hPenguin takes 2,000-mile journey

hPenguin takes 2,000-mile journey

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

He’s healthy, well-fed and far from home. And he’s quickly become the most popular attraction on a New Zealand beach. If only he could talk.

A young penguin apparently took a wrong turn while swimming near Antarctica and endured a 2,000-mile journey to New Zealand, the first time in 44 years that one of the creatures has been sighted here in the wild.

Estimated to be about 10 months old and 32 inches tall, the Emperor penguin probably was born during the last Antarctic winter and may have been searching for squid and krill when it got lost, experts said.

Fundraisers for Gingrich resign

ATLANTA

Newt Gingrich’s top two fundraising advisers resigned on Tuesday, and officials said the Republican candidate’s hobbling presidential campaign carried more than $1 million in debt.

The departures of fundraising director Jody Thomas and fundraising consultant Mary Heitman were the latest blow for the former House speaker who watched 16 top advisers abandon his campaign en masse earlier this month, partly because of what people familiar with the campaign spending described as a dire financial situation.

Utah an updated Facebook in standoff

SALT LAKE CITY

Jason Valdez is no stranger to Utah police. His latest brush with the law, however, may have been the most public.

An armed Valdez, 36, held a woman hostage at a motel in a tense 16-hour, overnight standoff with SWAT teams, all while finding time to keep his family and friends updated on Facebook, authorities said.

He even got some help from the outside over the social network: A friend posted that a SWAT officer was hiding in the bushes.

“Thank you homie,” Valdez replied. “Good looking out.”

When officers swarmed the room, Valdez shot himself in the chest with a handgun, Ogden police said. On Tuesday, he was in critical condition.

The Associated Press reviewed Valdez’s Facebook profile page Tuesday. Police believe he wrote the messages during the standoff.

Kerry, McCain push Libya resolution

WASHINGTON

Two top senators on Tuesday unveiled a resolution giving President Barack Obama limited authority in the 3-month-old war against Libya, warning that the drastic step of cutting off funds for the military operation would be a lifeline to a weakened Moammar Gadhafi. Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain of Arizona, the leading Republican on the Armed Services Committee, introduced the bipartisan resolution that would allow the mission to continue but would impose a one-year limit on the NATO-led operation, a period McCain said is “more than enough time to finish the job.” It also would prohibit American ground forces in Libya.

Associated Press