Palin reportedly cancels Sudan trip
Sarah Palin has canceled an upcoming trip to Sudan, the Washington Post reports.
The former Alaska governor was scheduled to travel to the war-torn nation for the July 9 independence ceremony of South Sudan, but unnamed sources told the Post she nixed the trip because of scheduling conflicts. She was slated to travel with Franklin Graham, head of the international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, and Fox News' Greta Van Susteren.
Palin's recent moves have made it unclear whether or not she intends to jump into the Republican presidential primaries. In addition to canceling this trip, her nationwide bus tour has stalled after the first leg of the trip in the northeast. Amid reports that the bus tour was canceled, however, Palin said the tour was on hiatus because she was called for jury duty and that it would resume later this summer.
Graham, who previously traveled to Haiti with Palin, told the Post that Palin "tried very hard to make it work," but that the timing didn't work.
In spite of Southern Sudan's planned secession, the region remains very dangerous. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is tentatively planning to attend the July 9 independence ceremony, but she may also have to skip the event because of safety concerns, the Post reported.
President Obama on Tuesday released a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Sudanese state of South Kordofan, where he said the situation is "dire, with deeply disturbing reports of attacks based on ethnicity."
