1. BABY CURED OF HIV INFECTION, A MEDICAL FIRST
In a potentially game-changing development, a baby has been cured of HIV infection for the first time, doctors announced on Sunday. The infant, who was born in rural Mississippi, was treated aggressively with anti-retroviral drugs beginning about 30 hours after birth, which usually isn't done. If the approach helps other babies, the treatment could be recommended for babies infected with the virus that causes AIDS — about 330,000 worldwide in 2011. Only one other person — a man with leukemia who received a bone-marrow transplant from a donor resistant to HIV — has ever been cured. "For pediatrics, this is our Timothy Brown," said the lead author of the report, Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins Children's Center, referring to the adult man cured of HIV. "It's proof of principle that we can cure HIV infection if we can replicate this case." [New York Times]
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2. CARDINALS MEET TO START PROCESS OF ELECTING A NEW POPE
Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world gathered Monday in the Vatican to begin meetings ahead of the conclave to select the next pope. The red-caped cardinals were swarmed by TV crews as they arrived and had to push through crowds to enter the Vatican. The process of picking a new pontiff always fuels intense speculation, but this time the suspense has been heightened by the extraordinary circumstances. Benedict XVI last week became the first pope in 600 years to resign, and many church watchers have asked whether the cardinals would respond by breaking with tradition as well when they elect Benedict's successor. "A Latin American pope is possible, everything is possible!" said Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins as he entered. [Associated Press]
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3. CAR BOMBING KILLS 45 IN PAKISTAN
The death toll from a car bombing in the southern Pakistan port city of Karachi rose to 45 people on Monday. The Sunday evening blast hit as members of the minority Shiite Muslim sect were leaving a mosque. About three dozen people died immediately or shortly after the explosion, but more victims died overnight. Another 146 people were wounded — at least 32 remain in serious condition. Nobody claimed responsibility, although Sunni militant groups who say Shiites aren't true Muslims have staged similar attacks before. [Associated Press]
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4. KENYANS VOTE IN CRITICAL ELECTION
Millions of Kenyans are going to the polls on Monday — many waiting in long lines under a blazing sun — to vote in what some observers are calling the East African nation's most important elections ever. The vote could mark the beginning of a new presidential era, five years after post-election violence caused a rift that severely damaged the country's economy. The voting started relatively smoothly, with few delays and little of the violence that exploded after the 2007 vote. "It's more calm now," says election monitor Ruth Namulundu. "If the voting continues like this, everything will be fine." [Washington Post]
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5. CARDINAL O'BRIEN ISSUES APOLOGY FOR SEXUAL CONDUCT
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned last week as the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, issued a statement Sunday apologizing and admitting that "there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest." O'Brien, the highest-ranking Catholic to resign over allegations of sexual abuse, had previously challenged accusations that he had behaved inappropriately toward several lower-ranking priests in incidents dating back to the 1980s. [CNN]
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6. OBAMA TO NAME WALMART PHILANTHROPY CHIEF AS BUDGET DIRECTOR
Administration officials say President Obama on Monday will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, head of Walmart's philanthropic efforts, as the next White House budget director. Burwell would replace Jeffrey Zients, bringing greater gender diversity, corporate know-how, and government experience — she was part of Bill Clinton's economic team — as Obama faces bruising budget battles with Congress. "Sylvia does a great job leading the Walmart Foundation, and if confirmed by the Senate, will do a tremendous job serving our country," Mike Duke, president and chief executive of Walmart, said in a statement Sunday. [Washington Post]
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7. QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITALIZED WITH STOMACH AILMENT
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was in a London hospital early Monday. The 86-year-old monarch was admitted on Sunday with symptoms of gastroenteritis. "As a precaution, all official engagements for this week will regrettably be either postponed or canceled," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. She was last hospitalized 10 years ago for a minor knee operation. [Bloomberg]
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8. BABY SURVIVES CRASH THAT KILLED PARENTS
A young New York City couple died in a horrific traffic accident as they were traveling to the hospital to deliver their first child on Sunday. Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were riding in a livery cab — they didn't own a car — when it was struck by a BMW. Both died at the scene, but their unborn baby survived after being delivered by C-section. Police were searching early Monday for the driver of the BMW and a passenger, who fled. [ABC News]
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9. BANKRUPTCY MEETING BRINGS CASEY ANTHONY INTO PUBLIC
Casey Anthony is scheduled to come out of hiding on Monday to appear in Tampa for a creditors meeting as part of her filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Little is known about how Anthony has been living since her July 2011 acquittal in the death of her daughter, Caylee. She will be questioned under oath, and could shed light on what she has been doing and who has been supporting her. "She has to have food; she has to have shelter. Who's paying for that?" said Kenneth "Chip" Herron Jr., an Orlando bankruptcy attorney and former Chapter 7 trustee. [Orlando Sentinel]
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10. JACK THE GIANT SLAYER DISAPPOINTS AT BOX OFFICE, BUT STILL LEADS
Jack the Giant Slayer debuted at No. 1 over the weekend, taking in $28 million at theaters in the U.S. Warner Bros. had expected the 3-D blockbuster based on the Jack and the Beanstalk legend to do better, though. It cost $200 million to make. Jack the Giant Slayer was just the latest in a string of action pictures aimed at men that have been box office disappointments, said Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. Snitch, The Last Stand, Bullet to the Head, and Parker struggled, too. "Where is the audience?" Dergarabedian said. "I don't want to overstate this, but where are the guys?" [Associated Press]
