Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/20785
8A – Daily News – Friday, December 3, 2010 WORLD BRIEFING Compromise to halt tax increases takes shape WASHINGTON (AP) — A critical compromise to head off a year-end tax increase for millions of Americans took shape in private talks between the White House and congres- sional Republicans Thurs- day, and an extension of unemployment benefits for many others appeared likely to become part of any deal. The Obama administra- tion sought to expand the package with other provi- sions that officials said would accelerate the nation’s sluggish economic recovery. They included a tax break providing as much as $400 for individual working people and $800 for couples — even if they pay nothing to the IRS. Two days after he and newly empowered Republi- cans exchanged pledges of cooperation at the White House, President Barack Obama expressed optimism about the prospects for agreement in time for enact- ment by year’s end. Still, he cautioned, ‘‘That doesn’t mean there might not be some posturing over the next several days.’’ Not long after he spoke, Democrats ignited a parti- san row in the House with legislation that would pre- vent taxes from rising on lower- and middle-income wage earners but allow them to rise for people at higher incomes. McCain calls Pentagon study on gays flawed WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans led by a doubting John McCain dug in their heels Thursday against allowing gays to serve openly in the military, clashing with the Pentagon’s top leaders and dimming Democrats’ hopes to repeal ‘‘don’t ask, don’t tell’’ this year. In tense exchanges with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chair- man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, McCain and other Repub- licans dismissed a Penta- 12 24 TEN10 gon study on gays as biased and said objections by combat troops were being ignored. McCain blamed poli- tics for pushing the matter forward during wartime, and he predicted soldiers and Marines would quit in droves if they had to serve next to gays open about their sexual orientation. He scoffed at testimony by Gates and Mullen, who said concerns among some combat troops could be addressed through time and training. ‘‘We send these young people into combat,’’ said McCain. ‘‘We think they’re mature enough to fight and die. I think they’re mature enough to make a judgment on who they want to serve with and the impact on their battle effectiveness.’’ McCain, a four-term Republican and former Navy pilot who endured a harrowing ordeal as a pris- oner of war during the Vietnam War, has taken a higher profile on socially divisive issues since los- ing the 2008 presidential race to Barack Obama. He has even differed with his wife, Cindy, who in a recent online video opposed the military poli- cy and accused the gov- ernment of treating gays like ‘‘second-class citi- zens.’’ Rep. Rangel censured WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Charles Rangel of New York has been censured by the House for financial and fundraising misconduct. The vote Thursday was 333-79. It was only the 23rd time that the House invoked its most serious punishment short of expulsion. The solemn procedure calls for Rangel to appear at the front of the cham- ber while Speaker Nancy Pelosi reads the censure resolution. The 80-year-old Democrat has served in the House for 40 years. WikiLeaks founder under siege LONDON (AP) — The law is closing in on Julian Assange. Swedish authorities won a court ruling Thursday in their bid to arrest the Wik- iLeaks founder for ques- tioning in a rape case, British intelligence is said to know where in England he’s hiding, and U.S. pun- dits and politicians are demanding he be hunted down or worse. The former computer hacker who has embar- rassed the U.S. govern- ment and foreign leaders with his online release of a huge trove of secret American diplomatic cables suffered a legal set- back when Sweden’s Supreme Court upheld an order to detain him — a move that could lead to his extradition. Meanwhile, Assange continues to leak sensitive documents. Newly posted cables on WikiLeaks’ website detailed a host of embarrassing disclosures, including allegations that Italian Prime Minister Sil- vio Berlusconi accepted kickbacks and a deeply unflattering assessment of Turkmenistan’s president. Assange is accused in Sweden of rape, sexual molestation and coercion in a case from August, and Swedish officials have alerted Interpol and issued a European arrest warrant to bring him in for questioning. The 39-year-old Aus- tralian denies the charges, which his lawyer, Mark Stephens, said apparently stemmed from a ‘‘dispute over consensual but unprotected sex.’’ Stephens said the case is turning into an exercise in persecution. Senate GOP conservatives back deficit commission WASHINGTON (AP) — In a likely symbolic vic- tory for the leaders of Presi- dent Barack Obama’s deficit commission, a con- troversial deficit-cutting proposal that would raise the retirement age and scale back tax deductions appears on track to win support from a majority of the panel — but fall short of the votes needed to adopt it. The plan gained the backing of two of the Sen- ate’s most conservative ‘Tis the Season Food Drive! December 7, 2010 Raley’s Supermarket (In the parking lot) 2pm until 8pm our community’s food pantry can continue feeding local (hungry) families and individuals! 12/24 TV will be doing a LIVE BROADCAST from the Raley’s parking lot. Thank You, Red Bluff, for your generous support of this event. We could not do it without you. In the past, local businesses, service clubs, churches, schools, Government agencies and people in our community have made this event a success. WE WILL NEED AT LEAST 7 VOLUNTEERS FROM 2PM TO 4PM AND 20 VOLUNTEERS FROM 4PM TO 8PM to receive & sort the donated food and to clean up. Contributions may be sent to: The Salvation Army PO Box 935, Red Bluff, CA 96080 www.redbluffsalarmy.org Bring canned goods to fill the trailer so Kootenai County sheriff ’s deputies told Mark Eliseuson Wednesday that he could be charged with a crime because the 10- foot-tall snowman was holding what appeared to be a noose. Deputies were called by neigh- bors who were appalled by the pointy-headed snowman with two dark eyes. Hayden for decades earned notoriety for being near the former rural compound of the Aryan Nations. Eliseuson could have been charged with creat- ing a public nuisance. Idaho law defines such a nuisance as anything ‘‘offensive to the sens- es’’ or that interferes with the comfort of an entire neighborhood. Eliseuson removed the noose and toppled the snowman after he talked with officers. Republicans on Thursday. The announcements by Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, in favor of the politically explosive plan to cut the deficit by almost $4 trillion over the coming decade gave the measure momen- tum from key Senate con- servatives. But two House Republi- cans on the panel, which as created by Obama in the long-shot hope of coming up with a bipartisan plan to cut deficits expected to total almost $10 trillion over the same 10 years, announced they will oppose the plan, as expected. So did Senate Finance Committee Chair- man Max Baucus, D-Mont., a panel member. Taken together, however, Thursday’s developments mean the plan by commis- sion co-chairs Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff to President Bill Clin- ton, and former Wyoming GOP Sen. Alan Simpson is likely to win support from a majority of the 18-member panel in a vote Friday. It is still likely to fall short of the 14 votes needed to send it to Congress for consideration. Nonetheless, even opponents such as future House Budget Com- mittee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said it was a credible first step to build upon next year. Palestinians criticize approval of new homes JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinians criti- cized an Israeli decision to push forward plans for 625 new homes in east Jerusalem, saying Thurs- day the project shows Israel has chosen ‘‘settle- ments and not peace.’’ Israel’s Interior Min- istry confirmed Thursday that the new housing pro- ject in Pisgat Zeev, a sprawling area of 50,000 residents, was permitted to proceed by a district planning committee late last month. Further approval is required at the district and national lev- els, and actual construc- tion would not begin for at least two years. Such construction in Jerusalem’s eastern sector lies at the heart of a cur- rent impasse in Israeli- Palestinian peace talks. The Palestinians have refused to resume negoti- ations without a full con- struction freeze that would include the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the part of the city they want for the capital of a future state. Israelis con- sider Pisgat Zeev a neigh- borhood, while the Pales- tinians view it as an ille- gal settlement. Israel, which sees all of Jerusalem as its own cap- ital, has continued approving new projects in the city’s eastern sector even as U.S. mediators scramble to broker a com- promise that would allow both sides to return to the talks. ‘‘It seems obvious that received the we have Israeli answer to the American attempts to stop settlements,’’ Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. Israel has chosen ‘‘settlements and not peace,’’ he said. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev declined to comment. Snowman holding noose draws complaints HAYDEN, Idaho (AP) — A white sepa- ratist drew complaints from neighbors and a visit from law enforce- ment officers after erecting a snowman shaped like a member of the Ku Klux Klan on his front lawn. Eliseuson told KXLY-TV of Spokane that he sees nothing wrong with the snow- man. But other people did. Microbe raises possibility of new types of life on Earth WASHINGTON (AP) — The discovery of a strange bacteria that can use arsenic as one of its nutrients widens the scope for finding new forms of life on Earth and possibly beyond. While researchers dis- covered the unusual bacteria here on Earth, they say it shows that life has possibilities beyond the major ele- ments that have been considered essential. ‘‘This organism has dual capability. It can grow with either phos- phorous or arsenic. That makes it very peculiar, though it falls short of being some form of truly ’alien’ life,’’ com- mented Paul C. W. Davies of Arizona State University, a co-author of the report appearing in Thursday’s online edition of the journal Science. Six major elements have long been consid- ered essential for life — carbon, hydrogen, nitro- gen, oxygen, phospho- rus and sulfur. But the researchers found that the bacteria, discovered in Mono Lake, Calif., is able to continue to grow after substituting arsenic for phosphorous. ‘‘It makes you won- der what else is possi- ble,’’ said Ariel D. Anbar of Arizona State University, a co-author of the report. Adobe Rd. Chevron Fresh Cooked CRABS Cooking Fresh Crab 2 DAYS A WEEK • “Freshest CRABS in Red Bluff” • Cleaning of Crab Free! Price & availability depending on weather. Call to see if they arrived. 527-1859 2370 NORTH MAIN STREET, RED BLUFF • 527-1859 “Your Convenience Store With A Whole Lot More”