Washington

Democrat’s win upheld in governor’s race

A judge Monday upheld Democrat Christine Gregoire’s victory in the closest race for governor in U.S. history, rejecting Republican claims that last fall’s election was stolen through errors and fraud.

The election – decided by an amazingly close 129 votes out of 2.9 million cast – included 1,678 illegally cast ballots, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges found. But he said Republicans failed to prove that GOP candidate Dino Rossi would have won if those votes had been disregarded.

“Unless an election is clearly invalid, when the people have spoken their verdict should not be disturbed by the courts,” Bridges said.

The judge threw out only a few illegally cast votes and raised Gregoire’s margin of victory to 133.

Washington, D.C.

Dolphins found using tools to forage for food

A group of dolphins living off the coast of Australia apparently teach their offspring to protect their snouts with sponges while foraging for food in the sea floor.

Researchers say it appears to be a cultural behavior passed on from mother to daughter, a first for animals of this type, although such learning has been seen in other species.

The dolphins, living in Shark Bay, Western Australia, use conically shaped whole sponges that they tear off the bottom, said Michael Kruetzen, lead author of a report on the dolphins in today’s issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

“Cultural evolution, including tool use, is not only found in humans and our closest relatives, the primates, but also in animals that are evolutionally quite distant from us. This convergent evolution is what is so fascinating,” said Kruetzen.

New York City

Board rejects funding plan for Olympics site

New York City’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics suffered a setback Monday when a powerful state board rejected critical public funding for a $2 billion stadium on Manhattan’s West side.

The financing board failed to approve $300 million in state money for the stadium that would also serve as home to the New York Jets. The plan, which needed unanimous approval from the three-member board, received only one vote.

New York is in competition with Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow for the 2012 Games. Earlier Monday, the International Olympic Committee released a report ranking Paris highest among the finalists and indicating that construction of the stadium is crucial to New York’s chances.

The state board could reconsider the issue again later. But without the support of member Sheldon Silver – the state Assembly Speaker who came out against the plan less than an hour before vote was taken – the state funding cannot move forward.