Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/55555
4B Daily News – Thursday, February 16, 2012 As many as 300 killed in Honduras prison fire TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — A fire started by an inmate tore through an overcrowded prison in Honduras, burn- ing and suffocating screaming men in their locked cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. As many as 300 people were killed in the world's deadliest prison fire in eight decades. The local governor, who was once a prison employee, told reporters Wednesday that an inmate called her moments before the blaze broke out and screamed: ''I will set this place on fire and we are all going to die!'' Comayagua Gov. Paola Castro said she called the Red Cross and fire brigade immediately. But firefighters said they were kept outside for half an hour by guards who fired their guns in the air, think- ing they had a riot or a breakout on their hands. Officials have long had little control over condi- tions inside many Hon- duran prisons, where inmates have largely unfettered access to cell phones and other contra- band. Survivors told investi- gators the unidentified inmate yelled ''We will all die here!'' as he lit fire to his bedding late Tues- day night in the prison in the central town of Comayagua, north of the capital of Tegucigalpa. The lockup housed people convicted of serious crimes such as homicide and armed robbery. Dempsey says status quo an option WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Repub- licans on Wednesday vowed to block the Obama administration from sharply cutting the U.S. nuclear force, calling potential reductions of as much as 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons ''reckless luna- cy.'' Pointing to the grow- ing number of trouble spots, from Iran to Syria to Egypt, members of the House Armed Services Committee said any sig- nificant cuts would under- mine the U.S. ability to deter aggression. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the administration is weigh- ing several options for new reductions from the current treaty limit of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the committee that no deci- sion has been made and maintaining the current level is one of the options. But that did little to assuage GOP lawmakers. ''I just want to go on record as saying that there are many of us that are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that this preposterous notion does not gain any real traction,'' said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. The most modest option under discussion would return the United States to a level not seen in more than half a centu- ry, when the Soviet Union and the U.S. pushed ahead in a Cold War nuclear arms race. The administration is weigh- ing at least three options for lower total numbers, cutting to around 1,000 to 1,100, 700 to 800, or 300 to 400. Lawmakers putting final touches on renewal of tax cut WASHINGTON (AP) — Anxious to avoid a bruising election-year fight, negotiators on Capi- tol Hill worked into Wednesday night ironing out final details of an agreement to extend a cut in the payroll taxes paid by most Americans. The legislation also would renew jobless benefits for millions more. The $150 billion mea- sure taking shape repre- sented a tactical retreat for Republicans, who were generally unenthusi- astic about the legislation but eager to move beyond the issue. With campaign season starting, they don't want President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress to be able to claim the GOP was stand- ing in the way of a mid- dle-class tax cut. In a rare burst of bipar- tisanship in a bitterly divided Congress, law- makers hoped to officially unveil the measure WORLD BRIEFING central Iran. Wednesday night so it could be voted on Friday in the House and then quickly pass the Senate. The legislation would continue a 2 percentage point cut in the Social Security payroll tax, renew jobless benefits averaging about $300 a week for people languish- ing for long periods on unemployment rolls, and protect doctors from a huge cut in their Medicare reimbursements. Obama was getting his licks in before the agree- ment was announced. Defiant Iran claims advances in nuclear fuel TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In defiant swipes at its foes, Iran said Wednesday it is dramatically closer to mastering the production of nuclear fuel even as the U.S. weighs tougher pres- sures and Tehran's sus- pected shadow war with Israel brings probes far beyond the Middle East. Iran further struck back at the West by indicating it was on the verge of imposing a midwinter fuel squeeze to Europe in retaliation for a looming boycott of Iranian oil, but denied reports earlier in the day that six nations had already been cut off. The uncompromising messages from Iran, how- ever, came with a counter- point. The official IRNA news agency said Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told Euro- pean Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that Iran is ready to return to talks with the U.S. and other world powers. The dual strategy — taking nuclear steps while proposing more talks — has become a hallmark of Iran's dealings for years and some critics have dis- missed it as a time-buying tactic. The advances claimed Wednesday could likely feed these views. In a live TV broadcast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was shown overseeing what was described as the first Iran- ian-made fuel rod inserted into a research reactor in northern Tehran. Sepa- rately, the semiofficial Fars agency reported that a ''new generation'' of Iranian centrifuges — used to enrich uranium toward nuclear fuel — had gone into operation at the country's main enrich- ment facility at Natanz in Christie defends flag decision NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday strongly defended his decision to have flags lowered to half-staff on Saturday for Whitney Houston, saying he rejects criticism that she ''forfeited the good things that she did'' because of her struggles with substance abuse. ''What I would say to everybody is there but for the grace of God go I,'' he said. The Republican gover- nor said his office has been receiving emails and other messages disparag- ing Houston and attacking his decision to have flags flown at half-staff at state government buildings Saturday, the day of her funeral in the Newark church where she sang in the choir as a child. Twitter was abuzz Wednesday with reaction to the decision by Christie, whose home is in Mendham, a wealthy town where Houston also had lived. In online postings, there were two main argu- ments against the honor for the ''I Will Always Love You'' singer, who died over the weekend in California at age 48: One was that it should be reserved for members of the military, first respon- ders and elected officials. The other was that it's wrong to honor a drug addict. Romney gambles by bashing auto bailout GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Republi- can presidential candidate Mitt Romney is wooing tea partyers in his home state of Michigan with a potentially risky strategy: blasting the auto industry bailout that many people credit with saving the state's most vital industry. The tactic seems designed to undermine Rick Santorum's popular- ity with conservatives who dislike government intervention in business, even when the results appear defensible. It also reinforces Romney's image as an experienced capitalist who under- stands the pain sometimes involved in making com- panies work. Santorum's fast rise in national polls has forced Romney to sharpen his criticisms of the former Pennsylvania senator. Santorum says his team will ''plant our flag'' in Michigan while also cam- paigning in other states. A Romney loss in Michigan's Feb. 28 pri- mary would be hugely embarrassing, or worse, to his campaign. His team has promoted an aura of inevitability for months, but Romney has failed to persuade the party's most conservative segments to embrace him. Romney's father was a top auto executive and three-term governor of Michigan, and Romney still holds big financial advantages over Santo- rum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. Thus far, he has bought far more TV advertising time than they have. Law proposed to penalize teachers who cuss in classrooms PHOENIX (AP) — A teacher's role may be to expand a student's vocab- ulary, but one Arizona lawmaker wants to make sure that doesn't include four-letter words. A state legislator has introduced a bill that would punish public school teachers if they use words that violate the obscenity and profanity guidelines set forth by the Federal Communications Commission. State Sen. Lori Klein introduced the measure because a parent in her district complained about a high school teacher using foul language. The words were ''total- ly inappropriate,'' and teachers that don't keep their language clean aren't setting a good example for students, she said. ''You're there to be educated,'' Klein said. ''You're not there to talk smack.'' Authorities believe counterfeit drugs are slipping into redbluffdailynews.com/jobs D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY the US WASHINGTON (AP) — The discovery that a fake version of the widely used cancer medicine Avastin is circulating in the United States is rais- ing new fears that the multibillion-dollar drug- counterfeiting trade is increasingly making inroads in the U.S. The practice has large- ly been relegated to poor countries with lax regula- tions. But with more med- icines and drug ingredi- ents for sale in the U.S. being manufactured over- seas, American authori- ties are afraid more coun- terfeits will find their way into this country, putting patients' lives at risk. The Avastin discovery follows other recent instances in the U.S. of counterfeiting, involving such drugs as Viagra, the cholesterol medicine Lip- itor and the weight-loss pill Alli. ''We do know there are counterfeits continuing to try and make their way onto the U.S. supply chain,'' said Connie Jung, an associate director in the Food and Drug Administration's office of drug security. The FDA announced Tuesday it is investigating fake vials of Avastin that were sold to at least 19 doctors or clinics, includ- ing 16 sites in California, two in Texas and one in Chicago. Tests showed the vials did not contain the active ingredient in Avastin, which is given intravenously in hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices to treat several types of cancer. Man suffers medical episode at Vegas grill LAS VEGAS (AP) — Laughing tourists were either cynical or confused about whether a man was really suffering a medical episode amid the ''doc- tor,'' ''nurses'' and health warnings at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, a restaurant owner said Wednesday. ''It was no joke,'' said Jon Basso, who promotes himself ''Doctor Jon,'' his scantily-clad waitresses as nurses and customers as patients. Basso said he could tell right away the man in his 40s eating a Triple Bypass burger was having trou- ble. He was sweating, shaking and could barely talk. Paramedics were called Saturday night, fire spokesman Tim Szymans- ki said, and the man was hospitalized. His name and information about his condition weren't made public. Giggles can be heard on the soundtrack of ama- teur video showing the man on a stretcher being wheeled out of the restau- rant where patrons pass an antique ambulance at the door and a sign: ''Caution! This establish- ment is bad for your health.'' Stanford surgeons put pacemaker in 15-minute-old premature newborn SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The name Jaya in Hindi means victorious. And little Jaya Maharaj was just that, when she became one of the small- est recipients of a pace- maker when she was just 15 minutes old. A team of doctors at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital determined the girl born nine weeks pre- mature had only hours to live if they did not per- form the surgery. Jaya, who was diag- nosed in the womb with a severe heart ailment, entered the world with a heart rate of 45 beats per minute. A health newborn heartbeat is 120 to 150 beats per minute. ''The only way to save this baby was to deliver the baby right away and then the pacemaker,'' said Dr. Katsuhide Maeda, the surgeon whose steady hand stitched the pace- maker's electrical leads to Jaya's walnut-sized heart. Stanford announced details of the operation this week.