US & WORLD NEWS DIGEST| Ill. court throws Emanuel off ballot

Ill. court throws Emanuel off ballot

CHICAGO

Just days ago, Rahm Emanuel seemed to be steamrolling the entire field of candidates for Chicago mayor. He had millions in the bank, a huge lead in the polls and abundant opportunities to show off his influence, including a meeting with the visiting Chinese president. But on Monday, the former White House chief of staff was waging a desperate bid to keep his campaign alive after an Illinois appeals court kicked him off the ballot for not meeting a residency requirement. The surprise decision threw the race into disarray with less than a month to go.

Archives: Historian altered document

McLEAN, Va.

The National Archives says a longtime Abraham Lincoln researcher has been caught telling a big lie about Honest Abe.

The Archives said Monday that historian Thomas P. Lowry, 78, of Woodbridge, has acknowledged that he used a fountain pen with special ink to change the date on a presidential pardon issued by Lincoln to a military deserter, making it appear that Lowry had uncovered a document of historical significance.

Specifically, Lowry changed the date of the pardon from April 14, 1864 to April 14, 1865. The Archive said the change made it look as if Lowry had discovered a document that was perhaps Lincoln’s final official act before he was assassinated that evening at Ford’s Theatre.

Grim month for police; 2 die in Fla.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

When two wounded law officers were rushed from the scene of a deadly shooting Monday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast, someone handed St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon a ring, two bracelets and a badge.

They belonged to Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, who died from the wounds they suffered helping to serve a warrant on a man with a long criminal history.

These were the latest police killings in a month that already proved fatal for 14 law officers across the nation. In just a 24-hour period between Sunday and Monday, 11 officers were shot in five states, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Hezbollah gains more control

BEIRUT

Iranian ally Hezbollah moved to the brink of controlling Lebanon’s next government Monday, setting off angry protests and drawing warnings from the U.S. that its support could be in jeopardy.

Nearly two weeks after bringing down Lebanon’s Western-backed government, the Shiite militant group — considered a terrorist organization by Washington — secured support in parliament to name its own candidate for the next prime minister.

UN chief criticized on human rights

UNITED NATIONS

Human Rights Watch singled out U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for especially harsh criticism Monday as it took world leaders to task for what it called their failure to be tougher on rights offenders.

Ban’s office rejected the criticism, insisting that the U.N. chief employs both quiet diplomacy and public condemnation with abusive governments after determining which method will prove most effective in each case.

Human Rights Watch’s executive director Kenneth Roth also lambasted the European Union; the E.U.’s first high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton; President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Associated Press