CAMDEN — Couple withdraw pleas in woman’s death case
STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man and woman from northeastern Pennsylvania have withdrawn their guilty pleas in the death of an elderly stroke victim in their care.
Forty-five-year-old John Tedesco and 38-year-old Tina Tedesco had pleaded guilty to third-degree charges in Monroe County in January in the August 2011 death of 70-year-old Barbara Rabins.
John Tedesco withdrew the plea earlier this month while Tina Tedesco withdrew her plea on Monday. Jury selection for their trial is now scheduled in August.
Police allege that Rabins was left in her own urine and feces and lost more than 100 pounds in a year while the Tedescos looked after her.
Investigators allege that John Tedesco said the victim wasn't placed in an assisted living facility because they would no longer have received money from her trust fund.
Convoy of US troops tests skills and bridges
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — NATO's supreme commander in Europe says a convoy of U.S. troops crossing eastern Europe is a way of reassuring allies of the military alliance's support and of practicing little-used skills.
Gen. Philip Breedlove said Tuesday during a visit to Bucharest that the exercise tested many things that "hadn't been done for a long time in NATO....like multiple border crossings and which bridges are capable of handling the vehicles."
The "Dragoon Ride" convoy started last week from Estonia and passed through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, before entering the Czech Republic on a return journey to a German base.
The soldiers took part in the Atlantic Resolve exercise intended to demonstrate NATO's readiness to defend its members.
House panel approves bill on adoption leave
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A House panel has approved a bill that would require some businesses in Iowa to offer more leave benefits to parents who adopt children.
Members of a labor subcommittee approved the bill Monday. A committee must approve it by Friday for it to survive a legislative deadline.
The Senate passed it earlier this month.
The bill would require businesses offering leave benefits to parents of newborns to do the same for adoptive parents.
A business that doesn't already offer such benefits would not be required to start.
Supporters of the bill say it would treat biological parents and adoptive parents more equally.
Some lawmakers have expressed concern about the financial impact on businesses.
Federal law requires unpaid leave to biological and adoptive parents under certain guidelines.
Former Putin allies question his course
MOSCOW (AP) — Former long-term allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are questioning his political course and warning of economic fallout 15 years after he first came to power.
Putin was first elected president on March 26, 2000, and has ruled Russia ever since, including a stint as a prime minister, which helped him to avoid presidential constitutional limits. His third presidential term expires in 2018, but Putin hasn't yet confirmed if he's going to run for a fourth term.
Alexei Kudrin, Russia's finance minister in 2000-2011 and a former deputy prime minister, said Tuesday that Putin's focus on foreign policy means that Russia won't return in the coming years to the economic growth that would suit a great power.
Kudrin was speaking at a round-table discussion on Putin's 15 years in power.
Vatican defends bishop that caused uproar
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is defending Pope Francis' appointment of a Chilean bishop despite allegations from victims that the prelate had covered up for a pedophile priest.
A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said Tuesday that before Monsignor Juan Barros was named to be bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Holy See's Congregation for Bishops "carefully examined the prelate's candidature and didn't find objective reasons to preclude the appointment."
The bishop's recent installation triggered nationwide political opposition, violent protests in the cathedral and a boycott by many of the diocese's priests.
A former Chilean military chaplain, Barros has insisted he didn't know about the abuse until reading 2010 news reports. Barros was a protege of the priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, sanctioned in 2011 by the Vatican for sexually abusing minors.
Norway signals wish to join investment bank
HELSINKI (AP) — Norway says it intends to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a prospective founding member to promote closer ties to the Asia-Pacific region.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende says the Scandinavian country is a major contributor to global development efforts and wants to be among the countries in "refining the structure and mission" of the bank.
Brende said Tuesday that the Chinese-led bank, which has attracted interest from dozens of governments despite U.S. objections, "highlights the increasing weight of ... new and emerging powers."
Relations between Norway and China have remained frozen since jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.