Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/59280
Thursday, March 22, 2012 – Daily News 5A WORLD BRIEFING Obama, GOP foes seek upper hand on energy BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — Wooing a nation of increasingly angry motorists, President Barack Obama and his Republican rivals are all plunging into gas-pump politics, seeking the upper hand as energy becomes a driving issue in the elec- tion campaign. The president is defending his energy agenda this week, travel- ing Wednesday to a solar panel plant in Nevada and later to oil and gas fields in New Mexico and the site of a future oil pipeline in Oklahoma that the White House is promising to accelerate. At the same time, GOP opponents from front-runner Mitt Romney on down are vig- orously accusing him of stifling domestic produc- tion and betting on fool- hardy alternative energy methods over traditional oil drilling. With gasoline reaching $3.86 a gallon in the U.S. and apparently heading higher, the public is impa- tient for Obama — or someone in his place — to do something about it. In truth, a president has little direct control over gas prices, which have risen more than 50 cents a gallon since January in response to a standoff over Iran's nuclear pro- gram that has threatened to disrupt Middle East oil supplies. Well aware of Republi- cans' criticism, Obama's advisers argue that voters take a sophisticated view toward energy and think about it as a problem demanding long-term answers. They know that talk about future solutions may not satisfy people as they endure high prices, but they're betting that voters will side with the candidate they trust the most to deal with the issue — and they're deter- mined that that will be Obama. GOP dollars, endorsements shifting to Romney WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off a decisive vic- tory in Illinois, Mitt Rom- ney won critical establish- ment support Wednesday from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and got new help from former Sen. Bob Dole as he looks to unite the Republican Party behind his candidacy. Romney said he's ''almost there'' after pursuing the GOP nomina- tion for six years, and there are fresh signs that big GOP donors and other party fig- ures will follow Bush's lead The North State's premier supplier of stoves STOVE JUNCTION The Over 25 years of experience Accessories with purchase of any stove 20% OFF Stove Good through March 31, 2012 Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Expert Repair Work of All Types after sitting on the sidelines for much of the primary season. The son of one president and the brother of another, Bush had stayed out of the race for months. Some party elders publicly had urged him to become a candidate when it looked like Romney was having trouble closing the deal. On Wednesday, a day after Romney won Illi- nois by 12 points, Bush sig- naled that was no longer the case. ''Now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal con- servatism and job creation to all voters this fall,'' Bush said in a written statement that suggested the race is all but over. He congratulated the other Republican candi- dates ''for a hard-fought, thoughtful debate and pri- mary season.'' Dole, the former Senate Majority Leader and a Romney supporter, suggest- ed that rival Rick Santorum is getting close to a decision point on whether to stay in or surrender his bid for the nomination. Dole, who became the GOP nominee in 1996 on his third try, said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is ''probably finished, or almost fin- ished.'' ''Rick, I think, he's got a real problem. In every race, Romney is going to pick up delegates,'' Dole told The Associated Press in a tele- phone interview Wednes- day. ''It's getting close to the point where he's got to take a hard look at it.'' Standoff in Toulouse TOULOUSE, France (AP) — In a tense standoff, French riot police demand- ed the surrender Wednesday of a gunman who reported- ly boasted of shooting seven victims in an al-Qaida- linked terror spree aimed at ''bringing France to its knees.'' Hundreds of heavily armed police cordoned off streets around an apartment building in the southwestern city of Toulouse after a pre- dawn raid to arrest the sus- pect, Mohamed Merah, erupted into a firefight. Three police were wound- ed, the suspected holed up in the apartment and negoti- ations with the 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent dragged on for James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophthalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-4:30pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114 DENIM JEANS in stock KEEN UTILITY WORK BOOTS AND HIKERS KEEN PORTLAND Lightweight Aluminum Safety Toe Waterproof $ 219 +tax KEEN PITTSBURGH Heavy Duty Work Hiker Waterproof Super Comfort $ 169 +tax KEEN DETROIT Super Light But Tough Hiker Style Work Boot $ 139 +tax PRISON BLUES hours. Prosecutor Francois Molins said Merah was a self-taught radical Salafi who expressed glee at killing three Jewish chil- dren, a rabbi and three French paratroopers. Merah had been to Afghanistan twice and had trained in the Pakistani militant strong- hold of Waziristan, he said. Merah was planning to kill another soldier immi- nently, so police had to launch the 3 a.m. raid, Molins said. In the negotiations, Merah ''expresses no regret, only that he didn't have time to have more victims. And he even bragged, he said, of bringing France to its knees,'' the prosecutor said. Clue in the quest for a blood test for heart attack WASHINGTON (AP) — Too often, people pass a cardiac checkup only to col- lapse with a heart attack days later. Now scientists have found a clue that one day may help doctors deter- mine if a heart attack is imminent, in hopes of pre- venting it. Most heart attacks hap- pen when fatty deposits in an artery burst open, and a blood clot then forms to seal the break. If the clot is too big, it blocks off blood flow. The problem: Today's best tests can't predict when that's about to happen. ''We don't have a way to get at whether an artery's going to crack, the precur- sor to a heart attack,'' said Dr. Eric Topol, director of California's Scripps Trans- lational Science Institute. Wednesday, Scripps researchers reported a new lead — by searching peo- ple's blood for cells that appear to flake off the lining of a severely diseased artery. Secretary says Army examining mental health programs WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army inspector general is conducting a system-wide review of mental health facilities to determine whether psy- chiatrists overturned diag- noses of post-traumatic stress disorder to save money, a move that comes as the case of a U.S. sol- dier suspected of killing 16 Afghan civilians has brought fresh attention to the strains of war. Army Secretary John McHugh told Congress on Wednesday that the service is trying to deter- mine whether the change in diagnosis was isolated or a common practice. Sen. Patty Murray, D- Wash., who pressed McHugh at a committee hearing, said the forensic psychiatry unit at Madi- gan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis- McChord is being investi- gated for reversing diag- noses based on the expense of providing care and benefits to members of the military. ''Not only is it damag- ing for our soldiers, but it also really furthers the stigma for others that are — whether they're decid- ing to seek help or not today,'' Murray said. Since 2007, more than 40 percent of the cases involving candidates for retirement had been over- turned, according to sta- tistics cited by Murray. Of the 1,680 patients screened at Madigan, more than 690 had been diagnosed with post-trau- matic stress disorder. The psychiatric team reversed more than 290 of those diagnoses. ''The surgeon general (Lt. Gen. Patricia Horo- ho) has asked the inspec- tor general of the Army to go and examine all of the similar facilities and loca- tions,'' McHugh told Murray and members of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee. ''To this point, we don't see any evidence of this being systemic. But as you and I have discussed, we want to make sure that where this was inappro- priate, it was an isolated case, and if it were not, to make sure we address it as holistically as we're try- ing to address it at Madi- gan.'' House GOP charges ahead on tightfisted budget plan WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on a key House panel squared off Wednesday over a contro- versial GOP budget plan to sharply cut federal health care spending and safety-net programs like Albertson Training Center Daily and affordable classes: AHA/HCP or Pro-CPR Daycare EMS Approved Pediatric CPR/First Aid Industrial OSHA Approved CPR/First Aid Public Adult CPR & First Aid Wilderness First Aid Babysitting Safety Youth Water Safety 530-527-4997 80 Gurnsey Ave. - Red Bluff, CA 96080 (Behind Guy Rents) margescpr@juno.com food stamps as the chief means to wrestle trillion- dollar-plus deficits under control. The GOP plan is non- binding but calls for repealing President Barack Obama's health care plan while trans- forming Medicare into a voucher-like system in which the government subsidizes purchases of health insurance on the private market instead of directly paying doctor and hospital bills. The Medicare proposal won't be the subject of follow-up legislation under the arcane budget process on Capitol Hill. Nor do Republicans plan to pass a detailed propos- al to reform the nation's complicated, loophole- ridden tax code this year. But other elements of the measure are likely to advance this spring — at least in the GOP-dominat- ed House — as a 10-year, $261 billion package of cuts to replace deep, across-the-board spend- ing cuts slated to hit the Pentagon and domestic agencies in January. Those cuts were required under last year's budget pact because of the failure of the deficit ''supercom- mittee'' last fall. This spring's substitute cuts are likely to target, among other programs, food stamps, federal employee pensions, farm subsidies, and a proposal to require higher-income Medicare beneficiaries to pay higher premiums. Some of those ideas have been marched through the House before, only to die in the Democratic-con- trolled Senate, though the agriculture and food stamp cuts haven't — and may prove troublesome. UN chief says Syrian crisis could have global fallout BEIRUT (AP) — The ''extremely dangerous'' conflict in Syria could have global repercus- sions, U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday, as fresh violence erupted and an al-Qaida-inspired group claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Damascus. The uprising that began a year ago has transformed into an armed insurgency that many fear is pushing the country toward civil war. Because of Syria's close alliances with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, there are deep concerns that the violence could spread beyond the country's bor- ders, especially if other nations arm the rebels or send in their own troops. During a U.N. Security Council committee meet- ing Wednesday, the Unit- ed States, Britain, and France accused Iran of smuggling weapons to Syria to help put down the uprising. ''We do not know how events will unfold,'' Ban said during a speech in the Indonesian capital, Jakar- ta. ''But we do know that we all have a responsibili- ty to work for a resolution of this profound and extremely dangerous cri- sis ... that has potentially massive repercussions for the region and the world.'' Parents of teen shot to attend NYC 'Million Hoodie' march NEW YORK (AP) — The father of a black teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch cap- tain in Florida said he was ''honored'' by a march being planned for New York City in support of his son. ''I feel very honored that New York would do a rally in my son's honor,'' Tracy Martin told The Associated Press on Wednesday, hours before what was being called the Million Hoodie March was supposed to take place. ''It means a lot to me and my family knowing that people across the country, across the world, are coming together to get justice for Trayvon.'' Martin's son, 17-year- old Trayvon Martin, was killed Feb. 26, in Sanford, Fla. He was returning to a gated community in the city after buying candy at a convenience store. He was unarmed and wearing a hooded sweat shirt at the time. The shooter, George Zimmerman, has not been charged in the shooting and has said he shot the teen in self-defense after Martin attacked him. Police said Zimmerman is white; his family says he is Hispanic. LAST DAY! Thursday, March 22nd Nov. 2nd and Dec. 2nd Lassen View gymnasium Kindergarten Registration Lassen View School LAST DAY! LAST DAY! • 8:30 am until 2 pm Children must be five years old on or before November 1, 2012. If your child's birthday falls between , they will be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten. Please bring the following: • Child's legal birth certificate • Immunization records Call 527-5162 if you have questions. There will be a free kindergarten T-shirt and book for those that register on this day! 478 Antelope Blvd. • Red Bluff • 529-5466 "New" "New"