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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, July 11, 2009

Honduran opponents to continue talks


Advertiser News Services

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Abel Ramirez expresses his frustration after missing his driver's license test at the DMV office in East Los Angeles, which was closed yesterday. Most California state government offices were closed yesterday, the first of three monthly furlough days intended to save the state money.

DAMIAN DOVARGANES | Associated Press

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Omhari Sengstacke

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The delegations representing ousted Honduran President Miguel Zelaya and acting President Roberto Micheletti yesterday suspended talks for the weekend, after two days of lengthy discussions in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The two camps, made up of each leader's four closest allies, met behind closed doors for six hours yesterday in the house of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who is serving as chief mediator between both sides.

Both sides remain steadfast in their position. Micheletti has said restoring Zelaya to power is not negotiable, while Zelaya has maintained that Micheletti is a "criminal" who should have been arrested upon arriving in Costa Rica.

Thursday night both sides met for the first time since Zelaya was removed from office and flown to Costa Rica by Honduran soldiers acting on the orders of the country's Supreme Court.

Though Micheletti and Zelaya met individually with Arias on Thursday, they did not meet face to face.

FDA APPROVES NEW BLOOD THINNER

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved a highly anticipated blood thinner from Eli Lilly, though the drug must carry the agency's sternest warning because of its bleeding risks.

The approval makes Lilly's Effient the first real competition to the blood thinner Plavix, the world's second-best selling medication made by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The FDA delayed its decision on Effient multiple times during an 18-month review, as agency staffers weighed the drug's benefits versus its risks.

A study of more than 13,000 patients conducted by Lilly found that Effient prevents more heart attacks than Plavix, but also causes more internal bleeding.

MAN WITH GUN NEAR OBAMA HOME JAILED

CHICAGO — A judge has given a five-year prison sentence to a 31-year-old man convicted of having a gun outside President Obama's Chicago home in September.

Omhari Sengstacke was convicted last month of two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was arrested in September after repeatedly trying to pass security barriers near Obama's home, saying he wanted to talk to Obama about a job.

Police found a handgun and a bulletproof vest in Sengstacke's car but said he hadn't threatened Obama. Obama was running for president at the time of the arrest.

ONTARIO TORNADO KILLS 2 MEN; 1 MISSING

EAR FALLS, Ontario — Two Oklahoma men were killed and one remains missing after a tornado ripped through a tourist resort in northwestern Ontario, a meteorologist said yesterday.

Geoff Coulson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the men were inside a cabin when it was ripped from the ground and thrown into a lake as the storm passed through Fisherman's Cove Resort Thursday night.

The two bodies were found in the water just offshore, police said. Five other people inside a second cabin suffered minor injuries, Coulson said.

MEXICO TO DEPUTIZE LOCAL RESIDENTS

MEXICO CITY — Authorities in northern Mexico will give arms and training to members of an anti-crime group in a Mormon community after two local residents were killed by hitmen with ties to organized crime, residents said yesterday.

In a step similar to deputizing local residents, members of the hamlet of Colonia LeBaron say authorities in northern Chihuahua state are helping them create a community police force.

Strict gun-control regulations in Mexico restrict the use of most weapons mainly to police and soldiers.

CIVIL CONTEMPT JAILING ENDS AFTER 14 YEARS

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania attorney who was released from prison yesterday after serving the longest imprisonment on a civil contempt charge in U.S. history said judges have too much discretion in cases like his.

A judge ordered H. Beatty Chadwick's release from a county prison in suburban Philadelphia more than 14 years after he was jailed for refusing to turn over millions of dollars in a bitter divorce battle. The case prompted dozens of appeals to county, state and federal courts, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chadwick, 73, was jailed in April 1995, accused of hiding $2.5 million from his ex-wife in divorce proceedings. Chadwick said he lost the money in bad investments.