Fawzia died Tuesday in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the Paris-based opposition groups said, but no cause of death was immediately known.

She was the daughter of Egyptian King Fuad I, who ruled until 1936. Her brother and nephew later rose to the throne before the monarchy was toppled in 1953.

In 1939, Fawzia married Iran's then-crown prince, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They divorced in 1945 after having one daughter.

Fawzia remarried in 1949 to an Egyptian army officer.

She was to be buried Wednesday in Cairo.

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The spat began when Starnes wrote a politically charged post on his Facebook page.

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"I’m about as politically incorrect as you can get," the post read. "I’m wearing an NRA ball cap, eating a Chick-fil-A sandwich, reading a Paula Deen cookbook and sipping a 20-ounce sweet tea while sitting in my Cracker Barrel rocking chair with the Gaither Vocal Band singing ‘Jesus Saves’ on the stereo and a Gideon’s Bible in my pocket. Yes sir, I’m politically incorrect and happy as a June bug.”

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NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Hip hop artist Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena was sentenced on Monday to four months in federal prison and fined $15,000 for failure to file tax returns on more than $3.3 million in income.

The 42-year-old rapper faced the possibility of up to two years in prison after pleading guilty in December to two counts of failing to file with the Internal Revenue Service.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor gave the Bronx-born rapper credit for paying $718,000 in back taxes prior to his sentencing and for his charitable work.

The court received more than 60 letters on his behalf, including one from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, who cited Cartagena's efforts to donate computers to local schools.

Cartagena apologized to his family and friends, saying he let them down. He said his 6-year-old daughter was being taunted in school by classmates who said her father was going to jail.

"There was a lot going on in the years that I didn't file my taxes, but it was my responsibility," he said. His hits include the 2004 song "Lean Back."

His attorneys had asked for probation in light of the three-month prison sentence handed down to hip hop artist Lauryn Hill in May on similar tax charges.

Cartagena was originally charged with failure to file returns from 2007 to 2010 but under a plea agreement the charges were reduced to not filing returns for two years.

His income came from three companies, including Somerville, N.J.-based Terror Squad Production Inc and Miramar Music Touring, which he owned.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and by Bob Burgdorfer)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a statement he acknowledged sounded odd, told reporters in Moscow that Snowden would have to stop leaking U.S. secrets if he wanted asylum in Russia and he added that Snowden seemed unwilling to stop publishing leaks of classified material. At the same time, Putin said that he had no plans to turn over Snowden to the United States.

A statement purportedly by Snowden and posted Monday on the Wikileaks website criticized Obama for "using citizenship as a weapon. The statement could not be independently authenticated as being from Snowden himself. Wikileaks is the anti-secrecy group that has adopted Snowden and his cause.

Obama, in an African news conference with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, said the U.S. would provide allies with information about new reports that the National Security Agency had bugged EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. But he also suggested such activity by governments would hardly be unusual.

"We should stipulate that every intelligence service not just ours, but every European intelligence service, every Asian intelligence service, wherever there's an intelligence service here's one thing that they're going to be doing: They're going to be trying to understand the world better, and what's going on in world capitals around the world," he said. "If that weren't the case, then there'd be no use for an intelligence service."

The latest issue concerns allegations of U.S. spying on European officials in the German news weekly Der Spiegel. French President Francois Hollande on Monday demanded that the U.S. immediately stop any such eavesdropping and suggested the widening controversy could jeopardize next week's opening of trans-Atlantic trade talks between the United States and Europe.

"We cannot accept this kind of behavior from partners and allies," Hollande said on French television.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin, "Eavesdropping on friends is unacceptable." He declared, "We're not in the Cold War anymore."

Even before the latest disclosures, talks at the upcoming free-trade sessions were expected to be fragile, with disagreements surfacing over which items should be covered or excluded from an agreement. The United States has said there should be no exceptions. But France has called for exempting certain cultural products, and other Europeans do not appear eager to give up longtime agricultural subsidies.

Obama said the Europeans "are some of the closest allies that we have in the world." But he added, "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That's how intelligence services operate."

Nonetheless, Obama said he'd told his advisers to "evaluate everything that's being claimed" and promised to share the results with allies.

Meanwhile, the Interfax news agency said a Russian consular official has confirmed that Snowden had asked for asylum in Russia.

Interfax cited Kim Shevchenko, the duty officer at the Russian Foreign Ministry's consular office in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, as saying that Snowden's representative, Sarah Harrison, handed over his request on Sunday.

Snowden, in legal limbo, is believed to have been in the airport's transit zone since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23. The U.S. has annulled his passport, and Ecuador, where he has hoped to get asylum, has been giving off mixed signals about offering him shelter.

"If he wants to go somewhere and there are those who would take him, he is welcome to do so," Putin said. "If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: He must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners, no matter how strange it may sound coming from my lips."

Obama said "there have been high-level discussions with the Russians" about Snowden's situation.

"We don't have an extradition treaty with Russia. On the other hand, you know, Mr. Snowden, we understand, has traveled there without a valid passport, without legal papers. And you know we are hopeful that the Russian government makes decisions based on the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal interactions that law enforcement has. So I can confirm that."

Putin didn't mention any Snowden effort to seek asylum in Russia, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say what the Russian response might be. Putin insisted that Snowden wasn't a Russian agent and that Russian security agencies hadn't contacted him.

Three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the Snowden case, said Washington's efforts were focused primarily on persuading Russia to deport Snowden either directly to the United States or to a third country, possibly in eastern Europe, that would then hand him over to U.S. authorities.

In a sign of the distrust the latest report had revealed, the German government said it had launched a review of its secure government communications network and the EU's executive, the European Commission, ordered "a comprehensive ad hoc security sweep."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he didn't know the details of the allegations, but he still played them down, maintaining that many nations undertake various activities to protect their national interests. Kerry failed to quell the outrage from allies, including France, Germany and Italy.

A spokesman for Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said, "The European Union has demanded and expects full and urgent clarification by the U.S. regarding the allegations."

According to Der Spiegel's report, which it said was partly based on information leaked by Snowden, NSA planted bugs in the EU's diplomatic offices in Washington and infiltrated the building's computer network. Similar measures were taken at the EU's mission to the United Nations in New York, the magazine said.

It also reported that NSA used secure facilities at NATO headquarters in Brussels to dial into telephone maintenance systems that would have allowed it to intercept senior officials' calls and Internet traffic at a key EU office nearby.

As for Snowden, White House national security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the White House won't comment on specific asylum requests but reiterated its message to all countries that he "needs to be expelled back to the U.S. based on the fact that he doesn't have travel documents and the charges pending against him."

Regarding possible effects on U.S. interactions with Russia, she said it remains the case "that we don't want this issue to negatively impact the bilateral relationship."

___

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Sarah DiLorenzo in Paris, Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Raf Casert in Brussels, Deb Riechmann in Brunei, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Julie Pace in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Torrential rains slammed Illinois and other Midwest states on Wednesday, triggering flash flood warnings and causing flight cancellations, commuter train delays and road closings.

Up to 5 inches of rain fell in some places and the National Weather Service warned residents in the region to brace for more downpours and possibly severe thunderstorms Wednesday night.

The weather service issued multiple flash flood and flood warnings for counties in northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana and southeastern Wisconsin.

The storms, which threatened eastern Illinois, Indiana, and parts of Kentucky and Ohio, could include large hail, flash flooding and damaging winds of more than 60 mph, AccuWeather.com said.

At O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, 403 inbound and outbound flights had been canceled by Wednesday evening, according to the site FlightAware.com which tracks delays and cancellations.

The heavy rain also caused hour-plus delays for other flights, according to the city's aviation department.

Metra, the Chicago area's commuter rail service, also reported delays of more than an hour on one of its lines. Part of one line north of the city was shut due to flooding.

Parts of some arterial roads were closed on Wednesday morning due to flooding, according to the Illinois State Police.

In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in seven southwestern counties after touring flood damaged areas on Wednesday.

Several communities in northeastern Iowa on the Wapsipinicon River were also dealing with flooding. In Independence, volunteers filled sandbags to avert flooding and local officials closed several roads.

Grandstand and grounds events were canceled on Wednesday at the Linn County Fair due to possible flooding along the Wapsipinicon River.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Mary Wisniewski in Chicago; Editing by Carol Bishopric and Cynthia Osterman)

LONDON (Reuters) - Speculation about baby names, hair color and hypnosis swirled around Britain's Duchess of Cambridge on Thursday during her last solo public appearance before she gives birth to a royal heir.

British glossy magazine Grazia reported the duchess has considered using hypno-birth for a delivery expected next month in which women use a form of self-hypnosis to control pain by learning techniques to boost production of pain-relieving hormones.

Bookmakers said bets favored the duchess joining the growing band of women dubbed "too posh to push" by opting for a caesarian rather than a natural birth.

The royal family has declined to give any details on plans for the first child of Prince William and Kate Middleton, 31, who have been officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge since their marriage in April 2011.

A royal spokeswoman said she was aware of rising speculation about the birth but declined to confirm or deny any details for the baby who will be the third in line to the British throne after Prince Charles and his oldest son William.

"This is a happy occasion and there is lot of speculation about what the duchess might and might not do but this really is a private matter," the spokeswoman said.

Royal watchers expect the baby to be born at St Mary's Hospital in central London where Princess Diana gave birth to William, who turns 31 next week, and his brother Prince Harry.

The duchess was under scrutiny for any hints about the baby during her last solo public engagement on Thursday when she launched Princess Cruises' new 3,600-passenger vessel Royal Princess in Southampton on England's south coast.

BABY TALK

Wearing a black hat and Dalmatian print coat, the duchess was careful to give nothing away after a slip in March when she accepted a teddy saying: "Thank you, I'll take this for my d.."

Rupert Adams from bookmaker William Hill said this dropped "d" led to such wide speculation that the baby was a girl that it suspended all bets on gender just weeks later while rival bookmaker Paddy Power paid out on bets that it was girl.

Bets on names have continued to roll in with Alexandra the clear favorite followed by Diana, after Prince William's mother who died in a car crash in 1997, and then Elizabeth.

Alexandra has a history in the royal family with Princess Alexandra, 76, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria's son Edward VII married to Alexandra of Denmark in 1863.

The favorite boy's name is George and the favored date for the birth is July 17.

"We are seeing lots of small bets from over 100 countries. The Aussies and Canadians particularly love this," said Adams.

Rory Scott from Paddy Power said people were also putting money on more obscure bets, such as the baby's future career, university, and hair color with brown favored over ginger.

"You combine the royal family with betting and you have two of the favorite pastimes in Britain," Scott said.

Both bookmakers found gamblers expected the duchess to opt for a caesarian instead of natural birth with one in four babies now delivered this way in the UK, up from 12 percent in 1990.

The focus on how the duchess gives birth has drawn her, unwittingly, into the complex web of childbirth politics where campaigners of different birthing methods battle for supremacy.

The Blissful Birth website which deals with hypno-birthing said a number of hypno-birthing practitioners have "spun" speculation about the duchess using hypno-birthing into suggestions that she was considering their particular approach.

But the website's founder Heidi Woodgate, urged these practitioners to stop the race for recognition.

"Quite frankly, whether my customers are royalty, celebrities or normal everyday women, the focus should be on their birth story, not the particular hypno-birthing programme they used," Woodgate wrote in a blog on the website.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Former Gov. , "My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: '.'" Retiring Rep. , "Marriage was created by the hand of God. No man, not even a Supreme Court, can undo what a holy God has instituted." 

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The most dramatic immediate reaction was from the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer in a series of tweets: " is an egregious violation of the 'Laws of Nature and Nature's God.' May God have mercy on us. …marriage as God has defined it, we will never give in. We will never, never, never, never give in. … : 'One word of truth outweighs the whole world.' That includes the Supreme Court." (Fischer excels at getting attention far beyond his influence, and pressured Mitt Romney's campaign to fire a newly hired foreign policy adviser because he's gay. The aide eventually .) 

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Before the decision was ever handed down, the  wrote, "The False Narrative of Gay Marriage: It Is Not Inevitable." Metaxas explains that it looks like gay marriage is winning, but that's a mirage: "In his book, The Black Swan, Nicholas Nassim Taleb discussed what he calls the 'narrative fallacy.' This refers to our 'limited ability' to look at a sequence of facts "without weaving an explanation into them." A push to legalize gay marriage in Illinois recently failed, he said. "While we face an uphill battle, what else is new?"

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The  said the fight would go on for decades, just like the fight over abortion:

"[Justice Anthony] Kennedy's decision is the Roe v. Wade of this generation, not this generation's Brown v. Board of Education. Like Roe, Kennedy stepped in to disenfranchise millions of voters' concerns to tilt unfairly the scale of justice controversial moral issue trending in a liberal direction. But like Roe the deep questions involved in marriage will not simply go away: At the heart of the gay marriage argument is an untruth: unions of two men or women are not the same as unions of husband and wife. The law cannot make it so. It can only require us to paint pretty pictures to cover up deep truths embedded in human nature."

And yet there are many conservatives who indicated they do not want this battle to go on forever and ever. Conservative punditthis was a blow to Democrats, because DOMA was an example of big government. "DOMA doesn't surprise me. Even I thought it was unconstitutional," RedState editor . House Speakersaying, "While I am obviously disappointed in the ruling, it is always critical that we protect our system of checks and balances. A robust national debate over marriage will continue in the public square, and it is my hope that states will define marriage as the union between one man and one woman." Likewise, Kentucky Sen. , "I would tell people who are for traditional marriage: the battle is lost at the federal level; concentrate on your state." But the fight in the states will not be to stop gay marriage --in their state constitutions between 2004 and 2006. The fight in the states is going the opposite direction, just as it is federally.

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The premiere of CBS's "Under the Dome" beat almost everything else on television Monday, but CBS's rivals should still be happy about the success of the Stephen King miniseries -- because it bodes well for them, too.

The promising debut of "Under the Dome" suggests a scripted show can do well, even in summer. And it partially validates broadcasters' recent strategy of ordering fewer episodes of splashy new shows, then promoting them as "event" series.

For years, cable aired fewer episodes per season than broadcast networks, in what might arguably be considered a quality-over-quantity approach. "Under the Dome," which was originally developed at Showtime, boasted premium cable production values: Viewers were treated to the sight of a plane smashing into the dome, and a cow being sliced in half.

Also in the less is more camp: Fox is planning two limited-run series for near the end of next season, a 12-episode "24" revival and the new "Wayward Pines." The fewer-episodes trend also extends to new dramas like ABC's "Betrayal" and CBS's "Hostages," which will have shorter runs than the traditional 22 to 24 episodes.

One advantage to limited-run series (which, yes, we used to just call "miniseries") is that they let networks save face. A network can let a low-rated limited series just end, without having to cancel it.

But if one does well, a network can bring it back again, as CBS may do with "Under the Dome." It's a strategy FX followed by ordering "American Horror Story" for two additional seasons after its debut in 2011.

"Under the Dome" showrunner Neal Baer told TheWrap it's "certainly our intention" for his series to return next summer.

"If the show is a hit, I hope we'll find a way to bring everyone back," he said. "Everyone who survives, that is."

Networks are urgently looking for ways to draw viewers back to watching live television as they face growing competition from cable and streaming shows. Football continues to draw live viewers, but ratings for musical competitions like Fox's "American Idol" and NBC's "The Voice" are down.

Broadcasters are coming off of a 2012-13 season in which just two new scripted series cracked the top 30 shows: NBC's "Revolution" and Fox's "The Following." Even as broadcasters struggle to find hits, AMC has landed the top scripted show on television with "The Walking Dead."

Though "Under the Dome" aired after the season's end, it had a better debut rating than any 2012-13 broadcast show except "Revolution." ("Under the Dome" slightly edged out the debut of "The Following." Notably, the Kevin Bacon serial killer drama contributed to the trend toward shorter seasons by airing just 15 episodes in its first year.)

"Under the Dome" earned a 3.3 rating in the key demographic in the key 18-49 demographic, and 13.5 million total viewers, in its debut. The rating tied that of NBC's deciding game in the NHL Finals. "Under the Dome" also had the most total premiere viewers of any summer broadcast show since at least 2007.

For years, miniseries fell out of favor on broadcast TV as HBO cornered the market. But audience wariness is helping to make them popular once again. Many viewers hesitate to latch onto shows with a mystery element if they fear those shows will be canceled without resolutions. They've been burned before by shows like ABC's "FlashForward" and NBC's "The Event."

But the preset length of a miniseries promises - or at least strongly suggests - that a story will come to a satisfying conclusion.

"Under the Dome" is also a good sign for networks' move toward year-round programming.

Though viewership falls off dramatically in the summer months, "Under the Dome" proved that viewers will tune into big scripted shows if networks offer them. That bodes well for the Fox limited-run shows debuting next year. "24" is expected in late May, and "Wayward Pines" is likely to arrive in early summer.

For years, cable networks have begun sneaking in high-profile programming when networks weren't as competitive. Discovery, for example, scored Sunday by airing "Skywire Live With Nik Wallenda," a tightrope walk near the Grand Canyon that earned 13 million viewers during the walk itself.

"I think CBS is really excited about the idea of doing something of this scope during the summer," said Brian K. Vaughn, who developed the series. He said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said early on: "We don't want to cede summer to cable. We can't do exciting, huge television during the summer as well."

CBS is known for its caution, and "Under the Dome" was a rare foray from the No. 1 network's proven mix of procedurals, sitcoms and reality shows. But it also hedged its bets with a deal to make episodes available online to Amazon Prime customers just four days after they air on television.

That means the dome's reach is about to expand. Look out for your cows.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: - ) shares traded in the range of $45.23 to $46.72 Wednesday before settling to close at $46.47 an increase of 2.86 percent. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $45.23 and $46.72 levels. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 a share, $1.40 annually, for a dividend yield of roughly 3.0 percent. Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb have fallen approximately 2.0 percent in the past month.

More information on Bristol Myers Squibb and access to the free equity report can be found at:

E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co. (NYSE: - ) shares traded in the range of $52.73 to $53.67 Wednesday before settling to close at $53.53, an increase of 1.23 percent. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $53.98 and $54.43 levels. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.45 a share, $1.80 annually, for a dividend yield of roughly 3.4 percent. Shares of Du Pont have fallen approximately 3.3 percent in the past month.

More information on Du Pont and access to the free equity report can be found at:

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: - ) shares traded in the range of $31.89 to $32.60 Wednesday before settling to close at $32.20. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $32.70 and $33.01 levels. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.32 a share, $1.28 annually, for a dividend yield of roughly 4.0 percent. Shares of The Dow Chemical Company have fallen approximately 8.2 percent in the past month.

More information on The Dow Chemical Company and access to the free equity report can be found at:

Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: - ) shares traded in the range of $49.22 to $49.90 Wednesday before settling to close at $49.79, an increase of 1.16 percent. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $50.89 and $51.51 levels. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.49 a share, $1.96 annually, for a dividend yield of roughly 3.95 percent. Shares of Eli Lilly have fallen approximately 8.0 percent in the past month.

More information on Eli Lilly and access to the free equity report can be found at:

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The 36-year-old welterweight - considered the best defensive boxer of his generation - topped the magazine's Fortunate 50 list, issued on Wednesday. Mayweather also took the top spot last year, earning an estimated $85 million, again from just two fights, the magazine reported.

Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James, 28, a four-time National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, came in this year in the number two slot, earning a total of $56.5 million.

The list is calculated by combining estimated salary, winnings and endorsements. Mayweather's total earnings are even more impressive considering he received no endorsement money either this year or last.

James' $56.5 million income combines a $17.5 million salary with an additional $39 million in endorsements.

Golfer Tiger Woods, the highest paid U.S. athlete from 2004, when the list was first published, through 2011, dropped to the No. 5 slot on this year's list, earning $40.8 million.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano came in as the 50th highest-paid U.S. athlete with an estimated $18.2 million.

Candidates for the list must be U.S. citizens and compete in a U.S.-based league.

Internationally, soccer great David Beckham is estimated to earn more than $48 million, landing him the top spot on the magazine's annual list of highest-paid athletes worldwide, The International 20.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Tim Dobbyn)