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6A Daily News – Thursday, May 31, 2012 Romney faces big summertime choices and hurdles DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — What's next for Mitt Romney? The Republican presidential nomination finally in hand, he will spend the next three months trying to undercut President Barack Obama on the economy while portray- ing himself as Mr. Fix It for a nation with stub- bornly and painfully high unemployment. Romney also faces key decisions between now and his acceptance of the party's nomination in late August in Florida: Where should he compete most aggressively? Who should be his running mate? must dive anew into fundraising and work to win over voters who are distracted by their own summer plans and day-to- day pocketbook worries — while withstanding Obama's attacks on his own claims as a jobs cre- ator. At the same time, he Bush back at White House for portrait unveiling WASHINGTON (AP) — This is a little awk- ward. President Barack Obama can't seem to stop bad-mouthing the record of former President George W. Bush. But on Thursday, Obama is going to welcome his predeces- sor and proudly preside as Bush's image and legacy are enshrined at the White House forever. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will join Bush and his wife, Laura, as their official portraits are unveiled. The incum- bent is keeping up a pres- idential tradition typically defined by cheer and gra- ciousness, but not without some uneasiness. Not that Romney is publicly sweating the hur- dles that come with being the little-known chal- lenger to a personally popular president. ''People will get to Hardly a day goes by without Obama or his aides talking about the mess they inherited — meaning, from Bush. It was just one week ago that Obama, revving up campaign donors, turned Bush into a punch line. Obama depicted Republican rival Mitt Romney as a peddler of bad economic ideas, help- ing the rich at the expense of the middle class, and then added to laughs: ''That was tried, remem- ber? The last guy did all this.'' know me better,'' Romney told Fox News in an inter- view that aired Wednes- day, the day after he sealed the GOP nomina- tion with his primary election victory in Texas. He says the general elec- tion campaign is only beginning even though his chief challenger dropped out more than six weeks ago. Syria violence reaches new heights BEIRUT (AP) — Thir- teen bound corpses, many apparently shot execu- tion-style, have been dis- covered in eastern Syria, U.N. observers said Wednesday, days after the WORLD BRIEFING massacre of more than 100 people provoked international outrage and the coordinated expulsion of Syrian diplomats from world capitals. Spasm of shootings in Seattle leaves The latest killings hap- pened in Deir el-Zour province, where the bod- ies were found late Tues- day blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. A statement by the U.N. mission said some appeared to have been shot in the head at close range. by activists showed the men lying face down, pools of dried blood under their heads. A video posted online observer team, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, said he was ''deeply disturbed by this appalling and inexcusable act.'' The head of the U.N. The fresh killings underline violence that seems to be spiraling out of control as the uprising against President Bashar Assad that began in March 2011 has morphed into an armed insurgency. Activists say as many as 13,000 people have been killed since the revolt began. UN: Civilian deaths in Afghanistan drop 36 percent KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The number of Afghan civilians killed has dropped 36 percent so far this year compared with last, the U.N. said Wednesday, the first time the death toll has declined over multiple months since the United Nations started keeping track. The senior U.N. envoy for the country, Jan Kubis, called the trend promising but cautioned that too many civilians were still being caught up in the violence as insurgents fight Afghan and foreign forces. Kubis' office said 579 4 dead SEATTLE (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a Seattle cafe on Wednes- day, killing three peo- ple, critically wounding two others and setting off a manhunt that forced officials to close nearby schools, authori- ties said. civilians were killed in the first four months of this year, down from 898 killed in the same period of 2011. The number of wounded dropped from 1,373 to 1,216 in the Jan- uary to April period. James Rodehaver, a U.N. human rights officer in Afghanistan, noted the death toll has sometimes declined from month to month since the U.N. started tracking attacks in 2007, but never over such a sustained period. The Taliban and their allies are responsible for most civilian casualties, according to U.N. figures. In the first four months of 2012, anti-government forces caused 79 percent of civilian casualties and Afghan and foreign forces 9 percent, Kubis said in remarks in Kabul. It was not clear who was respon- sible for the remaining 12 percent of the casualties, he said. Few takers for Obama's small- business health care tax credit WASHINGTON (AP) — Many small business- es struggle to afford health insurance for their workers, but a a new tax credit meant to help them seems to be turning into a disappointment. Police searching for the suspect also had to respond to another fatal shooting near the city's downtown. They say a man killed a woman in an apparent carjacking and fled in a black SUV. Authorities didn't immediately know whether the shootings were related. two states threw out laws or parts of laws that they deemed too stringent. In Nebraska, the decision allowed sex offenders to join social networks. And in Louisiana, a new law lets offenders use the Internet for shopping, reading news and exchanging email. A case filed against Indi- ana's law is under review. Hundreds of salmonella cases tied to live, mail- The latest spasm of deadly gun violence to hit the city worried Seattle's leaders and prompted police to con- sider increasing patrols in high-crime areas. The three deaths bring the number of homicides to 19 this year, compared to 21 in all of last year. Gunfire erupted late Wednesday morning at Cafe Racer, a restaurant and music venue north of the University of Washington. The gun- man was described as a man in his 30s wearing dark clothes. Sex offenders fight for right to use Although opinion polls show the credit is one of the most popular ideas in President Barack Obama's health care law, only 170,300 businesses out of a pool of as many as 4 million potentially eligible claimed it in 2010, about 4 percent. A recent government report found the tax cred- it time-consuming to apply for and not reward- ing enough to be finan- cially attractive. That's put the Obama administration in the awkward position of ask- ing Congress to help fix the problems by allowing more businesses to quali- fy and making it simpler to apply. But Republi- cans who run the House say they want to repeal what they deride as ''Obamacare,'' not fix its flaws. ''They completely missed the target on this thing,'' Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., said of the tax credit. ''I don't think expanding it is going to make any differ- ence whatsoever.'' Graves chairs the House Small Business Commit- tee. Facebook INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Registered sex offenders who have been banned from social networking websites are fighting back in the nation's courts, success- fully challenging many of the restrictions as infringements on free speech and their right to participate in common online discussions. The legal battles pit public outrage over sex crimes against cherished guarantees of individual freedom and the far- reaching communica- tion changes brought by Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other sites. ''It's going to be real- ly, really hard, I think, to write something that will achieve the state's purpose in protecting children online but not be restrictive enough to be unconstitutional,'' said Carolyn Atwell- Davis, director of leg- islative Virginia-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Courts have long order chicks ATLANTA (AP) — Those cute mail-order chicks that wind up in children's Easter bas- kets and backyard farms have been linked to more than 300 cases of salmonella in the U.S. — mostly in youngsters — since 2004. lion live poultry are sold through the mail each year in the United States in a business that has been booming because of the growing populari- ty of backyard chicken farming as a hobby among people who like the idea of raising their own food. An estimated 50 mil- are warning of a bacter- ial threat on the birds' feet, feathers, beaks and eggs. ''Most people can tell you that chicken meat may have salmonella on it,'' said Casey Barton Behravesh of the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention. ''But surprisingly, we found many people are not aware that live chicks and chickens can spread salmonella to people.'' Since 2004, at least 316 people in 43 states got sick in an outbreak tied primarily to one mail-order hatchery. Health officials believe thousands more illness- es connected to the busi- ness were probably never reported. But health officials Drivers see scarf-wearing pig on Pittsburgh road affairs at the PITTSBURGH (AP) — Motorists have report- ed a sharp-dressed pig running loose on a high- way just outside of Pitts- burgh. State troopers also spotted the animal but failed to catch it before it scurried off into the woods. allowed states to place restrictions on convicted sex offenders who have completed their sen- tences, controlling where many of them live and work and requiring them to regis- ter with police. But the increasing use of social networks for everyday communication raises new, untested issues. The bans generally for- bid offenders to join social networks or chat rooms or use instant- messaging programs — just a few of the online tools that civil liberties advocates say have become virtually indis- pensable to free speech. After hearing chal- lenges, federal judges in 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 State troopers from the nearby barracks in Find- lay Township spotted the pig, but couldn't catch up to it. The pig is wearing a scarf. The sightings were reported between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Wednes- day just west of the city on Interstate 376, known locally as the Parkway West. Police say the pig appeared to be a baby and confirmed it was wearing a scarf. Police don't know why that is or who may own the animal. ated a Twitter account to chronicle the swine's ''exploits.'' Still, someone has cre- www.twitter.com/sharp- dressedpig. 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