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10B Daily News – Saturday, February 25, 2012 Furniture DEPOT 235 S Main St., Red Bluff 530 527-1657 www.thefurnituredepot.net HOURS: MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:00-6:00 SATURDAY 9:00-5:00 • SUNDAY 11:00-5:00 Romney says he would raise Medicare eligibility age DETROIT (AP) — Four days before critical primary elections, Republican presi- dential contender Mitt Romney outlined a far- reaching plan Friday to gradually delay Americans' eligibility for Medicare as well as Social Security. Romney said the shift, as people live longer, is needed to steer the giant benefit programs toward economic sustainability. Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club — in cav- ernous Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions football team plays — he also made a play for primary election support in Michigan, which votes on Tuesday along with Arizona. Romney said previous steps to toughen govern- ment emission standards had ''provided a benefit to some of the foreign automakers'' at the expense of American companies. He said future changes should be worked out cooperative- ly between government and industry. Campaigning in the city where he was born, Rom- ney described himself as ''a car guy'' who has a Ford Mustang and a Chevy pick- up and whose wife, Ann, drives ''a couple of Cadil- lacs.'' Aides said they were model year 2007 and 2010 SRX vehicles, one each reg- istered in Massachusetts and California. 'Friends of Syria' pledge support for opposition TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted Russia and China as ''despicable'' for opposing U.N. action aimed at stop- ping the bloodshed in Syria, and more than 60 nations began planning a civilian peacekeeping mission to deploy after the Damascus regime halts its crackdown on the opposition. In his most forceful words to date on the Syrian crisis, President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies would use ''every tool available'' to end the blood- shed by the government of President Bashar Assad. ''It is time to stop the Making Room for Our New Merchandise 50-60% off retail WORLD BRIEFING killing of Syrian citizens by their own government,'' Obama said in Washington, adding that it ''absolutely imperative for the interna- tional community to rally and send a clear message to President Assad that it is time for a transition. It is time for that regime to move on.'' Obama spoke as a group known as the Friends of Syria, led by the U.S. and European and Arab nations, met in Tunisia in the latest effort to halt the Assad regime's nearly year-old suppression of an anti-gov- ernment uprising. The group's actions are aimed at jolting Assad and his allies into accepting demands for a democratic transition, even as they are still unwilling to commit to military intervention. Tensions over Iran push oil prices up NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are approaching last year's highs as tensions increase over Iran's nuclear program. The rise pushed gasoline prices on Friday to a national average of $3.65 per gallon, the highest ever for this time of year. plies. One-fifth of the world's oil tankers pass through it every day. On Friday benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.94 to end the week at $109.77 per bar- rel in New York. Brent crude rose by $1.85 to finish at $125.47 per barrel in London. UN report notes rapidly expanding Western nations fear Iran is building a nuclear weapon and have been try- ing to force it to open its facilities to inspection. Iran has refused, turning away international inspectors this week for the second time this month. The United Nations said Friday that Iran has responded to the recent scrutiny by speeding up production of higher- grade enriched uranium, feeding concerns that it is developing a bomb. As both sides dig in for a protracted standoff, investors are snapping up oil contracts in case fighting breaks out in the heart of the one of the world's biggest oil-producing regions. ''Everyone's pricing in the potential for war now,'' independent analyst Stephen Schork said. ''Without a concrete resolu- tion, nobody knows how high this can go.'' Israel hasn't ruled out an attack on Iran, and Iran has said it is ready to strike pre- emptively, possibly target- ing the Strait of Hormuz, if it is threatened. The Persian Gulf passageway is a poten- tial choke point for oil sup- Iran activity VIENNA (AP) — Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher- grade enriched uranium over the last few months, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday, in a confi- dential report that feeds concerns about how quickly the Islamic republic could produce an atomic bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency report also said Iran failed to give a convincing explanation about a quan- tity of missing uranium metal. Diplomats say the amount unaccounted for is large enough to be used for experiments in arming a nuclear missile. the oldies still hanging around SAVE BIG on our Red Tag Sale up to $800 Instant Cash Discounts available on high efficiency heating & air conditioning systems Instant cash discount ends April 30th 2012 Financing available O.A.C. Some restrictions apply. See dealer for details replacement systems only. No new construction 527-5828 Cal. Lic. #233456