GOP candidates look to Puerto Rico

GOP candidates look to Puerto Rico

washington

An upbeat Rick Santorum barreled into Puerto Rico on Wednesday in pursuit of another campaign-bending victory in a Republican presidential race where suddenly no primary is too minor and no delegate is conceded. Mitt Romney put nearly $1 million into television advertising in Illinois, the next big-state showdown.

“If we keep winning races, eventually people are going to figure out that Gov. Romney is not going to be the nominee,” said Santorum, eager to build on Tuesday’s unexpected victories in Alabama and Mississippi.

Romney travels to Puerto Rico on Friday, after two days in New York fundraising.

Toddler dies after shooting himself

seattle

A 3-year-old got out of his child seat after his parents stopped for gas Wednesday, found a gun police say was left in the car by his father and fatally shot himself in the head.

The accidental shooting in Tacoma marks the third in three weeks in Washington involving young children, and the second death. The spate of gun violence is raising questions about the effectiveness of the state’s gun laws and community awareness of firearm safety.

Tacoma police Officer Naveed Benjamin said the 3-year-old boy’s death highlights the need for people to secure guns.

Abducted as a baby, boy to return to mom

fort worth, texas

A Texas boy who vanished as an infant eight years ago will be reunited with his mother after police arrested his former baby sitter who is accused of kidnapping him, authorities said Wednesday.

Krystle Rochelle Tanner, 26, remained jailed without bond in San Augustine, about 200 miles from Fort Worth. She was arrested on a kidnapping charge Monday.

The boy’s mother, Auboni Champion-Morin, told Houston television station KPRC that she may be reunited with her son later this week. Authorities said she must first undergo a DNA test, even though they’re sure of his identity.

Blagojevich: Legal saga isn’t over yet

chicago

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich embraced the public spotlight one last time Wednesday, claiming on the day before he reports to prison that he believed what he did was legal and expressing faith that an appeal of his corruption convictions will succeed.

The famously talkative Blagojevich seemed to relish the attention as he spoke to a throng of TV cameras, reporters and well-wishers outside his Chicago home less than 24 hours before he was due to arrive at a Colorado prison to begin serving a 14-year sentence. He was convicted on 18 counts during two trials, including charges that he tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Jury finds Va. Tech negligent in case

christiansburg, va.

The parents of two Virginia Tech students killed in a 2007 campus massacre worked for years to prove university officials were negligent for waiting to warn students of a gunman on campus, and a jury agreed with them Wednesday.

After the verdict, the parents said their persistence is what their daughters would have wanted. They were the only eligible families to reject their share of an $11 million dollar settlement in 2008, instead taking the state to court in a wrongful death lawsuit. The move all but guaranteed less money and more of a legal struggle, but the families said that getting answers mattered most.

Associated Press