LONDON -- The chief of a prestigious British research center caught in a storm of controversy over claims that he and others suppressed data about climate change has stepped down pending an investigation, the University of East Anglia said Tuesday.
The university said in a statement that Phil Jones, whose e-mails were among the thousands of pieces of correspondence leaked to the Internet late last month, would relinquish his position as director of Climatic Research Unit until the completion of an independent review.
Jones has been accused by skeptics of man-made climate change of manipulating data to support his research. In particular, many have pointed to a leaked e-mail in which Jones writes that he had used a "trick" to "hide the decline" in a chart detailing recent global temperatures. Jones has denied manipulating evidence and insisted his comment had been misunderstood, explaining that he'd used the word trick "as in a clever thing to do."
Atlanta mayoral race calls on race
ATLANTA -- The two candidates vying to become the city's next mayor hoped to grab a critical mass of racial crossover votes Tuesday, with victory likely hinging on black-versus-white turnout.
Mary Norwood, a white city councilwoman, and Kasim Reed, a black former state senator, waged a hard-fought battle across the city and over the airwaves in the month leading up to the runoff election. Norwood could become Atlanta's first white mayor in a generation.
With 59 percent of the precincts reporting at about 10:15 p.m., Reed held a 53 percent to 47 percent lead.
The city's changing racial demographics could affect the outcome. In 2000, Atlanta was 33 percent white and 61 percent black. In 2007, the numbers were 38 percent white and 57 percent black, according to the U.S. Census.
Judge: Mistrial for 'Junior' Gotti
NEW YORK -- A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the racketeering trial of John "Junior" Gotti after a jury failed to reach a verdict against the son of the notorious Gambino crime family mob boss -- the case's fourth hung jury in five years.
The anonymous jurors deliberated 11 days before notifying the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked over racketeering conspiracy and murder charges. Prosecutors accused Gotti of ordering gangland hits to settle scores and of secretly pocketing drug money despite insisting he'd gone straight.
U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel freed Gotti -- behind bars for more than a year -- on $2 million bond while the government decides whether to seek a fifth trial.
Newpaper execs gather in India
HYDERABAD, India -- Newspaper executives and editors gathered in India from around the world Tuesday heard calls to seek more payment for their content on the Internet as they decried their industry's sharply falling advertising revenues.
"This is a critical moment in our industry. ... If we don't dare to take these first steps, no one else will," said Andreas Wiele, board member and president of BILD Division and Magazines Axel Springer AG Germany.
The World Newspaper Congress in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad was attended by senior media executives including Les Hinton, the chief executive officer of Dow Jones Co.; David Drummond, senior vice president and chief legal counsel of Google Inc.; and Antoine Vernholes, the international director of the French sports daily L'Equipe.
Man cries thief to avoid wife
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- A Panama City Beach man reportedly admitted to deputies that he lied about being robbed so he wouldn't have to tell his wife that he spent the money. The Bay County Sheriff's Office reported that a 30-year-old man was arrested and charged Friday with making a false report.
According to a report, the man called 911 from a Panama City Beach store and claimed that he was getting into his car when a man dressed in black hit him and took $100 in cash. But the store's surveillance video showed the man walk out of the store, sit in his car for a short time and then go back inside to use the phone.
After deputies showed the man the video, he acknowledged that he hadn't actually been robbed.
The man was released from jail Saturday on $750 bail.
-- From wire reports
