Kagan sworn in as top-court justice

August 8, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON

Elena Kagan was sworn in Saturday as the 112th justice and fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to Kagan in a brief private ceremony at the court. Kagan, joined by family and friends, pledged to faithfully and impartially uphold the law.

Kagan, a former Harvard Law School dean who most recently was solicitor general, was President Barack Obama’s choice to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens. Republicans criticized her as a political liberal, before the Senate confirmed her this past week on a vote of 63-37.

Saudi-BlackBerry deal to avert ban

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

A preliminary agreement between the maker of the popular BlackBerry smart phone and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which government officials say grants them some access to users’ data, will avert a ban on the phone in that country.

The pact involves placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, Saudi telecom regulatory officials said, and that likely will let the government monitor messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes.

The deal would open messages to Saudi surveillance, said Bruce Schneier, an author and chief security technology officer at British telecommunications operator BT.

Castro implores US to avoid nuclear war

HAVANA

A lively and healthy-looking Fidel Castro appealed to President Barack Obama to stave off global nuclear war in an emphatic address to parliament Saturday that marked his first official government appearance since emergency surgery four years ago.

Castro, who turns 84 in a week, wore olive-green fatigues devoid of any military insignia and arrived on the arm of a subordinate who steadied him as he walked. The approximately 600 lawmakers present sprang to their feet and applauded, as the gray-bearded revolutionary stepped to a podium.

Ousted HP CEO to get about $28M

SAN FRANCISCO

Lauded for making Hewlett-Packard Co. the world’s biggest technology company, CEO Mark Hurd was in talks for a new contract worth about $100 million, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Instead, he’s getting about $28 million in cash and stocks just to go away.

HP said Friday that it ousted Hurd after its investigation of a sexual harassment complaint found he had falsified expense reports and other documents to conceal a relationship with a contractor. Hurd also allegedly helped the woman get paid for work she didn’t do. She worked for HP as a host at high-profile events and accused him of sexual harassment, a person with intimate knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.

Astronauts fall short on urgent repairs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

A pair of space-station astronauts had to hammer loose a stuck connector Saturday during an urgent spacewalk to restore a crucial cooling system and ran out of time before they could remove a broken pump.

Douglas Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson went into the spacewalk hoping to replace the ammonia-coolant pump with a spare at the International Space Station. But they were forced to leave the failed pump in place. What’s more, a fair amount of ammonia leaked out, forcing them to set aside time to get any traces of the toxic substance off their spacesuits.

Associated Press