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8B Daily News – Monday, August 22, 2011 Libyan rebels enter Tripoli TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the cap- ital Tripoli on Sunday and moved close to center with little resistance as Moammar Gadhafi's defenders melted away. The opposition's leaders said Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, has been arrested. Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they met little resis- tance as they moved from the western outskirts into the capital in a dramatic turning of the tides in the 6-month-old Libyan civil war. ''They will enter Green Square tonight, God will- ing,'' said Mohammed al- Zawi, a 30-year-old rebel in the force that was mov- ing in. Green Square has been the site of night ral- lies by Gadhafi supporters throughout the uprising. Gadhafi's regime appeared to be rapidly crumbling. Earlier in the day, the rebels overran a major military base defending the capital, carted away truckloads of weapons and raced to Tripoli with virtually no resistance. Laid off, aging baby boomers stress funding WASHINGTON (AP) — Laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security's disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency. Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can't find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs. The stampede for ben- efits is adding to a grow- ing backlog of applicants — many wait two years or more before their cases are resolved — and wors- ening the financial prob- lems of a program that's been running in the red for years. New congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money by 2017, leaving the program unable to pay full bene- fits, unless Congress acts. About two decades later, Social Security's much larger retirement fund is projected to run dry as well. Much of the focus in Washington has been on fixing Social Security's retirement system. Pro- posals range from raising the retirement age to means-testing benefits for wealthy retirees. But the disability system is in much worse shape and its problems defy easy solu- tions. Gaza militants agree to halt JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to stop three days of vio- lence, a Hamas official said Sunday, after a dead- ly attack on Israelis near the Egypt-Israel border set off a round of Israeli airstrikes and rocket bar- rages from Gaza. The sudden flareup also threatened Israel- Egypt relations, after Egypt said five of its policemen were killed by Israeli fire as Israel's troops and aircraft pur- sued the militants respon- sible for killing eight peo- ple Thursday. Egypt com- plained strongly as thou- sands demonstrated in Cairo, and Israel apolo- gized. The senior Hamas offi- cial said Sunday after- noon that militant groups in Gaza agreed that the truce would go into effect Sunday evening. Hamas security personnel would enforce the agreement brokered by Egypt, the official said. He said Egypt told the groups that Israel would agree to halt its airstrikes only if the Palestinians stopped the rocket fire first. WORLD BRIEFING A spokesman for Israel's government would not comment, and it was not clear if the cease-fire indeed had the backing of all of Gaza's armed factions. Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes con- tinued hours after the cease-fire was to take effect at 9 p.m. local time. GOP may let tax increase WASHINGTON (AP) — News flash: Congres- sional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so viru- lently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a pay- roll tax increase on virtu- ally every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right? Apparently not. Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tong to keep the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different ''temporary'' tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase. The tax break exten- sion they oppose is sought by President Barack Obama. Unlike proposed changes in the income tax, this policy helps the 46 percent of all Ameri- cans who owe no federal income taxes but who pay a ''payroll tax'' on practi- cally every dime they earn. There are other differ- ences as well, and Repub- licans say their stand is consistent with their goal of long-term tax policies that will spur employment and lend greater certainty to the economy. Syria's Assad repeats reform vows BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's president said Sunday he was ''not wor- ried'' about security in his country and warned against any foreign mili- tary intervention in a speech designed to por- RED BLUFF COLLISION ✪Windshield Replacement $ starting at 200 ✪ Auto Detailing $ 50 off your 1st visit FREE Estimates 530.527.6160 915 Madison St., Red Bluff tray confidence as the regime comes under blis- tering international con- demnation for its crack- down on dissent. The remarks by Bashar Assad, who spoke during an interview with state- run television, came just days after the United States and its European allies called for him to step down, and hours after a diplomat said Assad's regime was ''scrubbing blood off the streets'' ahead of a U.N. visit. ''I am not worried about the security situa- tion right now, we can say the security situation is better,'' Assad said in his fourth public appearance since the revolt against his family's 40-year rule erupted in mid-March. ''It may seem danger- ous, but in fact we are able to deal with it,'' Assad said. In a now-familiar refrain, Assad promised imminent reforms — including parliamentary elections by February — but insisted the unrest was being driven by a foreign conspiracy, not true reform seekers. Big overhaul for Coast Guard's aging fleet PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — Nearly a decade into a 25-year, $24.2 billion overhaul intended to add or upgrade more than 250 ves- sels to its aging fleet, the Coast Guard has two new ships to show after spending $7 billion-plus. Now it's facing an uphill battle persuading a budget- conscious Congress to keep pouring money into a pro- ject plagued by manage- ment problems and cost overruns. ''Congress wants to work with the Coast Guard to meet their needs for its myriad missions, but will not simply supply a blank check,'' said GOP Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommit- tee that oversees the Coast Guard. By now the Coast Guard was supposed to have at least eight new ships — four 418-foot national security cutters and four 154-foot cutters — either in the water or about to be delivered. Instead it has only two of the largest ships already in use, with two ships more on the way. LoBiondo and others in Congress, including Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Com- mittee, repeatedly have questioned the progress and scope of the fleet overhaul. Family beach time and golf for Obama on Martha's Vineyard EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama played golf and enjoyed some beach time with his family Sunday on Martha's Vineyard, though not before getting briefed on developments in Libya. Under sunny skies, Obama, wife Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha spent the morning on a pri- vate beach in Edgartown. The outing came on the third full day of Obama's 10-day summer vacation and was his first excursion with his full family in tow. The president then parted ways with his family to play a round of golf at the Vine- yard Golf Club. First, though, Obama was briefed by national security aides on develop- ments in Libya, where rebels advanced on Tripoli, threatening Moammar Gad- hafi's hold on power. White House aides have been at pains to show Obama is car- rying out his duties as presi- dent even while on vacation amid international unrest, a shaky economy and high joblessness. Obama also appeared on CBS News in an interview taped during his bus tour of the Midwest last week. He said he understood his low standing in the polls of late given public dissatisfaction with Washington and the poor economy. And he said he expected to be judged on the economy in next year's presidential election. ''You've got an unem- ployment rate that is still too high, an economy that's not growing fast enough,'' he said. ''And for me to argue, look, we've actually made the right decisions, things would have been much worse has we not made those decisions — that's not that satisfying if you don't have a job right now. And I understand that and I expect to be judged a year from now on whether or not things have continued to get better.'' Shrinking state support has schools flocking to shorter week IRENE, S.D. (AP) — When the nearly 300 stu- dents of the Irene-Wakon- da School District returned to school this week, they found a lot of old friends, teachers and familiar routines awaiting them. But one thing was missing: Friday classes. This district in the rolling farmland of south- eastern South Dakota is among the latest to adopt a four-day school week as the best option for reduc- ing costs and dealing with state budget cuts to educa- tion. ''It got down to mone- tary reasons more than anything else,'' Superin- tendent Larry Johnke said. The $50,000 savings will preserve a vocational education program that otherwise would have been scrapped.