The nation in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY “Every 10 years, redistricting litigation joins death and taxes as a virtual certainty.”

Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor,

who said lawsuits related to redistricting have been filed in 28 states so far Article, 5A

Rally in D.C. supports Iranian group

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of people rallied outside the White House on Saturday, calling on President Barack Obama to remove an Iranian opposition group once allied with Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

Former Pennsylvania Govs. Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell were among speakers urging the United States to take the Mujahedin-e Khalq off the State Department’s list. Ridge, a Republican, was the nation’s first Homeland Security secretary. Rendell is a top Democrat who helped elect Obama.

“The only group that should be on the list is the country of Iran itself, under the rule of the mullahs,” Ridge said, noting recent U.S. allegations of a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington.

The United States added the group to its terrorist list in 1997. But last year a federal court ordered the State Department to reconsider, and the group has rallied many members of Congress and former high-ranking U.S. officials to its cause.

Delisting would allow the Paris-based group to raise money and operate in the United States. The group says it renounced violence in 2001.

Obama: Libya, Iraq reminders of role

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Saturday called the death of Moammar Gadhafi and the removal of all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of the year “two powerful reminders” of U.S. leadership on the global stage.

“In Libya, the death of Moammar Gadhafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “In Iraq, we’ve succeeded in our strategy to end the war.”

While the United States has spent $1 trillion on war over the past decade, Obama said, it “invested too little in the greatest source of our national strength - our own people.” There must be renewed focus on the economy, he said, urging Congress to channel the strength of U.S. troops and pass his $447 billion jobs proposal.

Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, in the weekly Republican address, said that “getting government out of the way” will help lower the jobless rate.

Burr listed parts of the Republican jobs plan that he said would lead to economic growth, including simplifying the tax code, limiting government regulations and spending and increasing exports.

Google reportedly looks at Yahoo deal

Google is exploring the possibility of helping to finance a possible deal by others to acquire Internet search company Yahoo, according to a published report by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

Google Inc. has talked to at least two private-equity firms about potentially assisting them to finance a deal to buy Yahoo Inc.’s core business, according to the story, which cited a person familiar with the matter and did not identify the source.

The Journal said Google and its prospective partners have held early-stage discussions but haven’t assembled a formal proposal. The source said Google may not end up pursuing a bid.

A spokesman for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google declined to comment. A spokesman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo said the company doesn’t comment “on rumor or speculation.”Jindal wins re-election handily

BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana coasted to a second term, winning in a landslide election Saturday in a race that failed to attract any well-known or well-funded opposition to oust the Republican from office.

Jindal overwhelmed a field of nine competitors in the open primary.

With 3,246 of 4,258 precincts reporting Saturday night, Jindal had tallied 537,709 votes, or nearly 67 percent of the total. His leading challenger, Tara Hollis, a Democrat from north Louisiana, had racked up 139,251 votes, or about 17 percent.

“I will use every day, every hour of these next four years to make Louisiana the very best that we can be. I don’t believe on resting on our past accomplishments. I don’t believe in taking time off,” Jindal told a packed hotel ballroom of supporters.

Jindal, 40, who took office in 2008, piled up $15 million in campaign cash and attracted no Democratic challengers with statewide name recognition or fundraising heft.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/23/2011

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