Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6020
US paratroopers, groups struggle to get aid to Haitians PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Hundreds of U.S. troops touched down in earthquake-shattered Port-au-Prince overnight and were soon handing out food and water to stricken survivors, as relief groups struggled to deliver aid Fri- day and fears spread of unrest in Haiti's fourth day of desperation. Pockets of looting flared across the capital. Small bands of young men and teenagers with machetes roaming down- town streets helped themselves to what- ever they could find in wrecked homes. ''They are scavenging everything. What can you do?'' said Michel Legros, 53, as he waited for help to search for seven relatives buried in his collapsed house. A Russian search-and-rescue team said the general insecurity was forcing them to suspend their efforts after nightfall. ''The situation in the city is very dif- ficult and tense,'' said team chief Salavat Mingaliyev, according to Russia's Inter- fax news agency. Hard-pressed government workers, meanwhile, buried thousands of bodies in mass graves. The Red Cross estimates 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake. Up to 50 percent of the buildings in the capital and other hard-hit areas were damaged or destroyed, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York. Administration allowing Haitians in US illegally to stay WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says it will allow Haitians already in the U.S. illegally to remain because of this week's catastrophic earthquake. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano granted the temporary pro- tected status on Friday. The protection is only available to Haitians already in the country as of last Tuesday. On Wednesday, Napolitano temporar- ily halted deportations of Haitians, even those already in detention. Temporary protected status is granted to foreigners who may not be able to return safely to their country because of a natural disaster, armed conflict or other reasons. Senate race gives urgency to health WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and top congressional Democrats closed in Friday on an agree- ment on cost and coverage disputes at the heart of sweeping health care legisla- tion, their marathon White House bar- gaining sessions given fresh urgency by an unpredictable Massachusetts Senate race. Negotiators are ''pretty close,'' Sen- ate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after returning to the Capitol in late afternoon. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the third- ranking House Democrat, said, ''Some- thing should be going to CBO very soon,'' an indication that aides were drafting the decisions made around the table in the White House Cabinet Room. The Congressional Budget Office is the official arbiter of the cost and extent of coverage that any legislation would pro- vide. No details were immediately avail- able, and congressional aides stressed the decisions made at the White House had had not yet been fully shared with the Democratic rank-and-file. One key obstacle appeared on its way to a resolution when Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., requested the elimination of an intensely controversial, one-of-a-kind federal subsidy to cover the entire cost of a Medicaid expansion in his home state. Obama jumps into Massachusetts fray BOSTON (AP) — His health care plan in peril, President Barack Obama laid on a last-minute campaign trip to Massachu- setts for Democrat Martha Coakley on Sunday with polls showing her struggling in an unexpectedly close race against Republican Scott Brown to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat. Vice President Joe Biden, trying to turn the focus of the race away from the presi- dent's embattled health care bill, joined the fray, sending an e-mail to Democrats assailing the Republican candidate for opposing Obama's just-announced plan to tax large Wall Street firms. The late-game White House aggres- siveness reflected a sudden deep concern among Democrats that they could lose a seat the party has controlled for more than half a century — and with it the 60th Sen- ate vote that is all that has kept alive the health care overhaul that Obama has spent his entire first year pushing toward pas- sage. Beyond that, a poor outcome for Coak- ley on Tuesday would make moderate Democrats ever more nervous about back- ing Obama on other issues out of concern about their own re-election chances in November, undercutting his presidency just as he's beginning his second year. On defense and on the attack, Coakley made the same argument as Biden Friday as she tried to appeal to an anti-govern- ment, pro-populism electorate. ''I'm standing with Main Street on this one. Scott Brown stands with Wall Street,'' she said. Brown countered at a campaign event later: ''There's only one candidate in this race who's a tax cutter — and it's not Martha Coakley.'' Democrats control 60 votes in the Sen- ate, enough to thwart a Republican fili- buster of Obama's near-complete health care plan. If Coakley wins, she has said, she will vote, as Kennedy did, with the 57 other Democrats and two independents who side with them. Brown has made clear he would vote against the health plan, which all other Republicans oppose, giving Senate Republicans the 41st vote they need to block the legislation. US buyers must beware in China GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — David Smith pushed a cart piled high with boxes of beads and other jewelry through a maze of shops at a wholesale market in southern China. The American shop owner said he would screen the trinkets for lead before they hit the shelves of his Arizona stores. But he was unaware of the recent discovery of hazardous levels of cadmium in Chinese- made children's jewelry. It's small U.S. buyers like Smith who are playing a key role in importing untested products from Chinese factories that ignore safety standards and cut corners to earn a bit more profit. They often fly into China for a whirl- wind buying trip and don't have the time or resources to properly assess their suppliers. Many don't bother to perform quality checks as the goods are being made. Blind faith is a key element in the business deal. Dressed in jeans, a brown plaid shirt and running shoes, Smith looked like he was ready to go hiking Friday as he maneuvered his cart full of boxes with ''Tucson'' written on them in black marker. He has been com- ing to China for 15 years, he said, and was confident he has developed a good eye for jewelry that might contain lead. Glitch makes the Internet lose track of Facebook SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Geor- gia mother and her two daughters logged onto Facebook from mobile phones last weekend and wound up in a startling place: strangers' accounts with full access to troves of private informa- tion. The glitch — the result of a routing problem at the family's wireless carrier, AT&T — revealed a little known securi- ty flaw with far reaching implications for everyone on the Internet, not just Facebook users. In each case, the Internet lost track of who was who, putting the women into the wrong accounts. It doesn't appear the users could have done anything to stop it. The problem adds a dimension to researchers' warnings that there are many ways online information — from mundane data to dark secrets — can go awry. Several security experts said they had not heard of a case like this, in which the wrong person was shown a Web page whose user name and password had been entered by someone else. It's not clear whether such episodes are rare or simply not reported. But experts said such flaws could occur on e-mail ser- vices, for instance, and that something similar could happen on a PC, not just a phone. ''The fact that it did happen is proof that it could potentially happen again and with something a lot more impor- tant than Facebook,'' said Nathan Hamiel, founder of the Hexagon Securi- ty Group, a research organization. Candace Sawyer, 26, says she imme- diately suspected something was wrong when she tried to visit her Facebook page Saturday morning. After typing Facebook.com into her Nokia smart phone, she was taken into the site without being asked for her user name or password. She was in an account that didn't look like hers. She had fewer friend requests than she remembered. Then she found a picture of the page's owner. Saturday, January 16, 2010 – Daily News – 3B The Voice of Tehama County Since 1885 Join the conversation.... www.redbluffdailynews.com Vita VIP Event Thursday the 21st of January New Year New You…With Obagi 5:00pm-7:30pm Come join us for a fun informative evening. 30% off Obagi Systems 25% off individual Obagi products 35% off Elastiderm Eye Cream (while supplies last) Raffle prize & other extraordinary door buster specials. Receive a FREE VISIA Complexion Analysis during event! The night will be about seizing the opportunity with the New Year and taking care of you and your skin. 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