Woman claimed being choked by lawmaker
A woman accused Pennsylvania Rep. Don Sherwood of trying to choke her during an encounter at the congressman’s Capitol Hill apartment last fall, but police found insufficient evidence to file charges.
According to the police report, the incident involving Sherwood, 64, a married four- term Republican congressman, and Cynthia Ore, 29, of Rockville, Md., occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 15. The officer responding noted that “both parties have left out significant information or are not willing to discuss in detail what actually happened,” and made no arrest.
Ore said Tuesday that she met Sherwood at a Young Republicans meeting in 1999 and that they had a relationship that lasted over the years.
The police report said Ore called from Sherwood’s bathroom and reported that Sherwood had “choked her for no apparent reason.” Both parties said he was giving her a back rub, but he said she “jumped up” and ran to the bathroom.
AFL-CIO plans layoffs as it shifts resources
The AFL-CIO said Tuesday that it plans to lay off one- fourth of its 420 employees as part of a restructuring that will shift resources to organizing new members and political mobilization.
About two-thirds of the 106 layoffs will occur at the downtown Washington headquarters. A 10-times-a-year glossy magazine, America at Work, will cease publication.
“Grandpa Gang” trial for robberies begins
Three elderly men who have been dubbed the “Grandpa Gang” went on trial Tuesday, accused of robbing 14 German banks and getting away with more than $1.3 million over the course of 16 years.
As the trial opened in the western city of Hagen, Rudolf Richter, 74, and Wilfried Ackermann, 73, admitted to participating in the robberies. The third defendant, Lothar Ackermann, 64, who is not related to Wilfried, remained silent.
The three could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of armed robbery.
The men are accused of robbing their first bank in December 1988, stealing $77,700. They are accused of later robbing banks in other cities in northern and western Germany.
American killed in fall into Everest crevasse
An American climber was killed on Mount Everest after he slipped and fell into a crevasse, Nepalese mountaineering officials said Tuesday.
Seattle climber Michael O’Brien, 39, fell to his death Sunday as he and his brother Chris, 32, were returning to base camp and were crossing the Khumbu Icefall, a dreaded section of the route that has claimed the lives of many climbers.
“I honestly never even dreamed anything bad would happen to them. We’re all numb and shocked,” his oldest sister, Kathryn Caltabiano, told The Seattle Times.
Court certifies win by late dictator’s son
Togo’s constitutional court Tuesday certified election results showing that the son of the West African nation’s late dictator won last month’s disputed presidential elections, raising concerns of a return to deadly street riots that triggered an exodus of 20,000 refugees.
Chief Justice Atsu Koffi Amagah said Faure Gnassingbe won 60 percent of the vote.
ChevronTexaco will revamp Nigerian aid
ChevronTexaco’s Nigerian subsidiary said Tuesday that it would overhaul its aid projects in the oil-rich south after finding much of the tens of millions of dollars spent yearly was fueling violence and being wasted by corruption.
The U.S. multinational said its projects have stoked communal jealousy, contributing to unrest that has cost the company more than half a billion dollars.
