Libyan rebel forces flee pro-Gadhafi demonstrators after violent battle
BREGA, Libya (AP) — Rebel forces routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over beach dunes and using an air strike to corner their attackers.
The attack on Brega, a strategic oil facility 460 miles (740 kilometers) east of Gadhafi’s stronghold in Tripoli, illustrated the deep difficulties the Libyan leader’s armed forces — militiamen, mercenaries and military units — have had in rolling back the uprising that has swept over the entire eastern half of Libya since Feb. 15.
Gadhafi warned against Western intervention, vowing to turn Libya into “another Vietnam.” Gadhafi said any foreign troops coming into his country “will be entering hell and they will drown in blood.”
At least 10 anti-Gadhafi fighters were killed and 18 wounded in the battle for Brega, Libya’s second- largest petroleum facility. Citizen militias flowed from a nearby city and from Benghazi to reinforce the defense, finally repelling loyalists.
The attack began just after dawn, when several hundred pro-Gadhafi forces in 50 trucks and SUVs mounted with machine guns descended on the port.
 
 
Venezuelan human rights activists protest sentencing of union leader
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Leading human rights activists condemned Venezuelan authorities on Wednesday for sentencing a union leader to prison for launching a strike. More than 100 other unionists also face charges after participating in protests.
Ruben Gonzalez was sentenced Monday to seven-and-a-half years in prison on charges related to a strike he led that temporarily paralyzed Venezuela’s state-run iron mining company.
 
 
Community college student files lawsuit over illegal GPS tracking
WASHINGTON (AP) — A community college student who says he’s never done anything to attract the interest of law enforcement officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI for secretly putting a GPS tracking device on his car.
Yasir Afifi, 20, says a mechanic changing his oil in October discovered the device stuck to his car with magnets. Afifi removed it and had it identified. Two days later, Afifi says, agents wearing bullet-proof vests pulled him over as he drove away from his apartment and demanded their property back.
 
 
Airport workers accused of failing to examine luggage for explosives
HONOLULU (AP) — Transportation Security Administration officers have been disciplined after allegations that workers at Honolulu International Airport didn’t screen checked bags for explosives.
TSA announced the action following a television station reported 27 workers were investigated for failing to check as many as thousands of pieces of luggage. In some cases over a period as long as four months, officers marked unexamined bags as having been screened.
 
 
New Orleans mayor expects Mardi Gras activities to generate $322M
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu expects Mardi Gras 2011 to be one of the city’s biggest and best.
Landrieu told reporters Wednesday that the economic impact of this year’s celebration on the city likely will total $322 million. The figure is based on a study evaluating the effects of the 2009 Mardi Gras season.
Mardi Gras 2011 is March 8. The later date and warmer weather is expected to attract students from across the country on Spring Break.
 
 
Manatee mortality spikes, record numbers die because of cold
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cold weather has taken a toll for the second year in a row on one of the Gulf Coast’s most interesting creatures — the gentle, half-ton manatees that winter in Florida waters.
Manatees have died in near-record numbers since New Year’s Day, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data.
Bottlenose dolphins have also been dying in large numbers from an unknown cause. Scientists say the spike in manatee deaths is clearly related to cold; dolphin deaths are still under investigation.
 
 
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