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Clinton has two stents placed in heart artery NEW YORK (AP) — For- mer President Bill Clinton had two stents inserted in one of his heart arteries after being hospi- talized with chest pains, an adviser said Thursday. Clinton, 63, ''is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti's relief and long-term recovery efforts,'' said adviser Douglas Band. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton left Washing- ton and headed to New York to be with her husband, who underwent the procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospi- tal. Stents are tiny mesh scaf- folds used to prop open an artery after it is unclogged in an angioplasty procedure. Doctors thread a tube through a blood vessel in the groin to a blocked artery, inflate a balloon to flat- ten the clog, and slide the stent into place. That is a different treatment from what Clinton had in 2004, when clogged arteries first landed him in the hospital. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery because of four blocked arteries, some of which had squeezed almost completely shut. Angioplasty, which usually includes placing stents, is one of the most common medical procedures done worldwide. More than half a million stents are placed each year in the United States. US and Afghan troops, drawing fire, ring Taliban stronghold NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Tal- iban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine- year war. Taliban defenders repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at units poised in foxholes along the edge of the town, apparent- ly trying to lure NATO forces into skirmishes before the big attack. ''They're trying to draw us in,'' said Capt. Joshua Winfrey, 30, of Tulsa, Okla., commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battal- ion, 6th Marines. Up to 1,000 militants are believed holed up in Marjah, a key Taliban logistics base and center of the lucrative opium poppy trade. But the biggest threats are likely to be the land mines and bombs hidden in the roads and fields of the farming community, 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul. The precise date for the attack has been kept secret. U.S. officials have signaled for weeks they planned to seize Marjah, a town of about 80,000 people in Helmand province and the biggest community in southern Afghanistan under Taliban control. Iran marks revolution anniversary with crackdown TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Iranian security forces unleashed a crushing sweep against opposition protesters on Thursday as Presi- dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution to defy the West and boast his country was now a ''nuclear state.'' The massive show of force appeared to give authorities the upper hand on the most important day of the Iranian political calen- dar. The state-backed rally dwarfed anti-government gather- ings, which were far smaller than other outpourings of dissent in recent months. Police clashed with anti-gov- ernment protesters in several sites around Tehran, firing tear gas to disperse them and paintballs to mark them for arrest. Gangs of hard-liners also attacked senior opposition figures — including the wife of the head of the reform movement. Still, the day's events showed that authorities must rely on full- scale pressures to keep a lid on demonstrations, and any breathing room may be limited. Opposition supporters are certain to regroup and look for weak spots in the rul- ing system. In his address to a crowd of hundreds of thousands — many bused into Tehran's Freedom Square — Ahmadinejad sought to shift attention from the nation's political troubles, boasting instead about Iran's advancements in nuclear technology. He also dis- missed new U.S. sanctions and denigrated President Barack Obama's efforts to repair relations. Haitian judge poised to free 10 US missionaries PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The 10 U.S. missionar- ies facing trial for trying to take a busload of children out of Haiti should be released from jail while an investigation con- tinues, a Haitian judge said Thursday, giving the Americans their best news since their arrests nearly two weeks ago. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil has the final word on whether to free the missionaries, though he gave the prosecutor-general the opportunity to raise objections. He said he was accepting defense attorneys' request to provisionally free the Ameri- cans while an investigation of the case continues. It is unclear when the mis- sionaries, most from an Idaho Baptist church group, might be released, and Saint-Vil said it was too early to say whether they would be able to leave this earthquake-crippled Caribbean nation if granted provisional freedom. It is also unclear what bearing releasing the missionar- ies might have on whether they go to trial. Saint-Vil on Thursday pri- vately questioned the last of a group of parents who said they willingly gave their children to the Baptist missionaries, believ- ing the Americans would edu- cate and care for them. ''After listening to the fami- lies, I see the possibility that they can all be released,'' Saint- Vil told The Associated Press. ''I am recommending that all 10 Americans be released.'' Politics of snow: DC lawmakers, newspaper attack mayor WASHINGTON (AP) — The mayor of the nation's capi- tal and other politicians are feeling the heat for not moving faster to clear the streets of snow after the historic back-to- back blizzards that slammed the East Coast. ''Right now I'm miserable. We still can't get out,'' said Car- olyn Ward, who serves on a neighborhood commission in Washington. ''If they had a plan, it wasn't a good one.'' In Washington, which was blanketed with about 18 inches of snow over the weekend and 10 more on Tuesday and Wednesday, residents com- plained that snow removal by Mayor Adrian Fenty's adminis- tration seemed arbitrary, with some streets plowed numerous times, others not at all. At one point, 25 percent of the city's snowplows were out of com- mission, having broken down on the hard snow, officials said. Politicians heard similar complaints about slow or hap- hazard snow removal in Pitts- burgh, Baltimore and outlying areas of Maryland. How quickly the elected offi- cials get rid of the stuff could determine their political futures, a hard lesson learned over the years by some big-city mayors. Single mother who refused deployment to get discharge SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A single-mom soldier who says she refused to deploy to Afghanistan because she had no family able to care for her young son will be discharged from the military instead of fac- ing a court-martial, the Army said Thursday. Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, an Army cook stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, was arrested in November after skipping her unit's deployment flight. Hutchinson, 21, said she couldn't leave her son because her mother had backed out of plans to keep the child a few days before the soldier's sched- uled departure. The Army filed criminal charges last month against Hutchinson of Oakland, Calif., but a general at neighboring Fort Stewart chose to settle the case by granting her an admin- istrative discharge rather than try her in a military court. ''She's excited that she's no longer facing jail and can still be with her son, which is the most important thing,'' said Rai Sue Sussman, Hutchinson's civilian attorney. ''We're very happy about it right now.'' The decision still carries consequences for Hutchinson. She is being demoted in rank to private and will lose benefits afforded to military service members and veterans, Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Lar- son said. Feds please no one by passing on cutting off Great Lakes TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The surest way to keep rampaging Asian carp from gain- ing a foothold in the Great Lakes is to sever the link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin, created by engineers in Chicago more than a century ago. That would thrill environmen- talists and those who make their living in the $7 billion Great Lakes fishing industry, which could be devastated by a carp invasion. Not so the barge operators who move millions of tons of commodities on the Chicago-area waterways each year. And so, pulled in different directions by both, as well as politicians in the Great Lakes states, the Obama administration this week proposed a $78.5 mil- lion plan that appears to make no one happy. ''It appears to be politically negotiated rather than scientifical- ly based ... sort of like trying to cut the baby in half,'' said Thom Cmar, an attorney with the Natur- al Resources Defense Council. ''It offers a lot of middle-ground alter- natives with no discussion of why any of them would actually work.'' Shippers worry about a promised study that would exam- ine closing more often a pair of navigational locks at Chicago, and the prospect that a long-term study could recommend severing the connection between the river and the lakes for good. McQueen found dead at age 40 LONDON (AP) — His run- way shows were often like perfor- mance pieces: One featured mod- els with headwear made of trash. Another showed off 10-inch heels shaped like lobster claws. At the pinnacle of his success, British fashion designer Alexan- der McQueen was found dead in his home Thursday, days after posting anguished online remarks about the death of his mother. He was 40. The circumstances pointed to a possible suicide, but there was no confirmation from police or McQueen's publicists. Authori- ties said the death was not suspi- cious, apparently ruling out foul play. They did not indicate how McQueen was discovered. The Sun tabloid cited an anonymous source on its Web site who said workers found McQueen hanging in his apart- ment. The newspaper gave no fur- ther details. His family issued a statement asking for privacy. 4B – Daily News – Friday, February 12, 2010 LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF INTENDED BULK TRANSFER (Subject to Commercial Code Section 6106) The following definitions and designations shall apply in this Notice without regard to the number or gender: TRANSFEROR: Mark Daniel Moyer Business address: 610 Washington Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 County: Tehama TRANSFEREE: Kelly Ann Densberger, DBA Kelly's Business address: 610 Washington Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 County: Tehama BUSINESS: The Round-Up Saloon Business address: 610 Washington Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 County: TEHAMA Business type: Bar ESCROW HOLDER: Placer Title Company, Escrow #1301- 3636 Business address: 955 Main Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 County: Tehama DATE OF CONSUMMATION: March 4, 2010 LAST DAY TO FILE CLAIMS: March 3, 2010 Notice is hereby given that Transferor intends to make a Bulk Transfer of the assets of the above described business to Transferee, including all stock in trade, furniture, and equipment used in said business, to be consummated at the office of Escrow Holder at the time of consummation or thereafter. Creditors of the Transferor may file claims with the Escrow Holder on or before the Last Day to File Claims stated above. This sale is subject to California Commercial Code Section 6106. Transferor has used the following other business names and addresses within the last three (3) years, so far as known to Transferee: None DATED: February 8, 2010 S/By: Kelly Ann Densberger Kelly Ann Densberger, DBA Kelly's Publish: February 12, 2010 WORLD BRIEFING INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Health insurer WellPoint blames a shift in demo- graphics and rising medical costs for its planned 39 per- cent rate hike for some Cal- ifornia customers. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, WellPoint Inc. tells Health and Human Services Secre- tary Kathleen Sebelius that because of the weak econo- my, healthy people are dropping coverage or buy- ing cheaper plans. The decline in premium revenue means there's less money to cover claims from sicker customers who are keeping their coverage. That result- ed in a 2009 loss for the unit. The insurer says its 2010 rates aim to cover the shortfall expected from the continuation of that trend. ''When the healthy leave and the sick stay, that is going to dramatically drive up costs,'' Brian Sassi, who heads WellPoint's con- sumer business unit, said in an interview with The Associated Press. The letter to Sebelius said insurance costs also continue to rise because medical prices are increas- ing faster than inflation, and people are using more health care. That use increase is driven by an aging population, new treatments and ''more intensive diagnostic test- ing,'' the letter said. WellPoint said a minori- ty of customers will see 39 percent increases and that those customers have an option to choose plans with a lower premium but higher out-of-pocket costs. The federal inquiry was launched earlier this week after the premium increase planned for some cus- tomers who buy individual policies from WellPoint's Anthem Blue Cross sub- sidiary was widely publi- cized. Congress also has asked for information on the increases and requested tes- timony from WellPoint CEO Angela Braly at a Feb. 24 hearing. Rates for individual health insurance policies tend to rise much faster than those of employer- sponsored coverage, said Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant and former insurance executive. The pool of customers is more stable for group health insurance. In the individual market, healthy people are more inclined to drop coverage when they see big price hikes because they don't have employer help paying for it. That leaves behind sicker cus- tomers who stay because they still need coverage. Sassi said as much as one-third of their individual insurance customers leave every year. That volatility can lead to big changes in the mix of people covered and rate swings. Administrative costs also can be higher for indi- vidual lines because the insurer has to sell each pol- icy individually instead of to a larger group. WellPoint is the largest publicly traded health insurer based on member- ship and is a dominant player in the individual insurance market in Cali- fornia. Based in Indi- anapolis, the company runs Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states and Unicare plans in sever- al others. Individual insurance makes up only 6 percent of WellPoint's total enroll- ment of 33.7 million peo- ple. Sebelius had called the increases ''extraordinary'' and told the insurer in a let- ter she was disturbed to learn about them. She also has demanded that the insurer answer questions about how much of a profit it will make from the hike. WellPoint as a whole made a profit of $4.75 bil- lion in 2009, though $2 bil- lion of that came from the sale of a business. WellPoint blames big premium hike on demographics