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4B Daily News – Thursday, September 29, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Obama appeals health setback to Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) — Raising prospects for a major election-year rul- ing, the Obama adminis- tration launched its Supreme Court defense of its landmark health care overhaul Wednesday, appealing what it called a ''fundamentally flawed'' appeals court decision that declared the law's central provision uncon- stitutional. Destined from the start for a high court show- down, the health care law affecting virtually every American seems sure to figure prominently in President Barack Obama's campaign for re- election next year. Repub- lican contenders are already assailing it in vir- tually every debate and speech. The administration for- mally appealed a ruling by the federal appeals court in Atlanta that struck down the law's core requirement that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014. At the same time, how- ever, the winners in that appellate case, 26 states and the National Federa- tion of Independent Busi- ness, also asked for high court review Wednesday, 83RD saying the entire law, and not just the individual insurance mandate, should be struck down. The Supreme Court almost always weighs in when a lower court has struck down all or part of a federal law, to say noth- ing of one that aims to extend insurance cover- age to more than 30 mil- lion Americans. Obama says he can't fix immigration system alone WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing weakening sup- port among Hispanics, Pres- ident Barack Obama expressed deep frustration Wednesday over what he called an inaccurate and damaging perception that he can fix the nation's flawed immigration system on his own. ''This notion that some- how I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true,'' Obama said during a White House roundtable targeting Hispanic voters, a key constituency for the president's re-election cam- paign. prehensive The president said com- immigration reform continues to be a ''top priority'' for his administration. But he blamed Republicans in Congress for failing to join Democrats in supporting legislation that would Annual address the flow of foreign- ers into the U.S. and deal with illegal immigrants already in the U.S. ''Only a few years ago, as I said, you had some Republicans who were will- ing to recognize that we needed to fix our immigra- tion system,'' Obama said, noting that his predecessor, George W. Bush, was among them. ''Right now you do not have that kind of leadership coming from the Republican Party.'' A strong majority of His- panics supported Obama's election in 2008. But his support among Hispanics has declined, as it has in the broader population. A recent Gallup survey found 48 percent of Hispanic vot- ers approving of Obama's job performance, compared with 60 percent in January. Christie, Palin keep their GOP presidential buzz alive NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Christie isn't running for president but says he's listening to those who want him to. Donald Trump opted out of a bid for the Republican nomination but hasn't ruled out running as an independent. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's aides are courting New Hampshire activists. And Sarah Palin says she'll decide soon whether to join the field, even as she wor- ries the White House might be ''too shackling.'' Welcome to The Big Tease, when political stars stoke the hopes of support- ers by hinting they just might join the presidential fray. A few do succumb to the temptation — most recently Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who joined the GOP field in August after months of insisting absolutely he had no interest. Others milk their moment in the spot- light, boosting their national stature, broadening their fundraising base and laying the foundation for a possi- ble future run. It happens in many pres- idential years. Democrats swooned, for a while, for New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1992; there was a Gen. Wesley Clark boomlet in 2004 and a drumbeat around former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee in 2008. Cuomo stayed out, but his prolonged indecision earned him the nickname Hamlet on the Hudson. Clark and Thompson both jumped in late, only to flame out quickly. Officials: Expect a rise in listeria deaths WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials Feature your female employees Run photo and bio on your business, career, Magazine-size supplement to The Daily News Published Tuesday, October 18 Advertising Space Reservations Deadline OCTOBER 17-21 Friday, October 7 This special edition will be pre-promoted in the Daily News and will be published on high-bright paper. It will feature articles of interest to women in the business and professional workforce, led with a locally produced feature article. 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So far, the outbreak has caused at least 72 illness- es — including up to 16 deaths — in 18 states, making it the deadliest food outbreak in the Unit- ed States in more than a decade. The heads of the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Adminis- tration said consumers who have cantaloupes produced by Jensen Farms in Colorado should throw them out. If they are not sure where the fruit is from, they should- n't eat it. Neither the govern- ment nor Jensen Farms has supplied a list of retailers who may have sold the fruit. Officials say consumers should ask retailers about the origins of their cantaloupe. If they still aren't sure, they should get rid of it. ''If it's not Jensen Farms, it's OK to eat,'' said Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC. ''But if you can't confirm it's not Jensen Farms, then it's best to throw it out.'' Violent incidents on the rise in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The monthly average of armed clashes, roadside bombings and other violence in Afghanistan is running 39 percent ahead of last year's figure, U.N. report- ed Wednesday, with more complex suicide opera- tions involving multiple bombers and gunmen. The statistics show that the intensity of the nearly decade-old war is grow- ing, not abating, as the U.S. and other nations start to withdraw some forces with an eye toward pulling all combat troops out by the end of 2014. The Taliban's resilience raises questions about whether the Afghan gov- ernment and its Western allies have a solid grip on security — and whether the Afghan forces can ever secure the nation by themselves. NATO says it has made progress in taming the Taliban insurgency by routing its strongholds in the south. But the Taliban have hit back with several high-profile attacks in the capital and assassinations of government officials and senior Afghan lead- ers. In its quarterly report on Afghanistan, the U.N. said that as of the end of August, the average monthly number of inci- dents stood at 2,108, up 39 percent over the same period a year earlier. It did not provide comparable data. The figures include insurgent attacks as well as assaults by NATO and Afghan forces on Taliban figures and positions. ''Armed clashes and improvised explosive devices continued to con- stitute the majority of incidents,'' U.N. Secre- tary-General Ban Ki- moon said in his report. ''The south and southeast of the country, particular- ly around the city of Kan- dahar, continued to be the focus of military activity and accounted for approx- imately two-thirds of the total security incidents.'' Daredevil engineers rappel down Washington Monument WASHINGTON (AP) — In what looked like a scene from a Hollywood action movie, an elite team of professionals rap- pelled down the Washing- ton Monument on Wednesday — not to carry out a covert mission but to inspect the damage done to the 555-foot mar- ble obelisk by last month's earthquake. As tourists squinted at the tiny figures, two men and two women climbed from a hatch and observa- tion windows at the top of the monument and slowly began lowering them- selves with ropes and har- nesses down its pyramid- shaped cap, where a large, inch-wide crack was located and where they expected to find the most damage. From the ground, their movements appeared methodical and deliber- ate, but it was still enough to make family members and gawkers nervous. ''It's kind of freaky. I'm terrified of heights. I'll bet everything looks all swirly up there,'' said Brandon Guy, 14, of Windsor, Calif. Engineers said that the 1884 landmark is struc- turally sound but that they need to catalog every defect so they can deter- mine how long it will take to repair it and reopen it to the public. Neighbors say fugitive lived decades in Portugal ALMOCAGEME, Por- tugal (AP) — He lived the sweet life for decades. But nobody knew he was on the run. After breaking out of a New Jersey prison 41 years ago, George Wright settled in a picturesque seaside town in Portugal. He married a local woman, raised two children and grew old in a pretty house on a cobbled street next to a stunning beach. Locals knew him as Jorge Santos, a friendly man from Africa who did odd jobs and spoke fluent Portuguese. He kept his true identity secret: convicted murderer, prison escapee and accused hijacker. Wright's decades-long flight from justice ended when the 68-year-old American was taken into custody by local police Monday at the request of the U.S. government. On Tuesday, he appeared before a judge in Lisbon, the capital, for an initial extradition hearing. Residents of this charm- ing coastal town were com- ing to terms Wednesday with the fact that a man they knew and liked had been living a lie.