NJ begins test of Internet gambling

NJ begins test of Internet gambling

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

New Jersey is allowing adults in the state to click a mouse or swipe a screen for a chance to win money, making it only the third state to offer online gambling.

A five-day trial period of Internet gambling began Thursday night when players invited by casinos to test their systems made real-money bets online.

If all goes well, Internet gambling will be available to gamblers in New Jersey starting Tuesday. The only other states with online gambling are Nevada and Delaware.

New discord arises over Afghan pact

WASHINGTON

New discord surfaced between the U.S. and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday, with Karzai saying he would prefer his successor sign a new security pact with the United States, and Washington saying that no signatures by the end of 2013 could be a deal breaker.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Karzai agreed this week to language of a proposed bilateral security agreement that could allow thousands of U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan as trainers and advisers after 2014 when the NATO-led combat mission ends.

But then, just as about 2,500 tribal elders from around Afghanistan assembled in Kabul to consider the document, Karzai said he wanted it to be signed by the next president, who won’t be elected until April at the earliest.

Board votes to drop algebra II mandate

AUSTIN, Texas

The Texas Board of Education gave preliminary approval Thursday to dropping algebra II as a requirement for high school graduation, over the objections of critics who say the state is watering down its academic standards.

Eliminating the algebra II mandate for most students was part of a major overhaul of graduation, standardized testing and curriculum requirements unanimously approved by the Texas Legislature in May. The shake-up was meant to give students the flexibility to focus on career and vocational training — not just college prep courses.

Skakel released, awaiting new trial

STAMFORD, Conn.

No longer in handcuffs or leg shackles, Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel walked out of court Thursday into the autumn chill a free man for the first time in more than a decade, released on bail while prosecutors appeal a ruling granting him a new trial in the 1975 slaying of neighbor Martha Moxley.

Skakel, the 53-year-old nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel, touched his hand to his chest and looked back at supporters in the courtroom, his brothers among them, as the judge set bail at $1.2 million. He had been in prison more than 11 years on a sentence of 20 years to life but walked out of Stamford Superior Court in a suit and tie after posting cash bond in the form of bank checks.

6 killed in collapse of roof in Latvia

RIGA, Latvia

Large sections of roof collapsed Thursday at a grocery store in Latvia’s capital, killing six and injuring at least 30, rescue officials said. Firefighters and soldiers were searching for survivors amid the debris.

The collapse took down the Maxima supermarket’s high walls and windows in a ripple effect that filled the shell of the building with rubble and left shattered glass on the street. The cause still was unknown, but workers reportedly were planting a winter garden on the store’s expansive grass-covered roof.

Associated Press