The nation in brief

LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Right now we

have an economy in trouble, and someone who spent

their career in the

economy is more

suited to help fix

the economy than someone who spent

his life in politics and as a community organizer.”

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney,

in an interview in which he welcomed a focus on economic issues and scrutiny of his career in private equity Article, 2A

Obama promises

strong military

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to keep the military strong even as he winds down the wars of the past decade and takes the budget knife to Pentagon spending in an age of increasing government austerity.

Addressing the graduating cadets of the Air Force Academy, Obama said spending cuts were inevitable for the armed forces but he promised to guard against reductions that would compromise the nation’s security.

“Yes, as today’s wars end, our military, and our Air Force, will be leaner,” he told a stadium filled with the blue uniforms of the next generation of pilots and other officers. “But as commander in chief, I will not allow us to make the mistakes of the past. ... We’ll keep our military, and our Air Force, fast and flexible and versatile. We will maintain our military superiority in all areas: air, land, sea, space and cyber.”Illegal burn focus

of wildfire probe

WELLINGTON, Nev.

• Investigators said Wednesday that a 6,000-acre wildfire that destroyed two homes in a rural neighborhood near the California-Nevada line, about 60 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe, may have been caused by an illegal burn.

No deaths or injuries have been reported, and evacuations have been lifted. Officials said the fire was only 10 percent contained.

Investigators believe the fire started when a resident failed to properly snuff out a burn Sunday and it suddenly burst into flames Tuesday afternoon.

‘Sick individuals’ seen on priest list

PHILADELPHIA - A Roman Catholic church official conceded that a 1994 list he compiled of 35 priests suspected of sexually abusing children in the Philadelphia archdiocese included some “pretty sick individuals.”

Monsignor William Lynn took the stand in his own defense Wednesday in a child-endangerment and conspiracy case.

Prosecutors contend that Lynn helped keep those priests and many more in ministry, where they had access to countless other children.

Lynn testified that the head of the archdiocese forbade staff members from telling accusers their alleged abuser had other victims.

And he said the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua wouldn’t let parishes announce the real reason an accused priest was being removed. Parishioners were often told their priest had health problems when he left for sex-offender treatment, according to testimony over the past nine weeks.

Bevilacqua died Jan. 31, two months before his longtime secretary for clergy went on trial.