Headlines

Politics

• Clinton, Obama Slug It Out Going Into Today’s Do Or Die Pennsylvania Primary (Video)
• Clinton Internal Polling Shows 11-Point Lead In Pennsylvania
• Democrat Officials Plotting How To Resolve Race Before Convention
• Money Could Spell Difference In Democrat Race

US

• Food Rationing Being Seen In US
• Bush Slams Democrats On Trade Deals At N. American Leaders Summit
• Parents Call Cops On Son, Had Materials To Make Massive Bomb In Minutes (Video)
• FDA Isolates Contaminant In Chinese Heparin Ingredient That Caused Deaths

International

• US Blocking Chinese Shipment Of Weapons To Zimbabwe’s Oppressive Government
• Priest Goes Missing On Lawn Chair Helium Balloon Flight
• Coast Guard Finds 20 Refugee Bodies Floating Near The Bahamas
• Pakistan Releases Terror Leader Who Fought US
• No Surprise - Hamas Has No Plans To Recognize Israel After Talks With Carter
• SecDef Gates: Iran Is Hell-Bent On Acquiring Nuclear Weapons
• Russia Caught On Tape Shooting Down Georgian Drone Over Georgian Territory (Video)
• Paris Makes Dalai Lama Honorary Citizen
• Indonesia Sends Al-Qa’ida Leader To Prison
• Dalai Lama Asks For US Help In Envoy Meeting

Business & Economics

• Bank Of America Profit Plunges By 77% On Writedowns
• Samsung Chairman To Resign In Wake Of Indictments

Videos of the Day

Hillary Clinton’s final ad salvo in Pennsylvania invokes Bin Laden and questions Obama’s readiness:

Obama’s response says he has what it takes:

Politics

Clinton, Obama Slug It Out Going Into Today’s Do Or Die Pennsylvania Primary (Video)

“Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are wrapping up their push in Pennsylvania with sharp attacks a day before the state’s crucial primary. Both candidates have been launching waves of robocalls, tough mailers and matching attack ads, spending an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars a day.” Today’s primary in Pennsylvania will determine whether Clinton can continue her campaign - a loss will surely end it, while a big win will bolster her strategy of trying to catch Obama in the popular vote and convince Democrat delegates to switch their votes to her as the more electable candidate. Obama’s delegate lead is virtually impossible for Clinton to overcome.

Clinton Internal Polling Shows 11-Point Lead In Pennsylvania

Clinton campaign internal polling shows her with a commanding 11-point lead over Obama in Pennsylvania. Clinton is expected to easily defeat Obama in the state dominated by white, working-class voters - Clinton’s base and a demographic into which Obama has been unable to make inroads, a fact Clinton is seizing on to make her case that Obama is not as electable as she is in the general election.

Democrat Officials Plotting How To Resolve Race Before Convention

“Some [Democrat] party leaders are quietly planning to try to end the clash [between Clinton and Obama], said people familiar with the matter. After the primaries end in June, these influential Democrats — led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — plan to push the last uncommitted party leaders to endorse a candidate, in hopes of preventing a fight at the August presidential convention, party insiders say. These ’superdelegates’ — governors, members of Congress and others who can vote for any candidate at the convention — would likely tip the balance to Sen. Obama, who holds a sizable and likely insurmountable delegate lead. Sen. Clinton is hoping that a win in Pennsylvania, where she is favored, would lift her campaign and give party officials pause about Sen. Obama as the nominee.”

Money Could Spell Difference In Democrat Race

“Hillary Clinton crisscrossed Pennsylvania and unveiled a last-minute television ad invoking Pearl Harbor and Osama bin Laden, in hopes that a big victory in the state’s Democratic primary Tuesday could turn around her long-shot presidential bid. While she is widely expected to win Pennsylvania, a new financial report showed the New York senator’s campaign struggling for cash. That could limit her ability to stay competitive in the final nine Democratic contests with Barack Obama, who has considerably more money to spend on advertising and organization.”

US

Food Rationing Being Seen In US

“Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.”

Bush Slams Democrats On Trade Deals At N. American Leaders Summit

“President Bush used a meeting with Mexican and Canadian leaders Monday to hammer Democrats who oppose a free trade deal between the U.S. and Colombia, saying that blocking the deal is ‘bad for American workers and bad for our security.’ Bush met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the fourth North American Leaders Summit, a two-day meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, that started Monday.” Congressional Democrats are blocking the deal from coming to a vote and both Democrat Presidential candidates have threatened to withdraw from trade deals such as NAFTA.

Parents Call Cops On Son, Had Materials To Make Massive Bomb In Minutes (Video)

“A South Carolina high school senior arrested in an alleged bomb plot had the ingredients to assemble a bomb in minutes, police said Monday. Ryan Schallenberger, 18, was arrested Saturday after his parents called police when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an oxidizing agent in explosives, was delivered to their home in Chesterfield, near the North Carolina border, Chief Randall Lear of the Chesterfield Police Department said.” Schallenberger was planning on detonating multiple bombs simultaneously at his school in what would have been the most spectacular incidence of school violence in history. An ammonium nitrate-based bomb was what Timothy McVeigh used in the Oklahoma City bombings that killed over 150.

FDA Isolates Contaminant In Chinese Heparin Ingredient That Caused Deaths

“New tests suggest how a contaminant in heparin — a blood thinner — may be connected to dozens of deaths, FDA officials said Monday. Jin Shaohong, a Chinese health official, says he doubts China is to blame for the heparin problem. The Food and Drug Administration has ‘now established a mechanism by which we think this contaminant could cause these adverse events,’ said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She said contaminated shipments of the blood thinner have been traced from China to 10 countries, including the United States.” The contaminated heparin has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the US.

International

Africa

US Blocking Chinese Shipment Of Weapons To Zimbabwe’s Oppressive Government

“The US is seeking to block a Chinese vessel loaded with weapons from reaching Zimbabwe. Reports say Washington has instructed its diplomats in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola to pressure authorities not to allow the An Yue Jiang to dock. Several African states have turned the arms shipment away from their waters, saying it could deepen the country’s post-election crisis. The controversy comes as China faces criticism for its human-rights record, its rule in Tibet and the Darfur issue in advance of the Olympic Games in August.” Zimbabwe’s government has been violently cracking down on its political opposition in a desperate bid to hang on to power after President Mugabe lost last month’s election.

Americas

Priest Goes Missing On Lawn Chair Helium Balloon Flight

“A Roman Catholic priest who floated off under hundreds of helium party balloons was missing Monday off the southern coast of Brazil. The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday afternoon, wearing a helmet, thermal suit and a parachute. He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials. The priest wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons to raise money for a spiritual rest-stop for truckers in Paranagua, Brazil.” The original lawn chair flight was undertaken by Larry Walters in 1982 when he intended to float over Long Beach, CA at 100 feet but instead shot up to 20,000 feet and ended up violating restricted airspace near Long Beach Airport.

Coast Guard Finds 20 Refugee Bodies Floating Near The Bahamas

“U.S. and Bahamian rescue workers found the bodies of 20 people floating in open waters Sunday near the Bahamas, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Monday. Authorities received an alert about 5 a.m. ET Sunday of people stranded and screaming in the water 15 miles northwest of Nassau, Bahamas, the Coast Guard said.” The victims were reportedly Haitian and Honduran refugees trying to reach the US when their boat went down.

Middle East

Pakistan Releases Terror Leader Who Fought US

“Pakistan on Monday freed the founder of a militant organization whose fighters battled U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the American-led invasion in 2001. Maulana Sufi Mohammed was freed on grounds of ill health, said local officials in the frontier city of Peshawar. His release could be an indicator that Pakistan’s new government will strike a more conciliatory tone toward Islamic militants than the previous administration.” Pakistan has seen increasing levels of domestic terrorism over its cooperation with the US in the War on Terror.

No Surprise - Hamas Has No Plans To Recognize Israel After Talks With Carter

“After talks with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Hamas’ exiled leader Khalid Meshaal said Monday the militant group has no plans to recognize Israel. ‘We agree on the [Palestinian] state with the borders of June 4, 1967, Jerusalem as its capital, fully sovereign without settlements, the right of return, but without the recognition of Israel,’ Meshaal said at a news conference in Damascus, Syria. Earlier in the day, Carter said that Hamas is prepared to accept peace with Israel if the Palestinian people approve any agreement that may be negotiated with the Jewish state. Carter’s comments came after controversial meetings Friday and Saturday in Damascus, Syria, with exiled militant Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal.”

SecDef Gates: Iran Is Hell-Bent On Acquiring Nuclear Weapons

“Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has said that Iran is ‘hell-bent’ on acquiring nuclear weapons, while cautioning against the consequences of going to war with Iran over its nuclear programme. ‘Another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need and, in fact, I believe it would be disastrous on a number of levels,’ he said on Monday in a speech at a military academy in New York. Gates said he favours avoiding the military option against Iran, ‘given the destabilising policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat, either directly or through proliferation’.”

Europe

Russia Caught On Tape Shooting Down Georgian Drone Over Georgian Territory (Video)

“Georgia accused Russia on Monday of violating its airspace and using a MIG fighter jet to shoot down a Georgian reconnaissance drone over the [Georgian] separatist territory of Abkhazia on Sunday. Russia’s Air Force denied the Georgian claim, saying that none of its military planes flew in or near southwestern Russia on Sunday and that its pilots were not working that day.” Georgia’s government released the video from the drone which clearly shows a MIG fighter firing the missile. Last week Russia announced support for Abkhazia and another separatist territory in response to Georgia’s talks with NATO over joining the alliance. Russia has a long history of unprovoked attacks on Georgia that it denies, despite evidence made public that clearly proves Russian involvement, such as Russian missile housings. This is the first time Georgia captured video evidence of an attack.

Paris Makes Dalai Lama Honorary Citizen

“The Dalai Lama has been made an honorary citizen of Paris, as anti-French protests continue in China. Paris city council voted to bestow the symbolic title on the Tibetan spiritual leader, whom Mayor Bertrand Delanoe called ‘a champion of peace’. The move was opposed by the party of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been trying to ease tense ties with Beijing. Chinese protesters have been picketing French supermarket Carrefour, accusing it of supporting the Dalai Lama.” The Chinese are upset over the extent and roughness of French protests during the Olympic flame’s relay leg in France. The torch was repeatedly extinguished and one protester even tried taking it away from one of the runners. China’s government has been fueling a nationalist fervor over the worldwide anti-China protests.

Asia

Indonesia Sends Al-Qa’ida Leader To Prison

“An Indonesian court has sentenced the alleged military commander of an al Qaeda-linked terror network to 15 years in prison. Abu Dujana is the alleged leader of the military wing of Jemaah Islamiyah, a group that is thought to be linked to al Qaeda. It aims to create a Muslim ’superstate’ across much of Southeast Asia. Dujana, a slight, wiry man, is accused of direct involvement in the Bali nightclub bombings of 2002 that killed more than 200, mostly Western, tourists. He is also suspected of plotting subsequent attacks on the Australian Embassy and J.W. Marriott hotel, both in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.”

Dalai Lama Asks For US Help In Envoy Meeting

“The Dalai Lama has asked Washington for help in improving the situation in Tibet, in the highest level meeting with the US administration since China’s crackdown in his homeland. ‘At this moment we need your help,’ Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader told Paula Dobriansky, the US special envoy on Tibet. Dobriansky reiterated a US appeal for dialogue between Beijing. The 72-year-old Dalai Lama said he was surprised Dobriansky came to Michigan to see him during his US tour.” Beijing criticized the meeting, saying the US was meddling in its internal affairs. China has been violently suppressing Tibtan demonstrators who are protesting for independence, using the Olympics to draw international attention to their cause. China has ruthlessly occupied Tibet since it invaded the country in 1951.

Business & Economics

Bank Of America Profit Plunges By 77% On Writedowns

“Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans. First-quarter net income declined 77 percent to $1.21 billion from $5.26 billion a year earlier, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said today in a statement. The results fell short of analysts’ estimates and sent the bank’s stock down 2.5 percent in New York trading.”

Samsung Chairman To Resign In Wake Of Indictments

“The chairman of the Samsung Group plans to resign, according to a report published Tuesday by Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. The decision of Lee Kun-hee to step down comes a few days after his indictment amid an investigation into corruption allegations. Lee was indicted for tax evasion and breach of trust. Samsung is South Korea’s largest conglomerate. It has annual sales of nearly $160 billion and accounts for 18 percent of South Korea’s economic output. The company’s exports — valued at about $70 billion — account for a fifth of all South Korean exports.”