House passes bill to repeal ‘don’t ask’

House passes bill to repeal ‘don’t ask’

WASHINGTON

The House voted Wednesday to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that for 17 years has forced gays desiring to serve in the military to conceal their sexual identity. The 250-175 vote propels the issue to the Senate for what could be the last chance for now to end the 1993 law that forbids recruiters from asking about sexual orientation while prohibiting soldiers from acknowledging that they are gay.

Feds sue BP, others for oil-spill damages

NEW ORLEANS

The Justice Department sued BP and several other companies involved in the Gulf oil spill Wednesday, an opening salvo in the government’s effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage.

The government accuses the companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that blew out April 20 and triggered a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The lawsuit is separate from a Justice Department criminal probe that has not resulted in any charges.

UN lifts weapons sanctions for Iraq

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council gave a unanimous vote of confidence Wednesday to the significant strides Iraq has taken by lifting 19-year-old sanctions on weapons and civilian nuclear power.

The council also decided to return control of Iraq’s oil and natural gas revenue to the government next summer and to settle all remaining claims over the controversial oil-for-food program, which helped ordinary Iraqis cope with sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein’s army invaded Kuwait two decades ago.

Boat smashed; 28 die

SYDNEY

Australians on a high cliff watched helplessly Wednesday as a wooden boat smuggling as many as 100 would-be migrants was smashed against the jagged rocks by monstrous waves, dumping screaming men, women and children into the stormy surf. At least 28 people died and 44 were rescued.

The deaths off Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory, underscored the dangers faced by hundreds of refugees who have tried to sail from Indonesia to Australia in recent years — often in cramped, barely seaworthy boats — to start new lives after escaping from poor, war-ravaged countries.

Photos and video from witnesses showed the boat crashing into jagged rocks and breaking apart, as well as people floating in the water amid the wreckage.

Zuckerberg named ‘Person of the Year’

NEW YORK

Before 2010, Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of Facebook, was primarily known as a mysterious, sweat-shirted figure, a Silicon Valley wunderkind familiar mainly to those in tech circles.

But this year, Zuckerberg has been thrust into pop culture ubiquity, appearing on screens of all shapes and sizes, from “Oprah” to one of the year’s most acclaimed films.

On Wednesday, his public ascent was solidified by Time magazine, which named him its “Person of the Year.” He’s the youngest choice for the honor since the first one chosen, Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

In a posting on his Face-book page, Zuckerberg said being named Time’s “Person of the Year” was “a real honor and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I’m happy to be a part of that.”

Associated Press