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preserving federal funds used in Hawaii for things like defense spending and transportation, and getting federal recognition for Native Hawaiians in forming their own government, similar to many Indian tribes across the United States.
• Schatz, who ran with Abercrombie for the state's top two offices in 2010, beat out Hanabusa and Esther Kiaaina, a deputy director in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
• The three candidates were selected by state Democrats Wednesday morning from a field of 14. The candidates briefly made their cases before the state party's central committee, which handing the three top names to the governor.
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• NEW DELHI (AP) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged Thursday to take action to protect the nation's women while the young victim of a gang rape on a New Delhi bus was flown to Singapore for treatment of severe internal injuries.
• The Dec. 16 rape and brutal beating of the 23-year-old student triggered widespread protests in New Delhi and other parts of India demanding a government crackdown on the daily harassment Indian women face, ranging from groping to severe violence. Some protesters have called for the death penalty or castration for rapists, who under current laws face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
• Rape victims rarely press charges because of social stigma and fear they will be accused of inviting the attack. Many women say they structure their lives around protecting themselves and their daughters from attack.
• Singh's government set up two committees in response to the protests. One, looking into speeding up sexual assault trials, has already received 6,100 email suggestions. The second will examine what lapses might have contributed to the rape -- which took place on a moving bus that passed through police checkpoints -- and suggest measures to improve women's safety.
• "Let me state categorically that the issue of safety and security of women is of the highest concern to our government," Singh told a development meeting. He urged officials in India's states to pay special attention to the problem.
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• WASHINGTON (AP) -- District of Columbia police say they are investigating an

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