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Gov. Spitzer apologizes to family, public

(CNN) — New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is under investigation for allegedly meeting with a prostitute in a Washington hotel, a source with knowledge of the investigation tells CNN.

Spitzer on Monday said he acted in way that violates his obligation to his family, without elaborating or taking questions.

His statement came hours after the New York Times reported he told senior administration officials he had been involved in a prostitution ring.

I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, to whom I promised better, he said.

I am disappointed that I failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself, he said. Watch Spitzer’s apology

Before the news conference, three Democratic sources told CNN that a top Spitzer aide had told them that the governor would resign. At the news conference, Spitzer declined to respond to questions as to whether he would resign.

The Times’ Web site cited an anonymous administration official and said the New York governor met with his top aides before making his statement.

The governor called his senior staff together and told them he wanted to inform them first about a major announcement of a personal nature, a prominent New York Democrat told CNN.

To say this is a shock is an understatement, said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who went to law school with Spitzer.

The Republican Governors Association has called on Spitzer to resign to allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership.

The American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians. The governor of New York is just another in the long list of politicians that have failed their constituents, Nick Ayers, RGA executive Director, said in a statement.

Spitzer’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg all declined to comment on Spitzer.

Spitzer, 48, served as New York’s attorney general for eight years before being elected governor.

Time magazine named him Crusader of the Year during his two terms as New York attorney general.

Tabloids labeled him Eliot Ness, after the hero in the crime drama The Untouchables, because of his reputation for rooting out corruption, busting white-collar criminals and tackling organized crime.

He was also known for prosecuting several prostitution rings.

He also worked as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan and worked for three New York law firms after receiving his law degree from Harvard.

The first-term Democrat had been considered a rising star among his party.

Spitzer is married and has three daughters.
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Bush, Polish prime minister to discuss missile defense

WASHINGTON (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is hoping talks Monday with President Bush will help break an impasse on allowing U.S. missile defense interceptors to be based on Polish soil.

The two leaders also are likely to discuss NATO’s operations in Afghanistan, since Poland is set to expand its contribution to the force.

The two countries have been negotiating Polish demands for help in upgrading its military in exchange for allowing the missile defense interceptors, although it was not expected that the two leaders would reach a deal in the White House meeting. Negotiators appear hung up over how specific the U.S. promises would be to help upgrade Poland’s military.

The United States opened the negotiations last year with the government of previous Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who strongly supported the U.S. proposal. Tusk’s government has sought more in return.

Polish officials have said they are looking for help to acquire air defenses against short- to medium-range missiles. Negotiators have asked for Patriot 3 or THAAD missiles and have identified 17 areas of the Polish military that the United States could help modernize. Interceptors for the planned U.S. shield are for protection against long-range missiles.

The Polish government argues that the security backing is necessary because Russia has threatened to target Poland with nuclear missiles if it should allow the interceptors. Tusk and Bush are likely to discuss Russian relations, because Tusk met with then-Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, the first visit by a Polish prime minister since 2001.

The U.S. missile defense plans have become one of the thorniest issues in U.S.-Russian relations. Russia opposes the U.S. plan to build part of its global missile defense system so close to Russian borders, arguing it would undermine the Russian deterrent. The United States says the system is aimed at countering a threat from Iran or North Korea and would be impotent against Russia’s massive arsenal.

U.S. negotiators, led by acting Assistant Secretary of State Stephen Mull, have tried to seal the deal with Poland by opening a separate negotiating track on the Polish demands. They have sought to leave promises vague.

In the final analysis, I assure you that Poland will be able to count on America’s continuing strong and substantial support for years to come as it improves its capabilities to defend against our common threats, Mull said in a statement after a round of negotiations in Warsaw late last month.

The two sides have said they would like to complete a deal before the Bush administration leaves office in January. Tusk said in remarks published Friday that the U.S. administration has now asked for six months to prepare an offer on the military aid.

Bush and Tusk are likely to discuss next month’s NATO summit in Bucharest, where calls for European countries to strengthen the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan are expected to be a focus.

Poland is expected to boost its contribution of troops to the mission from 1,200 to 1,600 in April and send much-needed helicopters.
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Zapatero claims victory in Spanish elections

MADRID, Spain (CNN) — Moments after his challenger conceded, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero thanked a crowd of cheering supporters for Sunday’s win by his Socialists in Spain’s parliamentary elections.

The Spanish have spoken with clarity, and they have decided to open a new chapter, Zapatero said.I will govern with a firm hand and with the hand extended.

With 89 percent of the vote tallied, Zapatero’s Socialists had 44 percent of the vote, followed by Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Partido Popular with 40 percent. Sunday’s turnout was put at 75.4 percent late in the day.

Zapatero has ruled with a plurality since 2004, when he and Rajoy first faced each other in a general election, and the prime minister faced concerns about a faltering economy going into Sunday’s vote.

The economic problems have hurt everyone. The prices have risen sharply for all of the daily needs, said Manuel Lustres, a security guard who voted for the Partido Popular. Watch a report on Zapatero’s past and what he faces after his win

The vote was also shadowed by the death on Friday of a former Socialist town councilman, Isaias Carrasco, who was killed in an attack in northern Spain blamed on Basque separatist group ETA. Watch a voter describe ‘going backwards’ economically

Isaias should be here today, living this moment and alive with his family, Zapatero said Sunday night.

The 2004 election, held in the wake of the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, gave Zapatero’s Socialists an upset victory. Zapatero’s first decision upon taking office in 2004 was to pull Spain’s troops out of Iraq.

Zapatero has put Spain in the vanguard of European social policy, legalizing gay marriage and making divorces easier to obtain. Roman Catholics staged a mass demonstration in Madrid last December to blast the government policies.
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Zapatero claims victory in Spanish elections

MADRID, Spain (CNN) — Moments after his challenger conceded, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero thanked a crowd of cheering supporters for Sunday’s win by his Socialists in Spain’s parliamentary elections.

The Spanish have spoken with clarity, and they have decided to open a new chapter, Zapatero said.I will govern with a firm hand and with the hand extended.

With 89 percent of the vote tallied, Zapatero’s Socialists had 44 percent of the vote, followed by Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Partido Popular with 40 percent. Sunday’s turnout was put at 75.4 percent late in the day.

Zapatero has ruled with a plurality since 2004, when he and Rajoy first faced each other in a general election, and the prime minister faced concerns about a faltering economy going into Sunday’s vote.

The economic problems have hurt everyone. The prices have risen sharply for all of the daily needs, said Manuel Lustres, a security guard who voted for the Partido Popular. Watch a report on Zapatero’s past and what he faces after his win

The vote was also shadowed by the death on Friday of a former Socialist town councilman, Isaias Carrasco, who was killed in an attack in northern Spain blamed on Basque separatist group ETA. Watch a voter describe ‘going backwards’ economically

Isaias should be here today, living this moment and alive with his family, Zapatero said Sunday night.

The 2004 election, held in the wake of the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, gave Zapatero’s Socialists an upset victory. Zapatero’s first decision upon taking office in 2004 was to pull Spain’s troops out of Iraq.

Zapatero has put Spain in the vanguard of European social policy, legalizing gay marriage and making divorces easier to obtain. Roman Catholics staged a mass demonstration in Madrid last December to blast the government policies.
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Mother of suspect in Auburn slaying: ‘I’m sorry’

(CNN) — In a television interview, the mother of a man charged in the murder of an Auburn University freshman repeatedly says she’s sorry about the suffering the victim’s family is enduring.

I never thought Courtney would do this. I never, never thought, Courtney Larrell Lockhart’s mother Catherine Williams told CNN affiliate WBRL on Saturday.

But I’m sorry for that family and I’m sorry. I’m just sorry, she said. I got nothing else to say. I’m just sorry for the loss of that family.

Police announced Saturday that they had arrested Lockhart, 23, of Smiths, Alabama, in connection with the shooting death of Lauren Burk, 18, of Marietta, Georgia. Watch the mother cry and apologize

Lockhart faces charges of capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery and capital murder during an attempted rape, police said.

Also, Lockhart is facing robbery charges in the Phenix City, Alabama, area, said William Clanton of the Phenix City Police Department.

Clanton did not know how many robberies Lockhart was suspected of committing.

Lockhart is being held in the Russell County jail, but is expected to be moved to Lee County soon, where Auburn University is located, Clanton said.

Burk was found shot Tuesday night on North College Street, a few miles north of campus. She died later at a hospital. Minutes after police responded to a call reporting an injured person and found Burk, they received a report of a car — which turned out to be Burk’s — on fire in a campus parking lot.

Authorities believe gasoline or another accelerant was used to ignite Burk’s car, Auburn Assistant Police Chief Tommy Dawson said Friday.

Police were investigating whether a gas can found in downtown Auburn was related to the case.

Memorial services for Burk were held Saturday and Sunday at a Marietta church and synagogue. A campus-wide memorial service will be held Monday.

A memorial service was held Sunday in Athens, Georgia, for another slain university student Eve Carson, the Athens Banner Herald reported.

Carson, 22, the student body president for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was found shot to death in a suburban neighborhood not far from campus about 5 a.m. Wednesday. Her car was found Thursday, in another neighborhood to the west, about a block or two from where she lived with roommates.

On Saturday, police released two surveillance photographs of a person of interest taken by an ATM camera in the Chapel Hill area, Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said. The person appeared to be using one of Carson’s ATM cards and was driving a vehicle that was possibly hers.

Curran called the photographs the biggest break in the case, which he said still appears to be random.

Reminders of the popular student president appeared on the jerseys of the university’s men’s basketball team Saturday night as they took on Duke University’s Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina.

The top-ranked Tar Heels wore jersey patches that read Eve. Many of Duke’s fans donned small light-blue ribbons as a show of support.

There was a moment of silence for Carson before tip-off.

The ribbons and moment of silence say a heckuva lot about Duke University, UNC Coach Roy Williams told reporters after the game.

The Tar Heels won 76-68.
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