AMES, Iowa – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won an easy and expected victory in a high-profile Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll on Saturday, claiming nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival. Romney had been expected to win the test because he spent millions of dollars and months of effort on an event that was skipped by two of his major rivals. Romney scored 4,416 votes to outpace former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who had 2,587 votes. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback was third with 2,192 votes. The biggest loser of the evening likely was former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who finished in sixth place with 1,039 votes.
Maine: French president visits
President Bush, using all the trappings of his family’s oceanfront estate, worked on a cozier relationship with France and its new president Saturday. Bush welcomed Nicolas Sarkozy, the French leader known for his fast-paced style who may also be this White House’s last true chance for better relations between the two nations. “He’s bringing a good brain, good vision and goodwill,” Bush said from his parents’ Kennebunkport compound, which juts out like a finger pointing into the Atlantic Ocean.
Minnesota: Rain delays recovery
Divers looking for five people still missing since the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge were hampered Saturday because heavy rain had strengthened the current in the Mississippi River. Overnight thunderstorms dropped as much as 2 inches of rain on the region, making the river dangerous for divers around the twisted bridge wreckage in Minneapolis, a Navy spokesman said. The delay came after a two-day period in which the military divers recovered three bodies. That brought the confirmed death toll to eight.
Pennsylvania: Customers assaulted
A 41-year-old man stormed a Wilkes-Barre beauty salon and bludgeoned four grandmothers with a hammer, fracturing one’s skull, before making off with less than $90, police said. Thomas Leyshon, of Mountain Top, was arrested after a daylong manhunt Friday. The women, aged 56 to 76, did not resist but were beaten anyway, witnesses said. At least one required surgery. “It takes a coward to go after some old women,” said Andy Chopka, grandson of victim Jeanna Chopka.
Texas: Boot camp staff charged
Authorities charged the director of a Christian boot camp and an employee with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van after she fell behind the group during a morning run. Charles Flowers and Stephanie Bassitt of San Antonio-based Love Demonstrated Ministries, a 32-day boot camp for at-risk teens, are accused of tying the girl to the van with a rope June 12 and dragging her, according to an arrest affidavit filed Wednesday. The girl was treated for scrapes and bruises on her stomach, legs and arms.
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