Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/41453
6A Daily News – Wednesday, September 7, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING 5 of 9 people shot by gunman at IHOP restaurant were Nevada National Guard members CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A man with a rifle shot an entire group of five uniformed National Guard members eat- ing breakfast at a Nevada IHOP on Tues- day, killing two of them and another per- son in a hail of gunfire, authorities and witnesses said. The suspect also shot himself and later died at a hospital. Six people were wounded in the attack. Authorities weren't saying whether the gunman targeted the Guard mem- bers. But Nevada National Guard spokeswoman April Conway said there's no indication he had any connection with the Guard. Conway didn't know why the five Guard members had met at the IHOP, in a strip mall on Carson City's main street. But she noted the restaurant is about four miles from the Guard's headquarters complex. The two Guard members killed were a man and a woman. Boehner, Cantor: Differences in jobs policies are not 'an all- or-nothing situation' WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders are offering Presi- dent Barack Obama an opening for com- promise on measures that would spur job growth. They say neither Republicans nor the administration should consider their own initiatives ''an all-or-nothing situation.'' In a letter to Obama Tuesday, Speak- er John Boehner and House Republican Leader Eric Cantor asked the president to meet with the bipartisan leadership of Congress this week to discuss his pro- posals in advance of his jobs address Thursday to a joint session of Congress. The letter lists GOP proposals that have already passed the House that they said would be worthy of his considera- tion. They acknowledged that both Repub- licans and the administration believe their policy prescriptions are best for the country and conceded that neither side would likely convince the other to adopt all of each other's proposals. But, they added, it is critical that ''our differences not preclude us from taking action in areas where there is common agreement.'' Gadhafi security chief, other loyalists flee Libya, raising hope support crumbling TARHOUNA, Libya (AP) — Con- voys of Moammar Gadhafi loyalists, including his security chief, fled across the Sahara into Niger on Tuesday in a move that Libya's former rebels hoped could help lead to the surrender of his last strongholds. Still, efforts to negotiate the peaceful handover of one of the most crucial of those bastions, the city of Bani Walid, proved difficult. Tribal elders from Bani Walid who met Tuesday with former rebels were confronted by angry residents of the city, including Gadhafi supporters, who fired in the air and sent them fleeing, media- tors said. Many in Bani Walid remain deeply mistrustful of the forces that have seized power in Libya and are reluctant to accept their rule. Some former rebels depicted the flight to Niger as a major exodus of Gad- hafi's most hardcore backers. But con- firmed information on the number and identity of those leaving was scarce as the convoy made its way across the vast swath of desert — over 1,000 miles — between populated areas on the two sides of the border. Gadhafi himself is not in the convoys, the U.S. State Department said. 2 killed in massive Central Texas wildfire BASTROP, Texas (AP) — A massive wildfire that destroyed at least 600 homes in Central Texas has killed two people, authorities said Tuesday. Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Picker- ing said he had no details about the vic- tims, including when or how they died. The fire was the largest of dozens burning throughout the drought-stricken state. It started Sunday near the town of Bastrop, about 25 miles south of Austin, and quickly spread, fanned in part by winds from Tropical Storm Lee, which dumped its rain on Gulf Coast states fur- ther east. The state Forest Service said Tuesday morning that firefighters hadn't begun to contain the fire, which had destroyed about 600 homes and forced the evacua- tion of hundreds of others. State emergency manager State emer- gency management chief Nim Kidd said it was the most destructive fire of the year in Texas, and that the number of homes destroyed would likely go up after the hardest-hit areas are assessed. Romney's jobs plan would cut taxes, slap China, drill for oil, weaken unions, reduce spending NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Casting himself as America's CEO, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday outlined a sweep- ing economic plan that would reduce regulations and taxes on companies, sanction China over its currency prac- tices and weaken the clout of labor unions. Trying to hold off surging rival Rick Perry, Romney traveled to economically suffering Nevada and stood inside a giant truck warehouse to deliver his multi-point plan designed to position him as the GOP contender with the most comprehensive approach to fixing the economy. ''This is a business plan for Ameri- ca,'' Romney told supporters as he pro- moted his plan as one designed to mod- ernize an economy he says is still orient- ed toward earlier decades — and held up General Electric CEO Jack Welch and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs as ''real deal'' leaders in the U.S. economy. It's a version of the economic pitch Romney has been making throughout the campaign so far — but it's now been sharpened to highlight how his private- sector record contrasts with Perry, the Texas governor, who has held elected office for more than two decades. In his speech Tuesday, Romney barely men- tioned his own four years as governor of Massachusetts. Perry's campaign sharply criticized Romney immediately after the address. ''As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney failed to create a pro-jobs envi- ronment,'' Perry spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement. When Romney was governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 in job creation. Rainy remnants of Tropical Storm Lee soak the South CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Disorganized yet deadly, the leftovers from Tropical Storm Lee spread far- ther inland Tuesday, soaking much of the East Coast. Areas still drying out from Irene were hit with more rain while farmers in the Southeast wel- comed the wet weather. Lee spawned tornadoes, flooded roads and homes, uprooted trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people. Winds from the storm had fanned wildfires in Louisiana and Texas, though calmer air Tuesday was expected to help fire- fighters. Lee even kicked up tar balls on the Gulf Coast. At least four people died in the storm. Lee formed just off the Louisiana coast late last week and gained strength as it lingered in the Gulf for a couple of days. It dumped more than a foot of rain in New Orleans, testing the city's pump system for the first time in years. The storm then trudged across Mississippi and Alabama. By Tuesday, it had collided with a cold front leaving much of the East Coast wet, with unseasonably cool temperatures. At one point, flood watches and warnings were in effect from north- east Alabama through West Virginia to New England. Heavy rain bands scattered across the central Appalachians and Northeast. The National Weather Service said 4 to 8 inches of rain were possible, with isolated downpours up to 10 inches. "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God" 1 Corinthians 1:18