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SHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday said time was running short for Iraq to issue a request for U.S. troops to stay in the country beyond the end of this year. "We are waiting ... to see whether or not the Iraqi government makes a request of us. That has not happened. We are obviously now in July,"beats by dre solo White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. He said U.S. troops were on track to leave Iraq by December 31, in accordance with a bilateral security pact, unless the government asked soon for troops to stay. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in April that Iraqi had only weeks to make the request to avoid a "physics problem" of moving 47,000 troops and related equipment. "There is only so much time here available for the Iraqi government to make such a request," Carney said on Tuesday. "If they do we will consider monster beats soloit, otherwise we are keeping on schedule." CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saluted his people on their 200th anniversary of independence on Tuesday, looking pale but defiant after a triumphant return from cancer surgery in Cuba. Ordinarily, the 56-year-old would have been out watching the parades of troops, tanks and fighter jets marking the bicentennial of the end of Spanish colonial rule. Instead, he gave a brief address from inside his presidential palace. "Here I am -- in recovery but still recovering," he said. Chavez hinted he hoped to prolong his rule for many years to come, urging supporters to join a "new, long march" to another bicentennial celebration in 2021 of a famous battle. His return from Havana has let him reassert political control over the South American OPEC member. But it has not dispelled concerns his illness could curb his ability to rule, or to campaign for a presidential election due next year. The socialist leader had a cancerous tumor removed and it is unclear whether malignant cells spread. He needs "strict" medical treatment but has vowed to win his health battle. One source close to Chavez's medical team told Reuters the president could have colon cancer in an advanced condition that would require chemotherapy for several months. His doctors recommend he should be treated in Venezuela, the source said, where a wing of the Military Hospital has been prepared forbeats by dre solo him. The chemotherapy would start once Chavez was fully recovered from the operations, the source added. There was no confirmation of that, and the only official details of Chavez's condition have been given by himself. Allies express confidence he will make a full and fast recovery. After an emotional homecoming speech to thousands of delirious supporters from the palace balcony late on Monday, Chavez swapped his military uniform for presidential regalia to give the short address for Tuesday's celebrations. "We have recovered our independence," said the president, who has cast his 12 years in power as the liberation of Venezuela from decades of rule by corrupt oligarchies. Critics see it otherwise -- arguing that Chavez's autocracy has cut short the country's proud democratic tradition. FIREWORKS RISE, BONDS FALL Chavez made his first appearance at home in almost a month on the palace balcony on Monday, the same spot where he greeted ecstatic supporters in 2002 after a failed coup against him. Singing the national anthem, waving a huge flag and crossing himself, he thrilled the crowd in a classic example of the showmanship that has made him famous around the world. "Chavez hasn't lost his touch. He still has the magic," U.S. analyst Michael Shifter told Reuters. Any complications of his illness could create beats dre special headphonespolitical chaos in the continent's biggest oil exporter, where the saga has underlined the lack of an obvious successor. Casting himself as the "spiritual son" of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez has been building up to Tuesday's celebration for years, even naming some nationalized companies "Bicentennial" in its honor. Fireworks burst over the capital Caracas from midnight on, ushering in a day of street parties across the nation. Fellow Latin American leftist leaders Evo Morales of Bolivia, Jose Mujica of Uruguay and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay -- who was diagnosed with cancer himself last year -- were joining the celebrations and visiting their ally Chavez. "He looked strong, very encouraged," Morales told reporters after meeting the president. Following sharp gains last week, Venezuelan bond prices fell as Chavez's return poured cold water on speculation of a quick change to a more investor-friendly leadership. The benchmark dollar-denominated 2027 bond fell 1.000 percent to bid 75.375 with a 12.907 percent yield. "As harsh as this may sound, Chavez'monster beats kobe faltering health has become the market's friend. It seems to suggest that if he becomes more debilitated, we could see additional upside," UBS said in a note, while cautioning that the election was a long way off and there was no guarantee the opposition would win. PROBLEMS AHEAD OF 2012 POLL Not all Venezuelans were partying on Tuesday, however. Some took to micro-blogging site Twitter to vent their kobe bryant limited headphonesviews under the hash-tag "#nadaquecelebrar" ("nothing to celebrate"). "The day that men of ideas parade instead of the men of arms, that day we'll talk," read one widely retweeted message. Chavez has built up broad support among Venezuela's poor by spending billions of dollars in oil revenue on social programs ranging from literacy courses to free medical clinics. His vituperative criticism of U.S. foreign policy has made him a hero for many leftists around the world. Chavez now faces a host of problems that threatenkobe bryant limited headphones to weaken domestic support including high crime, frequent blackouts, soaring prices and a lack of affordable housing -- issues that made the 2012 election race look tight even before his cancer. And his illness has dented the aura of invincibility of a man famous for nearly superhuman stamina that let him speak for hours on end and make dozens of appearances each month

Anthony, the Florida mother accused of killing her two-year-old child with chloroform and duct tape, was acquitted on Tuesday of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child. The verdict shocked many legal commentators and trial-watchers who had long assumed that Ms. Anthony would be convicted and perhaps sent to Florida’s death row. But the jury of five men and seven women, who heard testimony in the month-long trial and deliberated nearly 11 hours, viewed the case differently. The relatively quick not guilty verdicts are an apparent rebuke of the government'sbeats lady gaga case, which lacked any direct evidence of Anthony's involved in the death of her daughter, Caylee. Despite this lack of evidence the state pushed for a possible death sentence. IN PICTURES: Key players in the Casey Anthony trial The jury was given the option of convicting Anthony of a lesser charge, manslaughter, but decided against that. After the verdict, they declined an invitation to speak to the media. Defense Attorney Jose Baez called it a bittersweet victory. “While we are happy for Casey, there are no winners in this case. Caylee has passed on far too soon,” he said, referring to Ms. Anthony’s daughter. He added: “Casey did not murder Caylee. It is that simple, and today our system of justice has not dishonored her memory by a false conviction.” Lawson Lamar, the state attorney monster beats lady gagafor Orange and Osceola Counties, said he never criticizes a jury verdict. “Despite what your personal view as to guilt or innocence might be, the criminal justice system has worked,” he said. He noted that because Caylee’s body was not discovered until six months after her death, much of the evidence had decomposed or degraded. “This was a bare bones case, very, very difficult to prove,” he said. “The condition of the remains worked to our significant disadvantage.” As the verdict was announced in the packed Orlando courtroom of Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Ms. Anthony looked pale and frightened. Then, as the clerk read the words “Not Guilty” on count one, her face eased and she burst into tears. The “not guilty” verdicts continued on the two other felony charges. In essence, the panel acquitted Anthony of all charges related to Caylee’s death. Assistant State Attorneys Linda Burdick, Jeff Ashton, and Frank George sat stunned and stone-faced after the verdict was read. Casey’s parents, George and Cindy Anthony, left the courtroom soon after the verdict was read. The jurors convicted Ms. Anthony of four misdemeanor charges of giving false information to law enforcement officers. Each of those charges carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Had she been found guilty of beats by dre lady gagafirst-degree murder she would have faced a possible death sentence or life in prison. Instead, with time already served in pre-trial detention, she faces, at most, a maximum sentence of several months. Chief Judge Perry set sentencing for 9 a.m. Thursday. The verdict came after a month-long trial that captivated much of the nation by presenting a mystery that seemed to defy solution. Why would a mother wait 31 days before mentioning to her family, friends, or the police that her young child was missing? Prosecutors said Anthony killed her daughter, Caylee, in June 2008 because she was tired of being a mother and wanted to live the life of a single, carefree 22-year-old. They said she drugged the toddler with chloroform and then pressed duct tape against her mouth and nose to suffocate the child. She then hid the body in her car for several days, they said, then dumped it in a wooded area a quarter mile from the family home. Defense attorneys said Caylee accidentally drowned in the family’s swimming pool and that Casey went into denial about the tragedy. They said Casey’s father, George, helped dispose of the body and cover up the death. Caylee was last seen alive on June 16, 2008. monster beats proAuthorities recovered her skeletal remains six months later in the wooded area. No direct physical evidence proved the mother caused her daughter’s death. But prosecutors encouraged the jury to view the case as a whole and consider strong circumstantial evidence, including a foul odor in Anthony’s car that government witnesses – and even her own father – said was the distinct smell of a decomposing human body. In his closing argument, Baez urged the jurors not to get caught up in the strong emotions that have followed the case since Anthony was arrested in 2008. He told the jurors during his closing argument on Sunday that it was the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the defense did not have to prove anything. “Don’t speculate,” he said. “Don’t guess. It has to be proven to you beyond and to the exclusion of any reasonable doubt.” Court personnel had arranged a room for the media to interview jurors about their deliberations. The jurors, whose names have not been released, declined to speak to reporters. Although many commentators had opinedbeats lady gaga about the strength of the state’s case, prosecutors were unable at trial to present any direct physical evidence proving that Anthony played a role in her daughter’s death. They argued that the three pieces of duct tape found with Caylee’s skeletal remains were the murder weapon. But there no finger prints on the tape and the only unidentified DNA detected excluded both Caylee and her mother. Defense attorneys said it was speculation that the tape caused Caylee’s death, and that the state – in a capital case – must prove that murder was committed. Most of the trial was televised and the entire proceeding could be followed via a live video feed from the Orlando courtroom. It sparked an active Internet dialogue and speculation about how Caylee may have died and why Casey Anthony acted so coldly after her daughter disappeared. Photographs showed Anthony within days of Caylee’s death dancing at a nightclub in a “hot body contest.” Prosecutors showed the beats by dre ferrarijury a photo of a tattoo Anthony obtained two weeks after Caylee’s death. It said “Bella Vita,” beautiful life in Italian. Defense attorneys suggested to the jury that the tattoo was a tribute to her daughter, not a declaration of independence. “I am happy for Casey,” Baez said after the verdict. “I am ecstatic for her and I want her to be able to grieve and grow and somehow get her life back together.” He added that if there was any lesson from the long legal saga it related to the capital punishment. “This case is a perfect example of why the death penalty does not work and why we need to stop and look and think twice about a country that tries to kill its own citizens,” he said. “I think if this case gets any attention it should focus on that issue.” Baez added: “The best feeling I have today is that when I go home and my daughter asks me what did you do today I can say I saved a life.” PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was hit with a complaint of attempted rape in France on Tuesday in a new hurdle to any political comeback even as the U.S. sex assault case against him appeared to be falling apart. New York prosecutors were re-examining their case against the potential French presidential candidate after discovering the accuser, a 32-year-old immigrant from Guinea, had lied repeatedly about her background, undermining her credibility as a witness. Strauss-Kahn, 62, had been enjoying his fourth day of release from house arrest in New York when French writer Tristane Banon filed a legal complaint in Paris alleging he had tried to rape her in 2003, when she was 22. Banon, an author and journalist, gave a graphic account in a 2007 TV talk show of her allegation that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her during an interview in a Paris apartment. Tuesday was the first time she has taken legal action. Her complaint will be examined by a judge who, as a matter of course, would question both Banon and Strauss-Kahn, sending investigators to the United States if necessary, before deciding to either place the Frenchman under investigation or dismiss the case. In New York, charges of sexual assault and attempted rape remained in place against Strauss-Kahn, although he has vehemently denied the allegations and prosecutors acknowledge it would be difficult to make a case against him given the series of lies and contradictions in the accuser's statements. The New York Post cited an unnamed senior investigator as saying prosecutors would drop their charges at a court hearing in two weeks, or even earlier, due to doubts about the credibility of the accuser. "We all know this case is not sustainable," the Post quoted its source as saying on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office in New York would not confirm that prosecutors plan to drop the charges, saying they were still investigating the case. NEW TWIST In yet another twist to a saga that has captivated much of the world, the accuser sued the New York Post and five of its journalists on Tuesday for reporting she was a prostitute. She filed suit in a court in the monster beats lamboghin Bronx, accusing the Post of publishing false and defamatory articles between July 2-4. The Post reported that the Sofitel housekeeper was a "hooker" who "routinely traded sex for money with male guests" and that after the purported May 14 assault, while under the protection of the District Attorney's office, she "was turning tricks on the taxpayer's dime," the lawsuit said. The Post said, "We stand by our reporting." In Paris, signs that the U.S. charges are unraveling have set off a round of political sparring that threatens to poison the run-up to an April 2012 presidential election that Strauss-Kahn had been tipped to win for the left. French left-wingers, furious that their star candidate has been all but knocked out of the election race, dismissed the Banon complaint as more evidence that Strauss-Kahn's foes were determined to bring him down. "Strauss-Kahn's destiny has been snatched from him. All his friends are asking how it is possible that a man who is director of the IMF and a presidential candidate finds himself in prison a few days before he submits his candidacy," said Socialist deputy Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, a close ally of Strauss-Kahn. "This is clearly a conspiracy against the Socialist Party," he told LCI television. Strauss-Kahn plans to bring a counterclaim against Banon, his lawyer said. The Banon case may fizzle after a preliminary inquiry unless the judge deems there is tangible evidence of an attempted rape. Given the years that have lapsed since the alleged incident, there could be little aside witnesses' conflicting statements to hold up a court case. Unlike the United States, where rules of evidence govern admissibility, the French judge has latitude to look at any facts deemed relevant, including the credibility of the accuser, said Julie Suk, a professor at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. If the judge believes in his "inner conscience" that a crime took place, the case will go to a trial judge, Suk said. In a U.S. criminal trial, prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed. No comparable standard exists in France, Suk said. Regardless of the outcome, opinion polls since the weekend suggest that more than half of French voters think Strauss-Kahn's political career is already over. Strauss-Kahn's abrupt reversals of fortune have angered many French, who viewed his parading before cameras, unshaven and handcuffed in New York as a gross violation of his rights. The "perp walk" -- "perp" being short for perpetrator -- is common in the United States, despite complaints from defense lawyers and civil libertarians. "I've always thought that perp walks were outrageous. We vilify them for the benefit of the theater and circus. They did it in Roman times, too," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Tuesday. Two days after the May 15 "perp walk" Bloomberg had said, "I think it is humiliating, but if you don't want to do the perp walk, don't do the crime."

..INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When 18-year-old Tyell Morton put a blow-up sex doll in a bathroom stall on the last day of school, he didn't expect school officials to call a bomb squad or that he'd be facing up to eight years in prison and a possible felony record. The senior prank gone awry has beats by dre lamboghinraised questions of race, prosecutorial zeal and the post-Columbine mindset in a small Indiana town and around the country, The Indianapolis Star reported in its Tuesday editions. Legal experts question the appropriateness of the charges against Morton, and law professor Jonathan Turley at George Washington University posed a wider question about Morton's case on his legal blog. "The question is what type of society we are creating when our children have to fear that a prank (could) lead them to jail for almost a decade. What type of citizens are we creating who fear the arbitrary use of criminal charges by their government?" A janitor at Rushville Consolidated High School saw Morton run away from the school May 31, and security footage showed a person in a hooded sweatshirt and gloves entering the school with a package and leaving five minutes later without it, according to court documents. Administrators feared explosives, so they locked down the school and called police. K9 dogs and a bomb squad searched the building before finding the sex doll. "We have reviewed this situation numerous times," Rush County Schools Superintendent John E. Williams told the newspaper last week. "When you have an unknown intruder in the building, delivering an unknown package, we come up with the same conclusion. ... We cannot be too cautious, in this day and age." Morton was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and institutional criminal mischief, a felony that carries the potential of two to eight years in prison. "I know there has been plenty of pranks done at that school," said Morton's mother, Cammie Morton. "I went to that school. When I heard what they was charging him for, my heart just dropped." Joel Schumm, a professor at themonster beats lamboghin Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, questioned the validity of the charges. "Their reaction is understandable, but use the school disciplinary process," he said. "Don't try to label the kid a felon for the rest of his life." The Rush County Prosecutor Philip J. Caviness told The Associated Press that he doesn't intend to seek a prison term for Morton, but said school officials acted appropriately and that the charges are warranted. "I'm pretty comfortable with the charges that we've filed," he said. Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts focused on Morton's case recently in his nationally syndicated column, suggesting that Morton's case was another example of unfair treatment for a black youth without a wealthy family. Morton's father brushed off that suggestion when Pitts asked him about it, and Morton's mother declined to discuss that point with The Star. Morton's attorney, Robert Turner, also downplayed race, suggesting that the size of the small blue-collar city an hour southeast of Indianapolis played a role. "I don't think they do this sort of thing very often," Turner said. "Had this happened in Indianapolis ... they would not have had this kind of charge filed." Morton's mother said Tyellbeats by dre ferrari Morton wants to attend college, but is worried about the case. "It's stressful for Tyell," beats pro High Performance Cammie Morton said. "He doesn't know where his life is going to end up. He has been looking — I'll just put it this way: He's scared." NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bare-headed motorcyclist riding in protest of New York state's helmet law crashed, struck his head on the roadway and died from his injuries, state police said on Sunday. Philip Contos, 55, was riding among a large group of motorcyclists staging an organized protest ride in western New York nearbeats by dre pro Syracuse against the state law requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets. The Parish, New York, resident crashed on Saturday on Route 11 in Onondaga, New York, and was pronounced dead later at a local hospital, state Trooper Robert Jureller said. "The doctor felt that the death could have been prevented if he simply had been wearing a helmet," Jureller said. "He hit the brakes,monster beats pro lost control, was ejected and struck his head on the road. He suffered a skull fracture."

..LISBON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Moody's on Tuesday cut Portugal's credit standing to junk in the first such move by a ratings agency and warned the country may well need a second round of rescue funds before it can return to beats by dre lamboghincapital markets. Moody's Investors Service slashed Portugal's credit rating by four levels, to Ba2, causing the debt-laden Iberian country to follow Greece into junk territory below investment grade. Greece is rated much lower, at Caa1. Portugal in April became the third euro zone country to request a bailout, after Greece and Ireland. Moody's cited heightened concerns that Portugal will not be able to fully achieve the deficit reduction and debt stabilization targetsmonster beats soloset out in its loan agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Portugal is receiving funds from a three-year, 78-billion-euro ($112 billion) EU/IMF bailout program and does not need to issue long-term debt in the market until 2013. But Moody's said there is an increasing probability Portugal will not be able to borrow at sustainable rates in capital markets in the second half of 2013 and for some time thereafter. There was a "growing risk that Portugal will require a second round of official financing before it can return to the private market, Moody's said, and the increasing possibility that private sector creditor participation will be required as a pre-condition." It also said Portugal faced formidable challenges in reducing spending, increasing tax compliance, achieving economic growth and supporting the banking system. Of the three major ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings both have Portugal at BBB-minus, the bottom of the investment grade range. Portugal's new center-right government said in a statement that Moody's did not take into account strong political backing for austerity after a June 5 election, and an extraordinary tax announced last week. Unlike the previous minority Socialist government, the new ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in parliament to pass austerity measures and reforms. It did acknowledge, though, that the rating cut "shows the vulnerability of the country's economy amid a debt crisis." It also reaffirmed commitment to deepening and speeding up austerity measures that the country vowed to implement under its bailout pact, saying a strong macroeconomic adjustment was "the only way to reverse the course and restore confidence." The country has to slash its budget deficit to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year after overshooting its target last year, when the gap was 9.2 percent, and then reduce it to 3 percent by the end of 2013. Anthony Thomas, Moody's analyst for Portugal, told Reuters "evidence that Portugal is meeting or indeed exceeding its deficit reduction targets" could be a positive that may lead the agency to change its outlook on the beats by dre solocountry's credit rating to stable from negative. But he also said the outlook depends a great deal on whether euro zone officials will require private sector participation when extending new financing to the region's troubled countries. Right now, such participation is planned to be only voluntary so as not to cause ratings agencies declaring it a "credit event." Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultants in Porto, said Moody's move was "a bit extreme" and was likely to exacerbate concerns over Portugal's debt. "The capacity to return to the markets after a while depends on a more global, structural solution by Europe rather than on what each troubled country does. I think it's too early to think of a second bailout for Portugal right now, not this year at least," he said. Garcia said the ratings agencies were not taking into account the European Union's political determination to avoid a euro zone member's default, despite the union's strong support for Greece, which is in a far worse shape than Portugal. "Either they don't believe in the power of the political will by the European Union to avoid default, or they are underestimating this political union," he said. Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income in New Jersey, said the downgrade showed the European debt crisis was unlikely to stop at Greece, which looks set to receive a second bailout. "Once Greece gets wrapped up, you move on to the next country, and in all likelihood that will be the shape of things to come over the next year or two in the euro zone until the long-term financing trajectory for these countries gets stabilized," he said. In practical terms, Portugal may have to pay a higher premium to place up to 1 billion euros in 3-month Treasury bills in an auction on Wednesday due to the downgrade. "It'll probably make the yield a bit worse, but I don't expect anything major, because when you go to the market now you have to have the issue booked in advance," Garcia said. Portugal has opted to stay in the T-bill market after the bailout. (Additional reporting by Daniel Bases in beats solo purpleNew York and Sergio Goncalves in Lisbon; Editing by Dan Grebler) ..ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Casey Anthony was found not guilty Tuesday of killing her 2-year-old daughter three years ago in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing. Anthony wept after the clerk read the verdict, which jurors reached after less than 11 hours of deliberation over two days. The 25-year-old was charged with first-degree murder, which could have brought the death penalty if she had been convicted. Instead, she was convicted of only four counts of lying to investigators looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter Caylee. Her body was found in the woods six months later and a medical examiner was never able to determine how she died. Anthony will be sentenced by the judge on Thursday and could receive up to a year in jail for each lying count. Since she has been in jail since August 2008, she could walk free then. After the verdict was read, Casey Anthony hugged her attorney Jose Baez and later mouthed the words "thank you" to him. Prosecutors sat solemnly in their seats, looking stunned. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton shook his head slightly from side to side in apparent disbelief. Across the room, Anthony's father wiped tears from his eyes. Without speaking to Casey, he and his wife left the courtroom escorted by police as the judge thanked the jury. "While we're happy for Casey, there are no winners in this case," Baez said at a news conference afterward. "Caylee has passed on far, far too soon. And what my driving force has been for the last three years has been always to make sure that there has been justice for Caylee and Casey, because Casey did not murder Caylee. It's that simple." He added: "This case has brought on new challenges of all of us. Challenges in the criminal justice system, challenges in the media, and I think we should all take this as an opportunity to learn and to realize that you cannot convict someone until they've had their day in court." State Attorney Lamar Lawson thanked the prosecutors from his office who tried the case, and he said the case was never about the defendant. "It has always been about seeking justice for michael jackson limitedCaylee and speaking on her behalf," he told reporters. Jurors told the court that they didn't want to talk to the media at the courthouse. Anthony's attorneys claimed that the toddler drowned accidentally in the family swimming pool, and that her seemingly carefree mother in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by sexual abuse from her father. Prosecutors contended that Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by a mother who loved to party, tattooed herself with the Italian words for "beautiful life" in the month her daughter was missing and crafted elaborate lies to mislead everyone from investigators to her own parents. Captivated observers camped outside the courthouse to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery, which occasionally led to fights among those desperate to watch the drama unfold. Prior to the verdict on Tuesday, the judge said: "To those in the gallery please do not express any signs of approval or disapproval upon the reading of the verdict." Anthony did not take the stand during the trial, which started in mid-May. Because the case got so much media attention in Orlando, jurors were brought in from the Tampa Bay area and sequestered for the entire trial. Baez conceded that his client had told elaborate lies and invented imaginary friends and even a fake father for Caylee, but he said that doesn't mean she killed her daughter. "They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks," Baez said of prosecutors during closing arugments. "That is what they're doing ... right down to the cause of death." He tried to convince jurors that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that when Anthony panicked, her father, a former police officer, decided to make the death look like a murder by putting duct tape on the girl's mouth and dumping the body in woods about a quarter-mile away. Her father firmly denied both the cover-up and abuse claims. The prosecution called those claims "absurd," saying that no one makes an accident look like a murder. Lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick concluded the state's case by showing the jury two side-by-side images. One showed Casey Anthony smiling and partying in a nightclub during the month Caylee was missing. The other was the tattoo she got a day before her family and law enforcement first learned of the child's disappearance. "At the end of this case, all you have to ask yourself is whose life was better without Caylee?" Burdick asked. "This is your answer." Prosecutors hammered on the lies Anthony, then 22, told from June 16, 2008, when her daughter was last seen, and a month later when sheriff's investigators were notified. Those include the single mother telling her parents she couldn't produce Caylee because the girl was with a nanny named Zanny — a woman who doesn't exist; that she and her daughter were spending time in Jacksonville, Fla., with a rich boyfriend who doesn't exist; and that Zanny had been hospitalized after an out-of-town traffic crash and that they were spending time with her. Among the trial spectators was 51-year-old Robin Wilkie, who said she has spent $3,000 on hotels and food since arriving June 10th from beats solo michael jackson limitedLake Minnetonka, Minn. She tallied more than 100 hours standing in line to wait for tickets and got into the courtroom 15 times. She said she's fascinated with the case because she is a victim of violent crime. "True crime has become a unique genre of entertainment," Wilkie said. "Her (Casey's) stories are so extreme and fantastic it's hard to believe they're true but that's what engrosses people. This case has sex, lies and video tapes — just like on reality TV."

..LIBBY, Mont. (AP) — For a decade, the people of Libby have longed for the day when they will be rid of the asbestos that turned their town into the deadliest Superfund site in America. Now they are being forcedbeats by dre kobe bryant to live through the agony all over again, thanks to two giant piles of bark and wood chips on the edge of town. An Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has known for at least three years that the wood piles were kobe bryant limited headphonescontaminated with an unknown level of asbestos, even as Libby residents hauled truckload after truckload of the material away from the site and placed it in yards, in city parks, outside schools and at the local cemetery. The Environmental Protection Agency did not stop the removal of the material until the AP began investigating in early March. Regulators still do not know what effect the material could have on public health, but EPA documents obtained by the AP showed that the agency found potentially deadly asbestos fibers in four of 20 samples taken from the piles of scrap wood in 2007. The sprawling piles came from a now-defunct timber mill that took thousands of trees from a forest tainted with asbestos from a nearby mine. The potential for more contamination has frayed nerves in the town of 3,000 people and further eroded confidence in the government to clean up the mess that to date has killed an estimated 400 people and sickened 1,750. "We thought we were coming to an end and now we have this issue all over again," said Lerah Parker, who spread dozens of truckloads of the material around her property. The source of Libby's asbestos was a W.R. Grace vermiculite mine that at its peak produced 2 million tons of ore annually and employed 200 people. Vermiculite stripped from a mountain on the edge of town was shipped around the world to make insulation, only for authorities to later discover the ore was loadedmonster beats pro with deadly asbestos. The EPA has spent more than $370 million over the past 11 years cleaning up Libby. Contractors in moon suits carting off tainted materials have become a constant reminder of the severity of the contamination. The wood chips and bark became a popular item for anyone in Libby looking to add some landscaping touches to their yards, and for contractors who packaged the product and sold it around the country. Local officials estimate that 1,000 tons were used in landscaping and for erosion control in Libby. Over the past decade, as much as 15,000 tons were sold and hauled out of town to destinations unknown, according to the economic development official who was selling it. The EPA is now scrambling to gauge the public health risk and is preparing to issue guidelines about how residents should handle the wood, including warnings not to move or work with the material when it's dry to avoid stirring up asbestos. But the agency has decided it won't track down where the chips went, saying it no longer has jurisdiction because the material is now classified beats by dre proas a commercial product. Responding to the AP's investigation, Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on Tuesday pledged to launch his own inquiry into the use of the bark and wood chips. The Democrat — a longtime advocate for Libby — said he wanted to find what EPA knew, when they knew it and whether more action was needed to protect public health. "The people of Libby have already been poisoned in the name of greed and I won't allow them to be poisoned again because of negligence," Baucus said. The EPA's press office declined repeated requests from the AP to interview senior officials within the agency's Superfund program about removal of the material. The agency instead offered a written statement saying its prior tests on the material provided "incomplete information" and were too limited to indicate an imminent danger. The local official who was selling the wood and bark, Paul Rummelhart, dismissed concerns, saying they unnecessarily threatened to undermine economic development in the Libby area, where roughly one in five people are unemployed. "I've got a file that's three-feet thick on all the (asbestos) sampling that's been going on," Rummelhart said. "If you have a few hits, so what?" Federal officials have acknowledged that removal of the bark went on for years without their knowledge. Yet the agency absolved the on-scene contractor, CDM, of responsibility, saying the company's workers were not charged with monitoring movement of material into and out of the former mill site. A CDM spokeswoman, Marlene Hobel, referred questions about the matter back to the EPA. "We're trying to take a look backward at what's there," EPA regional director Jim Martin said. "We're trying to reconstruct history and see what has been moved and should it have been moved." The presence of the bark has stoked fears of widespread recontamination just after the EPA in May declared it had reduced the dangers beats pro High Performance facing Libby. "How many more years is it going to take?" asked Parker, who suffers from asbestosis, an incurable disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that scars the lungs and slowly starves them of air. "Are we supposed to sit here and hold our breath?" Parker and her husband have been working to restore their property since it was demolished during the cleanup. Over the last several years, they hauled about 30 loads of the bark and wood chips from the former Stimson Lumber Co. mill. They showed a reporter more than 300 trees they had planted, each one ringed with bark a foot deep. Scattered across the property were thousands of newly planted berry bushes, vines, shrubs and other plants — all ringed with the bark. The material is easily found around town, where landscapers, city workers and homeowners paid small fees to haul it out. Those who have used it described it as ideal landscaping material — cheap, plentiful and attractive. After the EPA tested samples from the piles and found evidence of asbestos in 2007, agency scientists never determined just how much contamination was present. Air samples taken from the site were negative. Truckloads of the chips and bark continued to be shipped from the site as recently as last fall. A pile that witnesses said once towered as high as a four-story building and covered five acres has been reduced to remnants. A second pile, now roughly half gone, still towers at least 20 feet. Results from additional asbestos sampling on the bark piles are due later this month. The EPA also said it will test the material around town if requested by any homeowner that used it. Since the AP first questioned the safety of the bark piles, based on concerns raised by residents, the EPA has warned the mill's owner not to sell the material. Regulators said they were told most was used to make fuel pellets that are bagged and sold nationwide at major retailers. Agency officials said it was unknown how dangerous it would be to burn those pellets, since the amount of asbestos in the material was never completely quantified. But the company that took it says the material was unsuitable for fuel pellets, so it went to a power plant in Canada. Representatives of Eureka Pellet Mills refused to offer specifics to verify the claim, and regulators said they had no intention of tracking down the material. Two of Eureka's customers, Wal-Mart Inc. and Home Depot, said they were unaware of any problems. Home Depot no longer sells the material, a spokeswoman said. A Wal-Mart spokesman said his company had investigated and was monster beats ferrariunaware of any contamination. Libby City Councilman D.C. Orr said the EPA's failure to halt shipments sooner or further investigate the hazards "boggles my mind." Orr, who runs an excavation and contracting business, said he took multiple shipments of the material before learning the EPA had found it to be contaminated. Those included deliveries to local landscaping businesses and into Orr's yard, where the material lines the ground beneath a swing set used by his grandchildren. Studies by the EPA and university researchers have found the forests around Libby are tainted with asbestos at least eight miles from the mine. The barbed asbestos fibers lodge themselves in cracks and crevices in the bark until they are released when disturbed or burned. "We're talking about millions of fibers per square centimeter of bark surface area," said University of Montana researcher Tony Ward. "The question is: What is the dangerous level? There's a lot of people sick up there and you can't argue with that. "Theoretically it takes just one fiber to get sick." Timber sale records provided to the AP by the U.S. Forest Service through a Freedom of Information Act request show that trees on more than 9,000 acres have been harvested from the vicinity of the mine since it was acquired by W.R. Grace in 1963. Those trees produced an estimated 76 million board feet of lumber, the agency said. Some of that wood likely went to other mills in Montana and Idaho, but much of it was processed through the Stimson mill in Libby, Forest Service officials said. The government for years delayed action in Libby despite rising deaths among locals and widespread evidence that asbestos was to blame. After the cleanup began in 2000, the EPA waited another nine years before declaring a first-of-its-kind public health emergency in Libby at the prodding of federal lawmakers. Last year alone, a local clinic diagnosed almost 300 people with asbestos-related disease. EPA officials said they became aware only last year that the contaminated piles at the timber mill site were being sold. A Denver-based member of the agency's cleanup team, Rebecca Thomas, said she saw trucks hauling away material during one of her periodic visits to the site last fall. Yet the shipments began as early as 2004, according to local officials and residents. They said a steady stream of truck traffic exited the site for years — passing right in front of the main office for one of EPA's lead contractors on the cleanup. Thomas played down the potential for a health threat from the material that was exported from Libby. Officials suspect the high rate of illness in the town results from the high concentration of asbestos there — conditions not present outside the town. Once the bark and wood chips left, said EPA spokeswoman Sonya Pennock, they became a commercial product — no longer subject beats by dre ferrari to agency regulation as a hazardous substance. "We certainly have some legal obligations as well as moral obligations to the community," EPA regional director Martin said. "But our legal authority only goes so far." The remaining pile of wood chips and bark at the Stimson mill site is smaller but still covers several acres. Rummelhart recently hung "No Trespassing" signs while he awaits further word from the EPA on the amount of asbestos contamination. Rummelhart said he was "sick and tired of those (asbestos) victims" hampering the town's economic revitalization. He said he intends to sell the material if given the chance. "We're moving on and moving forward," he said. ...

..WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has not told U.S. President Barack Obama he would like to leave after a debt ceiling deal is reached, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. Sources familiar with Geithner's thinking said last week he was considering stepping down once the country's $14.3 trillion debt limit is raised. That must happen by August 2 to avoid a U.S. sovereign default, according to the Treasury Department. Carney, when asked whether Geithner beats in earhad told Obama he would like to leave in that timeline, said: "Not that I'm aware of, no. I think he will be here for the foreseeable future." Geithner is the last of Obama's original economic team. He helped steer the economy out of the worst of the financial crisis and into what is still a fragile recovery. After that grueling stretch, and with his family moving to New York in a few months, Geithner is thought to be ready to leave Washington. But he sidestepped a direct question about his career plans as speculation brewed last week. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's military took center stage in the country's bicentennial celebrations Tuesday, and it likely would be a key player in the country's political future if Hugo Chavez were to be forced out of the presidency by cancer. Thousands of troops marched beneath thundering fighter jets and helicopters while an announcer's booming voice declared that the nation is "free, socialist, independent." Top brass appeared alongside Chavez, a former paratrooper, as he saluted and addressed the parade by television from his presidential palace across town. The image brought to mind other critical moments of Chavez's career, beats by dre prosuch as a 2002 coup against him, in which military loyalists came to his rescue. Despite the appearance of a fully unified Bolivarian National Armed Force, some analysts and former officers say there are long-standing internal divisions between those who solidly stand behind Chavez's drive for socialism and those who do not. If Chavez's health worsens, some believe latent tensions could emerge within the ranks and the military could also end up playing a key role in any transition to new leadership. "It's going to clearly be an important actor in the days to come," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a political analyst with IHS Global Insight in London. He said the military is "the only institution that would have the power to put pressure on the political actors to generate outcomes." Much depends on Chavez's health, however. In his address to the parade, the president said he was glad to be back after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in Cuba, but that his treatment prevented him from participating in the festivities. "Here I am, in recuperation but still recovering. We've begun another long march," Chavez said. He spoke for about 12 minutes under a portrait of 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar, for whom his socialist-inspired monster beats proBolivarian Revolution movement is named. One officer stood at attention and addressed the president from atop a tank: "We will get out of the abyss together with you." Troops in combat fatigues marched in formation, while others in colonial-era uniforms goose-stepped down the parade route outside the country's military headquarters. The parade marked the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's declaration of independence from Spain. Some analysts say there are multiple factions within the armed forces, including a large contingent of midlevel officers who are professional soldiers, or "institutionalists," with no particular allegiance to Chavez's socialist movement. That has become a source of tension in recent years as Chavez has instituted the new salute repeated by soldiers: "Socialist fatherland or death!" Analysts believe those midlevel officers would be inclined to insist on a constitutional transition of power in the event of the president's departure. In contrast, Chavez's high command is openly in favor of his socialist project and loyal to him. "We're going to see the high military command become increasingly politicized," said Rocio San Miguel, who leads a non-governmental beats pro headphonesorganization that monitors security and defense issues in Venezuela. "Soldiers have historically shown that they have a keen sense of smell to know the real alternatives of power, and to know when is the decline or fall of other powers," San Miguel said. She added that she isn't suggesting Chavez is in decline, and said much will depend on how his condition evolves. Prominent Chavez opponent Diego Arria, a former Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, said in an email that he believes Chavez was forced to return from Cuba "upon seeing the internal conflict in his own party with the main civilian leaders and in the armed forces." Chavez's allies have strongly denied any such divisions, saying the military has been firmly behind the government during Chavez's nearly monthlong absence in Cuba. While Chavez wasn't at the parade, he did meet with the presidents of Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay at the presidential palace. "Your presence is a very big, very powerful injection for our spirit, for our fight for life," Chavez told them afterward. Chavez also made his presence felt on Twitter, where his account posted 10 messages Tuesday by 2 p.m., including seven within an hour during and after the parade. One message thanked Russia "and its government and support," referring in part to the Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets that streaked over the parade ground outside Fort Tiuna. "Today, yes, we have a truly armed Armed Force! How moral! How mystic! Congratulations!" Another message read: "Thanks to the People's Republic of China for its invaluable support in having our Armed Forces well equipped and trained." China is Venezuela's biggest creditor, having agreed to more than $30 billion in loans to be paid back in oil, and has helped train Venezuelan troops. Chinese soldiers marched in the parade, along with those from several other nations, such as Russia and Mexico. Addressing the troops via television, Chavez said: "Venezuela in the these last 10 years — the homeland of Bolivar, we soldiers and people — have recovered our independence." "We're no longer a colony of any empire," Chavez said. He often refers to the United States as the "empire" and has sought to push beats by dre lady gagaback U.S. influence in Latin America. He has defended Venezuela's purchases of Russian-made jets, helicopters and assault rifles as necessary to modernize the military and prepare for any possible conflict with the U.S., an idea U.S. officials have dismissed. Chavez counts many current and former military officers among his closest confidants, some of them fellow participants in a failed coup that Chavez led in 1992. Following his surprise return from Cuba on Monday, Chavez wore the fatigues and red beret of his army days as he rallied thousands of supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace. Chavez also has taken steps in recent years to ensure tighter control and put in charge loyalists after a failed 2002 coup. Dissident officers briefly ousted him then until he was restored with the help of other generals amid street protests by his supporters. "After the year 2002, the changes in the command structure... and the entire system of promotions in many ways has ensured President Chavez stability within the armed forces, and it would be very difficult for that to change anytime soon," said Juan Romero, a historian and professor at Venezuela's University of Zulia. Chavez has also counted on support from one of the closest members of his inner circle, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the military's strategic operations commander. Chavez promoted him last year to general-in-chief after Rangel was heavily criticized by the opposition for saying in a newspaper interview that neither the military nor the public would accept an opposition victory in the country's 2012 presidential election. The general also said that officers are loyal to Chavez's socialist political project. "Rangel Silva is the strong man at this time" within the military, San Miguel said. In the past few years, Chavez has built up a parallel force of civilian militias, enlisting tens of thousands of men and women who go through regular boot-camp training. Government opponents have criticized the militias, calling them a force aimed at ensuring Chavez stays in power. The next few months could reveal how the military's stance evolves. "If President Chavez indeed starts to recover and continues being the strongman, the caudillo, the center of all the political dynamics in Venezuela, those tensions are going to be dissipated ahead of the presidential monster beats kobeelection of 2012," Moya-Ocampos said. "If President Chavez again shows signs of weakness in a way which could open up again a behind-the-scenes debate over the succession of President Chavez, which is a very sensitive matter ... within the armed forces itself, then that could be another issue."