Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts

The masked gunman who killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., was identified today as Jacob Tyler Roberts.

Roberts, 22, was armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told a news conference today. He was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as previously reported.

Earlier today the sheriff told "Good Morning America" the gunman was intent on killing "as many people as possible."

"At this time we do not understand the motive of this attack except to say no apparent relationship between suspect and victims," the sheriff said at the news conference.

The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask and black clothing, tore through the mall just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's store and heading to the food court and public areas spraying bullets, according to witness reports.

"We have been able to identify the shooter over this last night," Roberts said. "I believe, at least from the information that's been provided to me at this point in time, it really was a killing of total strangers. To my knowledge at this point in time he was really trying, I think, to kill as many people as possible."

Police said today that Roberts had stolen the gun from someone he knew, and was equipped with a load bearing vest and "several" fully loaded magazines. Police are still trying to determine how many shots were fired.

Roberts, who attended Clackamas Community college, said on his Facebook page that he worked in a gyro shop in downtown Portland and posted a picture of himself firing a gun at a target. His Facebook photo showed graffiti in which the words "Follow Your Dreams" were painted over with the word "Cancelled."

School officials at Milwaukie High School, where Roberts attended from 2004 to 2007, describe him as an "average student with average grades." He had no disciplinary record at the school, but transferred his senior year to Oregon City High School, according to Joe Krumm, an administrator at the North Clackamas School District. Krumm did not know why he transferred, and said that in all, Roberts did not stand out in memory for anything in particular.

His shooting victims were identified as Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45.

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Yuille's family released a statement today calling Yuille a "wonderful person."

"Cindy was everybody's friend, she was a wonderful person, she was very caring and put others first," the family said, noting that they needed time to grieve their loss.

Forsyth, who owned a business at the mall, was described as a married father of two.

"Steve was one of most passionate people, with an entrepenurial spirit that led him to start his business," the family said in a statement. They said he had a "zest for life, a vision and belief in others that brought great joy.."

A third shooting victim, Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was taken to a hospital and has undergone an initial surgery, according to a Facebook page set up by her family members. Family members said she was hit in the back, and a bullet bruised her lung but avoided piercing any major organs.

PHOTOS: Oregon Mall Shooting

Police said today that Roberts parked his car outside of the Macy's department store, entered the mall on the second floor, and then "moved quickly" toward the food court, firing shots. Yuille and Forsyth were hit by bullets near the food court, police said. Other shoppers provided medical aid to the victims.

Roberts' gun jammed briefly while shooting at the food court, but he was quickly able to resume shooting, police said.

Roberts then ran down a hallway and a flight of stairs to the first floor of the mall, near an REI store, where he apparently shot himself, police said.

Shevchenko was hit on the second floor but made it outside to the first floor, where she met police and was taken to the hospital, police said.

Investigators searched Roberts' home and car in the wake of the shooting, but did not disclose what they found. They confirmed that his fingerprints matched prints in a law enforcement database, though they did not find any crimes he was convicted of.

Sheriff Craig Roberts said that he believed that the gun jamming, in addition to the quick response of mall employees to enact lockdown procedures, prevented more individuals from being shot and killed during the spree.

The sheriff said that the first calls of gunshots came in at 3:29 p.m. and the first police officers to respond arrived a minute later at 3:30 p.m.

"Officers initiated an active shooter protocol, a technique we train with, and equipped each of our officers to move to immediately engage the threat wherever it might be. We were well prepared for this incident. We had practiced active shooter techniques at Clackamas Town Center earlier this year. We had practiced for just this type of situation," the sheriff said.

Witnesses from the shooting rampage said that the gunman ran through the upper level of Macy's to the mall food court, firing multiple shots, one right after the other.

By 4:40 p.m., police reported finding a group of people hiding in a storeroom. In a surreal moment, even the mall Santa was seen running for his life.

"I didn't know where the gunman was, so I decided to kind of eased my way out," said the mall Santa, who the AP identified as 68-year-old Brance Wilson.

Cell phone video shot at the scene shows the chaos soon after the shooting. When police arrived they were met head on by terrified shoppers, children and employees streaming out. Customers, even a little girl, were being lead out with their hands up.

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North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents.

The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States.

"The satellite has entered the planned orbit," a North Korean television news reader clad in traditional Korean garb announced, after which the station played patriotic songs with the lyrics "Chosun (Korea) does what it says".

The rocket was launched just before 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), according to defense officials in South Korea and Japan, and was more successful than a rocket launched in April that flew for less than two minutes.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canadian military organization, said that the missile had "deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit".

North Korea followed what it said was a similar successful launch in 2009 with a nuclear test that prompted the U.N. Security Council to stiffen sanctions that it originally imposed in 2006 after the North's first nuclear test.

North Korea is banned from developing nuclear and missile-related technology under U.N. resolutions, although Kim Jong-un, the youthful head of state who took power a year ago, is believed to have continued the state's "military first" programs put in place by his late father, Kim Jong-il.

North Korea hailed the launch as celebrating the prowess of all three members of the Kim family to rule since it was founded in 1948.

"At a time when great yearnings and reverence for Kim Jong-il pervade the whole country, its scientists and technicians brilliantly carried out his behests to launch a scientific and technological satellite in 2012, the year marking the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung," its KCNA news agency said. Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather, was North Korea's first leader.

The United States condemned the launch as "provocative" and a breach of U.N. rules, while Japan's U.N. envoy called for a Security Council meeting. However, diplomats say further tough sanctions are unlikely from the Security Council as China, the North's only major ally, will oppose them.

"The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences," the White House said in a statement.

U.S. intelligence has linked North Korea with missile shipments to Iran. Newspapers in Japan and South Korea have reported that Iranian observers were in the North for the launch, something Iran has denied.

Japan's likely next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of an election on Sunday and who is known as a hawk on North Korea, called on the United Nations to adopt a resolution "strongly criticizing" Pyongyang.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated that the rocket was a "peaceful project".

"The attempt to see our satellite launch as a long-range missile launch for military purposes comes from hostile perception that tries to designate us a cause for security tension," KCNA cited the spokesman as saying.

"STUMBLING BLOCK"

China had expressed "deep concern" prior to the launch which was announced a day after a top politburo member, representing new Chinese leader Xi Jinping, met Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

On Wednesday, its tone was measured, regretting the launch but calling for restraint on any counter-measures, in line with a policy of effectively vetoing tougher sanctions.

"China believes the Security Council's response should be cautious and moderate, protect the overall peaceful and stable situation on the Korean peninsula, and avoid an escalation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists.

Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation, said: "China has been the stumbling block to firmer U.N. action and we'll have to see if the new leadership is any different than its predecessors."

A senior adviser to South Korea's president said last week it was unlikely there would be action from the United Nations and Seoul would expect its allies to tighten sanctions unilaterally.

Kim Jong-un, believed to be 29 years old, took power when his father died on December 17 last year and experts believe the launch was intended to commemorate the first anniversary of his death. The April launch was timed for the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung.

Wednesday's success puts the North ahead of the South which has not managed to get a rocket off the ground.

"This is a considerable boost in establishing the rule of Kim Jong-un," said Cho Min, an expert at the Korea Institute of National Unification.

There have been few indications the secretive and impoverished state, where the United Nations estimates a third of people are malnourished, has made any advances in opening up economically over the past year.

North Korea remains reliant on minerals exports to China and remittances from tens of thousands of its workers overseas.

Many of its 22 million people need handouts from defectors, who have escaped to South Korea, for basic medicines.

Given the puny size of its economy - per capita income is less than $2,000 a year - one of the few ways the North can attract world attention is by emphasizing its military threat.

It wants the United States to resume aid and to recognize it diplomatically, although the April launch scuppered a planned food deal.

The North is believed to be some years away from developing a functioning nuclear warhead although it may have enough plutonium for about half a dozen nuclear bombs, according to nuclear experts.

It has also been enriching uranium, which would give it a second path to nuclear weapons as it sits on big natural uranium reserves.

"A successful launch puts North Korea closer to the capability to deploy a weaponized missile," said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

"But this would still require fitting a weapon to the missile and ensuring a reasonable degree of accuracy. The North Koreans probably do not yet have a nuclear weapon small enough for a missile to carry."

The North says its work is part of a civil nuclear program although it has also boasted of it being a "nuclear weapons power".

(This story has been refiled to clarify reference to NORAD in paragraph five)

(Additional reporting by Jumin Park and Yoo Choonsik in SEOUL; David Alexander, Matt Spetalnick and Paul Eckert in WASHINGTON; Linda Sieg in TOKYO, Sui-Lee Wee and michael Martina in BEIJING,; Rosmarie Francisco in MANILA; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)

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Berlusconi sows confusion with support for Monti as PM

ROME: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi sowed confusion Wednesday saying he could abandon his re-election bid if Prime Minister Mario Monti decided to run as leader of a centre-right coalition, a stunning twist to his two-decade political career.

"If Monti runs for leader, I would take a step back," Berlusconi said, a day after he criticised his successor for failing to revive the Italian economy and said he was "too German-centric".

"I think it would be a great benefit for the country if professor Monti becomes the next prime minister as leader of a moderate movement," he said.

Berlusconi said he could also be a coordinator of a broad centre-right coalition without being its candidate or choose to go for some "well-deserved rest".

There is growing speculation in Italian media that Monti, a former high-flying European commissioner, could run in the elections, but the 69-year-old economist has so far declined to comment.

To the general confusion of journalists at the book presentation where he was speaking, billionaire Berlusconi added: "At the moment I am a candidate for Palazzo Chigi" -- the prime minister's residence.

The three-time prime minister then said the current secretary of his People of Freedom (PDL) party, Angelino Alfano, could be a possible candidate instead.

"I was pushed by my supporters to be the candidate, I did not put myself forward," Berlusconi said.

"I do not at all exclude" Alfano's candidacy, the 76-year-old said, adding: "It is absolutely possible that he will be the prime minister."

Berlusconi's comments surprised political observers, since he and Monti have been clashing at a distance this week with barbed references to each other's government records.

Riccardo Barenghi, a columnist for La Stampa daily, dismissed Berlusconi's offer as "a joke".

"It's clear that the candidate from the centre-right is still Silvio Berlusconi. He's back in full form," Barenghi said.

Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Monti's unelected, technocratic government in parliament last week, prompting the prime minister to announce that he will resign as soon as next year's budget is approved in the coming days.

Berlusconi officially launched his campaign for a new term as premier on Saturday, saying "I am running to win."

Monti replaced Berlusconi in November 2011 after the tycoon was forced out by a parliamentary revolt, a wave of panic on the financial markets and a series of damaging sex scandals.

Monti is widely credited with dragging Italy back from the brink of bankruptcy by keeping a lid on public finances, launching long-delayed economic reforms and restoring Italy's credibility abroad.

Unemployment has risen to record highs and austerity has hit the middle class hard, however, and the economy has remained mired in recession with a slight recovery only expected in the second half of 2013.

Monti said on Wednesday that Berlusconi had resigned "leaving a lot left to be done", adding: "That is why whoever wins the elections will have to try and continue reforms."

Reacting to criticism of his candidacy from European leaders, Berlusconi on Wednesday said: "I think there have been misunderstandings and a lot of malice from these people.

"I am against a European Union with hegemonic countries that do not show solidarity," he added.

He said that a "hegemonic Germany" gave the European Central Bank only the power to fight inflation when the single currency was formed.

"That's why the euro is not a real currency," he said.

Germany reacted to earlier criticism from Berlusconi on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle saying it was unacceptable for Germany to be used as a target in a "populist election campaign".

"Neither Germany nor Europe is to blame for the difficulties in Italy. On the contrary, Germany has always been a great help in overcoming the problems," Westerwelle said.

The German minister also warned that if Italy's new government goes back on Monti's reforms "it would be a dangerous development for Europe."

Berlusconi on Wednesday also criticised European Council President Herman Van Rompuy saying "he was not a part of the history of the European Union."

A convicted tax fraudster who is on trial for abuse of power and having sex with an underage prostitute, Berlusconi is running for election for the sixth time since 1994, when he started out with a party called Forza Italia (Go Italy).

The current favourite to win in the elections expected in February is Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the centre-left Democratic Party.

Bersani has promised to follow Monti's agenda in terms of "discipline and austerity" but adding more "jobs and equity".

-AFP/ac

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477 convicts in jails awaiting hanging, govt tells Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: As many as 477 convicts awarded death sentence are awaiting hanging in various jails across the country, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Maharashtra, which last month hanged LeT terrorist Ajmal Kasab in a secret operation after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition, has 50 convicts in its jails awaiting hanging, putting it third on the list of states with maximum number of convicts awaiting hanging.

The data was released by the government in Rajya Sabha in response to a question on number of criminals in jails, as on December 1, 2012, who have been awarded death sentence and are yet to be hanged.

The data revealed that UP had the maximum number of criminals (174) in jails with a death sentence. Second on the list was Karnataka with 61 convicts awaiting hanging. Bihar is at fourth place with 37.

Delhi, which has Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru as one of the convicts awaiting hanging, has 24 such convicts. None of the other Union Territories have any such convict in their jails.

Among larger states, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have the least number of pending hangings with three and four respectively.

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Congress examines science behind HGH test for NFL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee has opened a hearing to examine the science behind a human growth hormone test the NFL wants to start using on its players.

Nearly two full seasons have passed since the league and the players' union signed a labor deal that set the stage for HGH testing.

The NFL Players Association won't concede the validity of a test that's used by Olympic sports and Major League Baseball, and the sides haven't been able to agree on a scientist to help resolve that impasse.

Among the witnesses before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday is Pro Football Hall of Fame member Dick Butkus. In his prepared statement, Butkus writes: "Now, let's get on with it. The HGH testing process is proven to be reliable."

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Video of Columbus Circle Killer Released

The hunt for New York's Columbus Circle killer took on a new impetus today as police released surveillance video showing the killer moments before he calmly walked up to Brandon Lincoln Woodard and put one bullet from a silver colored handgun into the back of the Los Angeles man's head in full view of holiday shoppers.

The video confirms the details of the hit man's calculated wait for his victim as first reported on ABCNews.com on Monday.

"In the video, the gunman wanted in the shooting death yesterday of Brandon Lincoln Woodard, 31, of Los Angeles, is seen 10 minutes before the shooting," Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne said in a statement today.

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Woodard, who is described by police as linked to the hip hop part of the Los Angeles entertainment industry, was strolling down 58th Street near the southern end of Central Park when he was gunned down.

"The shooter, who appears to be bald and may have a beard, exited a late model Lincoln sedan, initially bare-headed, but soon pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. Ten minutes later, at approximately 2 p.m., the shooter walked up behind Woodard and fired," Browne said.

In a grainy still image also released, the gunman is seen behind Woodard a moment before the shooting, pulling the weapon from his jacket.

Just before he was shot, Woodard turned "instinctively almost," then turned back to his portable electronic device, police told ABC News.

Sources tell ABC News that Woodard was arrested in 2009 in connection with a robbery in California.

Woodard was raised in Los Angeles' Ladera Heights neighborhood and attended the private Campbell Hall High School, they said. He attended college and law school at Loyola Marymount College in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources and friends said.

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Egypt army seeks national unity as crisis mounts

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief called for talks on national unity to end the country's deepening political crisis after a vital loan from the IMF was delayed and thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets.

The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, was called in response to a destabilizing series of protests since President Mohamed Mursi awarded himself sweeping powers on November 22 to push through a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies in a referendum on Saturday.

"We will not speak about politics nor about the referendum. Tomorrow we will sit together as Egyptians," armed forces chief and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at a joint gathering of army and police officials.

An aide said Mursi had supported the call for talks. The Muslim Brotherhood announced it would be there, while the main opposition coalition said it would decide on Wednesday morning whether to attend.

Earlier, the finance minister disclosed that a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, a cornerstone of Egypt's economic recovery hopes, would be delayed until next month.

Mumtaz al-Said said the delay was intended to allow time to explain a widely criticized package of economic austerity measures to the Egyptian people.

On Monday Muris backed down on planned tax rises, seen as essential for the loan to go ahead, but which the opposition had fiercely criticized.

"Of course the delay will have some economic impact, but we are discussing necessary measures (to address that) during the coming period," Said told Reuters, adding: "I am optimistic ... everything will be well, God willing."

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said the measures would not hurt the poor. Bread, sugar and rice would not be touched, but prices of cigarettes and cooking oil would go up and fines would be imposed for public littering. In a bid to rebuild consensus, he said there would be a public consultation about the program next week.

In Washington, the IMF said Egypt had asked for the loan to be postponed "in light of the unfolding developments on the ground". The Fund stood ready to consult with Egypt on resuming discussions on the stand-by loan, a spokeswoman said.

GUNMEN OPEN FIRE

On the streets of Cairo, tensions ran high after nine people were hurt when gunmen fired at protesters camping in Tahrir Square, according to witnesses and Egyptian media.

The opposition has called for major protests it hopes will force Mursi to postpone the referendum. Thousands gathered outside the presidential palace, whose walls are scrawled with anti-Mursi graffiti.

A bigger crowd of flag-waving Islamist Mursi backers, who want the vote to go ahead as planned on Saturday, assembled at a nearby mosque, setting the stage for further street confrontations in a crisis that has divided the nation of 83 million.

In Egypt's second city of Alexandria, thousands of rival demonstrators gathered at separate venues. Mursi's backers chanted: "The people want implementation of Islamic law", while his opponents shouted: "The people want to bring down the regime". Others cities also witnessed protests.

The upheaval following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year is causing concern in the United States, which has given Cairo billions of dollars in military and other aid since Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, made peace with Israel in 1979.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland emphasized "deep concerns" over the situation in Egypt and repeated calls on protesters to demonstrate peacefully and on security forces to act with restraint.

"Key stakeholders in Egypt are raising real and legitimate questions, both about the substance and about the process for moving to a constitutional referendum this weekend," Nuland told a news briefing. She declined to be drawn on whether Washington believed the referendum itself should be postponed.

The turmoil has also put a big strain on the Egyptian economy, sending foreign currency reserves down to about $15 billion, less than half what they were before the revolt two years ago as the government has sought to defend the pound.

"Given the current policy environment, it's hardly a surprise that there's been a delay, but it is imperative that the delay is brief," said Simon Williams, HSBC economist in Dubai. "Egypt urgently needs that IMF accord, both for the funding it brings and the policy anchor it affords."

The IMF deal had been seen as giving a seal of approval to the government's economic plans, vital for drawing more cash into the economy to ease a crushing budget deficit and stave off a balance of payments crisis.

MASKED ATTACKERS

In central Cairo police cars surrounded Tahrir Square, the first time they had appeared in the area since shortly after Mursi awarded himself the sweeping temporary powers in a move that touched off widespread protests.

The attackers, some masked, also threw petrol bombs that started a small fire, witnesses said.

"The masked men came suddenly and attacked the protesters in Tahrir. The attack was meant to deter us and prevent us from protesting today," said John Gerges, a Christian Egyptian who described himself as a socialist.

The latest bout of unrest has so far claimed seven lives in clashes between the Muslim Brotherhood and opponents who gathered outside Mursi's presidential palace.

But the Republican Guard, which protects the palace, has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the building, now ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades.

The army has told all sides to resolve their differences through dialogue. For the period of the referendum, the army has been granted powers by Mursi allowing it to arrest civilians.

In statement issued after rights groups criticized the army's new police powers, the presidency said anyone arrested by the military during the referendum would face civil rather than military courts. It said the army's new role would only last until results are declared after Saturday's referendum.

Leftists, liberals and other opposition groups say the hastily arranged constitutional referendum is polarizing the country and could put it in a religious straitjacket.

Islamists have urged their followers to show support for Mursi and for a referendum they feel sure of winning.

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan and Edmund Blair in Cairo, and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Will Waterman and David Stamp)

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Republicans open spending front in "cliff" row

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and Republicans waged a new spat over spending cuts Tuesday, as time ran short and little progress was evident towards ending a vexing year-end austerity and tax crisis.

After days dueling over Obama's demand for higher taxes on the rich, each side accused the other of failing to lay out specific spending cuts, digging in to familiar positions on the showdown known as the "fiscal cliff."

If the two sides cannot agree a deal before the end of the year, taxes will go up on all Americans and automatic and savage cuts to government spending will begin, prompting fears the economy could dive into a new recession.

Top Republicans accused Obama of failing to lay out spending reductions that they say are needed for them to bargain on tax rates, saying he was running down the clock and could force America past the damaging January 1 deadline.

"The longer the White House slow-walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff," Republican House speaker John Boehner said.

"We're still waiting for the White House to identify what spending cuts the president is willing to make as part of the balanced approach that he promised the American people," Boehner said on the House floor.

"Where are the president's spending cuts?" he asked, referring to Obama's proposal to pare the runaway debt by raising $1.6 trillion in new tax revenues.

Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, made a similar charge, and then told reporters "we're running out of time."

At the White House, however, spokesman Jay Carney insisted that Obama had laid out clear, detailed savings, in a deficit reduction document he sent to Congress in September 2011.

"The president, unlike any other party to these negotiations, has put forward detailed spending cuts as well as detailed revenue proposals," Carney said.

Obama and Boehner met Sunday at the White House for a meeting described by both sides as "cordial."

The White House said it was deliberately not revealing details of any talks with Republicans in the hopes of not prejudicing progress.

Boehner has also remained tight-lipped, but said Tuesday that he was "hopeful that we can reach an agreement."

It was tough to tell amid radio silence from both sides whether Tuesday's posturing masked intensifying behind-the-scenes talks.

It was also unclear whether Republicans decided to switch the conversation to spending as they thought they were losing the tax issue, as polls show a majority of Americans back Obama's call to raise taxes on the rich.

If there is no deal by January 1, tax cuts passed under former president George W. Bush will expire and all Americans will get a tax hike.

Obama wants to extend the cuts for 98 percent of taxpayers, but to allow rates on the top two percent to go up from 35 percent to 39.6 percent.

Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, and make up the revenue that both sides agree is needed to chip away at the deficit by closing loopholes and capping some deductions.

Obama says that such an approach will not secure sufficient funds and there is no alternative for well off Americans paying more.

-AFP/ac

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BJP may dissolve Karnataka assembly to counter Yeddyurrappa

NEW DELHI: BJP's troubles in Karnataka are clearly growing by the day. The party's core group is scheduled to meet here on Wednesday to review the Karnataka crisis that has further deepened after former CM and Lingayat strongman B S Yeddyurrappa held a show of strength rally on Sunday to announce the launch of his breakaway outfit, the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), in Belgaum.

The BJP top brass is likely to discuss the fate of the members of its state unit, who had openly displayed their allegiance to Yeddyurrappa on Sunday. However, the party in-charge for Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan, who was scheduled to reach Bangalore to attend a state-level meeting on Wednesday, called off his visit on Tuesday night.

The central leadership — already weakened with BJP chief Nitin Gadkari himself under fire from within the party — is in a fix over the action to be taken against the rebels since any expulsion of the MLAs will reduce the Jagadish Shettar government to a minority.

Sunday's breakfast meeting at Yeddyurrappa's house was attended by 23 sitting MLAs, 10 MLCs, four MPs and eight ministers from the Shettar government. Yeddyurrappa had asked his loyalists not to attend the KJP's launch rally on Sunday evening, but 14 BJP MLAs and one minister (Sunil Volapure) shared the stage with the Lingayat leader in Belgaum. Gadkari is learnt to be of the view that CM Shettar should dissolve the assembly and opt for snap polls, which are slated to be in mid-2013. However, since governor H S Bhardwaj is to decide the assembly's fate, the saffron party is uncertain whether the latter will accept the government's recommendation.

If the governor asks the Shettar government to prove its majority and the CM fails to do so, Central rule could be imposed in the state, much to the discomfort for the BJP, which is keen to continue for some more months to shore up its winning prospect.

There is a distinct possibility that the ministers, including the eight who attended the KJP chief's breakfast meeting, could be dropped from the cabinet. Show cause notices could also be sent to some of the BJP rebels. But even the rebels are surprised that only the Tumkur MP, G S Basuraj, was served a show cause notice from the party so far, while others like excise minister Renukacharya, who has openly criticized the party leadership, or Yeddyurrappa's son, BJP MP B Y Raghavendra, who organized the successful Belgaum rally for KJP, were not served any notices so far. Volapure quit his ministerial post voluntarily, but the BJP leadership had to go into a huddle till 2am to drop another minister B J Puttuswamy from the cabinet.

Yeddyurrappa too is waiting for the BJP to take action against the rebels as he does not want to be seen as the hand that toppled the state government, especially when it is led by a fellow Lingayat, Shettar.

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APNewsBreak: DA investigating Texas cancer agency

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas prosecutor responsible for investigating public corruption among state officials said Tuesday that he has opened an investigation into the state's troubled $3 billion cancer-fighting agency.

Gregg Cox, director of the Travis County district attorney's public integrity unit, told The Associated Press that an investigation has begun into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The agency also is under investigation by the Texas attorney general's office after an $11 million grant to a private company did not receive the proper review.

Cox said his unit, which prosecutes crimes related to the operation of state government, is beginning its investigation not knowing "what, if any, crime occurred" at CPRIT.

His announcement came on the same day that CPRIT said its executive director had submitted his resignation letter and amid escalating scrutiny over the management of the nation's second-biggest pot of cancer research dollars.

CPRIT has not been able to focus on fighting the disease due to "wasted efforts expended in low value activities" during the past tumultuous eight months, Executive Director Bill Gimson wrote in a resignation letter dated Monday. Gimson offered to stay on until January, and the agency's board must still approve his request to step down.

Gimson has led the state agency since it launched in 2009. But he fell under mounting criticism over the recent disclosure that an $11 million award to a private company was never reviewed. It was the second time this year that a lucrative taxpayer-funded grant instigated backlash and raised questions about oversight.

"Unfortunately, I have also been placed in a situation where I feel I can no longer be effective," Gimson wrote.

The Texas attorney general's office has said it is looking into CPRIT's $11 million grant to Dallas-based Peloton Therapeutics. An internal audit performed by the agency revealed that Peloton's proposal was approved for funding in 2010 without being reviewed by an outside panel.

Gimson said last week that Peloton's funding was the result of an honest mistake that happened when the agency was still young and in the process of installing checks and balances. Agency emails surrounding the Peloton grant are no longer available, Gimson said, and state investigators said they will work to find them.

Only the National Institutes of Health doles out more cancer research dollars than CPRIT, which has awarded more than $700 million so far. The agency's former chief science officer, Nobel laureate Alfred Gilman, resigned earlier this year over a separate $20 million award that Gilman claimed received a thin review. That led some of the nation's top scientists to accuse the agency of charting a politically-driven path.

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

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