Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/18339
8A – Daily News – Monday, October 25, 2010 WORLD BRIEFING Obama 2.0: Deficit, energy and education WASHINGTON (AP) — Preparing for political life after a bruising election, President Barack Obama will put greater emphasis on fiscal discipline, a nod to a nation sick of spending and to a Congress poised to become more Republican, conser- vative and determined to stop him. He is already giving clues about how he will govern in the last two years of his term. Obama will try to make gains on deficit reduction, education and energy. He will enforce his health care and financial overhauls and try to protect them from repeal should Republicans win control of Capitol Hill. He will use executive authority when blocked by Con- gress, and steel for scrutiny and investigations if the GOP is in charge. While trying to save money, Obama will have to decide whether to bend to Republican and growing Democratic pressure to extend Bush-era tax cuts, even for the wealthy, that expire at year's end. Obama wants to extend them for people making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000, but a broader extension is gaining favor with an increasing number of Democrats. Moving to the fore will be a more serious focus on how to bal- ance the federal budget and pay for the programs that keep sinking the country into debt. Allegations of abuse in leaked logs must be investigated LONDON (AP) — Allega- tions of prisoner abuse and civilian killings in Iraq from a cache of leaked U.S. secret military docu- ments are extremely serious and must be investigated, a top British official said Sunday. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told BBC television that the accounts of violence in Iraq "are distressing to read about and they are very serious." Whistleblowing website Wik- iLeaks has published almost 400,000 U.S. military logs, main- ly written by soldiers on the ground, detailing daily carnage in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led inva- sion: detainees abused by Iraqi forces, insurgent bombings, sec- tarian executions and civilians shot at checkpoints by U.S. troops. Iraq Body Count, a private British-based group that has tracked the number of civilians killed since the war started in March 2003, said it had analyzed the information and found 15,000 previously unreported deaths in the WikiLeaks documents released Friday. Although the documents appear to be authentic, their origin could not be independently con- firmed. The Pentagon has con- demned the leak, as has Britain's Ministry of Defense, which said it could put soldiers' lives at risk. Both parties eye gains among governors WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the sharpest bare-knuck- le skirmishes this election season are the races for governor, espe- cially in states shouldering the highest unemployment rates and largest tax increases. Many also are important in presidential elections, and both parties are pouring millions of dol- lars into statehouse races in the closing days of the campaign. There are now 26 Democratic governors and 24 Republicans. A record 37 governorships are up for grabs on Nov. 2; more half are contests where an incumbent isn't running. Polls show Democrats risk los- ing around a dozen seats, includ- ing those in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine and New Mexico. But they also have a shot at pickups in four or five states, including California and possibly Florida. "I feel pretty certain that we'll get (to) 30 or more governors..., I suspect we'll get at least 30," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association. Cholera outbreak looms over camps of quake survivors PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Health authorities and aid workers in Haiti are scram- bling to keep a cholera outbreak out of the squalid camps in Port-au-Prince where 1.3 mil- lion earthquake survivors live. The disease has killed 250 people in rural areas and sick- ened more than 3,000, and five cholera patients have been reported in the Haitian capital so far. But government officials said Sunday that all five appear to have gotten cholera outside Port-au-Prince. They say they can keep the deadly bacterial disease from spreading by lim- iting patients' movement and disposing of bodies carefully. Hundreds of thousands of people could be sickened if cholera reaches the camps. Aid groups are providing soap and water purification tablets and educating people about the importance of washing their hands. Employers review options on benefits WASHINGTON (AP) — The new health care law wasn't supposed to undercut employer plans that have provided most people in the U.S. with cover- age for generations. But last week a leading man- ufacturer told workers their costs will jump partly because of the law. Also, a Democratic governor laid out a scheme for employers to get out of health care by shifting workers into taxpayer-subsidized insurance markets that open in 2014. While it's too early to pro- claim the demise of job-based coverage, corporate number crunchers are looking at options that could lead to major changes. "The economics of dropping existing coverage is about to become very attractive to many employers, both public and pri- vate," said Gov. Phil Bredesen, D-Tenn. That's just not going to hap- pen, White House officials say. Some fear that gay voters might sit out election CHICAGO (AP) — Kate Coatar is seriously considering voting for Green Party candi- dates instead of Democrats, whom she normally supports. James Wyatt won't cast a ballot at all because he no longer trusts anyone to fight for causes important to him. If Democratic candidates are counting on long-standing sup- port from gay voters to help stave off big losses on Nov. 2, they could be in for a surprise. Across the country, activists say gay voters are angry — at the lack of progress on issues from eliminating employment discrimination to uncertainty over serving in the military to the economy — and some are choosing to sit out this election or look for other candidates. President Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago, with its large, politically and socially active gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, offers a snapshot of what some are calling the "enthusiasm gap" between voters who came out strong for Obama and other Democrats in 2008 and re-ener- gized Republican base voters, including tea party enthusiasts who say they are primed to storm the polls. It didn't help that the contro- versy over the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays erupted less than two weeks before the election, when a judge overturned it, then Obama's justice department decided to fight the judge's decision. On Thursday, the Defense Department declared that "don't ask, don't tell" is official policy but set up a new system that could make it tougher to get thrown out of the military for being openly gay. Battles over fees for broadcasters could mean fewer free TV shows online LOS ANGELES (AP) — Broadcasters took a big step toward eliminating free TV shows on the Web after they blocked access to their pro- gramming online this month to enforce their demands to be paid. Recent actions by Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS in two separate fee disputes suggest that after a few years of experimenting with free, ad-supported view- ing, broadcasters believe they can make more money from cable TV providers if they hold back some programming online. That could mean new limits on online viewing are coming: Broadcasters might make fewer of their shows available to begin with, or delay when they become available - say, a month after an episode is broadcast, rather than the few hours it typ- ically takes now. It would make it tougher for viewers to drop their cable TV subscriptions and watch shows online instead. If cable and satellite TV providers can hang on to more subscribers, broad- casters can then demand more money from them to carry their stations on the lineups. Last weekend, News Corp.'s Fox made TV programming history by blocking online access to its shows, including "Glee" to 2.6 million Cablevi- sion Systems Corp. broadband Internet subscribers. It was part of a fee dispute over how much Cablevision pays to carry the signals of Fox-owned TV sta- tions. More miles per gallon a goal of efficiency rules WASHINGTON (AP) — Future tractor-trailers, school buses, delivery vans, garbage trucks and heavy-duty pickup trucks must do better at the pump under first-ever fuel efficiency rules coming from the Obama administration. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department are moving ahead with a proposal for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, beginning with those sold in the 2014 model year and into the 2018 model year. The plan is expected to seek about a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption from longhaul trucks, according to people famil- iar with the plan. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to speak pub- licly before the official announce- ment, expected Monday. Overall, the proposal is expect- ed to seek reductions of 10 percent to 20 percent in fuel consumption and emissions based on the vehi- cle's size. Large tractor-trailers tend to be driven up to 150,000 miles a year, making them ripe for improved miles per gallon. The rules will cover big rig tractor-trailers, "vocational trucks" such as garbage trucks and transit and school buses, and work trucks such as heavy-duty versions of the Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram and Chevrolet Silverado. PAID ADVERTISEMENT For information on participation in Kids & Families call (530) 527-2151 P.A.W.S. (Partners for Animal Welfare & Safety) WHAT A NICE OUTCOME FOR 10 SHELTER DOGS! P.A.W.S. SAYS... The Orchard Festival was held on Saturday the 16th and as usual a good crowd and lots of family fun made it a special occasion. Most gratifying to all of the volunteers who worked at the PAWS booth was that 11 dogs were adopted as a result of the showings! A beautiful day made even more beautiful! As an example the heartwarming scene of little Maggie, a sweet tempered Chihuahua mix, being picked up by her new forever family brought a tear of joy to these old eyes. Grandma holding a toddler on one hip and taking Maggie onto her other hip and together, with her arms full of precious cargo, she and the family headed for the car. Makes animal welfare work all worth it! We appreciate our Tehama County families who support and believe in responsible pet ownership and who continue to support the work PAWS and all animal groups do. NEED TO FIND A HOME FOR A PET? Go to our web page: pawstehama.com select “links”. WANT TO FIND A PET? Go direct to petfinder.com P.A.W.S. (Partners for Animal Welfare & Safety) A Volunteer Program Dedicated to the Prevention of Litters, Not the Destruction of Unwanted animals. HOW CAN YOU HELP? CALL US! 528-8018 Please leave your number we WILL call you back P.O. Box 8908, Red Bluff CA 96080