Protesters included anarchists, anti-capitalists, environmentalists, students, unionized workers, unemployed workers and others hurt by the global financial crisis.
One protester dressed as the Easter bunny managed to hop through the police cordon but was stopped before he could reach the Bank of England. Another black-clad demonstrator waved a fake light saber at officers.
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