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    Swartz lawyer: Feds insisted on prison time

    Swartz lawyer: Prosecutors insisted on 6 months in prison and guilty plea to all charges

    BOSTON (AP) -- A lawyer for Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz said federal prosecutors told him two days before Swartz's death that Swartz would have to spend six months in prison and plead guilty to 13 charges if he wanted to avoid going to trial.

    The 26-year-old Swartz was found dead of an apparent suicide in his New York apartment Friday. He was accused of illegally gaining access to academic articles from a computer archive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The charges carried a maximum penalty of decades in prison.

    His former attorney Andrew Good said he told prosecutors about a year ago that Swartz was a suicide risk. He said they offered to hold him in jail to protect him from himself.

    A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz declined comment.

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    • Cycling-Road-Giro d'Italia points classification after stage 18

      May 23 (Infostrada Sports) - Points Classification Giro d'Italia after Stage 18 on Thursday 1. Mark Cavendish (Britain / Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) 113 2. Cadel Evans (Australia / BMC Racing) 109 3. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Astana) 103 4. Carlos Betancur (Colombia / AG2R) 94 5. Mauro Santambrogio (Italy / Vini Fantini) 89 6. Giovanni Visconti (Italy / Movistar) 86 7. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Team Sky) 86 8. Elia Viviani (Italy / Cannondale) 72 9. Ramunas Navardauskas (Lithuania / Garmin) 65 10. Giacomo Nizzolo (Italy / RadioShack) 61

    • Dog Found Standing Guard Over a Tornado Victim Reunited With Her Owner

      There's a happy ending to the story of a dog, found alive in the rubble after a massive tornado devastated Moore, Oklahoma: she's been reunited with her owner.

    • Motor racing-Pirelli warn they could quit F1

      By Alan Baldwin MONACO, May 23 (Reuters) - Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli warned teams on Thursday that they will quit the sport at the end of the season if a new contract from 2014 is not agreed soon. Motorsport director Paul Hembery did not hide his impatience when he told reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix that time was running out for the Italian company to design and test tyres suitable for radically different 2014 regulations. "Apparently on Sept. 1 we are meant to tell them (the teams) everything that they need to know for the tyres for next season. ...

    • No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn’t Working

      Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, “How’s your wife?” “Compared to what?” he’d say.

    • Distraught mom becomes face of Oklahoma storm

      MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A massive tornado was carving its way through town. There was no time to hesitate. LaTisha Garcia had to get to her children.

    • Michelle Obama vacation: Will critics slam this trip too?

      Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia are looking at an extended vacation on Martha’s Vineyard this summer, according to a report in The Boston Globe. The Globe might have something here – it’s almost a local Vineyard paper, after all.

    • Woman accused of contaminating daughter's IV tubes

      TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A prosecutor says a woman on trial in Tucson contaminated her hospitalized infant daughter's intravenous lines in an attempt to get attention from the girl's father.

    • Trayvon Martin texts, photos: Might they change Zimmerman trial?

      Ultimately, many of the photos and cellphone records of Trayvon Martin released online Thursday by George Zimmerman’s defense attorneys – indicating that the slain teenager smoked marijuana, got into fights at school, and had an interest in, and perhaps access to, guns – may be ruled inadmissible in court. But they are already making the rounds in the court of public opinion, which can influence everything from fundraising efforts to the mind-set of potential jurors in Mr. Zimmerman's murder trial.

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