Nation Digest: Former Clinton Fundraiser Norman Hsu Gets 24-Year Sentence

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Ex-Clinton Fundraiser Gets 24-Year Sentence

Former Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was sentenced Tuesday to more than 24 years in prison by a judge who accused him of manipulating the political process in a way that "strikes at the very core of our democracy."

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero sentenced the 58-year-old Hsu, who raised money for Hillary Rodham Clinton and others, to 20 years in prison after his guilty plea to fraud charges and another four years, four months in prison for his conviction at trial for breaking campaign finance laws.

The judge said Hsu stole more than $50 million from investors in a 10-year Ponzi scheme.

Hsu's donations became an embarrassment for Clinton's presidential campaign. His arrest led Clinton to return more than $800,000 to donors linked to him.

-- Associated Press

AMERICAN SAMOA

Earthquake Spawns Deadly Tsunami

A powerful Pacific Ocean earthquake spawned towering tsunami waves that swept ashore on Samoa and American Samoa early Tuesday, flattening villages, killing at least 39 people and leaving dozens of workers missing at devastated National Park Service facilities.

Cars and people were swept out to sea by the fast-churning waters as survivors fled to high ground, where they remained huddled hours later. Hampered by power and communications outages, officials struggled to assess the casualties and damage. Nevertheless, President Obama declared a major disaster in the territory, clearing the way for federal aid to flow.

The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn about 20 miles below the ocean floor, 120 miles from American Samoa -- a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people -- and 125 miles from Samoa.