Charges filed in AIDS vaccine case

Charges filed in AIDS vaccine case

IOWA CITY, Iowa

Responding to a major case of research misconduct, federal prosecutors have taken the rare step of filing charges against a scientist after he admitted falsifying data that led to millions in grants and hopes of a breakthrough in AIDS vaccine research.

Investigators say former Iowa State University laboratory manager Dong-Pyou Han has confessed to spiking samples of rabbit blood with human antibodies to make an experimental HIV vaccine appear to have great promise. After years of work and millions in National Institutes of Health grants, another laboratory uncovered irregularities that suggested the results — once hailed as groundbreaking — were bogus.

91 more people abducted in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Extremists have abducted 91 more people, including toddlers as young as 3, in weekend attacks on villages in Nigeria, witnesses said Tuesday, providing fresh evidence of the military’s failure to curb an Islamic uprising and the government’s inability to provide security.

The kidnappings come less than three months after more than 200 schoolgirls were taken in a mass abduction that embarrassed Nigeria’s government and military because of their slow response. Those girls are still being held captive.

The most recent victims included 60 girls and women, some of whom were married, and 31 boys, witnesses said.

Clintons respond to criticisms over their wealth

DENVER

Bill and Hillary Clinton pointed to ways to bolster the economy and achieve broad-based prosperity, responding to weeks of criticism over their wealth ahead of a potential 2016 presidential bid by the former secretary of state.

The Clintons joined forces at an annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative America on Tuesday to talk about approaches to reduce the gap between the rich and poor — a potent issue within the Democratic party — and harness corporate and non-profit know-how to hire and mentor struggling young workers.

The former president, in an on-stage interview with NBC News, defended the former first lady’s commitment to the poor and working Americans, saying his family’s post-presidential wealth had not diminished Mrs. Clinton’s understanding of the economic plight of many U.S. families.

“She’s not out of touch,” Mr. Clinton declared, noting that in law school his future wife sought legal assistance for the poor and later advocated for paid leave for new mothers during the 1970s.

Tree falls on car, killing 2 children

JEROME, Pa.

Authorities in Pennsylvania said a falling tree landed on a moving car, killing two of the four children sitting in the back seat.

Police in Somerset County told the Daily American that the car was in Conemaugh Township when the tree fell Monday afternoon.

Coroner Wallace Miller said two children died of blunt force trauma.

Conemaugh Township Police Chief Louis Barclay identified the victims as 8-year-old Ryleigh Freiwald and 6-year-old Mikayla Freiwald.

Associated Press