Updated at 9:12 a.m.
Giffords Resignation: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head last year, will step down from Congress this week following President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday, The Arizona Republic reports. "I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week," Giffords said in a YouTube video. "I'm getting better every day. My spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."
Gingrich Victory: Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday, The State of Columbia, S.C., reports. Gingrich, who received 40% of the vote, is the first Republican to win the primary without winning the New Hampshire primary or Iowa caucuses. Mitt Romney came in second place with 28% of the vote.
Paterno Dies: Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died Sunday after complications from lung cancer, the Centre Daily Times of State College, Pa., reports. He was 85. Paterno's death came less than three months after Penn State fired him for his role in a scandal stemming from child sex abuse allegations leveled against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Postponed: Congress put online piracy bills on hold Friday after Wikipedia and other Web sites last week went dark in protest of the legislation, The Washington Post reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would delay a vote planned for Tuesday on the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said he will try to reach a consensus with copyright holders and Internet companies before his panel moves forward with its consideration of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act.
Bennett's Client: Hogan Lovells partner Robert Bennett has withdrawn as the lawyer for Megaupload.com, which was indicted Thursday on federal charges that include copyright infringement, Reuters reports. The Washington-based lawyer defended Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Enron as it faced corporate fraud allegations.
Second Chance: A New York lawyer will get to reopen his case after he told a judge that he made several omissions stemming from vision problems and stress, the New York Law Journal reports. "It wasn't that I was unprepared," New Rochelle, N.Y., attorney John A. Vasile of McGovern, Connelly & Davidson said. "It was that the volume of reading was so great. Maybe I should have sought a continuance, but I was not thinking as clearly as I should have been."
Comments