South Korea elects first female president
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Park Geun-hye, 60, daughter of a divisive military strongman from South Korea's authoritarian era, was elected the country's first female president Wednesday, a landmark win that could mean a new drive to start talks with rival North Korea.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Park Geun-hye, 60, daughter of a divisive military strongman from South Korea's authoritarian era, was elected the country's first female president Wednesday, a landmark win that could mean a new drive to start talks with rival North Korea.
After five years of high tension under unpopular incumbent Lee Myung-Bak, Park has vowed to pursue engagement and step up aid to North Korea, despite the latter's widely condemned long-range rocket launch last week.
With about 98 percent of votes counted, Park had won 51.6 percent to Moon's 47.9 percent, according to the state-run National Election Commission. Park is to take office in February.
N.J. mayor pleads not guilty to corruption
TRENTON
- Mayor Tony Mack pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a bribery case while his lawyer said he'd remain in office despite calls for his resignation from the city council and governor.
Mack was arraigned in federal court on charges that he was involved in a scheme to accept $119,000 in bribes in exchange for using his influence to push the development of a parking garage on city-owned land.
Mack was arrested in September on six criminal counts carrying a total maximum punishment of 110 years in prison, though a much shorter sentence would be likely if he's convicted.
Deaths derail U.N. polio vaccinations
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN
- The United Nations suspended its polio vaccination drive in Pakistan on Wednesday after eight people involved in the effort were shot dead in the past two days, a U.N. official said.
The drive aims to bring an end to the scourge of polio in Pakistan, one of only three countries where the disease still survives.
On Wednesday, gunmen shot at a woman working on the campaign, killing her and her driver, one of five attacks during the day on polio workers. No one has claimed responsibility, but some Islamic extremists charge that the program is a cover for espionage.
Teens linked to fatal argument in W. Pa.
BEAVER FALLS, PA.
- Police have arrested two 14-year-olds in the fatal shooting of a woman after she told them to "get a job" when they tried to bum a cigarette off her boyfriend.
U.S. Marshals say Marcus Velasquez and Todavia Cleckley were arrested Tuesday in a Beaver Falls home. Both teens have been charged in the Dec. 8 shooting death of 22-year-old Kayla Peterson.
Investigators say Velasquez and a third teen followed Peterson's boyfriend home and yelled profanities after he ignored their requests for a cigarette. Velasquez allegedly shot Peterson when she confronted them. He's charged with homicide, while the other two teens face conspiracy charges.
In brief ... * Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak returned to prison Wednesday after he was transferred to a Cairo military hospital briefly for an X-ray of his skull, a security official said.
The 84-year-old fell in the bathroom and hit his head Saturday.
* "ABC News" veteran Sam Donaldson, 78, is facing a drunken driving charge in Delaware after failing field sobriety tests during a traffic stop Dec. 1.
* Police say one person has died and 32 were injured in a massive traffic pileup on New York's Long Island Expressway on Wednesday.
-Daily News wire services