Palestinians hope UN vote gives leverage

Palestinians hope UN vote gives leverage

RAMALLAH, West Bank

The expected U.N. vote today to recognize a state of Palestine will be far more than symbolic — it could give the Palestinians leverage in future border talks with Israel and open the way for possible war-crimes charges against the Jewish state.

The Palestinians want the 193-member General Assembly to accept “Palestine,” on the lands Israel occupied in 1967, as a nonmember observer state. They anticipate broad support.

2 vets sue railroad

LUBBOCK, Texas

Two Army veterans and their wives Wednesday sued the railroad company whose train hit a truck carrying veterans and their spouses during a parade in Texas.

Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were killed, and 16 more people were injured in the Nov. 15 collision. They had been riding on a flatbed truck in the parade organized to honor wounded veterans for their military service and were in the process of crossing the tracks when the crash happened. Officials have said the truck entered the crossing after the warning signals began sounding.

Egypt judges strike

CAIRO

In an escalation of the tug-of-war between Egypt’s president and the powerful judiciary, judges in the country’s top courts went on strike Wednesday to protest Mohammed Morsi’s seizure of near absolute powers, while Islamists rushed to complete a new constitution, the issue at the heart of the dispute.

The moves came a day after at least 200,000 protesters filled Cairo’s central Tahrir Square to denounce the decrees Morsi issued last week, which place him above oversight of any kind, including by the courts.

Threatening to turn the dispute into violent street clashes, Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and the more radical Islamist Salafi Al-Nour party, called for a counter-demonstration this weekend in Tahrir Square, where Morsi’s opponents have been conducting a sit-in for more than a week.

Fla. teen’s shooter steps up fundraising

ORLANDO, Fla.

George Zimmerman plans to step up fundraising to pay for his expenses while he awaits trial for fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The former neighborhood- watch leader’s attorney said Wednesday that Zimmerman plans to launch the New George Zimmerman Defense Fund next month.

Donors will receive “thank you” cards individually signed by Zimmerman.

Attorney Mark O’Mara said an existing fund has raised $140,000 since last May, but the money is running a bit low.

Associated Press