U.S. & WORLD NEWS DIGEST | Kucinich sues over olive pit in sandwich

Kucinich sues over olive pit in sandwich

WASHINGTON

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is suing a congressional cafeteria for dental damage he says he suffered after biting into an olive pit in a sandwich wrap he bought there.

Kucinich’s attorney, Andrew Young, declined to comment Wednesday on the lawsuit seeking $150,000 in damages from companies involved with the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria. A spokesman in Kucinich’s congressional office also declined to comment.

Warrant issued for ousted president

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia’s government issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and six relatives, accusing him of taking money out of the North African nation illegally.

Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia after being driven from power this month by violent protests, also was being charged with illegally acquiring real estate and other assets abroad, Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said.

Color-coded terror warnings to end

WASHINGTON

By the end of April, terror threats to the U.S. will no longer be described in shades of green, blue, yellow, orange and red, The Associated Press has learned.

The nation’s color-coded terror-warning system will be phased out beginning this week, according to government officials familiar with the plan. The officials requested anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement scheduled today by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Lawmaker: Boycott Limbaugh sponsors

SAN FRANCISCO

A California lawmaker is calling for a boycott of companies that advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show after the conservative commentator refused to apologize for mocking China’s president.

State Sen. Leland Yee launched the campaign after Limbaugh’s Jan. 19 radio program, during which he did a nonsensical impression of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s speech with President Barack Obama, the San Mateo County Times reported Wednesday.

After Yee complained about Limbaugh’s crude imitation, Limbaugh poked fun at the Chinese-American lawmaker, who’s running for mayor of San Francisco.

Second day of protests in Egypt

CAIRO

Thousands of Egyptians vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic government in a second day of protests Wednesday that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that showed zero tolerance for dissent.

Egypt’s largest anti-government protests in years echoed the uprising in Tunisia, threatening to destabilize the leadership of the most important U.S. ally in the Arab world.

Giffords ready to start rehab

HOUSTON

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords left intensive care Wednesday for the first time since she was shot in the head in Arizona more than two weeks ago.

With her progress moving at “lightning speed,” doctors had the Arizona lawmaker moved to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital, where she immediately began therapy that could last several months.

Doctors said she will have a valve inserted into her breathing tube to help her talk.

Associated Press