NPR News

An ongoing political crisis has left Pakistan's government paralyzed and near collapse, as the country's Supreme Court attempts to revive corruption charges against the president in an apparent effort to force his resignation.

Accusations of corruption have always clouded the reputation of President Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Some time ago, the government of Switzerland opened an investigation into Zardari's financial dealings, but the case was closed with no action taken.

During two press conferences this afternoon we learned a few more details about James Holmes, the 24-year-old man accused of opening fire at a Colorado movie theater and killing 12.

Lisa Damiani, the attorney for Holmes' family in San Diego, said comments Arlene Holmes, the suspect's mother, made to ABC News have been taken out of context.

Essentially, she said, she was merely confirming that was Arlene Holmes and that James was her son when she said "You have the right person."

If you show up at the emergency department at San Francisco General Hospital — for any reason — there's a good chance they'll offer you an HIV test.

It's part of a big push, in a city closely associated with the AIDS pandemic, to find nearly all people infected with the virus and get them in treatment right away.

In a theme playing out all over the country, Justice Department officials are proposing new ways to put the brakes on massive prison expenditures that have been eating up a bigger portion of their flat-lined annual budget.

The British probe into Rupert Murdoch's tabloid operations has extended into an investigation of information obtained from stolen cellphones. The New York Times reports that a senior police officer testified that an investigation found payoffs were given to public officials and that medical and banking records were obtained illegally.

The Times adds:

Chad Ochocinco has been deep-sixed.

After unofficially changing his name (but not his @ochocinco Twitter handle) back to what it used to be, the Miami Dolphins' No. 85 officially once again became Chad Johnson today.

Headlines today about one of the latest statements from the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad have tended to focus on the news that a spokesman says the government would never use chemical or biological weapons against its own people.

The stories take two angles: One, that this confirms Syria has such weapons; two, that it's good the regime says it won't use them on civilians.

Of course, the regime has also pledged to abide by a ceasefire brokered by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and in the ensuing weeks the bloodshed in Syria has continued.

You remember that fire on the Navy submarine that caused $400 million in damage in May? Last month, we told you that a preliminary investigation had found the fire was started by a vacuum cleaner.

Well, it gets weirder.

Today, we learn that a civilian employee has admitted to setting the fire because he wanted to get out of work early.

The Associated Press reports:

Over the weekend things have been very tense in Anaheim, Calif. For two days, people have protested the shooting death of an unarmed man by a police officer.

As the AP reports, last night protesters set fire to a dumpster after earlier having stormed the police headquarters lobby "as the police chief prepared to hold a news conference to discuss the case."

The AP adds:

Hundreds of Muslim athletes are participating in the London Olympics, which officially begin Friday. But along with travel and other logistics, they're also adjusting to Ramadan, the holy month that requires them to fast.

Many athletes say they'll forego the ban on consuming food and drink, as Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports on Morning Edition. The daylong fast is a threat to a strong performance — and their hopes of bringing pride to their nation, they say.