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BERLIN (AP) —
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down Wednesday, days after admitting that the world's top-selling carmaker had rigged diesel emissions to pass U.S. tests during his tenure.
In a statement, Winterkorn took responsibility for the "irregularities" found in diesel engines but said he was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part."
"Volkswagen needs a fresh start — also in terms of personnel," he said. "I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation."
Winterkorn's statement followed a crisis meeting of the Volkswagen supervisory board's executive committee. Its acting chairman, Berthold Huber, told reporters moments later that company directors are "resolved to embark with determination on a credible new beginning."
There was no immediate decision on a new CEO. Huber said that will be discussed only at a board meeting on Friday.
Winterkorn said VW must continue providing "clarification and transparency."
"This is the only way to win back trust. I am convinced that the Volkswagen Group and its team will overcome this grave crisis," he added.
VW shares were up 8.7 percent at 121 euros following his resignation.
The share price still has a long way to go to recoup the nearly 25 billion euros (around $28 billion) wiped off its market value in the first two days of trading after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that VW is violating the Clean Air Act.
Winterkorn, VW's boss since 2007, had come under intense pressure since the disclosure that stealth software makes VW's 2009-2015 model cars powered by 2.0-liter diesel engines run cleaner during emissions tests than in actual driving.
The EPA accused VW of installing the "defeat device" in 482,000 cars sold in the U.S. VW then acknowledged that similar software exists in 11 million diesel cars worldwide.
Huber said that "Mr. Winterkorn had no knowledge of the manipulation of emission values" and praised the departing CEO's "readiness to take responsibility in this difficult situation for Volkswagen."
Before the scandal broke, Winterkorn, 68, had been expecting to get a two-year contract extension, through 2018, at Friday's board meeting.
His resignation came only a day after he issued a video message asking staff and the public "for your trust on our way forward."
The EPA said Volkswagen AG could face fines of as much as $18 billion. Other governments from Europe to South Korea have begun their own investigations, and law firms have already filed class-action suits on behalf of customers.
VW directors renewed pledges of a thorough investigation after Winterkorn's resignation.
"We will clear up these events with all the possibilities we have inside the company and ensure that those involved are punished severely," said Stephan Weil, the governor of Lower Saxony state, which holds a 20 percent stake in Volkswagen.
Weil added that the company itself would file a criminal complaint, "because we have the impression that criminally relevant actions may have played a role here."
The prosecutors' office in Braunschweig, near VW's Wolfsburg headquarters, said earlier Wednesday that they are collecting information and considering opening an investigation against employees of VW who might be responsible.
Prosecutors said they already received "several" criminal complaints. Anyone can file a criminal complaint in Germany, and prosecutors must decide whether to act on them.
BOSTON (AP) —
In her short, tumultuous life, Bella Bond loved cats, dancing to country music and the color green.
Those were but brief flashes of happiness in a life marked by neglect, abuse and a horrible ending, according to descriptions given by a prosecutor in court Monday as 2-year-old Bella's mother and the mother's boyfriend were arraigned on charges in connection with her death.
Michael McCarthy is charged with killing Bella, who was known for nearly three months as Baby Doe as investigators worked to learn her identity. Her mother, Rachelle Bond, is charged with being an accessory after her killing. Both are charged with unlawful disposal of human remains.
Prosecutor David Deakin described a chaotic home life in which Bond and McCarthy often yelled at Bella and demeaned her, according to a man who lived with the couple this year. Michael Sprinsky told police he twice saw Bond and McCarthy lock Bella in a closet for 30 minutes to an hour "while she screamed to be let out," Deakin said.
Both told Sprinsky they believed Bella was possessed by demons. Sprinsky said he moved out because he was appalled by how they treated Bella.
Investigators launched a massive search for information about the girl after a woman walking her dog in June found her body inside a bag on Deer Island. A composite image of the chubby-cheeked girl with deep brown eyes was widely shared on Facebook and reached a staggering 47 million people within two weeks.
State police ran down hundreds of leads and did well-being checks on at least 200 little girls. They didn't learn her identity until last week, when Bond told Sprinsky that McCarthy had punched her in the abdomen over and over again until she died, Deakin said. He did it after Bella didn't want to go to sleep, he said.
Deakin said Bond told police that when she saw her daughter's body, McCarthy said: "She was a demon anyway. It was her time to die."
A judge ordered McCarthy held without bail and Bond held on $1 million cash bail. They are due back in court Oct. 20.
Bond's lawyer, Janice Bassil, said McCarthy "essentially held her captive" and wouldn't allow her to leave after Bella's death.
"She wants to see Mr. McCarthy held responsible for his actions," Bassil said. "This is a very sad case. It is sad for everyone."
McCarthy's lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro, said McCarthy said he knew nothing about Bella's death. Shapiro said Bond told McCarthy that Bella had been taken away by the state Department of Children and Families.
"He is shocked and saddened by the death of baby Bella, but he did not kill her," Shapiro said.
A woman who identified herself as Bella's godmother left court yelling "I hope you rot in hell!" as Deakin described how the girl died while Bond and McCarthy stood in a glass enclosure near the front of the courtroom.
The woman, Megan Fewtrell, said Bond, who has a long record of drug and prostitution arrests, would leave Bella with her for two-week periods.
Fewtrell said she contacted police twice to ask for a well-being check on Bella and her mother after she saw the composite image of Baby Doe and thought the girl looked like Bella around the eyes.
But state police and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley's office denied that investigators received such a tip.
When McCarthy was told by state police that Bond's story differed from his, he indicated Bond might be lying to save herself, according to a criminal complaint.
Deakin said Bond told authorities McCarthy threatened to kill her if she told anyone what he had done to Bella. Bond said McCarthy got a plastic construction bag, placed Bella's body inside and put the bag inside a refrigerator, the prosecutor said.
Later, Bond said, McCarthy put the bag inside the trunk of his car, Deakin said. He drove to the Boston Seaport, added weights to the bag and dumped it into the water, the prosecutor said.
On Monday night, Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and other officials joined clergy members and local residents for a candlelight vigil on the beach across the harbor where Bella's body washed up.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Scott Walker and Rick Perry entered the 2016 presidential race with a combined 18 years of experience as governors. They exited the Republican primary— the first candidates to do so — with negligible support and dwindling bank accounts.
While Walker and Perry were both flawed candidates, their swift demise is a warning to others who hope to win the White House on the strength of their political resumes. And it leaves the governors and senators still in the turbulent Republican race scrambling to adapt to a political environment that is rewarding those with the least governing experience.
"The country is very unhappy now, and a winning candidate must be viewed as a change agent," said Scott Reed, a longtime Republican strategist who advises the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
So far, billionaire Donald Trump has been the biggest beneficiary of the public's demand for an outsider. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina are also attracting voters eager to express their anger with Washington. None of the three has ever won an election.
Republicans voters' apparent desire for a political novice is striking given that conservatives have long attributed some of what they see as President Barack Obama's weaknesses to his inexperience when he took office. Obama spent a little less than eight years as an Illinois state senator and ran for president during his first term in the U.S. Senate.
As traditional candidates among the current GOP contenders try to break through, they're employing a two-track strategy: distance themselves from Washington's political elite while also building a campaign that can outlast voters' discontent if the anti-establishment mood ultimately fades.
In the hours after Walker's stunning withdrawal Monday, his experienced rivals intensified efforts to pitch themselves as Washington outsiders and political disruptors.
"You cannot say that Scott Walker, Rick Perry or myself were insiders in Washington," said Jeb Bush, the former two-term Florida governor who is also the son and brother of presidents.
Advisers for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a second-term governor and long-serving congressman, touted his efforts to challenge the status quo and even his own party. Kasich has pushed the GOP to do more to address poverty, mental illness and drug addiction, and he created an alternative to party leaders' spending plans while serving in Congress.
"You can either say you're a change agent and have nothing to show for it but talk, or you can say you're a change agent and have proof and results that have worked," Kasich spokesman Scott Milburn said.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul casts himself as "a new kind of Republican," one who courts younger voters and minorities. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has infuriated GOP leaders during his two-and-a-half years in Congress. And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio jumped at the opportunity to distance himself from Congress during last week's Republican debate.
"In my years in the Senate, I've figured out very quickly that the political establishment in Washington, D.C., in both political parties is completely out of touch with the lives of our people," Rubio said. "That's why I'm missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate."
The success of anti-establishment candidates isn't lost on Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. On Sunday, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state tried to pitch herself as an outsider, too.
"I cannot imagine anyone being more of an outsider than the first woman president," Clinton said in an interview with CBS' "Face The Nation."
Walker's campaign, however, serves as a cautionary tale for experienced candidates trying to earn outsider bona fides. As Walker grappled for ways to save his candidacy, he denied he was a career politician — despite having been in elected office for 22 years.
Advisers to several GOP campaigns say they expect voters to ultimately gravitate toward experienced candidates as next year's early primaries and caucuses draw near. Unlike Walker and Perry, who struggled to build sustainable campaigns, some of the more traditional candidates are banking on building organizations that will still be standing if the electorate's mood does indeed shift.
For Bush, that means having money — and lots of it. The former Florida governor raised $120 million for his super PAC and campaign in the first half of the year, vastly more than any of his rivals.
Bush's financial stability has already allowed him to pour $24 million into television advertising in early voting states.
Rubio's strategy is to run a lean campaign through the fall, expending as little money as possible on staff, travel and advertisements until the early primaries draw closer.
"We've run such a lean campaign at times, taken knocks for it," said Terry Sullivan, Rubio's campaign manager. "But keeping control of the budget is such an important thing."
Rubio's strategy is driven in part by necessity. His campaign and outside groups supporting his candidacy have raised about one-third of Bush's totals.
Still, Rubio's advisers point to Walker's financial woes as validation. Walker built a large network of staff and consultants, but quickly burned through the money he needed to keep the expensive organization afloat.