Minister vows speedy solution to rescue farm produce

BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb pledged Thursday to find an immediate solution to rescue farm produce after several Lebanese trucks were stranded along the Syria-Jordan border.

“First thing tomorrow [Thursday] morning, I will contact Jordanian and Saudi Arabian authorities to discuss the situation along the land crossings, the safety of drivers and the fate of the stranded trucks carrying agricultural products as well as the cost of transporting these products,” Chehayeb told local daily As-Safir.

“We must find a solution to this crisis within three days before the farm produce spoil,” he vowed.

Chehayeb said he would also discuss shipping costs farmers can afford.

The agriculture minister was tasked by the Cabinet Wednesday to carry out Lebanon’s emergency policy in response to the closure of the vital Nasib crossing, one of Syria's last official border crossings.

The assignment was made in light of ongoing confusion around the number of truckers still held in captivity by Syrian rebels.

Conflicting reports have emerged about how many truckers, if any, were still held by the gunmen on the Syrian side of the crossing.

Advertisement

Online scammers impersonate U.S. ambassador to Lebanon

BEIRUT: Internet scammers pretending to be the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon have tried to con Lebanese people out of money using social media, promising them a United Nations job in return for sending funds, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.

In an email and postings on social media Wednesday, the embassy warned that messages seeking money, purportedly from Ambassador David Hale, were the work of fraudsters.

“Don’t believe them!” the embassy warned.

The scam reportedly involved both emails and use of the networking site LinkedIn, with targets being invited to “connect” on the website with Hale.

“When they have, they received a message saying that, for a certain sum of money, they could be named a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations,” the embassy said. “Victims were then requested to send money to an office in London.”

“Ambassador Hale does not make U.N. appointments and would not solicit funds from people,” the embassy said.

In other cases, the scammers attempted to elicit feeds for the processing of immigrant visas and work permits.

Internet fraudsters worldwide have long sought to extract money from the vulnerable and gullible with messages promising riches, fame and love. Some more sophisticated rackets have netted criminals millions of dollars.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on April 09, 2015, on page 4.

Advertisement

Wife says jailed ex-aide of Jumblatt being killed

BEIRUT: The wife of a former aide of MP Walid Jumblatt warned that authorities were trying to kill her husband by denying him adequate treatment, saying he was in critical condition and innocent of the charges against him.

“The family fears that Bahij Abu Hamzeh will be physically eliminated, as attempts to morally eliminate him have hit a dead end ... his health condition is critical,” TV personality Mona Abu Hamzeh said, speaking at a news conference at the Press Federation headquarters in Raouche. She maintained that there is no evidence against her husband, and that unsuccessful efforts to slander him have now escalated to an attempt on his life.

Her remarks came a day after the judiciary moved her husband from hospital to prison, following an assessment by doctors who said his condition was stable. Due to his poor health, Abu Hamzeh had been held in a hospital room under strict security for the majority of his sentence.

Once a close aide to Jumblatt, Abu Hamzeh managed the Druze leader’s real estate ventures and private property for more than two decades. After his arrest in December 2013, four lawsuits were filed against him by Jumblatt and a fifth by the Safa Football team, which he sponsored. Abu Hamzeh was accused of breach of trust, embezzling funds and money laundering.

Last November, Abu Hamzeh was sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay $3.45 million in the lawsuit filed by the Safa Football team. He had previously acted as head of the team’s Board of Trustees.

“Is it acceptable that we’re banned from making inquiries or asking [about the motivations behind the lawsuits] for even 33 seconds, when my husband worked day and night for 33 years [managing Jumblatt’s] property?” Mona Abu Hamzeh asked.

“Is it acceptable that my husband was detained for a year [before trial], following a systematic media campaign of slander, and [false] accusations of breach of trust and embezzlement?” She voiced her surprise that such accusations continued to be made, “without knowing why, where or how.”

“Is it acceptable that we always hear the same sentence, ‘let justice run its course,’ when all these accusations are fabricated?”

Her remarks referred to an incident last December, when Jumblatt refused to meet a delegation from Abu Hamzeh’s family outside his house, saying only: “Let justice run its course.”

She also urged Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, the Higher Judicial Council, senior judges, and civil society groups to “stand by the side of oppressed people such as Bahij Abu Hamzeh.”

In an indirect reference to Jumblatt, Abu Hamzeh said she was being asked to pay money in return for her husband’s release. “The authority which is supposed to protect us is telling us: ‘Let him pay money and get done with this issue.’”

Following the news conference, Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party dismissed Mona Abu Hamzeh’s allegations.A statement published on the website of its newspaper Al-Anbaa and attributed to an unnamed official detailed the charges against Abu Hamzeh, and stated that the claims made at the conference were without merit.

According to the statement, Abu Hamzeh was detained after a series of warrants were issued for his arrest. The charges stem from five lawsuits lodged against him. The first lawsuit was filed by Safa football team. Abu Hamzeh was sentenced to two years in prison for crimes related to the suit, the statement said. A second lawsuit was filed by Jumblatt for breach of trust and embezzlement; Abu Hamzeh has also been indicted for crimes based on this suit.

The statement added that a third lawsuit was filed by Jumblatt against Abu Hamzeh and businessman Hussein Bdeir for selling him a piece of land which did not exist. This lawsuit was dropped after Jumblatt was recompensed.

The fourth lawsuit was filed by Elwood Finance, a company owned by Jumblatt, charging Abu Hamzeh with embezzlement, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering. The statement said that the general prosecutor and investigative judge had issued corresponding arrest warrants against Abu Hamzeh in this case, as well as for crimes he committed while managing another of Jumblatt’s companies, detailed in a fifth lawsuit.

“What is strange in Bahij Abu Hamzeh’s case is that despite the accusations and arrest warrants issued against him by the judiciary, he was not held in prison, which is the normal place for detainees and convicts,” the statement read.

“Instead, as if by magic, he remained in hospital for a year and enjoyed its privileges and leisure. Does he have any political cover?”

Tele Liban under fire for airing Nasrallah’s interview

BEIRUT: Tele Liban’s broadcast of anti-Saudi remarks by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah drew a wave of reactions Wednesday, as the station’s head insisted the media outlet was fulfilling its duties to viewers.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri lambasted Nasrallah Wednesday for “luring” state-run Tele Liban into airing “offensive” remarks against Saudi Arabia.

“All Lebanon needed, after all the problems Hezbollah has caused the country, was for it to plunge Tele Liban into a media and political boxing ring and lure it into the [crossfire], with a show of insults against Saudi Arabia and its leadership,” Hariri said in a statement.

Information Minister Ramzi Joreige, a March 14 minister, insisted that Tele Liban violated Lebanon’s policy of dissociation by broadcasting Nasrallah’s speech, alleging that it had made contact with the Syrian station for permission to air the interview. He apologized to Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Asiri.

Talal Makdessi, chair of Tele Liban’s board of directors, said it was the station’s duty to broadcast the speech, which he claimed was aired in coordination with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar, and not the Syrian television station.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on April 09, 2015, on page 3.

Advertisement

Hariri hits out at Nasrallah for Saudi Arabia remarks

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Wednesday assailed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for “luring” Lebanon’s official television channel into airing his “offensive” remarks against Saudi Arabia.

“All Lebanon needed after all the problems Hezbollah has accumulated on Lebanon was to plunge Tele Liban into the media and political boxing ring, and lure it into the trap of participation in a show of insults against Saudi Arabia and its leadership broadcast by Syria’s official Al-Ikhbariya TV two days ago, through the infamous interview with Hezbollah’s secretary-general,” Hariri said in a statement.

He said his main concern was the use of government-run media outlets as platforms “to offend an Arab country and insult Saudi Arabia, its officials and its role ... for the sake of Iran and its regional policies.”

“Silence in this regard is unacceptable and unjustified, whether under the pretext of abiding by the necessities of the dialogue [with Hezbollah] that we wanted and still want with all honesty and sincerity, or under the pretext of making national interest prevail over any foreign interest,” he said.

In an interview with Al-Ikhbariya TV Monday, Nasrallah again denounced Saudi Arabia for spearheading a military offensive against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen two weeks ago, saying that the assault is doomed to fail.

“It is deplorable and painful to see Lebanon exploited to this extent, and for some of our platforms to be partners of platforms of the butcher Bashar Assad in discrediting a state that only offered goodness to the Lebanese, who only heard good words from the Saudi leaders,” Hariri said. “Since the establishment of the independent state, the Lebanese have only seen the generous Saudi contribution to end the Civil War, its [Saudi Arabia] rejection of all forms of fighting between the Lebanese, and its support against the devastating effects of the Israeli wars, the last of which took place in 2006,” Hariri said.

“History has written and will write in golden letters what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has offered to Lebanon,” he added.

Hariri unleashed a scathing attack against Iran, accusing it of spreading its “revolution” to Lebanon.

“Since Iran decided to export its revolution to Lebanon, it has been providing the Lebanese with continued material for division and sectarian conflicts,” he said.

Hariri said Iran uses Hezbollah as an “armed militia organization working under the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to carry out its tasks independently of the Lebanese state, its laws and legitimate institutions.”

The head of the Future Movement pointed out that Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen “lived and grew in the confines of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard since 2002.”

“Iran wants to clone the Lebanese model in Yemen, and has been working for years to make the Houthi Ansarullah a copy of the Lebanese Hezbollah, in order to become a tool in its hand to knock the doors of Mecca and the Arabian Gulf,” Hariri warned.

He said responsibility required the Lebanese not to keep silent about errors but to protect the interests of Lebanon and its people and “respond to the indecent voices, old and young, attacking Saudi Arabia and its leaders.”

“Saudi Arabia knows very well that Lebanon will not sell its Arabism to those who offend it, and the Lebanese also know that the kingdom of goodness, wisdom and firmness will not abandon Lebanon regardless of the rude voices,” Hariri added.

However, Speaker Nabih Berri said that Nasrallah’s anti-Saudi tirade would not affect the ongoing dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement.

“Dialogue between Hezbollah and Future Movement is ongoing and will not be affected by the recent political wrangling,” Berri was quoted as saying by MPs during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at his Ain al-Tineh residence.

Berri also said only dialogue and political solutions would end conflicts in the Middle East. “The region’s crises can only be tackled through dialogue and political solutions,” he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Saudi-led military campaign launched two weeks ago in Yemen was a “grave strategic mistake.”

“We believe that a grave strategic mistake has been committed in Yemen,” Morteza Sarmadi, who is also the country’s deputy foreign minister, told reporters after holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

Sarmadi arrived in Beirut at dawn Wednesday for talks on the Yemeni crisis and to brief Lebanese officials on the outcome of last week’s nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

He said that his visit to Lebanon was part of a regional tour that has also taken him to Oman, Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq, focusing on the Yemeni crisis. He also met with Berri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, and was expected to see Nasrallah before leaving Beirut.

Sarmadi called on all countries participating in the airstrikes to end the attacks and launch an initiative for a dialogue among all Yemeni parties to resolve the crisis. He said Yemen cannot be run exclusively by one political side, and that only a national unity government could prevent more tragedy.

Asked about his country’s role in ending the 10-month-old presidential vacuum in Lebanon, Sarmadi said Iran is against any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of any state, including Lebanon.

“Therefore, we consider that the Lebanese elite and political parties are able to find the right solutions for all the problems from which Lebanon is currently suffering, including the presidential vacuum,” he said.

More Body Cameras Are On The Way For North Charleston Police

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

State Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-S.C., discusses the fatal shooting of Walter Scott by a police officer in North Charleston, S.C., after Scott was stopped after a traffic stop. Gilliard also explains his proposed legislation, which would mandate that police officers wear body cameras while on duty.

Tom Cotton: Military Action Against Iran Would Only Take 'Several Days'

i

Sen. Cotton, who orchestrated a letter to Iran's leaders disapproving of any potential deal with Iran, called the president's underlying assumptions in making a deal "wishful thinking." Danny Johnston/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Danny Johnston/AP

Sen. Cotton, who orchestrated a letter to Iran's leaders disapproving of any potential deal with Iran, called the president's underlying assumptions in making a deal "wishful thinking."

Danny Johnston/AP

Sen. Tom Cotton accused President Obama of holding up a "false choice" between his framework deal on Iran's nuclear program and war. He also seemed to diminish what military action against Iran would entail.

"Even if military action were required," the freshman Arkansas Republican senator said on a radio show Tuesday hosted by the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins. In the comments first picked up by BuzzFeed, Cotton also said: "the president is trying to make you think it would be 150,000 heavy mechanized troops on the ground in the Middle East again as we saw in Iraq. That's simply not the case."

"It would be something more along the lines of what President Clinton did in December 1998 during Operation Desert Fox. Several days of air and naval bombing against Iraq's weapons of mass destruction facilities for exactly the same kind of behavior. For interfering with weapons inspectors and for disobeying Security Council resolutions. All we're asking is that the president simply be as tough in the protection of America's national security interest as Bill Clinton was."

That bombing operation lasted four days and hit nearly 100 Iraqi targets after U.N. inspectors said Iraq had not fully cooperated with inspections.

Of course, Iran is military analysts see Iran as a very different country than Iraq with a more sophisticated military.

"The only thing worse than an Iran with nuclear weapons would be an Iran with nuclear weapons that one or more countries attempted to prevent them from obtaining by military strikes — and failed," said Ryan Crocker, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2013.

Added Jim Walsh, a researcher at MIT, who has studied Iran's nuclear program, "I fear that a military strike will produce the very thing you are trying to avoid, which is the Iranian government would meet the day after the attack and say: 'Oh yeah, we'll show you — we are going to build a nuclear weapon.' I think we will get a weapon's decision following an attack, which is the last thing we want to produce right now."

Cotton — who orchestrated a letter to Iran's leaders, which 46 other GOP senators signed onto disapproving of any potential deal with Iran — also called the president's underlying assumptions in making a deal "wishful thinking."

"It's thinking that's characterized by a child's wish for a pony," he said.

It's not the first time bombing Iran has come up around political campaigns. It was almost exactly five years when John McCain joked in New Hampshire about bombing Iran, singing "that old Beach Boys song, 'Bomb Iran.'"

"Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah....," he sang to the tune of "Barbara Ann."

McCain, though, has also long noted that military action should be a last resort.

Hillary Clinton even said during that election cycle that if Iran attacked Israel with a nuclear weapon, "We would be able to totally obliterate them."

Cabinet makes appointments, discusses export routes

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet made a series of appointments Wednesday, naming a board of directors for a free trade zone project in Tripoli and a new chairman of Beirut’s main public hospital.

At a meeting convened by Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail, the Cabinet agreed on the appointment of a board of directors for a planned special economic zone in Tripoli, Information Minister Ramzi Joreige announced following the session.

The board will be presided over by former Finance Minister Raya al-Hasan, and will consist of six other members: former Finance Minister Jihad Azour, Wassim Mansouri, Antoine Habib, Ramzi Hafez, Antoine Diab and Ashir al-Dayeh.

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Firas al-Abyad as new chairman of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital.

Abyad will succeed Faisal Shatila, who announced his resignation in February. Health Minister Wael Abu Faour welcomed the move at the time, saying Shatila’s resignation would help facilitate a rescue plan for the hospital, which has been plagued by financial difficulties.

After a recent accord on the government’s decision-making process, agreements on appointments are now being largely negotiated outside Cabinet meetings; candidates are then put forward during the official sessions for approval.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Joreige said that the appointment of a new chair and board of directors for the state-run Tele Liban has been prioritized following the uproar caused by the station’s airing of an interview with Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.

Tuesday, Joreige apologized to Saudi Arabia for remarks Nasrallah made during an interview Monday, in which he condemned Riyadh’s involvement in Yemen. Many March 14 officials criticized the airing of Nasrallah’s anti-Saudi remarks on state-run television.

But contrary to expectations, it was not brought up during the Cabinet session.

“It seems that the issue was resolved outside the Cabinet, as it was raised neither by the information minister nor by any other minister,” Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told The Daily Star.

The three-hour session featured a thorough discussion of the crisis resulting from the halting of overland exports to the Gulf states, cut off last week when Syrian rebels seized control of the Nassib crossing on the Jordanian border.

The government tasked Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb with preparing a report on ways to solve the crisis. Speaking to reporters on his way to the meeting, Chehayeb said transporting goods by sea was the only viable solution.

“But this method is expensive; we will see whether the government will decide to buy vessels for this purpose,” Chehayeb said.

The minister added that he had reached an agreement with the ministers of industry, economy, and transport and public works, along with the customs department and a number of other syndicates, on measures to transport goods by sea for the next three months. The agreement could be renewable if conditions do not improve.

The Cabinet also approved a deal between Lebanon’s Interior Ministry and a French printing house Wednesday, to commence the production of new Lebanese passports.

Ministers also agreed to approve a Telecoms Ministry contract with the Lebanese Yellow Pages, which will see the publication of the directory’s guides on government websites.

And in what is becoming a weekly tradition, the Cabinet decreed the allocation of funds to ministries and the prime minister’s office, a move necessitated by the absence of an official budget.

Joreige added that ministers also accepted donations offered to a number of ministries and approved several ministers’ requests to attend conferences abroad.

Kidnapped Lebanese trucker crisis nearly over: reports

BEIRUT: The case of the abduction of more than a dozen Lebanese truckers by Syrian rebels on a Jordanian border crossing is close to being resolved, media reports said Wednesday.

But some of the drivers’ returns are being hindered by ongoing fighting between the Syrian Army and rebels, five days after they were kidnapped and had their vehicles looted by gunmen.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb was tasked by the Cabinet Wednesday carrying out Lebanon’s emergency policy in response to the closure of the vital Nasib crossing.

The assignment was made in light of ongoing confusion around the number of truckers still held in captivity by Syrian rebels.

As in previous days, various sources reported contradicting information about how many truckers, if any, were still held by the gunmen on the Syrian side of the crossing.

Seer al-Dinnieh Mayor Ahmad Alam, who had 10 trucks stuck at the crossing, told The Daily Star that all his trucks had returned back to Lebanon, and that the gunmen had released all but three truckers from abduction.

Al-Jazeera and Sky News Arabia, on the other hand, reported that eight Lebanese truck drivers were released by the Nusra Front Wednesday.

The information was confirmed by Syrian news sites, which said the truckers were released after it was revealed that they had no connections to Hezbollah or the Syrian regime.

Omar al-Ali, the head of the Refrigerated Trucks Union, told Al-Manar that the issue was resolved, but that the drivers were finding difficulty in returning to Lebanon because of the fighting between the Syrian Army and rebels.

Lebanese TV channel MTV said that the head of the Arab Tribes Union in Lebanon Jasem Askar received a call from gunmen on the Nasib crossing asking him to travel to the Jordanian side of the border to receive the captives.

The call came from Shabab al-Huda, an Islamist group affiliated with Al-Omari Brigades and fighting in southern Syria.

According to MTV, Askar called on the Lebanese Foreign Ministry to provide him with “logistical support” to carry out the mission, saying he suffered from “limited resources,” hinting he needed money.

Askar had told Al-Akhbar newspaper last week that he would play a role in mediating an end to the abduction using his influence in Syria.

Media had reported four days earlier that the Lebanese hostages were referred to Dar al-Adel (Justice House) court run by rebel groups in the area, and that the court commanded Nusra to release them.

Separately, Chehayeb’s new commissioning by the Cabinet exceeded the matter of the abductions, and was more focused on finding alternative ways to export Lebanese products.

The Nasib crossing was the only major road for Lebanese products to reach Jordan and all Gulf countries, and with its closure, sea transportation becomes Lebanon’s only option, Chehayeb announced Wednesday.

In a news conference held after a meeting with the ministers of economy, transportation and industry, Chehayeb warned that one third of Lebanon’s industrial and agricultural exports go to Gulf countries.

He said that a decision was made by the government to subsidize marine transportation for a renewable period of three months and to use either Egyptian ports or the Suez Canal as alternative paths to the Gulf.

4 Things We Learned About What Bill Clinton's Up To

i

Former President Bill Clinton wants to keep his foundation running, even if his wife becomes president and "whether I'm running it or not." AP hide caption

itoggle caption AP

Former President Bill Clinton wants to keep his foundation running, even if his wife becomes president and "whether I'm running it or not."

AP

As Hillary Clinton is expected to officially launch her presidential campaign in the next couple of weeks, her famous, former president husband talked to Town & Country magazine, which went along with him to Haiti in February.

Here are four takeaways from that interview:

1. The Clinton Foundation Is Not Going Away — Even If Hillary Clinton Wins

"Whether I'm running it or not," he told Town & Country magazine, which described it as a "priority" for the 42^nd president. "I've told Hillary that I don't think I'm good [at campaigning] anymore, because I'm not mad at anybody. I'm a grandfather, and I got to see my granddaughter last night, and I can't be mad."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and husband Bill Clinton embrace during an event for the Clinton Global Initiative. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Mark Lennihan/AP

The Clintons have been criticized for taking donations for the foundation from foreign governments, even while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. It's no surprise that Bill is out front defending the foundation, which encapsulates so much of his legacy and the kind of work he wants to do in his post-presidency.

2. He's Attempting To Take Some Of The Slings And Arrows For The Foundation

"[O]ur plan is to spend this whole year working on the foundation, which is, by a good long stretch, the most transparent of all the presidential foundations and more transparent than a lot of other major foundations in the country," Bill Clinton points out to the magazine. "It should be, both because I believe in it and because Hillary is in public life, and we'll get criticized, as some people are criticizing me, for taking money from a foreign government. We did a review of the whole foundation last year. ... We got suggestions from a great law firm that also does pro bono counsel for Doctors Without Borders, and we implemented every single one of them."

Politically, Bill Clinton is attempting to redirect any criticism of the foundation away from his wife and onto him. That's no accident at the precipice of another Hillary Clinton presidential run.

3. He Affirmed The Rumors Of How Hillary Clinton Will Run In The Presidential Primary

Despite his claim to recede to the background — busy with running a foundation and being a doting grandfather — don't expect him to take a back seat in his wife's run. In the same interview, he was offering up strategic advice for how she should campaign.

"I think it's important," he told the magazine, "and Hillary does too, that she go out there as if she's never run for anything before and establish her connection with the voters. And that my role should primarily be as a backstage adviser to her until we get much, much closer to the election."

Bill Clinton's comments also affirm reporting that advisers are telling Hillary Clinton she should not take anything for granted. That means campaigning frequently – even without strong primary opposition – in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

And why not? They are swing states in a general election, and it doesn't hurt to build up some energy and a base of activists and supporters. Hillary Clinton was also criticized early on in the 2007-2008 primary race for running on name recognition. By the time she found her voice as a candidate, the math was against her, and Barack Obama had all but sewn up the nomination.

4. Still Not Sure What Kind of 'First Dude' He'd Be

Bill Clinton also weighed in on his potential role as "First Dude."

"First, I would have to assess what she wants me to do," he said. "And second, we might have to change the [foundation] rules again. But we haven't talked about that yet, and I don't think we should. You can't. It's hard for any party to hang on to the White House for 12 years, and it's a long road. A thousand things could happen."

Another Step Toward Equality for LGBT Workers

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Labor's blog. See the original post here.

Today, President Obama’s Executive Order on LGBT Workplace Discrimination goes into effect. It prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Because of this Executive Order, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people employed by federal contractors across the country will now receive new legal protections designed to ensure they are judged by the quality of their work, not who they are or whom they love.

As I said when the Executive Order was announced, this is a civil rights victory consistent with our founding principles. It will mean a more dynamic and inclusive workforce that captures the talents of more of our people. It advances the principle that we should be leaving no one on the sidelines, that America is strongest when it fields a full team.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks before he signs an executive order regarding further amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, to protect LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, in the East Room of the White House, July 21, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

read more

Israeli troops comb areas on Lebanon border

KFAR KILA, Lebanon: Israeli Army units combed an area along the border with Lebanon Wednesday morning, in an apparent inspection operation with unknown purposes.

Since the early morning, Israeli military vehicles spread along the eastern part of the border, starting from al-Abbad Israeli military base to the occupied Shebaa Farms.

Occupation forces combed the area on foot and inside their vehicles, while soldiers checked an electric fence and took photos of the Lebanese sides of the border in the Marjayoun district village of Kfar Kila.

Troops also spread in the nearby orchards on the Israeli side, in apparent search operation.

Later in the day, a number of Israeli soldiers fired their rifles towards a Lebanese shepherd in a field in the village of Kfar Shuba, near the Shebaa Farms. He was not hit.

The developments came one day after a group of young Israeli settler women attached to the cement blocks located on opposite side of Kfar Kila road, a large colorful banner with the words: “Dance for Peace.”

The banner was quickly removed by Israeli soldiers.

Advertisement

Lebanon Cabinet appoints board for Tripoli project

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet appointed Wednesday a board of directors for the free trade zone project in Tripoli and a new chairman for Beirut’s main public hospital.

The Cabinet agreed Wednesday to the appointment of the board of directors for the anticipated Special Economic Zone in Tripoli, Information Minister Ramzi Joreige announced after the session.

The board will be presided over by former Finance Minister Raya al-Hasan, he said, and will have six other members: Former Finance Minister Jihad Azour, Wassim Mansouri, Antoine Habib, Ramzi Hafez, Antoine Diab and Ashir al-Dayeh.

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Firas al-Abyad as the new chairman for Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital.

Abyad will succeed Faisal Shatila, who announced his resignation in February. Health Minister Wael Abu Faour welcomed the move, saying Shatila’s resignation would facilitate a rescue plan for the financially-stricken hospital.

The Cabinet also approved Wednesday a deal between Lebanon’s Interior Ministry and a French printing house to launch the printing of new Lebanese passports.

Ministers also agreed on approving the Telecoms Ministry’s contract with the Lebanese Yellow Pages company to publish the directory’s guide on governmental websites.

And in what is becoming a weekly staple, the Cabinet decreed the allocation of funds to ministries and the prime minister’s office in light of the absence of an official budget.

Joreige stated the ministers also accepted some donations offered to a number of ministries and some ministers’ request to attend conferences abroad.

Finally, the cabinet agreed on an entrance exam for new civil servants in the Justice Ministry.

Advertisement

Hezbollah, Future talks to move forward despite rhetoric: Berri

BEIRUT: Comments made by Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah against Saudi Arabia that created uproar in Lebanon will not affect dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement, Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday.

“Dialogue between Hezbollah and Future Movement is ongoing and will not be affected by the recent political wrangling,” Berri was quoted as telling visitors and lawmakers.

Future Movement head Saad Hariri Wednesday lambasted Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for "luring" Lebanon’s official television channel into airing his “offensive” remarks against Riyadh.

Nasrallah said that since the Syrian conflict erupted more than four years ago, Lebanon has been facing a conspiracy led by countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition against Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

Berri said only dialogue and political solutions will end armed conflicts in the Middle East.

“Regional crises can only be addressed through dialogue and political solutions,” Berri was quoted as saying.

“This approach is an effective method to achieve the interests of the peoples of the region," he added.

Advertisement

Ministry shuts down 3 nurseries in Sidon

BEIRUT: The Health Ministry Wednesday closed down three unlicensed nurseries in and around the southern port city of Sidon.

A ministry statement identified the kindergartens as Booboo and Funny Foo in Haret Saida as well as Good Morning in Majdalyoun, east of Sidon.

Last month, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour ordered the closure of a Mount Lebanon nursery following the death of an infant at the facility.

Clarinette et Zoe Nursery in Ajaltoun was shut down after four-month-old Elie Salloum died in an accident, according to a statement released by Abu Faour’s media office.

The decision to shut down the day care was also based on the fact that the nursery is unlicensed, does not meet health standards and lacks a sufficient number of qualified staff for the purpose of childcare.

Earlier in March, an infant died at a nursery in the Beirut suburb of Hay al-Sellom.

Advertisement

TV Ads Financed With Secret Money Attack Paul On Day 1 Of Presidential Bid

i

Sen. Rand Paul launched his 2016 presidential campaign Tuesday with a combative message against both Washington and his fellow Republicans, declaring that "we have come to take our country back." Carolyn Kaster/ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

itoggle caption Carolyn Kaster/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sen. Rand Paul launched his 2016 presidential campaign Tuesday with a combative message against both Washington and his fellow Republicans, declaring that "we have come to take our country back."

Carolyn Kaster/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Welcome to the 2016 presidential campaign. Republican Rand Paul officially entered the race yesterday, and was greeted with a TV ad calling him "wrong and dangerous" on Iran. The money behind the ad is secret.

It was just a month ago that Sen. Paul (R-Ky.) joined 46 other Senate Republicans in signing a letter to leaders of the Islamic Republic. The letter threatened tougher treatment than Iran might get from President Obama, in negotiations on a nuclear-arms control agreement.

Paul's signature aside, TV audiences in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada began yesterday seeing the ad attacking him. It says, "Rand Paul supports Obama's negotiations with Iran. And he doesn't understand the threat." The punchline: "Rand Paul is wrong, and dangerous. Tell him stop siding with Obama, because even one Iranian bomb would be a disaster." The final image is a mushroom cloud.

The ad comes from the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, or FSPA, which is a 501c4 secret money group founded in 2007. It's run attack ads in past campaigns, but apparently never on this scale. It doesn't have to disclose its donors.

Its press secretary declined an interview request.

Secret money groups are proliferating in American election campaigns. FSPA said it's spending $1 million to air the ad in the first four states on the Republican primary calendar.

There are two noteworthy things about the ad. It comes as a surprise assault on an emerging candidate, and it accuses him of betraying American interests.

You could say Rand Paul got swift-boated, just like John Kerry.

Kerry was about to accept the Democratic nomination in 2004, when Swift Boat Veterans For Truth challenged his Vietnam War record, which he had seen as a strength. In the ad, one veteran from Kerry's unit said, "He dishonored his country. He most certainly did." Another veteran said, "I served with John Kerry. John Kerry cannot be trusted."

An architect of the Swift Boat ads, consultant Rick Reed, is now FSPA's president.

The Paul campaign struck back, calling the attacks false and labeling the group as part of the "Washington machine" that Paul opposes. The campaign said Paul in fact wants a deal that ends Iran's nuclear ambitions, and he wants it to face votes in Congress.

Erika Franklin Fowler is a director of the Wesleyan Media Project, a college consortium that tracks political advertising. "When a candidate airs an attack, they obviously suffer some backlash," she said in an interview. "When an interest group does it, it's harder for anyone to hold the group accountable in the same way."

She said it's a sign of what we'll see this spring and summer, "which is one, a lot of interest groups getting involved early, also a lot of negativity. We shouldn't expect that to go away in any way, shape or form. And you can bet there are a number of candidates that will face some opposition as they enter."

There's no sign of which candidate the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America might support.

TV Ads Attack Sen. Paul On Day He Enters GOP Presidential Race

Welcome to the 2016 presidential campaign. Republican Rand Paul officially entered the race yesterday, and was greeted with a TV ad calling him "wrong and dangerous" on Iran. The money behind the ad is secret.

It was just a month ago that Sen. Paul (R-Ky.) joined 46 other Senate Republicans in signing a letter to leaders of the Islamic Republic. The letter threatened tougher treatment than Iran might get from President Obama, in negotiations on a nuclear-arms control agreement.

Paul's signature aside, TV audiences in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada began yesterday seeing the ad attacking him. It says, "Rand Paul supports Obama's negotiations with Iran. And he doesn't understand the threat." The punchline: "Rand Paul is wrong, and dangerous. Tell him stop siding with Obama, because even one Iranian bomb would be a disaster." The final image is a mushroom cloud.

The ad comes from the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, or FSPA, which is a 501c4 secret money group founded in 2007. It's run attack ads in past campaigns, but apparently never on this scale. It doesn't have to disclose its donors.

Its press secretary declined an interview request.

Secret money groups are proliferating in American election campaigns. FSPA said it's spending $1 million to air the ad in the first four states on the Republican primary calendar.

There are two noteworthy things about the ad. It comes as a surprise assault on an emerging candidate, and it accuses him of betraying American interests.

You could say Rand Paul got swift-boated, just like John Kerry.

Kerry was about to accept the Democratic nomination in 2004, when Swift Boat Veterans For Truth challenged his Vietnam War record, which he had seen as a strength. In the ad, one veteran from Kerry's unit said, "He dishonored his country. He most certainly did." Another veteran said, "I served with John Kerry. John Kerry cannot be trusted."

An architect of the Swift Boat ads, consultant Rick Reed, is now FSPA's president.

The Paul campaign struck back, calling the attacks false and labeling the group as part of the "Washington machine" that Paul opposes. The campaign said Paul in fact wants a deal that ends Iran's nuclear ambitions, and he wants it to face votes in Congress.

Erika Franklin Fowler is a director of the Wesleyan Media Project, a college consortium that tracks political advertising. "When a candidate airs an attack, they obviously suffer some backlash," she said in an interview. "When an interest group does it, it's harder for anyone to hold the group accountable in the same way."

She said it's a sign of what we'll see this spring and summer, "which is one, a lot of interest groups getting involved early, also a lot of negativity. We shouldn't expect that to go away in any way, shape or form. And you can bet there are a number of candidates that will face some opposition as they enter."

There's no sign of which candidate the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America might support.

FPM denies Aoun-Bkirki rift

BEIRUT: The Free Patriotic Movement Wednesday dismissed talks of a rift between party leader Michel Aoun and Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai.

“Relations with Bkirki [the seat of the Maronite Church] are not severed despite differences in views between the two sides,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan told the Voice of Lebanon radio station.

"Constitutional issues and the process of achieving real results need a national unanimous decision,” Kanaan, who heads the FPM's Change and Reform bloc in Parliament, said of the stalled presidential election.

Media reports have surfaced Tuesday indicating Aoun has boycotted Bkirki after Rai accused him of blocking the presidential vote.

The reports pointed to Aoun’s absence from the Easter Mass, whereas former President Michel Sleiman and Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel attended.

They said Aoun neither visited Bkirki to offer Easter greetings, while his arch Christian foe, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, met Rai after he took part in the Mass celebrated in Bkirki on Good Friday.

Rai has lamented Parliament’s repeated failure to elect a president, warning that the 10-month-long vacuum in the country’s top Christian post paralyzed state institutions and put Lebanon in jeopardy.

He implicitly blamed MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary bloc and its March 8 allies for blocking the election of a successor to Sleiman, whose six-year term ended on May 25.

Advertisement

Like Father, Like Son? Not Exactly When It Comes To Rand And Ron Paul

i

Ron Paul doesn't figure to be a major part of his son Rand's presidential campaign — despite Ron's having run in the last two presidential elections. Ed Reinke/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Ed Reinke/AP

Ron Paul doesn't figure to be a major part of his son Rand's presidential campaign — despite Ron's having run in the last two presidential elections.

Ed Reinke/AP

Ron Paul stood off to the side Tuesday as his son Rand announced he was running for president.

There was no speaking role for the elder Paul, 79. There was no ceremonial passing of the torch of "liberty."

There wasn't even a hearty thank you or nod to the father's raucous presidential campaigns that laid the groundwork for the son's launch.

"I never could have done any of this without the help of my parents who are here today," Rand Paul said in Louisville, Ky., in the only section of his speech that made allusion to his father. "I'd like you to join me in thanking my mom and dad for all their help and support through the years."

Help and support with politics? Not so much.

i

Ron Paul looks on as Rand, a Kentucky senator, arrives for the announcement of his presidential campaign. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP

Ron Paul looks on as Rand, a Kentucky senator, arrives for the announcement of his presidential campaign.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

"With my parents' help," he continued, "I was able to make it through long years of medical training to finally become an eye surgeon."

Before Rand spoke, former Rep. J.C. Watts, a Paul supporter, joked that backstage when Ron heard, "Run, Paul, run," Ron said, "I'm not doing this again."

Ron did always have a sense of humor.

The scene said it all. Despite the energy and enthusiasm the former congressman's most recent two presidential bids created, he'll be sidelined this time. Rand and Ron are said to be close, but Rand is trying to go where his father never could — to find an electorate beyond a narrow, though devoted, base of young, libertarian men. Rand has his sights set higher. And he does not want his candidacy conflated with his father's.

Unfinished Business

Ron, who retired from Congress in 2012, always stood out for his frankness in a talking-points-laden world. But he was always an outsider. "Libertarian" barely fit in the GOP for most of his quarter-century in Washington. He ran unsuccessfully as the Libertarian nominee for president in 1988.

Rand Paul's top 10 finishes by percentage in the 2012 Republican primary race. AP hide caption

itoggle caption AP

Ron was a quirky staple of the last two presidential campaigns. In 2008, he finished fourth for the nomination, winning just a few dozen delegates.

That all changed when the Tea Party came along in 2010. Stars were born, from the Palins to the Cruzes. But the Pauls were there from the start. They were at the ascension of the nascent political movement. Suddenly, everything the septuagenarian gadfly with the ironic following of young libertarians was fighting for was going mainstream in the GOP.

The Tea Party was influencing policy and helping the GOP win state and local elections. But even as Ron Paul helped propel the cause with his refreshingly impolitic style, his presidential run, was still regarded as quixotic.

He didn't win a primary or caucus 2012, but his campaign and devout volunteer activist followers were able to engineer a few wins. In addition to several straw poll victories, he won the most delegates in half a dozen states in 2012, including Iowa. He also finished second in New Hampshire and third overall and took home won more than 100 delegates.

Then along came Rand.

Passing The Torch

Rand Paul burst on the scene in Kentucky as part of that 2010 Tea Party wave.

"I have a message from the Tea Party," Rand said on the night of his Senate victory, "a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. We've come to take our government back."

In the subsequent two years, Rand followed his father to places like the Iowa State Fair. He'd have his hands in his jeans pockets, strolling over the dirt and grass patches like a baseball scout eyeing a prospect others didn't quite recognize.

He would do it differently than his father, inspired by his father, but not the same. He would do it in a way that would try to mainstream libertarianism. "Quixotic" and "quirky" wouldn't be words associated with his campaign.

He also planned to be ready. His father's team always seemed to be riding on momentum, a certain inspirational high. But it was, at times, caught off guard when the digging began. Like the revelation of the newsletters Ron Paul founded that made derogatory remarks about African-Americans and gays. Paul denied any editorial involvement with the newsletters, but they still had his name on them. At the very least, it revealed a certain lack of professionalism in his operation.

Rand, on the other hand, proved he wouldn't let a hit go unchallenged during his 2010 Senate race after his Democratic opponent Jack Conway used allegations from a GQ article in a TV ad, accusing him of tying a woman up and having her bow down before an "Aqua Buddha" during his college days.

Paul wouldn't shake Conway's hand after a contentious debate and called him a "disgrace."

Instead of solely railing against the powers that be, Rand befriended them. There are few more disliked within the Tea Party than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. But, unlike Ted Cruz — the braggadocious other senator with Tea Party backing who has already announced for president — Paul formed an alliance with McConnell, the powerful senior senator from his state.

That's despite McConnell's saying in 2014 that establishment Republicans were going to "

A Bigger Goal In Mind

It's the kind of endorsement his father never won, as National Journal put it. Where his father is the idealist, Rand is the savvy pragmatist. Where Ron spoke his mind, regardless of the politics, Rand is more subtle.

Take drugs, for example. Here was Ron Paul talking about heroin during a 2012 Republican presidential debate.

"How many people here would use heroin if it was legal?" Paul boasted, waving his arms, clearly annoyed with the underlying premise of the moderator's question.

Chris Wallace of Fox News had asked, "Are you suggesting that heroin and prostitution are an exercise of liberty?"

Paul continued, "I bet nobody would put their hand up, 'Oh, yes, I need the government to take care of me. I don't want to use heroin, so I need these laws!' "

That is not Rand's style. He hasn't even backed legalization of marijuana.

"I really haven't taken a stand on ... the actual legalization," Rand Paul said last year, "but I'm against the federal government telling them [states] they can't."

For 2016, even if Paul doesn't win the nomination, he hopes his brand of libertarianism can win over a broader swath of the party than his father was able to.

"I have a message," he said Tuesday during his presidential kickoff, pausing for effect. Acute observers would recognize this bookend. "A message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. We've come to take our country back."

So far, both Pauls — even if one has exited the stage — have already come close to taking their party back.

Chicago Voters Keep Mayor Rahm Emanuel In Office

Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET.

Rahm Emanuel faced a tough battle in a runoff against leading challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia. Both had framed the city's first runoff for mayor as one in which the future of Chicago was at stake.

Hariri attacks Nasrallah for criticizing Riyadh

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Wednesday lambasted Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for luring Lebanon’s official television channel into airing his “offensive” remarks against Saudi Arabia.

“All Lebanon needed after all the problems Hezbollah has accumulated on Lebanon was to plunge Tele Liban into the media and political boxing ring and lure it into the trap of participation [crossfire], in a show of insults against Saudi Arabia and its leadership ... through the infamous interview with Hezbollah’s secretary-general,” Hariri said in a statement.

More to follow ...

Advertisement

States Review Laws Revoking Licenses For Student Loan Defaults

i

In 22 states, people who default on their student loans can have professional licenses suspended or revoked. The percentage of Americans who default on student loans has more than doubled since 2003. Butch Dill/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Butch Dill/AP

In 22 states, people who default on their student loans can have professional licenses suspended or revoked. The percentage of Americans who default on student loans has more than doubled since 2003.

Butch Dill/AP

Clementine Lindley says she had a great college experience, but if she had it to do over again, she probably wouldn't pick an expensive private school.

"I could actually buy a small home in Helena, Montana with the amount of debt that I graduated with," she says.

"Removing my driver's license, you just created one more barrier for me being a productive citizen in my community."

- Clementine Lindley, Montana resident

Fresh out of school, Lindley says there were times when she had to decide whether to pay rent, buy food, or make her student loan payments.

"There was a time where I defaulted on my student loans enough that, I never was sent to collections, but just long enough to, honestly, ruin my credit."

That was motivation enough for Lindley to figure out ways to make her payments. But had she defaulted longer, the state of Montana could have revoked her driver's license.

In 22 states, defaulters can have the professional licenses they need to do their jobs suspended or revoked if they fall behind in their student loan payments, licenses for things like nursing or engineering. The percentage of Americans defaulting on their student loans has more than doubled since 2003. That's putting a lot of peoples' livelihoods at risk.

But Montana, where Lindley lives, is rolling those sanctions back.

When Democratic State Rep. Moffie Funk learned that that was a potential consequence, she says she felt embarrassed.

"I think it is demeaning," she says. "I think it is unnecessarily punitive."

Not to mention, she says, counterproductive. If the goal is to get people to make loan payments, taking away their ability to drive to work just makes it harder for them to make money, especially in rural states.

"There isn't public transportation, or very little," Funk says. "You know people need cars in Montana."

So Funk wrote a bill ending the state's right to revoke professional or driver's licenses because of student loan defaults. Dustin Weeden, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures says a lot of states passed license revocation laws for student loan defaulters in the 1990s and early 2000s, back before the federal government started taking on a bigger role in lending to students.

NPR Ed

Activists Stop Paying Their Student Loans

The Howard Project

Education May Be Priceless, But A College Degree Isn't

The Two-Way

Student Tuition Now Outweighs State Funding At Public Colleges

"Because states were essentially the direct lenders to students, many states had large loan portfolios," he says.

Weeden add that tying student loans to licenses which often have to be renewed every couple of years, created a process to find people when they defaulted.

"The state loan authorities would report anybody who had defaulted on loans to all the licensing entities around the state," he says. "Then it's a way for a state to identify that person and really help them get into repayment."

But some policymakers want to retain consequences for defaulting. Like Republican State Sen. Dee Brown.

"I think that this is one of the sticks that we can use over a kid who is not paying their student loans," she says. "It's a stick to get their attention. And what a better way than their driver's license?"

There are plenty of sticks already, like having your wages garnished and your credit ruined says Clementine Lindley, who's been in student loan default.

"Removing my driver's license," she adds, "you just created one more barrier for me being a productive citizen in my community."

The Montana bill to take away license revocation as a consequence for student loan default passed with bipartisan support. That wasn't the case in Iowa. An attempt to repeal a similar law there failed earlier this year.

In Pictures: The White House Easter Egg Roll

President Obama and the First Lady welcomed more than 35,000 guests to the South Lawn of the White House for the 137th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year’s theme was #GimmeFive to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative. Take a look at the big day in photos:

The Easter Bunny joins guests in the Red Room prior to the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, April 6, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama take photos at the Instagram #GimmeFive photo booth in the East Room prior to the Easter Egg Roll. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

read more

Black Representation On Ferguson City Council Increases From 1 To 3

Two black candidates were among three people elected to the Ferguson City Council Tuesday, tripling African-American representation in the St. Louis suburb where poor race relations have been a focal point since the August shooting death of an 18-year-old black by a white police officer.

The election means that half of the six-member city council in Ferguson, a town where two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black, will now be African-American. The lone black incumbent councilman was not up for re-election. The mayor, who could break any tie votes, is white.

Voter turnout increased substantially from the previous election following a strong get-out-the-vote effort from labor unions and other national organizations. The town that drew only 12.3 percent of registered voters last April had 29.4 percent turnout Tuesday, according to the St. Louis County Board of Elections. That was about double the overall turnout in St. Louis County, where Ferguson is located.

Unofficial results showed that Wesley Bell defeated another black candidate to win in the 3rd Ward. Ella Jones defeated another black candidate and two white candidates in the 1st Ward. Brian Fletcher, a former mayor who is white, won a 2nd Ward race against another white candidate.

"This community came out in record numbers to make sure our voices were heard," said councilman-elect Bell. "When you have a community engaged, the sky is the limit."

He described it as part of a healing and rebuilding process.

It was the first municipal election in Ferguson since officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, on Aug. 9. The shooting sparked sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis area, and spawned a national "Black Lives Matter" movement to press for change in how police deal with local minorities.

It also prompted a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which decided not to prosecute Wilson, who resigned in November. But the federal department released a scathing report blasting the city for racial bias and profiling in the police department and a profit-driven municipal court system. Several city officials resigned following the review, including the city manager, police chief and municipal judge. The municipal court clerk was fired for racist emails.

The new city council will be tasked with approving hiring of the replacements.

The scrutiny in the wake of the shooting also found that the city had a mostly white police force and city leadership - the mayor also is white.

In the race for the 3rd Ward, which includes the apartment complex where Brown was killed, Bell, 40, easily defeated 76-year-old retiree Lee Smith. Bell is a lawyer and a criminology professor who had to defend himself because of a third job - municipal judge in a neighboring town of Velda City that, like Ferguson, derives a large percentage of its budget from municipal court fines. Smith had support of several national organizations whose volunteers went door-to-door on his behalf.

Jones had support of a labor union and won easily in her four-person race. Fletcher, the former mayor who started the "I Love Ferguson" campaign after the unrest that ravaged the community, also won easily in the 2nd Ward.

A strong push was made after the shooting to register more black voters last year, but just 562 new voters were added to the rolls. In recent weeks, the focus has been on getting those who are registered to vote.

The high turnout came despite brutal weather. Strong storms, including lightning and heavy rain, tore through the region for several hours before noon. But the weather didn't deter Marty Einig, who has participated in Ferguson protests since August. She was voting in the 3rd Ward, which includes the Canfield Green apartment complex where Brown was fatally shot.

"I see there is raw material within this community to demonstrate hope," Einig said. "I see a glass that's half full, and I feel that the people have the will to force change."

Charrolynn Washington agreed. Voting at the First Presbyterian Church of Ferguson, she said the election is where real change will occur.

"As much change is needed here in Ferguson, this is where we begin - not out there in the streets, doing what they were doing - but, right here," Washington said. "They need to be voting and putting people in position to make the change and make the decisions that need to be made."