Madoff’s eldest son hangs himself

Madoff’s eldest son hangs himself

NEW YORK

The eldest son of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff hanged himself by a dog leash in his apartment Saturday, exactly two years after his father’s arrest in a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that swindled thousands of investors of their life savings. Mark Madoff, 46, was found hanging from a ceiling pipe in the living room of his SoHo loft apartment as his 2-year-old son slept in a nearby bedroom, two law-enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

Cables show Ireland irked the Vatican

VATICAN CITY

Newly released U.S. diplomatic cables indicate that the Vatican felt “offended” that Ireland failed to respect Holy See “sovereignty” by asking high-ranking churchmen to answer questions from an Irish commission probing decades of sex abuse of minors by clergy. The WikiLeaks cables, published by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper Saturday, contain delicate, behind-the-scenes diplomatic assessments of the highly charged situation.

Violence rises ahead of Afghan war review

KABUL

A NATO airstrike killed at least 25 suspected insurgents in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, and violence elsewhere left 22 civilians dead in a wave of attacks days before the White House issues a review of U.S. war strategy, officials said. A NATO force on patrol called for air support after coming under threat from insurgents in the Nari district of Kunar province, which has been the scene of heavy fighting along the Pakistani border.

Obama: Tax-cut deal was worth passage

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama calls his tax-cut agreement with Republicans far from perfect but a good deal overall for Americans, while acknowledging that many fellow Democrats aren’t happy about what he negotiated with the GOP. Pressing for passage by year’s end, he told lawmakers in his radio and Internet address Saturday that “our recovery will be strengthened or weakened based on the choice that now rests with Congress.”

Envoy Holbrooke in critical condition

WASHINGTON

The State Department says Richard Holbrooke, the president’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is in critical condition at a Washington hospital after surgery to repair a tear in his aorta. Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says the surgery at George Washington University Hospital was completed Saturday morning on the 69-year-old Holbrooke and that his family is with him.

Dad defies blizzard to raise school funds

MINNEAPOLIS

Hospital executive Robert Stevens donned four layers of long underwear, heavy boots and a down coat before climbing on the roof of a Minnesota coffee shop to raise money for his daughter’s school. He vowed not to come down until he had raised $100,000, but after reaching the halfway mark Saturday morning, he said he hoped the rest of the money would come fast. He didn’t look forward to spending another night out in the blizzard that was sweeping through the Midwest.

Pittsburgh airport to target Ohio fliers

PITTSBURGH

Officials at Pittsburgh International Airport are going to spend about $300,000 on an advertising campaign aimed at drawing Ohio residents over the border to fly out of Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County Airport Authority on Friday approved spending the money in the Cleveland, Akron and Canton areas. Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny says the authority will promote the airport’s lower average fares and better on-time flight performance compared with the Cleveland airport.

Associated Press