IMF chief granted $1 million bail

IMF chief granted $1 million bail

NEW YORK

Over the objections of prosecutors, a judge agreed Thursday to free former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn from jail on $1 million bail on the condition he be confined to a New York apartment under armed guard while he awaits trial on attempted-rape charges.

The 62-year-old French banker and diplomat briefly wore an expression of relief after Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus announced his decision in a packed courtroom. Later, Strauss-Kahn blew a kiss toward his wife.

The ruling didn’t immediately free Strauss-Kahn from the city’s bleak Rikers Island jail. Authorities need time to review the security arrangements involved in his house arrest, which lawyers said would be at an apartment rented by his wife.

Hill leaders agree on Patriot Act

WASHINGTON

Top congressional leaders agreed Thursday to a four-year extension of the anti-terrorist Patriot Act, the controversial law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks that governs the search for terrorists on American soil. The deal between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner calls for a vote before next Friday, when parts of the current act expire. The idea is to pass the extension with as little debate as possible to avoid a protracted and familiar argument over the expanded power the law gives to the government.

Triple bombing kills 27 in Iraq

KIRKUK, Iraq

A triple bombing killed 27 people and wounded scores outside a police station Thursday, heightening tensions in a northern Iraqi city already on edge after a string of kidnappings and attacks against security officers.

The new violence adds to strain that already besets Kirkuk, a city that has long been plagued by ethnic squabbles over land and oil fields. Iraqi and U.S. officials long have feared Kirkuk and the disputed lands surrounding it — sandwiched between Arab villages and an autonomous Kurdish region — could destabilize the country if American forces leave at the end of this year on schedule.

Bat-disease fight gets federal support

HACKENSACK, N.J.

The federal government this week unveiled a national plan to better coordinate efforts among state and federal agencies that are fighting the spread of a disease that has wiped out more than a million bats in the eastern United States.

The fungus, called white-nose syndrome because of the white powdery substance that appears on infected bats’ ears, nose and wing membranes, first was detected in a cave near Albany, N.Y., in 2007 and since has spread to 17 other states, as well as four Canadian provinces.

The disease attacks bats when they are hibernating in caves and abandoned mines during the winter months. The fungus disrupts their hibernation behavior, causing them to burn up their limited energy supplies. In effect, the bats end up starving to death.

RI House endorses civil unions for gays

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Rhode Island’s House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation allowing gay couples to enter into civil unions after a last-ditch effort to revive gay-marriage legislation failed.

The 62-11 vote sends the measure to the Senate, where legislative leaders predict broad support for civil unions.

The proposal would allow gay couples to enter into civil unions granting all of the state rights given to married couples under Rhode Island law. It was introduced as a compromise after legislative leaders said gay-marriage legislation lacked the votes needed to pass this year.

Combined dispatches