Special Forces soldier dies trying to save NC kids

Special Forces soldier dies trying to save NC kids

A firefighter exits the front of a heavily damaged two story home where a Special Forces soldier died trying to rescue his 2 small children during a house fire early Tuesday, March 6, 2012 in Hope Mills, N.C.. Mother Louise Cantrell, 37, was injured in the blaze that started around 2:00 am. Edward Duane Cantrell, 36, and his daughters, 6-year old Isabella Cantrell and 4-year old Natalia Cantrell all perished in the fire.

HOPE MILLS, N.C. (AP) -- A decorated Green Beret leapt from the second-story of his burning home early Tuesday, wrapped himself in a blanket and ran back inside in an attempt to save his two young daughters.

Firefighters recovered the body of Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell on the second floor of his North Carolina home, not far from the remains of 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia.

"He never made it back out," said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County sheriff's office.

Cantrell's wife and the girl's mother, Louise, also jumped from the second floor. She was treated and released from a Fayetteville hospital for smoke inhalation. The family dog, a Rottweiler named Sasha, also survived the fire.

Cantrell was a special forces paratrooper who served six tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Friends and relatives gathered to recover what they could from burned-out house in Hope Mills, a small community about a 20-minute drive from the gates of Fort Bragg.

The house, which featured a broad front porch with tall columns, was built in 1920. Tanna said the old home's timbers were likely very dry, causing a fast-moving blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A sign at the end of the driveway blocked with yellow police tape says "The Cantrells Est. Feb. 7, 2004." Bouquets of flowers and two teddy bears had been placed nearby.

Firefighters from Cotton Volunteer Fire Department, which is less than two miles away, were on the scene within four minutes of receiving the dispatch call. Assistant Chief Kevin Dove said the house was already engulfed in flames.

"They perished before our arrival," said Dove, a veteran firefighter. "It was horrible."

Cantrell, 36, was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of chief warrant officer 2, which authorized Cantrell to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up, said Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command.

Records show Cantrell joined the Army in 1994, listing a home address in Plant City, Fla. He had one combat deployment to Iraq and five to Afghanistan, returning from the last mission in August, Olsen said.

His record included four Bronze Stars and one Purple Heart, awarded for wounds suffered in a war zone, Olsen said.

"There are no words to express the sorrow felt in our close-knit community when a family suffers such a tragedy," the command said on its Facebook page.

Family members declined interview requests, as did a soldier who served with Cantrell.

Isabella attended nearby Ed V. Baldwin Elementary School. Principal Todd Yardis said the girl's teacher and a grief counselor broke the news of what happened to her classmates shortly after they arrived in the morning.

Yardis said both Cantrell parents had been very active at the school, with Edward Cantrell sometimes stopping by in his Army uniform. He recounted how excited the young girl was when her father returned home from his most recent tour of duty.

"Bella was a very happy, loving girl," Yardis said. "She was one of those students who would run up and hug you around the leg when you passed her class in the hall."

Yardis said Cantrell was a hero for trying to save his girls. The father had recently spoken about retiring from the service, rather than returning overseas and being separated from his family again.

"He talked about wanting to get out of the military and opening his own business," Yardis said. "He wanted to open a tattoo parlor."

Cindy Jacobs, who works at an assisted living home next door, said Louise Cantrell ran to the facility during the fire to get the staff to call 911. Jacobs said she knew the family, especially the mother, who would often stop to make small talk as she drove by. The two girls were often in the car or outside playing.

"She was with those girls all the time," said Jacobs, the executive director of the ARC of Hope Mills. "It's so sad. I can't imagine what she's going through."

Jacobs said she learned Edward Cantrell was in the military when investigators visited to ask about him as part of the procedure for getting a top secret security clearance.

"We knew he was Special Forces," Jacobs said. "He was just a heck of a guy. Very, very friendly."

The girls were energetic children, said Jacobs, who has an active-duty son in the Navy and whose husband is a civilian employee at Fort Bragg. "They were just adorable little girls," she said.

Obama: Time has come to wind down Afghan war

Obama: Time has come to wind down Afghan war

President Barack Obama points toward a reporter during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid fresh concerns over the safety of American forces, President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the accidental burning of Qurans in Afghanistan and the retaliatory killings of U.S. troops gave new credence to the need to end the war.

"I think that it is an indication of the challenges in that environment, and it's an indication that now is the time for us to transition," Obama said during a White House news conference.

Obama announced no speeding up of the NATO-backed plan to end combat missions in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, saying "that continues to be the plan." But he said the violence aimed at Americans in Afghanistan that followed the accidental burning of Qurans on a U.S. base was "unacceptable."

Six Americans were killed in retaliatory violence. Obama offered his apologies to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a move that was roundly criticized by his Republican presidential rivals as weak and unnecessary.

From Congress, Obama was getting tugged from another direction. A letter calling for Obama to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan had the backing of 23 senators, mostly Democrats but including two conservative Republicans, Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who circulated the letter with Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a statement that there "something fundamentally wrong with spending $88 billion for national building in Afghanistan while we're asking Americans to make tough cuts here at home."

Foreign policy and domestic politics battled for top billing in Obama's first White House news conference of the year, which coincided with Super Tuesday, the 10-state voting contest for Republican presidential hopefuls.

Obama insisted that diplomacy can still resolve the crisis over Iran's possible pursuit of nuclear weapons, and he accused his Republican critics of "beating the drums of war."

Obama said he emphasized that message in his private meetings with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu this week, and implied that Israeli pressure for urgent action was not supported by the facts, saying that a decision was not necessary within the next weeks or months.

Addressing another international crisis in Syria, Obama said the violence there was "heartbreaking" but he showed no new willingness for military involvement in that Mideast country.

Obama said unilateral military action by the United States against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad would be a mistake. And he rejected a comparison to Libya, where the United States and allies did intervene last year, saying the situation in Syria is more complex. In Syria, Russia has blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution against Assad's government, and Assad's military is better equipped and more powerful than the Libyan force.

More than 7,500 people have been killed in Syria during the year-long government crackdown on the opposition.

Turning to domestic politics, Obama said higher gasoline prices as a result of Mideast worries would be bad for any president running for re-election, and he also said he was working to expand America's energy base.

Obama also dismissed as laughable the suggestion by some Republican critics that he actually supports increased gas prices. No president facing re-election would want to see gas prices rise, he said, because of the hardship that would cause American families.

In the past month, gasoline prices have risen by more than 28 cents per gallon, making gasoline the most expensive ever for this time of year. On Tuesday, the nationwide average for regular unleaded slipped less than a penny to $3.764 per gallon, ending a string of price increases that began on Feb. 8.

Obama said he had asked his attorney general to examine whether speculation in the oil markets is driving up oil prices.

The president also made an election year appeal to women, a key voting bloc for Obama in the general election. Obama confidently asserted that Democrats would have a "better story" than Republicans to tell female voters November on everything from housing to education to contraception.

Obama's campaign has been particularly pointed in his outreach to women on the issue of access to birth control. The president made a pointed entry in the debate last week when he called a Georgetown University Law School student who was criticized by radio commentator Rush Limbaugh because of her vocal support for his administration's requirement of birth control insurance coverage.

Obama said he telephoned Sandra Fluke, who was labeled a "slut" by Limbaugh, because he doesn't want people who speak their minds about policy issues to be discouraged or attacked.

Asked to comment on Limbaugh's apology, Obama says he doesn't know "what's in Rush Limbaugh's heart."

Obama said the incident made him think of his two daughters and his hopes that they can engage in issues they care about in the future. He said he doesn't want his daughters "attacked or called horrible names" for speaking their minds and being good citizens.

Rose Too Much For Sixers, Lose To Bulls, 96-91

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With the game down to the final precious possessions, Chicago and Philadelphia each leaned on its best player.

Derrick Rose, the reigning MVP, saw a crack in the defense, went left-to-right with the ball and scored for a four-point lead.

Andre Iguodala shot an air ball and fired one attempt off the backboard.

Make it 31 wins and counting for the Bulls — and another defeat against the elite for the back-to-reality Sixers.

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

Sixers Look To Rebound Vs. The Bucks

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Sixers lost a close game to a top team on Sunday night, in part because they couldn’t execute down the stretch. That scenario has become a theme this season. If the themes of the Sixers season continue tonight, they’ll get a win against the sub .500 Milwaukee Bucks.

While the Sixers (22-16) have had their recent troubles against the good teams, they’ve continued to dominate the mediocre ones. They’re 2-2 since returning from the All-Star break, with the two losses being to the top teams in each conference, the Bulls and the Thunder. The two wins have come by large margins over bottom-dwellers, the Warriors and the Pistons. The Bucks, at 14-23, fit into the second category.

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

Philadelphia Lawmakers Move Toward Dell East Naming Honor for Georgie Woods

A George Clinton concert at the Robin Hood Dell East, in Fairmount Park.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia City Council took a first step today toward renaming the Robin Hood Dell East open-air music venue in honor of music promoter and civil rights activist Georgie Woods, who died in 2005.

Dozens of speakers told the council committee that Georgie Woods fought for the African-American community in Philadelphia.

A promotional photo of the late Georgie Woods.

“Georgie Woods went to the old Civic Center and confronted Frank Rizzo, and demanded dignity for black people in this city,” recalls radio personality E. Stephen Collins. “He did it over and over and over again.”

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

Bail Set at $1 Million For Man Nabbed Driving on Runway at PHL Airport

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Bail has been set at $1 million for the man charged with driving his Jeep onto a runway last week at Philadelphia International Airport.

Kenneth Mazik, 24, of Chadds Ford was arraigned this morning on a series of local charges including DUI, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest, according to the Philadelphia district attorney’s office.

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

Pal: NJ man in spy case spoke of 'viewing party'

Pal: NJ man in spy case spoke of 'viewing party'

Tyler Clementi's parents Jane, left, and Joe Clementi wait for the start of Dharun Ravi's trial at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, N.J. on Friday, March 2, 2012. Ravi is accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, intimate encounter with another man. Days later Clementi committed suicide. Ravi, 19, faces 15 criminal charges, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in state prison.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man said someone at Rutgers was planning a "viewing party" with beer and rum to watch the dorm room liaison, a high school friend testified Monday.

The revelation came in testimony from Michelle Huang, a Cornell University student who says Dharun Ravi told her about it in a text message on Sept. 21, 2010.

Ravi, 20, is on trial for 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and several charges accusing him of trying to cover his tracks. Bias intimidation is a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The roommate, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010. Since then, the case has sparked a national conversation about the difficulties faced by young gays.

Prosecutors are trying to prove that Ravi intentionally tried to humiliate Clementi. Huang testified that Ravi urged her to video chat him so she could see the webcam footage.

"Do it for real," Ravi wrote in a text that was shown to jurors. "I have it pointed at his bed."

People were planning a "viewing party with a bottle of Bacardi and beer" to watch the webstream that night, Huang said. It was the first mention of a planned party in the trial, which had its seventh day of testimony on Monday.

Huang later testified that after Clementi had killed himself, Ravi texted her that the talk of a viewing party was a joke.

Witnesses have said the webcam wasn't working that night.

But a Douglas Rager, a former university police detective, testified later Monday that when he went to inspect the dorm room on Sept. 23, he noticed that Ravi's webcam was "angled directly at Tyler's bed."

Ravi isn't charged in Clementi's death, and the judge has been cautious about how the suicide would come into the trial.

Prosecutors are precluded from linking the spying allegations to the suicide. Defense lawyers cannot make the case that Clementi killed himself for other reasons.

When prospective jurors were brought into the courtroom last month for the first time, the judge told them that it was the case involving Clementi and that Clementi had killed himself.

The issue came up Monday when Huang testified about hearing from Ravi that his roommate had committed suicide. The university sent counselors to his room and suggested he take several days off, he said, describing Rutgers officials in a text as "mad helpful."

After that testimony, which emerged during cross-examination by Ravi's lawyer, Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure told the judge that she might recall some earlier witnesses to ask them about conversations with Ravi about the suicide.

Judge Glenn Berman said he had allowed the questioning of Huang to continue because jurors might not have understood the texts without that context.

But he was apprehensive about delving further into the death because Ravi isn't charged with it.

"My preference is we don't talk about it," he said.

Before Monday, it had mostly come up in passing.

In her testimony last week, Rutgers student Alissa Agarwal was asked what day she spoke with investigators. She matter-of-factly said it was the day after Clementi committed suicide. And on Friday, the man witnesses said was seen in the webstream kissing Clementi took the stand.

The man, who was identified in court only by the initials M.B., was asked about how late he intended to stay in Clementi's room when they met there on Sept. 21.

He answered: "There was every reason to believe that I was going to see him again." He wasn't asked more and didn't say more.

The lack of testimony about Clementi's death has created some gaps in the story's timeline.

It has been widely reported that Clementi left a final Facebook status on the night of his death: "Jumping off the gw bridge, sorry."

A Rutgers police officer testified that about an hour after the message appeared, he was dispatched to Clementi's room to try to determine his whereabouts. But the officer didn't say why he was dispatched to check on the student.

There is one constant reminder in the courtroom of the death. Clementi's parents and other relatives - including, at times, both of his older brothers - sat through each of the first six days of the trial.

The family has set up a foundation to honor Clementi, and one of its main goals is suicide prevention.

In interviews with The Associated Press, his parents, Joe and Jane Clementi, and his brother, James, say they don't know why he killed himself - a question the trial won't seek to answer.

"I'm not sure that knowing why it happened makes it any better or makes it any easier," James Clementi said in an interview last month. "Someone I love so much isn't here."

Tuesday's testimony was expected to start with a Rutgers University computer system administrator.

Limbaugh and the GOP: The media stars and politics

Limbaugh and the GOP: The media stars and politics

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh talks with guests in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The uproar over Rush Limbaugh's comments about a young woman's sex life underscores the outsized role that conservative media figures play in Republican politics. Limbaugh, the late Andrew Breitbart and even Donald Trump have such faithful followers among the party's core supporters that Republican politicians often fear they'll pay a painful price for crossing them.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The uproar over Rush Limbaugh's derisive comments about a young woman's sex life is serving as a vivid reminder of the outsize role conservative media stars play in Republican politics.

With a Democratic president in the White House and no leading GOP elected official setting the party's agenda, Limbaugh and other media personalities like the late Andrew Breitbart and even Donald Trump have filled a vacuum for many conservatives seeking a full-throated political advocate. The popularity of such figures among Republican core voters has made party leaders reluctant to cross them, even when their comments or tactics steer well out of bounds.

Democrats have plenty of left-leaning media figures in their corner, too - some of whom have made comments that have embarrassed the party and its candidates. Bill Maher, who gave $1 million to a super PAC that supports President Barack Obama, was widely criticized recently for mocking NFL quarterback Tim Tebow's religious beliefs on Twitter.

But no liberal media figure has an audience the size of Limbaugh's, estimated as high as 20 million listeners - mostly men - per week. And no one suggests Maher or any other commentator has displaced Obama as the voice of the Democratic Party.

"The voices you hear on the conservative side have an audience of people who are very skeptical of traditional mainstream media and power," said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington who studies media in politics. "If you're a Republican candidate you don't want to offend those people. They are the most hard-core Republican voters and the most likely to turn out in a primary."

Such was the case last week, when the top GOP presidential candidates distanced themselves from Limbaugh but did not directly criticize him after he called 30-year old Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" on his radio show. Fluke had testified to Democratic members of Congress in support of a requirement that health care companies provide coverage for contraception. That requirement would compel her Jesuit college's health plan to cover her birth control.

Limbaugh offered an apology to Fluke on his website Saturday after sponsors began suspending advertising on his show, which is carried by 600 stations and is by far the most popular talk radio program in the U.S. He voiced regret on the air on Monday, too, but also said he was the victim of a double standard. He said, "Rappers can say anything they want about women. It's called art. And they win awards."

The controversy has been an inopportune tempest for Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, who has tried to focus on jobs and the economy but has found himself dealing with questions about social issues in recent weeks.

Romney said he wouldn't have used the language Limbaugh chose, but he refrained from directly criticizing him. The former Massachusetts governor has struggled in his efforts to cement his status as the front-runner in the field, in part because of the reluctance of many conservative voters to get behind his candidacy.

Rick Santorum called Limbaugh an "entertainer" who had license to be "absurd" sometimes, while Newt Gingrich dismissed the matter as a media distraction. Only Ron Paul took Limbaugh to task, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that the commentator's language went over the top at times.

Republicans have paid a price for offending Limbaugh in the past. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was forced to walk back comments he made suggesting Limbaugh had been "incendiary" and "ugly" for saying early in Obama's term that he hoped Obama would fail.

The GOP presidential contenders and other Republicans joined in paying tribute last week to Andrew Breitbart, a conservative Internet pioneer who passed away Thursday at 43.

Breitbart was a hero to many conservatives for operating a group of right-leaning websites designed to expose bad behavior by Democrats and liberal groups, even though he sometimes used selective editing and other unorthodox tactics to do so.

Breitbart's biggest success was the resignation of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, a fiery Democrat forced to step down after Breitbart intercepted and publicized a suggestive photo Weiner had sent of himself to a woman over Twitter.

Breitbart was also involved in a controversial sting against the liberal community organizing group ACORN that helped bring about the group's demise. Two young conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute shot video that appeared to show ACORN workers instructing them on how to cheat on taxes and avoid child prostitution laws. Legal investigations in California and New York concluded the tapes had been heavily edited.

Breitbart was also instrumental in the ouster of Shirley Sherrod, an Obama appointee in the Department of Agriculture. Breitbart publicized a video clip of Sherrod, who is black, addressing an NAACP meeting in which she appeared to be condoning anti-white practices by the department. She was immediately fired by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, even though her comments had been pulled out of context in the clip and misrepresented. Obama called Sherrod to apologize, and she filed a lawsuit against Breitbart.

That wasn't mentioned as one Republican leader after another weighed in to praise Breitbart.

"Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Andrew Breitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father," Romney tweeted.

Gingrich called Breitbart "the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America," while Santorum called his death "a huge loss for the country and the conservative movement."

Trump, the real estate mogul and host of the reality show "Celebrity Apprentice," has risen to become another leading voice in the Republican Party. Trump considered running for the GOP nomination last year and his tough, anti-Obama message helped him rise briefly to the top of polls.

But Trump ventured out on a limb, aligning with the discredited "birther" movement that claimed Obama was not been born in the United States and thus is ineligible to be president.

The furor Trump unleashed led Obama to release his long form birth certificate, showing he had indeed been born in 1961 in Hawaii. Obama labeled Trump a "carnival barker" and skewered him in a dinner speech a few days later.

Trump eventually chose not to run for president and was embraced by the other GOP hopefuls, most of whom ventured to Trump's office in Manhattan to seek his advice and endorsement. Trump endorsed Romney last month in Las Vegas and has been campaigning for him.

Obama recasts birth control debate on own terms

Obama recasts birth control debate on own terms

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, one of six judges for the pageant, speaks during a Miss America news conference at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Limbaugh drew fire Friday, March 2, 2012 from many directions for his depiction of a college student as a "slut" because she testified before Congress about the need for contraceptive coverage.

Many Republicans and religious organizations accused Obama of waging a war on religion. As protests mounted, Obama said religious employers could opt out, but insurers must pay for the birth control coverage.

Some Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, acknowledged that the Obama administration's rollout of the health care requirement was flawed. But on the substance of the debate, they maintain that the president was on the right side.

Recent polls have supported that assertion.

A CBS News/New York Times poll conducted last month suggested that 72 percent of women support requiring private insurance companies to cover the full cost of birth control for their patients. The poll also showed that 59 percent of men support the requirement.

A fresh opportunity for Obama to portray himself as a champion of women's right surfaced this past week, courtesy of Limbaugh.

Republican lawmakers had barred her from testifying at a House hearing on the contraception measure last month. She was given the chance to talk to Congress on Feb. 23, even though lawmakers were on break and just a few Democratic allies were on hand to cheer her on. Fluke said that Georgetown, a Jesuit institution, does not provide contraception coverage in its student health plan and that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school.

On Wednesday, Limbaugh weighed in. "What does it say about the college coed ... who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex."

Aides said Obama, a father of two daughters, read about Limbaugh's comments and wanted to reach out to Fluke to offer his support. After consulting with advisers, Obama called Fluke from the Oval Office on Friday afternoon.

Obama's phone call immediately boosted the pressure on Republican presidential candidates to respond to Limbaugh's comments.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, campaigning Saturday in Ohio, said the crux of the debate was about religious liberty, not contraception. Of Obama's call to Fluke, he said "I think the president will opportunistically do anything he can.

GOP hopeful Rick Santorum told CNN on Friday that Limbaugh was being "absurd", though he added that "an entertainer can be absurd." Mitt Romney tried to steer away from the uproar when asked about the radio host's words after a campaign event in Cleveland.

"It's not the language I would have used," Romney said Friday. "But I'm focusing on the issues that I think are significant in the country today and that's why I'm here talking about jobs in Ohio."

Courting female voters is central to Obama's re-election strategy. He won the White House in part because of a significant gender gap in the general election voting. In 2008, women preferred Obama over Arizona Sen. John McCain, with 56 percent of female voters siding with Obama and 43 percent with the GOP nominee, according to exit poll data.

Obama's 2012 campaign frequently points to polling suggesting a similar trend could be shaping up in 2012. A CNN poll from January showed Obama leading Romney among women nationally, 53 percent to 45 percent. That margin only increased in hypothetical matchups with Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Just on Saturday, all-women Barnard College said Obama would speak at the school's graduation ceremony in May.

Republican strategist John Feehery said the GOP candidates have so far missed an opportunity to forcefully distance themselves from Limbaugh's comments, allowing the president to take advantage.

"He's looking like the hero here," Feehery said of Obama. "If the Republicans were smart, they would have done the same thing: given her a call and said we're sorry about this attack."

Democratic lawmakers are also seeking to capitalize on the Limbaugh's comments. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a letter to supporters that Democrats had raised more than $1.6 million on the contraception issue.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said it was inappropriate to try to raise money off the issue. But the Speaker's office also distanced itself from Limbaugh's comments, saying they, too, were inappropriate.

Hundreds Gather To Commemorate Wilt Chamberlain’s Legendary 100-Point Game

(The souvenir program from today’s Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game 50th anniversary luncheon.)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Today, on the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, his friends, fans, and some family members gathered for a luncheon at a West Philadelphia banquet hall to celebrate the achievement.

Many former players in attendance today said a 100-point game won’t ever happen again. They say Wilt had the perfect combination of natural ability and drive to do things that others could only dream of.

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

MLB Expands Playoffs From 8 To 10 Teams

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to 10 teams Friday, adding a second wild-card in each league.

The decision establishes a new one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners, meaning a third-place team could win the World Series.

This is the only change in baseball’s playoff structure since the 1995 season, when wild-card teams were first added.

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

Obama joins in assailing Limbaugh slur of student

Obama joins in assailing Limbaugh slur of student

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, one of six judges for the pageant, speaks during a Miss America news conference at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Limbaugh drew fire Friday, March 2, 2012 from many directions for his depiction of a college student as a "slut" because she testified before Congress about the need for contraceptive coverage.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stepping into an emerging culture clash over women, President Barack Obama made a supportive phone call Friday to a law student who testified before Congress about the need for birth control coverage, only to be called a "slut" by Rush Limbaugh.

For Obama, it was an emphatic plunge into the latest flare-up on social issues. Democratic officeholders and liberal advocacy have accused Republicans of waging a "war on women" because of GOP stances on contraception and abortion rights, and Limbaugh's tirade on his radio talk show was seen as an escalation.

In addition to her call from the president, the third-year Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke, was backed by members of Congress, women's groups, and the administration and faculty at her Roman Catholic university.

Demands for Limbaugh's sponsors to pull their ads from his rocketed through cyberspace, and at least three companies, Quicken Loans and bedding retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, bowed to the pressure.

Obama considers Limbaugh's remarks "reprehensible," according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. He said the president called Fluke to "express his disappointment that she has been the subject of inappropriate personal attacks" and to thank her for speaking out on an issue of public policy.

"The fact that our political discourse has become debased in many ways is bad enough," Carney said. "It is worse when it's directed at a private citizen who was simply expressing her views."

Obama reached Fluke by phone as she was waiting to go on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports."

"What was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud," a choked-up Fluke told Mitchell. "And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So I just appreciated that very much."

By calling Fluke and injecting himself into the Limbaugh controversy, Obama sent a message to more than one law student. He was reaching out to young voters and women - two groups whose support he needs in this re-election year. And he was underscoring that the White House, despite bungling its rollout of the birth control policy, sees it as a winning issue and welcomes Obama's name next to it.

Fluke was given a chance to talk to Congress on Feb. 23, even though lawmakers were on a break and just a few Democratic allies were on hand to cheer her on. The previous week, a Republican-controlled House committee had rejected Democrats' request that she testify on the Obama administration's policy requiring that employees of religion-affiliated institutions have access to health insurance that covers birth control.

Republicans have faulted parts of Obama's health care reform as unconstitutional, including an initial requirement, since withdrawn by the president, that contraceptives be covered under the insurance policies of businesses, including those with religious affiliations.

Fluke said that Georgetown, a Jesuit institution, does not provide contraception coverage in its student health plan and that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school. She spoke of a friend who had an ovary removed because the insurance company wouldn't cover the prescription birth control she needed to stop the growth of cysts.

On Wednesday, Limbaugh unleashed a lengthy and often savage verbal assault on Fluke.

"What does it say about the college coed ... who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex?" Limbaugh said. "It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex."

He went on to suggest that Fluke distribute sex tapes of herself.

"If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it," he said. "We want you post the videos online so we can all watch."

The backlash began quickly and showed no signs of abating as scores of Democratic members of Congress denounced Limbaugh and urged their GOP colleagues to do likewise.

The Republican speaker of the House, John Boehner, responded through a spokesman.

"The Speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation," said Boehner aide Michael Steel.

Later, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the committee that blocked Fluke's original testimony, issued a letter repudiating Limbaugh's comments but also excoriating the Democrats and their supporters.

"I ask that you join me in a broader condemnation of the attacks on people of faith ... and the regrettable personal attacks that have come from individuals on both sides of the issue," Issa wrote to Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.

Boehner and Issa are among the GOP leaders accused of waging the purported "war on women." The topic has been cited often in recent fundraising pitches by many liberal advocacy groups, and they recently have shown more aggressiveness.

In early February, after a three-day furor, the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity dropped plans to withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion provider. And more recently, after incurring protests and ridicule, Republican politicians in Virginia backed away from a bill that would have required invasive vaginal ultrasounds as a pre-condition for many abortions.

Amid this controversy, polls show that Obama's support among women has been increasing.

At Georgetown, more than 130 faculty members signed a letter praising Fluke for her "grace and strength" and condemning Limbaugh's remarks. The university president, John J. DeGioia, did likewise.

He said Limbaugh and others responded to Fluke "with behavior that can only be described as misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our student."

On Thursday, aware of the firestorm he had ignited, Limbaugh was unapologetic.

"I think this is hilarious. Absolutely hilarious" he said on his show. "The left has been thrown into an outright conniption fit!"

On Friday, still defiant, Limbaugh scoffed at the concept of a conservative "war on women."

"Amazingly, when there is the slightest bit of opposition to this new welfare entitlement being created, then all of a sudden we hate women! We want `em barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen," he said. "And now, at the end of this week, I am the person that the women of America are to fear the most."

Longtime Republican strategist Terry Holt suggested voters might see Obama's response to an over-the-top radio host as "pure pandering" to woo women's votes.

"This conversation seems to serve Rush Limbaugh and president Obama equally well," Holt said.

Fluke, in Washington, issued a statement expressing gratitude for the support she's received and resolve to continue speaking out.

"No woman deserves to be disrespected in this manner. This language is an attack on all women, and has been used throughout history to silence our voices," she said.

"The millions of American women who have and will continue to speak out in support of women's health care and access to contraception prove that we will not be silenced."

Rick Santorum, one of the Republican presidential contenders seeking to oppose Obama, commented to CNN about Limbaugh's remarks.

"He's being absurd," Santorum said. "But that's, you know, an entertainer can be absurd."

In interview, Obama says he's not bluffing on Iran

In interview, Obama says he's not bluffing on Iran

President Barack Obama speaks at a fundraiser in New York City, Thursday, March 1, 2012. Obama will be speaking at 4 fundraisers while in New york City.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama warned that he is not bluffing about attacking Iran if it builds a nuclear weapon, but in an interview published Friday, Obama also cautioned U.S. ally Israel that a premature attack on Iran would do more harm than good.

In his most expansive remarks on the issue thus far, Obama told The Atlantic magazine that Iran and Israel both understand that "a military component" is among a mix of many options for dealing with Iran, along with sanctions and diplomacy. That is the most direct threat he has issued during months of escalating tension with Iran over its disputed nuclear development program.

His comments appeared aimed more at Israel and its supporters in the United States than at Iran. Obama addresses the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday and meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday at the White House. Netanyahu will also address AIPAC.

"I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," he said in the interview. "I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But (both) governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say."

Netanyahu, speaking Friday ahead of a meeting in Canada with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, called Iran's nuclear ambitions a "grave threat to the peace and security of the world, and I think it's important that the international community not allow this threat to materialize."

"As for Israel, like any sovereign country, we reserve the right to defend ourselves against a country, against a country that calls and works for our destruction," Netanyahu said.

Obama will try to convince Netanyahu to postpone any plans his government may have to unilaterally attack Iran's nuclear facilities in coming months. An attack that soon would not carry U.S. backing, and the U.S. would probably not be involved in planning or executing it.

Nonetheless, it could force the United States into a new conflict and an arms race in the Middle East, as Obama made clear in the lengthy interview. It also could allow Iran to paint itself as the victim and draw new support that would undermine rather than enhance Israel's security, Obama warned.

"At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally (Syria) is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?" Obama said.

At the same time, Obama has consistently refused to renounce a military option for the United States down the road. The dispute with Israel is over the timing and efficiency of such a strike, not whether one is ever appropriate. The difference of opinion has quickly come to dominate the U.S.-Israeli relationship and the U.S. strategy for dealing with a nuclear Iran is a major issue for American Jewish voters in this election year.

Israeli leaders have strongly hinted that they want to hear clearer terms from Obama for what the United States would do if Iran crosses the threshold from nuclear energy to nuclear weapons. Until now, Obama has said a nuclear Iran is unacceptable but has not spelled out just what the U.S. would do or when.

In the interview, Obama did go further than he has before. He explicitly referred to the possible use of military force, and he firmly rejected the notion that the United States might settle for a strategy of deterring Iran from using a nuclear weapon.

"You're talking about the most volatile region in the world," he said. "It will not be tolerable to a number of states in that region for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and them not to have a nuclear weapon. Iran is known to sponsor terrorist organizations, so the threat of proliferation becomes that much more severe. "

He also pointed to economic turmoil in Iran and reiterated that sanctions against the Iranian regime are starting to bite.

In a series of recent meetings with Israeli leaders, administration officials are believed to have sought to persuade the Jewish state to give sanctions more time to work and to hold off on any military strike. Speaking Thursday to reporters, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama believes there is still "time and space" for those measure to persuade the Iranian regime to take a different course.

Israeli officials acknowledge the pain in Iran but have publicly expressed doubt those measures will ever cause Iran's clerical leaders to change course.

Obama wasn't so sure. "They're sensitive to the opinions of the people and they are troubled by the isolation that they're experiencing," he told the Atlantic. "They know, for example, that when these kinds of sanctions are applied, it puts a world of hurt on them."

Though Obama emphatically portrays himself as one of Israel's best friends, touting military and other ties, his relationship with Netanyahu has at times been frosty. The two have sparred publicly over Jewish settlements on the West Bank, with Netanyahu pushing back on Washington's efforts to move forward on peace talks with the Palestinians.

The Iran issue has risen to the forefront of his foreign policy. At a fundraiser in New York on Thursday night, an audience member shouted out, urging the president to avoid a war with Iran.

"Nobody has announced a war," Obama cautioned. "You're jumping the gun a little bit."

Red Cross blocked by Syria from ex-rebel enclave

Red Cross blocked by Syria from ex-rebel enclave

Men hold revolutionary Syrian flags during an anti government protest in a town in north Syria, Friday, March 2, 2012. Syria has faced mounting international criticism over its bloody crackdown on the uprising, which started with peaceful protests but has become increasingly militarized.

BEIRUT (AP) -- The Syrian government blocked a Red Cross convoy Friday from delivering badly needed food, medical supplies and blankets to a rebellious neighborhood of Homs cut off by a monthlong siege, and activists accused regime troops who overran the shattered district of execution-style killings and a scorched-earth campaign.

Humanitarian conditions in the former rebel stronghold of Baba Amr have been described as catastrophic, with extended power outages, shortages of food and water, and no medical care for the sick and wounded.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called Homs "a scene of medieval barbarity."

Syrian state TV showed burned-out and destroyed buildings in Baba Amr, a western neighborhood of Homs, which was covered with a blanket of fresh snow.

Syrian government forces took control of Baba Amr on Thursday after rebels fled the district under constant bombardment that activists said killed hundreds of people since early February. The Syrian regime has said it was fighting "armed gangs" in Baba Amr, and had vowed to "cleanse" the neighborhood.

"It is unacceptable that people who have been in need of emergency assistance for weeks have still not received any help," said Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Red Cross said it had received permission from the government of President Bashar Assad on Thursday to enter Baba Amr, on the western side of Homs, and a convoy of seven trucks with 15 tons of humanitarian aid was poised to do so, but authorities then blocked their access. There was no explanation from the government about the change.

"We are staying in Homs tonight in the hope of entering Baba Amr in the very near future," Kellenberger said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Syria to give humanitarian workers immediate access to people who desperately need aid.

"The images which we have seen in Syria are atrocious," said Ban. "It's totally unacceptable, intolerable. How, as a human being, can you bear this situation?"

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has been trying, without success, to get permission from the Syrian government to visit, and Ban said Assad's regime should let her into the country to assess the situation without delay.

British photographer Paul Conroy, who was wounded by shelling in Baba Amr and trapped there for several days until he escaped, told Britain's Sky News that thousands of people were still in Homs, "living in bombed-out wrecks with children six to a bed, rooms full of people waiting to die." He said they had no electricity or water and only meager supplies of food.

"It's not a war. It's a massacre - indiscriminate massacre of men, women and children," he told the broadcaster. "It's snowing there now and these people can't make fires."

Bassel Fouad, a Syrian activist who fled to Lebanon from Baba Amr, said a colleague there told him Friday that Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen known as shabiha were conducting house-to-house raids.

"The situation is worse than terrible inside Baba Amr," Fouad said. "Shabiha are entering homes and setting them on fire."

His colleague said the gunmen lined 10 men up early Friday and shot them to death in front of a government cooperative that sells subsidized food. Syrian forces were detaining anyone over the age of 14 in the three-story building, he added.

"They begin at the start of a street and enter and search house after house," he said. "Then they start with another street."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said it had received reports of 10 people slain in front of a co-op and called on the Red Cross team heading to Homs to investigate claims by residents the building is being used a prison. Another group, the Local Coordination Committees, said 14 were killed.

The claims could not be independently verified. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in Geneva that the agency had received unconfirmed reports of "a particularly grisly set of summary executions" involving 17 people in Baba Amr after government forces entered.

Colville said his office was seeking to confirm the reports and called on both government and rebel forces to refrain from all forms of revenge attacks.

Syria has a fragile mix of ethnic groups including Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and the minority Alawite sect, to which Assad and the ruling elite belong. Homs, the country's third-largest city, has emerged as a key battleground and has seen an alarming rise in sectarian tensions and reprisal killings.

The European Union committed itself to document war crimes in Syria to set the stage for a "day of reckoning" for the country's leadership, in the way that former Yugoslav leaders were tried for war crimes in the 1990s by a special U.N. tribunal.

EU leaders in Brussels condemned Assad's regime for its nearly yearlong crackdown on an uprising that began with mostly peaceful protests but has veered toward civil war, with Syrian forces firing heavy artillery against civilians. The U.N. has estimated that more than 7,500 people have been killed, while activists put the death toll at over 8,000.

"We will make sure - as we did in Serbia - that there is a day of reckoning for those who are responsible," said Cameron, who accused the Assad regime of "butchering its own people."

"It is very important that we set out the war crimes that effectively are being committed, that we write them down, we take the photographic evidence, we bring it together and ... make sure that the day of reckoning will come," he told reporters.

The EU leaders pledged to step up sanctions against the Damascus regime "as long as the violence and human rights abuses continue." They again called on Assad to resign.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country is closing its embassy in Syria, a day after two French journalists - one of them wounded - escaped to Lebanon after being trapped for days in Baba Amr for nine days. Britain and the United States have already closed their embassies.

Russia, a staunch ally of Syria, blasted the West for backing the opposition, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calling for both the rebels and the government forces to pull out of besieged cities to end the bloodshed.

"Do they want Assad to pull out his forces so the opposition moves right in?" Putin said at a meeting with Western newspaper editors in remarks on state TV. "Is it a balanced approach?"

Sarkozy greeted Edith Bouvier, a journalist for Le Figaro, and William Daniels, a photographer, after they flew to a military airport in Villacoublay, France, from Beirut.

Bouvier was taken off the plane on a stretcher. She sustained several fractures to a leg during a rocket attack on Feb. 22 that killed two Western journalists - American-born reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik - and wounded Conroy, who was spirited out of Syria. Spanish reporter Javier Espinosa also was smuggled out.

Red Cross spokesman Bijan Farnoudi told The Associated Press that the organization has the bodies of Colvin and Ochlik and was taking them to Damascus. Activist videos posted online Thursday purported to show the burials of Colvin and Ochlik in Baba Amr this week. The Syrian government news agency said the bodies were exhumed after Baba Amr fell so they could be repatriated. But in an obviously erroneous report, it said Espinosa's body was among them, even though he appeared on international TV shows Friday, detailing his escape.

Activists said protesters took to the streets in towns elsewhere across Syria Friday, with security forces unleashing tear gas and gunfire, and making mass arrests.

The Observatory said 10 people were killed in the town of Rastan near Homs when a mortar shell landed near marchers. The LCC said 16 were killed in the same event, among 65 reported dead nationwide.

Amateur video posted online by activists showed a protest in Rastan of about 200 youths singing and flashing the "V" sign for victory until a gunshot sent them fleeing. The video showed gruesome images, including a bloodied corpse slumped in front of a shop and a severed head in a pool of blood.

Pa. Official ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ Two Of Three Delco Refineries Can Be Saved

Sunoco Marcus Hook Refinery

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Testifying at budget hearings today, Pennsylvania’s economic development secretary said he’s optimistic two of the three Delaware County refineries slated for closing can be saved.

Saying he was restricted by confidentiality agreements as to how much detail he could offer, Alan Walker, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, offered an update on the refineries to the state House Appropriations Committee.

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

Eagles Officially Place Franchise Tag On DeSean Jackson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It’s official, the Eagles have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson. The team announced the move Thursday via press release.

“We want DeSean to be an Eagle for the long haul and this is a step in the right direction to accomplish that,” said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman via the release. “DeSean is a talented player and a proven playmaker in this league and we look forward to him continuing his career in Philadelphia. It’s our understanding that he has the same desire. We will continue our efforts on getting a long-term deal done with him.”

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

Ohio cops: Adopted boy shook when asked about sex

Ohio cops: Adopted boy shook when asked about sex

This undated photo made available by the Montgomery County Jail via The Daily News shows Patrick Rieder, 31, of Dayton, Ohio who is being held in the Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, charged with four counts of child rape. Law enforcement officials are widening the investigation into child sexual exploitation allegations against an adoptive father and two other men, including Rieder, authorities said Thursday, March 1, 2012.

TROY, Ohio (AP) -- A 10-year-old boy shook when asked about being prostituted to two other men by an adoptive father who regularly had sex with him, according to police, who said the boy was fearful of talking because he didn't want to be taken from his home or separated from his new siblings.

The adoptive father has been charged with raping three boys in his care and compelling prostitution by hiring the 10-year-old out for sex. He and two other men remained in jail Thursday on rape charges.

Federal and local law enforcement officials said they're widening the investigation into child sexual exploitation allegations against the father, who worked out of his home as an insurance claims adjuster. His name is being withheld by The Associated Press to protect the children's identities.

Troy police said they impounded the father's truck and seized four laptops from the home and a video camera and two wooden paddles from the master bedroom.

School officials said the man had recently withdrawn the three adopted children from school, saying he would home school them. A neighbor said he had no idea anything lurid might be going on in the home.

"You don't know what goes on inside people's homes," said neighbor Ed Rogers, who had lived across the street from the man the past five years in a neighborhood lined with single-story ranch homes, typical in this working class city of 25,000 people about 20 miles north of Dayton. "I'll never look at that house the same way again. I'll just look at it with sickness."

The man at the center of the investigation is a longtime Troy resident who had been involved in a local youth basketball program. Police Capt. Chris Anderson said police so far haven't found any signs of any inappropriate behavior with other children, even as calls poured in from worried parents.

"Shock and disbelief," Anderson said of the community's reaction.

Rogers and his wife, Sherry, said the man was something of a loner but would chit-chat when out mowing his lawn or when the kids were playing outside. Sherry Rogers recalled Thursday that his blinds were usually drawn shut at his home, a few blocks from an elementary school.

Police said they had hadn't found any records of past criminal charges against the man. He had adopted three children, including a 9-year-old girl, and was in the processing of adopting the fourth who lived with him.

The children came from Texas, where state officials said Thursday they have been reviewing their records but had found nothing out of the ordinary or outside of procedures, which include background checks, and parental training.

"We're sick about the results, but it's not that the process was not followed," said Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Texas family services agency. "This appears to be a tragic but isolated incident."

Ohio children's services officials said they were also reviewing the adoptions, handled through a private agency certified by the state. Ohio spokesman Ben Johnson said the adoptive father was first certified as a foster parent in Miami County in 2005. He said Ohio and Texas officials were in communication about the case.

The case comes as Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine have made investigating human trafficking and exploitation of minors a priority.

"This is a horrible situation," DeWine said. "It's always shocking whenever you have children who are abused, and when children are sexually abused ... this is so reprehensible."

An undercover detective in Franklin County, part of a state task force, talked online with the adoptive father, who said he would arrange sex with a 10-year-old boy, Troy police said. He had been led to the adoptive father by another man who had posted a Craigslist ad wanting "taboo" sex, police said.

The adoptive father was going to meet the undercover detective at a McDonald's in a nearby city, but police moved in two days before the scheduled meeting, according to records. They confronted the man with text messages and online communications about arranging sex with the boy, police said in a case report filed in court.

Federal and state prosecutors and investigators and police from three Ohio cities were meeting to discuss how to proceed. The FBI said it was pursuing federal sexual exploitation charges.

The adoptive father was being held on $800,000 bond Thursday. The Miami County public defender's office didn't return a message.

Jason Zwick, 29, of the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek was being held in Miami County on a rape charge and $500,000 bond. A message was left for his attorney. Patrick Rieder, 31, was charged with four counts of child rape, the Montgomery County prosecutor's office said. Rieder was being held Thursday without bond in Montgomery County. No attorney information for him was immediately available.

The Montgomery County prosecutor on Thursday also charged the adoptive father with one count of child rape and four counts of complicity to commit child rape, based on an allegation of sexual assault in Rieder's Dayton home. Prosecutor's spokesman Greg Flannagan declined to discuss details of the new charges, filed in addition to the earlier Miami County charges.

7 American pro-democracy workers fly out of Egypt

7 American pro-democracy workers fly out of Egypt

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, Egyptian policemen sit in front of Egyptian employees of several pro-democracy groups charged with using foreign funds to foment unrest during their trial in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt has lifted a travel ban on Wednesday, Feb. 29 for seven Americans charged with fomenting unrest by working for illegally funded pro-democracy groups, signaling an end to the worst crisis in Egypt-U.S. relations in 30 years.

CAIRO (AP) -- Seven Americans on trial over charges their pro-democracy groups fomented unrest flew out of Egypt Thursday after the U.S. posted nearly $5 million in bail for them and nine others who managed to leave before a travel ban was imposed.

The departure of the seven eased a deep diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Egypt that had been building for two months, following a crackdown on pro-democracy and human rights groups by the Egyptian government.

Though the Americans were safely on their way home, Washington indicated that its anger over the affair has not abated.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland expressed relief that the Americans were free, but she pointedly noted that no decision has been made about U.S. aid to Egypt.

As the crisis unfolded over the past two months, furious officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, warned the $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic assistance slated for Egypt this year was in jeopardy. Nuland pointed out Thursday that the court case against the pro-democracy groups is not over.

The 16 Americans facing charges are not expected to return to Egypt, but their trial has not been called off. After the first session Sunday, it was adjourned until April, and that ruling still stands.

A convoy of white vans carrying the symbol of the U.S. Embassy arrived at Cairo airport Thursday afternoon. carrying the seven, accompanied by embassy officials. Egypt's state news agency MENA said the Americans were "happily" taking group photos at the airport, along with eight other foreigners who were also allowed to leave the country.

One of the seven flying out of Egypt on a special plane to Cyprus was Sam Lahood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood. He was the head of the International Republican Institute office in Cairo, a well established pro-democracy group.

The IRI called their release "a positive development" and said it was "hopeful that the charges against its expatriate and local Egyptian staff will be dismissed." The IRI statement also expressed concern about the future of efforts toward establishing democracy in Egypt in the wake of the affair.

Ray Lahood welcomed the development. "I'm pleased the court has lifted the travel ban and am looking forward to my son's arrival in the U.S.," he said in a statement. "I'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this time."

U.S. Sen. John McCain and other senators said that the crisis "may have tested" U.S.-Egypt ties, but "the strength of our relationship prevailed."

Egypt and the United States have been close allies since the late 1970s, soon after the Egyptians abandoned decades of partnership with the Soviet Union and signed a peace treaty with Israel, the first Arab nation to do so. Informally, U.S. aid to Egypt is contingent on Cairo keeping the peace with Israel.

The raids on the pro-democracy groups and charges against them dovetailed with frequent declarations by the ruling generals, blaming continuing unrest on unnamed "foreign hands." Local activists ridiculed those statements, charging that the military rulers were perpetuating the harsh, repressive tactics of the overthrown regime of President Hosni Mubarak and demanding that the generals hand over power to a civilian government.

Nonprofit pro-democracy groups have trained thousands of young Egyptians in political activism and organizing, an education that played a key part in the success of last year's uprising that toppled Mubarak.

The crackdown began in late December, when Egyptian security raided offices of 10 pro-democracy and human rights groups. Workers, including the 16 Americans, were then charged with using illegal funds and promoting protests against the ruling Egyptian military.

The groups hotly denied the charges. They insisted their financing is transparent, and all their efforts to register had been stalled by the Egyptian government.

The German government said two of its citizens, working for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, were on the plane to Cyprus. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle expressed relief that they were freed but hoped that the case against them would be closed, so that their group "can resume its valuable work in Egypt without any hindrances."

Release of the foreigners was seen by many in Egypt as a concession by the ruling military to U.S. pressure, despite repeated statements by the generals that Egypt's judiciary is independent.

Speculation about generals exerting pressure surfaced when the three judges hearing the case abruptly pulled out Tuesday, citing "uneasiness." Lead judge Mohammed Shukry told the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram on Thursday that there was interference in his work, but he did not say who pressured him.

"The problem started with the requests to lift the travel ban on the foreigners," he said. The ban was lifted Wednesday.

On Thursday, court officials said the U.S. posted bail for the seven, as well as nine other Americans charged in the case who had already left Egypt. It was set at $300,000 for each of the 16, or $4.8 million.

Egyptian airport officials said that a U.S. military jet landed at Cairo airport on Wednesday, hours after Egypt announced lifting of the travel ban against the foreigners. Its four-member crew spent the night inside the plane.

All the Egyptian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Postal closures concern election officials, voters

Postal closures concern election officials, voters

In this photo taken Feb. 24, 2012, sacks of mail for processing is seen at the Sacramento Processing Center in West Sacramento, Calif. Elections officials in several states are concerned that the closing of mail-processing centers and post offices could disrupt vote-by-mail balloting this year.

Elections officials in several states are concerned that the closing of mail-processing centers and post offices could disrupt vote-by-mail balloting this year, a potential problem that has led some members of Congress to call for a delay until after the November elections.

The U.S. Postal Service recently announced that it is moving ahead with plans to close at least 223 processing centers and thousands of post offices, adding to the 153 centers and 965 post offices that have closed since 2008. The moves are part of a wide-ranging cost-cutting strategy for an agency that estimates it will lose up to $18 billion a year by 2015.

Voting officials are raising a variety of concerns, depending on the circumstances in their states. Meanwhile, postal customers have security concerns about leaving ballots in their mail boxes to be picked up by postal carriers.

In California and Arizona, officials say the closing of processing centers could delay the delivery of mail-in ballots beyond the deadline to have them counted.

The state registrar in Ohio wrote the postmaster general with concerns about ensuring the security of ballots sent to processing centers that will be across state lines.

And in Oregon, the first state to require vote-by-mail, the state registrar says voters in rural areas where post offices are scheduled to be closed may have nowhere nearby to drop off their ballots. That would be especially problematic for those who have become accustomed to mailing them on the final weekend.

"We just have to have a moratorium through this presidential year to avoid disastrous consequences," said California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who wrote a letter last week to the U.S. postmaster general urging a halt to the closures until after the November election. "I'm asking for a time-out."

The Postal Service has said the next round of facilities won't close until August, and it would then halt the process temporarily at the end of the month to minimize disruptions ahead of the general election.

The agency might begin its closures in states that already have held their primaries, Postal Service spokeswoman Patricia Licata said. She acknowledged that the consolidation will lead to longer delivery times but dismissed concerns that it could disenfranchise voters.

"We realize that election mail is vital to the country, and we don't want to do anything to disrupt that," she said.

Mindful of the concerns back home, some members of Congress say they plan to ask for another delay, after the Postal Service agreed last year to a five-month moratorium on the closures that ends in mid-May.

According to the Postal Service, once the moratorium lifts, the earliest a mail processing center could close would be August, partly because the mail agency must work to reassign employees. The first mail processing centers to be affected, which are yet to be determined, would be a handful of places involving the least difficulty in transferring employees.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat who sits on the committee that oversees the agency, is working to minimize the effects of the cuts. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said he plans to file an amendment seeking to delay the closures until after the presidential election. He said they would disproportionately affect rural voters.

"Closing these facilities carries many unintended consequences," Wyden, a Democrat, said in a statement last week. "It is not a risk worth taking."

Congress is expected to take up the overhaul of the Postal Service in the coming weeks.

Postal closures are unpopular with constituents, but spokeswoman Shannan Velayas said California's secretary of state Bowen is concerned only with the integrity of elections and that her letter to the postmaster general was not politically motivated.

While voting by mail has been mandatory in Oregon since 2000, it is growing nationwide.

One in five voters cast ballots by mail in 2010, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, up from one in eight in 2004. In some states, such as Washington, ballots must be merely postmarked by Election Day to count.

In others, they must be received by the time polls close.

The Postal Service changes worry some voters, who wonder if their ballots will be delivered in time or whether they will have a convenient way to mail them.

Charles Henze, who has voted by mail in California since he first registered, said the cutbacks have him considering whether to get off the permanent absentee voter rolls this year.

Henze, 46, likes to wait until the last minute to cast his vote. Now that he may have to mail his ballot sooner, he is leaning toward voting in person at his polling place in the eastern San Francisco Bay area city of Pleasanton.

"With primaries in particular, by the time you get to voting, the situation can have changed," he said.

It's a somewhat different concern for Nancy Bowers, who lives on a farm outside Fort Rock, Ore., where the post office is under review for closure. She is worried there will not be a drop-box close enough to make voting convenient.

"If they make us go somewhere else, some people may have to drive 50 miles," said Bowers, 65. "They'll consider not voting. A lot of people will."

Fort Rock, about 60 miles south of Bend in central Oregon, is nine miles from Bowers' farm. She said if the post office closes, she would have to drive at least 20 miles to drop off a ballot. For the November general election, that could mean driving in snow.

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown is considering asking county registrars to establish more ballot drop-boxes at libraries and other public buildings, including shuttered post offices.

In Arizona, where more than 1 million residents voted absentee last year, election officials are advising residents to get their ballots in the mail by the Wednesday before an election. Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez said the change could have the biggest effect on residents of Indian reservation and others in rural areas who only make weekly trips to town to pick up mail.

"We're going to have to go back and educate voters," she said.

Delays are among the concerns of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who sent a letter about the processing center closures last week to the U.S. postmaster general. He expressed concern that Ohio ballots could pass through out-of-state processing centers on the way to and from voters.

"A ballot leaving the state by its very nature is a problem ..." Husted said in a follow-up telephone interview.

His spokesman, Matt McClellan, said the longer trip increases the risk of ballots being damaged, lost or delayed. McClellan said those concerns would be magnified in a presidential election year, when the number of voters and mail-in ballots is highest.

California poses a special problem because of its sheer size.

About 40 percent of California voters are registered for permanent absentee ballots, compared with 5 percent in 2000. Nearly 6 million residents voted by mail in 2008, the last presidential election.

The Postal Service has closed four processing centers in the state since 2008 and plans to close 14 more. Some county registrars said the closures already have had an effect.

The secretary of state said mailed ballots took from five to seven days to arrive at county election offices during last year's local elections in areas that lost distribution centers, rather than the normal one to three days.

Gail Pellerin, president of California's county clerks association, said postal cutbacks had delayed ballot delivery and were a major reason some absentee votes went uncounted last year. Pellerin said she has noticed that some voters have begun using private package companies such as FedEx to overnight their ballots.

"There's nothing worse than having to timestamp those in as too late," she said.

2 more US troops killed by Afghan partners

2 more US troops killed by Afghan partners

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2012 file photo, Afghans burn an effigy representing U.S. President Barack Obama during an anti-U.S. protest in Ghani Khail, east of Kabul, Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base. Two U.S. troops were gunned down by an Afghan soldier and his accomplice Thursday, March 1, 2012, the latest of six American service members killed by their Afghan partners since the burning of Muslim holy books last week sent anti-Americanism soaring in a nation that has long distrusted foreigners.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two U.S. troops were gunned down by two Afghan soldiers and an accomplice Thursday, the latest of six American service members killed by their Afghan partners since the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. base last week sent anti-Americanism soaring in a nation that has long distrusted foreigners.

The killings come at a time when international troops have stepped up training and mentoring of Afghan soldiers, police and government workers so the Afghans can take the lead and the foreign forces go home. Success of the partnership, the focus of the U.S.-led coalition's exit strategy, is threatened by a rising number of Afghan police and soldiers - or militants disguised in their uniforms - who are turning their guns on their foreign allies.

The latest victims were killed on a joint U.S.-Afghan base in Zhari district of southern Kandahar province by two Afghan soldiers and Afghan civilian literacy instructor who fired from a sentry tower, according to U.S. and Afghan officials. NATO forces shot and killed two of the assailants, apparently the soldiers, said Pentagon press secretary George Little.

On Feb. 25, two U.S. military advisers were found dead with shots to the back of the head inside the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul. Two U.S. troops were killed Feb. 23 by an Afghan soldier during an anti-Western protest over the Quran burning.

The U.S. apologized for the burning, saying the Islamic texts were mistakenly sent to a garbage burn pit Feb. 20 at Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul. But the incident raised what had been simmering animosity toward outsiders to a full boil. Deadly protests raged around the nation for six days - the most visible example of a deep-seated resentment bred by what Afghans view is a general lack of respect for their culture and religion.

Afghan policeman Khalid Khiri turns his head now and spits when he sees a U.S. military convoy roll by.

The 25-year-old policeman says it was fine to fight alongside the Americans. But after the Muslim holy books were burned at a U.S. base, he says he detests them.

"If they're going to burn the Quran, we don't want them here," he said this week on a road just south of Kabul. "They will never be forgiven for betraying the holy book."

Afghans have staged demonstrations in the past over NATO airstrikes that have inadvertently killed civilians, deadly traffic accidents involving U.S. military vehicles and night raids that Afghans say violate their privacy, disrespect women and lead to the detention of innocents. But desecration of the Muslim holy book struck at the heart of the Afghan people and their religion.

Thousands unleashed their anger in the largest display of anti-Americanism so far in a war that has claimed the lives of at least 1,779 members of the U.S. military, according to an Associated Press count. The demonstrations, which left more than 30 people dead, also were a venue for war-weary Afghans to express their frustration that tens of thousands of international troops and billions of dollars in foreign aid have not brought them peace or major improvements to their daily lives. Hundreds of Western advisers were told not to report to government ministries and a few are just starting to trickle back.

"This is the most emotive incident that has happened so far. It's been really at a peak," said Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul. "Even people who are really moderate are sort of exasperated," she said of Afghans' response to the Quran incident. They are saying, "How can you do this? How are we supposed to go on like this?"

Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Afghans generally do not hate Americans and noted that the thousands of people who protested were a fraction of the nearly 30 million people who live in Afghanistan. But he wrote in a recent opinion piece that the violent protests have strengthened the argument of those in the U.S. who want a faster withdrawal of American forces.

"Many Americans seem to be saying that if the Afghan people don't want us there, why should we stay?" he wrote. "That's dubious logic because we are not in Afghanistan as a favor to the Afghan people. We are there to protect our own self-interest in not having their territory once again become a haven for al-Qaida."

At the Pentagon, Little called the latest attack troubling but said the U.S. intends to "stay the course" with its basic strategy for transitioning security responsibility to the Afghans.

"This is a war zone," Little said. "There is no such thing as zero risk."

Afghan animosity for foreigners does not necessary mean they all want the international forces to leave.

A U.N. survey released in late January, before the protests, reported that 68 percent of Afghans surveyed said foreign troops should stay for the time being, compared to about a quarter who said they should leave immediately. The survey by an independent research firm conducted in-person interviews with 7,278 Afghans in October 2011 in all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces, although some randomly chosen districts were inaccessible because of the threat from Taliban insurgents. It quoted a margin of error of 1.6 percentage points.

Some of the four main ethnic factions in Afghanistan want the foreign troops to stay longer than others do. Many Pashtuns, who make up 40 percent of the population and fill the ranks of the Taliban, want international troops to leave immediately. The Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks, many of whom were massacred by the Taliban, generally want them to stay as long as violence threatens security.

Unrest provoked by the Quran burning has eased, but analysts predict anti-Americanism will remain at heightened levels for some time.

"This one isn't going away. I think this act fatally compromises our efforts in Afghanistan," said Michael Corgan, an international relations professor at Boston University. "The burnings immediately put at greater risk all the Americans who were doing good things in Afghanistan building and restoring infrastructure."

The recent anti-American riots also have affected other foreigners who work for international aid organizations and have been locked down in secure locations since the protests began. Many Afghans can't tell the difference between an American or European. They routinely say "the Americans" to describe all foreign forces.

The clash of cultures has played out on the battlefield where Afghan security forces have increasingly partnered with their foreign counterparts. Since 2007, Afghan security force attacks on coalition troops have resulted in the deaths of more than 75 coalition personnel and the wounding of more than 110 others, according to the Pentagon.

A May 2011 study, commissioned by the U.S. military, says the incidents are no longer isolated and are "provoking a crisis of confidence and trust among Westerners training and working with the Afghan security forces."

The Afghans generally view coalition troops as "a bunch of violent, reckless, intrusive, arrogant, self-serving, profane, infidel bullies hiding behind high technology," the report said.

Coalition troops generally view the Afghan forces as a "bunch of cowardly, incompetent, obtuse, thieving, complacent, lazy, pot-smoking, treacherous and murderous radicals."

Afghan and U.S. troops almost came to blows in March 2010 on a base in Helmand province in the south after Afghan soldiers sliced off the ears of a puppy that the American troops had adopted, according to an AP reporter who was embedded at the combat outpost. The Afghans were treating the animal as a typical Afghan fighting dog that has its ears and tails removed so its canine opponents can't grab them in battle.

In February 2011, an AP reporter embedded with the U.S. Marines in Helmand witnessed Afghan army soldiers abandoning a patrol after the two sides argued over whether the American troops were getting too close to local women. The Marines were escorting an American female engagement team tasked with gathering information from Afghan women. After the Afghan troops stormed off, the Marines angrily said their Afghan counterparts were just lazy and looking for an excuse not to patrol.

Afghan forces are frustrated with U.S. troops too.

The Afghan forces, according to the study, complain that the U.S. troops urinate in public, use excessive profanity, loudly pass gas, insult them and drink or eat in front of them during Islam's holy month of Ramadan, a time when Muslims fast during the day. They claim U.S. troops use faulty intelligence to raid Afghan homes and humiliate them by publicly searching them in front of Afghans civilians.

Abdul Manan, an Afghan border policeman in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, said he trusts foreign forces "but they don't trust us, which hurts."

"It shouldn't be this way because we both need each other and without trust we can't win," he said. "They don't give us respect, which is a big reason that some incidents occur. Afghans can never take insults."