Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/717186
ByBradleyKlapper The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheObama administration on Friday defended its decision to make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran contingent on the release of American prisoners, saying the pay- ment wasn't ransom be- cause the Islamic Republic would have soon recouped the money one way or an- other. In a conference call with reporters, senior admin- istration officials said it made no sense not to use the money as leverage to ensure that four U.S. citi- zens were freed, especially as Washington was uncer- tain until the very moment their plane left that Iran would live up to its word. The administration's de- fense came after the State Department outlined for the first time that the Jan. 17 repayment of money from a 1970s Iranian ac- count to buy U.S. military equipment was connected to a U.S.-Iranian prisoner exchange on the same day. Previously, President Barack Obama and other officials had denied any such linkage. The acknowledgement kicked off a torrent of Re- publican criticism, who de- clared it evidence of a quid pro quo that undermined America's longstanding opposition to ransom pay- ments. "He denied it was for the hostages, but it was," Re- publican presidential can- didate Donald Trump said in a speech Thursday night in Charlotte, North Caro- lina. "He said we don't pay ransom, but he did. He lied about the hostages, openly and blatantly." House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Obama "owes the American peo- ple a full accounting of his actions and the dangerous precedent he has set." The money came from an account used by the Iranian government to buy Ameri- can military equipment in the days of the U.S.-backed shah. The equipment was never delivered after the shah's government was overthrown in 1979 and revolutionaries took Ameri- can hostages at the U.S. Em- bassy in Tehran. The two sides have wrangled over that account and numer- ous other financial claims ever since. The Jan. 17 agreement involved the return of the $400 million, plus an addi- tional $1.3 billion in inter- est, terms that Obama de- scribed as favorable com- pared to what might have been expected from a tribu- nal set up in The Hague to rule on claims between the two countries. U.S. officials have said they expected an imminent ruling on the claim and settled with Teh- ran instead. At an Aug. 4 news con- ference at the Pentagon, Obama said nothing nefar- ious occurred. "We do not pay ransom for hostages," he said. In a conference call with reporters, two senior ad- ministration officials inti- mately involved with the financial and prisoner ne- gotiations sought to refute what they described as false reports about what hap- pened. They weren't autho- rized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. There was no way that Washington could have avoided repaying the money to Iran in the short-term, one of the officials insisted. The 1981 Algiers Accord between the U.S. and Iran that set up the tribunal made repayment manda- tory, and allowed for either claimant to seize assets in international courts if the other reneged on a ruling, the official said. Iran had lived up to its commitment by repaying $2.5 billion awarded for claims by U.S. citizens and companies. A ruling on the military fund was expected soon, the official said, as Iran asked last year for the tribunal to hear its case and Tehran and Washington had been negotiating proposals for a hearing. Given that inter- est rates in the early years of the fund were as high as 20 percent, the official said Iran stood to receive a much more substantial award than $1.3 billion in interest. As a result, the U.S. opted to settle with Iran. WASHINGTON US o ffi ci al s de fe nd $ 40 0M cash payment to Iran CARLOALLEGRI—POOLPHOTO,FILE Secretary of State John Kerry, speaks to senior adviser John Kirby before a news conference in Vienna. By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. Spacewalking astronauts installed a new front door for visitors at the Interna- tional Space Station on Fri- day, the crucial first step in welcoming commercial crew capsules as soon as next year. The two Americans, Jef- frey Williams and Kate Ru- bins, hooked up the dock- ing port — their major objective — in just a few hours. They were about to tackle some extra chores, but a problem cropped up with the right earpiece in Wil- liams' helmet and he had trouble hearing. Mission Control decided to play it safe and bring them inside about a half hour early. The spacewalk concluded at the six-hour mark. "We're done for the day," Mission Control advised the crew. Williams assured flight controllers that his helmet was dry. The last NASA spacewalk in January was cut short because of a small water leak in one helmet. A much bigger leak, from the suit's cooling system, al- most led to a spacewalker's drowning in 2013. The station's new gateway arrived last month, packed in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. Americans haven't rock- eted into orbit from their home turf since NASA's last shuttle flight in 2011. SpaceX and Boeing expect to resume human launches from Cape Canaveral in an- other year or two. But their crew capsules can't dock without this new-style park- ing spot, which replaces the now obsolete shuttle setup and is meant to be interna- tionally compatible. Friday's success paved the way for these future spaceships. "Thanks for your help in getting the front door on the space station," Mission Control radioed. SpaceX is shooting for a test flight of its souped-up Dragon with two astronauts as early as a year from now. Boeing is aiming for a two- person shakedown of its Starliner capsule in early 2018. Until then, Russia will keep providing all the rides — at a hefty price for U.S. taxpayers. NASA started using pri- vate U.S. companies to carry out cargo shipments a few years back. Commer- cial crew launches will be an even bigger advance. This commercial handoff is freeing up NASA to fo- cus on true outer-space ex- ploration; the space agency is working to get astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. This is actually NASA's second new docking ring. The first was destroyed in a SpaceX launch accident last summer. NASA ulti- mately wants two of these 3 -foot-by-5-foot-on-the- inside parking places at the lab. Another one — cobbled together from spare parts — should fly up in about a year. Flight controllers in Houston set the space- walking stage earlier in the week, using a robot arm to move the docking port to within a few feet of its in- tended lock-down position — the very spot where At- lantis undocked on July 19, 2011, to close out the shut- tle era. An hour into Fri- day's spacewalk, the me- chanical arm let go, and Williams and Rubins took over, connecting a slew of hooks and cables. The last of the 12 hooks were driven into place, firmly securing the port, as the 250-mile- high complex soared over the Indian Ocean. The space station is cur- rently home to two Amer- icans, one Japanese and three Russians. Up there for five months, Williams and two of the Russians will re- turn to Earth in a couple weeks. Williams will con- duct one more spacewalk with Rubins on Sept. 1 to retract a radiator. A newcomer to space- walking, Rubins is only the 11th American woman to conduct a spacewalk and the 12th in the world. The first professional virus- hunter in space, she has been experimenting with a DNA decoder also delivered last month. SpaceX's crew Dragon ship will fly on the compa- ny's own Falcon rocket from a former shuttle launch pad at Kennedy Space Center and, at mission's end, splash down off the Florida coast. NASA Spacewalking astronauts install new front door NASA American astronauts Jeffrey Williams, le , and Kate Rubins take a spacewalk to hook up a docking port outside the International Space Station on Friday. By Jennifer Kay The Associated Press MIAMI South Beach has been identified as a second site of Zika transmission by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland, and containing it there will be difficult be- cause high-rise buildings and strong winds make it impractical to spray the neighborhood from the air, officials said Friday. Five cases of Zika have been connected to mos- quitoes in Miami Beach, bringing the state's casel- oad to 36 infections not re- lated to travel outside the U.S., Florida's governor and health department an- nounced Friday. The discovery prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to announce that it was ex- panding its travel warn- ing for pregnant women to include an area in Miami Beach known for night- clubs, pedestrian thor- oughfares and beaches. The CDC previously warned pregnant women to avoid the Wynwood arts district in Miami. In its statement Friday, the agency said pregnant women may also want to consider postponing non- essential travel through- out Miami-Dade County if they're concerned about potential exposure to the mosquito-borne virus. "We're in the midst of mosquito season and ex- pect more Zika infections in the days and months to come," said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden. "It is dif- ficult to predict how long active transmission will continue." Aerial spraying and door-to-door operations on the ground have cut mos- quito populations in Wyn- wood by up to 90 percent, but Zika may be continu- ing as mosquitoes breed, Frieden told reporters Fri- day. DISEASE Officials: Zika in South Beach; spraying not possible RALPHG.SCOTT,JR. January 7, 1935 ~ August 15, 2016 Ralph G. Scott, Jr. was born in Oakland in 1935the only child of Ralph G. and Eunice C. Scott. He was raised in San Mateo, California, graduating from San Mateo High School. He attended the University of California at Berke- ley, earning a B.S. in Geology in 1956. He had three sons, Ralph III, Michael and Leland, with his first wife Donna Thorne. His found his first position after college with the Army Corp of Engineers and he later accepted a job with The California Department of Water Resources in Sacra- mento, beginning a long career in Geology, which he loved. He married Linda (Durby) Scott (died 1985) and had a daughter, Lindsay. The family moved to Red Bluff in 1966 to work for the new northern district DWR office for 29 years, retiring in 1995. In 1988, he married Patricia Troberg and added three stepchildren to the family: Jef- frey, Melissa and Timothy. He is survived by his wife, Pat, children, Ralph (Sacramento), Michael (Sacramento), Le- land (Eagan, MN), Lindsay (Murrieta, CA), Jeffrey (Red Bluff ) Melissa (Antelope) and Timothy (Red Bluff ) and 20 grandchildren. Ralph enjoyed jogging (30,000 miles), running marathons, working out, playing basketball, hiking, coaching little league, softball, T-ball and working on old cars – Studebakers, Sprites and MG's but he liked all fixer-uppers. He taught Sunday school and ran youth groups at the Presbyterian Church when his family was young. He was a member of Red Bluff Toastmasters for many years. He dreamed of owning a mountain cabin, fi- nally finding one in Mineral where he spent many happy, satisfying hours working to make it a family destination. The family helped to restore it together, and visited there often. Ralph and Pat travelled after retirement, visiting Mexico, Canada and China and they crossed the United States sev- eral times to visit family and friends. They traveled on nu- merous geology tours in the western states with a close group they grew to love. The stories of Ralph's escapades are legion. Ralph lived life to the fullest and made the most of ev- ery minute he was awake until dementia began to erode the ambitions he held in his mind. He loved deeply, played and worked hard and was loyal to God, family, friends and colleagues. A Celebration of Life will be held this Saturday, August 20, 2016 at the Presbyterian Church in Red Bluff at 1:00 p.m. with fellowship and snacks immediately after at the church. Bring your stories about Ralph and plan to share with all of us. JOSEPH F. DOWNEY March 23, 1921 ~ August 17, 2016 Our father, Joseph (Joe), was born in New Bedford, MA. He was the 3rd oldest child in a family of eleven children. Dad was a WWII veteran. He attended officer's training school and was a captain in the Army in the 9th Coast Ar- tillery. On leave from the army, Dad was involved in a motorcycle accident which resulted in nearly 2 years in army hospitals. He then retired in 1947. Dad moved to California where he attended classes at the Northrop Aer- onautical Institute. During that time, he met and married our mother, Florence, who was the love of his life. They were married for 37 years. Dad worked for many years as an aeronautical engineer for McDonald Douglas in the missile division. He and Mom had five children. We have wonderful memories of our growing years taking many vacations and always having a home full of guests, visi- tors and family gatherings. Although Dad had only one leg, he never considered himself handicapped. Dad bowled in a weekly league, water-skied, river rafted, golfed, worked on cars and rode dune buggies in the sand dunes. Mom died in 1990. Dad moved to Red Bluff in 1993 to begin a new chapter. He kept busy helping with his son's construction business, golfing at Wilcox Country Club and attending Sacred Heart Catholic Church where he regular- ly donated blood. Our dad was a man who deeply loved his Catholic faith. He was politically conservative, loved Rush Limbaugh, President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. During his declining years, when Dad needed extra care, Michael Black came into our lives. He was not only a caretaker for Dad, he became a friend and extended member of our family. Their bond grew to be something very special. In addition, the love and care from the staff at Brookdale succeeded in making it a home for "Papa." He is survived by sisters Patricia Olivera and Barbara Affonce; grandchildren Kimberly Cowen; Haley Downey; JT, Justin and Daniel Roe; Jessica, Jake and Grant Cruzan; Dylan and Cal Grossman; and Erica and Luke Downey; and great-grandson Carter in addition to 54 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by granddaughter Sammie-Flo. The service will be Monday, August 22, 2016 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The rosary will be held at 1:00 pm and the funeral mass at 2:00 pm with a graveside service following at St. Mary's Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Unbound Child Sponsorship: (www.unbound.org) We will continue to live out your legacy of faith, family and fun. Downey Proud! Marian & Bruce Roe, John & Katie Downey, Janet & Tom Cruzan, Paula & Wes Grossman, Steve & Teri Downey. Obituaries R ed Bluff Simple Cremations and Burial Service FD1931 527-1732 Now open longer hours 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A