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Thursday, July 1, 2010 – Daily News – 3B WORLD BRIEFING Obama takes on debt frustration RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Sen- sitive to election-year resent- ment over big government, President Barack Obama declared Wednesday he intends to get ‘‘our debt and our deficits under control.’’ With fears alive of a double-dip recession, Obama warned that he won’t slash spending at the expense of the economic rebound. ‘‘We got it moving again,’’ Obama said of the economy to his town hall audience in this Midwestern city, where unem- ployment tops 14 percent. ‘‘We now have to, in a gradual way, reduce spending ... but do so in a way that doesn’t hurt people. And that is a challenge.’’ Politically, Obama’s chal- lenge is even broader. He is try- ing to make the case to the nation that the $862 billion stimulus plan prevented disaster and is fueling job growth even while millions are still out of work. And he is doing it at a time when Republicans are pounding him for running up a long-term bill for taxpayers, the same frustration that helped give rise to the Tea Party move- ment and that has made the budget deficit a bigger worry for voters across the spectrum. The dilemma is also playing out globally, as world leaders try to balance pressures to cut their debt without eroding any jolt that came from new spend- ing. Seizing on a political oppor- tunity, Obama used his latest getaway from Washington to lash out at Republicans as out of touch with the daily prob- lems of Americans. His agenda was to sharpen the contrast with the opposition party as midterm elections loom and economic anxiety still runs high. Kagan hearings near an end WASHINGTON (AP) — Her confirmation all but assured, Supreme Court nomi- nee Elena Kagan neared the end of a final grueling day of Senate questioning Wednesday, field- ing GOP challenges on abor- tion, gays in the military and other divisive issues while side- stepping Democrats’ invitations to blast conservative decisions by the court she’s hoping to join. Kagan, prompted by Democ- ratic supporters on the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave a blunt denunciation of ‘‘results- oriented judging,’’ the adjusting of judicial reasoning to fit a pre- conceived conclusion, but she refused to join them in applying the criticism to the current court under Chief Justice John Roberts. ‘‘I’m sure that every- body up there is acting in good faith,’’ she said. ‘‘Solicitor General Kagan will be confirmed,’’ Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the panel chairman, confidently declared during a break in the hearings. Republicans, despairing of their inability to get President Barack Obama’s nominee to reveal her legal views or say anything that might threaten her confirmation, acknowledged as much. ‘‘I assume she will be,’’ said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. World’s largest oil skimmer heads to Gulf NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With hurricane-whipped waves pushing more oil onto the Gulf of Mexico’s once-white beach- es, the government pinned its latest cleanup hopes Wednes- day on a huge new piece of equipment: the world’s largest oil-skimming vessel. The Taiwanese-flagged for- mer tanker named the ‘‘A Whale’’ is the length of 3 1/2 football fields and stands 10 stories high. It just emerged from an extensive retrofitting to prepare it specifically for the Gulf, where officials hope it will be able to suck up as much as 21 million gallons of oil- fouled water per day. ‘‘It is absolutely gigantic. It’s unbelievable,’’ said Louisiana State University environmental sciences professor Ed Overton, who saw the ship last week in Norfolk, Va. As the monsterous vessel made its way toward the Gulf coast, large waves churned up by distant Hurricane Alex left Alabama beaches splattered with oil and tar balls the size of apples. The rough seas forced most smaller skimming boats into port for a second consecu- tive day, putting many cleanup crews at a standstill. The ship looks like a typical tanker, but it takes in contami- nated water through 12 vents on either side of the bow. The oil is then supposed to be separated from the water and transferred to another vessel. The water is channeled back into the sea. Cypriot police search for Russian spy LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot police began searching late Wednesday for an alleged Russian spy wanted in the Unit- ed States who vanished after being released on bail a day ear- lier in the Mediterranean island nation. Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said Christopher Robert Metsos, 54, who says he is Canadian, failed to report to police in the southern coastal town of Larnaca between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time (8 a.m. 10 a.m. Pacific time) Wednesday according to the terms of release imposed on him Tuesday by a Cypriot court. Katsounotos said a search failed to locate Metsos and authorities have begun the pro- cedures to issue a warrant for his arrest for breaching the terms of his release. Andreas Pastellides, one of two lawyers representing Met- sos in Cyprus, told the Associ- ated Press that they’d had no the doctors,’’ Reed said. Despite being partially deaf and walking with a stoop, Reed has worked for more years than many of his co-workers have been alive and has accrued 3,856 hours — nearly two years — of sick leave for not missing a shift in 37 years. Reed has been a U.S. Postal Service mail handler and forklift operator since he was hired in 1973, making $4 an hour. He hit the $25-an-hour ceiling about 10 years ago. CNN may need unconventional choice to replace contact with their client since Tuesday afternoon. Pastellides said Metsos did not show up for a meeting he was supposed to have Wednes- day afternoon in Larnaca with Pastellides’ partner, Michalis Papathanasiou. Democrats in Congress push for aid to unemployed WASHINGTON (AP) — Unable to deliver more stimu- lus spending for President Barack Obama, Democrats in Congress are trying at least to restore jobless benefits for 1.3 million laid-off workers. Democrats in both the House and Senate planned to vote on bills Thursday that would extend unemployment benefits through the end of November for people who have been laid off for long stretches. House Democrats postponed a vote scheduled for Wednesday. Democratic lead- ers were hoping to pass the extension before Congress goes on a weeklong Indepen- dence Day recess. Without an extension, every week a new 200,000 of the nearly 7 million people who have been without a job for at least six months will lose their unemployment benefits. About 1.3 million have already lost benefits since the last exten- sion ran out at the end of May, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said. ‘‘We have a basic responsi- bility to help our constituents respond to emergencies,’’ said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ‘‘We have a fun- damental obligation not to deny them the help they need when they need it the most.’’ Congressional Democrats began the year with an aggres- sive agenda of passing a series of bills designed to create jobs. Only one has become law, offering tax breaks to compa- nies that hire unemployed workers. Others stalled as law- makers, after hearing from angry voters, became wary of adding to the national debt, which stands at $13 trillion. Al-Qaida top operative linked to NY bomb plot NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. counterterrorism officials have linked one of the nation’s most wanted terrorists to last year’s thwarted plot to bomb the New York City subway system, author- ities said Wednesday. Current and former counterter- rorism officials said top al-Qaida operative Adnan Shukrijumah met with one of the would-be sui- cide bombers in a plot that Attor- ney General Eric Holder called one of the most dangerous since the 9/11 terror attacks. Federal prosecutors in Brook- lyn have named Shukrijumah in a draft terrorism indictment but on Wednesday the Justice Depart- ment was still discussing whether to cite his role. Some officials feared that the extra attention might hinder efforts to capture him. Shukrijumah’s involvement shows how important the subway bombing plot was to al-Qaida’s senior leadership. Intelligence officials believe Shukrijumah is one of the top candidates to become al-Qaida’s next head of external operations, the man in charge of planning attacks world- wide. Current and former counterter- rorism officials discussed the case on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about it. Oldest US postal worker retires at 95 REDLANDS (AP) — It was- n’t snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night that stopped Chester Arthur Reed from his appointed round. The mail han- dler just felt it was time to call it quits at age 95. The fork lift operator retired Wednesday as the nation’s oldest postal worker, ending a career without taking a single sick day. It’s a feat he attributes to a healthy diet of watermelon, alkaline water and an onion sandwich with mayo every day. ‘‘If everyone in the nation ate watermelons, they’d get rid of all Larry King NEW YORK (AP) — A hand- ful of potential successors have already emerged to take over for Larry King when he leaves his prime-time CNN interview show sometime this fall. All have their strengths and weaknesses — if they can even be convinced that the job is right for them. But what CNN U.S. President Jon Klein could use is someone to shake up the mix, a candidate no one has anticipated that will make people sit up and take notice. The choice will likely define Klein’s legacy at CNN, one that is trou- bled now because of the continued ratings dominance of Fox News Channel and the emergence of MSNBC as a colorful competitor. He has indicated that he wants a new show that doesn’t stray far afield from King’s mission. ‘‘We will continue to do a provocative, topical, intelligent newsmaker interview show every night,’’ he said, ‘‘but the format and the style is going to depend a lot on the host — their interests, their style, their approach. Step one is get a host and build the show around them.’’ Franklin, Rice team up for musical benefit PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aretha Franklin will take the stage next month with an accomplished accompanist more famous for diplomacy: Condoleezza Rice. The pair will play at Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts on July 27 in show that will feature Franklin’s music and classical composers. The Mann Center’s website says former Secretary of State Rice will accompany Franklin on piano for ‘‘Say A Little Prayer,’’ ‘‘Natural Woman,’’ selections from Mozart and more. Franklin says in a statement that ‘‘Rice is a consummate classical pianist’’ and that since I sing the arias, I thought that we could do something, a bipar- tisan effort for our favorite charities.’’ The venue says the perfor- mance is a benefit for programs that support inner city children and its own education initia- tives. Tehama County’s Personal/Professional Service Directory Bankruptcy Attorney Local Bankruptcy Attorney Jocelyn C. Olander 530-824-0288 Free Consultation Payment Plans Available Web: www.jcoattyatlaw.com email: mail@jcoatty atlaw.com A federally qualified Debt Relief Agency under 11 U.S.C. 101(12(A)) Embroidery AT YOUR SERVICE! $ 9900 3 month Clock Repair 530-736-7079 Grandpa’s Clocks Jim Paul 20910 Pebblestone Dr. Red Bluff Shelf & 31 Day Clocks Repaired Call for appt. Member NAWCC Cuckoo Clocks, Anniversary, Wall, Clock Repair James W. 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