Saturday,  May 24, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 310 • 25 of 29

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• Tourists milling about near the White House were incredulous, never having expected to see the leader of the free world in the flesh on a steamy Wednesday afternoon. One woman squealed with delight; another suggested she thought it might be an Obama impostor.
• "It's good to be out," Obama said.
• ___

Presidential election set to be derailed in half of election districts in eastern Ukraine

• KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Pro-Russian insurgents have prevented at least half of the election districts in the embattled east of the country to prepare for Sunday's presidential election, a Ukrainian official says.
• Volodymyr Hrinyak, chief of the public security department at the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said Saturday that 17 out of 34 district election commissions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are not operating because their offices have either been seized or blocked by armed men. Hrinyak's update was reported by the Interfax news agency.
• The insurgents have controlled parts of Ukraine for weeks. Following their declaration of independence earlier this month, they pledged to derail the vote which they regard as an election in "a neighboring country."
• They remain defiant although Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he is prepared to work with the election winner.
• Twenty-one candidates are competing to become Ukraine's next leader. Polls show billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko with a commanding lead, but short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round. His nearest challenger is Yulia Tymoshenko, the divisive former prime minister who is far behind.
• ___

Indian court drops weapons charge against NYPD officer, allows him to leave the country

• NEW DELHI (AP) -- A court in India's capital has dropped a weapons charge against a New York City police officer and is allowing him to leave the country, his lawyer said Saturday.
• Officer Manny Encarnacion was arrested in March while visiting his wife in New Delhi after Indian airport authorities discovered three bullets he had accidentally packed in his luggage. He had been out on bail since his arrest, but was barred from

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