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Metro Snapshot: June 23, 2008 – Metro US

Metro Snapshot: June 23, 2008

ENTERTAINMENT/PEOPLE: Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines
about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los
Angeles-area hospital yesterday
, a spokesman said. He was 71.

TERRORISM: More than four years after the arrest of Ottawa software designer Momin
Khawaja, federal prosecutors are poised to lay out the evidence they’ve
gathered to back their contention that he played a key role in an
international plot by Islamic extremists
to bomb targets in Britain. A female suicide bomber struck near a government compound northeast of
Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40, police
said.

CRIME: Paul Bernardo is deluding himself and others by suggesting he is a
reformed psychopath who would never rape or kill again, said the lawyer
for his victims’ families, adding that Bernardo could never muster the
medical evidence to support his outrageous claims. Quebec provincial police, increasingly bogged down with tips and
complaints about urban legends, are trying an innovative approach
to nipping the tales in the bud. The police have added a link on
their website devoted to educating Quebecers about urban legends and
hoaxes
in the hopes the public will do a bit of research before
forwarding along the dubious message.

ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS: New value-for-money audits to better track how Indian Affairs spends
billions of dollars will catch misappropriation, lax reporting and – in
rare cases – fraud
, says the minister in charge. Chuck Strahl
says most First Nations properly use federal cash, much of it paid to
uphold historic treaties. But more stringent assessments of the roughly
$6 billion that flows through his department each year will tighten
accounting and give concerned band members answers, he said in an
interview.

ENERGY/GAS PRICES: With the price of gasoline hitting staggering highs across Canada in
recent weeks, it’s becoming apparent some people will go to often
creative lengths to avoid having to pay at the pumps
. At the
Canadian Automobile Association, some members have driven themselves
dry to take advantage of the certain services, such as free towing and
$5 worth of free gas for stranded motorists in some regions, said CAA
spokeswoman Leanne Maidment. Facing strong U.S. pressure and global dismay over oil prices, Saudi
Arabia
said Sunday it will produce more crude this year
if the market
needs it. But the vague pledge fell far short of U.S. hopes for a
specific increase and may do little to lower prices immediately.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Rescuers battled huge waves and strong winds Sunday to reach a ferry
that capsized during a deadly typhoon in the Philippines a day earlier,
but found no immediate signs of the more than 740 passengers and crew. Israel allowed dozens of trucks to deliver food, diapers and clothes to
the Gaza Strip
on Sunday, boosting the flow of basic goods as part of a
four-day-old truce with Hamas militants. On Sunday in Zimbabwe, opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the
two-man race. Tsvangirai said his party had been the target of so much
brutality meted out by Robert Mugabe‘s police, soldiers and militant loyalists
that the run-off was a sham. But Mugabe’s information minister said the
vote would go ahead.

EURO 2008: Iker Casillas saved two penalties and Cesc Fabregas scored the winning
kick to give Spain a 4-2 shootout victory
over World Cup champion Italy
on Sunday and a spot in the European Championship semifinals.