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4B – Daily News – Wednesday, May 11, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Mississippi Delta braces for flood of historic proportions TUNICA, Miss. (AP) — The bulging Missis- sippi River rolled into the fertile Mississippi Delta on Tuesday, threatening to swamp antebellum mansions, wash away shotgun shacks, and destroy fields of cotton, rice and corn in a flood of historic proportions. The river took aim at one of the most poverty- stricken parts of the country after cresting before daybreak at Mem- phis, Tenn., just inches short of the record set in 1937. Some low-lying neighborhoods were inundated, but the city’s high levees protected much of the rest of Mem- phis. Over the past week or so in the Delta, floodwa- ters along the rain- swollen river and its backed-up tributaries have already washed away crops, forced many people to flee to higher ground and closed some of the dockside casinos that are vital to the state’s economy. But the worst is yet to come, with the crest expected to roll through the Delta over the next few days. With hundreds of homes already damaged, ‘‘we’re going to have a lot more when the water gets to where it’s never been before,’’ said Greg Flynn, a spokesman for the Mississippi emer- gency management agency. Obama mocks GOP EL PASO, Texas (AP) — In search of Hispanic votes and an immigration overhaul, President Barack Obama on Tues- day stood at the U.S.- Mexico border for the first time since winning the White House and declared it more secure than ever. He mocked Republican lawmakers for blocking immigration over border security alone, saying they won’t be happy until they get a moat with alligators along the border. ‘‘They’ll never be sat- isfied,’’ he said. Stymied by both cham- bers of Congress, the president ditched law- makers in favor of voters who might pressure them, making an appeal to the public on a hot and dusty day far outside the belt- way. He told a friendly El Paso, Texas, crowd that it’s up to them to tell Con- gress to pass legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants. The approach also allowed the president to make clear that it’s Republicans — not him — standing in the way of immigration legislation. As his re-election approaches it’s a message he wants broadcast loud and clear to Latino voters who don’t like his admin- Your Business can be featured in the... istration’s heavy deporta- tions and feel he never made good on his promise to prioritize immigration legislation during his first year in office. ‘‘I am asking you to add your voices to this,’’ Obama said in El Paso. ‘‘We need Washington to know that there is a move- ment for reform gathering strength from coast to coast. That’s how we’ll get this done.’’ Al-Qaida likely to elevate No. 2 BAGHDAD (AP) — A week after the death of Osama bin Laden, his longtime deputy is con- sidered the front-runner to succeed the iconic al- Qaida founder. But upris- ings in the Middle East and changing dynamics within the group could point to another scenario: a decision not to appoint anyone at all to replace the world’s most-wanted terrorist. Replacing bin Laden, who founded al-Qaida more than two decades ago and masterminded 9/11, may be no easy task. Analysts say the choice will likely depend on how the terror organization views its goals and priori- ties in the post-bin Laden age. The revolt across the Arab world over the past few months was driven by aspirations for Western- style democracy, not the al-Qaida goal of a reli- giously led state spanning the Muslim world. And as al-Qaida struggles to prove its relevance, the group has become increasingly decentralized and prone to internal dis- putes. ‘‘You almost have to start with the question of ’Can he be replaced?’ said Lt. Col. Reid Sawyer, the director of the West Point, N.Y.,-based Coun- tering Terrorism Center. Whether al-Qaida June 4-5, 2011 10,000 total distribution! RED BLUFF magazine format Official Event Program D NEWSAILY Published exclusively in the Thursday, June 2, 2011 TEHAMACOUNTY Online on the front page of the Daily News’ website as a digital page-turn edition from May 31-June 5 All events at Rolling Hills Casino This major event will be mass promoted regionally in print, broadcast, and online anticipating attendance by thousands of local folks, as well as thousands of visitors from far and wide, many of whom will spend the whole weekend in Tehama County! Join the sponsors of the hot air balloons in advertising in this exclusive promotional section and event program. 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Call (530) 527-2151 or email advertise@redbluffdailynews.com 3,000 additional distribution at event site, restaurants, hotels and visitor information centers Tabloid, newspaper ‘‘even need name an ’offi- cial’ new leader is uncer- tain,’’ wrote Rita Katz and Josh Devon in a report by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist web traffic. ‘‘So long as the group can continue to issue messages ... the group will remain a guid- ing light for the global jihadist community.’’ FEMAasks for return of millions in aid CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — After the raging Cedar River filled his home with 13 feet of water and ruined most of his possessions, Justin Van Fleet pleaded for help from the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency to get back on his feet. Dead broke and living in a FEMA trailer follow- ing the 2008 flood, Van Fleet repeatedly submit- ted paperwork and made countless phone calls arguing his case. After seven months, the agency finally gave him more than $20,000, which he said gave him his life back and allowed him to move into a house. Then in March, a letter arrived from the govern- ment with a shocking message: He should never have gotten the money. And he had just 30 days to pay it all back. The agency is asking Van Fleet and thousands of other Americans who were victims of natural disasters to return more than $22 million in gov- ernment aid, acknowledg- ing it mistakenly made payments to many people who were ineligible. FEMA is required by law to recover improperly spent money, but most of the people who were helped say they used the cash years ago, and they don’t want to be financial- ly punished because of the agency’s errors. Appeals panel in Va. dominated by Obama appointees hears health care cases RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals panel dominated by appointees of President Barack Obama heard arguments Tuesday in two Virginia lawsuits chal- lenging his health care overhaul. The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vigor- ously questioned lawyers on both sides, but the most spirited exchanges focused on the central issue in both cases: whether the law’s require- ment that individuals buy insurance is constitution- al. Federal judges in Vir- ginia split on that ques- tion in the lawsuits, one filed by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuc- cinelli and the other by Liberty University. The 14-member court uses a computer program to randomly select its panels, and Obama could hardly have wished for a better outcome. He appointed two of the judges, Andre M. Davis and James A. Wynn Jr. The other was Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, an appointee of former Pres- ident Bill Clinton. ‘‘They were aggressive in both directions for both sides, so I don’t draw any great concern about that,’’ Cuccinelli said at a news conference after the hear- ings. The Richmond-based 4th Circuit has historical- ly been viewed as the nation’s most conserva- tive appeals court, but recent Democratic appointments have steered it more toward the ideological center — a trend that was in evidence in the packed courtroom Tuesday. US closer to declaring Assad’s rule in Syria illegitimate WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administra- tion is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad fam- ily in Syria. Administra- tion officials said Tuesday that the first step would be to say for the first time that President Bashar Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift that would amount to a call for regime change that has questionable support in the world community. The tougher U.S. line almost certainly would echo demands for ‘‘demo- cratic transition’’ that the administration used in Egypt and is now espous- ing in Libya, the officials said. But directly chal- lenging Assad’s leadership is a decision fraught with problems: Arab countries are divided, Europe is still trying to gauge its response, and there are major doubts over how far the United States could go to back up its words with action. If the Syrian govern- ment persists with its harsh crackdown on political opponents, the U.S. could be forced into choosing between an undesired mili- tary operation to protect civilians, as in Libya, or an embarrassing U-turn that makes it look weak before an Arab world that is on the tipping point between greater democracy or greater repression. The internal administra- tion debate over a tougher approach to Assad’s regime is occurring amid a backdrop of brutality in Syria. More than 750 civil- ians have been killed since the uprising began nearly two months ago and some 9,000 people are still in custody, according to a leading Syrian human rights group.