Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/58506
8A Daily News – Thursday, March 15, 2012 WORLD BRIEFING Obama, Cameron outline shift to support role in Afghanistan WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to show momentum in a war marred by setbacks, Pres- ident Barack Obama and British Prime Minster David Cameron said for the first time Wednesday that NATO forces would hand over the lead combat role to Afghanistan forces next year as the U.S. and its allies aim to get out by the end of 2014. The announcement added both clarity and urgency to the path of a war that has fallen into a demoralizing period, rocked by the burnings of Qurans at a U.S. base, deadly protests against Americans and a shooting rampage, alleged against a U.S. soldier, that left 16 Afghan civilians dead. Yet Obama made clear those incidents, and inten- sifying political pressure surrounding them, will not lead him to bring American troops home sooner. He said he still plans to gradually withdraw forces through 2014 as Afghan forces take on more responsibility, cautioning no one should expect ''any sudden, additional changes'' in the pace of withdrawal. The trials of war, bloodshed in Syria and a nuclear standoff in Iran dominated questioning at a joint appearance by Obama and Cameron at the White House. By con- trast, the personal tone of their visit has been all ease as Obama has lav- ished attention on his younger ally, from a col- lege basketball tourna- ment game on Tuesday night to the magnolia blossoms of the Rose Garden where their news conference was held. It was all to be capped by a glitzy state dinner on the South Lawn. Soldier accused in shooting flown out of Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The American soldier accused of shoot- ing 16 Afghan villagers in a pre-dawn killing spree was flown out of Afghanistan on Wednes- day to an undisclosed location, even as many Afghans called for him to face justice in their coun- try. Afghan government officials did not immedi- ately respond to calls for comment on the late-night announcement. The U.S. military said the transfer did not preclude the pos- sibility of trying the case in Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the sol- dier could receive capital punishment if convicted. Many fear a misstep by the U.S. military in han- dling the case could ignite a firestorm in Afghanistan that would shatter already tense relations between the two countries. The alliance appeared near the breaking point last month when the burning of Qurans in a garbage pit at a U.S. base sparked protests and retaliatory attacks that killed more than 30 people, including six U.S. soldiers. In recent days the two nations made headway toward an agreement gov- erning a long-term Amer- ican presence here, but the massacre in Kandahar province on Sunday has called all such negotia- tions into question. Afghan lawmakers have demanded that the soldier be publicly tried in Afghanistan to show that he was being brought to justice, calling on Presi- dent Hamid Karzai to sus- pend all talks with the U.S. until that happens. GOP race: No primary too minor WASHINGTON (AP) — An upbeat Rick Santo- rum barreled into Puerto Rico on Wednesday in pursuit of another cam- paign-bending victory in a Republican presidential race where suddenly no primary is too minor nor any delegate is conceded. Up north, Mitt Romney put nearly $1 million into television advertising in Illinois, the next big-state showdown. ''If we keep winning races, eventually people are going to figure out that Gov. Romney is not going to be the nominee,'' said Santorum, eager to build on Tuesday's unex- pected victories in Alaba- ma and Mississippi. Romney rebutted sug- gestions that he can't appeal to core conserva- tives. ''You don't win a million more votes than anyone else in this race by just appealing to high- income Americans,'' he said. ''Some who are very conservative may not be in my camp, but they will be when I become the nominee, when I face Barack Obama.'' Despite losing twice in the South, a region he hoped to own in the race, Newt Gingrich showed no sign of abandoning his fading campaign. That presumably suit- ed Romney fine. But not so much Santorum, eager for a race in which he is the sole challenger on the right for Romney, the for- mer Massachusetts gover- nor. Bus crash in Swiss tunnel kills 28 people SION, Switzerland (AP) — A tourist bus slammed head-on into a concrete wall in a Swiss Alps tunnel, killing 28 people, mostly children returning from a ski vaca- tion. Swiss police said Wednesday the vehicle was not speeding and everyone was wearing seat belts. The bus was carrying students about age 12 from two different Bel- gian schools when it crashed shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday night on a highway near the south- ern town of Sierre, Switzerland. The horrific accident in the short Tunnel de Geronde left the front of the bus mangled, trapping people inside. Twenty- two school children and six adults including the driver were killed and another 24 children were hospitalized in what the police chief described as a ''scene like a war.'' Belgium flew anxious parents and relatives to the site and called for a day of mourning. Authorities were still trying to work out how a modern bus, a rested dri- ver and a safe tunnel could add up to such a tragedy. 'Muppet' essay is latest in tradition of bridge- burning NEW YORK (AP) — Sometimes, giving two weeks' notice just isn't enough. The Goldman Sachs muppet manifesto — a departing executive's lengthy and very public screed against the compa- ny's blind pursuit of prof- its — is only the latest example of taking bridge- burning to an art form. Greg Smith wrote that he once had pride in his employer but had watched it decay into a ''toxic and destructive'' environment where little or no thought is given to clients, only how to ''make the most possible money off of them.'' The essay was splashed on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, sent shock waves through Wall Street and gave the fed-up cubicle- dweller a new stick-it-to- the-man hero. Let's face it: Who hasn't wanted to storm into their boss's office and tell them where to put that quarterly report? ''Complaining about your job, next to baseball, is the national pastime,'' said Michelle Goodman, author of ''The Anti 9 to 5 Guide.'' Virginia Tech negligent for delayed response CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — A jury found Virginia Tech negligent on Wednesday for waiting to warn students about a gunman during a 2007 campus massacre that left 33 dead. Jurors deliberated for 3 1/2 hours before siding with the parents of two students who were killed on April 16, 2007, in the most deadly mass shoot- ing in modern U.S. histo- ry. Their wrongful death civil lawsuit argued that lives could have been spared if school officials had moved more quickly to alert the campus after the first two victims were shot in a dorm. The mas- sacre ended later in the morning with the deaths 31 more people, including the gunman, at a class- room building. The state was the lone young children, and the second fatality. The spate of gun violence is raising questions about the effec- tiveness of the state's gun laws and community awareness of firearm safe- ty. Tacoma police Officer Naveed Benjamin said the 3-year-old boy's death highlights the need for people to secure guns. ''It is incredible in light of the other ones,'' Benjamin said. ''You would think people would take more care, not less.'' Tacoma police said the boy's death came after his father put his pistol under a seat and got out to pump gas while the mother went inside the convenience story. The boy's infant sister, who also was in the car when the gun went off, was not injured. Critics of treating meat gaining ground ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) defendant in the case and argued that the university did all that it could with the information available at the time. President Charles W. Steger and other university officials have said they initially believed the first two shootings were isolated instances of domestic vio- lence. The jury awarded $4 million each to the fami- lies of Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, but the state immediately filed a motion to reduce the award. State law requires the award to be capped at $100,000. ''The university's con- tention has been all along, to quote president Steger 'We did everything we could do,''' said Robert T. Hall, an attorney for the parents. ''Obviously the jury didn't buy that.'' Death of boy, 3, comes in spate of Wash. gun accidents SEATTLE (AP) — A 3-year-old scrambled out of his child seat after his parents stopped for gas early Wednesday, found a gun police say was left in the car by his father and fatally shot himself in the head. The accidental shoot- ing in Tacoma marks the third in three weeks in Washington involving — ''Pink slime'' just went from a simmer to a boil. In less than a week ear- lier this month, the stom- ach-turning epithet for ammonia-treated ground beef filler suddenly became a potent rallying cry by activists fighting to ban the product from supermarket shelves and school lunch trays. Though the term has been used pejoratively for at least several years, it wasn't until last week that social media suddenly exploded with worry and an online petition seeking its ouster from schools lit up, quickly garnering hundreds of thousands of supporters. ''It sounds disgusting,'' said food policy expert Marion Nestle, who notes that the unappetizing nickname made it easier for the food movement to flex its muscles over this cause. ''A lot of people have been writing about it. Therefore, more people know about it, therefore more people are queasy about it, particularly when you start thinking about how this stuff turns up in school lunches,'' said Nestle, a professor at New York University's Depart- ment of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health. Lohan says allegations she grazed man with her Porsche 'a business one of THE BEST? Is YOUR If so, you likely know by now! But if you have not yet placed an ad to say THANK YOU to your customers who voted you #1 in your business category, better call your Daily News advertising representative right away! D NEWSAILY (530) 527-2151 RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY complete lie' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lindsay Lohan said Wednesday that allega- tions that her car grazed a man's knee outside a Hollywood nightclub are ''a complete lie.'' Lohan went straight to her 3 million Twitter followers to respond to the latest in a long-line of car-related troubles for the ''Mean Girls'' actress and recent ''Sat- urday Night Live'' host. ''This is all a com- plete lie. I've been at community service,'' Lohan tweeted on her official account. ''These false accusations are absurd.'' According to police, Lohan's black Porsche was surrounded by paparazzi outside the club at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. The man told officers her sports car grazed his knee out- side the club. Lohan drove off and a police report wasn't taken because the man, an employee of the Hookah Lounge near the club, wasn't hurt, Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Ro said. for space reservations in the official "Best of Tehama" edition is DEADLINE Thursday, March 22 at 5 PM.