NEWARK, N.J. — Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s communications director has resigned.
Anne Torres is stepping down a little more than a week after the mayor drew flak from fellow Democrats for criticizing President Obama’s campaign.
In a statement Tuesday, Ms. Torres wished Mr. Booker good luck. She says she enjoyed her six years of working for him.
Mr. Booker was considered one of Mr. Obama’s biggest supporters, but in a May 20 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” he described as “nauseating” the attack ads against Bain Capital, the private equity firm once run by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Mr. Booker subsequently backed off the remarks in a YouTube video, saying he was just expressing frustration with negative campaigning.
Ms. Torres’ resignation was first reported by politickernj.com
NOAA
Money-shifting problems costly at Weather Service
The head of the National Weather Service suddenly retired and the agency is seeking an emergency $35.6 million from Congress because of allegations of financial mismanagement and money shifting within the agency.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco, who oversees the Weather Service, said in a memo investigators found that agency officials moved tens of millions of dollars around without congressional approval, as required by law. The money went from being appropriated for technology improvements to meeting shortfalls in payroll and operations at local Weather Service offices.
Weather Service director Jack Hayes retired Friday. His chief financial officer was already on administrative leave.
Agency spokesman Scott Smullen said investigators found no evidence of corruption or personal financial gain. The agency will soon release a report on the issue.
CAMPAIGN
Romney welcomes expulsion of Syrian diplomats
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is calling for more “assertive measures” against Syrian President Bashar Assad, including arming the Syrian opposition. The Obama administration so far has declined to help arm the opposition.
Mr. Romney said in a statement that he welcomed Tuesday’s mass expulsion of Syrian diplomats by the U.S. and other countries to protest the weekend massacre of dozens of civilians, including children.
But he said the move underscores the need for stronger measures to end Mr. Assad’s regime. He said President Obama’s “lack of leadership” had created a “policy of paralysis” that has led to the killing of an estimated 10,000 Syrians.
Mr. Romney called for increasing pressure on Russia to stop selling arms to Syria, and for Russia to end its obstruction at the United Nations.
WHITE HOUSE
Obama campaign raps Romney on Trump rhetoric
President Obama’s re-election campaign released a television ad accusing Mitt Romney of failing to stand up to “the voices of extremism” in his party.
The ad debuted Tuesday as Mr. Romney was poised to clinch the Republican presidential nomination in the Texas primary. It takes the former Massachusetts governor to task for failing to speak out against real estate mogul Donald Trump, a supporter who consistently has charged that Mr. Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
The commercial opens by showing eventual 2008 GOP nominee John McCain brushing aside a woman who raised the citizenship issue at a town hall-style meeting, and asks, “Why won’t Mitt Romney do the same?”
A Romney aide is shown telling a TV interviewer that “a candidate can’t be responsible for everything a supporter has said.”
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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