World Trend: 2012

Jumat, 22 Juni 2012

Axelrod says voters will judge Obama on actions

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Senior political adviser David Axelrod says he doesn't think voters will make much of President Barack Obama's remark that the private sector is doing fine.

Axelrod tells CBS's "This Morning" that what Obama meant to say was, quote, "in the last 27 months, we have created 4.3 million private sector jobs." Obama made the remark at a White House news conference, but subsequently explained it further, saying the economy needs to improve.

In his interview Monday, Axelrod said voters will make their judgments based on Obama's actions, not his words.

And he said Obama called the news conference last Thursday specifically to discuss "urgent actions we should take to undergird the economy."

Axelrod said the election will be about who is best suited to lead the country into the future.

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Wildfires in Colo., NM burn out of control

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By THOMAS PEIPERT
Associated Press

BELLVUE, Colo. (AP) - Massive wildfires in drought-parched Colorado and New Mexico tested the resources of state and federal crews Monday and underscored the need to replenish an aging U.S. aerial firefighting fleet needed to combat a year-round fire season.

Wyoming diverted personnel and aircraft from two fires there to help with a 64-square-mile wildfire in northern Colorado. Canada also lent two aerial bombers to fight the Colorado blaze following the recent crash of a U.S. tanker in Utah. And an elite federal firefighting crew arrived to try to begin containing a fire that destroyed at least 118 structures.

All told, about 600 firefighters will be battling the fire some 15 miles west of Fort Collins by Tuesday, said incident commander Bill Hahnenberg.

"We are a very high priority nationally. We can get all the resources we want and need," he said.

The U.S. Forest Service said late Monday it would add more aircraft to its aerial firefighting fleet, contracting one air tanker from Alaska and four from Canada. Two more air tankers were being activated in California.

The announcement came after Colorado's U.S. House delegation demanded that the agency deploy more resources to the fire, which was totally uncontained and has forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes.

The Larimer County sheriff's office confirmed Monday that one person died in the fire.

The family of Linda Steadman, 62, had reported her missing after the fire started Saturday, sheriff's officials said. Her home received two evacuation notices that appeared to go to her answering machine, and a firefighter who tried to get past a locked gate to her home to warn her was chased out by flames that he later saw engulf her home, Sheriff Justin Smith said.

Investigators found remains in her burned home Monday that haven't been positively identified yet, but her family issued a statement saying Steadman died in the cabin she loved, Smith said.

In a letter to the Forest Service, Colorado's congressmen said the need for firefighting aircraft was "dire." Colorado U.S. Sen. Mark Udall urged President Barack Obama to sign legislation that would allow the Forest Service to contract at least seven large air tankers to add to its fleet of 13 - which includes the two on loan from Canada.

The temporary additions to the firefighting aircraft fleet will make 17 air tankers available to the forest service, which has deployed 10 air tankers, 62 helicopters and 4,000 personnel to more than 100 fires nationwide.

One of the region's most potent aerial firefighting forces - two Wyoming Air National Guard C-130s fitted to drop slurry - sat on a runway in Cheyenne, 50 miles north of the Colorado fire. The reason: The Forest Service, by law, cannot call for military resources until it deems that its fleet is fully busy. It also takes 36 hours to mobilize the crews and planes, officials said.

"They just haven't thrown the switch yet because they feel like there are adequate resources available," said Mike Ferris, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

The Colorado fire had five single-engine air tankers, five heavy air tankers and seven helicopters on scene, fire officials said. The Colorado National Guard also provided two Blackhawk helicopters.

Evacuees expressed gratitude for the help.

"They're doing the best they can," said Barb Hermsen as she watched a helicopter make daring raids through smoke and flame to protect homes. "We know how much they have to go through, and where they're going - man, it's crazy."

In New Mexico, firefighters used a break in the hot and windy weather and got new air and ground support to battle a fast-moving wildfire that charred tens of thousands of acres and forced hundreds of residents to leave their homes in the southern part of the state.

Smoke filled the air in the mountain community of Ruidoso as evacuees gathered at a high school gymnasium to get an update on the lightning-sparked fire in the Sierra Blanca mountain range. The blaze exploded over the weekend and reached more than 54 square miles by Monday.

An estimated 35 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the blaze, and fire managers expect that number to grow once damage assessments are done.

Elsewhere in New Mexico, firefighters made slow progress against the largest wildfire in state history. The blaze has charred 435 square miles of forest since it was sparked by lightning in mid-May, and was 37 percent contained Monday.

Arizona's state forestry division dispatched two water tenders and 15 fire trucks to New Mexico, which also welcomed the arrival of a DC-10 jet that can lay a 100-yard-wide, mile-long line of retardant or water.

Fire bosses in New Mexico and Arizona ordered more elite crews, engines and air support from the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, where director Kenan Jaycox said resources are approaching full capacity.

"It's a balancing game," Jaycox said.

At least 18 large wildfires are burning in nine U.S. states, forcing the reshuffling of fire crews and aircraft. The National Interagency Fire Center said 4,000 of 15,000 federal firefighters are currently deployed at fires around the country.

Because aircraft had been scarce, federal fire managers asked Wyoming to send National Guard helicopters to a 4.5-square-mile wildfire in Guernsey State Park. In nearby Medicine Bow National Forest, crews containing a 13-square-mile fire sent air support to Colorado.

Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell has long insisted the federal government has enough resources to respond to a year-round wildfire season driven by drought, heat, decades of fighting forest fires rather than letting them run their natural course, and bark beetle pine tree kill.

"We have enough resources at this time to be able to deal with the fires we currently are dealing with and what we expect to have to deal with the rest of this fire season," Tidwell told The Associated Press last week. He emphasized that the agency has the authority to transfer funds from other accounts to meet firefighting costs in any given year.

Some 1,459 square miles have burned across the country this year - less than the same period in 2011, when 6,327 square miles burned.

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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M.; Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyo., contributed to this report.

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Attorney: Terror suspect isolated for a year

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - An Iraqi man facing terrorism charged in Kentucky is asking a judge to release him to home detention until his trial in August.

The attorney for 24-year-old Mohanad Shareef Hammadi says his client is being held in solitary confinement under an assumed name in a jail with no interaction with other inmates or recreation during daylight hours.

Attorney James Earhart says the treatment violates Hammadi's rights.

A co-defendant in the case, 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing on Oct. 2.

Hammadi faces 12 charges, including perjury and attempting to send material support to al-Qaida. U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell has postponed Hammadi's trial from July 30 to Aug. 27.

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Family of US hiker trapped in New Zealand relieved

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NEENAH, Wis. (AP) - The father of a Wisconsin college student trapped for nine days in the New Zealand wilderness with her boyfriend says the two are adept at solving problems and they made good decisions.

Erica Klintworth and boyfriend Alec Brown became trapped when a snowstorm prevented them from crossing a river and returning from a backpacking trip that began June 1. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students were finally able to cross Sunday.

Dane Klintworth, of Neenah, says the couple made the right decision to wait to cross the raging river and to ration their food.

He says he and his wife didn't learn the 21-year-olds were missing until Saturday morning. He says it was the worst day of their lives until they got word that night that the two were safe.

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Jurors to hear closing arguments in Clemens case

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By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - After eight weeks, jurors will finally hear closing arguments in the Roger Clemens perjury trial Tuesday. They're expected to begin deliberations later in the day.

Jurors will have to digest and process 46 witnesses and 26 days of testimony.

On Monday, the defense made it official that Clemens would not take the stand. With the jury out of the room, Clemens came up to the podium, leaned in, and told the judge in a deep voice and Texas drawl: "Yes, sir, I am not testifying."

The former star baseball pitcher is on trial for allegedly lying to Congress when he denied using steroids or human growth hormone.

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Fla. gets divided opinions on self-defense laws

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By GARY FINEOUT
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Nearly 6,600 emails gathered by a task force looking into Florida's self-defense laws have been filled with passionate responses to the Trayvon Martin shooting as well as caustic criticisms of the Republican-controlled state government and of those who called for the arrest of George Zimmerman.

Gov. Rick Scott set up the task force, which will hold its first public hearing Tuesday in central Florida close to where neighborhood watch volunteer Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed teenager in February. The 28-year-old has been both vilified and defended by people across the nation for his actions.

Zimmerman said after the shooting and since that he acted in self-defense and police in Sanford did not arrest him. But after weeks of protests, he was charged with second-degree murder and is back in jail because a judge revoked his bond. The shooting set off an intense national debate about self-defense laws, race and other matters, which were reflected in many of the emails sent by people from California to New York and the nation's heartland.

Florida passed the "stand your ground law" seven years ago. It allows use of deadly force to prevent "imminent death or great bodily harm," and it removed a person's duty to retreat in the face of such peril that was required in a previous self-defense law. The change was strongly backed by the National Rifle Association.

Many of the emails call on Florida to either keep the law as it is - or to repeal the "stand your ground" part. Those who oppose to the law called Florida a dangerous place to visit.

"Please repeal this terrible law that allows murderers to walk free," wrote Austin Doyle who lives in the Panhandle. "Christians shouldn't be carrying guns everywhere they go."

Micheal Rodney from Venice, Fla., blasted Scott for creating the task force and said it was premature to even look at the state's self-defense laws.

"We are a nation of laws, and the full extent of the law has not been applied in this case, and we do not know what laws, if any, have been broken," Rodney wrote in late April. "...For Governor Scott to have acted in the way he has been portrayed, without any rebuttal on his part, means that I have wasted my previous vote for his election."

W.M. Smith from Monroe County meanwhile urged the task force to "correct insane gun laws."

"My ancestors pioneered central Florida in 1830. They used guns to secure food, not for machismo. Thanks to the gun lobby, the opposite is true today," Smith wrote. "I currently feel far safer in Central America than in my native state."

Some of the emails complained about the racial overtones of Martin's killing that they said had been pushed by the national media. The case has become a racial flashpoint because the Martin family and supporters contend Zimmerman singled out the 17-year-old because he was black.

Roy Callahan of Gainesville sent to the task force a copy of a letter he sent to State Sen. Chris Smith. He sharply criticized the Fort Lauderdale Democrat for complaining that the current law is confusing.

"The only thing 'controversial' and 'confusing' is a Democrat and 'African American' politician using the term 'controversial', and 'confusing' to promote an agenda," wrote Callahan. "If the liberal media, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and others of their ilk respected the rule of law the 'confusion on the part of the public, law enforcement, and judicial system' you refer to would not have occurred."

John Smith, who lives in the central Florida retirement community of The Villages, argued that Zimmerman's case was not covered by the "stand your ground" law since he had been following Martin the night of the shooting in the gated community outside Orlando.

"Please leave the law as it is, or at most, better define what 'stand your ground' means," wrote Smith. "I don't think it means you can be following someone on the move, and then when confronted, can use deadly force unless you are prevented from retreating."

___

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Kamis, 21 Juni 2012

Key senator wants tax overhaul to reduce deficits

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By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - An overhaul of the nation's tax code should raise additional revenue to reduce massive budget deficits and should help strengthen the economy, the Senate's top tax-writer said Monday.

Though he provided almost no detail, the stance by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., that rewriting tax laws should be a part of deficit reduction underscored the differences between the two parties. Many Republicans say a tax overhaul should involve lower rates and fewer tax loopholes without producing extra revenue to erase red ink.

"Any tax reform plan must be developed with a sound budget in mind that reduces deficits and debt," Baucus said in remarks at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a policy research organization driven by moderates from both parties.

Baucus conceded that any tax overhaul would probably have to wait until after the November elections because partisanship is too strong now, a widely held view in Washington.

He also said he believes lawmakers will first have to deal with the year-end "fiscal cliff," when billions in tax cuts will expire and billions more in automatic spending cuts will start taking effect unless Congress acts.

Republicans want to renew broad tax cuts, first enacted under President George W. Bush, for everyone. President Barack Obama and many Democrats want to let the Bush tax cuts expire only for people earning over $250,000 yearly, though some Democrats want to raise that threshold to $1 million.

In an important tonal contrast with Republicans, Baucus said while he favors eliminating tax breaks to lower overall tax rates, "some of that's a little unrealistic politically" because of the popularity of many parts of the current tax code.

Republicans have already pushed a budget through the House that would create just two tax rates, 25 percent and 10 percent, down from the current five rates that top out at 35 percent.

It would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks, but Republicans have not specified which ones they would terminate, though they have asserted they could achieve their goal. Two of the largest breaks are the home mortgage interest deduction and the exclusion from taxes of the value of employer-provided health insurance, both of which are widely and intensely popular.

Baucus also said that dozens of narrow tax breaks - mostly for businesses - that have expired or will soon expire should not be renewed unless they have "a tangible benefit to our economy or society."

He said the goals of rewriting tax laws should be to help create jobs, make U.S. companies more competitive and innovative, and encourage more education and opportunity.

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Spain bank rescue glee morphs into markets rout

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By DANIEL WOOLLS
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) - Euphoria over a lifeline of up to €100 billion ($125 billion) to rescue Spain's hurting banks morphed into a financial markets rout in a matter of hours Monday, as investors digested the still-undefined plan and became concerned the country may be unable to repay the new loans.

The rate on Spanish 10-year bonds - a measure of market trust in a country's ability to repay debt - rose to an alarmingly high yield of 6.47 percent at the close of trading after falling to 6 percent in the morning. And the benchmark IBEX-35 stock index closed down 0.5 percent after surging 6 percent in the morning.

Overshadowing Spain's acceptance over the weekend of a bailout for banks burdened by toxic property assets and loans are Greek elections next weekend and concerns that the anti-bailout left-wing party Syriza could become the largest party in parliament, putting the country's membership in the zone at risk.

Investors also zeroed in on Italy, sending its bond yields sharply higher amid worries it could be next in line for a bailout because of a deepening recession and increasing pressure on the administration of Premier Mario Monti. And Spain's economy is in terrible shape with no sign of improvement anytime soon.

"Plenty of risk still remains in place, with question marks over the ability of Spain to repay the debt, especially, if the country fails to get back on the growth path, the outcome of the upcoming Greek elections and the perception of situation in Italy," Anita Paluch of Gekko Global Markets wrote in a note to clients.

Spain's bond yield is worrisome because it is perilously close the 7 percent rate that is considered unsustainable, and the level that pushed Greece, Ireland and Portugal to ask for bailouts of their government finances. While Spain's bailout does not include the government, investors are worried that Spain might eventually be forced into such a situation.

The rescue for Spain's banks was portrayed by Spanish and European officials as a bid to contain Europe's widening recession and financial crisis that have hurt companies and investors around the world. Providing a financial lifeline to Spanish banks was designed to relieve anxiety on the economy.

Finance ministers of the 17 nations that use the euro said Saturday they would make the loan of up to €100 billion available to the Spanish government to prop up banks laden with non-performing loans and other toxic assets after the collapse of a real estate bubble.

Recession-hit Spain, which has the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, has yet to say how much of this money it will tap while it waits for the results of two independent audits of the country's banking industry, not due until June 21 - after the Greek elections. The bailout loans will be paid into the Spanish government's Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB), which would then use the money to strengthen the country's teetering banks.

In a report released late last week, the International Monetary Fund estimated Spain needs around €40 billion to prop up banks hurting from an unprecedented real estate boom that went bust.

Worried investors still don't know precisely how much Spain will seek, and how large a safety margin of extra money it might take to cushion itself against further shocks, such as a deterioration in the economy already in its second recession in three years with unemployment of nearly 25 percent, the highest in the eurozone.

"Markets will certainly ask the question about whether a second bailout might be required and the margin for error between the sort of euro40 billion the IMF is saying and the €100 billion ceiling in terms of what we heard," said Mark Miller of Capital Economics in London.

He added that with the bailout, Spain's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio - which was a relatively low 68.5 percent at the end of last year - could shoot up to the 90s next year. And bond yields will remain high.

If the ratio gets up to Greek levels of 120 percent or so, and 10-year yields close in on the near-7-percent levels Spain hit several weeks ago "then people will ask that question about a second bailout" for Spain, Miller said.

Another issue is whether the European money comes with strings attached for the government, and not just an obligation for banks to restructure. When the bailout was announced on Saturday, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the rescue would not force any new austerity measures on a government that has already issued a wave of painful measures since taking power in December.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy avoided using the term 'bailout' to describe the aid, calling it instead a credit line without the strict austerity conditions that have accompanied bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

However, the European Union made clear Monday the money is more than just a loan. Besides being paid back with interest, there will be conditions for the Spanish government.

"When people lend money, they never do it for free. They want to know what is done with the money," said Joaquin Almunia, the European Competition Commissioner.

"I am not talking about just the obligation to pay back the money, but also some other kind of terms," he told Cadena Ser radio, adding that these remain to be determined.

Spain's economy ministry released a statement later saying the package includes "the necessary conditionality for the financial sector" but requires no new fiscal consolidation or structural reforms beyond those the government has already embarked on.

The loan will be supervised by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, Almunia said.

A European Commission spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj, told Spanish state television that this troika will have people on the ground overseeing the restructuring of the Spanish financial sector. Representatives of the same three groups regularly visit Greece, Ireland and Portugal to make sure the governments in those nations are complying with bailout terms,

Altafaj noted that the European Commission last month recommended Spain undertake further reforms such as speeding up the phasing of a higher retirement age - it is to go from 65 to 67 - and raise VAT sales tax. The newspaper El Pais quoted EU officials Monday as saying these changes and others are part of the conditions that come with the bank rescue package.

Adding to the gloomy mood on Monday, the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded the credit rating of Spain's two largest international banks Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA from A to BBB+.

The agency said the reasons for the downgrade were primarily because Spanish credit rating was downgraded to two notches above junk last week, because of a fresh forecast that Spain's faltering economy will remain in recession into 2013 "compared to the previous expectation that the economy would benefit from a mild recovery in 2013."

Banco Santander and BBVA are seen as immune from needing help from Spain's bank bailout because profits from their international operations have buffered their Spain losses. But Fitch also said they could be affected by any downturn that affects operations outside Spain. Both are big players in Latin America.

"Growth prospects for emerging markets in which Santander and BBVA subsidiaries operate have been revised down and they are not entirely immune to global economic trends but earnings from these markets will continue to contribute significantly to group earnings at both institutions," Fitch said in a statement.

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Harold Heckle and Alan Clendenning in Madrid contributed to this report.

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Feds and Florida headed to court over voter purge

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By GARY FINEOUT
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The administration of Florida Gov. Rick Scott is headed to a legal showdown with two different federal agencies over a contentious voter purge.

Florida filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Washington D.C., demanding that the state be given the right to check the names of its registered voters against an immigration database maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The lawsuit came the same day that the U.S. Department of Justice announced its plan to ask a federal court to block the state from pushing ahead with removing potential non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls. Authorities contend that the state's effort violates federal voting laws.

"Please immediately cease this unlawful conduct," wrote Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

But Scott himself went on national television to defend the purge and the need to sue the federal government.

"I have a job to do to defend the right of legitimate voters," Scott told Neil Cavuto of Fox News. "We want to have fair honest elections in our state and so we have been put in the position we have to sue the federal government to get this information."

This latest action follows a lawsuit filed last week against the purge by a Hispanic civic organization and two naturalized citizens that was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

The litigation is unlikely to have much a practical effect since nearly every county supervisor in Florida had already suspended efforts to remove any of the potential non-U.S. citizens identified by the state.

But the legal skirmish is already becoming a flashpoint between Republicans and Democrats in this crucial swing state. Scott himself blasted the federal government over the voter purge during a tea party event held over the weekend.

It was Scott who last year urged state elections officials to start looking for non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls. An initial comparison of driver's license records with voter registration records turned up as many as 182,000 registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens.

But state officials did not release that list and instead sought access to a federal immigration database to verify the matches. That request so far has been turned down by Homeland Security.

Earlier this year, state officials sent local election officials a much smaller list of more than 2,600 voters and asked them to check the names. Voters who did not respond to supervisors could ultimately be removed from the rolls.

Supervisors, however, have questioned the accuracy of the list since hundreds on it have turned out to be citizens.

State records show 86 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls since April 11, and that more than half of them had voted in previous elections. But some of the names removed in recent weeks were discovered by supervisors independently and did not come from the list distributed by the state.

Florida's lawsuit contends that federal law requires Homeland Security to grant the state access to an immigration database which does not track native U.S. citizens but only those people who visit or immigrate to the country. Homeland Security officials said they could not comment on the lawsuit.

But Justice officials said it takes more than a name or birthdate to prove a match in the federal immigration database and that Florida has already conceded doesn't have the right data. Perez wrote that the "significant problems you are encountering...are of your own creation."

Perez added said that while federal authorities do not want non-U.S. citizens to vote "states cannot have unfettered authority" to remove voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election. Florida's primary is Aug. 14.

"Where the registration status of eligible citizens is questioned close to an election, it creates significant confusion for both voters and election officials that cannot easily be resolved in the immediate pre-election period, when there is insufficient time to identify errors or remedy incorrect removals," wrote Perez.

The federal government also contends the voter purge violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act because the procedures used to identify potentially ineligible voters have not been reviewed by the Justice Department. Florida must secure approval for changes in voting procedures because five counties are still covered by the law because of a past history of discrimination.

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US leaves unsettled supply talks with Pakistan

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By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. team that tried for more than a month to negotiate a reopening of blocked Pakistani supply routes into Afghanistan is coming home without an agreement, U.S. officials said Monday.

Both sides indicated they remain open to making a deal, but the departure of the U.S. negotiators appeared to signal that the Americans see little prospect of a breakthrough any time soon. Adding to the appearance of an impasse was the Pakistanis' refusal to grant a visiting Pentagon official a meeting with their top general.

White House press secretary Jay Carney put the onus on Pakistan to resume serious talks.

"We saw it as the right move to withdraw" the U.S. negotiating team, he said, adding that it had largely completed its work. "We are ready to send officials back to Islamabad when the Pakistani government is ready to conclude the agreement."

Carney said several issues remain unresolved, but gave no details.

The disagreement over the supply routes is one of numerous tensions in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. In recent days the Americans have emphasized their frustration at Pakistan's refusal to do more to stop Pakistani-based insurgent groups from crossing into Afghanistan to fight U.S., Afghan and allied troops.

Officials in Washington and Islamabad would not detail what led to the break in the supply route talks, but two senior U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations said the Pakistanis were holding out for an apology for the deaths last November of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a U.S. airstrike, which was what triggered Pakistan to close the border. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

The U.S. has insisted it will do no more than express regret for the deaths and will not apologize.

One of the U.S. officials said the Pakistanis had put the apology demand "front and center" in the negotiations.

The border crossings had been an important means of getting U.S. war materiel into Afghanistan. Since then, NATO and the U.S. have been using a circuitous, more costly northern route to bring supplies to the war front.

Although the U.S. administration would like to have access to the Pakistani ground supply routes, officials have said they can continue the war and arrange the scheduled withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops and equipment without the routes.

Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan, on Monday acknowledged the troubled Washington-Islamabad relationship, but said the closed border has not affected his operations.

Scaparrotti told reporters at the Pentagon that commanders are "working very hard" to improve the military-to-military relationship between the two countries and get it back to where it was before the November killings.

"We're a fair ways from that right now," he said.

But Scaparrotti said the U.S. has built alternative supply routes and has been able to get what it needs for the war despite the border closing. NATO last week finalized agreements to move supplies through other countries.

"It's not really affected us," Scaparrotti said via a video teleconference from Kabul.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said the U.S. negotiators are prepared to return to Islamabad on short notice if circumstances change, and Pakistani officials said it would be wrong to conclude that talks have broken down.

"U.S. officials involved at the technical talks have completed their work," Moazzam Ahmed Khan, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman, said. "And my understanding is that they have been recalled."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it was unclear when the negotiators would go back to Islamabad.

"There's no question that although we've made some progress, this remains difficult and we're not finished," Nuland said. Asked when talks might resume she said, "We need to hear from the Pakistanis when they think that's a good idea."

Little did not say who decided to pull out the U.S. team. "A decision was reached that it was time to bring the team home for a short period of time," he said. "Again, we're ready to send them back at any moment."

Little also confirmed that a senior Defense Department official, Peter Lavoy, talked to senior Pakistani officials over the weekend but was not allowed to meet with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the Pakistani army.

There have been a number of sticking points in the talks to reopen the border besides the issue of an apology for the 24 deaths. There have also been tough negotiations over the fee that Pakistan would charge for each truck to cross its territory. Before the November attack, the cost had been $250 per truck. As of late May, Pakistan was demanding $5,000 per truck and the U.S. had countered with $500. It's unclear where that issue stood as of Monday.

Last week, Pakistani-U.S. relations seemed to hit a new low. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited India, Pakistan's archrival, and Afghanistan and in each locale openly expressed frustration with the Pakistani's government willingness to help the U.S. in the war on terror, and acknowledged aloud that "the whole idea" was to leave Pakistan in the dark about the secret raid that killed Osama bin Laden in an Army garrison town in Pakistan last year.

Panetta also said that U.S. patience with Pakistan was running out.

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Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek, Anne Gearan and Matthew Lee in Washington and Rebecca Santana in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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US Supreme Court reinstates Ky. death sentence

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By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence of a Kentucky inmate who was on track to be freed after awaiting execution for three decades.

The high court on Monday overturned a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had granted a new trial to 63-year-old David Eugene Matthews. That trial would have been on reduced charges and likely would have led to Matthews' release even if he was convicted, because of the length of time he's already served.

Matthews was sentenced to death in 1982 for the slaying of his estranged wife and mother-in-law in Louisville.

The 6th Circuit decision in June 2011 gave prosecutors 180 days to retry Matthews on burglary charges, but not murder.

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Fight after Bay to Breakers race ends in death

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By TERRY COLLINS
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A man who was severely injured in a fight after San Francisco's Bay to Breakers race last month has died, and police are again pleading with those who may have seen or recorded the confrontation.

Stephen Martin, 31, of Santa Clara, Calif., was taken off life support on Friday after being in a coma for three weeks.

"As per the doctor's recommendation, we took him off life support Friday morning - and allowed nature to take its course. Thank you all for your prayers and support," his family said in a statement.

On Monday, Police Chief Greg Suhr and top police brass pleaded publicly to those who might have taken photos or videos near the area of the May 20 attack to contact them.

"We can't get enough," Suhr said. "Err on the side of caution. If you think you have a photo or video that may be at all helpful, please send it along. ... Let us make the decision on whether it is useful or not."

Martin and his friends, wearing troll wigs, were standing in the Sharon Meadows area of Golden Gate Park hours after the race when a confrontation ensued with a group of 12 men and women - some wearing white and red San Francisco 49ers jerseys - over a cellphone, Cmdr. John Loftus said.

One man apparently wearing a Niners jersey punched Martin, Loftus said. Martin fell, struck his head on the park pavement and never regained consciousness.

Loftus showed photos of Martin and his friends posing with some of the alleged suspects before the altercation, including one man with a Niners jersey and a SF tattoo on the right side of his neck and a woman wearing an orange tutu.

Loftus said the suspects may be involved in a gang.

"We're trying to get photos of the actual assault," Loftus said. "We want to identify all of the people in this photograph. They are all people of interest."

Loftus added, "This is a tragic crime. This gentleman finished running the Bay to Breakers race several hours before and was socializing with this group, and now he's dead."

The 12-kilometer annual race from the city's Financial District to Golden Gate Park is infamous for its wild costumes, nudity and daylong revelry. In recent years, police have cracked down on runners drinking during the spectacle.

This year's race drew more than 40,000 participants, some of whom were dressed as penguins, superheroes and fruit. About 19 people were arrested that day.

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Coast Guard: NJ yacht explosion report likely hoax

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SANDY HOOK, N.J. (AP) - A reported explosion on a motor yacht off central New Jersey likely was a hoax, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday night. It has launched an investigation to determine who was responsible for the extensive search and rescue operation that officials said cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The multiagency mission was launched after authorities received an emergency radio transmission around 4:20 p.m. Monday from a boat identifying itself as the Blind Date. The caller reported the boat was 17 nautical miles east of Sandy Hook and had 21 people aboard and several people were injured.

The caller also claimed the vessel sank but everyone aboard had made it to life rafts. But Coast Guard crews and New York City police helicopters found no sign of any people or any distress in the water, and after two hours of searching it became increasingly clear there was no explosion.

About three hours on, emergency crews began leaving the mass casualty staging areas that had been set up to receive the reported injured passengers, and nearly five hours after the distress call was received the Coast Guard confirmed it was likely a hoax.

Commander Kenneth Pierro of Coast Guard Sector New York said more than 200 first responders had assembled at the staging areas, and officials said several good Samaritans had assisted authorities in the lengthy search.

The Coast Guard scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Manhattan to discuss the incident and its investigation.

Pierro noted that hoax calls put the Coast Guard and other first responders at unnecessary risk and can interfere with the Coast Guard's ability to respond to actual distress at sea.

Making a false distress call is a federal felony, with a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and reimbursement to the Coast Guard for the cost of performing the search. The Coast Guard and other state and local agencies responded to more than 60 suspected hoax calls last year in the northern New Jersey, New York City and Hudson River region.

Monday's distress call and search came nearly a year after a similar situation unfolded near Sandy Hook.

A call on an emergency radio channel was received in the early morning hours of June 14, 2011, with the caller claiming a 33-foot sailboat named Courtney Lynn was taking on water. Less than an hour later, another call came in claiming the boat was 90 percent submerged, and the four boaters were transferring to a small gray dinghy.

No further transmissions were received from the callers, who said they didn't have a handheld radio or flares to communicate with rescuers from the dinghy. A 10-hour search costing almost $88,000 turned up no sign of the boaters, and an investigation was launched. No one has been prosecuted.

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Rabu, 20 Juni 2012

Police say another man has died in mall shooting

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By The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) - Police say a second victim of the shooting at Toronto's downtown Eaton Centre mall has died.

Toronto Police said a 22-year-old man, whose name cannot be released due to a court-ordered publication ban, died from his injuries on Monday evening.

The man was among several people wounded in the June 2 shooting which took place in the food court of the multi-level Eaton Centre, a Toronto landmark.

The shooting also killed Ahmed Hassan, 24, who died at the scene.

Christopher Husbands, 23, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder in the shootings.

Police have said their investigation suggests the shooting was a targeted one.

Police say Husbands, Hassan and the man who died Monday all belonged to the same gang.

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Sheriff: Man writing book on kindness shot in Mont

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By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A West Virginia man who told authorities he was hitchhiking across the country and writing a memoir about kindness was injured in a seemingly random drive-by shooting near Montana's booming Bakken oil patch.

Ray Dolin, 39, was shot in the arm as he approached a pickup Saturday evening, thinking the driver was offering him a ride, said Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier.

The freelance photographer, who runs a business called OneShot Impressions, was injured about three miles west of the town of Glasgow, along rural U.S. Highway 2, a major route into and out of the oil patch.

A 52-year-old man from Washington state, Lloyd Christopher Danielson III, was arrested about four hours later near Culbertson. Authorities said Danielson was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They released no motive in the shooting.

"He was sitting down to have a little lunch and this guy drives up. He thought he was going to give him a ride and as he approached the vehicle, the guy pulls out his weapon and shoots him. It's as simple as that," Meier said.

Danielson was apparently headed to Williston, N.D., for work tied to the oil boom, although Meier said he has offered few details. Danielson's brother, Tim Danielson, said he left home weeks ago, heading to the Bakken for work. He declined to comment further.

The shooting follows another random attack in which a popular 43-year-old teacher from the oil patch town of Sidney, Mont., was allegedly kidnapped and killed by two Colorado men on their way to the Bakken earlier this year.

As the men await trial in the murder of teacher Sherry Arnold, the case has stoked worries that a once-quiet corner of Montana has been irreversibly altered by the oil boom. Crime rates across western North Dakota and eastern Montana have spiked as thousands of workers flock to a region that has become one of the top-oil producing areas of the country.

But Meier said Danielson's quick arrest by deputies in Roosevelt County 100 miles away from the shooting shows law enforcement is keeping up with the changes.

"We're still the wonderful people in Montana we've always been, and we'll get through this," Meier said. "Things are going to happen whether there's the Bakken or not."

Meier did not know if any words were exchanged between the alleged shooter and victim before Dolin was shot. He said they did not know one another.

Dolin was being treated at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow. A nurse said Monday he was not taking calls or accepting messages.

Dolin had told sheriff's officials that he was writing a memoir titled "Kindness in America." His father, Melvin Dolin, in Julian, W. Va., declined to speak about his son's plans, saying he had been working on his photography.

"I'd rather you eventually get that story from him. He had some ideas about that," he said.

After graduating from college in recent years, Ray Dolin started OneShot Impressions to pursue freelance photography, his father said. The business' website features a logo of the cross hairs of a rifle scope, and has a statement from Dolin citing photography and travel as "two of my greatest passions in life."

Dolin left West Virginia last week bound for Washington state, Melvin Dolin said. He took a bus to the edge of Montana and intended to work his way to Washington from there, the father said.

"He was on the way across the country taking pictures," Melvin Dolin said, adding that his son's travel plans had been flexible. "He was going to make up his mind as he travelled along. But he didn't get that far."

Glasgow is about 120 miles west of the Montana-North Dakota border. Still dominated by agriculture, the town of about 3,000 residents is increasingly feeling the effects of the oil boom to the east.

Danielson was jailed on suspicion of felony assault with a weapon and driving under the influence. He did not enter a plea during an initial court appearance Monday, and City Judge Traci Harada set bail for Danielson at $50,000 on the assault charge and $685 for the DUI. He was expected to make another court appearance Tuesday.

The sheriff's office had identified Danielson as a resident of Olympia, Wash., but he said in court that he was from Tumwater, Wash., Harada said. Danielson has criminal convictions in King County, Wash., for assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, obstruction of law enforcement and exhibiting or carrying a weapon with intent to intimidate. Records show he was sentenced in 2005 to 8 months in jail on the charges.

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Big US insurers to keep parts of health care law

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By TOM MURPHY
AP Business Writer

Some of the nation's biggest health insurers will keep some popular parts of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even if the law fails to survive Supreme Court scrutiny later this month.

UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Aetna all said Monday that they will continue to cover preventive care such as immunizations and screenings without requiring patients to pay a set fee called a co-payment.

They also said they'd still cover adult children up to age 26 through their parents' insurance plans. Additionally, they all pledged to continue to offer a simple process for patients who want to appeal when their health insurance claims have been denied.

WellPoint, the nation's second largest insurer behind UnitedHealth, said it will announce its plans after the Supreme Court's ruling. The company runs Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in several states.

The announcements come after insurers initially fought to block passage of the overhaul, which aims to provide coverage for millions of uninsured people. Challenges from states and other groups opposed to the law, which was passed in 2010, made their way to the Supreme Court. Justices are expected to rule later this month on whether to uphold the law or strike down parts or all of it.

That major insurers are keeping some of the early provisions of the law underscores the popularity of those requirements. Patients have already gotten used to the benefits, and the insurers have already factored the cost of the provisions into the premiums that customers have to pay for coverage.

Bob Laszewski, a consultant in the insurance industry, said insurers have probably added about 3 percent to a patient's bill for the early provisions, depending on the type of coverage. As a result, he said it makes sense for insurers to keep the early provisions because if they didn't, customers probably would expect a corresponding drop in the premiums they have to pay.

"It would probably be more trouble to roll these things back than go ahead with them," said Laszewski, a former insurance executive. "It just makes common sense to leave these things in there and not take these benefits away since they're already priced in

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc., the nation's No. 5 insurer, went further than No. 3 Aetna Inc. by saying they'd keep several early provisions of the law.

Both companies said they won't impose lifetime dollar limits on how much an insurance policy pays out to cover claims. That helps people fighting cancer and expensive, chronic illnesses. The two insurers also both said they would not pursue rescissions, or the cancellation of a person's coverage retroactively, except in limited instances such as cases of fraud.

Both companies said in separate statements Monday that they decided to keep the provisions because they make sense. Humana said that its customers should "have the peace of mind" knowing that the company will keep the provisions even if the law isn't upheld.

"The protections we are voluntarily extending are good for people's health, promote broader access to quality care and contribute to helping control rising health care costs," UnitedHealth CEO Stephen J. Hemsley said.

Still, the insurers stopped short of promising to extend an important initial overhaul provision that requires the coverage of children up to age 19 with pre-existing conditions. This gives children with expensive medical conditions a chance to land some sort of insurance coverage on the individual market to help pay bills.

A lone insurer keeping that provision might get overwhelmed with applications from children with expensive medical conditions who want the guarantee of coverage. UnitedHealth said it recognizes the provision's value, but one company alone cannot extend the provision if the law is struck down.

The provisions that the insurers did keep don't apply to everyone. UnitedHealth and Humana both say the ones they're keeping apply largely to customers who have individual policies or small-group health insurance through their employer.

Big employers that pay their own medical claims and then hire an insurer to administer coverage generally make their own decisions on what to cover, and Laszewski, the consultant, expects them to extend some overhaul provisions as well.

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10 Things to Know for Monday

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By The Associated Press

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times EDT):

1. FACT CHECK: LOOMING TAX HIKE NOT THE BIGGEST EVER

Republicans are calling it "Taxmageddon," the big tax increase awaiting nearly every American family at the end of the year.

2. POLICE PROBE CRASHES LINKED TO U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY

Police say John Bryson has been cited for felony hit-and-run following two Los Angeles area accidents that left him injured and unconscious.

3. OPENING STATEMENTS IN JERRY SANDUSKY CASE SET TO BEGIN

A jury of seven women and five men will get their first glimpse of the child sex abuse case against the former Penn State assistant football coach.

4. 'MINDFULNESS' GROWS IN POPULARITY - AND PROFITS

More people are engaging in the mental technique that dwells on breathing, attention to areas of the body and periods of silence to concentrate on the present rather than the worries of yesterday and tomorrow.

5. IRAQ PRESIDENT SAYS PREMIER'S CRITICS DIDN'T GET MAJORITY VOTE

Opponents of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have failed to muster enough support to bring him down in a vote of no confidence, Iraq's president said in a statement posted on his website Sunday.

6. INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES EMBRACE DIGITAL PUBLISHING

Self-publishing has been made easier since the Espresso Book Machine by On Demand Books debuted in 2006.

7. SUSPECT SOUGHT IN AUBURN SHOOTING THAT KILLED THREE

The search continues in Alabama for a gunman in a shooting at a pool party near Auburn University.

8. 'ONCE' COMPLETES ITS CINDERELLA STORY WITH A TONY

"Once" won eight trophies and earned bragging rights as the top musical on Broadway.

9. DEFENSE TO WRAP UP CASE IN CLEMENS PERJURY TRIAL

The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. EDT.

10. RAIN HALTS DJOKOVIC-NADAL FINAL AT FRENCH OPEN

Officials halted play at Sunday's waterlogged final with Nadal clinging to the lead. No matter who wins, this final will make history. It will be the first French Open not to end on Sunday since 1973, when Ilie Nastase wrapped up his title on a Tuesday.

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Court won't hear Padilla appeal

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't reinstate a lawsuit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other government officials for the imprisonment of a man declared an "enemy combatant."

The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Jose Padilla and his mother, Estela Lebron.

Padilla wanted to sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former brig commander Catherine T. Hanft and several other officials. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in January that Congress, not the court system, has jurisdiction over military detention cases.

Padilla was eventually convicted of supporting terrorism in Kosovo, Bosnia and Chechnya and is serving a 17-year sentence in a federal prison in Colorado.

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After Auburn suspect the House police officers leave after search

By BOB JOHNSON
Associated press

Authorities in Montgomery left a House early Tuesday, where they believed, the man that, accused of fatally shooting three people in the vicinity of Auburn University MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP) — may have hidden.

Law enforcement swarmed the scene on Monday afternoon and spent hours burning tear gas, with thermal imaging and tactical teams on tours of the city in the Interior of the House, Leonard send for Desmonte looking for. Someone had not from the home of the time did, that you a briefing shortly after midnight instead.

And at 02: 25 Tuesday a photographer who saw the associated press on the stage all law enforcement of agents who leave without comment. It was not immediately clear why they leave. There was no activity around the House.

Leonard is loaded at University Heights apartments with three counts of capital murder in the shooting Saturday night during a pool party. He is accused also three more injured. The dead include two Auburn retired players.

While authorities, the home Monday were Montgomery said Mayor Todd strange that they scour the attic, air conditioning lines and "all cracks" of the House, were satisfied until they, wanted. They were drilling and tear through parts of the House. She swore on repayment of the home owner or rebuild of the structure.

Investigators said thermography and other technology showed a person in the attic of the House was and that they had heard coughing and movement. But after midnight, she confirmed that she had heard these sounds not for several hours.

Surrounded dozens of police cruiser, truck, fire brigade vehicles and vans the House in a middle class area a few miles away from Alabama's Capitol. Authorities had received two 911 calls, which saw someone like Leonard in or near the House, strange, said reporters was. Any of the calls came from the owner of the House.

On Monday the police also shared that they impede the accused two men had arrested the search.

Auburn police said Jeremy S. Thomas, 18, Montgomery interfere with law enforcement after he fled the scene of the shooting was calculated with Leonard. Records show that at the time of the Auburn photo shoots in anticipation of a homicide test set in the last year's deaths teenager June 18 start Thomas was free on bond.

Montgomery police said that Gabriel Thomas, 41, was charged track after contact with Leonard after the shooting and false information of the officers also with disability.

Police said it was not known whether Jeremy Thomas and Gabriel Thomas are related. Officers also were looking for a third man described as a person of interest in the case, but it was not clear why.

The three killed on the weekend shoot included Auburn player Edward Christian, who had to quit the team because of a persistent back injury; and Ladarious Phillips, which was transferred to Jacksonville State University to play football from Auburn. The other person killed was Demario Pitts, 20.

Three people were, the wounded, current Auburn football player Eric Mack Xavier Moss were treated and released from the hospital. The third, John Robertson, was shot in the head in a critical condition after.

A witness who identified as a friend of Pitts, said that he knew not the man pulled a gun and fire into the crowd, which after a dispute over a woman.

"I him not a day of my life is never seen," said Turquorius vines, 23, who in the melee was not hurt.

Police arrested Leonard on two previous charges with weapons.

Court documents show Montgomery that police suspected one in 2008 on a charge of carrying a pistol without a license after stolen vehicle and find it in Leonard arrested. Documents online does not show whether the case at all was solved, but was Leonard freed days on bond.

Leonard was commissioned in 2009 with attack after a man in the groin area was shot and killed, but prosecutors deleted the case after authorities Leonard said the victim was not the shooter.

A Mrs Montgomery sued paternity Leonard on Friday, which identified him as the father of a girl, made one last month.

Another woman sued him 2009 seeks unpaid child support for a girl, who is now 4. A court ordered monthly payments of $305 by Leonard, the records, the card at a Walmart worked to save time.

Auburn police said that the shootings do not seem to do anything with some of the victims is from former or current players on the football team, the national in 2010 Championship. The apartment complex pool is often the site of parties.

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Associated press writer Phil Rawls in Montgomery, Alabama, and Jay Reeves Birmingham, Alabama, contributed to this report.

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Selasa, 19 Juni 2012

Clinton urges halt to Myanmar sectarian violence

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging a halt to the deadly sectarian violence in western Myanmar (mee-an-MAWR').

At least seven people have died and hundreds of homes have been burned since Friday in clashes between Buddhists and a Muslim minority in Rakhine state, posing a major test to Myanmar's government as it shifts from decades of military rule.

Clinton expressed deep concern in a statement Monday, noting reports of violence continue despite the government's announcement of a state of emergency and curfews.

She called on authorities to work with Muslim, Buddhist and ethnic representatives to hold talks and ensure a transparent investigation into the violence. She said the situation underscored the need for serious efforts to achieve national reconciliation.

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Union, independent group air Spanish language ads

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By Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - A labor union and an independent group supporting President Barack Obama's re-election are running Spanish language ads in three battleground states targeting Republican Mitt Romney.

The ads from Priorities USA Action and the Service Employees International Union are running in Colorado, Florida and Nevada. The ads, titled "En Sus Propias Palabras," or "In His Own Words," includes clips of Romney appearing to sound out of touch on the economy and Hispanic voters responding to his words.

One clip shows Romney saying he likes to be able to fire people. Another shows him saying he's not focused on the very poor. Both statements are taken out of context.

The groups say they are spending $4 million to air the ads.

Polls show Obama with a large lead over Romney among Hispanics.

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Hundreds evacuated as Colo., NM fires spread

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By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press

LAPORTE, Colo. (AP) - Firefighters on Sunday were fighting wildfires that have spread quickly in parched forests in Colorado and New Mexico, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and the evacuation of wolves from a sanctuary.

The Colorado fire, burning in a mountainous area about 15 miles west of Fort Collins, grew to more than 31 square miles within about a day of being reported and has destroyed or damaged 18 structures.

Strong winds, meanwhile, grounded aircraft fighting a 40-square-mile wildfire near the mountain community of Ruidoso in southern New Mexico. Crews were working to build a fire line around the blaze, which started Friday and has damaged or destroyed 36 structures.

It wasn't immediately clear how many of the structures lost were homes. "We're still trying to take a tally," Kerry Gladden, public information officer for Ruidoso, said late Sunday afternoon.

In Colorado, the fire sent up heavy smoke, obscuring the sun and creating an eerie, orange dusk in the middle of the day. The smell of smoke drifted into the Denver area and smoke spread as far away as central Nebraska, western Kansas and Texas.

The latest New Mexico fire is smaller than the Whitewater-Baldy fire - the largest in the state's history - but it's more concerning to authorities because it started closer to homes, said Dan Ware, a spokesman for the New Mexico State Forestry Division. He said the number of Ruidoso evacuees was in the hundreds, but he didn't have an exact figure.

Gladden said preliminary evacuations could be issued for some areas closer to town due to wind shifts.

Karen Takai, a spokeswoman for the Ruidoso fire crews, said smoke is heavily impacting the community of Capitan, about 5 miles to the northeast. She said Capitan and others could also face evacuation.

"Any communities around this fire have the potential of being evacuated," she said. "If I lived in Capitan, I definitely would be prepared. Don't wait until the sheriff's office comes knocking at your door and tells you to evacuate."

Elsewhere Sunday, firefighters were battling a wildfire that blackened 6 square miles in Wyoming's Guernsey State Park and forced the evacuation of between 500 and 1,000 campers and visitors. Cooler weather was helping firefighters in their battle against two other wildfires in southern Utah.

In Colorado, authorities sent nearly 1,800 evacuation notices to phone numbers but it wasn't clear how many residents had to leave. About 500 people had checked in at Red Cross shelters. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said there was an unconfirmed report of a person unaccounted for, but he wouldn't elaborate.

Authorities say it's the worst fire seen in Larimer County in about 25 years. It spread as fast as 1 1/2 miles an hour Saturday, skipping over some areas but burning intensely in trees in others. Flames were coming dangerously close to deputies who were telling some residents to evacuate, Smith said.

Kathie Walter and her husband helped friends several miles away evacuate from the Colorado fire on Saturday. When they got home, they were surprised to get a call warning them to be ready to evacuate just in case. But Walter didn't want to wait.

"Smoke was coming in hard. We could not see flames or orange or black smoke. But we didn't need to see anymore. We just said 'Hey, let's get out of here,'" she said.

They evacuated with their five cats and two dogs. They had a head start. After a wildfire in the area last year, they had left two suitcases packed in their garage.

Elaine Mantle and her family got a call to evacuate their Bellvue home at 5:45 a.m. Sunday. It took about 30 minutes for them to get out and reach a spillover shelter at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland. Evacuees gathered there for a fire briefing, sipping coffee and eating bananas and powdered doughnuts, in a large gymnasium-like space.

It was the Mantles' first evacuation in the 25 years that they have lived in the mountains, and they were grateful to be safe.

"We're all here, we're all OK. Our neighbors are all here. We feel good," Mantle said.

The blaze also forced the evacuation of 11 wolves from a sanctuary near the fire. KUSA-TV in Denver reported that 19 wolves remained behind at the sanctuary, which has underground concrete bunkers known as "fire dens" that can be used by the animals.

The fire is the latest to hit Colorado's drought-stricken Front Range. In May, a fire set by a camper's stove charred 12 square miles in the same Poudre Canyon area. In March, a fire sparked by a prescribed burn 25 miles southwest of Denver killed three people and damaged or destroyed more than two dozen homes.

Eight air tankers - including two from Canada - and several helicopters were on the scene to help fight the blaze.

Authorities say they're competing for resources that have been diluted by several wildfires burning across the West.

"Resources are thin right now," said Nick Christensen of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. "We are trying to get more of everything at this point."

Meanwhile, the speed at which the fire has spread has dashed any hopes of containment for the time being.

"These folks are doing everything they can, but Mother Nature is running this fire," Smith, the sheriff, said.

In New Mexico, the mix of timber, dry grass and the steepness of the slopes were making the firefighting efforts more difficult.

The fire was burning in steep, rocky, inaccessible terrain in the White Mountain Wilderness of the Lincoln National Forest, which is home to Smokey Bear, who became the nation's symbol of fire prevention in the 1940s.

More than 300 firefighters were battling the blaze with help from three large air tankers, three heavy helicopters and three Blackhawk helicopters. There were also 100 National Guard troops in Ruidoso.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas Peipert in Denver and Amanda Lee Myers in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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Rain halts Djokovic-Nadal final at French Open

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By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

PARIS (AP) - For the first two sets, Rafael Nadal looked like the King of the Clay, alternately bullying Novak Djokovic, then frustrating him, as Djokovic tried to solve the nearly unsolvable riddle of Nadal at Roland Garros.

The longer a steady drizzle soaked the court, however, the better Djokovic looked - and in addition to becoming the first man to win four straight major titles in 43 years, it seemed as if he might be the first to win on a new Grand Slam surface: red mud.

Not to be.

Officials stepped in and halted play at Sunday's waterlogged French Open final with Nadal, in search of his record seventh Roland Garros title, clinging to a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2 lead. If the weather cooperates, the final act will be Monday, with Djokovic serving the same tennis balls that Nadal was complaining were too saturated in the minutes before play was halted.

One of these men will make history, but regardless, this final already has: It will be the first French Open not to end on Sunday since 1973, when Ilie Nastase wrapped up his title on a Tuesday.

Answering most of the questions after play stopped were the Roland Garros tournament director and referee, who stuck by a 3 p.m. starting time - missing out on hours of dry weather earlier in the day - then, in some eyes, let play go on too long, as the red clay got saturated and slabs of caked clay chunked up on the court and adhered to the grooves in the players' shoes.

Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and coach, said he thought action should have been suspended earlier, "because the court was too wet."

Tournament referee Stefan Fransson justified his decision to keep playing, while tournament director Gilbert Ysern defended the choice - made with TV considerations very much in mind - to stick with the starting time.

"You can't say that everybody knew for sure at what time it was going to rain today," Ysern said. "I did not know, and if anybody is able to tell (me) for sure at what time it's going to rain the next day, I'm willing to hire him."

This handwringing put a damper on one of the most important and anticipated finals in some time: Nadal trying to pass Bjorn Borg as the all-time record-holder for French Open titles, and Djokovic trying to become the first player since Rod Laver to win four straight Grand Slam tournaments.

Until Nadal held serve to pull within 2-1 in the fourth set, he had lost a mindboggling eight straight games to Djokovic, who had looked every bit as helpless at the start of the match, when the courts were still dry and Nadal was sliding into shots, hitting his heavy topspin without a problem.

Looking helplessly up at his guest box, Djokovic alternated between Plan A: Try to stand in and slug it out with Nadal, and Plan B: Go big and try to end points early. Neither worked and he finally found Plan C: Play better.

But before that, the frustration spilled over. He spiked one racket to the ground - a move that brought boos and whistles. Then, after losing serve to fall behind 4-3 in the second set, he bashed another stick into his bench, putting a big hole in the bottom and sending a ballkid out to the middle of the court to pick up the debris.

Shortly after that, a rain delay of about 35 minutes ensued. Tournament officials replaced the bench. Djokovic came out with clean socks and what seemed like a new attitude. After dropping three quick games, he ran off eight straight, including the first set he's ever won off Nadal at Roland Garros and the first Nadal has dropped during the 2012 tournament.

After play was halted for the second time, Nadal "focused," according to Uncle Toni - not getting wrapped up in the Spain-Italy soccer match that was playing on TVs around the grounds.

After the Nadals left the grounds for the day, Djokovic followed, pausing to chat with Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol in the players' lounge.

If the weather cooperates - the forecast is for intermittent rain - and they finish Monday, it won't be the first time: It happened at the last two U.S. Opens, where the final has been postponed every year since 2008. And, of course, it happened earlier this year at the Australian Open, where they played 5 hours, 53 minutes and wrapped it up at 1:37 a.m. Monday in Melbourne.

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A breakdown of the battle: Fighting Sioux nickname

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FARGO, N.D. (AP) - The history:

The University of North Dakota debuted the "Sioux" part of its nickname more than 80 years ago. UND's student newspaper on Oct. 3, 1930, hyped the change with a front-page headline reading: "'Sioux' replaces 'Flickertail' as Captain of University Sports Teams." Flickertail, the previous nickname, referred to a type of ground gopher. Apparently, school officials decided the rodent didn't instill appropriate fear in opponents.

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But why "Sioux"?

Before the Dakotas became states, they were part of the Sioux Nation. As gold helped push the population farther west, UND was founded in 1883 in the Dakotas Territory. (North Dakota became a state six years later.) The term Sioux isn't without its own history - it's part of an Ojibwa-French pejorative term meaning "snakes" - but in 1930 it was accepted as a nod to the area's Native American history. In a 1969 pipe ceremony on the UND campus, some representatives from the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes reportedly gave the university permanent rights to use the nickname.

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And "Fighting"?

That part didn't come along until the 1960s, under longtime Athletic Information Director Lee Bohnet. Bohnet died in 1999. Patricia Bohnet, his daughter, wrote in May 2011 that she didn't know how her father would feel about the school losing its nickname, but she knew he would "be on the side of the student athletes."

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The hubbub:

The NCAA in 2005 declared UND's nickname - as well at least 18 other Indian-inspired nicknames at schools nationwide - as abusive and hostile to American Indians. Many schools swapped nicknames outright. Some got permission from namesake tribes to keep the nicknames. UND's battle is unlike any other, however, prompting lawsuits, tribal resolutions, state laws and, now, a public vote.

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Who wants the nickname to stay?

Some fans and alumni say the nickname isn't meant as derogatory, but rather as respectful toward American Indians. It's part of the school's history, they say, and should be allowed to stand. Backers include some Native Americans as well. Members of the Spirit Lake Tribe sued the NCAA last November in an attempt to keep the nickname. The suit was filed on behalf of about 1,000 petitioners who say that losing the Sioux name means losing the ties area tribes have had with the university. A judge tossed out the federal suit in May.

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Who wants it gone?

There's no consensus on the matter among Native Americans, even within Spirit Lake. Some agree with the NCAA and find the nickname offensive. A group of Native American students filed a federal lawsuit to stop its use. University officials also have made a recent push asking that voters allow the nickname to be retired. Even men's hockey coach Dave Hakstol, who had been a staunch nickname supporter, has said it's time to move on.

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What happens if the measure passes?

It means the end of the battle ... maybe. A group of nickname supporters has vowed to try to get the nickname built in to the state's constitution and spent the weekend gathering signatures to put the matter on November's ballot.

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And if it fails?

Then the fight definitely continues. The NCAA has made it clear it will not allow universities with what it deems as hostile or abusive nicknames or imagery to host playoff rounds. Athletics officials say it's making scheduling difficult. And some coaches say it's already affecting the teams' ability to recruit players.

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Bottom line:

Tuesday's election marks the first time that North Dakotans as a whole get to say what they want. But it might not be the last.

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Senin, 18 Juni 2012

Hispanic voters targeted in new ad blitz for Obama

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AppId is over the quota
By JULIE PACE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the nation's largest unions and a Democratic super PAC supporting President Barack Obama launched a joint $4 million Spanish-language advertising campaign on Monday, targeting Hispanic voters.

The ads, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union and Priorities USA Action, argue that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's policies would benefit the wealthiest Americans at the expense of Hispanics and other working families.

Priorities USA Action, founded by two former Obama White House aides, has struggled in fundraising compared with Republican-leaning super PACs like American Crossroads and its nonprofit arm, Crossroads GPS. But the super PAC's partnerships with SEIU and other organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters and the United Auto Workers, help the group compete with the better funded GOP-leaning political action committees.

The political wing of SEIU has given a combined $1 million to Priorities USA Action during the current election cycle.

The Priorities USA advertising partnerships with SEIU have focused primary on Hispanic voters, a key election-year constituency for Obama. The ads released Monday use past statements made by Romney, including his assertion that the very poor were not his focus, to try to make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee would be harmful to Hispanics.

The ads will run on television and radio stations in Colorado, Nevada and Florida - all battleground states with sizeable Hispanic populations - throughout the summer.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign on Monday also released a new online video today on what it says is a Romney plan to eliminate police officer, firefighter and teacher positions.

The video asserts that "this approach is nothing new to Mitt Romney -- it's the same one he pursued in Massachusetts."

The video charges that as governor of Massachusetts, Romney cut funding for education and first responders and says that lead to layoffs, even though he expanded the size of state government overall.

The new web video features interviews with Massachusetts elected officials who served during Romney's tenure --and highlights the local impact of the cuts he made at the state level to teachers, firefighters and police.

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Associated Press writer Jack Gillum contributed to this report.

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Ranch inheritance dispute blamed for 3 deaths

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AppId is over the quota

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado man who was upset that his mother left her ranch to a 40-year-old grandson who then evicted him from the property apparently killed the grandson and the grandson's mother before killing himself, La Plata County sheriff's officials said Monday.

William Decker, 69, also had been under investigation in a case related to child pornography before he died, The Durango Herald reported (http://bit.ly/LTmYhr ).

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized items from Decker's home in April, said Dan Bender, spokesman with the sheriff's office, which helped with the search. "I know they seized items that were related to child pornography from his house," Bender he told the newspaper. ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said charges hadn't been filed in the case.

Bender said authorities received a suspicious phone call from a farm about 30-miles southwest of Durango on Friday and found Decker hanging from a rope in the barn. Notes left at the scene led them to the body of his nephew, Robert Decker, in a shallow grave on the property. Autopsy results indicate Robert was shot and beaten.

Police rushed to the home of Robert Decker's mother in Durango where they found her dead. She was identified as 67-year-old Billie Decker. An autopsy indicated she was strangled and beaten.

Bender said William Decker was apparently unhappy after his mother, Margaret, died in April and left her ranch to her grandson.

"She apparently thought the world of her grandson," Bender said.

Bender said William Decker had been served with an eviction notice and ordered to be off the property in 10 days.

Sylvia Nelson, of Lakewood, is Margaret Decker's sister and William Decker's aunt. She declined to comment Monday on the police investigation.

According to records filed with La Plata County officials, the 280-acre ranch property at that address was valued at just over $20,000 last year.

The coroner said William Decker climbed a ladder, put a noose around his neck, shot himself and then fell from the ladder.

According to Margaret Decker's obituary in The Durango Herald (http://bit.ly/MvMRoO), Margaret and husband Bill Decker started ranching at Vallecito but soon after made their permanent home south of Hesperus, where they raised sheep and crops.

"Maggie was always busy raising two children, cooking for crews, being a farmer and irrigator and helping at sheep camp," her family was quoted saying after her death. "She lived 67 years at the ranch and wouldn't live anywhere else."

Bill Decker died in 1980. At the time of her death, Margaret Decker was survived by her two children and a sister, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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Commerce: Bryson suffered seizure

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AppId is over the quota
By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Commerce Secretary John Bryson suffered a seizure in connection with two traffic accidents in the Los Angeles area that left him injured and unconscious, the government said Monday.

The Commerce Department said Bryson was taken to the hospital for examination and remained overnight for observation. He was released and returned to Washington, spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said. The department says an investigation is ongoing.

A Commerce Department official said Bryson was on personal time and did not have any security detail at the time of the accidents. He was driving his own vehicle and was given medication to treat the seizure. Bryson was cited for a felony hit-and-run tied to two Los Angeles-area traffic crashes on Saturday, although he has not been formally charged.

White House chief of staff Jack Lew spoke to Bryson on Monday, press secretary Jay Carney said. Carney said the administration was still in the process of gathering information about the incidents.

"We're obviously concerned about the incident, about the health-related issues that played a role in this incident," Carney said. The spokesman said that Bryson had been an "effective" Commerce secretary.

Carney said the White House was informed of the incident Sunday evening and the president was told about it on Monday morning. Many questions remained unanswered, however, including whether the seizure caused either accident. The White House referred all questions about the case to the Commerce Department.

Bryson, 68, is a former utility executive who was sworn in to lead the Commerce Department in October after easily overcoming conservatives' objections that his pro-environmental views made him unsuited for the job. As secretary, Bryson has played a role as a member of the president's economic team and has worked to promote job creation. He has also advised on energy issues, particularly in the clean energy sector.

The Cabinet secretary was the commencement speaker Thursday at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, a college-preparatory school that his four daughters attended.

Bryson is the former head of Edison International, the holding company that owns Southern California Edison. Bryson has also served on boards of major corporations including the Boeing Co. and the Walt Disney Co.

He helped oversee Edison's transformation into a leading wind and solar company and launched a plan to turn 65 million square feet of unused commercial rooftops into solar power stations with enough electricity for more than 160,000 homes.

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NASA rover on target for August landing on Mars

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By ALICIA CHANG
AP Science Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two months before NASA is set to land its most sophisticated rover on Mars, engineers on Earth are busy troubleshooting a nagging concern with the rover's drill that could contaminate rock samples gathered for study.

Project managers said Monday they were confident the rover nicknamed Curiosity will still be able to achieve its goals despite the hurdle.

For the past month, a team has been studying ways to get around the contamination problem, in which flakes of Teflon from the drill can break off and get mixed in with the rock samples. The effort so far has drained $2 million from the mission's reserve budget.

"It's not a serious problem because we see so many potential ways to work around this," said chief scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology.

Curiosity is on target to land at Gale Crater near the Martian equator in early August. Instead of relying on airbags to land like previous Mars surface missions, Curiosity will be lowered to the surface on a tether and fire its thrusters to touch down. This never-before-tried landing technique has allowed scientists to zero in on the landing site.

Curiosity is now slated to land closer to a mountain in the center of the crater, which will cut down on the amount of driving it will initially need to do.

Project manager Pete Theisinger of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory estimated this will save about four months of driving, allowing more time to study Martian rocks and soil.

The two-year, $2.5 billion mission seeks to determine whether the environment could have been suitable for microbial life. One of the main goals is to search for the organic building blocks of life using the most advanced toolkit sent to Mars.

Curiosity is a mobile science lab. The drill is located at the end of its robotic arm along with a scoop. It's designed to bore into bedrock and scoop up powdered grains that are then transferred to Curiosity's deck to analyze.

Tests before launch revealed Teflon from the drill can rub off and taint the samples. Some workarounds being considered include baking the samples so that the contaminant is separated out. The team is also pondering switching to a different, gentler drilling mode in certain cases.

In the worst case scenario, scientists may have to rely on the scoop to collect soil and Curiosity's wheels to crush rocks into bits.

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Follow Alicia Chang's coverage at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia .

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Online:

http://www.nasa.gov/msl

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5 young veterans anointed on Tony night

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By MARK KENNEDY
AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - At the Tony Awards, while "Once" was being crowned best musical, there was another sort of anointing going on - five first-time Tony winners, all under 40, were being hailed as Broadway's next class.

Steve Kazee, Christian Borle, James Corden, Christopher Gattelli and Nina Arianda each walked away from the Beacon Theatre with a statuette Sunday and vindication for years of toil.

The handing over of the torch was perfectly summed up when two-time nominee Arianda, who had just won the best actress in a play Tony, gushed like a schoolgirl at the legend who handed her her trophy.

"You were my first crush," she told 82-year-old Christopher Plummer. "When that whistle was blown in 'Sound of Music,' you made my day."

To be sure, the night also belonged to some wily veterans, such as Mike Nichols, won his ninth Tony for directing "Death of a Salesman," and composer Alan Menken, who has eight Oscars and now his first Tony for penning the music for "Newsies." And the always-astonishing Audra McDonald snapped up her fifth award at the age of just 41.

But Tony night was also about a fresh crop of veterans who may not be well known to Americans outside Times Square, but who have been reliably first-rate performers over the past years. Now they've arrived.

Kazee, a 36-year-old rising star with matinee idol looks, won for being the gentle Irish hero in "Once." He has been building his credits from replacement parts in "Spamalot" to an understudy role in "Seascape" to starring in "110 in the Shade" in 2007.

In one of the more touching acceptance speeches of the night, he quoted British poet Arthur O'Shaughnessy, "We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams," and then thanked the cast for helping him cope with the death of his mother.

Gattelli, a former dancer, has been working non-stop since he became a choreographer, and had not one but two Broadway shows this season - "Newsies" and "Godspell." At 39, he has already choreographed such shows as "South Pacific," ''13" and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

Borle, too, has paid his dues. He's gone from playing happy chimney sweep Bert in "Mary Poppins" to Prior Walter, a young man dying of AIDS in a recent off-Broadway revival of Tony Kusher's "Angels in America." He was in "Footloose" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and then bigger roles in "Spamalot" and "Legally Blonde," for which he got a Tony nod. He's also a star of NBC's "Smash" series about the making of a Broadway show.

Tony voters seemed to think that this was his time, especially after he stole the show in "Peter and the Starcatcher" as Black Stash, the pirate who will become Captain Hook in the play about Peter Pan's origins.

"Thank you for making this so much fun, I feel very lucky that my sister Caroline and my mother are here tonight," Borle said. "Thank you for making my mom very, very happy for this great honor and this perfect moment in time."

Producers of the telecast may not be having as good a day-after as the young winners: The Tonys were seen by 6 million viewers, down significantly from last year's 6.9 million, according to preliminary Nielsen figures released Monday.

Corden, in perhaps the biggest upset of the night, took home the best actor in a play award for his comic turn in "One Man, Two Guvnors," the same statuette that many believed Philip Seymour Hoffman was going to win as Willy Loman in a revival of "Death of a Salesman."

The 33-year-old Corden was last on Broadway in "The History Boys." Since then, he co-wrote the hit comedy series "Gavin & Stacey" for BBC and wrote the memoir "May I Have Your Attention, Please?" He was the youngest in the best actor category, which was filled with Broadway establishment leading men.

The British actor was gracious in victory, honoring his competitors: "I have to say, John Lithgow, James Earl Jones, Frank Langella, and my favorite actor in the world, Philip Seymour Hoffman, to be on a list with you is enough," he said.

But perhaps the night's most impressive graduation was Arianda's. She beat out her insanely talented elders - Tracie Bennett, Stockard Channing, Linda Lavin and Cynthia Nixon - to win the best actress in a play award.

The 27-year-old star of the kinky "Venus in Fur" had been a large reason David Ives' play had transferred from off-Broadway in 2010 to a Broadway theater this season. In the meantime, she had wowed critics playing a far-from-ditzy blonde in "Born Yesterday."

During her euphoric acceptance speech, the music swelled to try to coax her offstage. But she resisted. "I might not do this again, hold on," she implored.

Chances are she will indeed. In fact, all five seem likely to be there again.

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Online: http://www.TonyAwards.com

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Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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