Country singer George Jones dies

26 April 2013 Last updated at 12:09 ET

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George Jones speaking in September 2009 and performing his signature song, He Stopped Loving Her Today

US country singer George Jones, who had a string of number one songs between the 1950s and 1990s, has died aged 81.

Jones' publicist, Kirt Webster, said the Grammy-winning singer was admitted to hospital for fever and irregular blood pressure and died on Friday.

Nicknamed Possum, his signature song was He Stopped Loving Her Today, a track about love and death.

He was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975 and the pair recorded several songs together in the 1970s.

Born in Texas on 12 September 1931, Jones played guitar for tips on the streets of Beaumont as a teenager before going on to serve in the US Marine Corps.

He returned to Texas to record for the Starday label in Houston, achieving his first top ten hit in 1955 with Why Baby Why.

Known for his precise baritone and evocative voice, Jones' first number one song, White Lightning, came in 1959, followed by Tender Years in 1961.

Country star Garth Brooks paid tribute to the singer saying: "The greatest voice to ever grace country music will never die. Jones has a place in every heart that ever loved any kind of music."

Cocaine addiction

Jones had a string of top 10 songs during the 1960s and 1970s including If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will), Window Up Above, She Thinks I Still Care, Good Year for the Roses, The Race Is On.

But his battle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction frequently derailed his career and at one point his reputation for cancelling performances earned him the nickname No-Show Jones.

Having divorced his second wife in 1968, Jones married Wynette a year later. The pairing was an enormous professional success for both as they recorded and toured together, recording several tracks including We're Gonna Hold On, Golden Ring and Near You.

However as Jones' addiction problem worsened, so too did his marriage to Wynette, who later claimed he once came at her with a gun.

They divorced in 1975 but later resumed recording together. The couple's only daughter, Tamala is also a country singer under the name Georgette Jones.

Jones recorded the track He Stopped Loving Her Today in 1980. The song, which he said was his favourite, revived a flagging career and won him the Country Music Award's top male vocalist award in 1980 and 1981. He also earned a Grammy for best male country vocal performance.

Paying tribute to the singer on Twitter, Keith Urban said: "‏If I'm blessed enough to make it there, I look forward to you giving me the grand tour. Rest in peace George Jones!!!!!"

Singer Faith Hill wrote: "We lost one of the best voices God created this morning. Our hearts are saddened to hear that George Jones has passed away... Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and all of the family."

Jones credited his fourth wife Nancy, whom he married in 1983, with helping him clean up. But in 1999 he was seriously injured after driving drunk and crashing into a bridge, leading to another period of rehabilitation.

Jones was in the middle of a US tour when he was taken into hospital. At the tour's final date in Nashville in November, he was due to be joined by an array of country music stars including Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Garth Brook and rapper Kid Rock.

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US Congress acts to end air delays

26 April 2013 Last updated at 13:44 ET

US lawmakers have approved measures to ease travel delays caused by unpaid leave for air traffic controllers as a result of budget cuts.

The US House of Representatives voted 361-41 in favour of a plan passed by the Senate on Thursday that would cover the essential aviation staff's costs.

The bill allows the Federal Aviation Administration to move up to $253m (£163m) from other accounts.

The air regulator said the unpaid leave caused 853 flight delays on Wednesday.

The FAA has had to cut $637m from its budget as part of an $85bn government-wide deficit reduction plan, known as sequestration, that began last month.

'Wildcat regulatory action'

As a result, the FAA has reduced the work schedules of nearly all of its 47,000 employees by one day every two weeks.

The staff include air traffic controllers and technicians who keep airport towers and radars working.

President Barack Obama would now sign the bill, said White House press secretary Jay Carney, even though it fell short of broader action needed to address sequestration.

"Ultimately, this is no more than a temporary Band-Aid that fails to address the overarching threat to our economy posed by the sequester's mindless, across-the-board cuts," said Mr Carney.

President Obama had favoured wider action that would ease the budget cuts for federal agencies.

The legislation would end the unpaid leave and allow for enough funding to prevent the closure of towers at small airports around the country.

But correspondents say it is not clear how quickly services will be restored to normal.

Thursday's Senate vote followed many hours of closed-door negotiations and the departure of several lawmakers - who had apparently given up hope of a deal - for a week-long recess.

A small group of senators insisted on reaching an agreement before the holiday, amid warnings of political repercussions from continued airport delays.

Airlines and unions representing airport employees have been pushing for a resolution in Congress.

Robert Isom, head of operations at US Airways, said the FAA furloughs were like a "wildcat regulatory action".

"In the airline business, you try to eliminate uncertainty," he said. "Some factors you can't control, like weather. [The FAA issue] is worse than the weather."

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Rare nickel coin auctioned for $3m

26 April 2013 Last updated at 14:50 ET

A century-old US five-cent coin, once branded a fake, has been sold for $3.1m (£2m) at auction.

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five such coins, had a pre-sale estimated price of $2.5m.

The coin's intriguing provenance - it was illegally cast, found in a car crash, deemed a forgery and abandoned for decades - explains its high value.

It was located after a nationwide search and put up for sale by four siblings in the state of Virginia.

"Not only is it just one of only five known, genuine 1913-dated Liberty Head design nickels, this particular one was off the radar for decades until it literally came out of the closet after a nationwide search," said Todd Imhof, vice-president of Heritage Auctions, where the coin was sold.

The nickel was forged at the mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1912 - the final year the Liberty Head was cast - but with the year 1913 cast on its face.

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This is one of the greatest coins at that price range"

End Quote Jeff Garrett Liberty nickel buyer

It is believed that a mint worker named Samuel Brown made the coin, managing to change the die in order to create a coin bearing a bogus date.

The set of coins' existence was unknown until Brown sold them in 1920, and they remained together - although with various owners - until 1942.

A coin collector based in the state of North Carolina, George Walton, had the coin with him when he died in a 1962 car accident. It was found at the scene of the crash among hundreds of coins scattered over the wreckage.

The nickel passed to Walton's sister, Melva Givens, after experts said the odd date on the coin suggested it was a fake.

She placed the five-cent piece in a box containing other family items, where it remained for the following four decades.

The nickel was rediscovered after Givens' death.

In 2003, her children brought it to the American Numismatic Association's World Fair of Money, where the other four Liberty nickels were on display. Experts determined it must be the long-missing fifth coin in the set.

Since then, the nickel has been on display at the association's Money Museum in Colorado.

The coin's new owner, Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky, said: "This is one of the greatest coins at that price range."

He is understood to have bought the coin in partnership with a man from Panama City, Florida.

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Boston bomb suspect moved to prison

26 April 2013 Last updated at 14:59 ET

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transferred from hospital to prison, US police say.

The US Marshals Service said the 19-year-old had been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to a facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

He has been in hospital since his capture following a huge police operation a week ago.

Meanwhile, a driver allegedly carjacked by the suspects at gunpoint has told how he thought he was going to die.

The US Marshals Service said the accused, whose condition has been described as fair, was taken overnight to the Federal Medical Center Devens some 40 miles (65km) west of Boston.

Momentary distraction

The facility, on the decommissioned Fort Devens US Army base, treats federal prisoners who require specialised long-term medical or mental healthcare.

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If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out"

End Quote "Danny" Carjack victim on his escape

Many of those injured in the marathon blasts were also being treated at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and were reportedly unhappy at having the suspect in the same building.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, a 26-year-old Chinese businessman has told how he was carjacked by Dzhokhar's older brother, several days after the attack on marathon.

He said Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was brandishing a handgun and had warned him if he did not co-operate: "I will kill you."

The man, identified only as Danny, told how the three of them discussed everyday topics such as girls, cars and smartphones during the 90-minute journey.

While Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went into the petrol station to pay and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was distracted with a navigation device, Danny says he chose his moment to flee and alert police.

'Lies and hypocrisy'

"I was thinking I must do two things: unfasten my seatbelt and open the door and jump out as quick as I can," Danny told the Boston Globe. "If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out, he would kill me right away.

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Ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet, who lost her left foot in the attack, vows to dance again

"I just did it. I did it very fast, using my left hand and right hand simultaneously to open the door, unfasten my seatbelt, jump out... and go."

His bravery allowed police to intercept the stolen car, prompting a shootout and manhunt that led to the death of the elder brother and the capture of the younger, possibly also averting a follow-up attack on New York, say the authorities.

New York police said on Thursday the Tsarnaev brothers had concocted a spur-of-the-moment plan to drive the hijacked car to Times Square and detonate their remaining explosives: a pressure cooker device and five pipe bombs.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the ethnic Chechen suspects' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, has not yet left for the US from the Russian republic of Dagestan, despite earlier saying he would do so.

He had said he planned if possible to bring his older son's body back to Russia for burial and defend his hospitalised son, who could face a death sentence if convicted for his alleged role in the bombings.

Meanwhile the Associated Press news agency reports the suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was added at the CIA's request to a US terrorist watch list 18 months ago.

The news agency reported earlier this week that her older son, Tamerlan, had also been added to the list, after Russian officials warned the US authorities he may have become radicalised.

"It's all lies and hypocrisy," Mrs Tsarnaeva told the Associated Press from Dagestan.

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Royals' gifts to Obamas reported

26 April 2013 Last updated at 18:36 ET

Among the gifts from the Royal Family and UK PM David Cameron to US President Barack Obama in 2011 were a china tea set, an eagle tapestry and a dog toy, the US state department has revealed.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the Obamas an array of luxury goods valued at $41,676 (£26,910).

Following US custom, the Obamas and other US public officials seldom keep gifts from foreign leaders.

They are instead deposited with the US National Archives.

The gifts were reported in an annual filing by the US state department's protocol office.

Queen Elizabeth II gave Mr Obama a red leather-bound volume entitled A Selection of Papers From the Royal Archives 1834-1897, signed photos of herself to several senior White House aides, and a brooch with gold leaves and coral flowers to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Prince Charles gave the Obamas a 15-piece china tea set.

Mr Cameron gave the family a large tapestry with an eagle and American flag design by the Rug Company, silver bracelets for daughters Sasha and Malia, and a "bone-shaped chew toy with United Kingdom flag", presumably for Bo, the family's four-year-old dog.

The gifts from the Royal Family and Mr Cameron total about $7,137 (£4,606).

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave Mr Obama a ball signed by the 2011 Toronto Raptors professional basketball team, as well as a "golden-framed 19th Century antique map of North America, surrounded by drawings of North American Indians, beavers".

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented the Obama family with an array of gifts on several occasions in 2011, among them a glass sculpture of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse, several Hermes bags, a 200 euro (£168) souvenir coin and a reusable grocery tote.

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'9/11 jet debris' found in New York

27 April 2013 Last updated at 02:37 ET

New York police say what appears to be part of the landing gear of one of the jets flown into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 has been found.

The 5ft (1.52m) piece of metal, which bears a Boeing label and serial number, was wedged between two New York City buildings, police said.

It was found on Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan building.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the terror attacks as planes were brought down in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Five suspected al-Qaeda militants are awaiting trial for the attacks at a military tribunal at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"It's a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters outside the secured site. "It brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here, who was involved in that event."

The piece was found in a narrow, rubbish-filled space 18in (0.45m) wide.

Broken pulley

Mr Kelly told reporters after inspecting it that a length of rope was looped around the piece of steel and that no marks were visible on the walls overhead.

What appears to be the remains of a broken pulley can be seen with the wreckage and the New York Times reports that Mr Kelly did not completely exclude the idea that the aircraft debris may have been lowered into the gap.

The New York Police Department has secured the area behind 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street as a crime scene.

The location is at the site where a mosque and community centre has been proposed, three streets away from "Ground Zero" - the site of the twin towers.

Police have taken photographs and are keeping it off-limits until a health assessment has been made by the medical examiner's office.

Mr Kelly said investigators will scour the space for possible human remains.

He said the landing gear was found at about 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday by surveyors hired by the owner of 51 Park Place.

At 08:46 on 11 September 2001, American Airlines flight 11 hit the World Trade Center's north tower. Seventeen minutes later, United flight 175 hit the south tower.

Although rubble from the attack was cleared in 2002, other debris has been found scattered across the area in the years since.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attacks while the other four men being held at Guantanamo Bay are implicated for providing support for the co-ordinated hijacking.

They are charged with conspiring with al-Qaeda, terrorism, and one count of murder for each known victim of the 11 September attacks at the time the charges were filed - 2,976 in total.

The five face a possible death sentence if convicted.

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Summit in Sri Lanka 'appals' Canada

27 April 2013 Last updated at 11:09 ET

Canada is "appalled" that Sri Lanka has been chosen to host the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in November, its foreign minister says.

John Baird said Sri Lanka had failed in the fundamental Commonwealth values of "freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance".

Sri Lanka dismissed Canada's objections, saying Commonwealth members had agreed the summit could go ahead.

Sri Lanka's army defeated Tamil rebels after a brutal 26-year war in 2009.

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The entire conflict left at least 100,000 people dead.

Both sides were accused of human rights abuses throughout the conflict, with much focus on what happened in its final stages, when thousands of civilians were trapped in a thin strip of land in the north of Sri Lanka as fighting raged around them.

Estimates of civilian deaths in the final months range widely from 9,000 to 75,000.

'Disruptive elements'

Mr Baird told the BBC's Newshour: "Canada finds it appalling that the government in Colombo would be given the honour and the privilege and responsibility of hosting Commonwealth leaders.

"The Commonwealth has fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and the government in Colombo has failed in all of those respects."

He said there had been "little, if any, accountability since the war ended".

Mr Baird said: "We've seen no meaningful attempt at reconciliation with the Tamil population. If anything it's getting worse."

He also said there was "a growing authoritarian trend" in Sri Lanka's governance, adding: "These are all fundamentally at odds with Commonwealth values and we don't think Sri Lanka should be hosting the Commonwealth."

Sri Lanka rejected Canada's criticism.

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Responding to the foreign minister's comments, Sri Lankan cabinet spokesman and Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the BBC: "We have dealt with this human rights issue and we feel they are very biased and very unfair."

Foreign ministry spokesman Rodney Perera told Agence France-Presse news agency: "Canada can say anything, but the others agree with the [Commonwealth] secretary-general that the summit can go ahead in Sri Lanka. We are working on the arrangements."

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that Sri Lanka had been discussed at a meeting in London on Friday but added: "No member of government has indicated remotely that it wishes to change the venue."

Sri Lanka's state-run Daily News said "disruptive elements" had tried to remove Colombo as hosts with "trumped up charges of human rights abuses", adding: "Obviously, this move did not succeed."

Last month the UN's Human Rights Council passed a resolution highly critical of Sri Lanka's record.

The resolution encouraged Sri Lanka to conduct an independent and credible investigation into alleged war crimes.

The Sri Lankan government commissioned its own investigation into the war in 2011.

Its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) cleared the military of allegations that it had deliberately attacked civilians. It said that there had been some violations by troops, although only at an individual level.

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Man charged over US ricin letters

27 April 2013 Last updated at 15:22 ET

A man has been arrested in Mississippi and charged in connection with the sending of letters containing ricin to President Obama, a senator and a judge.

Everett Dutschke was detained at home in Tupelo on Saturday and handed over to US Marshals, police said.

Mr Dutschke has been charged with possessing a biological agent with intent to use as a weapon.

He has links to a man against whom charges were filed and later dropped, as well as the senator and judge.

Ricin is a naturally occurring protein, found in the castor oil plant, which is highly toxic. It is 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide.

List of names

Tupelo Police Chief Tony Carleton said Mr Dutschke was taken into custody without incident at 01:00 (06:00 GMT) on Saturday. His home had been under surveillance since Friday afternoon.

A law enforcement official told WTVA that the 41-year-old was being held at the Lafayette County Detention Center.

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• Can be fatal when inhaled, ingested or - most dangerously - injected
• One to three castor beans chewed by a child, or just eight seeds chewed by an adult, can be fatal
• The toxin is part of the waste produced when castor oil is made

The US Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Mississippi said in a press release that Mr Dutschke had been charged with developing, producing and possessing "a biological agent, toxin and delivery system for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin".

If convicted of the federal charge, he faces a maximum life term in jail and a $250,000 fine.

The office said Mr Dutschke was expected to appear in a district court in Mississippi on Monday.

Agents from the FBI and the US Capitol Police, as well as members of an anti-terrorist response team from the Mississippi National Guard, had searched Mr Dutschke's home on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the premises of a former martial arts studio he ran in Tupelo.

Attention turned to Mr Dutschke after charges were dropped on Tuesday against Paul Kevin Curtis, a local Elvis impersonator.

A search of Mr Curtis' home in nearby Corinth revealed no evidence to suggest he had sent the ricin-laced letters to President Obama, Senator Roger Wicker and Mississippi Judge Sadie Holland, officials said.

Hal Neilson, a lawyer for Mr Curtis, said Mr Dutschke's name had been submitted on a list of people who might have had a reason to hurt his client.

Mr Curtis said he had worked with Mr Dutschke several years ago, and that they had discussed publishing a book called Missing Pieces, about an alleged conspiracy to sell body parts on the black market. Mr Dutschke decided not to publish the material, Mr Curtis added.

But Mr Dutschke told the Associated Press that he did not know Mr Curtis well, and that the last time they had contact was in 2010.

Judge Holland's family is reported to have confronted Mr Dutschke at a political rally in the town of Verona in 2007, when he ran as a Republican against her son, Steve Holland, a Democratic state representative. Mr Holland said Mr Dutschke had made a derogatory speech about the Holland family, and that his mother had forced him to apologise.

Mr Dutschke said Steve Holland had exaggerated the incident, telling AP: "Everybody loves Sadie, including me."

He is also reported to know Senator Wicker.

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Obama tickles audience at banquet

28 April 2013 Last updated at 00:56 ET

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President Obama The White House Correspondents' Association dinner

President Barack Obama has turned his hand to comedy as he poked fun at himself and his adversaries at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

"I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be," he joked.

He suggested Republicans seeking to reach out to minorities could start with him.

There were shrieks of laughter from the star-studded audience as he delivered his lines.

But Mr Obama also took a more serious tone as he paid tribute to those affected by the Boston Marathon bombing and the explosion at the West, Texas fertiliser plant.

He heaped praise not only on the emergency services but the journalists who covered the stories.

Mr Obama came on stage to the sound of the rap track All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled, quipping that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh "warned you about this".

The president tickled his audience - who included actors Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Claire Danes and South Korean singer Psy - with the following lines:

• "You know that [casino tycoon] Sheldon Adelson spent $100m of his own money last year on negative ads. You've got to really dislike me to spend that kind of money... Sheldon would have been better off offering me $100m to drop out of the race. I probably wouldn't have taken it, but I'd have thought about it. Michelle would have taken it. You think I'm joking."
• "Some folks still don't think I spend enough time with Congress. 'Why don't you get a drink with [Senate Republican minority leader] Mitch McConnell?' they ask. Really? Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?"
• "My charm offensive has helped me learn some interesting things about what's going on in Congress. It turns out - absolutely nothing."
• "I know CNN has taken some knocks lately but the fact is, I admire their commitment to covering all sides of the story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate."
• "I'm also hard at work on plans for the Obama library and some have suggested we put it in my birthplace but... I'd rather keep it in the United States."

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Duke 'well' despite purplish eye

28 April 2013 Last updated at 02:45 ET

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Prince Philip is colonel-in-chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment

Buckingham Palace has played down fears about the Duke of Edinburgh's health after he was pictured with purplish skin round his eye in Canada.

It is understood that Prince Philip, 91, did not fall and simply woke up with the discoloration a few days ago.

The duke earlier presented a new ceremonial flag to 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, in Toronto. He is the regiment's colonel-in-chief.

He arrived in Canada on Friday and will return to the UK on Sunday.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch the military ceremony which featured parachutists and rappel teams racing down the side of a building.

He told troops that "in a world where there is so much senseless violence, the regiment has an enviable reputation for peacekeeping".

It is the prince's first major foreign visit since 2011 when he accompanied the Queen on a tour of Australia. This time he has not been joined by the monarch on what the palace has described as a private engagement.

His most recent overseas trip was to visit British troops in Germany last May.

Philip, 91, has been admitted to hospital three times in the past 18 months after suffering health scares.

Following his arrival from London - on an aircraft provided by the Royal Canadian Air Force - the duke was presented with the insignia of a Companion of the Order of Canada and Commander of the Order of Military Merit by the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston.

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Ex-US government worker 'Cuban spy'

25 April 2013 Last updated at 17:43 ET

A former US government employee has been accused of recruiting US citizens in sensitive national security posts to spy for the Cuban government.

Marta Rita Velazquez, 55, worked for the state department between 1989-2002 and had top-secret clearance.

Authorities say she fled the US in 2002 amid reports a spy she had recruited was co-operating with investigators.

Ms Velazquez, who now lives in Sweden, is also accused of passing secret documents to the Cuban government.

If extradited, tried and convicted, she could face life in prison.

The charges stem in part from an earlier case against Ana Belen Montes, Ms Velazquez's alleged co-conspirator, who pleaded guilty in 2002 to spying on behalf of the Cuban government and is now serving a 25-year prison sentence in the US.

According to an indictment unveiled by the US justice department, Ms Velazquez recruited Montes in 1984, introduced her to the Cuban Intelligence Service and then helped her obtain a job at the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Montes became the agency's senior analyst for Cuban affairs.

Ms Velazquez is also accused of passing on documents and information to Cuban intelligence officials on matters relating to US national defence.

The indictment against Ms Velazquez, who has also gone by the names Marta Rita Kviele and Barbara, was first returned by a grand jury in 2004 but was not unsealed until Thursday.

She was born in Puerto Rico in 1957 and studied at Princeton University, Georgetown Law Center and Johns Hopkins University, the charge sheet says.

Ms Velazquez developed a close friendship with Montes at Johns Hopkins, US authorities said.

As a federal employee, Ms Velazquez worked for the state department's development arm, the US Agency for International Development, held a top-security clearance and was posted to US embassies in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

As it emerged that Montes had pleaded guilty to espionage and was co-operating with the US government, Ms Velazquez resigned her government job and left the US.

The US has maintained a near total trade embargo against Cuba since 1962, but during his first term in office President Barack Obama relaxed restrictions on Cuban Americans' travel to the island and raised the limit on the amount of money they could send to family members there.

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Zachary Quinto in Broadway debut

26 April 2013 Last updated at 05:17 ET

Star Trek's Zachary Quinto will make his Broadway debut in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie, when it transfers to New York in September.

Quinto, who reprises the role of Spock in the forthcoming Star Trek sequel Into Darkness, takes the leading role as the play's narrator, Tom.

He shares the stage with two-time Tony award-winner Cherry Jones, who plays his mother Amanda Wingfield.

The production originally opened at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre.

Writing in The New York Times, critic Ben Brantley called Quinto's work "a benchmark performance".

Referring to his co-star Jones, he added: "she's both even more than you hoped for and not at all what you might have expected".

Autobiographical

The play centres on an ageing Southern belle who hopes her son can fulfil her dreams of finding the perfect "gentleman caller" for her shy and damaged daughter, Laura - here played by Celia Keenan-Bolger.

Williams's first successful play, it is widely considered to be an autobiographical account of the playwright's own upbringing.

Adapted from Williams' short story, Portrait of a Girl in Glass, it first premiered in Chicago in 1944.

It was previously revived on Broadway in 2005, with Christian Slater and Jessica Lange in the lead roles.

Quinto, who rose to fame in the TV series Heroes as Sylar, recently won acclaim for his off-Broadway performance in Angels in America.

Previews of The Glass Menagerie, directed by John Tiffany, will run from 5 September, with opening night set for 26 September. The play will run for 17 weeks.

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Country singer George Jones dies

26 April 2013 Last updated at 12:09 ET

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George Jones speaking in September 2009 and performing his signature song, He Stopped Loving Her Today

US country singer George Jones, who had a string of number one songs between the 1950s and 1990s, has died aged 81.

Jones publicist, Kirt Webster, said the Grammy-winning singer was admitted to hospital for fever and irregular blood pressure and died on Friday.

Nicknamed Possum, his signature song was He Stopped Loving Her Today, a track about love and death.

He was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975 and the pair recorded several songs together in the 1970s.

Born in Texas on 12 September 1931, Jones played guitar for tips on the streets of Beaumont as a teenager before going on to serve in the US Marine Corps.

He returned to Texas to record for the Starday label in Houston, achieving his first top ten hit in 1955 with Why Baby Why.

Known for his precise baritone and evocative voice, Jones' first number one song, White Lightning, came in 1959, followed by Tender Years in 1961.

Country star Garth Brooks paid tribute to the singer saying: "The greatest voice to ever grace country music will never die. Jones has a place in every heart that ever loved any kind of music."

Cocaine addiction

Jones had a string of top 10 songs during the 1960s and 1970s including If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will), Window Up Above, She Thinks I Still Care, Good Year for the Roses, The Race Is On.

But his battle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction frequently derailed his career and at one point his reputation for cancelling performances earned him the nickname No-Show Jones.

Having divorced his second wife in 1968, Jones married Wynette a year later. The pairing was an enormous professional success for both as they recorded and toured together, recording several tracks including We're Gonna Hold On, Golden Ring and Near You.

However as Jones' addiction problem worsened, so too did his marriage to Wynette, who later claimed he once came at her with a gun.

They divorced in 1975 but later resumed recording together. The couple's only daughter, Tamala is also a country singer under the name Georgette Jones.

Jones recorded the track He Stopped Loving Her Today in 1980. The song, which he said was his favourite, revived a flagging career and won him the Country Music Award's top male vocalist award in 1980 and 1981. He also earned a Grammy for best male country vocal performance.

Paying tribute to the singer on Twitter, Keith Urban said: "‏If I'm blessed enough to make it there, I look forward to you giving me the grand tour. Rest in peace George Jones!!!!!"

Singer Faith Hill wrote: "We lost one of the best voices God created this morning. Our hearts are saddened to hear that George Jones has passed away... Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and all of the family."

Jones credited his fourth wife Nancy, whom he married in 1983, with helping him clean up. But in 1999 he was seriously injured after driving drunk and crashing into a bridge, leading to another period of rehabilitation.

Jones was in the middle of a US tour when he was taken into hospital. At the tour's final date in Nashville in November, he was due to be joined by an array of country music stars including Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Garth Brook and rapper Kid Rock.

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US Congress acts to end air delays

26 April 2013 Last updated at 13:44 ET

US lawmakers have approved measures to ease travel delays caused by unpaid leave for air traffic controllers as a result of budget cuts.

The US House of Representatives voted 361-41 in favour of a plan passed by the Senate on Thursday that would cover the essential aviation staff's costs.

The bill allows the Federal Aviation Administration to move up to $253m (£163m) from other accounts.

The air regulator said the unpaid leave caused 853 flight delays on Wednesday.

The FAA has had to cut $637m from its budget as part of an $85bn government-wide deficit reduction plan, known as sequestration, that began last month.

'Wildcat regulatory action'

As a result, the FAA has reduced the work schedules of nearly all of its 47,000 employees by one day every two weeks.

The staff include air traffic controllers and technicians who keep airport towers and radars working.

President Barack Obama would now sign the bill, said White House press secretary Jay Carney, even though it fell short of broader action needed to address sequestration.

"Ultimately, this is no more than a temporary Band-Aid that fails to address the overarching threat to our economy posed by the sequester's mindless, across-the-board cuts," said Mr Carney.

President Obama had favoured wider action that would ease the budget cuts for federal agencies.

The legislation would end the unpaid leave and allow for enough funding to prevent the closure of towers at small airports around the country.

But correspondents say it is not clear how quickly services will be restored to normal.

Thursday's Senate vote followed many hours of closed-door negotiations and the departure of several lawmakers - who had apparently given up hope of a deal - for a week-long recess.

A small group of senators insisted on reaching an agreement before the holiday, amid warnings of political repercussions from continued airport delays.

Airlines and unions representing airport employees have been pushing for a resolution in Congress.

Robert Isom, head of operations at US Airways, said the FAA furloughs were like a "wildcat regulatory action".

"In the airline business, you try to eliminate uncertainty," he said. "Some factors you can't control, like weather. [The FAA issue] is worse than the weather."

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Rare nickel coin auctioned for $3m

26 April 2013 Last updated at 14:50 ET

A century-old US five-cent coin, once branded a fake, has been sold for $3.1m (£2m) at auction.

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five such coins, had a pre-sale estimated price of $2.5m.

The coin's intriguing provenance - it was illegally cast, found in a car crash, deemed a forgery and abandoned for decades - explains its high value.

It was located after a nationwide search and put up for sale by four siblings in the state of Virginia.

"Not only is it just one of only five known, genuine 1913-dated Liberty Head design nickels, this particular one was off the radar for decades until it literally came out of the closet after a nationwide search," said Todd Imhof, vice-president of Heritage Auctions, where the coin was sold.

The nickel was forged at the mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1912 - the final year the Liberty Head was cast - but with the year 1913 cast on its face.

Continue reading the main story

This is one of the greatest coins at that price range"

End Quote Jeff Garrett Liberty nickel buyer

It is believed that a mint worker named Samuel Brown made the coin, managing to change the die in order to create a coin bearing a bogus date.

The set of coins' existence was unknown until Brown sold them in 1920, and they remained together - although with various owners - until 1942.

A coin collector based in the state of North Carolina, George Walton, had the coin with him when he died in a 1962 car accident. It was found at the scene of the crash among hundreds of coins scattered over the wreckage.

The nickel passed to Walton's sister, Melva Givens, after experts said the odd date on the coin suggested it was a fake.

She placed the five-cent piece in a box containing other family items, where it remained for the following four decades.

The nickel was rediscovered after Givens' death.

In 2003, her children brought it to the American Numismatic Association's World Fair of Money, where the other four Liberty nickels were on display. Experts determined it must be the long-missing fifth coin in the set.

Since then, the nickel has been on display at the association's Money Museum in Colorado.

The coin's new owner, Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky, said: "This is one of the greatest coins at that price range."

He is understood to have bought the coin in partnership with a man from Panama City, Florida.

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Boston bomb suspect moved to prison

26 April 2013 Last updated at 14:59 ET

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transferred from hospital to prison, US police say.

The US Marshals Service said the 19-year-old had been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to a facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

He has been in hospital since his capture following a huge police operation a week ago.

Meanwhile, a driver allegedly carjacked by the suspects at gunpoint has told how he thought he was going to die.

The US Marshals Service said the accused, whose condition has been described as fair, was taken overnight to the Federal Medical Center Devens some 40 miles (65km) west of Boston.

Momentary distraction

The facility, on the decommissioned Fort Devens US Army base, treats federal prisoners who require specialised long-term medical or mental healthcare.

Continue reading the main story

If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out"

End Quote "Danny" Carjack victim on his escape

Many of those injured in the marathon blasts were also being treated at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and were reportedly unhappy at having the suspect in the same building.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, a 26-year-old Chinese businessman has told how he was carjacked by Dzhokhar's older brother, several days after the attack on marathon.

He said Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was brandishing a handgun and had warned him if he did not co-operate: "I will kill you."

The man, identified only as Danny, told how the three of them discussed everyday topics such as girls, cars and smartphones during the 90-minute journey.

While Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went into the petrol station to pay and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was distracted with a navigation device, Danny says he chose his moment to flee and alert police.

'Lies and hypocrisy'

"I was thinking I must do two things: unfasten my seatbelt and open the door and jump out as quick as I can," Danny told the Boston Globe. "If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out, he would kill me right away.

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Ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet, who lost her left foot in the attack, vows to dance again

"I just did it. I did it very fast, using my left hand and right hand simultaneously to open the door, unfasten my seatbelt, jump out... and go."

His bravery allowed police to intercept the stolen car, prompting a shootout and manhunt that led to the death of the elder brother and the capture of the younger, possibly also averting a follow-up attack on New York, say the authorities.

New York police said on Thursday the Tsarnaev brothers had concocted a spur-of-the-moment plan to drive the hijacked car to Times Square and detonate their remaining explosives: a pressure cooker device and five pipe bombs.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the ethnic Chechen suspects' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, has not yet left for the US from the Russian republic of Dagestan, despite earlier saying he would do so.

He had said he planned if possible to bring his older son's body back to Russia for burial and defend his hospitalised son, who could face a death sentence if convicted for his alleged role in the bombings.

Meanwhile the Associated Press news agency reports the suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was added at the CIA's request to a US terrorist watch list 18 months ago.

The news agency reported earlier this week that her older son, Tamerlan, had also been added to the list, after Russian officials warned the US authorities he may have become radicalised.

"It's all lies and hypocrisy," Mrs Tsarnaeva told the Associated Press from Dagestan.

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US economic growth reaches 2.5%

26 April 2013 Last updated at 16:21 ET

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the first three months of the year, helped by the strongest consumer spending figures in two years.

While the growth figure was lower than analysts' expectations, it was better than the 0.4% rate recorded in the final quarter of last year.

Consumer spending rose at an annualised rate of 3.2%, according to the Commerce Department data.

But government spending, especially on defence, fell at a rate of 4.1%.

'Sharp softening'

Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, and the 3.2% rise during the first quarter is the fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2010. It grew at a pace of 1.8% in the fourth quarter of last year. Home construction also rose further.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Kim Gittleson BBC reporter, New York

---

Herald Square in Manhattan is home to the iconic Macy's headquarters and even on a typical day, the area is packed with tourists and locals toting shopping bags and sitting in the pedestrian plaza.

With spring in full bloom and the news that the US economy is once again on an upswing, the good cheer is palpable.

Claudia Brees just got off a bus from Virginia to join her friend Mindy for a shopping weekend in the city.

"I'm optimistic," she says.

She says, given the good news about the economy, she and her husband have recently decided to put their home on the market.

"But all in all, I don't think the economy's going to return to the way it was. That's just the way of the future for us."

That seems to be the mood here in New York - hopeful but still on guard.

However, there is concern among economists that recent employment and retail sales data suggests spending is slowing. The larger-than-expected fall in government spending was one reason why the GDP came in below analysts' forecasts.

On 1 March, more than $85bn in mandatory government spending cuts, known as the sequester, began. The defence sector was due to bear the brunt of the cuts.

ING economist Rob Carnell said a breakdown of the figures showed "sharp softening" in growth as of March, indicating further weakening over April and May.

He said there was a good chance of the second quarter being "substantially weaker" with a "rogue negative quarter" even possible.

Maintain QE?

But Dan Greenhaus, managing director at BTIG, was hopeful of an improvement later in the year.

"We have observed some positives that suggest growth will pick up in the back half of the year, but the US economy still struggles to accelerate in a sustainable fashion,'' he said.

The figures could renew calls for the Federal Reserve to maintain its monetary stimulus programme of quantitative easing. The central bank meets next week and it is widely predicted that it will stick to its $85bn-a-month bond-buying schedule.

Continue reading the main story

Case study

Jon Smilowitz is the boss of JonDen, a local clothing manufacturer in Brooklyn.

His bumble-bee yellow blouses and zebra-print trousers are often found on the racks of many of the stores in New York. He says sales have picked up over the last quarter.

"We see retailers jumping back in and purchasing product for the spring and summer months, but the order sizes are smaller per order," he says.

"I think the word of the day is cautious."

The GDP figures received a muted response on Wall Street, with the main Dow Jones index ending little changed, up just 12 points or 0.08% at 14,713.

The US economy has now grown for 15 consecutive quarters.

However, since the recession officially ended in June 2009 growth has remained weaker than usual after a downturn. The economy expanded by 2.4% in 2010, 1.8% in 2011 and 2.2% in 2012.

Analysts had hoped that this year would see a return to more robust growth of 3% or 4%.

But in comparison with other developed countries, the US is still performing relatively well.

In Europe in 2012, Germany's economy grew by 0.7%, the French economy was flat, while Italy's shrank by 2.4%.

In the UK, the economy grew 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013 from the final quarter of 2012. In the US the non-annualised quarter-on-quarter growth figure was 0.6%.

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Royals' gifts to Obamas reported

26 April 2013 Last updated at 18:36 ET

Among the gifts from the Royal Family and UK PM David Cameron to US President Barack Obama in 2011 were a china tea set, an eagle tapestry and a dog toy, the US state department has revealed.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the Obamas an array of luxury goods valued at $41,676 (£26,910).

Following US custom, the Obamas and other US public officials seldom keep gifts from foreign leaders.

They are instead deposited with the US National Archives.

The gifts were reported in an annual filing by the US state department's protocol office.

Queen Elizabeth II gave Mr Obama a red leather-bound volume entitled A Selection of Papers From the Royal Archives 1834-1897, signed photos of herself to several senior White House aides, and a brooch with gold leaves and coral flowers to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Prince Charles gave the Obamas a 15-piece china tea set.

Mr Cameron gave the family a large tapestry with an eagle and American flag design by the Rug Company, silver bracelets for daughters Sasha and Malia, and a "bone-shaped chew toy with United Kingdom flag", presumably for Bo, the family's four-year-old dog.

The gifts from the Royal Family and Mr Cameron total about $7,137 (£4,606).

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave Mr Obama a ball signed by the 2011 Toronto Raptors professional basketball team, as well as a "golden-framed 19th Century antique map of North America, surrounded by drawings of North American Indians, beavers".

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented the Obama family with an array of gifts on several occasions in 2011, among them a glass sculpture of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse, several Hermes bags, a 200 euro (£168) souvenir coin and a reusable grocery tote.

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Duke of Edinburgh on visit to Canada

26 April 2013 Last updated at 22:39 ET

The Duke of Edinburgh has arrived in Toronto on a brief visit to Canada where he will present a regiment with a new ceremonial flag.

Prince Philip will present new colours as colonel-in-chief to the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.

The Queen's husband left London on an aircraft provided by the Royal Canadian Air Force, and will return on Sunday.

Philip, 91, has been hospitalised three times in the past 18 months after suffering health scares.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The main purpose of his visit is to present new colours to Canada's 3rd Battalion in his role as colonel-in-chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment."

It is the prince's first major foreign visit since 2011 when he accompanied the Queen on a tour of Australia. This time he has not been joined by the monarch on what the palace has described as a private engagement.

His most recent overseas trip was to visit British troops in Germany last May.

Following his arrival the duke was presented with the insignia of a Companion of the Order of Canada and Commander of the Order of Military Merit by the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston.

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'9/11 jet debris' found in New York

27 April 2013 Last updated at 02:37 ET

New York police say what appears to be part of the landing gear of one of the jets flown into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 has been found.

The 5ft (1.52m) piece of metal, which bears a Boeing label and serial number, was wedged between two New York City buildings, police said.

It was found on Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan building.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the terror attacks as planes were brought down in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Five suspected al-Qaeda militants are awaiting trial for the attacks at a military tribunal at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"It's a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters outside the secured site. "It brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here, who was involved in that event."

The piece was found in a narrow, rubbish-filled space 18in (0.45m) wide.

Broken pulley

Mr Kelly told reporters after inspecting it that a length of rope was looped around the piece of steel and that no marks were visible on the walls overhead.

What appears to be the remains of a broken pulley can be seen with the wreckage and the New York Times reports that Mr Kelly did not completely exclude the idea that the aircraft debris may have been lowered into the gap.

The New York Police Department has secured the area behind 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street as a crime scene.

The location is at the site where a mosque and community centre has been proposed, three streets away from "Ground Zero" - the site of the twin towers.

Police have taken photographs and are keeping it off-limits until a health assessment has been made by the medical examiner's office.

Mr Kelly said investigators will scour the space for possible human remains.

He said the landing gear was found at about 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday by surveyors hired by the owner of 51 Park Place.

At 08:46 on 11 September 2001, American Airlines flight 11 hit the World Trade Center's north tower. Seventeen minutes later, United flight 175 hit the south tower.

Although rubble from the attack was cleared in 2002, other debris has been found scattered across the area in the years since.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attacks while the other four men being held at Guantanamo Bay are implicated for providing support for the co-ordinated hijacking.

They are charged with conspiring with al-Qaeda, terrorism, and one count of murder for each known victim of the 11 September attacks at the time the charges were filed - 2,976 in total.

The five face a possible death sentence if convicted.

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Obama's tattoo warning to daughters

24 April 2013 Last updated at 18:51 ET

US President Barack Obama has warned his daughters that if they get tattoos, he and his wife will get matching ones on the same place on their bodies.

In an interview on NBC's Today show, Mr Obama said he hoped the "family tattoo" threat would discourage teen rebellion.

Mr Obama said he had warned Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, that he and First Lady Michelle Obama would show off their matching tattoos on YouTube.

The girls are the first teenagers in the White House since Chelsea Clinton.

Ms Clinton was 12 when her father President Bill Clinton took office in 1993.

In the interview the president also reacted to Mrs Obama's recent remark that she was a "busy single mother".

In her own interview with a local television news station, Mrs Obama quickly corrected herself.

Calling the first lady's comment a slip of the tongue, Mr Obama added that at times - for instance when he was running for office - Mrs Obama was both working and looking after their daughters and may have felt like a single parent.

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Boston bomb suspect moved to prison

26 April 2013 Last updated at 07:56 ET

The Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transferred from hospital to prison, US police say.

The US Marshals Service said the 19-year-old had been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to a facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been in hospital since his arrest following a huge police operation a week ago.

He was found badly injured in a boat in a suburban backyard. His brother Tamerlan was killed during the manhunt.

Many of the injured have also been treated at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and were reported to be unhappy at having the surviving bombing suspect in the same building.

The US Marshals Service said the accused, whose condition has been described as fair, was taken overnight to the Federal Medical Center Devens some 40 miles (65km) west of Boston.

Botched hijacking

The facility, on the decommissioned Fort Devens US Army base, treats federal prisoners and detainees who require specialised long-term medical or mental health care, the Associated Press reports.

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The bombing suspects' mother bitterly denounces America

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged, by a magistrate at his hospital bedside earlier this week, with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

He could be sentenced to death if convicted on either count.

Having suffered apparent gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs and hand, he was reported to have responded to questions in writing because a throat wound left him unable to speak.

The two bombs, placed in pressure cookers and left close to the finishing line of the Boston Marathon on 15 April, killed three people and wounded more than 260.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said on Thursday that the Tsarnaev brothers had concocted a spur-of-the-moment plan to attack Times Square with their remaining explosives: a pressure cooker device and five pipe bombs.

They hijacked a Mercedes and its driver in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the evening of 18 April, but the driver managed to escape and alert police when the brothers stopped for petrol, say the authorities.

Police say they then intercepted the brothers in the stolen car, prompting a gun battle that left 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead.

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Michael Bloomberg says New York City was the next target after Boston

The Tsarnaev family has origins in the predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya in southern Russia, but the brothers had been living in the US for nearly a decade.

The pair are thought to have planned the attack themselves, without help from foreign militants, and are suspected of having become radicalised online.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has said he and his brother were angry about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are questions as to whether the US security services could have done more to prevent the bombings.

It has emerged the FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev after a tip-off from Russia that he had become a follower of radical Islam, but agents found nothing and closed the case.

And Tamerlan Tsarnaev was added to a terrorism watch list 18 months ago at the CIA's request, according to US media reports.

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VIDEO: Boston suspects 'targeted New York'

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US economic growth reaches 2.5%

26 April 2013 Last updated at 09:09 ET

The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.5% in the first three months of the year, supported by the strongest consumer spending figures in two years.

While the growth figure was lower than analysts' expectations, it was better than the 0.4% rate recorded in the final quarter of last year.

Consumer spending rose at an annualised rate of 3.2%.

But government spending cuts, particularly in defence, held growth back.

Part of the pick up in growth was due to US farmers filling up grain silos following last year's devastating drought. Removing these inventories, GDP growth was closer to 1.5%.

The figures could renew calls for the Federal Reserve to maintain its monetary stimulus programme of quantitative easing. The central bank meets next week and it is widely predicted that it will stick to its $85bn-a-month bond-buying schedule.

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VIDEO: Canada reacts to terror arrests

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VIDEO: FBI faces Boston suspect questions

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Ex-US government worker 'Cuban spy'

25 April 2013 Last updated at 17:43 ET

A former US government employee has been accused of recruiting US citizens in sensitive national security posts to spy for the Cuban government.

Marta Rita Velazquez, 55, worked for the state department between 1989-2002 and had top-secret clearance.

Authorities say she fled the US in 2002 amid reports a spy she had recruited was co-operating with investigators.

Ms Velazquez, who now lives in Sweden, is also accused of passing secret documents to the Cuban government.

If extradited, tried and convicted, she could face life in prison.

The charges stem in part from an earlier case against Ana Belen Montes, Ms Velazquez's alleged co-conspirator, who pleaded guilty in 2002 to spying on behalf of the Cuban government and is now serving a 25-year prison sentence in the US.

According to an indictment unveiled by the US justice department, Ms Velazquez recruited Montes in 1984, introduced her to the Cuban Intelligence Service and then helped her obtain a job at the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Montes became the agency's senior analyst for Cuban affairs.

Ms Velazquez is also accused of passing on documents and information to Cuban intelligence officials on matters relating to US national defence.

The indictment against Ms Velazquez, who has also gone by the names Marta Rita Kviele and Barbara, was first returned by a grand jury in 2004 but was not unsealed until Thursday.

She was born in Puerto Rico in 1957 and studied at Princeton University, Georgetown Law Center and Johns Hopkins University, the charge sheet says.

Ms Velazquez developed a close friendship with Montes at Johns Hopkins, US authorities said.

As a federal employee, Ms Velazquez worked for the state department's development arm, the US Agency for International Development, held a top-security clearance and was posted to US embassies in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

As it emerged that Montes had pleaded guilty to espionage and was co-operating with the US government, Ms Velazquez resigned her government job and left the US.

The US has maintained a near total trade embargo against Cuba since 1962, but during his first term in office President Barack Obama relaxed restrictions on Cuban Americans' travel to the island and raised the limit on the amount of money they could send to family members there.

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Zachary Quinto in Broadway debut

26 April 2013 Last updated at 05:17 ET

Star Trek's Zachary Quinto will make his Broadway debut in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie, when it transfers to New York in September.

Quinto, who reprises the role of Spock in the forthcoming Star Trek sequel Into Darkness, takes the leading role as the play's narrator, Tom.

He shares the stage with two-time Tony award-winner Cherry Jones, who plays his mother Amanda Wingfield.

The production originally opened at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre.

Writing in The New York Times, critic Ben Brantley called Quinto's work "a benchmark performance".

Referring to his co-star Jones, he added: "she's both even more than you hoped for and not at all what you might have expected".

Autobiographical

The play centres on an ageing Southern belle who hopes her son can fulfil her dreams of finding the perfect "gentleman caller" for her shy and damaged daughter, Laura - here played by Celia Keenan-Bolger.

Williams's first successful play, it is widely considered to be an autobiographical account of the playwright's own upbringing.

Adapted from Williams' short story, Portrait of a Girl in Glass, it first premiered in Chicago in 1944.

It was previously revived on Broadway in 2005, with Christian Slater and Jessica Lange in the lead roles.

Quinto, who rose to fame in the TV series Heroes as Sylar, recently won acclaim for his off-Broadway performance in Angels in America.

Previews of The Glass Menagerie, directed by John Tiffany, will run from 5 September, with opening night set for 26 September. The play will run for 17 weeks.

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Drugs found on Bieber tour bus

Swedish police say they have found drugs on board a tour bus used by Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.

Police spokesman Lars Bystrom said a small amount of drugs and a stun gun had been found when officers raided the empty bus parked under the Globen concert venue in Stockholm, where the singer was performing on Wednesday.

He declined to identify the drug, saying it had been "sent to a laboratory for an analysis".

Continue reading the main story

The police went onto the bus and searched it and found a small amount of narcotics. We don't know who had the drugs or who smoked them, so it will be hard to link them with any individual

Kjell Lindgren Stockholm police spokesman

No-one has been arrested.

Police acted after smelling marijuana coming from inside the bus when it was parked outside the hotel where the singer was staying.

The drug squad was alerted and searched the bus after it carried a group of people to the concert venue.

Police say there are no suspects and won't be taking the matter any further.

Police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said: "The police went onto the bus and searched it and found a small amount of narcotics.

"We don't know who had the drugs or who smoked them, so it will be hard to link them with any individual."

Justin Bieber is in Stockholm on the European leg of his Believe world tour.

When he was in London in March the Canadian singer caused controversy when he was late on stage for a concert at the 02 Arena.

A few days later he made headlines again when he confronted photographers outside his central London hotel.

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US lifts Boeing Dreamliner ban

25 April 2013 Last updated at 15:53 ET

US regulators have issued a formal "air worthiness" directive allowing revamped Boeing 787 Dreamliners to fly again.

The directive from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) means US airlines can begin using the planes again, provided their battery systems are replaced.

The FAA gave Boeing the go-ahead to replace battery systems with a new design last week.

Concerns over their safety forced the grounding of all 787s in January.

The directive only applies to US airlines, but other regulators are now expected to follow suit.

In the US only United Airlines currently has 787s in its fleet, but there are a total of 50 owned by airlines around the world, and 840 are on the order books.

Boeing is working to replace battery systems that are believed to have been behind fires on two 787s run by Japanese airlines in January.

It said it expected the repairs to be completed by the middle of May.

It is unclear how much the whole 787 saga will cost Boeing.

The FAA said the cost of repairing the six planes operated by United Airlines alone would be about $2.8m (£1.8m).

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LAPD to pay $4m to shot women

23 April 2013 Last updated at 17:59 ET

The city of Los Angeles will pay $4.2m (£2.8m) to two women shot by police as they searched for an ex-policeman on a murder spree.

Margie Carranza and her mother Emma Hernandez were delivering newspapers early on 7 February when officers fired about 100 bullets into their car.

Ms Hernandez was shot in the back and Ms Carranza sustained minor injuries.

Christopher Dorner is believed to have killed three people in California before dying in a shootout with police.

The ex-Navy reservist died in a gunfight at a mountain cabin near the Big Bear Lake ski resort, after a massive manhunt across southern California.

'Assuming responsibility'

Los Angeles police were looking for Dorner when they misidentified the vehicle the women were driving and opened fire.

A lawyer representing Los Angeles said a "fair and swift" settlement had been reached, which was a "win-win" for both parties.

"In reaching the settlement we hope that Margie and Emma will be able to move on with their lives," lawyer Carmen Trutanich said, adding, "The city will be spared literally millions of dollars in litigation fees."

The two women will split the settlement, taking $2.1m each.

Glen Jonas, the lawyer representing the women, said his clients would accept the payment after the end of the current fiscal year on 30 June, to help ease the city's financial troubles.

He added the police and other city leaders were consulted throughout the negotiation process.

"The LAPD, the chief, were consulted at every step of the way," Mr Jonas said. "We weren't going to have an agreement unless the city leaders - all of them - thought that it was a fair agreement for everyone involved."

Dorner's killing spree began on 3 February when he shot dead the daughter of a former police captain who represented him at a police disciplinary board, and her fiance.

Police say he then shot and killed a Riverside policeman in an ambush on 7 February.

In an online manifesto, Dorner, who was black, suggested that racism was still rife in the LAPD.

It was an unwelcome allegation for a department that overhauled itself after the notorious police beating in 1991 of a black man, Rodney King.

During the manhunt police guarded about 50 families, many of which were connected to former Los Angeles Police Department colleagues against whom Dorner had vowed revenge for allegedly ruining his career.

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US 'child porn' teacher charged

23 April 2013 Last updated at 19:29 ET

Federal prosecutors in the US have charged a former Washington DC primary school teacher with production and possession of child pornography.

Eric Justin Toth, 31, had been arrested in Nicaragua last weekend and quickly deported to the US.

He had replaced Osama Bin Laden on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list in April 2012.

He had been on the run since 2008, when another teacher found child pornography on a camera he had used at the school.

Mr Toth made an initial appearance at a court in Washington on Tuesday wearing a blue jail jumpsuit.

The judge ordered that he be held without bond until a further hearing in May.

The FBI said Mr Toth had been arrested on Saturday in Nicaragua, near the Honduran border.

He was living under an assumed name.

It is not clear how long he had been in Nicaragua.

Mr Toth had been a teacher at the exclusive Beauvoir school in Washington DC for about three years.

Among other offences, he was accused of putting a camera in a boys' toilet.

After his indictment the FBI followed him through Illinois, Indiana and out west to Arizona, but the trail ran cold.

In a notice on the top 10 list, the FBI described him as "a computer expert" with "above-average knowledge regarding computers, the use of the Internet, and security awareness".

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MASH actor Allan Arbus dies at 95

24 April 2013 Last updated at 04:32 ET

Actor Allan Arbus, best known for his role as army psychiatrist Sidney Freedman in the 1970s US TV series MASH, has died at the age of 95.

Arbus, who did not begin acting until he was in his 40s, started his career as a successful fashion photographer.

He became a TV regular who appeared on several popular series, including police drama Starsky and Hutch.

He died from congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on 19 April, his family confirmed.

"At 95, doctors didn't want to do surgery and Allan didn't want it at all," Arbus' second wife Costello told Reuters.

Born in 1918 in New York, Arbus started his career as a photographer in the US Army in Burma during World War II.

In the late 1940s, he set up a New York photography studio with his wife Diane, who later became a renowned art photographer.

The couple separated in 1959 and she committed suicide in 1971. They were portrayed by Nicole Kidman and Ty Burrell in the 2006 film Fur.

Arbus' first major acting role was in director Robert Downey Sr's 1972 cult film Greaser's Palace, which also starred the director's young son, Robert Downey Jr.

The MASH actor's last television role was in 2000 on the Larry David comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm.

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US drops case against ricin suspect

24 April 2013 Last updated at 09:01 ET

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Paul Curtis: ''I respect President Obama and I love my country''

US authorities have dropped the charges against a Mississippi man accused of sending letters poisoned with ricin to President Barack Obama and a senator.

Paul Curtis was freed on Tuesday after prosecutors revealed the investigation had uncovered "new information".

The letters addressed to the president and a Mississippi senator tested positive for the presence of the lethal toxin this month.

Meanwhile, investigators in the case are searching the home of another man.

Mr Curtis was arrested last week at his home in the town of Corinth, Mississippi and charged with sending letters to Mr Obama, Republican Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker and a judge from Lee County.

'Very diabolical'

But on Monday authorities searched Mr Curtis' home and found neither ricin nor ingredients for the poison, an FBI agent testified in court. A search of his computer yielded no evidence he had researched how to make the toxin, the agent said.

Continue reading the main story

• Can be fatal when inhaled, ingested or - most dangerously - injected
• One to three castor beans chewed by a child, or just eight seeds chewed by an adult, can be fatal
• The toxin is part of the waste produced when castor oil is made

In a news conference outside the courthouse on Tuesday, Mr Curtis thanked his family, friends, Jesus, Sen Wicker and Mr Obama.

Referring to investigators' questions, he said: "I thought they said rice and I said, 'I don't even eat rice.'

Mr Curtis, a musician and Elvis impersonator who also said he was a certified reflexologist, added: "I love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to [Mr Obama] or any other US official.

"I would like to get back to normal, which for me means being the best father that I could be for my children and entertaining through my music."

He was already well known to Sen Wicker because he had written to the Republican senator and other officials.

Mr Curtis' lawyer Christi McCoy, whom Mr Curtis described as a blonde, blue-eyed angel sent by God, told reporters she believed the FBI agents who had arrested and charged her client had "acted in good faith".

Ms McCoy said she was unsure what new information prosecutors had but that the plot to frame her client was "very, very diabolical".

According to an FBI affidavit released on Thursday, the letters read: "Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."

The letters were signed: "I am KC and I approve this message."

Mensa dispute

As the case against Mr Curtis appeared to collapse on Monday and Tuesday, another man in nearby Tupelo, Mississippi, told the Associated Press authorities were searching his home in connection with the ricin letters.

Everett Dutschke said he was innocent, and the Associated Press reported agents from numerous law enforcement agencies had established a mobile crime lab near his home.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Mr Dutschke said. No charges have been filed against him nor has he been arrested.

The search team also combed through an area of woods and ditches about a block from Mr Dutschke's property.

Mr Dutschke said he and Mr Curtis had had a dispute, cutting off contact in 2010, after he threatened to sue Mr Curtis for saying he was a member of Mensa, a group for people with high IQs.

"I'm a patriotic American," Mr Dutschke, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representative in 2007, said. "I don't have any grudges against anybody. I did not send the letter."

Ricin, extracted from castor beans, is 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide.

It can be fatal when inhaled, swallowed or injected, although it is possible to recover from exposure.

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US news agency's Twitter feed hacked

24 April 2013 Last updated at 09:06 ET

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Dr Herb Lin, a cyber security expert, says media agencies are likely to make security changes to their Twitter account

The Associated Press has said its Twitter account has been hacked, after the posting of a bogus post about explosions at the White House.

The news agency's account was suspended and it advised all tweets should be ignored until further notice.

The false message said: "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured."

US markets were spooked by the tweet; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 150 points as it was retweeted.

On Tuesday evening, the FBI said it was investigating the incident.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters soon after the tweet was published that President Obama was fine, and financial markets quickly recovered the lost ground.

AP said later: "The @AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false."

The account was back online on Wednesday.

The agency said the attack came after repeated attempts by hackers to steal the passwords of AP journalists, adding that it was working to correct the issue.

Spokesman Paul Colford said the wire service had disabled other Twitter accounts following the attack and was working with the microblogging site to investigate the breach.

Bogus article

AP reporter Mike Baker tweeted: "The @AP hack came less than an hour after some of us received an impressively disguised phishing email."

The phishing email in question appeared to come from the email account of another AP staffer, with a request to click a link to a "very important" article on the Washington Post website.

The link opened a bogus login page requesting users enter their staff ID and password, reports suggest.

A group claiming to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took responsibility for the attacks, tweeting: "Ops! @AP get owned by Syrian Electronic Army! #SEA #Syria #ByeByeObama."

The Syrian Electronic Army claims to have been behind similar attacks on the twitter feeds of Agence France Presse news agency, Sky News Arabia, al-Jazeera mobile and CBS News.

Two of the US broadcaster's accounts were suspended after fake messages appearing on the @60Minutes account criticised US support for "terrorist" rebels in Syria.

On Tuesday evening, Twitter said it was investigating the incident and reminded users to be "extra vigilant" about phishing emails.

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Boeing profits up despite 787 crisis

24 April 2013 Last updated at 11:05 ET

Boeing's first-quarter profits beat analysts' forecasts despite the grounding by airlines of its 787 Dreamliner due to battery problems.

Net income for the first three months of 2013 jumped 20% to $1.1bn (£720m) despite revenues down 2.5% to $18.9bn.

Chief executive Jim McNerney said Boeing would resume deliveries of Dreamliners in early May.

There are reports that Ethiopian Airlines may on Saturday be the first carrier to resume Dreamliner flights.

The plane was grounded in January.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr McNerney said Boeing "worked around the clock to resolve the 787 battery issue while also successfully increasing production rates on the 737 and 777 programs.

"Our first priority in the days ahead is to fully restore our customers' 787 fleets to service and resume production deliveries. Our outlook for the year is positive, and our financial and delivery guidance is reaffirmed as we remain focused on the profitable ramp up in commercial airplane production rates."

Mr McNerney added that Boeing would have fitted most of the replacement batteries to the 787 fleet by the middle of May.

Boeing did not release an estimate for the cost of the Dreamliner problems, as some analysts had expected.

Batteries overheated on two of the new jets in January and led regulators to ground the aircraft.

The US Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing's fix for the battery system last week.

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Canada plot suspect: law 'imperfect'

24 April 2013 Last updated at 17:29 ET

One of the men accused of plotting to derail a Canadian passenger train has challenged the Canadian legal system's authority over him.

Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, told a Toronto judge that "all of these conclusions" were based on the country's criminal code, which was "not a holy book".

He and co-defendant Raed Jaser, 35, are charged with conspiracy to carry out an attack and kill people.

They are accused of plotting to bomb a train between New York and Montreal.

'Save it'

Continue reading the main story

Some Canadian Muslim leaders say they fear the impact of a story like this on the public perception of their community. But there is a close working relationship between community leaders and the police.

It was Raed Jaser's father who first expressed concerns about his son's religious views several years ago.

Mohammed Robert Heft, a convert who has worked closely with the authorities in recent years, called the relationship between community leaders and the police "a model for the international community".

He says leaders call the police if they have concerns about what they're seeing and hearing.

But the signs are not always easy to spot.

Mr Esseghaier and Mr Jaser both seem to have behaved in ways that rang alarm bells with family members and co-workers, but Mr Heft says extreme radicalisation tends to be a private thing.

Both have said they will challenge the case against them.

Officials have said the alleged plot had support from al-Qaeda in Iran, although they say they have no evidence of state sponsorship.

The two men's arrest comes amid debate and an expected vote on Wednesday on changes to Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act.

Mr Esseghaier told a Toronto court on Wednesday "we know that this criminal code is not a holy book. It's just written by a set of creations and the creations... are not perfect because only the creator is perfect."

The judge told him to "save that for another court", and to take his lawyers' advice.

He has declined to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer.

Mr Esseghaier, a Tunisian national, was studying for a doctorate at the National Institute for Scientific Research near Montreal, while Mr Jaser reportedly worked as a customer service agent at a removal firm.

Mr Jaser was born in the United Arab Emirates to Palestinian-origin parents. He and his parents came to Canada 20 years ago as refugees, although he only recently obtained permanent Canadian residence.

Canadian media have reported the investigation was launched after a tip-off by a concerned imam in the Toronto Muslim community. Authorities had been tracking Mr Esseghaier for two years before beginning to investigate the alleged plot in August 2012, CTV reported.

'Notable' timing

Mr Jaser's lawyer John Norris has questioned the timing of the arrests, which came as the Canadian parliament debated an anti-terrorism bill that would reintroduce "preventative detention" and investigative hearings.

"I don't know what their purposes were but their timing was notable to say the least," Mr Norris was quoted by the Globe and Mail newspaper as saying.

Some analysts have said the arrests came because Canadian authorities felt a sense of urgency after the Boston Marathon bombings and others reported police decided to act after their investigation indicated the alleged plot was coming close to fruition.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews declined to comment on the timing of the arrests.

Via Rail, which operates passenger rail services across Canada and carries nearly four million passengers annually, said the public was never in danger.

Mr Esseghaier and Mr Jaser are expected to return to court on 23 May.

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Obama's tattoo warning to daughters

24 April 2013 Last updated at 18:51 ET

US President Barack Obama has warned his daughters that if they get tattoos, he and his wife will get matching ones on the same place on their bodies.

In an interview on NBC's Today show, Mr Obama said he hoped the "family tattoo" threat would discourage teen rebellion.

Mr Obama said he had warned Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, that he and First Lady Michelle Obama would show off their matching tattoos on YouTube.

The girls are the first teenagers in the White House since Chelsea Clinton.

Ms Clinton was 12 when her father President Bill Clinton took office in 1993.

In the interview the president also reacted to Mrs Obama's recent remark that she was a "busy single mother".

In her own interview with a local television news station, Mrs Obama quickly corrected herself.

Calling the first lady's comment a slip of the tongue, Mr Obama added that at times - for instance when he was running for office - Mrs Obama was both working and looking after their daughters and may have felt like a single parent.

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Rhode Island approves gay marriage

24 April 2013 Last updated at 21:45 ET

Rhode Island's state legislature has approved a bill legalising gay marriage, making it the 10th US state to back same-sex marriages.

The state Senate passed the legislation in a 26-12 vote.

A similar bill passed easily in the state House in January and has the support of Governor Lincoln Chafee.

Rhode Island was the last state in the New England region to allow gay marriage. Hundreds of supporters in the statehouse cheered the vote.

The bill now returns to the state House to approve minor changes made since January. A final vote could come as early as next week.

When Governor Chafee signs the bill into law, gay marriage will be legal in 10 states and Washington DC, the nation's capital city.

"It's almost unreal to think we're here, after all these years,'' Ken Fish, a 70-year-old gay man from Warwick, told the Associated Press. "I wasn't sure we'd ever get here."

On Tuesday, the Senate's five Republicans announced they would all support the legislation.

Governor Chafee, an independent, encouraged supporters to contact their senators ahead of the vote.

The legislation states that religious institutions may set their own rules for whom they deem eligible to marry.

It also specifies that no religious leader is obligated to perform any marriage ceremony.

The Catholic Church in the state opposed the bill, and during senate debate, many legislators said they had to weigh their religious beliefs against their constituents' desires.

Polls have shown a rapid rise in support for same-sex marriage in the US, and President Barack Obama and most US Senate Democrats now back same-sex marriage.

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Boston suspects' mother rails at US

25 April 2013 Last updated at 09:21 ET

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Zubeidat Tsarnaev: "America took my kids away from me"

The mother of the Boston marathon bombings suspect says she regrets that the family emigrated to the US more than 10 years ago.

At a news conference in the Russian republic of Dagestan, where she now lives, Zubeidat Tsarnaev said America had taken her children away from her.

She also reiterated she was sure her sons were not involved in the attack.

It is being reported that her elder son was added to a terrorism database 18 months ago at the CIA's request.

Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded when two devices exploded at the Boston Marathon on 15 April.

"I would prefer not to have lived in America, why did I go there?" Mrs Tsarnaev said at Thursday's news conference in Makhachkala, Dagestan.

"I thought America would protect us, America took my kids away from me... I'm sure my kids were not involved in anything."

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Adrianne Haslet: "I kept screaming I'm a dancer please save my foot"

Her elder son, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed a few days after the bombing during a shootout with police.

His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured and charged in connection with the attack.

The suspects' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, has said he will travel to the US on Thursday or Friday. The family has said it wants to take the dead son's body back to Russia.

Zubeidat Tsarnaev has said she is still undecided whether to go because she was charged with shoplifting in the US last year and fears arrest if she returns, AP news agency reports.

In questioning from his hospital bedside, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being treated for gunshot wounds, he has reportedly said he and his brother were angry about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2012, his older brother spent six months with relatives in Dagestan, which has an Islamist militant insurgency.

But politicians said on Wednesday after closed-door briefings that the brothers are not believed to have had direct contact with a militant organisation.

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Times Square film honour for Mandela

23 April 2013 Last updated at 04:40 ET

A film installation celebrating Nelson Mandela is taking over the electronic billboards in New York's Times Square.

The short presentation was commissioned by the Tribeca Film Institute, the arts organisation co-founded by Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro.

Inspirational quotes will play across many of Times Square's screens this month to celebrate the anti-apartheid leader's 95th birthday in July.

Mandela's grandson Ndaba said it would "remind us of our humanity".

He added that his grandfather approved of The Power of Words installation. "If he doesn't support something, he'll let you know," he told Reuters at the launch.

The 30-year-old worked with his cousin Kweku and filmmakers Nabil Elderkin, Andrew van der Westhuyzen and Gregory Stern to choose quotes from Mr Mandela's speeches.

The three-minute presentation will be shown every night just before midnight as part of a series of installations which have already featured Icelandic singer Bjork and British conceptual artist Tracy Emin.

Emin, who was featured in February giving a Valentine's Day message, said the project was "really brilliant".

Mr Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail for fighting white minority rule, was freed in 1990 and became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994.

He stepped down after one term in 1999.

He recently suffered from health problems and spent more than a week in hospital for a recurring lung infection earlier this year.

The former president will celebrate his 95th birthday on 18 July.

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