| | April 25, 2012 | | EXCLUSIVE Former Taliban chief Agha Jan Motasim urged moderation—and was nearly assassinated for it. In the Western media’s first on-the-record interview with a senior Taliban minister and leader since the 2001 U.S. invasion, Motasim tells The Daily Beast’s Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai about the deepening splits within the Afghan insurgency over peace talks. FAIL The U.N. peace mission in Syria isn’t exactly working, if recent reports are to be believed. More violence flared in Damascus, as the regime seems to have relaunced assaults on opposition areas—especially after monitors leave. Meanwhile, the U.N.’s Kofi Annan pushed for a quick deployment of the 300 monitors outlined in the latest resolution. Some residents have reported that they are not able to tell monitors what’s really going on, out of fear of reprisals. End of the Road Mitt Romney’s five-way win Tuesday made Newt Gingrich realize something: “It’s pretty clear Governor Romney is going to be the nominee. I think you have to at some point be honest with what’s happening in the real world, as opposed to what you’d like to have happen,” he said. But then he said he’s going to continue his campaign in North Carolina—“as a citizen.” What does this all mean? Is he out or isn’t he? According to CNN, senior aides have said Gingrich will officially drop out next Tuesday, but the man himself has confirmed nothing. Update: A National Journal reporter has tweeted that Newt has pushed back his dropout date from next Tuesday to "later in the week." Gingrich's campaign chair also said that the candidate spoke to Mitt Romney today. SUPREME COURT Supreme Court justices seemed broadly sympathetic to an Arizona immigration law that entered oral arguments before the high court Wednesday. The controversial law essentially authorizes ethnic profiling by police who suspect illegal immigration. The same two lawyers who argued last month’s Obamacare hearing represented the two sides, and several justices asked why states would not have the right to enact a law like Arizona’s. DANGEROUS Six teenagers in the Los Angeles area have been hospitalized over the past few months after drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk, sometimes using salt to separate the alcohol from the liquid. Doctors are warning that it could signal a new trend, and that ingesting hand sanitizer is extremely dangerous. The liquid is 62 percent ethyl alcohol, the equivalent of a 120-proof liquor. Over-the-counter products have been used as alcohol before, but doctors around Los Angeles said there were no hospitalizations last year. | |
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