CLEVELAND — Democrat Dennis Kucinich is abandoning his second bid for the White House as he faces a tough fight to hold onto his other job — U.S. congressman. In an interview with Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, the six-term House member said he was quitting the race and would make a formal announcement today. Kucinich, 61, is facing four challengers in the Democratic congressional primary March 4, and earlier this week he made an urgent appeal on his Web site for funds for his re-election. One rival has been critical of Kucinich for focusing too much time outside of his district while campaigning for president.
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Nurse admits abusing patients
A night shift nurse accused of raping a nursing home patient confessed to abusing dozens of patients as far back as the 1980s and is likely to face more charges, a police official said Thursday. John Riems, 49, faces a charge of rape and another of gross sexual imposition, the Perkins Township police chief said. The chief said Riems told police the pattern of abuse began shortly after his career began in 1985, and he abused almost 100 patients but could remember specific information on only about two dozen.
California: Snow strands big rigs
Hundreds of big rigs were stranded in a snow-covered mountain pass north of Los Angeles on Thursday after a frigid storm covered the area in snow and heavy rain. The drivers were stuck near Tejon Pass, which rises above 4,000 feet and frequently is closed by winter storms. I-5, a main artery between Northern and Southern California, was shut down. “There are abandoned cars everywhere,” said a manager at Madd Bailey’s Pub in Pine Mountain Club, where up to 10 inches of snow fell. “We got hit around 2:30 in the morning and it hasn’t stopped.”
D.C.: FDA mulls overseas offices
The Food and Drug Administration is considering opening satellite offices in U.S. embassies overseas as part of its effort to improve the safety of food, medicine and other products coming into the United States. The agency’s commissioner said private companies have increased their presence overseas to ensure their suppliers meet standards for quality and safety. It’s time for the federal government to take a similar approach, particularly with food, he said Thursday. About 189,000 registered foreign facilities process or store food consumed in the U.S.
Georgia: Turtles carry salmonella
A strain of salmonella carried by small pet turtles has sickened more than 100 people and hospitalized at least 24 nationwide in the largest recorded outbreak of its kind, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported Thursday. Cases have been reported in 33 states, mostly in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Most of the patients have been children. No one has died in the latest outbreak, which began in August. But some patients have experienced severe symptoms, including acute kidney failure. The most common symptoms reported included bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever and vomiting.
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Theft from body brings charges
A deputy coroner has been accused of stealing gift cards from the body of a woman who had committed suicide. Richmond County Deputy Coroner Charlena Graham was charged Wednesday with a felony count of theft by taking. Graham, 43, has also been fired from the coroner’s office, where she worked for about four years, officials said. The total value of the gift cards was about $400.
Italy: Prodi’s government falls
Italian Premier Romano Prodi resigned Thursday after losing a risky Senate confidence motion that obliged him to end his 20-month-old government. Early elections or asking a politician to try to form another government are among President Giorgio Napolitano’s options as head of state. The Presidential Palace said Napolitano would start consulting today with political leaders to help him decide how to proceed.
Thailand: Militants kill teacher
Muslim militants fatally shot a Buddhist teacher as he pulled out of his driveway to head to work Thursday in restive southern Thailand, police said. Officers detained two suspects in the attack. The teacher was going to pick up students for classes at a public primary school in Pattani province when a gunman on the back seat of a passing motorcycle opened fire, police said. One of the suspects was shot and wounded during a chase.
Turkey: YouTube access resumes
Access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube resumed Thursday, six days after a court ordered it blocked because of clips allegedly insulting the country’s founding father. It was not immediately known whether access resumed because clips deemed disrespectful to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk were removed. It was the second time Turkey banned the site because of videos allegedly irreverent to Ataturk, a war hero who founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and who is still idolized in the country nearly 70 years after his death. It is illegal to insult Ataturk in Turkey.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
