* UN Diverts US Funds
* GM Recalls 1.5M Cars
* US To Iran: Nukes OK?
* Chicago Library Bans Smelly People
* Phil Spector Guilty

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These are the stories that interest me this morning:

• The U.N diverted and wasted USAID funds, according to a federal report. The U.N. had received $25M from USAID for “quick impact” infrastructure work in Afghanistan over 2003-2006. The U.S. government has hired a collection agency to dun the U.N. for $7.6M. According to witnesses quoted in the USAID inspector general’s report, obtained by USA Today under the Freedom Of Information Act, $10M went to projects in other countries, and one official spent $200,000 to renovate his guest house.

• General Motors recalled 1.5 million vehicles due to possible engine fires. The recall spans multiple years: 98-99 Olds Intrigue, 97-03 Pontiac Grand Prix, 97-03 Buick Regal, and 98-03 Chevy Lumina, Monte Carlo and Impala. Culprit: 3.8 liter V6 engine, which could leak oil into exhaust system and ignite.

• The U.S. is considering dropping its demand that Iran dismantle its nuclear program. In a shift, the New York Times reports that the U.S. may allow Teheran to continue its uranium enrichment efforts, while pressing it to gradually make the program more open to international inspection.

• A public library in a Chicago suburb has banned “offensive bodily odors.” According to the Chicago Tribune, the Schaumberg Township District Library’s new policy “stemmed from complaints about an apparently homeless person,” but the library’s director said “it would apply just as much to an overuse of perfume as an underuse of soap”

• Iconic pop producer Phil Spector has been convicted of second-degree murder. After 30 hours of deliberation in his second trial for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, the jury found Spector guilty and that he personally used the gun. Sentencing is set for May 29 but Spector was denied bail. Spector is credited for creating the “wall of sound” style of producing.

Thank you for reading,

Brad