Despite losing several states, Sen. Barack Obama regained lost ground in the fierce competition for Democratic convention delegates on Wednesday based on results from the Texas caucuses, partially negating the impact of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s string of comeback primary victories. Late returns showed Clinton emerged from Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas and Ohio with a gain of 12 delegates on her rival for the night, with another dozen yet to be awarded in The Associated Press’ count. That left Obama with an overall lead of 101 delegates, 1,562-1,461, as the rivals look ahead to the final dozen contests on the calendar. It takes 2,025 delegates to win the nomination.
The FBI improperly used national security letters in 2006 to obtain personal data about Americans during terror and spy investigations, Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday. Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the privacy breach by FBI agents and lawyers occurred a year before the bureau enacted sweeping new reforms to prevent future lapses. Details on the abuses will be outlined in the coming days in a report by the Justice Department’s inspector general.
Venezuela and Ecuador took their growing conflict with Colombia to the diplomatic front, seeking international condemnation on Wednesday of Colombia’s deadly assault on a rebel base in Ecuador. The two countries tightened their borders and were deploying thousands of troops, while Colombia on Tuesday pointed to documents found in a slain rebel leader’s laptop that it claimed was proof of stunning links between the leftist guerrillas and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Iran vowed to push ahead with uranium enrichment Tuesday, a day after the U.N. Security Council passed a third round of sanctions that Tehran called “worthless” and politically biased. The council approved the measures in a 14-0 vote, but unity among the major powers faltered Tuesday when Russia and China blocked an attempt by Western nations to introduce a resolution on Iran’s nuclear defiance at a meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.
The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday it will not put more oil on the global market despite near record-high prices for crude, blaming the U.S. for ecomonic “mismanagement” it said was having a worldwide effect. OPEC said it opted to maintain current production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.
