OUSTED IRS CHIEF REGRETS TREATMENT OF TEA PARTY
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized to Congress on Friday for his agency's tougher treatment of tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said they resulted from a misguided effort to handle a flood of applications, not political bias.
 
"I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided," Steven Miller, who has been acting IRS commissioner, told the House Ways and Means Committee as the panel held Congress' first hearing on the episode. "The affected organizations and the American public deserve better. Partisanship and even the perception of partisanship have no place at the Internal Revenue Service."
 
At a hearing that saw lawmakers from both parties harshly criticize his agency, Miller conceded that "foolish mistakes were made" by IRS officials trying to handle a flood of groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said the process that resulted in conservatives being targeted, "while intolerable, was a mistake and not an act of partisanship."
 
Though Miller and another top IRS official are stepping down, the chairman of the committee said that would not be enough.
 
FORMER LAWYER SAYS OJ SIMPSON KNEW ABOUT GUNS
 
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The lawyer who defended O.J. Simpson on armed robbery charges delivered a potentially heavy blow to the former football star's bid for a new trial Friday, testifying that Simpson knew his buddies had guns on them when he went to a hotel room to reclaim some sports memorabilia.
 
Miami attorney Yale Galanter took the stand in a frequently combative hearing over Simpson's claim that he was so badly represented by Galanter that his conviction should be thrown out. Point by point, Galanter contradicted much of own former client's testimony and defended his handling of the case.
 
Galanter said Simpson confided to him that he had asked two men to bring guns to the hotel room confrontation with two memorabilia dealers in 2007 and "he knew he screwed up."
 
The attorney denied giving Simpson the go-ahead to try to retrieve the items, which included photos and signed footballs that Simpson believed had been stolen from him. He said he advised Simpson not to take matters into his own hands.
 
And Galanter disputed Simpson's claim that Galanter never told him about plea bargain discussions with prosecutors that could have resulted in a prison sentence of just a few years.
 
Simpson, 65, was convicted in 2008 of kidnapping and armed robbery over the hotel room episode and was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. He and his new lawyers, Patricia Palm and Ozzie Fumo, allege Galanter botched the trial. District Judge Linda Marie Bell has not indicated when she will rule on the request for a new trial.
 
INDONESIA EXTENDS FOREST-CLEARING BAN FOR 2 YEARS
 
JAKARTA, Indoesia (AP) -- Indonesia has approved a two-year extension to a landmark ban on clearing primary rainforests and peatlands, officials said Thursday. Environmentalists praised the move but said the government must do more to curb the nation's burgeoning production of greenhouse gases.
 
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the decree on Monday to continue the 2011 moratorium, which barred new logging and palm oil plantation permits under a $1 billion deal with Norway, said his environment adviser, Pungki Agus Purnomo.
 
He said the ban will preserve 64 million hectares (158 million acres) until 2015. It will not affect areas where concessions were granted before the moratorium.
 
Environmentalists hailed the extension while also urging leaders to better enforce the law. They say some protected areas continue to be exploited because of corruption and illegal fires and logging.
 
Indonesia's largest environmental group, Walhi, said the government must also work to stop logging permits from being issued at the local level.
 

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OBAMA PROMISES ACTION ON A TRIO OF CONTROVERSIES
 
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama tried to defuse a trio of controversies Thursday, pledging to work with Congress to ensure the IRS doesn't abuse its power, urging legislators to provide more money to strengthen security at U.S. diplomatic outposts and promising to seek "a balance" between national security and a need to protect freedom of the press.
 
"I think we're going to be able to fix it," Obama said, speaking in particular of the IRS' targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny. He vowed to make sure the agency is "doing its job scrupulously and without even a hint of bias."
 
Trying to steer clear of Republican criticism of the administration's response to the terror attacks that killed four Americans last year in Benghazi, Libya, the president called on Congress to work with the White House to provide more money to strengthen U.S. diplomatic missions' security.
 
"We need to come together and truly honor the sacrifice of those four courageous Americans and better secure our diplomatic posts around the world," Obama said. "That's how we learn the lessons of Benghazi. That's how we keep faith with the men and women who we send overseas to represent America."
 
Obama also was asked about the government's seizure of telephone records of reporters and editors of The Associated Press in an investigation of news leaks. The president said he would not comment on that specific case but said that "leaks related to national security can put people at risk." At the same time, he said, the government has an obligation to be open. He said the challenge was to find an appropriate balance between secrecy and the right to know.
 
GOOGLE'S PRODUCTS DIG DEEPER INTO PEOPLE'S LIVES
 
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- For Google CEO Larry Page, happiness is a warm computer.
 
"Technology should do the hard work so people can get on doing the things that make them happiest in life," Page told a crowd of 6,000 software developers and entrepreneurs who flocked to San Francisco Wednesday for the opening day of Google's annual showcase for its latest breakthroughs.
 
In the latest display of its technological prowess and sweeping ambition, Google is rolling out another wave of products and services that will test how much more people want computers to control their lives and enhance their perceptions of reality.
 
This year's event mostly consisted of upgrades to existing Google services that have already become daily habits for millions of people - one of Page's main goals. The new features assume most people want more help managing their lives from Google's brainy engineers and the sprawling data centers that house its millions of computers around the world.
 
A virtual assistant called Google Now will now be able to deliver reminders to pick up the milk when a person is in a grocery store or call certain friends when visiting certain cities. Google Now also has been programmed to understand more spoken questions so it can be even more helpful. The technology is being expanded to work on Chrome Web browsers so it can be accessed on personal computers, extending its reach beyond smartphones and tablets. With the wider availability, the Google Now technology is likely to be used more frequently, enabling Google's engineers to gain an even better understanding of human behavior. In turn, they can deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to do a better job of anticipating users' needs.
 
Google Plus, the company's social networking answer to Facebook, is getting a facelift. The new look will include several automated features that promise to figure out appropriate hash tags for each post on the service and identify the best photos uploaded by individual users. What's more, Google Plus will offer to automatically touch up photos so users won't have to bother. The alterations will include red-eye removal, the smoothing of wrinkles, and sharpening of landscapes.
 
All of Google Plus' automated tools can be turned off.
 
Contrary to speculation leading up to the conference, Google didn't unveil the next generation of a mini-tablet called the Nexus 7 that sells for $199.
 
In his talk, Page hinted that Google prefers taking big risks rather than releasing incremental upgrades. "We should be building great things that don't exist," he said.
 
POWERBALL JACKPOT QUICKLY JUMPS TO $550 MILLION
 
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The Powerball jackpot has jumped to $550 million, a major climb less than a day after the latest drawing produced no winning ticket.
 
The announcement Thursday by the Multi-State Lottery Association means ticket sales have soared as the frenzy grows for a chance to win the big prize.
 
Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, says the latest jackpot number has the potential to break the record for largest jump between drawings. That still belongs to a Powerball jackpot in November 2012, when the jackpot jumped $260 million to reach the all-time Powerball jackpot record of $587.5 million.
 
The latest jackpot has climbed nearly $200 million since Wednesday's drawing, which was an estimated $360 million.
 
The new jackpot has a $350.1 million cash option. The next drawing is scheduled for Saturday.
 

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OBAMA PROMISES ACTION ON A TRIO OF CONTROVERSIES
 
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama tried to defuse a trio of controversies Thursday, pledging to work with Congress to ensure the IRS doesn't abuse its power, urging legislators to provide more money to strengthen security at U.S. diplomatic outposts and promising to seek "a balance" between national security and a need to protect freedom of the press.
 
"I think we're going to be able to fix it," Obama said, speaking in particular of the IRS' targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny. He vowed to make sure the agency is "doing its job scrupulously and without even a hint of bias."
 
Trying to steer clear of Republican criticism of the administration's response to the terror attacks that killed four Americans last year in Benghazi, Libya, the president called on Congress to work with the White House to provide more money to strengthen U.S. diplomatic missions' security.
 
"We need to come together and truly honor the sacrifice of those four courageous Americans and better secure our diplomatic posts around the world," Obama said. "That's how we learn the lessons of Benghazi. That's how we keep faith with the men and women who we send overseas to represent America."
 
Obama also was asked about the government's seizure of telephone records of reporters and editors of The Associated Press in an investigation of news leaks. The president said he would not comment on that specific case but said that "leaks related to national security can put people at risk." At the same time, he said, the government has an obligation to be open. He said the challenge was to find an appropriate balance between secrecy and the right to know.
 
GOOGLE'S PRODUCTS DIG DEEPER INTO PEOPLE'S LIVES
 
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- For Google CEO Larry Page, happiness is a warm computer.
 
"Technology should do the hard work so people can get on doing the things that make them happiest in life," Page told a crowd of 6,000 software developers and entrepreneurs who flocked to San Francisco Wednesday for the opening day of Google's annual showcase for its latest breakthroughs.
 
In the latest display of its technological prowess and sweeping ambition, Google is rolling out another wave of products and services that will test how much more people want computers to control their lives and enhance their perceptions of reality.
 
This year's event mostly consisted of upgrades to existing Google services that have already become daily habits for millions of people - one of Page's main goals. The new features assume most people want more help managing their lives from Google's brainy engineers and the sprawling data centers that house its millions of computers around the world.
 
A virtual assistant called Google Now will now be able to deliver reminders to pick up the milk when a person is in a grocery store or call certain friends when visiting certain cities. Google Now also has been programmed to understand more spoken questions so it can be even more helpful. The technology is being expanded to work on Chrome Web browsers so it can be accessed on personal computers, extending its reach beyond smartphones and tablets. With the wider availability, the Google Now technology is likely to be used more frequently, enabling Google's engineers to gain an even better understanding of human behavior. In turn, they can deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to do a better job of anticipating users' needs.
 
Google Plus, the company's social networking answer to Facebook, is getting a facelift. The new look will include several automated features that promise to figure out appropriate hash tags for each post on the service and identify the best photos uploaded by individual users. What's more, Google Plus will offer to automatically touch up photos so users won't have to bother. The alterations will include red-eye removal, the smoothing of wrinkles, and sharpening of landscapes.
 
All of Google Plus' automated tools can be turned off.
 
Contrary to speculation leading up to the conference, Google didn't unveil the next generation of a mini-tablet called the Nexus 7 that sells for $199.
 
In his talk, Page hinted that Google prefers taking big risks rather than releasing incremental upgrades. "We should be building great things that don't exist," he said.
 
POWERBALL JACKPOT QUICKLY JUMPS TO $550 MILLION
 
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The Powerball jackpot has jumped to $550 million, a major climb less than a day after the latest drawing produced no winning ticket.
 
The announcement Thursday by the Multi-State Lottery Association means ticket sales have soared as the frenzy grows for a chance to win the big prize.
 
Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, says the latest jackpot number has the potential to break the record for largest jump between drawings. That still belongs to a Powerball jackpot in November 2012, when the jackpot jumped $260 million to reach the all-time Powerball jackpot record of $587.5 million.
 
The latest jackpot has climbed nearly $200 million since Wednesday's drawing, which was an estimated $360 million.
 
The new jackpot has a $350.1 million cash option. The next drawing is scheduled for Saturday.
 

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GOOGLE BOOSTS PHOTO OFFERINGS TO RIVAL FACEBOOK
 
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google is digging deeper into its technology toolkit to turn its social networking service into a more formidable threat to Facebook, sprucing up its photo features at a time when sharing snapshots online and on mobile gadgets is growing more popular.
 
Many of the 41 new features being added to Google Plus beginning Wednesday will draw upon the computing power, machine learning, algorithms, semantics analysis and other innovations that established Google's search engine as the most influential force on the Internet.
 
"All of these features collectively put more of `the Google' into Google Plus," said Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of engineering, in an interview. "This will give people a powerful reason to come to Google Plus."
 
But the most compelling new attraction may be a new photo-management tool that promises to test how much control people want to cede to computers. It will also further blur the lines between a real moment in time and augmented reality.
 
Google promises the feature will pick out the best shots from a wide assortment of photos. The automatic photo selection is done by calling upon Google's knowledge of the elements that make up a visually pleasing picture, coupled with facial recognition technology and a vast database that helps tie together the relationships of people appearing in a photo. Google says its computers will recognize the best photos featuring family members or close friends of a person who uploads a bunch of pictures to Plus.
 
LAWYER: OHIO KIDNAP SUSPECT WILL PLEAD NOT GUILTY
 
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The defense team for the Cleveland man accused of keeping three women in captivity for about a decade says the suspect will plead not guilty and questions if he can receive a fair trial anywhere.
 
Craig Weintraub told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and a fellow defense attorney will struggle with the issue of where suspect Ariel Castro might receive a fair trial.
 
Weintraub said Castro is despondent in his jail cell but thinks people believe he's got it too good under the circumstances.
 
Weintraub said his client loves his 6-year-old daughter born to one of the alleged kidnap victims, and said Castro's affection for the girl may seem irrational to some.
 
Castro's defense comments were first reported by WKYC-TV.
 
WIGS? A MAP? STRANGE STUFF IN ALLEGED US SPY KIT
 
MOSCOW (AP) -- A couple of wigs, sunglasses and a compass? Really?
 
Some of the items Russian authorities say they seized from a U.S. diplomat who they accuse of spying look like they came from Austin Powers' arsenal rather than James Bond's.
 
But while the old-fashioned items might seem clownish or reminiscent of Cold War intrigues, they could in some ways be more useful than many modern gadgets, experts say.
 
Bob Ayers, a former U.S. intelligence officer, said disguises and cash drops have long been staples of the spy world, but cautioned that even an old mobile phone could undo an effort to get off the grid using a compass and map. He added: "You can't assume that every agent always acts in a rational way."
 
Russia on Tuesday ordered U.S. diplomat Ryan Fogle to leave the country after the security services claimed to have caught him red-handed trying to recruit a Russian agent in Moscow. The FSB, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy, worked for the CIA.
 
In the footage aired Wednesday, a man sitting in near darkness who was identified only as an FSB operative said a "CIA operative" was expelled in January. He said the FSB then asked its U.S. counterparts to halt this "disturbing activity."
 
The man also claimed the Russians had been shadowing Fogle since he began his Moscow posting in 2011.
 
There was no immediate way for The Associated Press to confirm that the person in the video was indeed an FSB operative.
 
The U.S. Embassy had no comment on the video.
 

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