Sunday,  May 4, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 290 • 27 of 31

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Condoleezza Rice backs out of delivering Rutgers commencement address after student protests

• NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.
• Rice said in a statement Saturday that she informed Rutgers President Robert Barchi that she was declining the invitation to speak at the graduation.
• "Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families," Rice said. "Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time."
• The school's board of governors had voted to pay $35,000 to the former secretary of state under President George W. Bush and national security adviser for her appearance at the May 18 ceremony. Rutgers was also planning to bestow Rice with an honorary doctorate.
• But some students and faculty at New Jersey's flagship university had protested, staging sit-ins and saying Rice bore some responsibility for the Iraq War as a member of the Bush administration. Barchi and other school leaders had resisted the calls to disinvite Rice, saying the university welcomes open discourse on controversial topics.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr. wins tough fight over Marcos Maidana by majority decision

• LAS VEGAS (AP) -- It might have been the toughest $32 million Floyd Mayweather Jr. ever made.
• Marcos Maidana did everything Saturday night but beat Mayweather, taking him 12 tough rounds before losing a majority decision.
• Mayweather remained unbeaten, but not by much. Maidana swarmed all over him from the opening bell and gave him perhaps his toughest fight in a 16-year professional career.
• Cut over his eye and temporarily blinded by a head butt in the fourth round, Mayweather had to rally in the last half of the fight to avoid losing for the first time since he was beaten on a controversial decision in the 1996 Olympics.
• In the end, though, Mayweather got the win -- just as he did in his previous 45

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