KISS US, WE’RE ALL IRISH FOR DAY
THIRD PERSON DIES FROM SXSW CRASH
A third person struck by a suspected drunken driver in Austin last week during the South By Southwest festival died Monday, police said.
Sandy Thuy Le, 26, died from the injuries she sustained when she was run over outside The Mohawk music club early Thursday, Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Bremner said.
Police said the driver, Rashad Owens, was fleeing police when he crashed through a barricade and accelerated his car into a crowd, killing two people at the scene and injuring 21 others. Owens, 21, was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault.
OBAMA PRESSES PALESTINIAN LEADER ON PEACE TALKS
President Obama urged Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to accept guidelines for new talks with Israel ahead of a key deadline, while acknowledging the difficulties of reaching a deal.
“It’s very hard — it’s very challenging,” Obama said, citing longstanding details that have blocked peace efforts for decades. “We’re going to have to take some tough political decisions and risks if we’re able to move it forward.”
The United States has set an end-of-April deadline to set a “framework” for peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. Obama has told Abbas that direct talks with Israel are the surest way to a new and independent Palestinian state.
In his remarks, Abbas urged economic and political support to a new Palestinian state “so it can stand on its own feet.”
The Abbas visit came two weeks after Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. — David Jackson
HEALTH CARE SIGN-UPS REACH 5 MILLION MARK
The Obama administration said Monday that more than 5 million people have signed up for private health insurance under the new health care law.
That’s still 1 million shy of the 6 million people the government expects to have enrolled by March 31.
ALSO ...
An earthquake rolled across the Los Angeles basin early Monday, shaking buildings along a 150-mile swath of Southern California but causing no major damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-4.4 quake was centered 2 miles from Encino.