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U.S. Secret Service chief: no security breach from scandal

Director of the Secret Service Mark Sullivan at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prostitution scandal in Colombia involving U.S. Secret Service employees did not result in any security breach and was not behavior that reflected the high ethical standards of the agency, the director of the agency said. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan defended the culture of the agency in testimony prepared for a Senate hearing on Wednesday, saying its employees were among the most dedicated and "self-sacrificing" in the federal government. It will be his first public appearance before Congress since the scandal. ...


Tue, 22 May 2012 22:00:43 -0400

Chicago police erase 1968 stain at last with NATO summit

Police arrest a man during an anti-NATO demonstration in downtown ChicagoCHICAGO (Reuters) - The NATO summit ended without major violence between police and protesters, winning praise for Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy and helping erase bad memories of the bloody street battles here during the 1968 Democratic convention. Ever since anti-Vietnam protesters were beaten in what a commission later called a "police riot" in 1968, Chicago has tried to live down its reputation for police brutality. ...


Tue, 22 May 2012 21:14:53 -0400

Thousands walk to mark year since tornado hit Joplin, Missouri

Artists Emily Frankoski and Dolores Bilke paint a tornado damaged tree in Joplin(Reuters) - An estimated 5,000 people participated on Tuesday in a "walk of unity" to Joplin, Missouri, along the path of a deadly tornado that tore through the city one year ago, killing 161 people. The anniversary of the tragedy also was marked by President Barack Obama, who traveled to Joplin to give the commencement address for graduating high school seniors whose school building was obliterated by the EF-5 tornado, the strongest on a rating scale for twisters. "Just as you have learned the goodness of people, so have you learned the power of community," Obama said. ...


Tue, 22 May 2012 20:26:55 -0400

White House said to give inside access for bin Laden film

Video frame grab of Osama bin Laden videos released by the PentagonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration arranged for two Hollywood filmmakers to get special access to government officials involved in the commando operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a conservative legal group that posted internal government documents on its website Tuesday. Judicial Watch posted what it said were 153 pages of Pentagon documents and 113 pages of CIA documents about the film project. ...


Tue, 22 May 2012 20:10:25 -0400

White supremacist gets 40 years for Arizona package bomb
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge sentenced a 61-year-old white supremacist to 40 years in jail on Tuesday for a racially motivated package bomb attack that injured a black city administrator in Arizona in 2004. Dennis Mahon was found guilty in February of three explosives- and conspiracy-related charges stemming from the attack on Don Logan, then the head of the diversity office for the city of Scottsdale. ...Tue, 22 May 2012 21:59:31 -0400