Unauthorized man gets close to Biden at Olympics

February 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A man with false accreditation was able to get within several yards of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden before being arrested at the Olympics’ opening ceremony, police said Wednesday.

Cpl. Joe Taplin, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer serving with the Olympics security task force, said the man was stopped when he got about 12 rows from where Biden was sitting in a specially protected VIP section in BC Place Stadium.

The unarmed man was escorted into a hallway, tried to flee, and then was apprehended again, said Taplin, who added Biden was not in danger at any time.

The man, whose name has not been released, was turned over the Vancouver Police Department.

Earthquake hits China

BEIJING — A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rocked the region where China, Russia and North Korea meet today, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Though area residents said they did not feel the quake, office towers in Beijing — about 770 miles away from the epicenter — swayed slightly for about a minute.

Brunner investigates casino-issue committee

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s top elections official launched an investigation Wednesday into a committee that wants to let voters decide whether to allow video slots at horse tracks, saying the group might be illegally concealing its funding source.

LetOhioVote.org appears to have violated the spirit of Ohio campaign finance law by listing a single donor — a Glen Allen, Va.-based company called New Models — as the source of its $1.55 million, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said. She has issued subpoenas to the donor, the committee’s three listed members and others associated with the group.

Shuttle astronauts get a call from president

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — With their construction work finished, the 11 astronauts aboard the shuttle-station complex accepted congratulations Wednesday from President Barack Obama, who assured them of his “unwavering” commitment to NASA.

The VIP call came just hours after the two crews threw open the shutters on the International Space Station’s big new bay window. They were still reveling in “this new grand view that we have of the world below us,” as the station’s skipper, Jeffrey Williams put it.

The seven-windowed lookout is part of a space station addition named Tranquility that was put on last week.

“I just wanted to let you guys know how proud we are of all of you,” Obama said. “Everybody here back home is excited about this bay on the world that you guys are opening up. And Stephen Colbert at least is excited about his treadmill.”

Last year, the TV comedian campaigned to have the new room named after himself and even won the online vote. But NASA couldn’t bring itself to have a module named Colbert and offered up the latest in space treadmills instead.

Study: States face retirement shortfall

HARRISBURG, Pa. — States may be forced to reduce benefits, raise taxes or slash government services to address a $1 trillion funding shortfall in public-sector retirement benefits, according to a new study that warns of even more debilitating costs if immediate action isn’t taken.

The Pew Center on the States released a survey Thursday of state-administered pension plans, retiree health care and other post-employment benefits in all 50 states that blamed a decade’s worth of policy decisions for leaving them shortchanged.

The result for some states will be “high annual costs that come with significant unfunded liabilities, lower bond ratings, less money available for services, higher taxes and the specter of worsening problems in the future,” the study said.

Census uses fortunes to get message across

SEATTLE — Next time you crack open a fortune cookie, check the flip side. The federal government may have a message for you.

Tsue Chong Co., a Seattle fortune-cookie factory, is inserting five census messages into 2 million cookies being shipped to restaurants and grocery stores across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Like the usual predictions of wealth, fame and long life you’ll find on one side, the census missives on the opposite side are a bit ... well ... banal.

“Put down your chopsticks and get involved in Census 2010,” reads one message. “Real Fortune is being heard,” reads another.

Combined dispatches