Shorts (left)
Bin Laden DNA match is likely a parent or child
While federal officials said that analysis of DNA from several relatives helped confirm that it was Osama bin Laden who was killed in the military raid on Sunday, they have not yet disclosed the relationships of the family members whose DNA was used.
Officials said they collected multiple DNA samples from bin Laden’s relatives in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks. And they said the analysis, which was performed the day bin Laden was killed but after his body was buried at sea, confirmed his identity with 99.9 percent accuracy.
Some scientific experts said on Monday that if results really were so accurate, at least one of the sources was likely to have been a close relative, like a child or parent with whom he shared half his genes.
“That would be most likely,” said Frederic Zenhausern, director of the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine at University of Arizona.
DNA matching usually involves obtaining material from a blood sample or cheek swab.
—Donald G. Mcneil Jr. and Pam Belluck, The New York Times
Extra tax revenue to delay debt crisis until August
WASHINGTON — A greater-than-expected increase in tax revenue has extended by about a month, until early August, the federal government’s ability to pay its bills without an increase in the debt ceiling, the Treasury Department said Monday.
The new estimate creates a significant grace period for Congress to consider an increase in the maximum amount that the government can borrow, a step that House Republicans say they will not take without an agreement to curb spending.
Federal borrowing is still likely to hit the legal limit on May 16, the Treasury said, so this week it will begin to take emergency steps to buy additional time under the cap. Those steps, plus the increase in tax receipts, which have reduced the need for borrowing, will delay a crisis by about a month — to August from July.
“While this updated estimate in theory gives Congress additional time to complete work on increasing the debt limit, I caution strongly against delaying action,” the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, wrote Monday to lawmakers.
—Binyamin Appelbaum, The New York Times
Two years after a bankruptcy, Chrysler posts a profit
DETROIT — The Chrysler Group, two years removed from its descent into bankruptcy, posted on Monday its first quarterly profit since 2006, as the company sold more cars and trucks at higher prices.
Chrysler, the only Detroit automaker to lose money last year, earned $116 million in the quarter, after losing $197 million in the period a year ago. Revenue grew 35 percent, to $13.1 billion, while sales were up 18 percent.
“Chrysler Group’s improved sales and financial performance in the first quarter show that our rejuvenated product lineup is gaining momentum in the marketplace and resonating with customers,” Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Chrysler and its Italian partner, Fiat, said in a statement. “These results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees, suppliers and dealers, all of whom are helping Chrysler create a new corporate culture built on the quality of our products and processes, and simple, sound management principles.”
—Nick Bunkley, The New York Times