Chris Brown sentenced for Rihanna assault

Pop singer Chris Brown was sentenced Tuesday to serve five years probation and more than 1,400 hours in "labor-oriented service" for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said in the sentencing she wants to see Brown conduct “actual physical labor, as opposed to some type of community service.” The sentencing was delayed earlier this month because documents detailing Brown’s proposed community service plan in Virginia, where he maintains a legal residence and wants to serve his sentence, had not arrived in time for Schnegg to review them. Brown’s probation will be overseen by the state of California, the judge said

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Voter gripes abound as Afghans count presidential ballots

More than 200 allegations of irregularities in last week’s presidential elections in Afghanistan have been registered, according to the independent commission set up to handle such complaints. Despite domestic accusations from one of the presidential candidates that the vote was rigged, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan called the election “a very well-organized campaign.” “The Afghan-led independent electoral commission looks like it managed a pretty good process,” Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said Sunday

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Chris Brown to face judge for sentencing Wednesday

Singer Chris Brown’s punishment for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna, is expected to become official Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom. Rihanna will not attend Brown’s sentencing, where a judge is expected to impose five years of probation and about 1,400 hours in “labor-oriented service.” “Her presence is not required,” Rihanna’s lawyer Donald Etra said. “She will be working out of state.” Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, appeared briefly in court in June after Brown admitted guilt to a felony assault in a plea deal

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Prosecutors: Man impersonated dead mother, collected benefits

A 49-year-old man impersonated his dead 77-year-old mother in paperwork — and sometimes in person — for six years, collecting more than $100,000 in her name, according to the Brooklyn district attorney. The man sometimes dressed as his mother and, with an accomplice, collected more than $52,000 in Social Security benefits and another $65,000 in city rent subsidies, prosecutors said

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Clinton unveils initiative to combat ‘scourge of piracy’

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday unveiled a diplomatic initiative to thwart attacks on ships off Somalia’s coast and combat what she called the "scourge of piracy." Clinton said the State Department will “explore ways to track and freeze pirate assets,” similar to measures used against drug traffickers and terrorists. Noting that the pirates have been buying more sophisticated vessels with the ransom money they have been collecting, Clinton said it could be possible to stop boat-building companies from doing business with pirates. “These pirates are criminals

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Dozens missing after riverboat collision in Bangladesh

More than 60 passengers were missing after a riverboat collided with a trawler in southern Bangladesh Thursday, police said. In his first major speech since being confirmed, the nation’s first black attorney general told an overflow crowd celebrating Black History Month at the Justice Department the nation remains “voluntarily socially segregated.” “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,” Holder declared

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