Egypt sets May presidential vote

Egypt sets May presidential vote

CAIRO

Egypt on Wednesday set a May date for its first free presidential election, a much-anticipated vote that would bring to an end the rocky transitional period that followed the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising a year ago.

The ruling military has pledged to turn over power to civilians after the presidential election, and that would mean an end of six decades of authoritarian rule where secretive generals pulled the strings of power from behind the scenes.

The elections begin May 23 and 24. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two finishers would take place June 16 and 17.

Study: Old flu drug aids brain recovery

NEW YORK

Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago.

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu-drug group could give reliable yes-and-no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush — things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17 percent versus 32 percent.

Syria threatens to ‘cleanse’ rebel area

BEIRUT

The Syrian regime showed a new determination Wednesday to crush its opponents, vowing to “cleanse” a rebel-held district in the besieged central city of Homs after nearly four weeks of shelling. Government troops massed outside the embattled neighborhood of Baba Amr, raising fears among activists of an imminent ground invasion that could endanger thousands of residents, as well as two trapped Western journalists, who have been under heavy bombardment.

Obama salutes vets at formal dinner

WASHINGTON

With a formal dinner for the few, President Barack Obama on Wednesday paid solemn tribute to the many.

The president who opposed the Iraq war from its outset thanked those who fought its battles by sitting down to a candlelit meal with a small cross section of the million-plus who served there over the past nine years.

Looking out over a sea of dress uniforms sparkling with medals attesting to years of wartime strife, Obama told the gathering: “In a culture that celebrates fame and fortune, yours are not necessarily household names. You are something more: the patriots who served in our name. And after nearly nine years in Iraq, tonight is an opportunity to express our gratitude and to say once more, welcome home.“

Man guilty of child abuse in Ariz. hikes

PHOENIX

An Arizona jury on Wednesday found a man guilty of child abuse for forcing his grandsons on grueling hikes in the Grand Canyon in searing August heat even as the boys threw up and two of them repeatedly fell because of cramping.

The jury found 45-year-old Christopher Alan Carlson of Indianapolis guilty of three of six charges of child abuse stemming from the hikes Aug. 15 and 28, when his three grandsons were 8, 9 and 12. Each hike lasted more than 15 miles.

Carlson could face life in prison when he is sentenced June 1.

Associated Press