Breaking Hard

A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted Johnny from the Mill on six charges of violating campaign finance law for accepting large campaign donations and using them to keep his alien girlfriend baby-mama Rielle Hunter living in style.

But the trial should be a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and pundits and late night comedians rejoice.

Stinquer Benedick weeps.

[NYT]

A Libyan woman burst into a Tripoli hotel filled with foreign journalists, saying she had escaped from where she had been tortured by Kaddhafi’s soldiers for more than two days. Security and hotel staff tussled with her and reporters for more than an hour, before she was ultimately dragged away and put in a car. The British reporter from the Financial Times (the man in the light blue oxford shirt who is seen trying to protect her and who attempted to get between her and the car) was deported after the incident, according to the New York Times. She told the reporters her name is Eman al-Obeidy, showed them bruises on her face and body, scratches on her body, rope burns at her ankles and wrists, and blood on her inner thighs, and said that more than 15 soldiers had raped her, and urinated and defecated on her. A spokesperson for the Libyan government initially said al-Obeidy was drunk and mentally ill, and that she is back in jail.

[ MSNBC Flash video not available. ]

UPDATE: More details and raw video from the NYT reporter at the scene. UK’s Channel 4 coverage. Video from Reuters of the spokesman saying “she was drunk” and being mocked by reporters after the jump.

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Developing Story….

Pro-Mubarak groups are fighting with protesters calling for his ouster. Mubarak forces riding horses and camels are attacking people in Tahrir Square.  Shit is getting ugly.

Nicholas Kristof of the NYT: “It’s not quite right to describe what’s happening in #Tahrir as “clashes.” These are attacks by #Mubarak thugs.” and “It’s odd that Mubarak despises Iran. In fact, he’s precisely copied the Iranian model to crush pro-democracy protests.”

Updates in the comments, I’ll try to add video and images as they come in.

Al-Jazeera

Nick Kristof on Twitter

Beeb

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Egyptian President Mubarak has ordered a curfew across Egypt tonight, after protesters battled police across the country.  Protesters show no sign of letting up, despite police attacking them with tear gas and rubber bullets. Opposition leader and former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei is under house arrest.

The country took the unprecedented step of shutting down Internet Service Providers and cell phone service, but news is still getting out.  Egypt’s Al-Masry Al-Youm is getting live coverage out.  Al-Jazeera also has coverage, and is reporting that there are protests in Jordan against the ruling government. The Beeb is saying that one of its reporters was arrested, had his camera taken from him, and was beaten by police forces, that thousands of protesters have been arrested and at least eight people are dead.

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