Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/198390
8A Daily News – Thursday, October 24, 2013 WORLD BRIEFING what after a series of high-profile breaks, including America pulling back from possible military strikes against the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and last month's historic U.S. outreach to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival. Obama administration spells out health care site problems WASHINGTON (AP) — On the defensive, the Obama administration acknowledged Wednesday its problem-plagued health insurance website didn't get enough testing before going live. It said technicians were deep into the job of fixing major computer snags but provided no timetable. Democratic unhappiness with the situation began growing louder — including one call for President Barack Obama to ''man up'' and fire someone — as the president's allies began to fret about the political fallout. Democrats hoped to run for re-election touting the benefits of the health care law for millions of uninsured Americans, but the computer problems are keeping many people from signing up. And Republican sniping continued unabated, with House Speaker John Boehner declaring, ''We've got the whole threat of Obamacare continuing to hang over our economy like a wet blanket.'' Obama himself, though strongly defending the health care overhaul, has been increasingly willing to acknowledge extensive problems with the sign-up through online markets. Amid all that, the Health and Human Services Department on Wednesday provided its most specific accounting yet of the troubles with HealthCare.gov — an issue that is also about to get a lengthy, evenless-forgiving airing on Capitol Hill. The first of several hearings is set for Thursday in the Republican-led House, with lawmakers ready to pounce on the contractors who built the balky online enrollment system. Merkel complains to Obama BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel complained to President Barack Obama on 14-year-old accused of killing high school math teacher Wednesday after learning that U.S. intelligence may have targeted her mobile phone, saying that would be ''a serious breach of trust'' if confirmed. For its part, the White House denied that the U.S. is listening in on Merkel's phone calls now. ''The president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor,'' White House spokesman Jay Carney said. ''The United States greatly values our close cooperation with Germany on a broad range of shared security challenges.'' However, Carney did not specifically say that that U.S. had never monitored or obtained Merkel's communications. The German government said it responded after receiving ''information that the chancellor's cellphone may be monitored'' by U.S. intelligence. It wouldn't elaborate, but German news magazine Der Spiegel, which has published material from NSA leaker Edward Snowden, said its research triggered the response. Marathon bombing suspect may pin most of the blame on his brother BOSTON (AP) — Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers may try to save him from the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bombing by arguing he fell under the murderous influence of his older brother, legal experts say. The outlines of a possible defense came into focus this week when it was learned that Tsarnaev's attorneys are trying to get access to investigative records implicating the nowdead brother in a grisly triple slaying committed in 2011. In court papers Monday, federal prosecutors acknowledged publicly for the first time that a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev told investigators that Tamerlan participated in the unsolved killings of three men who were found in a Waltham apartment with their throats slit, marijuana sprinkled over their bodies. The younger Tsarnaev's lawyers argued in court papers that any evidence of Tamerlan's involvement is ''mitigating information'' that is critical as they prepare Dzhokhar's defense. They asked a judge to force prosecutors to turn over the records. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, faces 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction, in the twin bombings April 15 that killed three people and injured more than 260. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gunbattle with police days later. expert Tests suggest setts AIDSthe baby's involved in care. Mississippi Saudi baby born Arabia's test: with HIV may be cured How far to Doctors now have con- push its vincing evidence that they put HIV into remission, frustration hopefully for good, in a Mississippi baby born over US with the AIDS virus — a medical first that is prompting a new look at how hard and fast such cases should be treated. The case was reported earlier this year but some doctors were skeptical that the baby was really infected rather than testing positive because of exposure to virus in the mom's blood. The new report, published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, makes clear that the girl, now 3, was infected in the womb. She was treated unusually aggressively and shows no active infection despite stopping AIDS medicines 18 months ago. Doctors won't call it a cure because they don't know what proof or how much time is needed to declare someone free of HIV infection, long feared to be permanent. ''We want to be very cautious here. We're calling it remission because we'd like to observe the child for a longer time and be absolutely sure there's no rebound,'' said Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, a University of Massachu- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In Washington last week, arms regulators announced that Saudi Arabia is seeking $6.8 billion in advanced missiles and other equipment in its latest military buying spree. Days later, Saudi officials snubbed a seat on the U.N. Security Council in a stunning protest mostly aimed at U.S. policies in the Middle East. This role of being an eager customer and emboldened critic may come to define the new relationship between Saudi Arabia and its longtime ally: The kingdom warns it won't sit idly as Washington's views increasingly drift away from the Gulf state's priorities of keeping Iran and the West as far apart as possible and steadily supplying arms and aid to Syria's rebels. The Saudi-U.S. alliance has been among the bedrock elements of Middle East affairs for decades, and even small fissures carry outsized significance in a region that is in huge flux amid the chaotic Arab Spring fallout, the Syrian civil war and the election in Iran of moderate-leaning President Hassan Rouhani. But there is very little chance that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners will push their grievances against Washington far enough to risk any deep damage, knowing they need the U.S. as a source of protection, arms and international standing. Still, the script of Saudi Arabia enjoying predictable U.S. support has been rewritten some- DANVERS, Mass. (AP) — A well-liked teacher was found slain in woods behind this quiet Massachusetts town's high school, and a 14-year-old boy who was found walking along a state highway overnight was charged with killing her. Blood found in a second-floor school bathroom helped lead investigators to the body of Colleen Ritzer, a 24-year-old math teacher at Danvers High School who was reported missing when she didn't come home from work on Tuesday, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. ''She was a very, very respected, loved teacher,'' Blodgett said. The suspect, Philip Chism, was arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday and ordered held without bail. The teenager, described by classmates as soft-spoken and pleasant, also did not come home from school the day before and was spotted walking along Route 1 in the neighboring town of Topsfield at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials didn't release a cause of death and haven't discussed a motive in the killing. Paroled offender flees Canada SEATTLE (AP) — For a few weeks, Michael Sean Stanley managed to cut away from a troubled life in Canada and navigate a bizarre pathway to freedom. The sex offender removed his electronic monitoring bracelet, eluded a Canadian manhunt and headed for the border. He was allowed to cross into Washington state, where local authorities told the U.S. citizen to register as a sex offender but didn't arrest him, since he'd committed no crimes here. Less than four days after registering, Stanley was accused this week of sexually assaulting a 16year-old in a Seattle alley in a case that has caused alarm on both sides of the border and exposed a challenging dynamic of cross-border relations. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 C & C PROPERTIES An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. 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