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BySethBorenstein The Associated Press WASHINGTON ElNiñothis winter will leave a big wet but not necessarily snowy footprint on much of the United States, including parched California, fore- casters said Thursday. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administra- tion issued its winter fore- cast and "the driver of this winter's outlook is El Niño," said Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. El Niño changes weather worldwide, mostly affecting the United States in winter. The weather pattern hap- pens every few years when the Pacific Ocean warms up around the equator. This year's is one of the stron- gest El Niños on record. NOAA expects a cooler and wetter winter for the South. For California, more precipitation than usual is expected during the criti- cal time that its reservoirs usually fill, but there's no guarantee. Only northern tier states, the Ohio Valley states and Alaska should be dry. W hile California's drought is likely to lessen in January, even the wet- test winter on record — 33 years ago — didn't have enough rain to wash out the current four-year drought, said NOAA hydrologist Alan Haynes of the Califor- nia Nevada River Forecast Center. Forecasters see a milder, warmer winter north of the Mason-Dixon line and for all of California and Ne- vada. Texas and the Deep South are forecast to be cold. Overall, the nation should have 2 percent fewer days when people have to fire up their furnaces, said Halpert. He said the North- east, where it was chilly and snowy last year, should see 6 percent fewer heating days. Because of El Niño, NOAA is more confident than usual that its forecast is on target — 70 percent for a wet South, Halpert said. The federal winter fore- cast doesn't address snow, just wet or dry and warm or cold. Even though it's likely to be both cooler and wet- ter in the South, it is usu- ally so warm there that it needs a blast of Arctic air for snowstorms and that's not looking likely, Halpert said. And while the north is likely to be warmer, past El Ninos have had some big snowstorms. Historically, because there's more storminess during El Niños, there's been a slight but not great increase in snow- fall in the Northeast dur- ing El Ninos, said NOAA El Niño expert Michelle L'Heureux. But that could be skewed by a few big years in the past like the winter of 2009-10, she said. The Great Lakes area tends to get less snow dur- ing El Ninos, she said. Private forecast firm Weather Bell Analytics predicts a swath from New Mexico across to the Caroli- nas and up the coast to Con- necticut will get 50 percent more snow than usual. AccuWeather, another private firm, sees severe thunderstorms in Florida, but forecasts less lake-ef- fect snow around the Great Lakes, occasional mild days for the Midwest and says it will be "not as brutal" for the Northeast. WEATHER NOAA:ThankstoElNiño,US looks pretty wet this winter NOAA This combination of images provided by NOAA shows the three-month temperature, le , and precipitation forecasts for the U.S. The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A Califor- nia man has been released from prison after being ex- onerated from a conviction of child molestation. Larry Pohlschneider, 48, walked free last week after serving nearly 15 years of a 24-year sentence at Corco- ran state prison, The Sacra- mento Bee reported. Afternoticingaflierinthe prison's library, Pohlschnei- der contacted the Santa Clara University School of Law's Northern California Innocence Project. With their help, his 2000 convic- tion should be vacated and charges dismissed for inef- fective assistance from his trial attorney. If he is found "factually innocent" in a hearing next month, he will be compen- sated about $766,500 for the time he spent prison. "I still find it hard to be- lieve that someone could be convicted of a crime that never happened," Pohlschneider said by tele- phone Wednesday. He told the Sacramento Bee that he feels "just kind of numb and a little relieved." His ex-wife's second hus- band, Albert Earl Harris, pleaded guilty to molesting three of the family's young children. But when a phy- sician assistant examined the kids said they had been molested by a second per- son, investigators focused on Pohlschneider. CHILD MOLESTATION CONVICTION California man exonerated a er 15 years in prison By Stephen Ohlemacher The Associated Press WASHINGTON Older Americans got a double dose of bad news Thurs- day: There will be no cost- of-living increase in Social Security benefits next year, and Medicare bills are set to soar for many. It's just the third time in 40 years that Social Secu- rity payments will remain flat. All three times have come since 2010. The annual cost-of-liv- ing adjustment, or COLA, by law is based on a gov- ernment measure of in- flation that was released Thursday. Low gas prices — a boon to all Americans — are driving down con- sumer prices. Currently the average price of a gal- lon of regular gasoline is $2.30, about 90 cents less than it was a year ago, ac- cording to AAA. Regardless of inflation, the lack of a COLA isn't sitting well with many se- niors, especially those on a fixed income. "The price of food has gone up. (The) price of where you live has gone up unless you live in a gov- ernment-assisted place. Where are you going to get the money to live on?" said Susan Bradshaw, who lives in a retirement community in Atlanta. The COLA announce- ment did bring some good tax-related news for high- income workers. Social Security is fi- nanced by a 12.4 per- cent tax on wages up to $118,500, with half paid by workers and the other half paid by employers. The amount of wages subject to Social Security taxes usu- ally goes up each year. But because there is no COLA, it will remain at $118,500. But as far as benefits are concerned, the lack of a COLA will affect more than 70 million people, over one- fifth of the nation's popu- lation. Almost 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The average monthly pay- ment is $1,224. It will also trigger a spike in Medicare de- ductibles and premiums, though dozens of advocacy groups are lobbying Con- gress to prevent that. Most Social Security re- cipients have their Medi- care Part B premiums for outpatient care deducted directly from their Social Security payments, and the annual cost-of-living increase is usually enough to cover any rise in premi- ums. When that doesn't happen, a long-standing federal "hold harmless" law protects the majority of beneficiaries from hav- ing their Social Security payments reduced. But that leaves about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries on the hook for a premium increase that otherwise would be spread among all. Those who would pay the higher premiums include 2.8 mil- lion new beneficiaries, 1.6 million whose premiums aren't deducted from their Social Security payments, and 3.1 million people with higher incomes. Their premiums could jump by about $54 a month, to $159. Those with higher incomes could get bigger increases. States also would feel a budget impact because they pay part of the Medi- care premium for about 10 million low-income benefi- ciaries. Also, all Medicare bene- ficiaries will see their Part B annual deductible for outpatient care jump by $76, to an estimated $223. The deductible is the an- nual amount patients pay before Medicare kicks in. TheWhiteHouse,mean- while, has said administra- tion officials are exploring options to mitigate the in- crease in Medicare costs. COST OF LIVING Benefits won't increase for Social Security next year Thiscouldbeyourluckyday by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... Ad Sponsorship $ 25 Call Suzy 737-5056 RedBluffDailyNews ELI Paws & Claws TEHAMACOUNTYANIMAL SHELTER 1830 Walnut Street P.O. Box 38 • Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-3439 CORNING ANIMAL SHELTER 4312 Rawson Rd. Corning, CA 96021 (530) 824-7054 ADOPT A PET TODAY Perhapsthe best bundled business promotion package in the North State! 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