ICC staffers held in Libya released

ZINTAN, Libya (AP) ? Libya released on Monday four International Criminal Court staffers who had been held for nearly four weeks on allegations that they shared documents that could harm national security with Moammar Gadhafi's imprisoned son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi.

As they were released, ICC President Sang-Hyun Song, a South Korean judge, apologized to the Libyan government and people for the incident and promised an investigation into the allegations. Song flew to Libya for the handover.

"The ICC is grateful to the Libyan authorities for their agreement today to release the Court's staff members so that they can be reunited with their families," Song said as the four were released.

Seif al-Islam was the most senior member of the ousted Gadhafi regime to be captured in last year's civil war. Long viewed as a likely heir-apparent to his father, he faces charges by the ICC of crimes against humanity. He was captured by a militia in western Libya after his father was taken captive and then killed last October following more than 40 years as Libya's eccentric, authoritarian ruler.

Libya's new leadership accused Seif al-Islam of torturing and killing rebels, as well as other crimes.

His trial has been at the heart of a dispute between the ICC and the Libyan government. Libyan authorities have challenged the ICC's right to try Seif al-Islam, saying the international court is a tribunal of last resort, intended to try suspects from countries that cannot or will not prosecute them.

The court had expressed concern that Libya's judiciary is not yet ready to give Seif al-Islam a fair trial. The ICC judges ruled on June 1 that Libya doesn't have to hand over Seif al-Islam at least until a ruling on Tripoli's challenge.

Richard Dicker, international justice program director at Human Rights Watch, said the release of the ICC employees was "overdue," and that if Libya had any concern over their conduct, it should have submitted a complaint to the ICC.

"It is unacceptable that the ICC staff would be held for nearly a month when Libya had no right to do so," he said in an email to The Associated Press.

Amnesty International echoed the same sentiment and urged the ICC to investigate the legality of the detention and the allegations made by the Libyan authorities. It also questioned Tripoli's readiness to offer Gadhafi's son a fair trial.

"Not only has it denied them (the ICC staffers) their liberty and stopped them from performing their functions, but it has also undermined Seif al-Islam Gadhafi's right to an effective defense and delayed the ICC's decision on the Libyan authorities' recent application to bring him to trial in Libyan courts," said Amnesty International's Marek Marczynski.

He urged the ICC to review the impact of the detention and take measures to ensure Gadhafi's defense team has time to prepare their case.

The Libyan lawyer who represents Tripoli's interests at the ICC, Ahmed Al-Jehani, said the mission staffers were released because they have diplomatic immunity.

Libyan authorities say they placed Australian defense attorney Melinda Taylor and her Lebanese translator under house arrest after they visited Seif al-Islam in prison in the western town of Zintan and allegedly shared documents that could harm the country's national security. Seif al-Islam was captured by Zintani rebels late last year and has been held there ever since.

Al-Jehani said state prosecutors accused Taylor of having Seif al-Islam sign three blank pieces of paper, but they could not press charges because she has diplomatic immunity. Al-Jehani said Libyan authorities do not know why she wanted his signature.

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Aziz said the staffers, which also include a Russia national and a Spanish national, will leave to Tripoli and then Italy later in the day.

Al-Jehani, who is also the Libyan prosecutor leading the case against Gadhafi's son, said they were in good health. He said the case has now been closed in Libya and the staffers will not return.

"Definitely they are free and they will not be coming back to Libya," he said.

Al-Jehani said the detention of the ICC staff has further complicated relations with Libya.

"The relationship has become more difficult and more unstable," he said, adding that Libya would likely press ahead with its case against Seif al-Islam after the country's first nationwide elections this week to choose a parliament.

___

Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Cairo, and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-02-Libya-ICC/id-5a84c9def2a1456b8772376b994d318e

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New Hong Kong leader takes office amid discontent

Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, shakes hands with Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying after Leung was sworn in, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, shakes hands with Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying after Leung was sworn in, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A protester, center left, is ushered away by security officials after he shouted "(for China) To reverse its condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square and to end to one-party rule in China " before Chinese President Hu Jintao's address after Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was sworn in at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Hong Kong's Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun-ying, right, and his wife Regina shake hands with supporters during a flag raising ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in Hong Kong. Leung was sworn in as Hong Kong's third leader amid growing discontent with China's rule over the Asian financial center. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, administers the oath to Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, left, as he is sworn in for a five-year term in office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents take part in an annual pro-democracy protest march in Hong Kong, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The march was an occasion for ordinary people to air their grievances over a range of issues. There is rising public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG (AP) ? A pro-democracy heckler interrupted a speech by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the swearing-in of Hong Kong's new leader Sunday and tens of thousands of residents marched to protest Chinese rule on the 15th anniversary of the Asian financial hub's return to Beijing's control.

The outpouring of discontent underscored rising tensions between the Communist mainland and the vibrant city of 7 million that was returned to China in 1997 after more than a century of British colonial rule. While much of the discontent revolves around growing economic inequality and stunted democratic development, Hong Kongers are also upset over what they see as arrogant Chinese behavior ? wealthy mainlanders taking over retail outlets during flashy Hong Kong shopping trips, for example, or even the choice of language during Sunday's swearing-in ceremony, Beijing-accented Mandarin instead of the Cantonese dialect spoken locally.

In the ceremony, self-made millionaire Leung Chun-ying, 57, became Hong Kong's third chief executive after Donald Tsang and Tung Chee-hwa. He has promised to address Hong Kongers' economic needs, including skyrocketing housing prices, which many blame on deep-pocketed mainland apartment buyers.

A demonstrator who tried to interrupt Hu as he began an address was bundled away by security officials. The man, one of the guests invited to the inauguration, waved a small flag and yelled slogans calling for China's leaders to condemn the brutal June 4, 1989, crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. He also called for an end to one-party rule in China before security agents swiftly pounced. Hu took no notice and continued to read his speech, but the incident marred what was supposed to be a carefully orchestrated visit emphasizing strengthening ties between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Leung, a police officer's son, replaces career bureaucrat Tsang, who took office in 2005 and is barred from another term.

Leung was chosen as chief executive in March, winning 689 votes from a 1,200-seat committee of business elites who mostly voted according to Beijing's wishes. Hong Kong's 3.4 million registered voters, who can vote for neighborhood councilors and half of all lawmakers, had no say.

In mid-afternoon, tens of thousands of protesters began marching toward the newly built government headquarters complex on Hong Kong island, beating drums and waving British colonial flags in a gesture of nostalgia for an era during which democratic rights were limited but the rule of law was firmly in place.

In his speech, Hu said Hong Kong residents now have more democratic rights and freedoms than ever before ? a reminder that China has largely kept the promise it made when it regained the territory from Britain to keep Hong Kong's relatively open political system in place for 50 years.

But that did little to assuage the feelings of the protesters, who see China's Communist Party rule as strongly at odds with the values that many inherited from a British-influenced education, and the continuing spread of democracy to Asian neighbors like South Korea and Chinese-speaking Taiwan.

"China's way of thinking is totally different from ours," said builder Bono Lay, 46. "Tung Chee-hwa talked about one country, two systems but there's no more of that nowadays."

Beijing has pledged that Hong Kong can elect its own leader in 2017 and all legislators by 2020 at the earliest, but no roadmap has been laid out.

Calls for democracy have been catalyzed by the stunted election that catapulted Leung to power and by corruption scandals surrounding his predecessor. Ordinary Hong Kongers fear that the political system in place since 1997 has resulted in the city's billionaire tycoons having too much influence over senior government officials. Government data now show that income inequality has risen to its highest level in four decades.

Leung himself was implicated in an embarrassing scandal just last week when it emerged that he had made six illegal additions to his mansion in an exclusive neighborhood on Hong Kong island's Victoria Peak.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-01-Hong%20Kong-New%20Leader/id-44985e7a02bb43fe8dca96e18f52a90b

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CPI: ALEC faces tax challenge by clergy

By John DunbarCenter for Public Integrity

A prominent tax attorney has accused an organization of state lawmakers and corporations officials with improperly claiming nonprofit status, alleging the group?s role is to benefit businesses, the Republican Party, and legislators and not the public.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ?elevates commercial gain for a few over the well-being of society?s less fortunate,? says a complaint penned by Marcus Owens, the former chief of the Internal Revenue Service?s nonprofit corporations division, on behalf of Clergy VOICE, a group of ministers from progressive churches in Ohio.

---

ALEC has attracted attention recently for its model ?stand your ground? and voter ID laws which led major corporate backers like Coca Cola and Kraft Foods Inc. to drop their membership in the face of a threatened boycott by activists. The Florida gun law became a hot topic following the slaying of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen, by a neighborhood watch volunteer in February.

Until recently, ALEC has enjoyed a low profile, despite its substantial influence over legislation in the nation?s statehouses. The group claims on its website that it has helped craft close to 1,000 bills introduced by state lawmakers and that ?an average of 20 percent become law.?

In its complaint, Clergy VOICE says ALEC has ?deliberately and repeatedly failed to comply with some of the most fundamental federal tax requirements applicable to public charities? and that evidence ?quite strongly? suggests that the group is violating civil and criminal tax laws.

The clergy?s complaint goes beyond allegations of improper lobbying, claiming that ALEC exists for the ?private benefit? of its members rather than for charitable, educational or other exempt purposes that serve the public interest and deserve special tax treatment.

The Center forwarded the complaint to ALEC?s media relations representative Tuesday via email but a call was not returned. The Center forwarded the complaint and questions Wednesday morning to the organization and was told it had been passed along to ?appropriate parties? but did not receive a response.

The 30-page letter sent to the IRS on June 18 was inspired by a separate, whistleblower claim lodged by consumer group Common Cause in April, which alleged ALEC is a corporate-funded lobbying group, which violates IRS rules that govern 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations.

ALEC, formed in 1973, has consistently argued it is bipartisan and educational in nature, because it provides research and analysis for legislators. It pays no income tax and donors to the organization, including its corporate members, can deduct their contributions from their taxable income, just as they would for a charity.

The Internal Revenue Code says a 501(c)(3) organization ?may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.? ALEC reports no lobbying on its annual filings with the IRS, according to the complaint, but state records in North Dakota show two lobbyists registered to represent the organization in 2008 and 2009: Mark Behrens and Cory Shaecher.

ALEC was formed in Chicago by a group of state legislators and the late Paul Weyrich, a pioneering conservative activist and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation. Based in Washington, D.C., the group says its mission is to advance ?free-market enterprise, limited government and federalism at the state level through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America?s state legislators, members of the private sector and the general public.?

Its 23-member board of directors is made up of entirely of state legislators. But it also has a ?private enterprise board? consisting of corporate representatives, including GlaxoSmithKline, PhRMA, Pfizer Inc. AT&T Inc., Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC, Altria (formerly Philip Morris) Client Services, ExxonMobil Corp. and State Farm Insurance Co. Legislators join for $50 per year while private sector members join for $7,000, $12,000 or $25,000 for the top-tier ?Jefferson Club.?

The criticism of the group is focused mainly on its ?task forces,? which bring legislators and corporate members together to create model bills.

The complaint alleges that industry representatives have ?effective veto power? over the recommendations of the task forces.

While ALEC describes the output of its task forces as bipartisan analysis and research, the complaint said the task force proposals ?do not appear to contain ?a sufficiently full and fair exposition? of the public policy issue underlying the legislative proposal. To the contrary, they promote the ideological views and business interests of ALEC?s Private Sector members ? the corporate funders.?
Clergy VOICE consists of 18 religious leaders who have come together in the past to challenge nonprofits. In 2004 and 2006, they filed complaints against two large Ohio churches alleging they were promoting Republican candidates.

They also challenged the tax-exempt status of a Christian organization and its $1.8 million Washington, D.C., townhouse that housed conservative Christian members of Congress. The ?C Street Center? made the news as a refuge for three Republican politicians tarnished by scandal.

The religious leaders do not represent their congregations. Half are members of the United Church of Christ, a Protestant denomination that has been historically liberal on social issues. In a cover letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, they accuse ALEC of compromising free and fair elections, weakening union rights, degrading the environment and a host of other offenses.

The organization singled out a handful of corporate-influenced model bills, including a cap on damages for asbestos claims, the ?stand your ground? legislation pushed by the National Rifle Association and an immigration bill which reportedly served as the basis for Arizona?s law and was drafted with help from a private prison company. The immigration law was partially knocked down by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25.

The complaint also said ALEC had improperly provided a benefit to lawmakers by creating ?scholarships? under the control of the national headquarters that paid for the lawmakers? attendance at meetings ?held in luxury hotels, frequently in vacation-worthy destinations like San Diego, New Orleans and Scottsdale.? These include ?perks such as meals, recreational activities, and subsidized childcare for legislators and their families? that are often not reported by the lawmakers on their state ethics disclosure forms, the complaint said.

?Meeting agendas include events like golf tournaments, open bar parties and baseball games ? all subsidized directly or indirectly by ALEC?s corporate members,? the letter said, citing an estimate by ALEC that these benefits cost $1 million to $2 million each year.
ALEC claims to be bipartisan, but all 23 legislative members of its board listed on ALEC?s 2010 tax return are Republicans, according to a Center review. The clergy complaint claims 72 of ALEC?s 74 filled state chairman seats are held by Republican legislators.

The group states ALEC faces potential civil penalties for ?a pattern of filing multiple inaccurate? tax returns with the IRS, such as not reporting lobbying activities and providing incorrect information about its payments to legislators for travel and entertainment.
It also says the group may face criminal tax penalties if the misstatements or omissions were made ?knowingly or willfully.?

Whether the IRS will pursue any action is difficult to say. Complaints are typically answered with a ?thank you? letter acknowledging their receipt and the agency does not release details about investigations or audits.

Owens, who was director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS from 1990 to 2000, said he expects a reaction.
?The legal analysis is done for them. They just have to read it,? he said. ?I would be surprised if the IRS took no action in response to this letter.?

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, independent investigative news outlet. ?To read more of CPI?s stories go to iwatchnews.org.

Source: http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/02/12524532-alec-the-power-behind-legislation-faces-tax-complaint-from-clergy-group

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High-tech hunt for Earhart's plane?to begin

Components of Amelia Earhart's plane might have floated for weeks in the waters of an uninhabited island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati, according to new analysis of a photograph taken three months after the disappearance of the glamorous aviator on July 2, 1937, during a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator.

Shot by British Colonial Service officer Eric R. Bevington in October 1937, during an expedition to assess the suitability for future settlement and colonization of Nikumaroro, a deserted island between Hawaii and Australia, the grainy photo has prompted a new expedition to find pieces of Earhart's long-lost Lockheed Electra aircraft.

"We will depart Honolulu on July 3rd aboard the University of Hawaii oceanographic research ship R/V Ka Imikai-O-Kanaloa. In about eight days we should get to Nikumaroro, where we will carry out a deep-water search for the wreckage," Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), told Discovery News.

The 26-day expedition and its findings will be captured by a film crew from Discovery Channel and aired as a documentary in August.

Archival research and a number of artifacts unearthed on Nikumaroro during nine previous archaeological expeditions have provided strong, circumstantial evidence for a castaway presence on the coral atoll.

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Gillespie believes that Earhart's twin-engined plane did not crash in the Pacific Ocean, running out of fuel somewhere near her target destination Howland Island. Instead, he thinks Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan made an emergency landing on Nikumaroro's flat coral reef. There, they would have survived as castaways "for a matter of weeks, possibly more," said Gillespie.

The hunt for the plane wreckage will rely on robots and multi-beam sonar capable of mapping the seafloor at depths of almost 7 miles. The action will be on the reef slope off the west end of Nikumaroro, where waters can reach 5,000 feet. This is the area shown in Bevington's picture.

"The photo shows the western end of the island and the wreck of the British steamer SS Norwich City, which went aground on the island's reef in 1929," Gillespie said.

"But on the left side of the frame there is something else: an apparent man-made protruding object which is hard to explain in that spot," Gillespie said.

"The photo is wallet-size and, in the original print, the object of interest is smaller than a grain of rice and easily missed," he added.

Indeed, the mysterious object went unnoticed until 2010, when TIGHAR forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman spotted it while reviewing the original copy-negative.

"When we plotted the location, we realized it was in the same place where, in 1999, a former resident of Nikumaroro (a colony was established on the island in December of 1938 and lasted until 1963), told us of seeing debris in 1940. Her father, the island carpenter, told her it was the wreckage of an airplane," Gillespie said.

A high-resolution scan of the original print, now kept at the Rhodes House Library at Oxford, U.K., allowed Glickman to carry out a more detailed analysis of the photo.

"There is an object on the reef, but from the picture we can?t definitely prove what it is. However, one interpretation is consistent with four components that existed on Earhart?s Lockheed Electra Model 10E Special," Glickman said presenting his findings last month at an Amelia Earhart conference.

According to Glickman, the object in the image could be a composition made from the upside-down landing gear of Earhart's plane: a floating wheel, the fender, the strut and a worm gear.

"Imagery analysts at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, who examined the photo, agreed with Glickman?s analysis. All the four elements appeared to match the shape and dimensions of the components in the landing gear of a Lockheed Electra," Gillespie said.

Previous expeditions have confirmed that there is nothing remaining in the location on the reef edge where the object appears in the 1937 Bevington photos.

"However, there are grooves in the reef surface where debris could easily have once been caught," Gillespie said.

He admits that there are several possible scenarios that could defeat TIGHAR's efforts to find the wreckage. For example, the plane could have floated away for miles before sinking, or it could have broken up, sunk close to the island and been buried by underwater landslides.

The underwater search will begin with a mapping of the general area with multi-beam sonar. Targets will be identified using high-resolution, side-scan sonar mounted on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Finally, a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) with powerful lights and high-definition video cameras will be used to investigate the targets.

"If we are fortunate enough to find whatever remains of the airplane, we will get imagery and photographs and then prepare a recovery expedition," Gillespie said.

"Our hope is that finding identifiable pieces of the plane will help make it possible to do further archaeology on shore to learn more about Amelia's last days," he said.

? 2012 Discovery Channel

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48045456/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Colorado wildfires are 'what global warming really looks like' (+video)

The wildfires ravaging Colorado are a preview of the kinds of disasters that human-caused climate change could bring about, say scientists.?

By Deborah Zabarenko and Laura Zuckerman,?Reuters / June 29, 2012

A firefighting helicopter makes a run over a plume of smoke rising from the Waldo Canyon wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday.

Chris Carlson/AP

Enlarge

Scorching heat, high winds and bone-dry conditions are fueling catastrophic?wildfires?in the U.S. West that offer a preview of the kind of disasters that human-caused climate change could bring, a trio of scientists said on Thursday.

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> Calling it a test day, fire officials in Colorado say they'll soon learn if the progress they've made against a blaze near Colorado Springs will hold as the weather begins to turn against them. (June 30)

"What we're seeing is a window into what?global?warming?really looks like,"?Princeton University's?Michael Oppenheimer?said during a telephone press briefing. "It looks like heat, it looks like fires, it looks like this kind of environmental disaster ... This provides vivid images of what we can expect to see more of in the future."

In?Colorado,?wildfires?that have raged for weeks have killed four people, displaced thousands and destroyed hundreds of homes. Because winter snowpack was lighter than usual and melted sooner, fire season started earlier in the U.S. West, with?wildfires?out of control in?Colorado,?Montana?and?Utah.

The high temperatures that are helping drive these fires are consistent with projections by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said this kind of extreme heat, with little cooling overnight, is one kind of damaging impact of?global?warming.

Others include more severe storms, floods and droughts, Oppenheimer said.

The stage was set for these fires when winter snowpack was lighter than usual, said?Steven Running, a forest ecologist at the?University of Montana.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/b4zbOiGxwoU/Colorado-wildfires-are-what-global-warming-really-looks-like-video

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8 Top Comments on Mashable This Week

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/8-top-comments-mashable-week-223243123.html

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'Flying Squirrel' soars, heads for London Games

Gabby Douglas competes on the uneven bars during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Gabby Douglas competes on the uneven bars during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Nastia Liukin reacts after falling from the uneven bars during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Nastia Liukin reacts after competing on the uneven bars during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Gabby Douglas, left, hugs her coach, Liang Chow after competing on the vault during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jordyn Wieber competes on the uneven bars during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, July 1, 2012, in San Jose, Calif. Wieber was named to the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Long called an underdog, Gabby Douglas likes her new label a whole lot more.

Olympian.

The 16-year-old with the spectacular uneven bars routine and personality to spare beat Jordyn Wieber for the first time Sunday night, winning the Olympic trials and the lone guaranteed spot for the London Games.

"Everyone was telling me you have this great potential and you can be on top," Douglas said. "I didn't believe that, but everyone was just telling me to believe in myself. I did and I'm kind of up on top and it's amazing."

The only thing more amazing would be to end up on top in London, the rest of her teammates beside her.

Led by the 1-2 punch of Douglas and Wieber, this will be the strongest team the Americans have had since 1996, one that will be not just favored but expected to bring home only the second Olympic team gold. McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman, who were with Douglas and Wieber on the U.S. team that won the title at last fall's world championships, also made the team, as did Kyla Ross.

Maroney is the world vault champion. Ross, not old enough to be on last year's world team, is a two-time U.S. champion.

"I guarantee one thing: The truth is going to come out on the Olympic Games," said Bela Karolyi, whose wife, Martha, is the national team coordinator. "And the truth is that we are solidly the first place team. There's no question about that."

One gymnast who won't be in London, at least not as a competitor, is Olympic champion Nastia Liukin.

Liukin announced her comeback last October, hoping to become the first reigning Olympic champion to return to the games since Nadia Comaneci in 1980. But desire and grit are no match for shoulder problems and a three-year layoff, and Liukin's glittering career sputtered to an end. She fell on uneven bars, her signature event, when her fingertips could only brush the bar after a release move, and needed to take a step back after landing her dismount on the edge of the mat.

The crowd gave her a standing ovation, and she regrouped with a nice balance beam routine. As she walked off the podium, her father and coach, Valeri, greeted her with a kiss and fans began to stand.

Tears filled Liukin's eyes as she waved and said goodbye, to the crowd, her comeback and a career that includes five Olympic medals and four world titles.

"Of course I wanted to go out and put two good performances out there and end my career that way, so it's a little upsetting," Liukin said. "Today is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It can easily compare to winning the all-around gold medal to me. Those are pretty much the two highlights of my career ... winning an all-around gold medal and getting a standing ovation not once but twice."

Besides, Liukin leaves knowing the Americans are in great hands.

Wieber has been considered the favorite for Olympic gold since winning the world title last fall, her biggest competition expected to come from Russians Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova.

Turns out, her real rival was right here at home.

Determined to make the Olympics, Douglas left her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., two years ago to train with Shawn Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Douglas served notice of her potential at this year's American Cup, where she actually beat Wieber, though her scores didn't count because she was competing as an alternate. Douglas came up just short at nationals, and again the first night of trials.

On Sunday night, however, Douglas would not be denied again.

Needing to score a 15.25 or better to pass Wieber, Douglas put on a show worthy of Vegas on the floor exercise. Basketball players would be envious of the hops she gets on her tumbling runs, yet she lands them with such security there's got to be some glue somewhere on those feet. She had the crowd rocking and rolling to her techno music, and she wore a grin so bright it could have powered the arena had the lights gone out.

When she finished, Chow greeted her with a bear hug. And that was before they saw her score: a 15.3 that gave her a total of 123.45, just enough to hold off Wieber.

"Winning or not winning at this meet is really secondary," Chow said. "Clearly we saw here that her mental strength and gymnastics strength is coming along."

Only the trials winner was guaranteed a spot in London, and it was clear from the start that Douglas was going to give Wieber a heck of a fight.

She opened with a massive vault, soaring high above the table with her legs pencil-straight and body tightly coiled, and she needed only a small hop to the side to steady herself on her landing. She broke into a big grin as she thrust her hands in the air, and she trotted off the podium with her fists still raised. Her score of 16 ? including a huge 9.5 for execution ? moved her into first place, a spot she never relinquished.

She extended the lead on uneven bars, her signature event. Douglas is so light and quick as she flies between the bars that Martha Karolyi has dubbed her the "Flying Squirrel," and she gets such great height on her release moves she could have dusted off the Jumbotron. But it is her grace that makes her stand out, looking like a ballerina in a jewelry box as she pirouetted on the high bar. There's some hard-core steel beneath that pretty package, however. On one transition, Douglas' hand seemed to slip on the bar, something that would have made most gymnasts go flying. But she kept right on going, never even hesitating.

When she landed her dismount, the arena responded with a roar that was probably heard in San Francisco. Her score of 15.9 gave her a 1.35-point lead over Wieber with two events left.

But balance beam has been giving Douglas problems all month ? a fall the second day of the U.S. championships cost her the title ? and Sunday night was no different. She had to windmill her arms to stay upright after a series of back handsprings, and she rocked and swayed for another several seconds after a back somersault. Her score of 14.85 was her lowest of the two-day trials, and cut her lead to 0.6 going into the final rotation ? leaving plenty of room for Wieber, who finished on vault, the highest-scoring event.

Wieber didn't get her normal height on vault, however, and landed low, needing to take a step back to steady herself. A minor error, for sure, but every tenth counts when the Olympics are on the line.

"My ultimate goal was definitely to make the team, but I'm a little disappointed", with my performance, Wieber said. "I definitely think it's going to give me more motivation."

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Follow Nancy Armour at www.twitter.com/nrarmour

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-02-GYM-Gymnastics%20Trials/id-75990356112c4f8a8d2dc117e64828e2

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