Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/36626
10A Daily News – Friday, July 15, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Minnesota Gov. Dayton willing to take GOP budget offer ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton offered major concessions Thursday in a bid to end a government shutdown, dropping his pursuit of tax hikes to say he was willing to accept — with conditions— a Republi- can proposal made before the state closed for business two weeks ago. Dayton said Republicans must drop a list of policy changes and a plan to reduce the state workforce by 15 percent. In exchange, he would sign off on their proposal that would raise $1.4 billion, half by delay- ing state aid checks to school districts and the other half by selling tobacco payment bonds. ‘‘I believe this is the best option for Minnesota,’’ a weary- sounding Dayton said after his announcement in a speech at the University of Minnesota. ‘‘I know in my soul that I am doing what I believe.’’ Aides said GOP leaders were reviewing Dayton’s offer and had no immediate comment. The governor said he had invit- ed them to meet Thursday after- noon, and a spokeswoman said House Republican leaders would do so. The shutdown over how to resolve a $5 billion deficit has idled 22,000 state employees, closed state parks and rest stops and cut off funding to many social services. It has cost the state millions in the cost of preparing for the shutdown and in lost revenue since then. Freeway closure in Los Angeles triggers warnings LOS ANGELES (AP) — The alarms have been sounded and the preparations have been made. Now, only two questions remain: Will ‘‘Carmageddon,’’ the shutdown of a 10-mile stretch of one of the busiest highways in the United States, on one of the city’s busiest of summer weekends, bring the City of the Angels to its knees? Or will this too come to pass, just like so many other predic- tions of the apocalypse? (Remember the Oakland radio preacher who just last spring put up billboards promising the world would end on May 21.) ‘‘Like Y2K,’’ Ashley Nazar- ian said dismissively, referring to the much-hyped worldwide computer data meltdown that never happened as the clock turned to Jan. 1, 2000. Nazarian, property manager for the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a mall that is located next to an exit on the affected stretch of the 405, might be worried but she isn’t. Murdochs agree to be questioned by parliament LONDON (AP) — Rupert Murdoch and his son James first refused, then agreed Thursday to appear before U.K. lawmak- ers investigating phone hacking and police bribery, while in the U.S., the FBI opened a review into allegations the Murdoch media empire sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 vic- tims. Those two developments — and the arrest of another former editor of a Murdoch tabloid — deepened the crisis for News Corp., which has seen its stock price sink as investors ask whether the scandal could drag down the whole company. Murdoch defended News Corp.’s handling of the scandal, saying it will recover from any damage caused by the phone- hacking and police bribery alle- gations. The 80-year-old told The Wall Street Journal — which is owned by News Corp. — that he is ‘‘just getting annoyed’’ at all the recent nega- tive press. He also dismissed reports he would sell his U.K. newspapers to stem the scandal, calling the suggestion ‘‘pure and total rub- bish.’’ A law enforcement official in New York said the FBI was looking into allegations that employees of News Corp. tried to hack into the telephones of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Ron Paul’s first TV ad notes opposition to raising ceiling AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul is using his first cam- paign television ad to promote his long-time opposition to rais- ing the federal debt limit. In the ad released Thursday and set to run in early primary states, the Texas congressman criticizes both Republicans and Democrats for striking deals in the past and says Congress should not compromise this time. Paul also notes that he always has voted against raising the federal limit on borrowing. ‘‘In the ’80s, they did it to (Ronald) Reagan, a debt ceiling compromise, Democrats promising spending cuts, but delivering only tax hikes,’’ the ad says. ‘‘The ’90s brought more compromises, more bro- ken promises and more new taxes. ... Will our party’s leaders repeat the mistakes of the past?’’ President Barack Obama has said that if a deal to raise the debt ceiling is not passed by Aug. 2, the U.S. government could default on its loans, creat- ing a financial crisis. Paul and some conservative Republican members of Congress reject that conclusion and have insist- ed on spending cuts. Negotia- tions are ongoing between Obama and Republican leaders in the House and Senate over a compromise that would ensure the debt ceiling is increased. The scope of federal spend- ing is an important issue to con- servatives who make up the Republican Party’s base, and Paul is seeking to use the debate raging in Washington on one of his signature issues to gain ground in his presidential cam- paign. He trails other candidates in national and state polls. A poll conducted for The Des Moines Register last month showed Paul running toward the back of the pack, with only 7 percent support. House GOP’s brash second in command a force in debt talks WASHINGTON (AP) — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has become both a key player and big pain to more seasoned negotiators in the White House talks over how to keep the government pay- ing its bills after next month. ‘‘Eric, don’t call my bluff,’’ President Barack Obama warned late Wednes- day after a dramatic back- and-forth with the Virginia Republican that made some in Cantor’s party wince. ‘‘Enough is enough.’’ Not for Cantor, second-in- command to Speaker John Boehner who has made no secret of his desire to some- day have the House’s top job. The testy exchange with Obama left Washington bub- bling with speculation about whether the self-styled ‘‘young gun’’ had shot his own credibility in a roomful of political veterans.