Mubarak announces he will finish term, will not seek re-election
CAIRO (AP) — President Hosni Mubarak defied a quarter-million protesters demanding he step down immediately, announcing Tuesday he would serve out the last months of his term and “die on Egyptian soil.” He promised not to seek re-election, but that did not calm public fury as clashes erupted between his opponents and supporters.
The protesters, whose numbers multiplied more than tenfold in a single day Tuesday for their biggest rally yet, have insisted they will not end their unprecedented weeklong wave of unrest until their ruler for nearly three decades goes.
Mubarak’s halfway concession — an end to his rule seven months down the road — threatened to inflame frustration and anger among protesters, who have been peaceful in recent days.
The speech was immediately derided by protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Watching on a giant TV, protesters booed and waved their shoes over their heads at his image in a sign of contempt. “Go, go, go! We are not leaving until he leaves,” they chanted. One man screamed, “He doesn’t want to say it, he doesn’t want to say it.”
In the 10-minute address, the 82-year-old Mubarak appeared somber but spoke firmly and without an air of defeat. He insisted that even if the protests had never happened, he would not have sought a sixth term in September.
He said he would serve out the rest of his term working “to accomplish the necessary steps for the peaceful transfer of power. He said he will carry out amendments to rules on presidential elections.
The step came after heavy pressure from his top ally, the United States.
 
Prosecutor: Hospital director lured boys for sex for several decades
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A former California state mental hospital director lured young boys with pizza and trips to a mountain cabin to sexually abuse them over a span of four decades, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
After a weeklong trial, jurors began deliberations on 35 counts of sex crimes against former Napa State Hospital director Claude Foulk.
Prosecutor Danette Gomez said the 63-year-old administrator used his degrees and accolades as a shield to fend off the abuse allegations.
 
Former President Bush’s daughter supports legalizing gay marriage
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President George W. Bush’s daughter Barbara has announced her support for gay marriage, breaking with her father on a key social issue but joining her mother and other prominent Republicans who back same-sex unions.
The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization, released a video Tuesday featuring the 29-year old Bush, a New York resident who runs Global Health Corps, a nonprofit public health organization.
 
Natasha Bedingfield, Tito Jackson headline restored Family Gras
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A family-oriented Mardi Gras celebration in suburban Metairie will feature performances by British pop star Natasha Bedingfield, country star Darryl Worley and Tito Jackson, a member of the famous Jackson Family and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Times-Picayune reports that Jefferson Parish is bringing Family Gras back after it was pulled last year because of the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl run. This year’s event features two performance stages as well as dozens of food and drink vendors and arts and crafts.
 
Suit claims racist discrimination at Louisiana oil services company
(AP) — About 230 current and former employees at a Louisiana-based oil services company have filed a civil rights lawsuit, saying they were forced to work in facilities where racist graffiti, slurs and discrimination are commonplace.
The lawsuit was filed this week in a Texas federal court against Turner Industries Group LLC, which is headquartered in Baton Rouge. The company has denied any harassment or discrimination.
 
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