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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The troubled SanOnofre nuclear power plant in California oper-ated for decades with equipment that mighthave temporarily severed the plant's emergencypower supply in the event of an earthquake,government filings revealed Tuesday.

The disclosure by Southern CaliforniaEdison about a possible backup power problemcomes amid a probe into excessive wear on tub-ing that has kept the seaside plant sidelined fornearly four months.

The company disabled the equipment - avibration sensor - and reported the power issueto federal regulators as "an unanalyzed condi-tion that significantly degraded plant safety."

Edison said other back-up systems were inplace during that time.

"Engineers are continuing to analyze thecondition and have not reached a final conclu-sion if the sensor would actually cause a shut-down during an earthquake," a company state-ment said.

A steady supply of electricity is a criticalissue at nuclear plants, which need power tocontrol heat in the reactors. A tsunami destroyedbackup generators at the Fukushima Dai-ichinuclear power plant - setting off the world'sworst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

At issue at San Onofre is a vibration sensorin use since 1981 on emergency diesel genera-tors, which start if the plant's outside power iscut - a possibility during an earthquake.

Engineers found the sensor - designed toprotect components inside the generators duringoperation - might incorrectly stop them duringan earthquake.

According to records filed with the NuclearRegulatory Commission, Edison engineers arelooking into whether "high vibration ... could

in The News This Week

interrupt the onsite electricalgeneration" during a temblor.

if the generators fail, theplant can use battery power forup to four hours to operate thesteam generators to cool thetwin reactors.

The plant between LosAngeles and San Diego has beenidle since January while investi-gators try to determine why tub-ing that carries radioactive waterin relatively new steam genera-tors eroded at an unusual rate, insome cases rapidly.

Gradual wear is common in such tubing, butthe rate of erosion in some tubes at San Onofrealarmed officials since the equipment is rela-tively new. The company has said 1,300 tubeswill be taken out of service, although the num-ber is well within the margin to allow the gen-erators to keep operating.

Edison initially targeted a June restart for atleast one of the twin reactors, but that appearsincreasingly unlikely as investigators continueto review the widespread problem.

BACKUP POWER PROBEDAT CAL NUKE PLANT

The troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant inCalifornia operated for decades with equipmentthat might have temporarily severed the plant'semergency power supply in the event of anearthquake. Page 1

SWiSS GOVERNmENTGETS PAiD TO BORROW

mONEyGlobal investors are paying Switzerland to taketheir money. Page 1

ROmNEy CLiNChESNOmiNATiON, BUT TRUmP

OVERShADOWS

mitt Romney has won the Republican presiden-tial nomination after years of fighting. Page 2

NEW CyBERWEAPONDiSCOVERED; iRANiAN

COmPUTERS hiT

A massive data-slurping cyberweapon is circu-lating in the middle East, a Russian internetsecurity firm reported monday. Page 3

FLORiDA ACCiDENTSTATiSTiCS

Accident Statistics from Florida Departmentof highway Safety and motor Vehicles Page 4

FLORiDA ACCiDENTREPORTS

This Weeks Accident Reports from Variouscountys in Florida. Page 5

RADiOACTiVE BLUEFiNTUNA CROSSED ThE

PACiFiC TO USAcross the vast Pacific, the mighty bluefin tunacarried radioactive contamination that leaked fromJapan's crippled nuclear plan. Page 6

EUROPEANS AmBiVALENTTO ThE EURO, SURVEy

FiNDS The debt crisis that has ravaged Europe for thebest part of three years has exposed a dislike ofthe single currency. Page 7

NyC PROPOSES BAN ONSALE OF OVERSiZED

SODASWhat next Page 7

JUDGES SENTENCEChARLES TAyLOR TO 50

yEARS

Swiss GovernmentG e t s P a i d T oB o r ro w M o n e y

GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- Globalinvestors are paying Switzerland to take theirmoney as they look for safe places to park theircapital.

The Swiss government issued short-termdebt bills worth 688.8 million francs ($716 mil-lion) Tuesday at a negative interest rate of 0.62percent. That means investors are paying to lendmoney to Switzerland for three months.

Switzerland first offered negative interest ongovernment debt last year when the francsurged on market fears about the euro.

Unicredit economist Alexander Koch says itunderscores how investors are willing to incursome losses to preserve capital.

Tuesday's debt sale comes after the SwissNational Bank said Switzerland was preparingfor a possible collapse of the euro. SNB presi-dent Thomas Jordan told Zurich NewspaperSonntagsZeitung on Sunday that Switzerlandwas considering introducing cross-border capi-tal controls.

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press

Page 8

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LAS VEGAS (AP) -- mittRomney has won theRepublican presidential nomi-nation after years of fighting,though his triumph was par-tially overshadowed by thecelebrity businessman whohelped him along the way.

As primary voters in Texason Tuesday pushed him pastthe 1,144-delegate thresholdhe needed to win the nod,Romney was raising money in Las Vegas withDonald Trump, the real estate mogul who hasstoked doubts about whether President BarackObama was born in America.

it's the start of a weeklong push to raise mil-lions of dollars during a West Coast swing asRomney looks to bring in as much cash as pos-sible ahead of a ramped-up campaign schedulelater this summer.

"mr. Trump, thank you for letting us cometo this beautiful hotel and being with so manyfriends. Thank you for twisting the arms that ittakes to bring a fundraiser together," Romneytold the approximately 200 people who paidthousands to attend the event at the Trumpinternational hotel. "i appreciate your help."

The Trump event and surrounding contro-versy overshadowed the Texas primary win thatofficially handed Romney the nomination, a tri-umph of endurance for a candidate who cameup short four years ago and had to fight hard thisyear as voters flirted with a carousel of GOPrivals. According to the Associated Press count,Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates neededto win the nomination by winning 105 delegatesin the Texas primary, pushing his total to 1,191delegates.

The former massachusetts governor reachedthe nomination milestone with a steady messageof concern about the U.S. economy, a campaignorganization that dwarfed those of his GOP foesand a fundraising operation second only to thatof Obama, his Democratic general electionopponent. he outlasted a half-dozen Republicanopponents to clinch the nomination later in the

calendar than any recent GOP nominee.

Romney must now fire up conservativeswho still doubt him while persuading swing vot-ers that he can do a better job fixing the nation'sstruggling economy than Obama. in Obama, hefaces a well-funded candidate with a provencampaign team in an election that will be heav-ily influenced by the economy.

Romney will continue his push to raisemoney with fundraisers this week in wealthyCalifornia enclaves like hillsborough, near SanFrancisco, and Beverly hills. he has at least onemajor fundraising event every day for the rest ofthe week, as well as a series of smaller events.

But the focus Tuesday was on Trump, whoonce led polls of GOP primary voters. heendorsed the former massachusetts governorjust before the February Nevada caucuses,offering his support at a morning endorsementevent in ballroom in the hotel that bears hisname. in the same room Tuesday night for thefundraiser, Trump introduced Romney. hesteered clear of the "birther" issue as he spoke todonors, though just hours earlier he had repeat-ed his doubts about the authenticity of the birthcertificate that shows Obama was born inhawaii.

"A lot of people do not think it was anauthentic certificate," Trump told CNN of

By ED WHITE Associated Press

www.veteransvoice.org

average size of malware samples collected byinternet security company Sophos in 2010,around the same time that Kaspersky believesFlame first started spreading.

Woodward compared the virus to a smart-phone. Depending on what kind of espionageyou want to carry out, "you just add apps."

he said Flame's ability to attack Bluetooth-enabled devices left near a computer attack was"very unusual."

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless commu-nications protocol generally used for wirelessheadsets, in-car audio systems or file swappingbetween mobile phones. Woodward said thatFlame can turn an infected computer into a kindof "industrial vacuum cleaner," copying datafrom vulnerable cell phones or other devices leftnear it.

"i don't believe i've seen it before," he said.

Udi mokady, CEO of Cyber-Ark, an israelideveloper of information security, said hethought four countries, in no particular order,had the technological know-how to develop sosophisticated an electronic offensive: israel, theU.S., China and Russia.

"it was 20 times more sophisticated than

__________________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, June 4, 2012 3

N E W C y B E R W E A P O N D i S C O v E R E D ;

i R A N i A N C O M P U T E R S H i TStuxnet," with thousands of lines of code thattook a large team, ample funding and months, ifnot years, to develop, he said. "it's a live pro-gram that communicates back to its master. itasks, where should i go? What should i do now?it's really almost like a science fiction movie."

iran claims Stuxnet and other computerviruses have done no serious harm to iran'snuclear or industrial facilities. it sees them aspart of a campaign by israel, the U.S. and theirallies to undermine its nuclear program withtactics that include the assassination of iranianatomic scientists.

Kaspersky said the cyber espionage wormcame to its attention after the United Nations'international Telecommunication Union askedit for help in finding a piece of malware that wasdeleting sensitive information across the middleEast. The company stumbled across Flamewhen searching for that other code, it said.

The Geneva-based union didn't returnemails seeking comment.

The discovery of the Flame virus comes justdays after talks between iran and six worldpowers in Baghdad failed to persuade Tehran tofreeze uranium enrichment. A new round oftalks is expected to take place in moscow nextmonth.

yaalon, the israeli vice premier, told ArmyRadio on Tuesday that the talks in iraq "yieldedno significant achievement" except to let iranbuy time. he appeared to take a swipe atPresident Barack Obama by saying it might"even be in the interest of some players in theWest to play for time."

yaalon in the past has expressed disappoint-ment that the U.S. has delayed plans to expandsanctions against iran, suggesting Washingtonwas afraid the penalties would send oil pricessoaring and hurt Obama's re-election chances.

LONDON (AP) -- A massive data-slurpingcyberweapon is circulating in the middle East, aRussian internet security firm reported monday,saying that computers in iran appear to havebeen particularly affected.

The virus, dubbed "Flame," is unprecedent-ed both in terms of its size and complexity,moscow-based Kaspersky Lab ZAO reported,saying it possesses the ability to turn infectedcomputers into listening devices and even suckinformation out from nearby cell phones.

"The complexity and functionality of thenewly discovered malicious program exceedthose of all other cyber menaces known todate," the company said in a blog post announc-ing the discovery.

The announcement sent a ripple of excite-ment across the computer security sector. Flameis the third major cyberweapon discovered inthe past two years, and Kaspersky's conclusionthat it was crafted at the behest of a nationalgovernment fueled speculation that the viruscould be part of an israeli-backed campaign ofelectronic sabotage aimed at archrival iran.

Some evidence suggests that the peoplebehind Flame also helped craft Stuxnet, a noto-rious virus that disrupted controls of somenuclear centrifuges in iran in 2010, according toilan Froimovici, the technical director at PowerCommunications, which represents Kasperskyin israel.

The two codes "use the same vulnerabilitiesin the operating system and the computer infra-structure in order to infect the computer system.We do believe that the same programmers builtthe two codes," he said.

Stuxnet revolutionized the cybersecurityfield because it targeted physical infrastructurerather than data, one of the first demonstrationsof how savvy hackers can take control of indus-trial systems to wreak real-world havoc.

Unlike Stuxnet, Flame appears focused onespionage, Kaspersky said. The virus can acti-vate a computer's audio systems to eavesdrop onSkype calls or office chatter, for example. it canalso take screenshots, log keystrokes, and - inone of its more novel functions- suck data fromBluetooth-enabled cell phones.

israel's vice premier did little to deflect sus-picion about possible israeli involvement in thelatest attack.

"Whoever sees the iranian threat as a signif-icant threat is likely to take various steps,including these, to hobble it," israeli VicePremier moshe yaalon told Army Radio whenasked about Flame. "israel is blessed with hightechnology, and we boast tools that open allsorts of opportunities for us."

Alan Woodward, a professor of computingat the University of Surrey in southern England,said that Flame was a different order of threatthan run-of-the-mill cyberfraud programs.

"most malware writers like to have tiny bitsof code that kind of hide away in the dross that'son a computer," Woodward said. "Flame is 20megabytes large. That's nearly 60 times the

By ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO Associated Press

C o u r t W o n ' t

R e v i e w P o l i c e

U s e O f S t u n G u n s

WAShiNGTON (AP) -- The SupremeCourt has decided that it will not review theappropriateness of stun guns used by police onsuspects.

The high court on Tuesday refused to hearappeals from police in hawaii and Washington,or people who got stun-gunned by officers.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saidofficers could not be sued in federal court. Butjudges also said officers used excessive force byusing stun guns.

malaika Brooks was driving her son toschool in 2004 when she was stopped for speed-ing. Officers used a Taser three times when thewoman, who was seven months pregnant,refused to get out of her car.

Jayzel mattos was stun-gunned in 2006 inher house by police who said she interfered withthe arrest of her husband,

www.veteransvoice.org

4 Legal Street News Monday June 4, 2012 ___________________________________________________________

F L O R i D A A C C i D E N T S T A T i S T i C SData From the Official Website of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. www.flhsmv.gov

Daylight 151,669 937 86,517 64,215

Dusk 6,115 44 3,305 2,766

Dawn 2,818 39 1,490 1,289

Dark 71,188 1,234 32,982 36,972

Unknown 3,671 7 553 3,111

Total 235,466 2,261 124,847 108,353

Dry 200,153 1,995 106,486 91,674

Wet 31,490 245 17,139 14.106

Slippery 975 7 542 426

Icy 61 1 27 33

Other 2,782 13 655 2,114

Total 235,461 2,261 124,847 108,353

LightingConditions

All Crashes

FatalCrashes

InjuryCrashes

Vehicleand/or

Prperty Damageonly Crashes

Road Surface Conditions at the Time of Crash

Lighing Conditions at the Time of Crash

LightingConditions

All Crashes

FatalCrashes

InjuryCrashes

Vehicleand/or

Prperty Damageonly Crashes

____________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, June 4, 2012 5

The four vehicles were traveling in the southboundlanes when the accident occurred shortly before11:30 p.m. All southbound lanes were closed until3:10 a.m., Wysocky said.According to a press release issued by Wysocky,the chain-reaction crash played out like this: Rojowas driving a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta when heslowed for a crash and was rear-ended by a 2003Chevrolet van driven by Anthony Burke Taylor, 52,of Lauderhill.Rojo's Jetta spun so that it was facing north in thesouthbound lanes and was struck by a Ford F-150truck driven by Richardson N. Sid, 28, of BoyntonBeach.Sid's truck veered to the right and was struck byKoesterman on his motorcycle.Sid was taken to North Broward Medical Centerwith minor injuries. Taylor also sustained minorinjuries but was not hospitalized.Everybody was wearing seat belts and Koestermanwas wearing a helmet..

Lake Mary doctor arrestedon hit-and-run charges in

fatal motorcycle crash

According to the Highway Patrol, Spates was driv-ing southbound on I-95, just south of the GriffinRoad exit in Hollywood, about 11:30 a.m. when shesaw a vehicle ahead of her hit some debris in theroadway.

The debris "was kicked up in the wind" by the othervehicle, and it pierced the Range Rover's glass,Wysocky said. The pair were wearing their seatbelts during the accident, the Highway Patrol said.Given vehicles' high speed on I-95, the pole essen-tially became "a projectile" on the highway, saidMark Steele, division chief for Hollywood FireRescue.

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Newlyweds unhurt as I-95debris pierces windshield

PBSO deputy hurt in crashon I-95 through Boynton

Beach

May 30, 2012

May 30, 2012

3 dead in passenger vanaccident

THiS WEEK

Two lanes shut on NB I-95near 54th Street after

crash

May 31, 2012

A motorcyclist died and sixpeoplewere injured crashon Interstate 95 north of

Sample Road.

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Motorcycle accidentDelray Beach

May 28, 2012

A man was killed riding a motorcycle eastbound onAtlantic Avenue in Delray Beach on Saturday May26, 2012 around 5 PM.

3 People Injured InOkeechobee Blvd., Jog

Road Car Crash

BOYNTON BEACH—A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy wasinjures Tuesday after his unmarked patrol car washit by a pick-up truck on Interstate 95, according toFlorida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith.Trooper Michael John Taylor, 56, was writing areport while sitting in the emergency lane south ofWoolbright Road, when the driver of a pick-up truckhit him, Frith said.

The driver of the 1998 Ford Ranger pick-up truck,identified as Garret Allen Taylor, 42, of West PalmBeach, failed to notice the cars in front of him slow-ing down in response to flashing lights, Frith said.Taylor veered to the left to avoid hitting the car infront of him, striking the concrete barrier wall athigh speed and bouncing across the highwaytoward the deputy's 2008 Dodge Charger in theemergency lane, authorities said.

The truck struck the deputy's cruiser and thenflipped over.Both men were taken to Delray Medical Centerwith serious injuries, Frith said.

The 7:30 a.m. crash slowed southbound traffic untilnearly 9 a.m. when the rolled over pick-up truckand the deputy's vehicle were removed from thescene.Charges are pending against the pick-up truck driv-er, Frith said.

A Lake Mary doctor was arrested on hit-and-runcharges after he hit a motorcyclist in VolusiaCounty and then left the scene, authorities said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Dr. Kevin Wynnehit 50-year-old Sabra Vocaturo with his SUV inFebruary on State Road 415 and never stopped tohelp. Vocaturo was thrown from her bike intooncoming traffic.

Authorities said two drivers ran over Vocaturo.They stopped to help but told officers there wasnothing they could do.

Wynne was arrested at his Heathrow home onThursday by the Florida Highway Patrol.

His lawyer contacted FHP the day after the crash,telling them where to find Wynne's Infiniti SUV,which had a part missing.

Wynne is being held on $50,000 bail.

June 1, 2012

A Lake Mary doctor was arrested on hit-and-runcharges after he hit a motorcyclist in VolusiaCounty and then left the scene, authorities said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Dr. Kevin Wynnehit 50-year-old Sabra Vocaturo with his SUV inFebruary on State Road 415 and never stopped tohelp. Vocaturo was thrown from her bike intooncoming traffic.

Authorities said two drivers ran over Vocaturo.They stopped to help but told officers there wasnothing they could do.

Wynne was arrested at his Heathrow home onThursday by the Florida Highway Patrol.

His lawyer contacted FHP the day after the crash,telling them where to find Wynne's Infiniti SUV,which had a part missing.

Wynne is being held in the Seminole County jailwith bail set at $50,000.

June 3, 2012

June 2, 2012MARION COUNTY -- The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crashthat killed a man late Friday night.

Officials said 22-year-old Daniel Lee Hunt was driv-ing southbound US-27, south of Southeast 80Street at high rate of speed at about 11:25 p.m.Hunt lost control of his Chevy Camaro, causing itrotate onto the grass shoulder and collide with twotrees.

Hunt was pronounced dead at the scene.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Three people areinjured from a two vehicle crash on OkeechobeeBoulevard just west of Jog Road.

Officials tell us a SUV and pickup collided just after8 p.m. A total of three people were injured.

One person had to be extricated from one of thevehicles due to heavy damage. That patient wastaken to St Mary's, the other two were taken tonearby hospitals.

A tanker truck hauling liquid nitrogen drifted offInterstate 95 early Saturday morning and ran overa car that was stopped along the highway, killingthe man inside, state troopers said.

The 3:20 a.m. crash ended up blocking one lane ofnorthbound I-95 until at least 9 a.m. as the FloridaHighway Patrol investigated.

Killed was 40-year-old Christopher White ofTitusville, whose 2001 Mitsubishi was parked onthe interstate shoulder about two miles south of theDunlawton Avenue exit when the tanker struck.

The tanker's driver, Frank Moceri, was not injured.Both men were listed as Titusville residents.

Montes said Moceri's semi drifted toward the emer-gency lane "for reasons still under investigation."The front of it slammed into the back of White'svehicle, then "drove over (it) as the vehicles cameto final rest in the northbound lanes of I-95,"according to the FHP's crash report.

In the past six months. In December, a dual-trailersemi carrying methly bromide slammed into anoverturned log truck and exploded, killing the 68-year-old driver of the chemical-filled truck.

A 29-year-old Sarasotawoman is in critical

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6 Legal Street News Monday June 4, 2012_____________________________________________________________

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R A D i O A C T i v E B L U E F i N T U N A

C R O S S E D T H E PA C i F i C T O U S

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Across the vast Pacific,the mighty bluefin tuna carried radioactive con-tamination that leaked from Japan's cripplednuclear plant to the shores of the United States6,000 miles away - the first time a huge migrat-ing fish has been shown to carry radioactivitysuch a distance.

"We were frankly kind of startled," saidNicholas Fisher, one of the researchers report-ing the findings online monday in theProceedings of the National Academy ofSciences.

The levels of radioactive cesium were 10 timeshigher than the amount measured in tuna off theCalifornia coast in previous years. But even so,that's still far below safe-to-eat limits set by theU.S. and Japanese governments.

Previously, smaller fish and plankton werefound with elevated levels of radiation inJapanese waters after a magnitude-9 earthquakein march 2011 triggered a tsunami that badlydamaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors.

But scientists did not expect the nuclear falloutto linger in huge fish that sail the world becausesuch fish can metabolize and shed radioactivesubstances.

One of the largest and speediest fish, Pacificbluefin tuna can grow to 10 feet and weigh morethan 1,000 pounds. They spawn off the Japancoast and swim east at breakneck speed toschool in waters off California and the tip ofBaja California, mexico.Five months after the Fukushima disaster,Fisher of Stony Brook University in New yorkand a team decided to test Pacific bluefin that

were caught off the coast ofSan Diego. To their surprise,tissue samples from all 15tuna captured contained levelsof two radioactive substances- ceisum-134 and cesium-137- that were higher than in pre-vious catches.

To rule out the possibility thatthe radiation was carried byocean currents or deposited inthe sea through the atmos-phere, the team also analyzedyellowfin tuna, found in theeastern Pacific, and bluefinthat migrated to SouthernCalifornia before the nuclearcrisis. They found no trace of

cesium-134 and only background levels ofcesium-137 left over from nuclear weapons test-ing in the 1960s.

The results "are unequivocal. Fukushima wasthe source," said Ken Buesseler of the Woodshole Oceanographic institution, who had norole in the research.

Bluefin tuna absorbed radioactive cesium fromswimming in contaminated waters and feedingon contaminated prey such as krill and squid,the scientists said. As the predators made thejourney east, they shed some of the radiationthrough metabolism and as they grew larger.Even so, they weren't able to completely flushout all the contamination from their system.

"That's a big ocean. To swim across it and stillretain these radionuclides is pretty amazing,"Fisher said.

Pacific bluefin tuna are prized in Japan where athin slice of the tender red meat prepared assushi can fetch $24 per piece at top Tokyorestaurants. Japanese consume 80 percent of theworld's Pacific and Atlantic bluefin tuna.

The real test of how radioactivity affects tunapopulations comes this summer whenresearchers planned to repeat the study with alarger number of samples. Bluefin tuna thatjourneyed last year were exposed to radiationfor about a month. The upcoming travelers havebeen swimming in radioactive waters for alonger period. how this will affect concentra-tions of contamination remains to be seen.

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N O M i N A T i O NObama's birth certificate. When CNN anchorWolf Blitzer told Trump he was "beginning tosound a little ridiculous," Trump responded, "ithink you sound ridiculous."

Such allegations about Obama's birthplacehave been repeatedly proven false. The state ofhawaii recently re-affirmed that he was bornthere.

Trump's comments, repeated in severalmedia interviews Tuesday, overshadowedRomney's attempts to focus on failed stimulusprojects and federal money given to companieslike Solyndra, the green energy company thatreceived millions from the government only togo bankrupt.

Romney hasn't condemned Trump's asser-tions. On monday night, he told reportersaboard his campaign plane that Trump is enti-tled to his opinion. Even as Trump-related criti-cism from Democrats and Republicans intensi-fied in recent days, Romney showed no sign ofdistancing himself from the polarizing figure.

"i don't agree with all the people who sup-port me. And my guess is they don't all agreewith everything i believe in," Romney said."But i need to get 50.1 percent or more."

Trump remains popular among the conser-vative base and boasts ties to deep-pocketeddonors. he has recorded automated phone callsfor Romney, hosted a fundraiser with Romney'swife, Ann, in New york, and pressed the candi-date's case as a television surrogate.

The Obama campaign released a videoTuesday criticizing what it considers Romney'sunwillingness to stand up to Trump and themore extreme elements in his party.

Former house Speaker Newt Gingrich, oncea rival for the GOP nomination and now aRomney supporter, suggested that the Trumpissue will not derail Romney's campaign.

"Gov. Romney's not distracted. TheRepublican Party's not distracted," saidGingrich, who attended the Trump fundraiser."We believe that this is an American-born job-killing president. Other people may believe thathe was born somewhere else and still kills jobs."

Gingrich was one in a series of rivals whochallenged Romney during the prolonged pri-mary fight.

Continued from page 2

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E U R O P E A N S A M B i vA L E N T TO T H E E U R O , S U Rv E y F i N D S

LONDON (AP) -- The debt crisis that hasravaged Europe for the best part of three yearshas exposed a dislike of the single currency butlittle desire to abandon it, a wide-ranging surveyof public opinion found Tuesday.

Pew Research Center's survey across eightEuropean Union countries, including five mem-bers of the 17-country eurozone, indicated thatthe region's financial problems have triggeredfull-blown fears about the future of Europe as apolitical project.

"This crisis of confidence is evident in theeconomy, in the future, in the benefits ofEuropean economic integration, in EU member-ship, in the euro and in the free market system,"Pew said in a statement accompanying its sur-vey.

Despite those concerns, Pew found therewas no desire for those countries that use theeuro to return to their former currencies, such asthe French franc or the Spanish peseta. The eurolaunched in 1999 and is now used by 17 coun-tries.

in Greece, the epicenter of the debt crisis, 71percent of those polled want to keep the euro, asagainst to 23 percent that want to return to thedrachma. more people in Greece, which is nowin its fifth year of a savage recession, think theeuro has been good for them than bad - 46 per-cent of those surveyed compared to 26 percentwho thought it was a bad thing.

These findings may be crucial as Greeceheads to the polls on June 17 in a general elec-tion many see as a referendum on the country'seuro membership.

Varvara Konstantopoulou, a 65-year-oldpensioner in Athens, summed up the dilemmathat is at the heart of a country that is trappedbetween indefinite austerity and a catastrophiccurrency exit.

"i don't think the euro helped us. When wejoined everything became more expensive," shesaid. "But we are trapped now. if we leave theeuro, our money will not be worth anything. it'sworse for people on a fixed income."

her 45-year-old unemployed daughter,Alexia, agreed with her mother that Greece wasnot ready for the euro when it joined in 2001.however, she thinks the euro will survive butthat in the future countries should get a grip ontheir public finances so there's no repeat of thecurrent crisis.

"Otherwise they will end up like us," shesaid. "Every country should sort out its ownproblems, but they have to help us to keepthings going smoothly (for the euro)."

Recent opinion polls in Greece have sug-gested there's a movement towards political par-ties, notably the conservative New Democracy,that are willing to meet the commitments thecountry has already made in return for itsbailout lifeline.

Though Pew found little appetite for aban-doning the euro, the survey revealed a prevail-ing skepticism over Europe's single currency.

more people in France, italy and Spainthink the euro has been more damaging thanbeneficial. in italy, which has the second-high-est debt burden in the eurozone after Greece, 44percent of those people surveyed said the euro

has been a bad thing, as opposed to 30 percentwho think it has done good. italy is also home tothe biggest anti-euro constituency, with 40 per-cent of those polled wanting to return to the liraas against to 52 percent backing the euro.

Among the five euro countries surveyedthere wasn't one where a majority - over 50 per-cent - of those polled thought the currency hasbeen beneficial.

in Germany, Europe's biggest economy,more people thought it was beneficial than dam-aging.

"it's got a lot of advantages," said AndreasSchwanekamp, an office worker in Frankfurt,Germany. "We don't have to exchange currencywhen we leave the country."

Germany's exporters have benefited fromthe relatively low value of the euro against otherkey currencies such as the dollar when com-pared to what the deutschemark would likely betrading at.

"We're an exporter," Schwanekamp, 47,added. "if we still had the deutschemark, we

__________________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, June 4, 2012 7

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press

would be more expensive relative to the othercurrencies in Europe."

The survey also found that two-thirds ofGermans want to keep the currency even thoughthe country has to make the biggest contribu-tions to the financial bailouts.

Among the countries surveyed that did nothave the euro as their currency there were bigmajorities in Britain, the Czech Republic andPoland who thought it has been better for themnot to have been in the euro bloc.

in Washington, the Obama administrationannounced Tuesday it had dispatched its topinternational finance official to Europe for around of discussions.

U.S. Treasury Undersecretary forinternational Affairs Lael Brainard was holdingdiscussions with senior government officials inAthens on Tuesday. She was scheduled to meetwith officials in Frankfurt, Germany, andmadrid, Spain, on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Brainard will meet with offi-cials in Paris and Berlin and will wrap up hertrip with further discussions in Berlin on Friday.

The U.S. Treasury said in a statement thatBrainard would meet with "senior governmentofficials in each country to discuss their plansfor achieving economic stability and growth inEurope."

The Pew surveys were conducted by tele-phone in some countries and face-to-face in oth-ers between mid-march and mid-April, with atleast 1,000 people surveyed in each country.The margin of error varied by country, from 3.3percent to 4.4 percent.

NyC Proposes Ban on Sale of Oversized SodasNEW yORK (AP) -- mayor michael

Bloomberg is proposing a ban on the sale oflarge sodas and other sugary drinks in the city'srestaurants, delis and movie theaters in thehopes of combating obesity - an expansion ofhis administration's efforts to encourage healthybehavior by limiting residents' choices.

The proposal - expected to be announcedformally on Thursday in a City hall briefing -would take 20-ounce soda bottles off theshelves of the city's delis and eliminate super-sized sugary soft drinks from fast-food menus.it is the latest health effort by the administrationto spark accusations that the city's officials areoverstepping into matters that should be left inthe hands of individual consumers.

"There they go again," said StefanFriedman, spokesman for the New york CityBeverage Association, who called the proposal"zealous" in a statement. "The New york Cityhealth Department's unhealthy obsession withattacking soft drinks is again pushing them overthe top. The city is not going to address the obe-sity issue by attacking soda because soda is notdriving the obesity rates."

But City hall officials, citing a 2006 study,argue that sugary drinks are the largest driver ofrising calorie consumption and obesity. Theynote that sweet drinks are linked to long-termweight gain and increased rates of diabetes andheart disease.

The administration's proposal would imposea 16-ounce limit on the size of sugary drinkssold at food service establishments, including

restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues andstreet carts. it would apply to bottled drinks aswell as fountain sodas.

The ban would apply only to drinks thatcontain more than 25 calories per 8 ounces. itwould not apply to diet soda or any other calo-rie-free drink. Any drink that is at least half milkor milk substitute would be exempted.

The ban, which could take effect as soon asmarch, would not apply to drinks sold in gro-cery or convenience stores that don't serve pre-pared food. Establishments that don't downsizewould face fines of $200 after a three-monthgrace period.

The proposal requires the approval of thecity's Board of health - considered likelybecause its members are all appointed byBloomberg.

Under the three-term mayor, the city hascampaigned aggressively against obesity, out-lawing trans-fats in restaurant food and forcingchain restaurants to post calorie counts onmenus. The mayor has also led efforts to bansmoking in the city's bars, restaurants, parks andbeaches.

Bloomberg often cites the city's rising lifeexpectancy numbers as proof the approach isworking, but his efforts have drawn criticismfrom others who accuse him of instituting a"nanny state."

City hall's latest proposal does not requireapproval beyond the Board of health, althoughpublic hearings will be held.

An immigrant sleeps at a bench of a bus stop in cen-tral Athens . The four biggest Greek banks received18 billion euros (22.6 billion USD) in rescue funds

J U D G E S S E N T E N C E C H A R L E ST A y L O R T O 5 0 y E A R S

LEiDSChENDAm, Netherlands (AP) --international judges sentenced former LiberianPresident Charles Taylor to 50 years in prisonWednesday, saying he was responsible for"some of the most heinous and brutal crimesrecorded in human history" by arming and sup-porting Sierra Leone rebels in return for "blooddiamonds."

The 64-year-old warlord-turned-president isthe first former head of state convicted by aninternational war crimes court since World Warii and judges said they had no precedent whendeciding his sentence.

Taylor will serve his sentence in a Britishjail. his lawyers, however, said they will appealhis convictions and that will likely keep him ina jail in The hague, Netherlands, for months.

Prosecutor Brenda hollis also said she wasconsidering an appeal.

"it is important in our view that thoseresponsible for criminal misconduct on a mas-sive scale are not given a volume discount,"hollis said.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone convict-ed Taylor last month on 11 charges of aiding andabetting the rebels who went on a brutal ram-page during that country's decade-long war thatended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.

At a small protest outside the court, one manheld up a hand-written placard proclaiming:"Blood diamonds are not forever. They come ata cost Taylor."

Taylor showed no emotion as he stood whileLussick handed down what was effectively alife sentence.

"The lives of many more innocent civiliansin Sierra Leone were lost or destroyed as adirect result of his actions," Presiding JudgeRichard Lussick said.

Prosecutors had asked for an 80-year sen-tence; Taylor's lawyers urged judges to handdown a sentence that offered him some hope ofrelease before he dies.

hollis said the sentence would only providea measure of closure for victims of one ofAfrica's most savage conflicts.

"The sentence that was imposed today doesnot replace amputated limbs. it does not bringback those who were murdered," she said. "itdoes not heal the wounds of those who werevictims of sexual violence and does not removethe permanent emotional and psychological andphysical scars of those enslaved or recruited aschild soldiers."

Lussick said an 80-year sentence wouldhave been excessive as Taylor was convicted ofaiding and abetting crimes and not directinvolvement.

But the judge added that Taylor was "in aclass of his own" compared to others convictedby the United Nations-backed court.

"The special status of mr. Taylor as a headof state puts him in a different category ofoffenders for the purpose of sentencing,"Lussick said.

Taylor's lead attorney, Courtenay Griffiths,warned that the court's refusal to take intoaccount Taylor's decision to step down frompower following his indictment in 2003 whensetting his sentence sent a worrying messageagainst the backdrop of ongoing atrocitiesallegedly being committed by Syrian govern-ment forces.

"What lesson does that send to PresidentAssad?" Griffiths said. "maybe the lesson is: ifyou are a sitting leader and the internationalcommunity wants to get rid of you either youget murdered like Col. Gadhafi, or you hang onuntil the bitter end. i'm not so sure that's the sig-nal this court ought to be transmitting at this

particular historical juncture."

At a sentencing hearing earlier this month,Taylor expressed "deepest sympathy" for thesuffering of victims of atrocities in SierraLeone, but insisted he had acted to help stabilizethe West Africa region and claimed he neverknowingly assisted in the commission ofcrimes.

"What i did...was done with honor," he said."i was convinced that unless there was peace inSierra Leone, Liberia would not be able to moveforward."

Judges rejected that argument, saying thatwhile he posed as a peacemaker he was covert-ly funning the flames of conflict by armingrebels in full knowledge they would likely useweapons to commit terrible crimes.

Prosecutors said there was no reason forleniency, given the extreme nature of thecrimes, Taylor's "greed" and misuse of his posi-tion of power.

"The purposely cruel and savage crimescommitted included public executions andamputations of civilians, the display of decapi-tated heads at checkpoints, the killing and pub-lic disembowelment of a civilian whose intes-tines were then stretched across the road tomake a check point, public rapes of women andgirls, and people burned alive in their homes,"prosecutor Brenda hollis wrote in a briefappealing for the 80-year sentence.

Taylor stepped down and fled into exile inNigeria after being indicted by the court in2003. he was finally arrested and sent to theNetherlands in 2006.

While the Sierra Leone court is based in thatcountry's capital, Freetown, Taylor's trial isbeing staged in Leidschendam, a suburb of Thehague, for fear holding it in West Africa coulddestabilize the region.

8 Legal Street News Monday, June 4, 2012 ___________________________________________________________

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press