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8A Daily News – Friday, December 6, 2013 WORLD BRIEFING Obstacles on left and right for Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — With hopes of a ''grand bargain'' long gone, congressional negotiators now are seeking a more modest deal before year-end to ease the automatic spending cuts that are squeezing both the Pentagon and domestic federal programs. But the going is getting rougher. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she would withhold support from any compromise to ease across-theboard cuts until Republicans also agree to renew expiring unemployment benefits for America's long-term jobless, adding a major complication. At the same time, conservatives are balking at a proposal to raise fees on airline tickets to pay for TSA agents as part of an agreement, another hurdle. GOP leaders, meanwhile, are preparing a backup plan for averting another government shutdown in January if there's no budget deal by then. Negotiators on Capitol Hill are trying hard to close out a deal but are facing resistance from Pelosi and other Democrats determined to add $25 billion to extend federally-paid jobless benefits. Those benefits average $269 a week to people whose 26 weeks of statepaid unemployment benefits have run out. ''We cannot, cannot support a budget agreement that does not include unemployment insurance in the budget or as a sidebar in order to move it all along,'' Pelosi said Thursday at a hearing to publicize the plight of peo- Free Gift Wrapping for Seniors ple set to lose the jobless benefits. Her statement was significant because she is going to have to supply Democratic votes if any deal is going to pass the Republican-majority House. Many conservatives are likely to abandon a compromise agreement over fee proposals such as increasing Transportation Security Administration charges that could add $5 to the cost of a typical roundtrip airline ticket. ''If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck,'' said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. ''This is a tax increase, nothing more.'' The budget talks are just one item in a packed yearend agenda for Congress. House Speaker John Boehner insists the House will exit Washington by next Friday, leaving little time to pass a budget bill, a defense policy measure and renewal of food stamps and farm programs. With the massive defense policy bill stalled in the Senate, leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees have been working on a backup plan to move quickly on a paredback version in which all disputes have been resolved in advance. Fighting erupts in CAR BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Wielding rifles and machetes, armed Christian fighters who support the Central African Republic's exiled president assaulted the capital at dawn on Thursday, leaving nearly 100 people dead. Shrouded bodies were lined up in a mosque as dozens of wounded lay on bloodRed Bluff Garden Club's Scholarship Christmas Boutique 616 Cedar St,. Red Bluff (Old Holiday Market) FRESH WEATHS, ARRANGEMENTS and more Monday thru Friday 8am to 4pm Until 12/20/13 (2 gift limit) Tehama Estates 750 David Ave., Red Bluff 527-9193 Dec. 12, 13 & 14 9:00am-6:00pm For Custom Orders Call 527-4578 or 526-4578 stained hospital floors. The ambush on Muslim neighborhoods of Bangui came as the United Nations voted to send a contingent of French troops to try to stabilize the country, and French President Francois Hollande announced plans to double the force. The daylong gunbattle touched even the most protected parts of the capital, including the residence of the prime minister, underscoring the volatile mix of arms and ideology facing the arriving French force. Scores died in Thursday's attack, including 48 people whose bodies were laid out at a mosque in a northern suburb of Bangui. Separately, a Doctors Without Borders spokeswoman, Amelie Ketoff, said another 50 deaths had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 98. Some died of bullet wounds, others from what appeared to be machete blows using a weapon known in the local language as a ''balaka.'' The Christian militia, whose members are believed to have led the attack Thursday, call themselves the ''anti-balaka,'' reminiscent of the horrific violence once seen in Rwanda. Rebel leader-turnedpresident Michel Djotodia appealed for calm, even as his residence was looted and vandalized by the fighters. He announced a dusk-todawn curfew in a bid to stem the threat of retaliatory violence against Christians, following the early morning attack on Muslim neighborhoods. Resigned priest to marry VATICAN CITY (AP) — Thomas Williams, the onetime public face of the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order who left the priesthood after admitting he fathered a child, is getting married this weekend to the child's mother, The Associated Press has learned. The bride is the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glen- nurses from the Philippines and a nurse from India, according to Yemen's Supreme Security Commission, which issued the casualty figures. Among the Yemeni civilians killed were a doctor and a senior judge, it said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Sanaa since May 2012. Such suicide bombings and complex attacks are the hallmarks of al-Qaida. No charges for FSU's Winston don, one of Pope Francis' top advisers. Glendon, a Harvard University law professor, is one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican as president of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences. She is also one of five people on Francis' commission to reform the scandalmarred Vatican bank. Her daughter, Elizabeth Lev, is a Rome-based art historian and columnist for the Legion-run Zenit news agency, which Williams published for over a decade while he was in the order. Williams, a moral theologian, author, lecturer and U.S. television personality, admitted last year that he had fathered a child several years earlier. At the time, Williams apologized for ''this grave transgression'' against his vows of celibacy and said he had stayed on as a priest because he hoped to move beyond ''this sin in my past'' to do good work for the church. The Legion's retired superior later admitted he had learned about the child in 2005 but allowed Williams to keep teaching and preaching about morality. After taking a year off for reflection, Williams left the priesthood in May to care for his son. According to their wedding registry, he and Lev are due to marry on Need a Physician? Doctors who listen ... Doctors who care. A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE Call toll free 888.628.1948 www.redbluff.mercy.org Saturday in the United States. 52 killed in Yemen attack ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Militants stormed the Defense Ministry in the heart of Yemen's capital Thursday, killing 52 people, including at least seven foreigners, in a suicide car bombing and assault by gunmen. The brazen, alQaida-style attack follows a rise in U.S. drone strikes in this key American ally in the Middle East. The two-stage operation came as the defense minister was in Washington for talks. The U.S. military increased its regional alert status after the attack and is ''fully prepared to support our Yemeni partners,'' a senior U.S. defense official said. At least 167 people were wounded, nine seriously, in the bombing and fierce firefight, which underscored the ability of insurgents to take advantage of Yemen's instability and tenuous security — even at the headquarters of its military. Among the dead at the Defense Ministry complex, which also houses a military hospital, were soldiers and civilians, including seven foreigners — two aid workers from Germany, two doctors from Vietnam, two Amazing Finds All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Members Welcome 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ 95 $ 25 NEW & USED FURNITURE & MUCH, MUCH MORE! 50% Red Tag Sale Antiques, Unique Fall Sale Two Locations - 30,000 square feet + 8 certificate RED BLUFF 530-917-1138 REDDING 530-917-7797 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 22660 Antelope Blvd. amazingfindsredbluff.com 9am – 7pm Sun.-Fri. 3351 S. Market St. amazingfindshome.com 9am – 7pm Sun.-Fri. starting at 25 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jameis Winston will not be charged with sexually assaulting a woman who accused him of raping her about a year ago, a prosecutor said Thursday. State Attorney Willie Meggs made the announcement at a news conference, saying the woman's memory lapses of the events last December were problematic and there was not enough evidence to win a conviction. The woman told police she had been drinking at a bar with friends before the alleged assault took place at an off-campus apartment. ''It's not inconsistencies, it's lack of memory most of the time,'' Meggs said of the woman's allegations. While the alleged assault happened last December, reports didn't surface in the public until November, as the redshirt freshman was well into a remarkable season with Florida State. Winston, 19, has led the Seminoles to a No. 1 ranking and a shot at a national championship if they defeat Duke on Saturday in the ACC championship game. As for the Heisman, many voters were waiting to see whether he would be charged before the deadline for ballots Monday. The trophy for the nation's top player will be awarded Dec. 14. 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