Egypt’s new Cabinet has Christians, women
Egypt’s new Cabinet has Christians, women
CAIRO — Egypt’s interim leader swore in a Cabinet on Tuesday that included women and Christians but no Islamists as the military-backed administration moved swiftly to formalize the new political order and present a more liberal face that is markedly at odds with the deposed president and his supporters.
The changes came at a time of deep polarization and violence in Egypt, including new clashes that killed seven people as part of the continuing bloodshed that has marked the days following the armed forces coup that swept President Mohammed Morsi from office and cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt’s military already wields great influence behind the scenes, and the army chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who ousted Morsi on July 3, was given a promotion in the Cabinet. He became a first deputy prime minister in addition to keeping his post as defense minister.
Holder discusses racism with NAACP
ORLANDO, Fla. — In an impassioned and at times deeply personal speech, the nation’s first black attorney general vowed Tuesday to investigate the “tragic and unnecessary” death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in nearby Sanford and called on the country to address racial injustice he and his family had experienced firsthand.
Eric Holder told delegates to the NAACP convention here of his father sitting him down years ago to advise him how to deal with the police — “what to say and how to conduct myself if I was ever stopped or confronted in a way I thought was unwarranted.”
“I’m sure my father felt certain at the time that my parents’ generation would be the last that had to worry about such things for their children,” Holder said.
Although a lot has changed since then Holder said that “recent events demonstrate that we still have much more work to do, and much further to go.”
“The news of Trayvon Martin’s death last year, and the discussions that have taken place since then, reminded me of my father’s words so many years ago. And they brought me back to a number of experiences I had as a young man,” Holder said.
Army probes radiation in bunker at Texas post
FORT BLISS, Texas — Army and federal investigators have detected radiation in a former nuclear weapons bunker at Fort Bliss and are trying to determine if anyone or other buildings on the West Texas post may have been contaminated, officials said Tuesday.
A group of investigators from the Army, experts on nuclear and chemical weapons, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigations Weapons of Mass Destruction team arrived Tuesday to the desert area where the bunker is located.
Fort Bliss leaders said an investigation that began about two months ago revealed levels of radiation in the igloolike bunker that was used by the Air Force for the assembly and storage of nuclear weapons at the height of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s. The Air Force transferred the area to the Army in 1966.
It is not clear why the Air Force did not tell the Army about the risk.
Heroin, alcohol found
in ‘Glee’ actor’s system
LOS ANGELES — “Glee” star Cory Monteith died of a “mixed drug toxicity” involving heroin and alcohol, according to results released Tuesday by the British Columbia Coroner’s Service in Canada.
The investigation is continuing, according to the release, but it went on to say the 31-year-old actor’s death appears to be accidental.
“It should be noted that at this point there is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith’s death was anything other than a most-tragic accident,” the service noted in a statement.
Monteith was found dead in his room at a Vancouver hotel shortly after noon Saturday.
The actor, who had long battled addiction, had recently completed a stint in rehab.
By wire sources