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February 10, 2012 | | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW In an interview with The Daily Beast, ex-Komen vice-president Karen Handel—who resigned this week amid the breast-cancer foundation's flap over Planned Parenthood funding—says Planned Parenthood broke a secret pact and launched "Armageddon." Handel tells Abigail Pesta why she thinks Planned Parenthood is a "gigantic bully." VIOLENCE In the worst violence to hit the northern city of Aleppo yet, twin bomb blasts stuck Syrian military and security compounds on Friday, killing 25 people and wounding 175. No one has claimed responsibility, but Syrian authorities usually portray the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad as backed by "foreign terrorists." Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, called on Russia to change its mind and support a United Nations resolution demanding Assad to step down, but Russia said no one should interfere in Syria's affairs.
ANGER Just as the European Union breathed a sigh of relief that Greek politicians reached a deal to pass austerity measures needed for an EU bailout and avoid default in March, angry Greek workers on Friday kicked off a protest against new measures in a 48-hour-long general strike all across the country. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos plans to cut private-sector wages by more than 20 percent, lay off thousands of government workers, and cut federal spending—which labor unions condemn the actions as "a tombstone" for the country. Most public transportation will be shut down thanks to the strike, and all government offices, schools, and hospitals will be operating on emergency staff. Despite the unpopularity of the austerity measures, the deal is expected to pass the Greek Parliament on Friday.
SCANDAL One of two teachers charged in the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked a Los Angeles elementary school is free on bail early Friday. Martin Springer was released and fitted with an electronic ankle monitor after making $300,000 bail, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department said. The 49-year-old former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School has pleaded not guilty to three lewd acts on one girl in class in 2009—two girls initially said he fondled them, but one has recanted her allegation. Another former teacher, Mark Berndt, was charged earlier with 23 counts of lewd acts, accused of feeding his semen to children during "tasting games" from 2005 to 2010.
BATTLE The Obama administration's law to require employers to cover contraception for their employees is still being fought by some Catholic leaders and Republican lawmakers, although numbers show wide support even among regular Catholics. The head of the Catholic church in Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, has joined the fight against the Obama birth-control rule, writing a letter that will reportedly be read during church services this weekend. "We cannot—and will not—comply with this unjust law," George said, calling the rule a violation of religious freedoms. The Chicago Archdiocese serves 2.3 million people.
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