March 20th, 2012
01:53 AM ET
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Video of toddler at airport screening fuels criticism

A 2010 video of an airport screener patting down a wheelchair-bound 3-year-old boy has become the latest Rorschach test of the public's attitude towards the TSA, pitting agency defenders against those who say the video shows the child being treated like a terrorist.

Posted on YouTube Saturday night by the child's father, the video had nearly 100,000 hits by Monday evening.

Matt Dubiel, the father of Rocco Dubiel, videotaped the incident in the spring of 2010 at Chicago Midway International. He posted the video after rediscovering it last week, saying he became enraged anew when reviewing it, he said.

"There is another human being putting their hands on my child. That is not acceptable," he said. "If he was putting his hands on my child at McDonald's or anyplace else, we would immediately have him arrested and call the police."

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Filed under: U.S.
March 20th, 2012
12:57 AM ET
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Pakistan debates future U.S. engagement

A joint session of Pakistan's parliament will meet Tuesday to discuss new terms of engagement with the United States.

The parliament will debate the recommendations of a special commission and will vote whether to accept them or not, said Akram Shaheedi, a spokesman for the Pakistani prime minister.

Amid huge domestic and military pressure after NATO airstrikes on the Pakistani-Afghan border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani created the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, a group of 18 members of parliament responsible for reviewing relations with the United States.

The committee forwarded its recommendations to the government about a month ago, and these will be debated Tuesday.

"We kept in mind both the angles, domestic demands and the requirement by the international community, while compiling our recommendations," Hiader Abbas Rizvi, a committee member, said. "We were optimistic, progressive, but of course patriotic Pakistanis at the end while we were compiling the recommendations."

Rizvi expects that the recommendations - which won't be made public until Tuesday - will be approved, but not before several days of debate.

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Filed under: Pakistan • World
March 20th, 2012
12:44 AM ET
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Six convicted of watching Arab Spring videos to be sentenced

Six Zimbabweans convicted of conspiracy to commit public violence after they were caught watching footage of Arab Spring protests will be sentenced Tuesday.

The six face six to 10 years in prison or a $2,000 fine.

They were among 46 people arrested on February 19, 2011, during an academic meeting where a video on events in Tunisia and Egypt was shown.

The verdict was met by dismay by some.

"I am very disappointed that they were found guilty," defense lawyer Alec Muchadehama said shortly after hearing the verdict on Monday.

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Filed under: Crime • World
March 20th, 2012
12:31 AM ET
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'Two Gentlemen of Chicago' mixes Shakespeare and Chicago's music

Off the beaten path of the Los Angeles theater district, troubadours are resurrecting Shakespeare in an adaptation that would make the Bard smile.

The Troubadour Theater Company has melded "Two Gentlemen of Verona" with song and dance performed to music by the band Chicago and has rendered an energetic, comedic romp entitled "Two Gentlemen of Chicago."

Troupes and their adaptations of "Bardolatry," as George Bernard Shaw coined it, come and go, riffing endlessly on Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies, always searching for ways to breathe new life into the iambic pentameter of 500 years ago.

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Filed under: U.S.
March 20th, 2012
12:16 AM ET
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Romney faces another 'must-win' state in Illinois primary

Here we go again - another Tuesday, another "must-win" primary state for Mitt Romney.

Fifty-four delegates are up for grabs Tuesday when Illinois votes for the Republican presidential nominee. But for the former Massachusetts governor, capturing the popular vote might be just as important as increasing his lead in the battle for delegates.

"Romney could really use a romp in Illinois. It wouldn't put him over the top, but it would put him back on track with a head of steam," said CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.

After finishing third last Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi to his main rival for the nomination, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Romney regained a bit of momentum on Sunday when he trounced Santorum in Puerto Rico's primary, getting 83% of the vote and picking up all 20 delegates up for grabs.

Now comes Illinois, with a large, somewhat moderate GOP electorate, thanks to the large number of voters in metropolitan Chicago. Call Illinois the new Michigan, or the new Ohio - the last two "must-win" states.

Back on February 28, pundits said Romney had to win Michigan, the state where he grew up and where his father was governor. He did.

A week later, on Super Tuesday, political analysts and strategists said Romney had to win the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Again, he did, narrowly edging out Santorum.

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