AP Calls It For Charles Rangel

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hide captionAccompanied by his wife Alma Rangel, left, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., speaks at his primary election night gathering on Tuesday.

Julie Jacobson/AP

Accompanied by his wife Alma Rangel, left, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., speaks at his primary election night gathering on Tuesday.

Julie Jacobson/AP

New York Rep. Charles Rangel has fended off a Democratic primary challenge from Adriano Espaillat, placing the longtime Harlem congressman on a glide path to a 23rd term in Congress.

The Associated Press called the Democratic primary in New York's 13^th District for Rangel Wednesday afternoon, with the incumbent leading Espaillat by 47 percent to 44 percent and 100 percent of precincts reporting.

In the Harlem- and Bronx-based 13th District, one of the most solidly Democratic seats in the nation, the Democratic nomination is tantamount to victory in November.

According to the New York City Board of Elections, there are currently 980 outstanding provisional and absentee votes, though absentee ballots can be received until next Tuesday.

But those still-untallied votes would fall short of bridging the gap between the two candidates — Rangel is currently ahead by 1,828 votes.

In 2012, the first time Espaillat challenged Rangel, the Board of Elections came under fire for its process of counting affidavit and absentee ballots – a drawn-out affair that left the outcome of the race hanging in the balance for days.

In that election, Espaillat came about 1,000 votes short of victory.

Ex-Circuit City CEO, CarMax co-founder Sharp dies

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richard Sharp, longtime CEO of now-defunct electronics retailer Circuit City and co-founder of used-car dealership chain CarMax Inc., has died at 67.

According to CarMax and investment firm V-Ten Capital Partners, Sharp died Tuesday night at his home just outside Richmond from a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.

Before joining Circuit City in 1982, the Alexandria, Virginia, native led a custom hardware and software business development company he founded at age 27.

During Sharp's tenure as Circuit City's CEO from 1986 to 2000, the company's revenues grew from $175 million to $10.6 billion.

In the early 1990s, Sharp headed a team at Circuit City that led to the creation of CarMax, which has grown to more than 135 stores with revenue of $12.5 billion in its latest fiscal year. He retired as board chairman in 2007.

Sharp was "instrumental in the formation and development of CarMax — creating the vision for the revolutionary concept," CEO Tom Folliard said in a statement. "Rick's influence on the company is profound and will have a lasting impact."

Sharp, who also was a founding investor of footwear company Crocs Inc., was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame in 2008. He spent his later years promoting Alzheimer's disease research.

In the mid-1960s he studied electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary. He later attended Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

Sharp is survived by Sherry, his wife of more than 45 years, his two adult daughters and four grandchildren.

US to seek data protection for EU citizens

ATHENS, Greece -- The Obama administration will seek to introduce legislation that grants Europeans the same privacy protection rights as U.S. citizens when their data is being transferred to the U.S. for law enforcement purposes, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday.

The U.S. and EU have been negotiating since March 2011 on the protection of personal data in such cases, which include transferring data of European citizens to the U.S. for crime prevention, prosecution, investigation and combating terrorism. The EU argues that its citizens who do not live in the U.S. should have the same rights as US citizens living in the EU.

"The Obama administration is committed to seeking legislation that would ensure that ... EU citizens would have the same right to seek judicial redress for intentional or willful disclosures of protected information, and for refusal to grant access or to rectify any errors in that information, as would a U.S. citizen under the Privacy Act," Holder said.

He was speaking Wednesday after an EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs ministerial meeting in Athens. Greece currently holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency.

Trans-Atlantic relations have been tested following the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the U.S. was spying on its European allies.

"EU-U.S. relations have been strained lately in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, but we have worked very hard to restore trust and there is strong commitment on both sides to work jointly," EU home commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.

The European Commission's top justice official, Viviane Reding, described Holder's announcement as "an important first step" but said it "should be swiftly translated into legislation."

"Words only matter if put into law. We are waiting for the legislative step," she said.

Holder said the administration will be "moving quickly to formulate the proposal and then to present it to our Congress."

Parsing The Numbers Of A Tuesday Packed With Primaries

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

Tuesday featured an extensive slew of primaries across the U.S. To learn more about the results, and what they mean for the midterm elections, Audie Cornish turns to NPR's Ron Elving for more.

Longtime Sen. Cochran Ekes Out A Win Against Tea Party Challenger

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

In a result that came as a surprise to some observers, incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran won the GOP nomination in Mississippi's Senate primary. The tight election, which also featured Tea Party-backed challenger Chris McDaniel, came down to a runoff decided late Tuesday night.

Conservative Critics Lobby For An Early End To Export-Import Bank

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

The U.S. Export-Import Bank now finds itself embroiled in controversy. New House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his support for letting the bank's charter expire, and only days ago, news surfaced that four officials at the export credit agency are facing allegations of misconduct.

After uproar, Google executive to sell Oregon home

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Google executive who had planned to tear down his historic Portland house has instead opted to sell it after outraged neighbors complained and 3,000 people signed an online petition urging him to preserve the 19th century home.

Earlier this year, Kevin Rose, a general partner for Google Ventures, paid $1.3 million for a house built in 1892. He initially planned to renovate the old place. When that proved costly, he decided to tear it down and build a 5,900-square-foot home.

On Tuesday, Rose and his wife, Darya, agreed to sell the home for $1.375 million. The couple said in a statement that they did not want an adversarial relationship with their neighbors and new city friends.

"Over the last few days we've watched as comments and emotions flared on both sides of the issue," the statement said. "Some folks arguing for homeowner rights, others for the preservation of old homes. We've read all of this, along with your emails, and took it all to heart."

The primary goal of the neighbors was to preserve the home that has been the site of many gatherings, including annual Easter egg hunts, said Will Aitchison, an attorney who lives in the neighborhood and represented opponents.

A secondary concern was the proposed replacement — referred to in plans as the "Deku Tree Retreat." The modern, flat-roofed design would clash with other homes in the Willamette Heights neighborhood.

Aitchison said the couple's plan was perfectly legal, and he acknowledged that the community reaction put them in a tough position.

"I think the Roses underestimated how neighbors would react to the demolition of a house from 1892," he said.

The buyers are Tom and Jennifer Saunders, who have lived in the neighborhood for many years. Tom Saunders is a developer who has bought and renovated many homes, Aitchison said.

Aitchison, who emailed the offer to the Roses late Monday, said he expects the deal to close by the end of the week.

Kevin Rose tweeted to his 1.46 million followers, "for those of you following our house drama, we decided the best outcome is to preserve the house." In a follow-up message, he added, "for those that have no idea what I'm talking about . keep calm and carry on."

Follow Steven DuBois at http://bit.ly/1lV2w7J.