Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/28672
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 – Daily News – 3B WORLD BRIEFING Obama: No more budget extensions WASHINGTON (AP) — Prodded by an insis- tent President Barack Obama, Congress’ top two lawmakers sought to reinvigorate compromise talks Tuesday aimed at cutting tens of billions in federal spending and averting a partial govern- ment shutdown Friday at midnight. There was at least a hint of flexibility, accom- panied by sharply partisan attacks and an outburst of shutdown brinksmanship. According to Democ- rats, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sug- gested at a White House meeting that fellow Republicans might be able to accept a deal with $40 billion in cuts. That’s more than negotiators had been eyeing but less than the House seeks. The speaker’s office declined comment, and Boehner issued a state- ment saying, ‘‘We can still avoid a shutdown, but Democrats are going to need to get serious about cutting spending - and soon.’’ For his part, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid sounded an accusatory note. ‘‘I hope the Republicans do what the country needs, not what they believe the tea party wants,’’ he said at the Capitol Islamists see opportunity for rise in Egypt CAIRO (AP) — Islam- ic hard-liners, some of them heavily suppressed under three decades of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, are enthusiastically diving into Egypt’s new free- doms, forming political parties to enter upcoming elections and raising alarm that they will try to lead the country into fun- damentalist rule. Some militants, taking advantage of a security vacuum, aren’t waiting for the political process. They have attacked Chris- tians and liquor stores, trying to impose their aus- tere version of Islamic law in provincial towns. The Islamists’ new- found energy prompted the ruling military to warn on Monday that Egypt ‘‘will not be turned into Gaza or Iran.’’ Islamists could fare well in parliamentary elections scheduled for September, especially if the various groups run on a unified ticket. Their chances are boosted by the disarray among other groups. Traditional oppo- sition parties were deeply restricted under Mubarak’s 29-year rule and have no popular base to speak of. The liberal youth groups behind the 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11 are still scrambling to organize before voting day. The Islamists, further- more, are well funded and organized. The most established fundamental- ist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has years of experience in contesting elections. Ivory Coast strongman says he’s not stepping out ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast’s strongman leader Laurent Gbagbo holed up in a bunker inside the presidential residence Tuesday, defiantly main- taining he won the elec- tion four months ago even as troops backing the internationally recog- nized winner encircled the home. Gbagbo’s comments by telephone to France’s LCI television came as French officials and a diplomat said he was negotiating his departure terms after French and U.N. forces launched a military offensive Mon- day. Democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara has urged his supporters to take Gbagbo alive. Talks about Gbagbo’s departure terms were ongoing Tuesday evening directly between Gbagbo and Ouattara, according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymi- ty because he was not authorized to speak pub- licly. Choi Young-jin, the U.N.’s top envoy in Ivory Coast, said Tuesday that Gbagbo was in discus- sions about where he would go, possibly sug- gesting the strongman may be willing to consid- er stepping down after more than a decade in power. When asked by The Associated Press Televi- sion News if he was con- fident that Gbagbo has decided to leave, Choi said: Engineer: Boeing didn’t expect fatigue in 737-300s PHOENIX (AP) — Boeing was surprised when a section of a Southwest jetliner’s fuse- lage ripped open in flight because the plane wasn’t old enough to be worri- some, a company official said Tuesday, as the air- line cleared most of its older 737 planes to return to the skies. Southwest said it had inspected nearly all of the jets it grounded after the accident on Friday. Five were found with the same kinds of cracks suspected of causing the 5-foot-long hole to open as the jet cruised around 34,000 feet. The planes are being repaired, the airline said. Boeing engineers did not expect to see the cracks because they thought they had designed the joints that hold the 737-300s’ aluminum skin in place to be more robust. They believe the planes would not need inspections for at least 60,000 pressurization cycles, the number of times that a plane takes off and lands. The compa- ny hadn’t even issued inspection specifications because none of the planes involved were any- where near that old. The Southwest jet was 15 years old and logged 39,000 cycles. Libyan rebel leader says NATO isn’t doing enough BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — A rebel military leader lashed out at NATO Tuesday, saying it was falling short in its mission to protect Libyan civilians. The alliance said ruler Moammar Gad- hafi’s forces position heavy weapons in popu- lated areas, preventing some airstrikes. Abdel-Fattah Younis, chief of staff for the rebel military and Gadhafi’s former interior minister, said he was asking the opposition’s leadership council to take their griev- ances to the U.N. Security Council, which autho- rized force in Libya to stop government troops from wiping out the anti- Gadhafi uprising that began Feb. 15. NATO forces ‘‘don’t do anything’’ even though the United Nations gave them the right to act, You- nis said. He said bureau- cracy means that NATO strikes sometimes come eight hours after rebels’ have communicated tar- gets. ‘‘The people will die and this crime will be on the face of the interna- tional community forever. What is NATO doing?’’ Younis said. NATO last week took control over the interna- tional airstrikes that began March 19 as a U.S.- led mission. The airstrikes thwarted Gad- hafi’s efforts to crush the rebellion in the North African nation he has ruled for more than four decades, but the rebels remain outnumbered and outgunned and have had difficulty pushing into government-held territory even with air support. Condemned prisoner set to die Tuesday HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the first scheduled execu- tion of a Texas death row inmate using a new drug cocktail on Tuesday, although the proposed lethal mix was not men- tioned in the court’s deci- sion to reconsider the merits of the condemned man’s appeal. Cleve Foster was to have been executed hours ly, the bone-strengthen- ing benefit of estrogen disappeared, too. Once women ended it, they had just as many hip fractures during the fol- low-up as women who’d taken dummy pills. Space junk safe distance from space station later for the 2002 slaying of a Sudanese woman in Fort Worth — the first Texas execution since the state switched to pento- barbital in its three-drug mixture. The sedative has already been used for exe- cutions in Oklahoma and Ohio. On Tuesday morning, the high court agreed to reconsider its January order denying Foster’s appeal that raised claims of innocence and poor legal help during his trial and early stages of his appeals. Foster’s lawyers also have argued that Texas prison officials violated administrative procedures last month when they announced the switch to pentobarbital from sodi- um thiopental, which is in short supply nationwide. Foster’s lawyers contend that the rules change in Texas required more time for public comment and review. Lower courts have rejected their appeals and attorneys had planned to take their case to the Texas Supreme Court. At the same time, defense lawyers sought a rehearing before the U.S. Supreme Court on the high court’s rejection of an appeal in January. At that time, it stopped Fos- ter’s execution at the last moment, then rejected his claims a week later, clear- ing the way for Tarrant County authorities to schedule the execution for Tuesday. Strokes risks fade after quitting estrogen CHICAGO (AP) — Strokes and other health problems linked with estrogen pills appear to fade when women quit taking them after menopause, the first long-term follow-up of a landmark study found. It’s reassuring news for women who take the hormone in their 50s when menopause usual- ly begins. The latest study bol- sters previous evidence that concerns about breast cancer and heart attacks are largely unfounded for those who take the hormone for a short period of time to relieve hot flash- es and other menopause symptoms. Estrogen-only pills are recommended just for women who have had a hysterectomy, and the study focused only on that group. About 25 percent of women in menopause have had hysterectomies. Other women are prescribed a combination pill of estrogen and progestin because for them, estro- gen alone can raise the risk for cancer of the uterus. The study results don’t really change the advice doctors have been giving for several years now: Take hor- mones to relieve menopause symptoms in the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time. The women in the study took estrogen for about six years and were evaluated for about four years after stopping. Slightly increased risks for strokes and blood clots that were found while they took the pills disappeared during the follow-up. Unfortunate- CAPE CANAVER- AL, Fla. (AP) — After monitoring a small piece of space junk for 11 hours, NASA deter- mined it posed no dan- ger Tuesday to the Inter- national Space Station and its three residents. Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and his crew were prepared to climb into their attached Russian Soyuz capsule for shelter. But an hour before the closest approach, Mission Con- trol radioed the good news. Additional track- ing showed the 6-inch piece of debris would remain a safe distance from the orbiting com- plex. ‘‘That means we don’t get to jump out tonight?’’ joked Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. He said he had been looking forward to get- ting some pizza. ‘‘OK, next time,’’ he said. The debris is from a Chinese satellite that was deliberately destroyed in 2007 as part of a weapons test. Initial estimates put it passing less than three miles from the space station late Thursday afternoon. Mission Con- trol ordered Kondratyev, Nespoli and American Catherine Coleman to prepare to get in the Soyuz; there was not enough time to steer the outpost away from the junk. But as the afternoon wore on, the threat level went from red to green, and the Soyuz precau- tion was no longer need- ed. It ended up coming no closer than 3.3 miles. Local Business Folks: The Daily News’ Sue Hubbard is RETIRING! Come join us at the offices of the newspaper to wish Sue Hubbard a happy retirement. Sue has served the advertising needs of local businesses at the Daily News for 10 years, and for a local shopper before she joined the team at the newspaper. 4:30-6:00 PM Thursday, April 7 The Daily News 545 Diamond Ave. Tehama County Spring Spread Will Be Served Hope to see you here!