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8A – Daily News – Tuesday, April 19, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING S&P issues warning: Fix deficit or risk nation’s top credit rating WASHINGTON (AP) — A key credit agency issued an unprecedented warning to the United States government Mon- day, urging Washington to get a grip on its finances or risk losing the nation’s sterling credit rating. For the first time, Stan- dard & Poor’s lowered its long-term outlook for the federal government’s fis- cal health from ‘‘stable’’ to ‘‘negative,’’ and warned of serious conse- quences if lawmakers fail to reach a deal to control the massive federal deficit. An impasse could prompt the agency to strip the government of its top investment rating in the next two years, S&P said. A loss of the triple-A rat- ing would ripple through the American economy, making loans more expensive and credit more difficult to obtain. The downgrade was interpreted as a rebuke to President Barack Obama and congressional Repub- licans, admonishing them to put politics aside and come up with a long-term financial plan as soon as possible. Pentagon inquiry clears McChrystal WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon inquiry into a Rolling Stone mag- azine profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal that led to his dismissal as the top US commander in Afghanistan has cleared 8049 Hwy 99E, Los Molinos, CA We Accept EBT “Your Family Supermarket” We appreciate your business - and we show it! HOURS: 7AM - 9 PM DAILY BLACK CANYON ANGUS BEEF WE FEATURE SPECIALLY CUT MEATS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE Gusto Spiral Sliced 1/2 Hams $229 lb. Strawberries 1lb. Clamshell or Blackberries 6 oz. container $400 2 for Best Foods Mayonnaise $399 30oz. jar Kraft Cool Whip Topping 8oz. $119 Wesson Cooking Oil 48oz. bottle (Best Blend or Vegetable) $299 McColl’s Ice Cream Tubs 5qt. $599 Liquor Special Bud, Miller, & Coors, 18 pk or Corona 12 pk $1199 +CRV 79¢ ea. 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At the time he dis- missed McChrystal, Obama said the general had fallen short of ‘‘the standard that should be set by a commanding gen- eral.’’ The Defense Department inspector general’s report, however, concluded that available evidence did not support the conclusion that McChrystal had violated any applicable legal or ethics standard. Last week the White House tapped McChrystal to head a new advisory board to support military families, an initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of the vice president. The selection of McChrystal was announced on April 12, four days after the inspec- tor general’s report was finished. The inspector general’s conclusions were first reported Monday by The New York Times, which obtained the report under a Freedom of Information Act request. The Penta- gon subsequently posted the report on its website. Southerners look to rebuild SANFORD, N.C. (AP) — Lowe’s store manager Michael Hollowell had heard the tornado warn- ings, but his first clue that the danger was outside his front door came when he saw his staff running toward the back of the home improvement store. More than 100 employees and customers screamed in near unison when the steel roof curled off overhead Saturday. The store was becoming part of the wreckage left by a ferocious storm sys- tem bristling with killer twisters that ripped through the South. ‘‘You could hear all the steel ripping. People screaming in fear for their lives,’’ Hollowell told The Associated Press on Sun- day. Those in the store did not become part of the death toll that totaled at least 44 across six states, and officials said quick action by Hollowell and his employees helped them all make it out alive in Sanford, about 40 miles south of Raleigh. In all of Lee County, where Sanford is located, officials said there was just one confirmed death during the storm, which claimed at least 21 lives statewide, damaged hun- dreds of homes and left a swath of destruction unmatched by any spring storm since the mid- 1980s. Syrian protesters challenge authorities BEIRUT (AP) — More than 5,000 anti-govern- ment protesters in Syria took over the main square of the country’s third- largest city Monday, vow- ing to occupy the site until President Bashar Assad is ousted and defying author- ities who warn they will not be forced into reforms. The government, how- ever, blamed the weeks of anti-government unrest in the country on ultraconser- 384-1563 WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMPS NO CARDS REQUIRED FOR EVERYDAY LOW PRICING OR SALE ITEMS vative Muslims seeking to establish a fundamentalist state and terrorize the peo- ple, in the latest official effort to portray the reform movement as populated by extremists. The Egypt-style stand- off in the central city of Homs followed funeral processions by more than 10,000 mourners for some of those killed in clashes Sunday that a rights group said left at least 12 people dead. It also brought a high-stakes challenge to security forces over whether to risk more bloodshed — and interna- tional backlash — by try- ing to clear the square. In the past month, Syri- an security forces in uni- forms and plainclothes have launched a deadly crackdown on demonstra- tions, killing at least 200 people, according to human rights groups. Many Syrians also say pro- government thugs — known as Shabiha — have terrorized neighborhoods with tactics such as open- ing fire into the air. The government has in the past blamed ‘‘armed gangs’’ seeking to stir up unrest for many of the killings, such as the ones who fatally shot seven peo- ple, including three army officers, on Sunday in Homs. Woman who accused Duke players indicted on murder RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The woman who false- ly accused three Duke lacrosse players of raping her was charged Monday with murder in the death of her boyfriend. Crystal Mangum was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and two counts of larceny. She has been in jail since April 3, when police charged her with assault in the stabbing 46-year- old Reginald Daye. He died after nearly two weeks at a hospital. An attorney for Mangum and officials in the district attorney’s office did not immediate- ly return calls seeking comment. Mangum falsely accused the lacrosse play- ers of raping her at a 2006 party at which she was hired to perform as a stripper. The case height- ened long-standing ten- sions in Durham about race, class and the privi- leged status of college athletes. Prosecutors declined to press charges for the false accusations, but Mangum’s bizarre legal troubles have continued. LA Times wins Pulitzer NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday for a series revealing that politicians in the struggling, working- class city of Bell, Calif., were paying themselves enormous, six-figure salaries. The newspaper’s reporting that officials in the 37,000-resident town were jacking up property taxes and other fees in part to cover the huge salaries led to arrests and the ouster of some of Bell’s top officials. The Times won a sec- ond Pulitzer for feature photography, and The New York Times was awarded two Pulitzers for international report- ing and for commentary. But in a year in which the earthquake in Haiti and the disastrous Gulf oil spill were some of the biggest stories, the Pulitzer Board decided not to give an award in the category of breaking news — a first in the 95- year history of the most prestigious prize in jour- nalism. ‘‘No entry received the necessary majority,’’ said Sig Gissler, admin- istrator of the prizes. He wouldn’t elaborate except to say that break- ing news is a ‘‘deadline- driven category’’ that depends on news organi- zations’ reporting of an event the moment it hap- pens. Robots report radiation TOKYO (AP) — A pair of thin robots on treads sent to explore buildings inside Japan’s crippled nuclear reactor came back Monday with disheartening news: Radiation levels are far too high for repair crews to go inside. Nevertheless, offi- cials remained hopeful they can stick to their freshly minted ‘‘roadmap’’ for cleaning up the radiation leak and stabilizing the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant by year’s end so they can begin returning tens of thousands of evacuees to their homes. ‘‘Even I had expected high radioactivity in those areas. I’m sure (plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.) and other experts have fac- tored in those figures when they compiled the roadmap,’’ Chief Cabi- net Secretary Yukio Edano said. Officials said Mon- day that radiation had spiked in a water tank in Unit 2 and contaminated water was discovered in other areas of the plant. They also described in detail for the first time the damage to fuel in three troubled reactors, saying pellets had melt- ed. That damage — sometimes referred to as a partial meltdown — had already been widely assumed, but the confir- mation, along with the continued release of radiation from other areas, serves to under- score how difficult and how long the cleanup process will be. In fact, government officials themselves have acknowledged that there are still many setbacks that could crop up to slow down their time- line. +CRV * MEAT SALE May 13th 8am-5pm