Edwards admits paternity of 2-year-old
NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards publicly admitted Thursday he is the father of his ex-lover's 2-year-old child.
In a statement first provided to NBC News, Edwards said he was taking responsibility for the child, Frances Quinn Hunter, conceived with Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer with whom Edwards had a liaison.
"I am Quinn's father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves," the statement read. "I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace."
Edwards, 56, said it was wrong of him to deny paternity, and "hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me."
Speaking to NBC on Edwards' behalf was the ex-North Carolina senator's friend and adviser Harrison Hickman.
"The senator wants to say, first of all, that he is the father of Quinn," Hickman said. "Secondly, he wants people to know that he has provided for her and will continue to provide for her, as he should, both financially and emotionally."
Edwards planned no public appearances Thursday, in part because of a federal investigation into whether campaign money was used to hide the affair.
Hickman said Edwards took so long to publicly acknowledge paternity because there were "a lot of adults involved, there are a number of families involved, and there are also a lot of kids involved."
Media reports about the affair surfaced in October 2007. Edwards -- whose wife of 32 years, Elizabeth, is a breast cancer survivor -- at first denied the affair, but confirmed it in 2008.
His admission Thursday indicated he was still involved with Hunter after his wife announced the cancer had returned and was incurable, NBC said.
Hickman told NBC he didn't know the status of Edwards' relationships with Hunter or his wife. Family friends said the couple are separated, but talk on a regular basis.
Hamas rep says Israel has right to exist
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Hamas is prepared to revise its charter that called for the destruction of Israel and accept Israel's right to exist, a Hamas senior representative said.
Aziz Dwaik, Hamas's most senior representative in the West Bank, made the remarks during a meeting in Hebron, Israel, with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams, who has ties with Israeli and British government officials, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Dwaik was one of many Hamas leaders captured by Israel following the abduction of Israeli army Sgt. Gilad Shalit in June 2006. Dwaik was released several months ago after spending nearly three years in an Israeli prison. Shalit is still being held by Islamic extremists.
Abrahams told the Post he would urge British Foreign Secretary David Milliband to "consider the implications of Hamas's positive overtures."
During the meeting, Dwaik said Hamas leaders indicated support for the concept of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries, the Post said.
"The (Hamas) charter was drafted more than 20 years ago," Dwaik said, adding the movement could be prepared to "nullify" the document.
During the meeting, Dwaik said Hamas was interested in opening a dialog with the international community, particularly the European Union. He also confirmed Iran has provided financial assistance to Hamas, saying it was a result of a boycott and sanctions.
Abrahams said he was willing to facilitate a dialogue between Hamas, Israel and the international community, the Post said.
"The fact that there is a possibility for recognition of Israel is a symbolic gesture," Abrahams added. "We can all look for good in people and we can all look for bad in people. I always look for the good."
Pakistani army feeling strapped
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Pakistan's army will not conduct any new offensives against militant groups in the country this year, a spokesman said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas confirmed that during the next 12 months, the army will not launch any new anti-militant operations because it is being over-taxed by current operations, the BBC reported.
"The Pakistan army is overstretched and it is not in a position to open any new fronts. Obviously, we will continue our present operations in [South] Waziristan and Swat," Abbas said.
The Pakistan army has had its hands full in the two regions since opening major ground offensives in 2009.
Abbas' comments come the same day U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Pakistan. The BBC said Gates is expected to urge Pakistani leaders to act against Taliban officials in the country.
"You can't ignore one part of this cancer and pretend it won't impact closer to home," the U.S. official said.
Dems rethinking healthcare reform scope
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Administration and congressional Democrats are rethinking the scope of U.S. healthcare reform after a Republican victory in a U.S. senate race, officials say.
Among the options now on the table are scrapping a comprehensive approach for an incremental one in hopes of salvaging key elements of the package, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The election of Republican state lawmaker Scott Brown to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts means the loss of the super-majority in the Senate necessary to end GOP efforts to delay passage of the bill.
President Obama seemed to indicate favoring the House and the Senate voting on a scaled-back version that would retain some popular provisions, The Washington Post reported.
"We know that we need insurance reform, that the health insurance companies are taking advantage of people," Obama told ABC News. "We know that we have to have some form of cost containment because, if we don't, then our budgets are going to blow up. And we know that small businesses are going to need help."
White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said in a statement Obama still wants comprehensive reform.
"(Let's) be clear that the president's preference is to pass a bill that meets the principles he laid out months ago: more stability and security for those who have insurance, affordable coverage options for those who don't, and lower costs for families, businesses and governments," Cherlin said.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate, told the Post she was open to a healthcare compromise, but said economic issues are more pressing.
"Many of us have heard from our constituents that, in addition to their overall concern about healthcare, they would like to see the administration and Congress focus on economic issues," Collins said.
SoCal, Arizona brace for another storm
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Yet another storm was expected to pummel Southern California and Arizona Thursday, resulting more rain, more flooding and more snow, forecasters said.
Thursday's storm was the latest in a series of systems that slammed ashore on the U.S. West Coast this week. Forecasters at AccuWeather.com said one mountain in the southern Sierra Neveda got 74 inches of snow, while Palm Springs, Calif., received 42 percent of its average annual rainfall during the same period.
The Southern California coast could see waves reaching 20-25 feet, AccuWeather said, leading to over-wash flooding, property damage and severe beach erosion.
Wednesday's winter storm saw highways around Los Angeles overwhelmed by high water or closed due to snow, while officials ordered another round of evacuations in the foothills threatened by mudslides, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A rock slide closed a section of California Highway 1 in Ventura County. Officials reported hail, scattered power outages and at least one waterspout off the coast at Hermosa Beach.
A dozen children were rescued in separate swift-water rescues in La Habra and Yorba Linda, the Times reported.
Two Southwest Airlines Boeing 737s were struck by lightning before landing safely at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, airport officials said.
California State University-Long Beach canceled classes until Friday, university officials said.
In Phoenix, city and county officials were preparing for another onslaught of wet weather, KTUP-TV, Phoenix, reported. Joe Munoz with Maricopa County Flood Control said the agency's offices would be staffed around the clock once the rain starts.
Residents in the Flagstaff, Ariz., area, meanwhile, have been warned that Northern Arizona would be inundated with heavy snow. The (Flagstaff) Arizona Daily Sun said residents were urged to clear snow off their roofs and plan to stay home for a few days.
