Irish lawmakers mull abortion vote

Irish lawmakers mull abortion vote

dublin

After decades of delay and months of argument, Ireland’s lawmakers agonized Wednesday over government plans to pass an abortion bill for the first time in this predominantly Catholic country.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny acceded to lawmakers’ demands for an extended round-the-clock debate of the bill, which would authorize abortions for medical emergencies. His concession meant that the vote, long scheduled for Wednesday night, was pushed into the early hours today as lawmakers debated 165 potential amendments. The government rejected them all.

Pentagon considers cuts in danger pay

washington

The Pentagon is eyeing plans to eliminate danger pay for service members in as many as 18 countries and five waterways around the world, saving about $120 million each year while taking a bite out of troops’ salaries, The Associated Press has learned.

Senior defense and military leaders are expected to meet later this week to review the matter and are poised to approve a new plan. Pentagon press secretary George Little declined to discuss details but said no final decisions have been made.

Prof: Film shows FDR in wheelchair

indianapolis

A professor at an Indiana college says he has found film footage showing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt being pushed in his wheelchair, depicting a secret that was hidden from the public until after his death.

Ray Begovich, a journalism professor at Franklin College south of Indianapolis, said Tuesday he found the eight-second clip while conducting unrelated research in the National Archives in College Park, Md. The National Archives and the FDR Presidential Museum and Library couldn’t say for certain if other such footage exists but both said it is at least rare.

Roosevelt contracted polio in 1921 at age 39 and was unable to walk without leg braces or assistance.

China finds writing that’s 5,000 years old

beijing

Archaeologists say they have discovered some of the world’s oldest known primitive writing, dating back 5,000 years, in eastern China, and some of the markings etched on broken axes resemble a modern Chinese character.

The inscriptions on artifacts found south of Shanghai are about 1,400 years older than the oldest written Chinese language.

The oldest writing in the world is believed to be from Mesopotamia, dating back slightly more than 5,000 years.

1st Apple computer sells for $387,750

new york

An original Apple computer from 1976 has sold at auction for nearly $388,000.

Known as the Apple 1, it was one of the first Apple computers ever built.

It sold Monday for $387,750 at a Christie’s online-only auction. Bolaffi, an Italian collections company, said it bought the computer. The seller was a retired school psychologist from Sacramento, Calif.

Vintage Apple products have become a hot item since Steve Jobs’ death in October 2011.

Jobs joined forces with Steve Wozniak to build computer prototypes in a California garage, and Wozniak built the Apple 1.

Another Apple 1 was sold in May for a record $671,400 by a German auction house.

Associated Press