NPR 2012-05-24

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The Secret Service employees were in Cartagena, Colombia ahead of a presidential visit. They went out in small groups to four different clubs, got drunk and picked up prostitutes. To Maine Republican Susan Collins that's a sign of a greater problem.   

This misconduct was almost certainly not an isolated³ incident. She and other senators repeatedly pressed Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan on this point. And each time, he pushed back.

The thought or the notion that this type of behavior is condoned⁴ or authorized⁵, it's just absurd. He said the service will do more ethics⁶ training going forward. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the Capitol.

 

 

More than a year after Egyptian ousted⁷ their autocratic leader, voters were going to the polls today to choose a new president. Today's election, the first in generations for the Egyptian people, a field of 13 candidates are running for president there, though the real battle appears to be between four frontrunners. That includes a representative from the powerful Muslim Brotherhood⁸ and another candidate considered to be a moderate Islamist. There were reports of long lines, but that's far no-major problems with some 15 million Egyptians eligible⁹ to cast ballots¹⁰. 

 

 

It's been a good day for Google, Chrome surpassed Microsoft's Internet Explorer as the most used browser¹¹. And as NPR's Laura Sydell reports, Oracle¹² lost its case against Google for patent infringement¹³.

A federal jury in California has determined¹⁴ that Google does not step on patents owned by Oracle when it created its Android operating system. The verdict comes after a high profile trial that saw Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page take the stand. Oracle did win a very small part of its copyright claim against Google, but it's unlikely that Google will pay a serious penalty. Google also got other good news when the web tracking site stat counter reported that its Chrome browser with more widely used last week than Internet Explorer. However, the statistics were worldwide, in the United States, Explorer remains¹⁵ the dominant¹⁶ browser, followed by Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari¹⁷ is a distant fourth. Laura Sydell, NPR News, San Francisco.

 

 

Themes reports last week of major job cuts coming at computer maker¹⁸ Hewlett Packard have come to past. Technology blogs were reporting the company would be axing between 25,000 and 30,000 positions. And today HP laid off official, 27,000 workers at the company, roughly 8% of the workforce¹⁹ still are being let go. It was a lay-offs comes as HP announced earnings²⁰ for the quarter ending April 30th, down 31% from a year ago.

 

Stock engineered a late day turnaround or it otherwise would have been a big down day for the markets. The Dow was still down 6 points; However, the NASDAQ gained 11 points; the S&P was up 2 points.

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US State Department is confirming those detailed²¹ proposal laying steps Iran could take, in order to assure major powers about the reason for its nuclear program. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said such proposals could pave the way for Iran to demonstrate programs as for peaceful purposes. While a senior US officials says it's also ** a frame of disagreement between the respective sides.

 

 

US Department of Education is formally investigating claims of sexual violence and sexual harassment²² at the University of Montana. As NPR's Martin Kaste reports the focus appears to be on the Grizzlies²³ football team. 

In January, the Department of Education received a complaint alleging²⁴ cases of rape²⁵, gang rape and cover ups at the University of Montana Football program. The department looked into the complaint, and now it's launched a formal investigation²⁶ under Title 9, the law that banned sexual discrimination at universities receiving federal money. Earlier this month, the department of justice announced its own investigation, not only of the university but also of local police and prosecutors²⁷ in Missoula. Justice officials say they want to find out whether local authorities are responding adequately to reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Martin Kaste, NPR News. 

 

 

Parents of a Florida A&M drum major who died following a hazing²⁸ ritual, said they are having a tough time believing some of the statements made by detectives. Pam and Robert Champion senior said at a news conference today, their son had opposed to hazing, while the detectives said they were told by some students that Champion volunteered to be hazed²⁹. While the members of the school's marching band face third degree felony hazing charges while two others misdemeanor counts in connection with Robert Champion's death last November.

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