Edwards judge closes court to discuss jury matter (AP) – 17 minutes ago GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The judge in the John Edwards trial has closed the courtroom to reporters and is talking with attorneys about an unspecified jury matter.U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles closed the courtroom Friday afternoon. No other information was given beyond that she needed to talk about a jury matter.The jury in the campaign corruption trial was on its sixth day of deliberations Friday.Prosecutors say Edwards spearheaded a plan to use money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.Edwards is charged with six felony counts related to illegal campaign contributions. Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Continue reading →

The IMF has no intention of softening the terms of Greece's austerity package, says Christine Lagarde. Photograph: Emmanuel Fradin for the Guardian The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure on crisis-hit Greece after its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said she has more sympathy for children deprived of decent schooling in sub-Saharan Africa than for many of those facing poverty in Athens.In an uncompromising interview with the Guardian, Lagarde insists it is payback time for Greece and makes it clear that the IMF has no intention of softening the terms of the country's austerity package.Using some of the bluntest language of the two-and-a-half-year debt crisis, she says Greek parents have to take responsibility if their children are being affected by spending cuts. "Parents have ... Continue reading →

The IMF has no intention of softening the terms of Greece's austerity package, says Christine Lagarde. Photograph: Emmanuel Fradin for the Guardian The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure on crisis-hit Greece after its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said she has more sympathy for children deprived of decent schooling in sub-Saharan Africa than for many of those facing poverty in Athens.In an uncompromising interview with the Guardian, Lagarde insists it is payback time for Greece and makes it clear that the IMF has no intention of softening the terms of the country's austerity package.Using some of the bluntest language of the two-and-a-half-year debt crisis, she says Greek parents have to take responsibility if their children are being affected by spending cuts. "Parents have ... Continue reading →

May 25, 2012 8:35am Female Juror Flirts With John Edwards John Edwards Here’s a riddle: What comes in group of four and is the color of French’s Mustard? After a week of deliberations, the four alternate jurors have become the prime distraction for the assembled press corps and spectators in the courtroom. On Thursday the alternates – three women and one man – caused something of a stir when they showed up in matching bright yellow shirts, hardly bothering to suppress their snickering as the judge addressed the main panel of jurors. For nearly four weeks, 16 jurors heard all the evidence in Edwards’ case. After the closing arguments, Judge Catherine Eagles made the unorthodox decision to extend the service of the four alternate jurors, ... Continue reading →

Jan Matthews knows that Usain Bolt likes chicken, and she's made sure to get plenty in. The head of catering at the London Olympics has ordered 31 tonnes of poultry to supply the 24,000 athletes and team officials who will descend on the Olympic Village this summer. And while even the fastest man on earth, who famously swears by pre-race chicken nuggets, won't dent that supply, Matthews isn't taking chances."We are not going to turn round to Usain Bolt and say, 'You can't have any more chicken'," she said as she contemplated the cost of the runaway appetites of the world's leading sportsmen and women. "I remember seeing reports on the Beijing Games saying that the American swimmer Michael Phelps was having two dozen eggs ... Continue reading →

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a campaign stop in Jacksonville, Florida. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP So white people who are struggling financially are going to vote Republican. And not by a narrow margin. Asked in a recent Washington Post poll which candidate would do more to advance their families' economic interests, middle-class white voters who said they were struggling to maintain their financial positions chose Mitt Romney. And not by a small margin. In this category he beats Barack Obama by 58% to 32%.Such news is generally greeted on the left by a mixture of despair and ridicule. Here is a group of people, it seems, who simply do not understand what's good for them. Whites without college degrees, as reasonable if flawed an indicator ... Continue reading →

This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft, top, after Dragon was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the International Space Station, Friday, May 25, 2012. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA) Continue reading →

François Hollande arrives at a French military base in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan. Photograph: Joel Saget/AP The French president, François Hollande, has paid a surprise visit to the country's troops in Afghanistan and told them: "You'll be home by Christmas."In defiance of American wishes, he added that the early withdrawal of France's soldiers from the region by the end of the year, a key policy of his recent election campaign, was "non-negotiable".He said he wanted France to remain involved in Afghanistan but "differently", suggesting a more civil or economic role."The time for Afghan sovereignty has come," he said in a speech to troops in Kabul in the presence of the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai.Hollande, who visited two French bases outside the Afghan capital, said ... Continue reading →