NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: 2,000 wrongful convictions

More than 2,000 people falsely convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated in the United States in the past 23 years, according to a new archive compiled at two universities. The new national registry, or database, assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list ever compiled. It contains information on 873 exonerations for which the researchers have the most detailed evidence. They are aware of nearly 1,200 other exonerations, for which they have less data. They found that those 873 exonerated defendants spent a combined total of more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each. Nine out of 10 of them are men and half are African-American. DNA evidence led to exoneration in nearly one-third of the 416 homicides and in nearly two-thirds of the 305 sexual assaults.

Impasse over debt rages on

Republicans and Democrats are refusing to budge on their hardened positions on spending cuts versus tax increases to deal with the nation's debt. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that when Congress is asked to raise the nation's borrowing cap after the election, they'll insist on spending cuts to offset the increase. Democratic leaders countered that the GOP stance was irresponsible. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, on ABC's "This Week," said Boehner "wants to go over the edge." "My response . . . is, 'Here we go again.' This is not a responsible, mature, sensible place for us to go."

SOUTH CAROLINA: Alberto forces cancellations

Tropical Storm Alberto hovered off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts Sunday, canceling tourist cruises. The first storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins June 1, was not expected to approach landfall. The Volvo Ocean Race headed from South Beach, Miami, toward Europe, expecting treacherous seas.