Silvio Berlusconi, who during the 17 years since he was first elected prime minister has been accused of tax fraud, mafia collusion, bribery of law-enforcement officials, and solicitation of an underage prostitute, stepped down after Italyâ??s parliament passed austerity measures seeking to contain the impact of the countryâ??s $2.6 trillion debt, which he had been denying was a problem. Italians shouted “Fool! Fool!” outside Quirinale Palace, where Berlusconi submitted his resignation, while a makeshift orchestra played the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handelâ??s “Messiah.” “He leaves an Italy that is more poor,” said Democratic Party politician Livia Turco, “and was made a joke by everyone.” Economist Mario Monti was named interim prime minister.Los Angeles TimesNew York TimesNew York TimesWashington PostThe architect of Arizona’s stringent immigration law, state senator Russell Pearce (R.), was recalled in a special election, following a year in which he drafted a plan to compel medical personnel to investigate the immigration status of patients and argued that the citizenship of people born in Arizona to an illegal alien should be stripped. “I agree that we canâ??t have everyone from the Third World coming here,” said one former Pearce supporter, “but it began to feel like he hated these people.”New York TimesMississippians rejected a measure to ban abortion and many forms of contraception, Mainers elected to restore same-day voter registration, and Ohioans rejected a proposal to weaken the collective-bargaining rights of public employees. A poll worker in Cleveland was arrested for biting a voter on the nose.New York TimesAP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The athletic director and a vice president of Penn State University were charged with perjury and failure to report allegations that former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting boys heâ??d met through his Second Mile foundation for at-risk youth. The university’s president was fired, as was head coach Joe Paterno, which led thousands of students to riot. “My friends were like, â??I donâ??t want to get Maced,â??” said one freshman. “I was like, â??I donâ??t want to miss seeing this, so I guess that means I do kind of want to get Maced.â??” Moodyâ??s began a review of the universityâ??s bond rating, the Penn State Creamery stopped promoting its banana-flavored Sandusky Blitz, and two cinder blocks were thrown through a window of Sanduskyâ??s house, which is located next to an elementary school.Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewESPNTwin Cities Pioneer PressNew York TimesLost LettermenPhiladelphia InquirerFinancial TimesA Florida man was arrested after assaulting his wife with two televisions because he grew jealous while she kissed another woman during a threesome heâ??d requested, and Russian police said they had arrested a “necropolis specialist” who had dug up as many as 29 mummified women, dressed them up as dolls, and placed them throughout his home as decorations.Naples NewsRIA NovostiNearly half of American middle- and high school students reported being sexually harassed in the past year.New York TimesIn Mexico, a ten-year-old girl gave birth.New York Daily News
“Family Circus” cartoonist Bil Keane died at 89, former “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney died at 92, and former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier died at 67.Associated PressNew York TimesNew York TimesPolice in Vermont, citing safety concerns, evicted Occupy Burlington demonstrators from their campsite after one protester shot himself in the head; police in Oregon arrested more than 50 people while evicting Occupy Portland; and police in California arrested 32 while evicting Occupy Oakland. Required by authorities to choose a leader for administrative purposes, Occupy Denver elected Shelby, a border collieâ??cattle dog cross. “Are you the new leader?” asked her bodyguard. “Are you, girl? Are you?”Burlington Free PressReutersAP via Globe and MailDenver WestwordThe Western black rhino was declared extinct.Seattle Post-IntelligencerA federal judge ruled that tobacco companies can ignore new laws that require graphic images to be printed on cigarette packs.ReutersThe producers of “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1” acknowledged that title sheets included with more than 100,000 copies of the film mischaracterized the book on which it is based, and made available a new sheet replacing the statement “Ayn Randâ??s timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life” with “Ayn Randâ??s timeless novel of rational self-interest comes to life.”Washington TimesNews Limited awarded its Scoop of the Year prize to a reporter from Papua New Guinea who was allowed to embed with militants only after letting them circumcise him.TelegraphApple started giving its managers union-awareness training, one of John Lennonâ??s molars sold at auction for $31,200, and researchers determined that the propensity to eat fast food increases with income.The RegisterRolling StoneLos Angeles TimesAn Air Force mortuary in Delaware admitted that for several years it laid to rest some remains of fallen troops in a Virginia landfill, and six men simulating the isolation of a mission to Mars emerged after 520 days in a windowless capsule. “I served in the army,â??â?? said crew member Alexandr Smoleevskiy of Russia. â??â??After living through that, you can live through any experiment.â??â??Washington PostSydney Morning Herald
