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Wednesday, March 21, 2012 – Daily News (AP) — Stocks closed lower Tuesday for only the second time in two weeks after two reports suggested an economic slowdown in China, where blistering growth over the past three years has helped sustain the global economic recov- ery. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 4.23 points at 1,405.52. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 4.17 points to 3,074.15. Brian Gendreau, a Home prices dropped in 45 Chinese cities last month, a result of govern- ment policies designed to reduce property specula- tion. And BHP Billiton, a mining company, predict- ed that China will not use much more iron ore in 2020 than it does today. In the United States, stocks recovered some of their early loss but still closed lower. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 68.94 points to 13,170.19. It had been down as much as 116 points. Strong 7.4 earthquake shakes Mexico City MEXICO CITY (AP) — A strong 7.4-magni- tude earthquake hit cen- tral and southern Mexico on Tuesday, collapsing at least 60 homes near the epicenter and a pedestrian bridge in the capital where people fled shaking office buildings in fear. One of the strongest to shake Mexico since the deadly 1985 temblor that killed thousands in Mexi- co City, Tuesday's earth- quake sent fear and panic across the region, espe- cially after a less power- ful, magnitude-5.1 after- shock was felt in the capi- tal and several other after- shocks around the borders of Oaxaca and Guerrero near the epicenter. But hours after the shaking at noon local time (18:06 GMT), there were still no reports of death or serious injury. ''It was very strong, very substantial,'' said Campos Benitez, hospital director in Ometepec, about 15 miles (25 kilo- meters) from the epicen- ter. Police radio operator Marcos Marroquin said there were preliminary reports of 60 houses dam- aged in the municipality but only a report of a bro- ken arm. Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre, who is from Ometepec, was headed there to survey the damage. House GOP plan would cut spending much more than Obama WASHINGTON (AP) — Mixing deep cuts to safety-net programs for the poor with politically risky cost curbs for Medicare, Republicans controlling the House unveiled an election-year budget blueprint Tuesday that paints clear campaign differences with President Barack Obama. The announcement reignited a full-throated budget battle. Republi- cans cast themselves as stepping up to a federal deficit crisis long ignored by both parties, while Democrats and their allies responded with promises to protect the elderly and the poor from drastic cuts they said would harm the most vulnerable Ameri- cans. The GOP plan doesn't have a chance of becom- ing law this year — the Democratic-controlled Senate has no plans to even take it up — but it provides a sharp election- season contrast to the budget released by market strategist at the brokerage Cetera Finan- cial Group, said traders were concerned about slower growth in India and Brazil as well. That could rein in a rally that has driven the S&P up almost 12 percent this year. ''If there were skeptics out there that the market might have gotten a little ahead of itself, this was all the news they needed,'' Gendreau said. Mining companies, which rely on rising demand from the develop- ing world, plunged. Obama last month. His proposal would rely on tax increases on the wealthy to curb trillion- dollar-plus deficits but for the most part would leave alone key benefit pro- grams such as Medicare. The Republican pro- posal, released by House Budget Committee Chair- man Paul Ryan, would wrestle the federal spend- ing deficit to a manage- able size in short order, but only by cutting Med- icaid, food stamps, Pell Grants and a host of other programs that Obama and other Democrats have promised to defend. The plan calls for steep drops in personal and cor- porate tax rates in exchange for clearing away hundreds of tax deductions and prefer- ences. It would eliminate oft-criticized corporate tax boondoggles but also tax deductions and credits claimed by the poor and middle class. Villagers are convinced slaying of 16 civilians was in retaliation KAND AHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Res- idents of an Afghan vil- lage near where an Amer- ican soldier is alleged to have killed 16 civilians are convinced that the slayings were in retalia- tion for a roadside bomb attack on U.S. forces in the same area a few days earlier. In accounts to The Associated Press and to Afghan government offi- cials, the residents allege that U.S. troops lined up men from the village of Mokhoyan against a wall after the bombing on either March 7 or 8, and told them they would pay a price for the attack. The lawyer for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused in the March 11 killings of the 16 civilians, has said that his client was upset because a buddy had lost a leg in an explosion on March 9. It's unclear if the bombing cited by attorney John Henry Browne was the same as the one described by the villagers that prompted the alleged threats. After a meeting at a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Browne said Bales told him a roadside bomb blew off the leg of one of his friends two days before the shootings occurred. A spokesman for the U.S. military declined to give any information on the bombing or even con- firm that it occurred, cit- ing the investigation of the shootings. He also declined to comment on the allegation that U.S. troops threatened retalia- tion. Peabody Energy fell 5.4 percent, Cliffs Natural Resources 2.4 percent and U.S. Steel 0.9 percent. Energy stocks were the worst-performing group in the S&P 500. Caterpillar, the maker of heavy equipment, led the Dow lower and slid 2.6 percent after it said global sales are growing more slowly. Bank of America, by far the most active stock in the Dow, led the average with a 2.9 percent gain. Besides the report on home prices and the pre- diction of weaker demand for iron ore, which is used to make steel, China raised the price of gaso- line for the second time in two months. That could hurt demand for fuel. China's economy grew at an annual rate of 8.9 percent in the last three months of 2011, but the government, which is worried that the economy will overheat, has set a growth target of 7.5 per- cent this year. Commodity prices fell broadly, also because of concerns about Chinese demand. Copper fell almost 2 percent. Plat- inum and palladium also fell. Gold fell more than $20 an ounce to $1,647 and is down 8 percent this month. The price of oil dropped $2.48 to $105.61 in New York trading. In addition to the worry about China, oil fell because Saudi Arabia promised to fulfill any shortfalls in global supply because of the standoff over Iran's nuclear pro- gram. Yields for U.S. govern- ment debt fell slightly after rising for nine con- secutive days. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.33 per- cent, from 2.36 late Mon- day, but had recovered to 2.36 percent later Tues- day. industry. 5B Worry about Chinese demand drives US stocks lower Wall Street European indexes fell. The dollar rose against the euro. Traders tend to buy what they consider safer currencies, such as the dollar, when they are worried about the global economy. The euro fell to $1.322 from $1.324 late Monday. The U.S. Commerce Department released a mixed report on the hous- ing market. Builders broke ground on fewer homes in February, though they obtained more permits to build homes later in the year. Gendreau said the report's impact on trading was mild because most housing data in recent months have signaled a modest revival for the WORLD BRIEFING New clue may help uncover fate of Earhart WASHINGTON (AP) — A new clue in one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries could soon uncover the fate of American aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing without a trace over the South Pacific 75 years ago, investigators said Tues- day. Syrian forces take city from rebels BEIRUT (AP) — Syri- an soldiers backed by tanks seized the eastern city of Deir el-Zour from rebels on Tuesday, the lat- est opposition stronghold to fall to an offensive by the better equipped Syrian military. Activist Osama Man- sour said government troops and armored cars entered the city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Iraqi border from four sides, sparking short gunbattles with fighters from the Free Syrian Army. Mansour, reached by telephone in Deir el-Zour, said the rebels quit fight- ing and took shelter in homes and apartments, fearing that protracted clashes would destroy the city. Taking back rebel-held cities in the past weeks, government troops have often heavily shelled neighborhoods before sending in troops, killing civilians and damaging buildings. ''They knew they could not hold control of the neighborhoods, so they decided to stop fight- ing, knowing that the regime would bring in heavy weapons and kill many civilians,'' Mansour said. Lawyer: Fla. teen said he was being followed SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — An unarmed black teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch captain told his girlfriend he was being followed shortly before the con- frontation that killed him, a lawyer said Tuesday as federal and state prosecu- tors announced they would investigate. '''Oh he's right behind me, he's right behind me again,''' 17-year-old Trayvon Martin told his girlfriend on his cell- phone, the Martin fami- ly's attorney said. The girl later heard Martin say, ''Why are you following me?'' Another man asked, ''What are you doing around here?''' attorney Benjamin Crump said. The phone call that recorded Martin's final moments was disclosed as the U.S. Justice Depart- ment opened a federal civil rights probe into the Feb. 26 shooting and the local prosecutor convened a grand jury to investi- gate. The neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, has not been charged and has said he shot Martin, who was returning to a gated com- munity in Sanford after buying candy at a conve- nience store, in self- defense after Martin attacked him. Police say Zimmerman is white; his family says he is Hispan- ic. Suspect's lawyer is planning Afghan trip FORT LEAVEN- WORTH, Kan. (AP) — The lawyer for the Army staff sergeant suspected of killing 16 Afghan civil- ians questioned Tuesday the quality of the evidence against his client and said he planned to travel to Afghanistan to gather his own. John Henry Browne said he met with Robert Bales for 11 hours over two days at Fort Leaven- worth, where his client is being held. He added that there was still a lot he did- n't know about the March 11 shootings. ''I don't know about the evidence in this case. I don't know that the gov- ernment is going to prove much. There's no forensic evidence. There's no con- fessions,'' Browne said outside his hotel near the post. ''I'm certainly not say- ing that we're not taking responsibility for this in the right way, at the right time. But for now, I'm interested in what the evi- dence is,'' he said. ''It's not like a crime scene in the United States.'' Browne said there were legal, social and political issues linked to the case and how it will be prosecuted. ''The war's on trial. I'm not putting the war on trial,'' he said. ''I'm not putting the war on trial, but the war is on trial.'' Congress' tax experts say Buffett rule would raise just $31B WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill designed to enact President Barack Obama's plan for a ''Buffett rule'' tax on the wealthy would rake in just $31 billion over the next 11 years, according to an estimate by Congress' official tax analysts obtained by The Associated Press. That figure would be a drop in the bucket of the over $7 trillion in federal budget deficits projected during that period. It is also minuscule compared to the many hundreds of billions it would cost to repeal the alternative minimum tax, which Obama's budget last month said he would replace with the Buffett rule tax. The alternative mini- mum tax, originally aimed at ensuring that wealthy Americans pay taxes despite deductions and other breaks, has begun affecting upper middle- class families. Congress acts every year to minimize its impact. The Buffett rule has become a leading symbol of Obama's and congres- sional Democrats' election- year efforts to persuade vot- ers that they are the party championing economic fairness. Republicans have mocked it as one aimed at scoring political points that would have little real bud- getary impact. The plan is named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has said taxes on the rich are too low. Obama has proposed requiring that people earn- ing at least $1 million annu- ally pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, but has provided few details. Enhanced analysis of a photograph taken just months after Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane vanished shows what experts think may be the landing gear of the air- craft protruding from the waters off the remote island of Nikumaroro, in what is now the Pacific nation of Kiribati, they said. Armed with that analysis by the State Department, historians, scientists and salvagers from The International Group for Historic Air- craft Recovery, are returning to the island in July in the hope of find- ing the wreckage of Earhart's plane and per- haps even the remains of the pilot and her naviga- tor Fred Noonan. Ric Gillespie, execu- tive director of the group, acknowledged that the evidence was ''circumstantial'' but ''strong'' but stopped short of predicting suc- cess. The new search is scheduled to last for 10 days in July and will use state-of-the-art underwa- ter robotic submarines and mapping equipment. ''The most important thing is not whether we find the ultimate answer or what we find, it is the way we look,'' he said. ''We see this opportunity to explore ... the last great American mystery of the 20th century as a vehicle for demonstrat- ing how to go about fig- uring out what is true.'' Zsa Zsa Gabor's care subject of LA court case LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zsa Zsa Gabor's only daughter asked a judge on Tuesday to place her mother in a conservator- ship that will indepen- dently control the ailing glamor queen's medical care and financial needs. Constance Francesca Hilton claims Gabor's husband, Frederic von Anhalt, has been isolating her 95-year-old mother and leaving her heavily sedated. She also ques- tioned whether her moth- er's finances are being properly handled by von Anhalt. Germany's DAX lost 1.4 percent, France's CAC- 40 1.3 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 1.2 percent. Among the companies making big moves in the U.S. on Tuesday: — Tiffany & Co., the jeweler, jumped 6.7 per- cent after it said it expects higher profits and revenue this year. — Adobe Systems Inc., a maker of graphic design software, fell 3.9 percent after its quarterly profit fell sharply because of higher operat- ing costs. — Lions Gate Enter- tainment Corp., the movie studio, rose 7.2 percent and hit a one-year high. ''The Hunger Games,'' a science-fiction action movie opening Friday, could be a hit.