Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/34231
6A Daily News – Friday, June 17, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Rep. Weiner resigns amid scandal NEW YORK (AP) — Defiant and combative no longer, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner soberly announced his resignation from Congress on Thurs- day, bowing to the furor caused by his sexually charged online dalliances with a former porn actress and other women. Democratic Party lead- ers, concerned that Wein- er could weigh the party down in the 2012 elec- tions, welcomed the announcement after days spent trying to coax, push and finally coerce the wayward 46-year-old into quitting. Known as brash, liberal and ambitious, Weiner had run for mayor of New York in 2005 and had been expected to do so again. He was in his seventh term in Congress. At an appearance in Brooklyn that drew heck- lers as well as supporters, Weiner apologized ‘‘for the personal mistakes I have made and the embar- rassment I have caused,’’ particularly to his wife, Huma Abedin. Pregnant with the cou- ple’s first child, she was absent as she had been 10 days ago when Weiner first admitted sending inappropriate messages and photos to women online — after earlier denying emphatically he had done so. In his brief farewell appearance, Weiner said he initially hoped the con- troversy would fade but then realized ‘‘the distrac- tion that I have created has made that impossi- ble.’’ Lawmakers mock Obama claim of no hostilities WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on Thursday derided President Barack Obama’s claim that U.S. air attacks against Libya do not constitute hostili- ties and demanded that the commander in chief seek congressional approval for the 3-month- old military operation. In an escalating consti- tutional fight, House Speaker John Boehner threatened to withhold money for the mission, pitting a Congress eager to exercise its power of the purse against a dug-in White House. The Ohio Republican signaled that the House could take action as early as next week. ‘‘The accumulated consequence of all this delay, confusion and obfuscation has been a wholesale revolt in Con- gress against the adminis- tration’s policy,’’ said Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Commit- tee who has backed Obama’s actions against Libya. The administration, in a report it reluctantly gave to Congress on Wednes- day, said that because the United States is in a sup- porting role in the NATO- led mission, American forces are not facing the hostilities that would whose only occupation for more than four years has been to run for president — is incredibly out of touch with what’s going on in our country and around the din- ner tables of those who are out of work,’’ she said. ‘‘Being unemployed, Mr. Romney, is not a joke.’’ Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom called the Democratic criticism an ‘‘absurd distortion’’ of state- ment that what was clearly made in jest. Obama, require the president to seek such congressional consent under the War Powers Resolution. The 1973 law pro- hibits the military from being involved in actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, plus a 30- day extension. The 60- day deadline passed last month with the White House saying it is in compliance with the law. The 90-day mark is Sun- day. Bin Laden deputy takes over al-Qaida CAIRO (AP) — Osama bin Laden’s longtime second-in- command, Ayman al- Zawahri, has taken con- trol of al-Qaida, the group declared Thurs- day, marking the ascen- dancy of a man driven by hatred of the United States who helped plan the 9/11 attacks. Al-Zawahri is consid- ered the organizational brain of the terror group, highly skilled at plan- ning and logistics. Ana- lysts said he could set his sights on a spectacu- lar attack and on build- ing up al-Qaida’s already robust presence in Yemen to establish his leadership creden- tials. His fanaticism and the depth of his hatred for the United States and Israel are likely to define al-Qaida’s actions under al-Zawahri’s tute- lage. In a 2001 treatise that offered a glimpse of his violent thoughts, al- Zawahri set down al- Qaida’s strategy: to inflict ‘‘as many casual- ties as possible’’ on the Americans. ‘‘Pursuing the Ameri- cans and Jews is not an impossible task,’’ he wrote. ‘‘Killing them is not impossible, whether by a bullet, a knife stab, a bomb or a strike with an iron bar.’’ Al-Zawahri’s hatred of America was also deeply personal: His wife and at least two of their six children were killed in a U.S. airstrike following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the 9-11 attacks. Romney jokingly says he’s also ’unemployed’ TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a group of out-of-work Floridians Thursday that ‘‘I’m also unemployed,’’ quickly drawing criticism from Democrats who said it showed the former Massa- chusetts governor and mul- timillionaire was out of touch. Romney made the com- ment while criticizing Pres- ident Barack Obama’s eco- nomic plan to a small group of business owners and unemployed workers at a Tampa coffee shop. The for- mer equity firm CEO told the group that he did have his eye on one particular job, however. Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, issued a statement saying Rom- ney’s comments were ‘‘inappropriate and insensi- tive to the millions of Amer- icans looking for work.’’ ‘‘This comment shows that Mitt Romney — a man who wants for nothing and commander discuss troop withdrawal WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s top general in Afghanistan has given him a range of options for with- drawing American forces as a July deadline for start- ing the drawdown approaches. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Gen. David Petraeus, along with other members of the national security team, met with the president at the White House Wednesday. Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has long been expected to give Obama multiple options for how to begin bringing U.S. forces home and at what pace. ‘‘They discussed a range of options,’’ Carney said. ‘‘As I think the general has said in the past publicly, this was a question of options, plural, and not option.’’ White House officials wouldn’t divulge the details of the options Obama is considering. Carney said Obama will consult further with his national security team, including Petraeus, in the coming days, and announce his decision to the public soon.