Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/116434
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 – Daily News 5B WORLD BRIEFING Assault weapons ban now highly unlikely WASHINGTON (AP) — All but ending chances for an assault weapons ban, Democratic leaders said Tuesday the firearms legislation the Senate will debate next month won't include the provision that gun-control advocates pressed for after an assault-type weapon was used in the Newtown school shootings in December. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he wanted to bring a gun bill to the full Senate that would have enough support to overcome any GOP attempts to prevent debate from even starting. He expressed concern that including the assault weapons provision might effectively block passage of any bill at all. Instead, the sponsor of the provision, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said she will offer her ban on the military-style firearms as an amendment. But Feinstein is all but certain to need 60 votes from the 100-member Senate to prevail, and she faces solid Republican opposition as well as likely defections from some Democrats. ''I very much regret it,'' Feinstein, D-Calif., told reporters of Reid's decision. ''I tried my best.'' Reid said that ''using the most optimistic numbers,'' there were less than 40 votes for Feinstein's ban. That is far less than the 60 needed to begin considering legislation. 7 Marines killed HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) — A mortar shell explosion killed seven Marines and injured a halfdozen more during mountain warfare training in Nevada's high desert, prompting the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of some of the weapons worldwide until an investigation can determine their safety, officials said Tuesday. The explosion occurred Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a facility used by troops heading overseas, during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C. Several Marines from the unit were injured in the blast, authorities said. The mortar round exploded in its firing tube during the exercise, said Brigadier General Jim Lukeman at a news conference at Camp Lejeune. He said investigators are trying to determine the cause of the malfunction. Lukeman extended condolences to the families of the victims. ''Our first priority is to provide them support and we're doing that now,'' he said. The Marine Corps said in a statement that it suspended all use of high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds that were in the same manufacturing lots as the ones that were fired in Nevada. The Pentagon suspended use of those rounds worldwide across all branches, not just the Marines. Plotter of college attack wanted to 'give them hell' ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The student behind a foiled attack plot at a Florida university was working off a checklist that included plans to get drunk, pull a fire alarm and then ''give them hell,'' authorities said Tuesday. James Oliver Seevakumaran was crossing items off his list ahead of his planned attack his classmates with guns and homemade explosives, University of Central Florida Police Chief Richard Beary said at a news conference. The list found along with his dead body early Monday included drinking at a bar near campus and pulling the fire alarm — which investigators believe was meant to flush out victims. Beary says the final item was ''give them hell.'' Instead, Seevakumaran shot and killed himself as police officers arrived in response to the fire alarm and a 911 call from a roommate. Beary says authorities confirmed he went to the bar and drank. At the time of the attack, packages were waiting for Seevakumaran at a campus mailroom containing two 22-round magazines and a sling for his rifle and a firearms training DVD. Cypriot lawmakers reject bill NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a critical draft bill that would have seized part of people's bank deposits in order to qualify for a vital international bailout, with not a single vote in favor. The rejection leaves Cyprus's bailout in question. Without external funds, the country's banks face collapse and the government could go bankrupt. Nicosia will now have to come up with an alternative plan to raise the money: the government could try to offer a compromise bill that would be more palatable to lawmakers. The bill, which had been amended Tuesday morning to shield small deposit holders from the deposit tax, was rejected with 36 votes against and 19 abstentions. One deputy was absent. ''No to new colonial bonds, no to subjugation, no to national dishonor and raw blackmail,'' said house speaker Yiannakis Omirou during the debate before the vote. After the vote failed, he said political leaders will have a meeting with the president on Wednesday to discuss the next steps. Bombings kill 65 on eve of 10th anniversary of Iraq war BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgents sent a bloody message on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, carrying out a wave of bombings across the country Tuesday that killed at least 65 people in the deadliest day in Iraq this year. The nearly 20 attacks, most of them in and around Baghdad, demonstrated in stark terms how dangerously divided Iraq remains more than a year after American troops withdrew. More than 240 people were reported wounded. It was Iraq's bloodiest day since Sept. 9, when an onslaught of bombings and shootings killed 92. Violence has ebbed sharply since the peak of Sunni-Shiite fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. But insurgents are still able to stage high-profile attacks, while sectarian and ethnic rivalries continue to tear at the fabric of national unity. The symbolism of Tuesday's attacks was strong, coming 10 years to the day, Washington time, that President George W. Bush announced the start of hostilities against Iraq. It was already early March 20, 2003, in Iraq when the airstrikes began. Woman, 75, convicted of murder in of teenage grandson PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A 75-year-old Detroit-area woman was convicted of second-degree murder on Tuesday for shooting her teenage grandson six times during an argument last spring. Sandra Layne's trial was not about whether she pulled the trigger last spring at her home in West Bloomfield Township. It boiled down to whether she would be convicted of firstdegree murder or a lesser charge, or cleared based on selfdefense. Layne struck Jonathan Hoffman with six of 10 shots fired over a six-minute span. The jury heard a recording of the 17year-old's desperate call to 911 and even more shots while he was on the line. ''My grandma shot me. I'm going to die. Help. I got shot again,'' Hoffman told a dispatcher as he gasped for air. The jury delivered the verdict on the first full day of deliberation. It also convicted Layne of using a firearm during a felony. Wearing 'killer' shirt teenager gets 3 life sentences CHARDON, Ohio (AP) — Wearing a T-shirt with ''killer'' scrawled across it, a teenager cursed and gestured obscenely as he was given three life sentences Tuesday for shooting to death three students in an Ohio high school cafeteria. T.J. Lane, 18, had pleaded guilty last month to shooting 4at students in February 2012 at Chardon High School, east of Cleveland. Investigators have said he admitted to the shooting but said he didn't know why he did it. Before the case went to adult court last year, a juvenile court judge ruled that Lane was mentally competent to stand trial despite evidence he suffers from hallucinations, psychosis and fantasies. Lane was defiant during the sentencing, smiling and smirking throughout, including while four relatives of victims spoke. After he came in, he calmly unbuttoned his blue dress shirt to reveal the T-shirt reading ''killer,'' which the prosecutor noted was similar to one he wore during the shooting. Obama confronts old challenges, new crises on a remade Middle East landscape WASHINGTON (AP) — On his second trip to the Middle East as U.S. commander in chief, President Barack Obama this week will confront a political and strategic landscape nearly unrecognizable from the one he encountered on his first trip to the region shortly after assuming office in 2009. Gone are the authoritarian regimes and leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and the once seemingly indestructible Assad regime in Syria is tottering on the brink of collapse. Uncertainty abounds in the wake of the revolutions that have convulsed the Arab world for the past two years and shaken many of the strong but imperfect pillars of stability on the planet's most politically volatile patch of land. And the few constants are hardly cause for cheer: a moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process that remains mired in mutual distrust and recrimination, an Iran that seemingly inches closer to nuclear weapons capability despite intensified international sanctions, and the ever-growing threat from extremists. At the same time, Obama's 2012 re-election has changed his political calculus. Having run his last race as a political candidate, he is no longer beholden to the whims of voters. His sights appear set on building a legacy that, at least in the short term, is focused not on foreign policy but on the domestic issues that now drive the agenda in Washington. Thus, U.S. officials have set expectations low for the trip. No new plan to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. No big boost in assistance to the struggling Palestinian Authority. No new strategy for dealing with the chaos in Syria. No new outreach to Muslims like the one that was the centerpiece of his June 2009 visit to Cairo. LEGAL NOTICE TS#12-1885 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED: 8/2/05. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier's check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state will be held by the duly appointed trustee, as shown below, all right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by the trustee in the hereinafter described property under and pursuant to a Deed of Trust described below. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to satisfy the obligation secured by said Deed of Trust. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the property address or other common designation, if any shown herein. Trustor: Lance Miller and Joanna C. Miller, husband and wife, as joint tenants Duly Appointed Trustee: Foreclosure Specialists LLC Recorded 8/19/05 as Instrument No. 019118 Book 2774, Page 512 of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Tehama County, California, Date of Sale: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Place of Sale: The front entrance to the county courthouse, 633 Washington Street, Red Bluff, CA The common designation of the property is purported to be: 124 South Jackson Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 APN: 031120-08 Estimated opening bid: $151,636.85 Beneficiary may elect to open bidding at a lesser amount. The total amount secured by said instrument as of the time of initial publication of this notice is stated above, which includes the total amount of the unpaid balance (including accrued and unpaid interest) and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of initial publication of this notice. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder's office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call the trustee's information line at 530-246-2727 or visit this Internet Web site: calforeclosures.biz, using the file number assigned to this case: TS #12-1885. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. Date: 3/6/13 FORECLOSURE SPECIALISTS LLC 1388 Court Street, Ste C Redding, CA 96001 530-246-2727 Charlene Van Dresar, Trustee Sale Officer Foreclosure Specialists LLC is assisting the Beneficiary in collecting a debt. Any and all information obtained may be used for that purpose. TAC: 962433 PUBLISH: 3/13, 3/20, & 3/27/13.