WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney won the Kentucky Republican presidential primary Tuesday, inching closer to the GOP nomination for president.

With no serious opposition left, the former Massachusetts governor easily won the contest, claiming at least 32 of the 42 delegates at stake in Kentucky. Voters also went polls in Arkansas, with 33 delegates at stake in that state.

Romney could win all of Kentucky’s delegates, though Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who stopped actively campaigning last week, was hovering just below 15 percent of the vote in early returns. That’s the threshold needed to win delegates in Kentucky.

Romney has 1,024 delegates, leaving him 120 shy of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination for president. If he continues to dominate, he will reach the magic number next week, when voters in Texas go to the polls.

Virtually assured of the party nod, Romney has been in general election mode for weeks. He’s been spending much of his time fundraising and focusing on Democratic President Barack Obama.

As voters in the two Southern states weighed in, Romney planned to spend Tuesday evening at a campaign fundraiser in New York before an appearance Wednesday in Washington to deliver a speech.

He is in the midst of a three-day swing through the Northeast that is expected to bring in at least $10 million.

Romney has struggled in some previous Southern contests, when former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were in the race. With them on the sidelines, Romney has an opportunity to display solid support in two states he should win in November.

Even though they have left the race, Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul were on the ballot in Kentucky and Arkansas.

Texas, which offers 152 delegates, votes May 29.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Uncle Sam may still want you. But you? Maybe not.

In sharp contrast to the peak years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Army last year took in no recruits with misconduct convictions or drug or alcohol issues, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. And soldiers already serving on active duty now must meet tougher standards to stay on for further tours in uniform.

The Army is also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars less in bonuses to attract recruits or entice soldiers to remain.

It’s all part of an effort to slash the size of the active duty Army from about 570,000 at the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017. The cutbacks began last year, and as of the end of March the Army was down to less than 558,000 troops.

“It’s all focused on allowing us … to retain only those soldiers who have the right skills, the right attributes and who help us meet the requirements and are those soldiers which truly have the greatest potential,” said Army Brig. Gen. Richard P. Mustion, the Army’s director of military personnel management.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A year after a massive tornado descended on Joplin and blotted out the setting sun, the city awoke Tuesday to bright sunshine as it began a day of solemn remembrance of that tragic spring night in which hundreds were killed or injured.

“It is so fitting to begin this day, this anniversary, by reflecting on our faith as dawn breaks over a renewed Joplin,” Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said at a sunrise service at Freeman Hospital to honor the tornado survivors, medical workers and volunteers who aided the recovery. “Scripture tells us that the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”

The hospital has seen a surge in use because the tornado destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center, which has since occupied a succession of temporary facilities but is being rebuilt at a new location – and renamed as Mercy Hospital Joplin.

The May 22, 2011, twister was the nation’s deadliest in six decades, killing 161 people, injuring hundreds more and destroying thousands of buildings, including the city’s only public high school. Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled at three sites for replacement buildings, including Joplin High School’s future home.

A 4-mile unity walk through some of the city’s hardest hit neighborhoods begins at 2 p.m. in neighboring Duquesne, where more than one-fourth of the community’s 750 homes were destroyed and nine people died. The Joplin portion of the walk begins past a Wal-Mart where 200 people survived the storm by huddling together in employee break rooms, bathrooms and other designated safe zones. Three people, though, were killed inside that store.

The walk will conclude with a moment of silence at Cunningham Park at 5:41 p.m., the precise time when the EF-5 tornado packing 200 mph winds hit Joplin. The city park, which is across the street from the hulking remains of the St. John’s hospital, has since been rebuilt.

Malichi Murdock, 17, was on stage at a community theater when the tornado hit. He was hit in the head by debris, and he doesn’t remember anything from that night. His face was so badly damaged that his parents initially didn’t recognize him when they saw him at Freeman six hours later.

“It was like a war zone” at the hospital, said Susan Murdock, Malachi’s mother. “The smell of blood, people everywhere.”

Three people inside the Stained Glass Theater died, including the play’s director.

While many of Tuesday’s events will reflect upon the past year, community leaders are also looking ahead toward what is bound to be a long recovery effort.

In January, elected officials and other members of a 45-person recovery committee endorsed a long-term recovery plan that calls for the creation of four new business districts that would allow residents to live and shop nearby and a unified approach to rebuilding that ensures new construction meets certain design standards.

In March, the city hired Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, of Sugar Land, Texas, as its “master developer” to oversee the rebuilding plan.

The day’s events are also expected to attract some of the more than 130,000 volunteers who descended on southwest Missouri from across the country to help out. That group includes a contingent of bicyclists who left New York City’s Central Park nearly three weeks ago on a Cycle for Joplin fundraising ride organized by a group of former Joplin residents known as the Joplin Expats.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is declining to renew the endorsement he gave Barack Obama four years ago, when he called Obama “a transformational figure.”

Pressed in a network interview to say whether he’s backing Obama, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff demurred Tuesday.

Powell tells NBC’s Today show, quote, “I always keep my powder dry, as they say in the military.” He credits Obama with stabilizing the financial system and “fixing the auto industry” but says he should have spent more time on the economy.

Powell calls Mitt Romney a viable candidate and says he’s “still listening” to Republican proposals. Powell, who served under President George W. Bush, also says “I don’t want to throw my weight behind someone” at this point in the campaign.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This is our daily open thread, where you, the commenters, get to choose the topics of conversation and politely interact with one another.

QOD: From where you are currently sitting, share with us one item you see that has a special memory attached to it. I’m sitting in my living room and up on my mantle there are two framed “action shots” of my husband proposing to me. (He had a motion-activated camera attached to a tree taking photos of us. Very special). Thankful for memories! Have a great Tuesday!

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced 12 Christians to life in prison and acquitted eight Muslims in a case that is likely to stoke religious tensions in the country’s south.

The Christians were found guilty of sowing public strife and shooting dead two Muslims in April of last year in Minya province after a scuffle with Muslim protesters.

The eight Muslims on trial in the same case had been charged with possession of illegal weapons and burning down dozens of Christian-owned homes and stores after the shooting.

Egyptian rights researcher Ishak Ibrahim called the verdict “faulty and unfair.”

The State Security Court, whose rulings cannot be appealed, handed down its sentence on Monday. The ruling military council is the only entity with the power to request a retrial.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Cheering crowds greeted the self-educated attorney who had faced imprisonment and beatings for exposing thousands of forced abortions and sterilizations executed under China’s notorious one-child policy.

Chinese authorities released Chen and his family nearly three weeks after the activist eluded security guards at his home and arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. After weeks of tense negotiations, Chinese and American officials agreed that Chen and his immediate family could travel to the United States to study at New York University. …

When Chen arrived at the Newark airport, he limped from his injuries but smiled broadly for his supporters. He thanked those who pressed for his release, and told the crowd, “I want to tell everyone that no matter what environment you are in, no matter how difficult it is, we can accomplish anything we really want to achieve. Nothing is impossible if you persist.” …

For a full report on Chen’s activism, escape, and the ongoing battle for human rights in China, see “Blind justice” in the current issue of WORLD.

The case involved complex questions of who counts as a child for legal purposes in an age of donor eggs and sperm and artificial insemination (see “Postmortem conception,” March 20). Justice Sonia Sotomayor wondered in the oral arguments in March whether any children of a sperm donor would qualify for his benefits.

“The technology that made the twins’ conception and birth possible, it is safe to say, was not contemplated by Congress when the relevant provisions of the Social Security Act originated (1939) or were amended to read as they now do (1965),” wrote Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the court’s opinion. She added that the decision by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to deny benefits to the children conceived postmortem was “reasonable,” but that it might not be the only reasonable interpretation of the law. The court didn’t have enough ground to reverse the SSA’s decision, Ginsburg wrote, so the justices had to defer to the SSA’s reasonable interpretation of the law. … COMPLETE STORY >>

Read Emily Belz’s complete Web Extra report.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other institutions are suing the Obama administration over a mandate that most employers provide birth control coverage.

The lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country Monday represent the largest push against the mandate since President Barack Obama announced the policy in January.

Many faith leaders say the requirement violates religious freedom. The original exemption for religious groups allowed houses of worship to opt-out, but keeps the requirement in place for religiously affiliated charities.

Obama offered to soften the rule so that insurers would pay for birth control instead of religious groups. However, the bishops say the accommodation doesn’t go far enough.

Among those suing are the University of Notre Dame, the Archdioceses of Washington and Michigan and the Catholic University of America.

© 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.