Barack Obama blamed fierce attacks by rival Hillary Clinton for his defeats in big Democratic primaries, and quickly made good on a promise to sharpen his criticism of her in what promised to be a drawn-out White House brawl.

Judges began inspecting more than 80,000 contested ballots, with Italian politics in turmoil and the country’s future mired in uncertainty following Romano Prodi’s narrow electoral victory and Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s demands for a recount.

JUDGES began checking thousands of contested ballots yesterday, with Italian politics in turmoil following Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s demand for a recount of rival Romano Prodi’s narrow parliamentary election victory.

Judges began checking tens of thousands of contested ballots today, with Italian politics in turmoil following Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s demand for a recount of rival Romano Prodi’s narrow parliamentary elections victory.