Herman Cain suspends presidential campaign
ATLANTA, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Republican Herman Cain Saturday suspended his U.S. presidential campaign, citing "false accusations" and saying politics is a "dirty, dirty game."
"Becoming president was Plan A. And before you get discouraged, today I want to describe Plan B," Cain told supporters in Atlanta. "So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family," he said with his wife, Gloria, by his side.
The announcement comes after allegations Cain was involved in a 13-year extramarital affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
"Plan B is that I will continue to be a voice for the people. … I will be making an endorsement in the near future, and I can tell you right now it will not be the current occupant of the White House," Cain promised after announcing his new Web site, TheCainSolutions.com, to make change from "the outside."
The former Godfather's Pizza CEO's support in Iowa dropped like a rock in recent weeks, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported.
"I think Cain's over," Republican strategist Mike Murphy said earlier this week. "In the preseason, Iowans are willing to sample different candidates. At the first look, he's a charming man, and people like him."
3rd likely victim in Craigslist case ID'd
NEWARK, Ohio, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A man who may have been lured to his death by a job ad on Craigslist has been identified as a 56-year-old Akron, Ohio, resident, investigators said Saturday.
Ralph H. Geiger could be the third victim in the case, CNN reported. Two other men whose bodies were discovered last month are known to have responded to an ad that offered $300 a week and a trailer home for watching over a cattle farm in eastern Ohio.
Geiger's body was found Nov. 25 buried in eastern Ohio. The Licking County coroner examined and identified the body, the sheriff's office said.
Brogan Rafferty, 16, of Stow, Ohio, has been charged with murder. Another man, Richard Beasley, 52, of Akron, has been identified as a suspect but so far is being held on unrelated charges. Beasley's bail was set at $1 million after he pleaded not guilty to promoting prostitution, WJW-TV reported.
The other bodies linked to the case have been identified as Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio, and David Noble of South Carolina.
A fourth man whose name has not been released told police he responded to the Craigslist ad. He said he met Beasley and Rafferty and drove with them to what they said was the farm, only to have a gun pulled on him.
The man said he was able to escape with a gunshot wound to his arm.
Syrians feel sanction pressure
DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Syrians say they are feeling the pressure of economic sanctions in the form of rejected credit cards and blocked money transfers.
"This is not the solution," the owner of a handicraft business who was unable to transfer money to suppliers in Lebanon told The New York Times.
Turkey, the Arab League, the European Union and the United States have all imposed sanctions on Syria to pressure President Bashar Assad to step down from office and end violence in the country.
"Up until the last minute, I did not believe the Arab League would take such a decision," Mohammed Ghassan al-Qallaa, the president of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, told the Times. "It was like a poke in the eye."
Trade and investment activity has decreased by 50 percent, the newspaper said, and unemployment is 22 percent.
Hotel managers have reported occupancy rates of 15 percent or lower, and many restaurants have gone broke.
"We are still keeping the lights on and trying to remain cutting edge," said Four Seasons manager Sven Wiedenhaupt.
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem denounced the sanctions, saying Syrians will overcome them.
"We have no fear that people will starve or freeze," al-Moallem said. "They will affect the citizens without any doubt, but our people are used to such pressures."
Russians get pre-election 'day of silence'
MOSCOW, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Russians got a reprieve from political campaigning Saturday as the nation observed a "day of silence" the day before its parliamentary elections.
RIA Novosti said the ban on active campaigning by candidates, political advertising and polling is meant to alleviate pressure on voters.
The BBC reported Lilya Shibanova, head of Golos, an independent election monitor financed by the European Union and United States, was detained for several hours in Moscow. Shibanova said she was taken into custody at the main airport after refusing to hand over her laptop "for checking." She called it "another game" aimed at intimidating her group.
Golos was fined $1,000 Friday for allegedly violating election laws, the British network said.
The BBC said Golos had received more than 5,000 complaints regarding the impending elections, with many of them concerning United Russia, the party of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev that has dominated the country's Parliament.
Russia's seven registered political parties will take part in Sunday's elections. United Russia, the Communist party, the ultra-nationalist LDPR and A Just Russia are now represented in Parliament. The other three, Yabloko, the Right Cause and Patriots of Russia, will be looking to reach the 7 percent threshold needed to make it into the State Duma for the first time.
There will be about 650 international observers monitoring the elections. There will be about 96,000 polling booths.
Meanwhile, Medvedev has signed a law prohibiting police officers from joining, creating or financing political parties, a press secretary for Russia's deputy interior minister said Saturday.
"Under this law, a policeman cannot be a party member, finance a party or comply with party's rulings," press secretary Sergei Bulavin said.
