MSNBC: In Seoul, Obama will say US can reduce its nuclear stockpile
President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at Hankuk University in Seoul, Monday, and early reports indicate he will say that the United States could further reduce its nuclear stockpile while keeping promises to international partners, Reuters reported.
The Washington Post reported the president will speak out against the spread of nuclear weapons in light of North Korea’s plan to launch a satellite with a long-range rocket next month.
A White House official told Reuters that the president will discuss also arms control with Russia.
"He will reaffirm his commitment to reduce America's nuclear weapons and the role they play in our national security strategy," the official told Reuters. He will commit to a "new framework for civil nuclear cooperation that allows nations to tap the energy we seek without pursuing a fuel cycle that endlessly produces more nuclear materials,” the official said.
AP: US could bring hate charge in Fla. teen shooting
The U.S. Justice Department could bring a hate crime charge against the shooter in the killing of black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin if there is sufficient evidence the slaying was motivated by racial bias and not simply a fight that spiraled out of control, legal experts and former prosecutors say.
So far, only one such clue has surfaced publicly against 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 in the central Florida town of Sanford. On one of his 911 calls to police that night, Zimmerman muttered something under his breath that some listeners say sounds like a racial slur. Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic.
"It sounds pretty obvious to me," said Donald Tibbs, a Drexel University law professor who has closely studied race, civil rights and criminal procedure. "If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime."
Others, however, say the recording is not clear enough to determine what Zimmerman actually said. And many experts say more evidence would be needed that he harbored racial prejudice against black people and went after Martin for that reason alone. There had previously been burglaries in the complex committed by young black males, possibly heightening Zimmerman's suspicions when he spotted Martin.
MSNBC: Witness: Zimmerman 'never ... tried to help' Trayvon Martin
A woman who says she and her roommate witnessed the final moments of Trayvon Martin's life told Dateline NBC that George Zimmerman had "his hands pressed on his back" and "never turned him over or tried to help him."
Zimmerman's lawyer, when shown part of the interview being aired Sunday night on Dateline, emphasized that his client would be claiming self-defense.
"I think there were efforts made to render aid to Trayvon," Craig Sonner told NBC's TODAY show.
Mary Cutcher told Dateline that she and her roommate both saw Zimmerman "straddling the body, basically a foot on both sides of Trayvon's body, and his hands pressed on his back."
CNN: In Afghan killings, victim No. 17 remains unknown
As the U.S. military pursues charges against the Army sergeant accused of killing Afghan civilians in what commanders say was a freelance rampage, a new question has arisen: Who was victim No. 17?
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has been charged with 17 counts of murder "with premeditation" in the March 11 slayings in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. But Afghan authorities have said there were 16 people killed in the Panjwai killings.
Sunday, two Afghan provincial council members said the United States has paid the victims' families a total of $860,000 -- $10,000 for each of the six wounded survivors, and $50,000 apiece for the 16 dead.
Afghan government officials in Kabul have said they have no record of another death. A U.S. official confirmed that a payment had been made on Saturday -- but the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation, said he could not comment on the figure involved.
CNN: Obama: North Korea will achieve nothing with provocation
President Barack Obama warned North Korea Sunday that if it moves forward with a planned test-firing of a long-range missile, it will further deepen its isolation, damage relations with its neighbors and face additional sanctions that have already strangled the country.
"North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations," Obama said during a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, on the eve of an international nuclear security summit.
"North Korea knows its obligation."
Obama's strong words follow last week's announcement by North Korea that it is planning to carry out a rocket-powered satellite launch in April.
CNN: Mississippi State president: Student's shooting believed 'isolated incident'
The shooting death of a 21-year-old Mississippi State University student in a campus dorm room is thought to be an "isolated incident," and there is no indication others are endangered, the school's president said Sunday.
Campus police were notified about 10 p.m. Saturday of an incident in Evans Hall, a dorm for male students on the northwest side of the campus, Mark Keenum said Sunday.
John Sanderson, of Madison, Mississippi, was found with "what appeared to be serious injuries" in the dorm. He was transported to a nearby hospital, but "unfortunately could not be saved," Keenum said.
Bill Kibler, vice president for student affairs at the Starkville, Mississippi, school, said Saturday the victim was shot more than once. Three men who did not appear to be university students were seen fleeing in a blue sedan, he said.
BBC: Toulouse killings: Mohamed Merah brother charged
The brother of the man who killed seven people in south-west France in recent weeks has been charged over the murders, judicial sources say.
Abdelkader Merah, 29, is suspected of complicity in murder and theft, and involvement in terrorism. He will be kept in custody, prosecutors said.
Abdelkader Merah denies the accusations but says he was there when his brother stole a scooter used in the attacks.
He also denies being proud of his brother, who was killed on Thursday.
BBC: Pope Benedict XVI condemns Mexico's drug violence
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned drug-trafficking and corruption at a huge open-air Mass in central Mexico.
He urged Catholics to look to their faith in response to poverty and crime and to reject violence and revenge.
More than 500,000 people gathered to hear his message beside the Christ the King monument in Silao - one of the most important symbols of Mexican Catholicism.
Pope Benedict was on his first visit to the Latin American country.
MSNBC: March has meant 6,000 weather records broken
In a typical March, particularly in the nation's northern tier, you may see, perhaps, one or perhaps two days of record warmth before a sharp cold front brings that spring tease to a screeching halt. Not so in March 2012.
When considering monthly record highs, meaning the warmest temperature on record for the month of March, according to NCDC, there have been 430 such monthly record highs tied or broken!
International Falls, Minn., self-promoted as the "Icebox of the Nation", tied or broke daily record highs 12 of 13 days from Mar. 10-22. This includes a 79-degree reading on March 18, which was the warmest day ever recorded during March in International Falls.
Chicago, Ill., tied or set new daily record highs nine days in a row from March 14-22! In this streak, eight of the days were in the 80s, including an astounding 87-degree high on March 21. The National Weather Service in Chicago recently called the warm spell "historic" and something that is unlikely to be matched in our lifetime.
Reuters: Magnitude 7.2 quake hits central Chile
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit central Chile on Sunday, 64 miles (103 kim) west north west of the town of Talca, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake was at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km).
Magnitude 7.0 quakes or greater are capable of causing widespread and heavy damage.
BBC: Senegal's Wade admits presidential election loss
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade has admitted defeat in a run-off election to his rival Macky Sall, reports say.
The president conceded in a telephone call to the former prime minister.
Mr Wade, 85, was seeking a third term in office, after arguing that a new two-term limit should not apply retrospectively to him.
Mr Sall, 50, said his victory marked a "new era" for the West African nation, speaking in front of thousands of cheering supporters in Dakar.