The interior ministry told the reports 14 locations had been attacked, including al-Amil in the south and Halawi and Karrada closer to the centre.
The bombings are the worst in months - and follow the withdrawal of US troops.
They come amid fears of rising sectarian tensions as the unity government faces internal divisions.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks.
However, analysts say the level of co-ordination suggests a planning capability only available to the Sunni insurgent group, al-Qaeda in Iraq.
A security spokesman in Baghdad, Major General Qassim Atta, said the attackers had not aimed at security targets.
"They targeted children's schools, day workers and the anti-corruption agency," he told the AFP news agency.
Raghad Khalid, a teacher at a kindergarten in Karrada, said all their windows had been blown out.
"The children were scared and crying. Some parts of the car bomb are inside our building.
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused the Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi of running a hit squad that targeted government officials. Al-Maliki is also pushing for a vote of no-confidence against another Sunni politician, the deputy prime minister Saleh al-Mutlaq.
Many Sunnis fear that this is part of a wider campaign to go after Sunni political figures in general and shore up Shiite control across the country at a critical time when all American troops have left Iraq.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the morning's violence. But the coordinated nature of the assault and the fact that the attacks took place in numerous neighborhoods suggested a planning capability only available to al Qaeda in Iraq.
Many of the neighborhoods were also Shiite areas which are a favorite target of al Qaeda. The Sunni extremist group often targets Shiites who they believe are not true Muslims.
Al Qaeda in Iraq is severely debilitated from its previous strength in the early years of the war, but is still able to launch coordinated and deadly assaults from time to time.
U.S. military officials have said they're worried about a resurgence of al Qaeda after the American military leaves the country. If that happens, it could lead Shiite militants to fight back and attack Sunni targets, thus sending Iraq back to the sectarian violence it experienced just a few years ago.
The state's preliminary review has revealed "probable financial stress" in Detroit, but Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon says city leaders still have the chance to resolve the crisis and avoid an emergency manager.
"It does appear they are making significant progress in their discussions with labor," Dillon said today during a conference call with reporters.
"City Council and the mayor seem to be on the same page. So we remain optimistic that the city can solve this situation on its own."
Dillon delivered a report to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this morning outlining the findings of the treasury's preliminary review and recommending appointment of a formal review team.
Game's over, the well is dry. No amount of stonewalling on labor concessions will save a job or ease the pain from the coming restructuring -- a job that will either be done by Detroit's elected leaders acting in concert with unions and the state, or by an emergency manager, or by a bankruptcy judge.
As State Treasurer Andy Dillon starkly spelled out Wednesday in his preliminary assessment, Detroit is in dire straits and the crisis is escalating with each passing day.
The next step is appointment by Snyder of a financial review team, which I'm told will likely consist of seven to nine people, some with expertise in finance and management, from in and around Detroit. Those selections are being vetted now and will be announced in a few days.
Dillon said he and the governor remain hopeful that Detroit officials will come up with a way out of the financial mess on their own. He cited the new spirit of cooperation between the mayor, city council and city unions to take the steps needed to avoid a financial meltdown.
“There is real progress,” Dillon said during a conference call with reporters. “Everyone is willing to look at every possible solution.”
He added he expects that the formal review process “will begin in earnest” early next month and run in tandem with Detroit officials’ efforts to find their own solution.
“We’re very focused on the date when we think they run short of cash, since that affects our timeline,” the state treasurer said. “We’re watching that very, very closely.”
If the new review finds the city is under severe financial stress, city officials might be able to stave off a financial manager by adopting and agreeing to strictly follow a consent decree righting Detroit’s finances. Such an agreement is likely to include painful remedies for elected officials, city workers and city services, but would avoid handing control of the city to an emergency manager.
Dillon expects to send Snyder this week a list of possible review team appointees that will include residents of Detroit, a majority black city that already has an emergency manager overseeing its public schools.
A statewide petition drive is under way to let voters weigh in on the emergency manager law next November. If the drive is successful, the status of the law may be in limbo until the election.
The word solstice comes from the Latin words for sun (“sol”) and to cause to stand still (“sistere”) because the sun seems to stop in the sky. On the winter solstice, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn, an imaginary line that's 23.5 degrees south of the equator and passes through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, northern South Africa and a whole lot of ocean.
The solstice marks the beginning of winter. Ironically, it also signals the return of the light that's been dwindling since the summer solstice in June.
Wax and wane; longer days and shorter ones: The Earth revolves around the sun, and life and growth on Earth respond according to the changing light.
Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium. Previous sponsors included Sunkist and IBM.
In 1998, the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and before 2007 every four years (most recently in 2003) was the designee for the national championship game.
The Fiesta Bowl was born from the Western Athletic Conference's frustrated attempts to obtain bowl invitations for its champions. In 1968 and 1969 respectively, champions Wyoming and Arizona State failed to secure any bowl selection. The next year, undefeated Arizona State was bypassed by the major bowls and had to settle for an appearance in the less prestigious Peach Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl therefore initially provided an automatic bowl tie-in for the Western Athletic Conference champion.
The 1971 inaugural game featured another top-ten Arizona State squad against top-twenty opponent Florida State. By 1975, the game was able to attract Big Eight co-champion Nebraska to play undefeated Arizona State in a matchup of top-five teams. In 1977, the game was again able to attract a top-five opponent in Penn State, despite WAC champion #16 BYU refusing to play in the bowl due to it being held on Sunday.
In 1978, Arizona and Arizona State both joined the Pac-10 Conference and the Fiesta Bowl's tie-in with the Western Athletic Conference ended.
Sports Illustrated alleged in November 2010 that Fiesta Bowl officials, including bowl CEO John Junker, spent $4 million since 2000 to curry favor from BCS bigwigs and elected officials, including a 2008 "Fiesta Frolic", a golf-centered gathering of athletic directors and head coaches. The journal also reported that Junker's annual salary was close to $600,000 and that the bowl, in 2007 turned an $11.6 million profit at the same time that 106 of 120 Division I-A athletic departments were running a deficit.
In 2009, prior to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, past and present Fiesta Bowl employees alleged that they were encouraged to make directed campaign contributions which were subsequently reimbursed. If true, this would be a violation of both state and Federal campaign finance laws. Furthermore, as a non-profit organization, the Fiesta Bowl is prohibited from making political contributions, of any kind, and from hiring lobbyists. The Fiesta Bowl commissioned an "independent review" which found "no credible evidence that the bowl's management engaged in any type of illegal or unethical conduct. On March 29, 2011, the results of a "scathing internal report" commissioned by the Fiesta Bowl board of directors were released. The report, 276 pages and with more than 1500 footnotes, was posted on the Fiesta Bowl's website. The commission determined that $46,539 of illegal campaign contributions were made and the board immediately fired Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker, who had already been suspended pending the results of this investigation. The scandal threatened the Fiesta Bowl's status as a BCS game, as the BCS said it might drop the bowl from its lineup if officials could not convince them it should remain.
The BCS ultimately chose not to expel the Fiesta Bowl, instead fining the organization $1 million. In June 2011 University of Arizona president Robert Shelton was hired to replace Junker.
When the Fiesta Bowl wanted to influence politicians during the past decade, the non-profit organization provided them with expensive cross-county trips, stays at luxury hotels and tickets to prime sporting events.
Although that behavior may not sit well with the public, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said Wednesday, his investigators found no criminal wrongdoing by 31 Arizona politicians who took the gifts.
After an eight-month investigation, Montgomery announced that he couldn’t prove criminal liability because of inconsistent state laws regarding the acceptance of gifts for public officials, vague reporting requirements of elected officials and lobbyists, and insufficient records by the Fiesta Bowl to support a prosecution.
“We have an expectation that you can’t do these things, and yet we do not have statutes for us to rely on to ensure that conduct conforms with that expectation,” Montgomery said during a detailed, two-hour news conference.
Montgomery, a Republican up for re-election next year, said his office spent eight months investigating 28 current and former legislators, including former Senate President Russell Pearce who accepted nearly $40,000 in gifts from the bowl and has denied wrongdoing. Three other politicians and three lobbyists with ties to the bowl also were investigated.
Montgomery said some lawmakers declined to talk with investigators when asked to do so voluntarily. He said he did not convene a grand jury because most of the potential offenses being investigated would have been misdemeanors.
Montgomery earlier this week called for lawmakers to ban the acceptance of gifts and change laws so there is no confusion on what’s permissible.
Federal authorities are separately investigating other aspects of the Fiesta Bowl scandal, including an alleged scheme to reimburse employees for political contributions. One former executive has been charged in that case.
Baylor's Griffin is AP player of the year • Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III of Baylor was voted The Associated Press college football player of the year.
Levine to be next coach at Houston • Tony Levine will be named Houston's full-time coach today, a source said. Houston is looking to replace Kevin Sumlin, who accepted an offer to coach Texas A&M. Levine was Sumlin's assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. He took over as interim coach after Sumlin left on Dec. 10.
Yale coach resigns amid résumé flap • Tom Williams resigned as Yale's coach after admitting he lied on his résumé about being a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship while a student at Stanford. Williams took over at Yale in 2009 and went 16-14.
FSU's Thomas ineligible for bowl game • Florida State running back Jermaine Thomas has been declared academically ineligible for the Champs Sports Bowl and will not play in the Dec. 29 game against Notre Dame.
Chow is Hawaii's new coach • Hawaii said it has hired Utah offensive coordinator Norm Chow as its new head coach. He replaces the retired Greg McMackin.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are deadlocked over a bill to extend the payroll tax cut, with just about 10 days to stop a tax increase for 160 million Americans.
House Republicans have so far refused to accept a compromise with Senate Democrats and President Obama -- but while they may be holding out for a legislative victory, they are already losing the fight politically.
The fight over the payroll tax cut extension took a surprising turn this week when the GOP-led House refused to accept a Senate-passed version of the bill, which passed with 89 votes and the support of all but seven Republicans.
Now, lawmakers in the Republican party are questioning their leaders' decisions and prominent conservative opinion-makers like the Wall Street Journal editorial board are skewering the GOP for botching the payroll tax cut debate. The Journal's editorial board wrote that, "Given how [Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell] and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the president before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest."
Democrats are hesitant to reenter formal talks with the House GOP until the stopgap measure is approved. They doubt that Republicans really want to extend the tax cut and worry they will try to extract further concessions in exchange for votes.
As each side waits for the other to blink, they are calculating who will take the blame if taxes rise. So far, House Republicans have endured heavy criticism, even from allies, for rejecting the Senate deal — which passed by a bipartisan 89-10 vote — and for tarnishing the GOP's reputation as the party of low taxes.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board called the GOP strategy a fiasco, arguing that it allowed the president to look like a tax-cutter. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tweeted that the editorial was "right on the mark."
"I'm amazed by how badly this payroll tax cut is being mishandled," said Ron Nehring, chairman emeritus of the California Republican Party, in a tweet. "Let's extend it a year, throw in a new pipeline" — a reference to a provision that would expedite a decision on the controversial Keystone XL project — "and call it a day."
Boehner answered critics Wednesday during a photo opportunity with his negotiators. Republicans sat on one side of a conference table, facing empty chairs supposedly set out for Democrats.
"We are the party of lower taxes for the American people," Boehner said. "We have fought for lower taxes for the 21 years that I've been in this Congress, and we are going to continue to be the party of lower taxes."
House Democrats, meanwhile, have launched a campaign to target Republican lawmakers at home for rejecting the Senate compromise.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the minority whip, tried to bring the Senate bill up for a vote during a pro forma session in an empty Capitol. But the GOP representative in the speaker's chair, Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), gaveled business to a close.
On Wednesday, the Army announced that eight fellow soldiers had been charged in connection with the 19-year-old private's death — and a spokeswoman for the Chen family expressed doubts that Chen's death was actually a suicide.
"That's the Army's version," said Elizabeth OuYang of the Organization of Chinese Americans. She spoke at a news conference with Chen's mother, Su Zhen Chen, standing beside her, weeping for her only child. "We are not convinced," OuYang said of the military's suicide report.
No matter who fired the fatal bullet, she said, the death amounted to murder because of bullying that Chen allegedly suffered at the hands of fellow soldiers.
"Danny Chen died after this mistreatment. Whether it was suicide or homicide, what they did to him caused his death," OuYang said of the accused.
The eight men face charges ranging from negligent homicide to assault and dereliction of duty. All served with Chen in the 1st Stryker Combat Team of the Army's 25th Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan; they're being held at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.
A military statement did not provide details of the alleged crimes but said more information would be released "as it becomes available."
The charges came after New York's Asian American community rallied around Chen's immigrant parents upon learning that he had told relatives of ethnic taunts and physical abuse while in Afghanistan.
Three sergeants—Andrew Van Bockel, Adam Holcomb and Jeffrey Hurst—and two specialists—Thomas Curtis and Ryan Offutt—have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Under military law, a soldier commits involuntary manslaughter when his or her negligent actions lead to the death of another. The offense could lead to court-martial proceedings.
Sgt. Travis Carden was charged with violation of general regulation, maltreatment and other offenses. First Lt. Daniel Schwartz and Staff Sgt. Blaine Dugas were charged with multiple counts of dereliction of duty.
Mr. Chen's family said the Army told them Mr. Chen was dragged from his bed and beaten by fellow soldiers after he forgot to turn off the water heater for their unit's shower. Another night in Afghanistan, Mr. Chen was made to crawl over rocks on the ground while soldiers threw rocks, and some of the rocks hit him, the family said.
First Sgt. Alan Davis, an Army spokesman based in Afghanistan, said the soldiers have been transferred from the outpost where they had been stationed with Mr. Chen. He said they were under increased supervision but were still on active duty at other outposts in southern Afghanistan. The Army will next conduct a probe to determine if there are grounds to sustain the charges.
Through letters home and Facebook messages, Mr. Chen wrote of problems he had faced while stationed in Georgia for basic training prior to his deployment. He said he was the only Chinese-American in his unit and would repeatedly be asked if he was from China. Other soldiers called him "Jackie Chan," after the action movie actor, he said. "They also call my name, Chen, in a goatlike voice, sometimes for no reason," he wrote to his parents in February. "No idea how it started, but I attempt to ignore it. I still respond, though, to amuse them. People crack jokes about Chinese people all the time. I'm running out of jokes to come back at them."
In the relatives’ account, the soldiers pulled Private Chen out of bed and dragged him across the floor; they forced him to crawl on the ground while they pelted him with rocks and taunted him with ethnic slurs. Finally, the family said, they ordered him to do pull-ups with a mouthful of water — while forbidding him from spitting it out.
It was the culmination of what the family called a campaign of hazing against Private Chen, 19, who was born in Chinatown in Manhattan, the son of Chinese immigrants. Hours later, he was found dead in a guard tower, from what a military statement on Wednesday called “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” to the head.
On Wednesday, the American military announced that the Army had charged eight soldiers in Private Chen’s battalion in connection with the death.
OuYang read from a message that family members said Chen had written from Afghanistan. "They (other soldiers) ask me if I'm from China a few times a day. They also called out my name 'Chen' in a goat-like voice sometimes for no reason," the message said in part.
"I'm running out of jokes to respond back to them," Chen wrote, according to OuYang.
His relatives said that Chen told them of being pelted with rocks and forced to hold liquid in his mouth while being hung upside down. But OuYang said there were no signs that Chen was suicidal and that up to a week before his death, he sent upbeat messages from his Facebook account. "He was laughing," she said.
The Pentagon called Chen's death a "tragic incident," and the Associated Press quoted spokesman Capt. John Kirby as rejecting allegations of hazing. "We treat each other with dignity and respect. That's what this uniform requires," Kirby said. "And when we don't, there is a justice system in place to deal with it. And that's what we're seeing here in the case of Pvt. Chen."
Through a translator, Su Zhen Chen described her son as a good and popular student who had told her when he was 18 years old that he wanted to enlist in the Army. Chen said she did not want him to go. But his father, Yan Tao, reasoned that his son was an adult and had to make his own decisions.
In August, three enlisted Marines were criminally charged with mistreating a fellow Marine from California in the hours before he committed suicide in Afghanistan. The three faced accusations including "wrongfully abusing, humiliating and demeaning" Lance Cpl. Harry Lew of Santa Clara. Lew shot himself to death April 3.
Danny Chen 1992 - 3 October 2011 was a Chinese-American U.S. Army private who served in Afghanistan. Chen was harassed and beaten by his fellow soldiers before his death on October 3, 2011. Chen was found shot to death in a guard tower in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. It was first thought that Chen may have committed suicide. However, the Army has not fully explained the circumstances of Chen's death.
Chen was born and raised in Lower Manhattan in New York City, where his father worked as a chef and his mother as a seamstress. He graduated from Pace University High School in Manhattan in 2010. He joined the Army in January 2011 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Military investigators found that Chen was the target of ethnic slurs and physical attacks at the hands of his fellow soldiers before his death. Chen had been physically and verbally abused by his superiors, who singled him out for being Chinese-American.
On December 21, 2011, the U.S. Army said that eight American soldiers have been charged with manslaughter and an array of other crimes in connection with Chen's death: 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, Spc. Ryan J. Offutt and Sgt. Travis F. Carden, all of C Co., 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Schwartz, the only officer charged, faces eight counts of dereliction of duty. The enlisted soldiers face various charges, including dereliction of duty, making false statements, assault, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. The Army did not specify what alleged acts by the soldiers resulted in the charges. The Army said the case remains open and other charges could be filed.
FOLLOWING SPIRITED competition among Republican presidential candidates for his endorsement, Joe Arpaio, who fancies himself America’s “toughest sheriff,” finally tipped his hand last month for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The support of Mr. Arpaio, sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, has not revived Mr. Perry’s candidacy. But Hispanic voters may long remember the spectacle of the GOP’s grandees preening like schoolboys for the favor of a figure best known for his contempt toward America’s largest minority group.
Mr. Arpaio isn’t America’s toughest sheriff. He’s a rogue and a showman who has leveraged thinly veiled racism to his political advantage. In the name of combating illegal immigration in a state that has seen a good deal of it, Mr. Arpaio has left thousands of Latino residents of Phoenix and its suburbs, legal and illegal, feeling hunted and harassed.
Arpaio had better hurry up and think of something. This past year we have watched other evil leaders such as Osama Bin Laden and Col. Muammar Gaddafi get ousted by help and/or force under the Obama administration. OBL and Gaddafi also believed they were untouchable at one time only to meet their fate later. Gaddafi had experienced the worst fate of all when he was sodomized and later died.
Perhaps Joe Arpaio should work on a deal with the Feds and step down as Sheriff with regard to his “pattern or practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law.” If he doesn’t, then he may have to experience a run in with “Bubba” in jail.
If Arpaio doesn’t step down from Sheriff, Mike Stauffer will more than likely beat him anyway since Joe has mismanaged and wasted millions and millions of Arizona tax payer dollars. We can’t continue to foot Joe’s lawsuit bills when he is allowed to violate American Civil Rights.
Arpaio is equivalent to “Bull” Connor and our Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is equivalent to Alabama’s George Wallace. All four individuals are stains in American history and will be remembered as so.
The decision followed the release of a scathing Department of Justice report that said Arpaio's office has a pattern of racially profiling Latinos, basing immigration enforcement on racially charged citizen complaints and punishing Hispanic jail inmates for speaking Spanish. The sheriff has denied the allegations.
Homeland Security officials had no immediate comment on Arpaio's comments on Wednesday.
On Monday, the agency said in a letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl that it would send immigration agents to screen jail inmates in Arizona's most populous county. Arpaio's aides say only one Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has worked at the county jails since last week.
Homeland Security's decision wasn't the first time Arpaio's federal immigration powers were cut.
In October 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement stripped Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make federal immigration arrests, but still allowed his jail officers to determine the immigration status of people in jail.
October, an Army private named Danny Chen apparently angered his fellow soldiers by forgetting to turn off the water heater after taking a shower at his outpost in Afghanistan, his family said.
In the relatives’ account, the soldiers pulled Private Chen out of bed and dragged him across the floor; they forced him to crawl on the ground while they pelted him with rocks and taunted him with ethnic slurs. Finally, the family said, they ordered him to do pull-ups with a mouthful of water — while forbidding him from spitting it out.
It was the culmination of what the family called a campaign of hazing against Private Chen, 19, who was born in Chinatown in Manhattan, the son of Chinese immigrants. Hours later, he was found dead in a guard tower, from what a military statement on Wednesday called “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” to the head.
On Wednesday, the American military announced that the Army had charged eight soldiers in Private Chen’s battalion in connection with the death.
It was an extraordinary development in a case that has stirred intense reactions in the Asian population in New York and elsewhere and provoked debate over what some experts say is the somewhat ambivalent relationship between the Asian population and the United States military.
The soldiers face charges ranging from maltreatment to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Army Pvt. Daniel Chen of New York City. Chen's relatives say he endured weeks of racial teasing and hazing.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the military is taking a zero-tolerance attitude toward soldiers who mistreat their comrades.
The eight soldiers are part of an infantry regiment based in Fort Wainright, Alaska. The soldiers are still in Afghanistan but have been relieved of their duties and confined to a different base. The next step is a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for a court martial.
