Dem Michael Nutter reelected Philadelphia mayor PHILADELPHIA Democratic

“Dem Michael Nutter re-elected Philadelphia mayor”

PHILADELPHIA - Democratic Mayor Michael Nutter cruised to a second term Tuesday, easily defeating little-known Republican challenger Karen Brown. With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Nutter had 133, 252 votes while Brown had 38, 640 votes. In his re-election bid, Nutter touted the fact that homicides are down about 18 percent since his election in 2007. He also successfully oversaw the implementation of single-stream recycling and a 311 information call center, while avoiding drastic cuts to core city services during the recession. One of his main focuses in his second term, Nutter said, will be continuing to try to get illegal guns out of the city and slow its stubborn homicide rate.

In Other News n n n An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier passed within the moon's orbit Tuesday, the closest approach by an object that large in more than 30 years. Asteroid 2005 YU 55 passed within 202, 000 miles of Earth -- about four-fifths of the distance to the moon -- at 6: 28 p. m. Tuesday, NASA said. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic -- A three-judge panel court on Tuesday acquitted Baltimore Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon of charges in the shooting death of a man in his hometown. Simon was charged with involuntary murder in the death of Michell Esteban Castillo, 25, and with injuring the victim's cousin Starlin Castillo, 17, early on January 1 in the nearby town of Luperon. "Every child deserves to be excited they are a part of life, " Michelle tells PEOPLE after just revealing that she is pregnant with her 20 th child. The reality stars (The Duggars) have faced mounting criticism over the size of their family and the risks of Michelle's new pregnancy following the premature birth of their daughter, Josie, in Dec. 2009. But the couple insists that Josie's frightening premature birth and Michelle's life-threatening preeclampsia were not enough to convince them that 19 kids were enough.