CAMPUS BRIEF Student Government online voting extended
Online polls for the Student Government election will close at 6 p.m. today, an hour later than originally planned, according to Board of Elections Chair Amy McConnel.
McConnel said she made the decision to extend voting after a technical error Wednesday delayed the polls' opening by one hour. Students and candidates reported the error to McConnel and SG Secretary Cait Douglas when they discovered the my.american.edu voting system was not functional, McConnel said.
"This morning what happened is the link that's on the front of my.american when students log in was just linking back to my.american instead of the ballot," she said.
The SG worked with the Office of Information Technology to get the ballot back online within an hour, McConnel said.
"Fortunately, it was pretty mild," she said. "It was not a pleasant thing to wake up to."
The Board of Elections will announce the election results in MGC 200 tonight at 10 p.m., according to McConnel. -ALLIE FERAS
METRO BRIEF Jailed former Prince George's County official found with handcuff key
Officials at a Prince George's County, Md., jail discovered last week that the incarcerated former deputy director of the county's homeland security department was in possession of a universal handcuff key and had a clear intention of escaping, The Washington Post reported yesterday.
Prosecutors filed papers early this week that described defendant Keith A. Washington as a flight risk. Washington is currently awaiting sentencing for his conviction over the fatal shooting of one deliveryman and the wounding of another. A jail spokeswoman said Tuesday that officials were still investigating how Washington got the key, according to The Post.
Correctional officers discovered the key after Washington refused to give up his jail-issued shirt during a strip search. The key was hidden in the shirt's front pocket, jail officials told The Post.
Washington, a former police officer, had his police powers suspended in April after the shooting occurred. He quit the county's homeland security department shortly thereafter and retired completely only a few months ago.
A jury convicted Washington of involuntary manslaughter Feb. 25 and other charges. He is scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing April 23, according to The Post.
-CHRISTOPHER COTTRELL
NATIONAL BRIEF McCain clinches nomination with 4-state win
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., secured his party's nomination for president Tuesday after claiming landslide victories in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont, The Washington Post reported.
By the end of the night, McCain had more than the 1,191 delegates required to clinch the nomination, according to The Post.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, McCain's main opponent in the primary, conceded shortly after the Texas polls closed and it became clear McCain had won, The Post reported.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., ended Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's 12-contest winning streak with victories in Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas. Obama won Vermont's primary.
The results of the Texas Democratic caucus, which determines 67 of the state's 126 pledged delegates, were still not completely counted last night. Obama had 56 percent of the caucus votes as of press time, according to The Post.
-C.C.
INTERNATIONAL BRIEF German soldiers are packing on the kilos
German soldiers are too fat and often smoke too much, Focus, a German news magazine, reported Tuesday.
An annual parliamentary report from German military commissioner Reinhold Robbe on the state of the nation's armed forces indicated that 40 percent of military personnel are overweight and 8.5 percent are obese. The report noted the trend was less of a problem within the civilian population - only 35 percent of whom are overweight, according to Focus.
Robbe said his investigation of soldiers' physical capabilities stirred "downright shocking results," according to Focus. He blamed the conditions on a lack of exercise and awareness of healthy eating habits among soldiers. He called upon defense minister Franz Josef Jung to intervene in the situation, Focus reported.
The German military allocates 26 million euros every year to "promote elite sportsmen and women," according to Focus. The problem, Robbe said, was that the money did not translate into general physical fitness.
-C.C.
