1. PANEL HOLDS HOLDER IN CONTEMPT
On Wednesday, a congressional panel voted along party lines, 23 to 17, to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to turn over documents related to the botched Fast and Furious firearms sting operation. The panel's decision will now be reported to the full House, where a vote is scheduled for next week. The panel's decision came hours after President Obama invoked executive privilege to withhold the documents, the first time he has used executive privilege to respond to a congressional probe. Holder called the vote "an election-year tactic intended to distract attention" that "has deflected critical resources from fulfilling what remains my top priority at the Department of Justice: Protecting the American people." [Washington Post]
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2. SANFORD POLICE CHIEF FIRED OVER TRAYVON CASE
A Sanford, Fla., city manager has fired police Chief Bill Lee in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting. "We need to move forward with a police chief that all the citizens of Sanford can support," Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte said. "I have come to this decision in light of the escalating divisiveness that has taken hold of the city." Lee tried to resign in April, but the city council voted to reject his resignation and let the Department of Justice first review the police department's handling of the case. [Associated Press]
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3. SPAIN RAISES $2.8 BILLION AT HIGH RATES
In a debt auction Thursday, Spain sold 2.2 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in bonds, exceeding the targeted amount but paying significantly higher interest rates because of fears that Spain may eventually require a bailout. Investor interest was strong. [Associated Press]
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4. DEFENSE RESTS IN SANDUSKY CASE
After just over two days of testimony, the defense in the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky wrapped up its case on Wednesday without calling Sandusky to the stand. Jury deliberations will begin Thursday. [Reuters]
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5. PAKISTAN'S RULING PARTY TAPS NEW P.M.
Pakistan's ruling party, Pakistan People's Party, has nominated party loyalist Makhdoom Shahabuddin to replace ousted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The Supreme Court Tuesday ousted Gilani for contempt of court, after he refused to launch a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari. Just after Shahabuddin was nominated, he was served with an arrest warrant related to a drug importing scandal, indicating that more political turmoil is on the horizon. [Associated Press]
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6. OBAMA, ROMNEY EVEN IN NEW POLL
According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, President Obama no longer has the narrow lead over Mitt Romney he enjoyed just a month ago. Forty-seven percent said they would vote for Obama, compared with 44 percent for Romney, a variance that has no statistical significance. After months of poor job growth, just 49 percent believe Obama is doing a good job as president and only 3 out of 10 say the country is moving in the right direction. [Associated Press]
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7. EGYPT'S ELECTION COMMITTEE DELAYS RESULTS
Amid an onslaught of fraud allegations from both sides, Egypt's state election committee has yet to declare an official winner in the presidential runoff election between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and former Mubarak aide Ahmed Shafik. The Muslim Brotherhood has claimed victory, as has Shafik's campaign, and thousands have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square for the past two nights protesting recent moves by the country's ruling generals to limit the eventual president's powers. [Reuters]
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8. VIDEO OF BULLIED GRANDMA GOES VIRAL
A 10-minute video of middle-school kids brutally taunting Karen Klein, a 68-year-old bus monitor and grandmother of eight, on a school bus has gone viral. People have donated more than $85,000 to send Klein on a nice vacation. Klein's daughter says she is contemplating taking the whole family on a Disney cruise. [USA Today]
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9. REPORTS: SYRIAN PILOT DEFECTS IN FIGHTER JET
Syrian state media says the military has lost contact with a plane on a training mission near the country's southern border with Jordan. Jordanian officials have reportedly said the plane landed in their country, and that the pilot is seeking political asylum. [CBS/Associated Press]
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10. PRESS CLUB CONDEMNS BALDWIN
The New York Press Club is condemning actor Alec Baldwin for allegedly assaulting a newspaper photographer who was snapping pictures of the actor and his fiancée outside a marriage license bureau earlier this week. Baldwin says he was simply protecting himself; the Daily News photographer says Baldwin punched him. [Associated Press]
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