Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/30098
6B – Daily News – Tuesday, April 26, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks raid rebel city BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of soldiers backed by tanks and snipers moved in before dawn to the city where Syria’s anti-govern- ment uprising began, causing panic in the streets when they opened fire indiscriminately on civilians and went house-to-house rounding up suspected protesters. At least 11 people were killed and 14 others lay in the streets — either dead or gravely wounded, witness- es said. The military raids on the south- ern city of Daraa and at least two other areas suggested Syria is try- ing to impose military control on the centers of protests against Pres- ident Bashar Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades. Residents and human rights activists said the regime wants to terrify opponents and intimidate them from staging any more demonstrations. The offensive was meticulously planned: Electricity, water and mobile phone services were cut. Security agents armed with guns and knives conducted house-to- house sweeps, neighborhoods were sectioned off and check- points were erected before the sun rose. ‘‘They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving,’’ a wit- ness told The Associated Press by telephone. ‘‘They aren’t discrimi- nating. There are snipers on the mosque. They are firing at every- body,’’ he added, asking that his name not be used for fear of retri- bution. The massive assault on Daraa appeared to be part of new strategy of crippling, pre-emptive strikes against any opposition to Assad, rather than reacting to demonstra- tions. Other crackdowns and arrest sweeps were reported on the out- skirts of Damascus and the coastal town of Jableh — bringing more international condemnation and threats of targeted sanctions by Washington. Nearly 500 prisoners escape in Kandahar KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — During the long Afghan winter, Taliban insurgents were apparently busy underground. The militants say they spent more than five months building a 1,050-foot tunnel to the main prison in southern Afghanistan, bypassing government check- points, watch towers and concrete barriers topped with razor wire. The diggers finally poked through Sunday and spent 4 1/2 hours ferrying away more than 480 inmates without a shot being fired, according to the Taliban and Afghan officials. Most of the pris- oners were Taliban militants. Accounts of the extraordinary prison break, carried out in the dead of night, suggest collusion with prison guards, officials or both. Following a recent wave of assassinations here, the breakout underscores the weakness of the Afghan government in the south despite an influx of international troops, funding and advisers. It also highlights the spirit and resourcefulness of the Taliban despite months of battlefield set- backs. Mo. levee threatens to burst POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) — A thousand residents fled their homes in southern Missouri on Monday as heavy rains falling on saturated ground threatened to break the levee protecting their town. Smaller evacuations also took place from Kentucky to Arkansas as rivers and lakes con- tinued to rise, and it was only expected to get worse. Forecasters called for severe storms that will drop more heavy rain across the lower Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, com- pounding the misery from a storm system that pounded the region last week and over the weekend, spawning tornadoes and washing away roads. Some places have seen 10 to 15 inches already, and the worst flooding may not come until Wednesday. Two storms with heavy rain and possible tornadoes are moving into the region, with northeast Texas, eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas expected to feel the brunt, said Greg Carbin, a meteo- rologist with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. Areas in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee are expected to get sev- eral more inches of rain, and Carbin predicted ‘‘substantial’’ flooding as water lands on ground too wet to absorb it or in rivers and lakes already over flood stage. He said it’s unusual to see two distinct storm systems hit the same spots back to back, but that’s what will happen. ‘‘I think we’ll see substantial flooding. It will affect those areas already experiencing heavy rain,’’ he said. NATO airstrike on Gadhafi compound steps up pressure TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The latest NATO airstrike on Moam- mar Gadhafi’s compound that reduced parts of it to a smoldering ruin of broken concrete slabs and twisted wires stepped up pressure on the increasingly embattled Libyan leader who is struggling to hold onto the western half of the country. A Libyan government spokesman denounced Monday’s bombing as a failed assassination attempt, saying the 69-year-old leader was healthy, ‘‘in high spir- its’’ and carrying on business as usual. A separate airstrike elsewhere in Tripoli targeted Libyan TV and temporarily knocked it off the air, a government spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymi- ty because he was not authorized to brief reporters. Since an armed uprising erupt- ed in mid-February, Gadhafi has been clinging to control in the western half of Libya, while oppo- sition forces run most of the east. A NATO campaign of airstrikes has sought to break a battlefield stalemate, and the U.S. last week added armed U.S. Predator drones to the mission. Italy said Monday its military will join in strategic bombing raids in Libya. NATO said its latest airstrike sought to destroy a communica- tions headquarters used to coordi- nate attacks on civilians. A spokesman for the alliance said it is increasingly targeting facilities linked to Gadhafi’s regime. Federal Reserve winds down economic support program WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is increasingly confident in the economy and about to end a $600 billion pro- gram to support it. Now for the next step — figuring out how to keep inflation from taking off. Since late last year, the Fed has bought government bonds to keep interest rates low. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are expected to signal this week that they will allow the program to expire as scheduled in June. The end of the bond-buying program would mean that, aside from tax cuts, almost all the extra- ordinary measures the government took to prop up the economy are over. Congress is fighting over how deeply to cut federal spend- ing, not whether to spend more for stimulus. Since the Fed announced the plan last August, worries that the economy would fall back into recession have all but disappeared. The private sector is adding jobs, and the stock market is at its high- est point since the summer of 2008. But higher oil and food prices pose a threat. If companies are forced to raise prices quickly to make up for escalating costs, that could start a spiral of inflation. Exactly how much of a threat inflation poses to the economy right now is a matter of disagree- ment within the central bank. Hospital says Giffords can attend husband’s shuttle launch HOUSTON (AP) — Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords can fly to Florida this week to watch her astronaut husband rocket into space as commander of the space shuttle Endeavour, but she will return shortly after the launch to resume rehabilitation, her doctors in Houston confirmed Monday. The doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann said Giffords is ‘‘med- ically able’’ to travel and that they view the trip to Cape Canaveral as part of her rehabilitation from a gunshot wound to the head. ‘‘Medically, there is no reason she could not travel safely to Flori- da to participate in this incredible event with her husband,’’ said Dr. Dong Kim, director of the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memori- al Hermann. The last time Giffords flew was when she was transported on a pri- vate jet from the hospital in Tuc- son, Ariz., that treated her immedi- ately after the Jan. 8 shooting to Houston, where she has been undergoing intensive rehabilita- tion. But this time, her flight is not an ambulance transport, Kim added. ‘‘She is medically able and well enough to travel without addition- al risks,’’ said Kim, who also serves as professor and chairman of the Department of Neuro- surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School. Japanese troops search for 12,000 still missing SHICHIGAHAMAMACHI, Japan (AP) — A line of somber soldiers walked methodically through a drained swamp Monday, with each step sinking their slender poles into the muck beneath. If one hit a body, he would know. ‘‘Bodies feel very distinc- tive,’’ said Michihiro Ose, a spokesman for the Japanese army’s 22nd infantry regiment. The men were among 25,000 troops given the morbid duty of searching the rubble, the seas and the swamps of northeastern Japan for the bodies of the nearly 12,000 people still missing in last month’s earthquake and tsunami. The two-day operation was the biggest military search since the March 11 disaster. With waters receding, officials hoped the troops, backed by police, coast guard and U.S. forces, would make significant progress. By Monday evening, they had found 38 bodies, the military said. 500-year-old book surfaces at Utah museum SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Book dealer Ken Sanders has seen a lot of nothing in his decades appraising ‘‘rare’’ finds pulled from attics and basements, storage sheds and closets. Sanders, who occasionally appraises items for PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, often employs the ‘‘fine art of letting people down gently.’’ But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundrais- er for the small town museum in Sandy, Utah, just south of Salt Lake, Sanders got the surprise of a lifetime. ‘‘Late in the afternoon, a man sat down and started unwrapping a book from a big plastic sack, informing me he had a really, really old book and he thought it might be worth some money,’’ he said. ‘‘I kinda start, oh boy, I’ve heard this before.’’ Then he produced a tattered, partial copy of the 500-year-old Nuremberg Chronicle. Search on for jurors in Blagojevich case CHICAGO (AP) — A video- store worker who likes to watch Judge Judy, a woman worried about not being able to use her Oprah tickets and several people worried about losing their jobs were among those questioned Monday as lawyers and a federal judge pushed to put together a panel of jurors for the corruption retrial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. During interviews of about five minutes each, U.S. Dis- trict Judge James Zagel continued the search for jurors who could be impartial in the high-profile trial by asking more than two dozen prospects how much they followed Blagojevich’s trial last summer. In that first trial, the impeached governor was found guilty of lying to the FBI but jurors couldn’t reach a verdict on any of the other charges against him. Those includ- ed charges related to allegations that he tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Legal Notices Legal Notices LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS TCDSS Proposal Number: 2011-01 RFP NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the County of Tehama, Depart- ment of Social Services, announ- ces its intention to contract for certain services which will be provided through the CalWORKS Employment Services Program. Interested parties will be asked to participate in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to pro- vide the following: Full Time and Part Time Work Crew Services. The work crew will provide in- tensive supervised and struc- tured paid work experience op- portunities for CalWORKs partic- ipants that will enable them to transition to unsubsidized em- ployment. The work crew model should include regularly sched- uled work activities, hands on training in job skills through em- ployment activities, workplace skills, life skills and job place- ment assistance. The work crew model is intended to serve as a daily employment activity in which the participants of both the Full Time and Part Time Crew are exposed to employ- ment. The ideal Contractor will also be able to assist these par- ticipants in job placement throughout the community. If only one party expresses inter- est in participating in an RFP, negotiations with that party will be made to determine the ability to perform the service and cost, and a formal RFP will not be completed. The contract will be for up to a three year term, be- ginning July 1, 2011. Private and public agencies or individuals interested in provid- ing the service listed above must submit a letter stating such interest to Tara Locks- Shepherd, Tehama County De- partment of Social Services, P.O. Box 1515, Red Bluff, CA 96080, or by hand delivery to 310 S. Main Street, Red Bluff, CA. The letter must contain a brief description of the party’s experience in and/or qualifications for provid- ing the service. Letters must be received by 5:00 P.M. on May 2nd, 2011, at the address listed above. Postmarks will not be ac- cepted as meeting the required submission date. Requests for Proposal packets will be mailed to all agencies and individuals who are deter- mined (based on the contents of their letter) to be qualified to provide the service. Additional information concerning the service to be provided can be obtained by contracting Aman- da Sharp at the address listed above, or by phone at (530) 528- 4021. Publish: April 21 & 26, 2011 Tehama County’s Personal/Professional Service Directory AT YOUR SERVICE! $ 9900 3 month commitment Attorney Local Bankruptcy Attorney Jocelyn C. Olander 530-824-0288 Free Consultation Payment Plans Available Web: www.jcoattyatlaw.com email: mail@jcoatty atlaw.com A federally qualified Debt Relief Agency under 11 U.S.C. 101(12(A)) Runs every Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday Feet Health Bankruptcy BANKRUPTCY Free information $50/mo. + court fee MICHAEL O. HAYS Attorney at Law 1-800-387-9299 Clock Repair 530-736-7079 Grandpa’s Clocks Jim Paul 20910 Pebblestone Dr. Red Bluff Shelf & 31 Day Clocks Repaired Call for appt. Member NAWCC Cuckoo Clocks, Anniversary, Wall, Clock Repair Orthotic Therapy is our Specialty, also treating all aspects of the feet including Bunions, Hammertoes and Plantar Fasciitis with conservative and surgical intervention. We offer comprehensive skin care products from; FOOT AND ANKLE SPECIALIST 2530 Sr Mary Columba Dr Red Bluff (530) 527-7584 Eye Physician James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophtalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm SPA SKIN CARE PRODUCTS ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS CREAMS, SALTS, MOISTURIZERS, GIFT SETS www.aerosilknatural.com Mon & Fri 1pm-5pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114 Advertisement If this was your Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! Call us at 527-2151 For more information