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Saturday, October 22, 2011 – Daily News 5A WORLD BRIEFING Troops to be out out Iraq by year's end WASHINGTON (AP) — America's long and deeply unpopular war in Iraq will be over by year's end and all U.S. troops ''''will definitely be home for the holidays,'' President Barack Obama declared Fri- day. Stretching more than eight years, the war cost the United States heavily: More than 4,400 members of the military have been killed, and more than 32,000 have been wounded. The final exit date was sealed after months of inten- sive talks between Washing- ton and Baghdad failed to reach agreement on condi- tions for leaving several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq as a training force. The U.S. also had been interested in keeping a small force to help the Iraqis deal with possible Iranian meddling. The task now is to speed the pullout of the remaining U.S. forces, nearly 40,000 in number. Staying behind in Iraq, where bombings and other violence still occur, will be some 150-200 U.S. military troops as part of embassy security, the defense attache's office and the office of security coopera- tion. That's common prac- tice but still a danger to American forces. Gadhafi body stashed in shopping center freezer MISRATA, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi's blood-streaked body was stashed in a commercial freezer at a shopping center Friday as Libyans waited in line outside for a chance to see him and authorities tried to figure out where to bury the longtime dictator. The makeshift provisions for the corpse reflected the disorganization and confu- sion that has surrounded Gadhafi's death. Accounts of how he died after being captured by revolutionary fighters remained contradic- tory, and the top U.N. rights official raised concerns he was shot to death in custody. His burial had been planned for Friday, in accor- dance with Islamic tradi- tions calling for quick inter- ment. But the interim gov- James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophtalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-5pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114 ernment delayed it, saying the circumstances of his death still had to be deter- mined. Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam also said authorities are ''debat- ing right now what the best place is to bury him.'' An AP correspondent saw the body at the shop- ping center in the coastal city of Misrata, home of the fighters who killed the oust- ed leader a day earlier in his hometown of Sirte. The body, stripped to the waist and wearing beige trousers, was laid on a bloodied mattress on the floor of an emptied-out room-sized freezer where restaurants and stores in the center normally keep perish- ables. A bullet hole was vis- ible on the left side of his head — with the bullet still lodged in his head, accord- ing to the presiding doctor — and in the center of his chest and stomach. His hair was matted and dried blood streaks his arms and head. Social Security raise boosts lifeline WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — For some, the just-announced increase in Social Securi- ty checks amounts to an extra meal out, a little more cash for clothes or a new pair of shoes, some added comfort in retire- ment. For Elizabeth Davis, it's a crucial boost to the only thing keeping her afloat. The 71-year-old Miami woman grew up picking cotton on her family's South Carolina farm, raised four children and has worked all her life, even now at a preschool. She is divorced, and her small 401k account ''went down the drain,'' she said. So she counts the days to the third Wednesday of each month, when her $668 Social Security check arrives, and she is able to pay her bills. ''I could live a little better,'' she said of the 3.6 percent raise announced this week, the first in two years. ''I don't have any- thing to look forward to until that check every month.'' The reaction the cost- of-living adjustment has garnered illuminates the divide between the rich and poor among Ameri- ca's oldest residents. Social Security represents ENGLAND'S BOOKKEEPING SERVICES Check Book Balance Email acownteen@yahoo.com Call or Text 530 739-9413 Flu season is coming..... Lassen Medical Group, Inc. 2011 Flu Vaccine Clinics (530) 527-0414 All adults and children over 2 years of age welcome Pneumonia shots available (for those who meet the requirements) Medical Insurance will be billed. 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Herman Cain to allow exemptions for poor in his 9-9-9 tax plan DETROIT (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Friday redefined his tax plan to exclude the poor- est Americans and to allow some deductions, abandoning the zero- exemption feature of his ''9-9-9'' proposal that helped win headlines but would have meant a tax increase for 4 out of 5 Americans. After sharp criticism over his one-size-fits-all plan from Republicans and Democrats alike, Cain proposed no income taxes for Americans liv- ing at or below the pover- ty line. He also proposed exemptions for businesses investing in ''opportunity zones'' as a way to give an economic jolt to run- down neighborhoods such as the one he visited in hard-hit Detroit. Standing in front of a massive abandoned train depot with broken win- dows and barbed wire, Cain blamed regulation for the crumbling of the nation's cities. ''When I look at this building behind me, I see opportunity — if we get capital gains out of the way. There are a lot of people in this country that have money, and capital gains is a wall between people with money and people with ideas,'' Cain told reporters after a cam- paign speech. ''Because taxes and regulations have The North State's premier supplier of stoves STOVE JUNCTION The Over 25 years of experience NOW OPEN! Sales • Service • Installation *Wood Stoves * Pellet Stoves * Gas Stoves Tues-Sat 9am-5pm Closed Sunday & Monday 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff www.thestovejunction.com 530-528-2221 Fax 530-528-2229 gotten so bad, people with money don't want to take risks.'' Cain said America needs to renew its opti- mism and take those risks. 37 percent support 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters WASHINGTON (AP) — More than one-third of the country supports the Wall Street protests, and even more — 58 percent — say they are furious about America's politics. The number of angry people is growing as deep reservoirs of resentment grip the country, accord- ing to the latest Associat- ed Press-GfK poll. Some 37 percent of people back the protests that have spread from New York to cities across the country and abroad, one of the first snapshots of how the public views the ''Occupy Wall Street'' movement. A majority of those protest supporters are Democrats, but the anger about politics in general is much more widespread, the poll indi- cates. ''They've got reasons to be upset, they've got reasons to protest, but they're protesting against the wrong people,'' Jan Jarrell, 54, a retired school custodian from Leesville, S.C., says of the New York demonstra- tors. ''They need to go to Washington, to Congress and the White House. They're the ones coming up with all the rules.'' ''Occupy Wall Street'' has been called the liberal counterpoint to conserva- tive-libertarian tea party, which injected a huge dose of enthusiasm into the Republican Party and helped it win the House and make gains in the Senate last fall. Bachmann staff in New Hampshire quits EXETER, N.H. (AP) — Republican presiden- tial candidate Michele Bachmann is losing her New Hampshire staff. As many as five staffers for- mally left Bachmann's campaign this week, two people with direct knowl- edge of the situation said Friday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose internal workings of the campaign. Bachmann spokes- woman Alice Stewart dis- puted reports of a staff shakeup, saying: ''We have a great team in New Hampshire. We haven't been notified that any- one's left the campaign.'' Still, Stewart said that she hadn't been able to reach the top New Hamp- shire staff to confirm they were still on board. She said she had reached some junior staffers who didn't say they were leav- ing. Campaign finance reports show that Bach- mann, who has fallen in polls and struggled to raise money, had five paid staff in New Hampshire as recently as late Sep- tember. The Republican presi- dential contender has largely ignored the first- in-the-nation primary state in recent months. She has been focused on Iowa and South Carolina, where her social conserv- ative message has more appeal. Rubio denies embellishing his parents' story of leaving Cuba MIAMI (AP) — In Florida, where Cuba and Fidel Castro can be high- ly combustible political issues, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is defend- ing himself against alle- gations he embellished his family's story in say- ing his parents left the island after Castro came to power. So far, prominent members of the Cuban American community are standing by him, including the head of one of Miami's oldest and most respected exile groups, who said Friday he is willing to give the rising GOP star a pass. The 40-year-old freshman senator has always publicly identi- fied with the exile com- munity and has a strong following within it. Rubio's biography on his Senate website says he was ''born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who come to America follow- ing Fidel Castro's takeover.'' And in a cam- paign ad last year, he said: ''As the son of exiles, I understand what it means to lose the gift of freedom.'' But The Washington Post reported that Rubio's parents actually left Cuba in 1956, nearly three years before Castro seized power in a revolu- tion against dictator Ful- gencia Batista. Rubio's father was a store securi- ty guard when he and his wife left, according to Rubio's staff, and came to the U.S. for economic reasons. Rubio responded to the story with a state- ment saying his parents had tried to return to Cuba in March 1961 but quickly left because they did not want to live under communism. COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. To volunteer please call or text 209-2644 (Bilinguals needed)