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• The charges are not likely to affect a proposed class-action settlement that would resolve more than 100,000 claims by people and businesses who blame economic losses over the spill. A federal judge is expected Wednesday to consider granting preliminary approval of the $7.8 billion civil settlement between BP and a committee of plaintiffs.
• The case against Mix brings the first criminal charges in the Justice Department's Deepwater Horizon probe. If convicted, Mix could get up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each

count. Mix was released on $100,000 bail.
• In an affidavit, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was investigating whether BP and its employees broke the law "by intentionally understating" how much oil was leaking.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney laid claim to the fiercely contested Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night with a fistful of primary triumphs, then urged all who struggle in a shaky U.S. economy to "hold on a little longer, a better America begins tonight."

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