Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/67285
8A Daily News – Friday, May 25, 2012 How do mate? WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney's vice presidential search has entered a new phase: auditions. Republicans audition to be Romney's running are talking about becom- ing vice president. Nor are any of them acknowl- edging that they're trying out for the role or saying the Romney campaign has asked them to do so. Top Romney aides are sworn to secrecy, as are potential running mates and their staffs — an example of the Romney campaign's closely con- trolled, no-leaks culture. As his campaign evalu- ates potential running mates, Republicans with a possible shot at the No. 2 spot on the presidential ticket are starting to engage in unofficial pub- lic tryouts for the tradi- tional vice presidential role of attack dog. Democratic President Barack Obama is ''the most ill-prepared person to assume the presidency in my lifetime,'' New Jer- sey Gov. Chris Christie declared in a speech in Kentucky this week. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told South Carolina Republicans that there hasn't been such a ''divi- sive Obama gets tough to blunt Romney challenge DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa magic that launched Barack Obama to the presidency four years ago has all but faded. figure in modern American history'' as Obama. Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, speaking Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library — it's a favorite venue for Republicans seeking more attention — said Obama ''wants to take us further in the wrong direction.'' In an Alabama appearance this month, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called Obama ''the most incompetent presi- dent since Jimmy Carter.'' Not that any of them — or any of the others who may have landed a spot on Romney's list — Soured by the direction of the nation and its econ- omy, Iowa has drifted away from Obama since his 2008 caucus victory over Hillary Rodham Clin- ton made him the Democ- ratic front-runner. And while he carried the state in the general election by a comfortable margin that year, polls this year have shown voters narrowly preferring Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who plans to wage his own major effort in Iowa. Today, the Democrat who emerged Cinderella- like with a hope-filled message four years ago is sharply attacking Rom- ney's economic creden- tials and his ability to grasp voters' everyday concerns. Obama's visit Thursday to blue-collar Newton, Iowa, and his Des Moines campaign rally near where Romney once declared that corporations are peo- WORLD BRIEFING ple, underscored the presi- dent's own vulnerability with working-class voters and his effort to identify with the middle class. While offering only six of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presi- dency, how Iowa voters ultimately judge Obama is expected to be an impor- tant factor in the race. old NYC boy NEW YORK (AP) — In a potential break in one of the nation's most baffling missing-children cases, a former convenience-store employee has told police that he suffocated 6-year- old Etan Patz in 1979 and left the boy's body in a box in an alley, law enforcement officials said Thursday. If Pedro Hernandez's story checks out, it could solve the 33-year-old mys- tery of what happened to Etan, whose disappearance on his way to school helped give rise to the nation's missing-children movement and made him one of the first abducted youngsters to be pictured on a milk car- ton. Man tells police he killed 6-year- After decades of dead- end leads and phony confes- sions, investigators warned they are still trying to con- firm Hernandez's account and have little to go on other than his word. No body has been found. No charges have been filed. ''Let me caution you that outright in the first round. A run-off between the two leading contenders would be held June 16-17. spokesman said the group's candidate, Mohammed Morsi, was the leader in exit polls conducted by Brother- hood campaign workers nationwide. Morsi's spokesman, Murad Mohammed Ali, declined to give specific percentages. ''The Egyptian people A Brotherhood always amaze us,'' said Ali. ''This is above our expecta- tions.'' The reliability of the Brotherhood's polls could not be confirmed. Regional television channels, citing their own exit polls, also placed Morsi as the top fin- isher, with rivals Ahmed Shafiq and Hamdeen Sabahi vying for second post. lived, authorities said. Federal government wants to give states more more than three times a year. Those who don't com- ply can be denied further cards. ''Up to this point, the power WASHINGTON (AP) — Food stamp recipients are ripping off the govern- ment for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash — sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist — and then asking the government for replacement cards. The Agriculture Depart- there's still a lot of investi- gating to do,'' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Hernandez, who is believed to be in his mid- 60s, worked at a store in the neighborhood where Patz ment wants to curb the prac- tice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards. It is proposing new rules Thursday that would allow states to demand formal explanations from people who seek replacement cards state's hands have been tied unless they absolutely sus- pected fraudulent activity,'' said Kevin Concannon, the department's undersecre- tary for food, nutrition and consumer services. Overall, food stamp fraud costs taxpayers about $750 million a year, or 1 percent of the $75 billion program that makes up the bulk of the department's total budget for the Supple- mental Nutrition Assistance Program. Microfiber Sofas $ 399 Microfiber Reclining Sofa & Loveseat Set $ 999Set reg. $ Crandell $ 698 Serta Toledo EuroTop Queen Set Rialto $ 2499 Pinnacle $ 469 Recliners from$ 299 235 S MAIN ST., RED BLUFF 530 527-1657 FURNITURE DEPOT $499 HOURS: MONDAY thru FRIDAY 9 AM - 6 PM SATURDAY 9 AM - 5 PM SUNDAY 11 AM - 5 PM 398 Forte $ 598 in election CAIRO (AP) — The Muslim Brotherhood said Thursday that its candidate was leading in exit polls from Egypt's landmark presidential election, as offi- cial counting began after two days of voting to choose a successor to oust- ed leader Hosni Mubarak. In stations around the Brotherhood claims lead transfers WASHINGTON (AP) — As one diplomatic effort after another fails to end more than a year of brutal violence in Syria, the Obama administration is preparing a plan that would essentially give U.S. nods of approval to arms transfers from Arab nations to some Syrian opposition fighters. The effort, U.S. offi- cials told The Associated Press, would vet members of the Free Syrian Army and other groups to deter- mine whether they are suitable recipients of munitions to fight the Assad government and to ensure that weapons don't wind up in the hands of al-Qaida-linked terrorists or other extremist groups such as Hezbollah that could target Israel. US may green light Arab arms country, workers cracked open ballot boxes and start- ed the count after polls closed Thursday night, in Egypt's first truly competi- tive presidential election. There are five prominent candidates in a field of 13, but none is expected to win DAILYNEWS $6500 in Discount Coupons were published last week in the RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY … And that does not Count all the ads offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! Don't miss a Day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself. The plan, which has not yet been finalized, reflects U.S. frustration that none of the previous efforts — including diplomatic rhetoric from the United Nations and the multinational Friends of Syria group, and spe- cial envoy Kofi Annan's plan for a cease-fire — has even begun to nudge President Bashar al- Assad from power. The vetting would be the first tiny step the U.S. has made toward ensuring that the Syrian opposition uses the weapons to fight Assad and not to turn it into a full sectarian con- flict. Over 25 years of experience The North State's premier supplier of stoves STOVE JUNCTION Wood Burning Stoves Did you know? 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