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McCain said he was in Benghazi “to get an on the ground assessment of the situation” and planned to meet with the rebel National Transition Council, the de-facto government in the eastern half of the country, and members of the rebel military. “They are my heroes,” McCain said of the rebels as he walked out of a local hotel in Benghazi. He was traveling in an armored Mercedes jeep and had a security detail. A few Libyans waved American flags as his vehicle drove past. McCain’s visit is the highest yet by an American official to the rebel-held east and a boost to the anti-Muammar Qaddafi forces. Details of the trip were shrouded in secrecy due to heightened security in a country fiercely divided by the two-month-old anti-Qaddafi rebellion. McCain’s trip comes as Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday that President Barack Obama has authorized armed Predator drones against forces loyal to Qaddafi. It is the first time that drones will be used for airstrikes since the United States turned over control of the operation to NATO on April 4. The rebels have complained that NATO airstrikes since then have largely been ineffective in stopping Qaddafi forces. Invoking the humanitarian disasters in Rwanda and Bosnia in the 1990s, McCain pressed for U.S. military intervention in Libya in February, weeks before the UN Security Council authorized military action to protect civilians and impose a no-fly zone. When Obama acted with limited congressional consultation, McCain defended the president, saying he couldn’t wait for Congress to take even a few days to debate the use of force. If he had, “there would have been nothing left to save in Benghazi,” the rebels’ de-facto capital. But as the United States handed operational control over to NATO—and withdrew U.S. combat aircraft—McCain criticized the administration. “For the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal,” McCain said. He said the United States must not fail in Libya and said he spoke as someone experienced in a lost conflict, a reference to his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he served as a Navy pilot. McCain also has pushed for arming the rebels, saying the United States and its partners cannot allow Qaddafi to consolidate his hold on one section of the country and create a military deadlock. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Posted in News Desk, North Africa | 25 Comments » Thousands of international visitors and local Christians retraced Jesus’ last steps down the Via Dolorosa, which is Latin for “Way of Suffering.” The route ends at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and his resurrection two days later on Easter Sunday. “All my life I’ve been waiting for this wish—I’ve been wishing for one day to come here in Jerusalem to worship. I wanted to step where my Lord stepped,” said Roshan Futsom from Toronto, Canada. “This is a special energy, a special love. I cannot explain,” said another international visitor, Miodrag Ivanovic of Belgrade, Serbia, who was on the Via Dolorosa with a large wooden cross on his shoulder. Jerusalem’s walled Old City was crowded Friday with adherents of different churches and faiths. The calendars of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches coincide this year, so the sects are marking the Holy Week together. This has required careful arrangements to avoid conflicts among the many ceremonies and processions of each church. Jews are currently celebrating the weeklong Passover festival, and the city’s Jewish Quarter was also full of visitors Friday. Israeli police were deployed in force in the Old City, which contains sites holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Herman Backhaus of Munster, Germany, said being in Jerusalem reminded him that Jesus “actually lived, and his message didn’t die with him on the cross.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. Posted in News Desk, Religion | 3 Comments » The resignation comes nearly two years after the 52-year-old Ensign said he had an extramarital affair with a former staffer, an acknowledgement that has been surrounded by ethics allegations. The Senate Ethics Committee named a special counsel in February to look into the matter, after the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission investigated and then dropped their cases. Ensign insisted Thursday that he’s done nothing wrong, and said the appointment shook him because he had hoped the probes would end with the Justice Department. “I was hopeful that, with the closure of these investigations against me the wear and tear on my family and me would soon be over. This was not the case,” he said. “As is its right, the Senate Ethics Committee is continuing its investigation of issues into which it has been inquiring for the past year and a half. Indeed, the committee even decided recently to devote more resources to its investigation by hiring an outside counsel even though the issues have been viewed and reviewed by so many others.” In his statement , Ensign said that he could no longer put up with the intense focus of the affair and the ethical issues. “While I stand behind my firm belief that I have not violated any law, rule, or standard of conduct of the Senate, and I have fought to prove this publicly, I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings,” he said. Ensign’s resignation would be effective May 3. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval would appoint someone to serve the remainder of the term, which expires at the end of 2012. Several Republican Party officials said Thursday they hoped Sandoval would appoint U.S. Rep. Dean Heller to Ensign’s seat. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Choosing Heller or another Republican would give the party the advantage of incumbency in a highly competitive seat that could decide which party controls the Senate after next year’s elections. U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley and wealthy businessman Byron Georgiou have said they are candidates for the Democratic nomination. Ensign announced in June 2009 that he had an extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former member of his campaign staff, and that he had helped her husband, Doug Hampton, a member of his Senate staff, obtain lobbying work with two Nevada companies. Doug Hampton has been indicted for illegally lobbying the senator’s staff. Federal law prohibits a former senior Senate aide from lobbying the Senate for one year after terminating employment. Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, and GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson, the committee’s vice chairman, said they will complete their investigation in a timely fashion. “Sen. Ensign has made the appropriate decision,” the senators said in a statement Thursday. Ensign announced in March he would not pursue reelection in 2012 to protect his family from campaign attacks involving his role in Doug Hampton’s lobbying career. He said last month that the Senate investigation hadn’t influenced his decision. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Posted in News Desk, Politics | 20 Comments » It’s Good Friday! Random question of the day: What do you do in remembrance of Good Friday? This is our daily (except for Sundays) open thread, where you can 1) answer my question, 2) talk about something else, or 3) say something truly encouraging to the commenter before you. Posted in News Desk, Watercooler Chatter | 122 Comments » Obama addressed about 200 people who paid up to $35,800 apiece for the fundraiser at a San Francisco hotel, the first of four fundraisers of the day. Even though he’s running for reelection from the White House, Obama said he still wants to mount a grassroots campaign. “We need you now more than ever,” he said. “Your engagement, your involvement, your commitments are going to be critically important.” Obama earlier told supporters he understands their frustration over the compromises he’s made with Republicans, while preparing them for more to come. During a raucous fundraiser focused on young people in San Francisco Wednesday night, the president said his supporters are not alone in their frustration with progress in the nation’s capital. “There are times when I’ve felt the same way you do. It’s a big, complicated, messy democracy,” he said. “We knew this wouldn’t be easy.” In addition to the San Francisco fundraiser, Obama had three more planned for Thursday in Los Angeles. In between, the president will squeeze in a town hall meeting in Reno, Nev., aimed at selling his deficit-cutting plan to a wary public. “The deficit is real, our debt is real. We’ve got to do something about it. But how we do it is going to make a huge difference,” Obama said during a smaller, high-dollar fundraiser Wednesday night. The president is calling for $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years, through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy, while House Republicans have passed a plan that would reduce the deficit by nearly $6 trillion in a decade, in part by overhauling Medicare and Medicaid. “I think it’s fair to say that their vision is radical,” Obama told a town hall gathering Wednesday at the headquarters of Facebook, the huge social network company. Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, returned fire. “What’s radical is piling up $9 trillion more in debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids,” he said. Obama’s mixing of politics and policy on this West Coast swing is a harbinger of things to come as he balances campaigning with the duties of the presidency. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Posted in News Desk, Politics | 20 Comments » UPDATE: Terror suspects arrested Thursday led police to five massive bombs buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside Indonesia’s capital, officials said. The explosives, safely defused at the scene, had been set to detonate by cell phone at around 9 a.m. Friday. OUR EARLIER REPORT: Terror suspects arrested Thursday led police to a 330-pound bomb buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, officials said. Senior security minister Djoko Suyanto said he believed Islamic militants had been plotting an attack ahead of Easter celebrations, and the U.S. embassy urged Americans to be vigilant. “The army and police are under high alert,” he told reporters, adding that troops would be deployed at churches and other strategic locations. “We want to guarantee safety.” In recent months, small bands of militants hoping to turn the secular nation of 237 million into an Islamic state have shifted their focus to local “enemies.” They’ve gone after police, members of a minority Islamic sect deemed “deviant,” Christians, and moderate Muslim leaders. National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the 19 suspects were arrested Thursday, including six accused in a series of mail bombs sent last month to liberal Muslim activists and a former anti-terror chief. Four people were wounded in the parcel bombings, none seriously. The arrested men eventually led police to the gas pipeline 100 yards from a Catholic church large enough to hold 3,000 people in Serpong, where they found the massive, high explosive bomb. Suyanto said he believed the militants had been planning to disrupt Good Friday celebrations. The U.S. embassy in Jakarta issued a statement urging Americans to be especially cautious over the weekend and to stay clear of demonstrations. “Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence,” it said. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Posted in Asia, News Desk | 7 Comments » Good morning! Random question of the day: When did you first understand what grace meant? This is our daily (except for Sundays) open thread, where you can 1) answer my question, 2) talk about something else, or 3) say something truly encouraging to the commenter before you. Posted in News Desk, Watercooler Chatter | 87 Comments » “He has an intimacy in his work,” said Swayne Hall, a longtime friend who works as a photo editor with The Associated Press. “Some people will use a long lens so they don’t have to get up close. But Chris will get up close, he’s just not afraid to be with whatever he’s photographing.” OUR EARLIER REPORT: An Oscar-nominated war photographer and film director was killed Wednesday in the besieged city of Misrata while covering battles between rebels and Libyan government forces. Three other Western photographers were reported wounded. British-born Tim Hetherington, co-director of the documentary Restrepo, which was about U.S. soldiers on an outpost in Afghanistan, was killed inside the only rebel-held city in western Libya, said his U.S.-based publicist, Johanna Ramos Boyer. The city has come under weeks of relentless shelling by government troops. Hetherington tweeted Tuesday: “In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO.” Chris Hondros, a New York-based photographer for Getty Images, was seriously injured and was on a respirator at Hikma Hospital. Doctors said his condition was critical. The two other photographers—Guy Martin, a Briton working affiliated with the Panos photo agency, and Michael Christopher Brown—were treated for shrapnel wounds, doctors said. Hetherington, 41, was nominated for an Academy Award for Restrepo, which was co-directed by Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm. Restrepo tells the story of the 2nd Platoon of Battle Company in the 173rd Airborne Combat Team on its deployment in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. The title refers to the platoon outpost, named after a popular soldier, Juan Restrepo, who was killed early in the fighting. Hetherington was born in Liverpool and studied literature and photojournalism at Oxford University. Known for his gutsy ability to capture conflict zones on film, his credits included working as a cameraman on the documentaries Liberia: An Uncivil War and The Devil Came on Horseback. He also produced pieces for ABC News’Nightline. Hondros, 41, has covered conflict zones since the late 1990s including Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and his work has appeared in major magazines and newspapers around the world. His awards include World Press Photo honors and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, one of the highest prizes in war photography. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Posted in News Desk, North Africa | 4 Comments » About 40,000 have now fled their homes, and it remains unclear whether some will return to their damaged homes to live among the very same people who wanted them dead. The town of Kaduna has seen spasms of sectarian violence over the last decade that have left more than 2,000 dead. The rioting began Sunday across Nigeria’s Muslim north, as early election results showed President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the nation’s south, with an insurmountable lead over Muslim opposition candidate and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. Muslim rioters overwhelmed police and burned homes, churches, and police stations. Christians began reprisal attacks soon after. Buhari has called the violence “sad, unfortunate, and totally unwarranted” and urged his supporters to refrain from attacks. But he continues to claim that Saturday’s election, which observers call one of Nigeria’s best, suffered from massive rigging by the ruling People’s Democratic Party. In Kaduna, 111 miles away from the country’s capital of Abuja, patients continued to be carried into St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital on Wednesday. Administrators there said they’ve assisted more than 200 patients suffering from machete and gunshot wounds since the violence began, with at least 20 others dying from their wounds in doctors’ care. It appears not all the victims suffered at the hands of rioters. Soldiers filled Kaduna’s streets after the violence and some patients at the hospital bore gunshot wounds that appeared to be from assault rifles. Thousands have been killed in religious violence in the past decade. In Kaduna alone, more than 2,000 died in riots in 2000 over implementing Shariah law. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Posted in Africa, News Desk | 2 Comments » Meanwhile, on land, vigils were scheduled in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to mark the spill. On the night of April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a rig owned by Transocean Ltd., burst into flames after drilling a well for BP PLC, killing 11 workers on or near the drilling floor. The rest of the crew evacuated, but two days later the rig toppled into the Gulf and sank to the sea floor. The bodies were never recovered. Over the next 85 days, 206 million gallons of oil spewed from the well. In response, the nation commandeered the largest offshore fleet of vessels since D-Day, and BP spent billions of dollars to clean up the mess, saving itself from collapse. In a statement, President Barack Obama paid tribute to those killed in the blast and thanked the thousands of responders who “worked tirelessly to mitigate the worst impacts” of the oil spill. Elsewhere around the world, BP employees were observing a minute of silence Wednesday. The solemn ceremonies underscore the delicate healing that is only now taking shape. Oil still occasionally rolls up on beaches in the form of tar balls, and fishermen face an uncertain future. Traffic jams on the narrow coastal roads of Alabama, crowded seafood restaurants in Florida, and families vacationing along the Louisiana coast attest to the fact that familiar routines are returning, albeit slowly. Most scientists agree the effects “were not as severe as many had predicted,” said Christopher D’Elia, dean at the School of the Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University. But biologists are still concerned about the spill’s long-term effect on marine life. Meanwhile, accumulated oil is believed to lie on the bottom of the Gulf, and it still shows up as a thick, gooey black crust along miles of Louisiana’s marshy shoreline. Scientists have begun to notice that the land in many places is eroding. The Associated Press contributed to this report.McCain visits Libya in support of rebels
Christians fill Jerusalem for Good Friday
Sen. John Ensign to resign
Whirled Views 04.22
Obama mixes politics and policy on West Coast
Five bombs found near Indonesia church
Whirled Views 04.21
Two Western photojournalists killed in Libya
Nigeria: Neighbors became enemies in election riot
One year after the Gulf oil spill
