Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/72233
8A Daily News – Thursday, June 28, 2012 WORLD BRIEFING Colorado wildfire doubles in size Fire crews fought to save the U.S. Air Force Academy and residents begged for informa- tion on the fate of their homes Wednesday after a night of terror sent thousands of peo- ple fleeing a raging Colorado Springs wild- fire. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — packed up belongings Tuesday night after the Waldo Canyon Fire barreled into neigh- borhoods in the foothills west and north of Colorado's second-largest city. With flames looming overhead, they clogged roads shrouded in smoke and flying embers, their fear punctuated by explosions of bright orange flame that signaled yet another house had been claimed. ''The sky was red, the wind was blowing More than 30,000 people frantically For Obama and Romney, health care ruling will start fundraising storm WASHINGTON (AP) — Barely four months before the nation votes, one of the biggest factors in the fight for the White House still is a mystery. That will change on Thursday. really fast and there were embers falling from the sky,'' said Simone Covey, a 26- year-old mother of three who fled an apart- ment near Garden of the Gods park and was staying at a shelter. ''I didn't really have time to think about it. I was just trying to keep my kids calm.'' Wilma Juachon sat under a tree at an evacuation center, wearing a mask to block the smoke. A tourist from California, she was evacuated from a fire near Rocky Mountain National Park last week and, now, from her Colorado Springs hotel. ''I said I hope it never happens again, and guess what?'' Juachon said. Meanwhile, the White House said Presi- dent Barack Obama will tour the fire-strick- en area on Friday and thank firefighters bat- tling some of the worst fires to hit the Amer- ican West in decades. The full scope of the 24-square-mile fire, which doubled in size overnight, remained unknown. So intense were the flames and so thick the smoke that rescue workers weren't able to tell residents which structures were destroyed and which ones were still stand- ing. Steve Cox, a spokesman for Mayor Steve Bach, reported that at least dozens of homes had been consumed, though he had no more precise figure. The Supreme Court's expected ruling on President Barack Obama's sweeping federal health care law will shape the contours of the presidential campaign through the summer and fall. Both Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are primed to use the ruling — whatever it is — for political gain. Obama expresses confidence the court will uphold his signature legislative initia- tive. But he won't be shocked if a conserva- tive majority overturns the most controver- sial provision, those familiar with his think- ing say. Romney aides say the Republican candidate will get a political boost if the court strikes down the measure. But they don't want celebrations that could alienate voters who could lose health care benefits through the decision. ence over the decision. The court may uphold the health care law, strike it down or deem the requirement that most Americans carry health insurance unconstitutional while keeping other aspects in place. The ruling is expected to be followed almost immediately by a barrage of adver- tisements and fundraising appeals from Democrats and Republicans, with both sides trying to cast the decision in the most advan- tageous light for its candidate. Neither candidate has any direct influ- Hill leaders have tentative deals on Wednesday struggling to save homes in near-zero visibility to count how many had been destroyed in what is the latest test for a drought-parched and tinder-dry state. Crews also were battling a deadly and destructive wildfire in northern Colorado and another that flared Tuesday night near Boulder. Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown insisted his personnel heroically saved many homes in the midst of the firestorm. The strategy: protecting houses adjacent to those in flames to prevent a domino effect and then racing to the next suburban hot spot, a technique he called ''triage.'' Indeed, authorities were too busy millions of students and their parents by boosting the costs of college loans. Congressional leaders were hoping to combine the highway and student loan mea- sures into a single bill to reduce potential procedural obstacles, and hope to vote final approval this week. Lawmakers would then leave Washington for a July 4 recess. The two-year highway bill would prevent the Syrian capital, killing seven employees in the latest barrage of violence as world powers prepared for a high-level meeting that the U.S. hopes will be a turning point in the crisis. Invitations to Saturday's gathering in student loan bill WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing week- end deadlines for action, congressional lead- ers have tentatively agreed to deals over- hauling the nation's transportation programs without a Republican provision forcing approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, and avoiding a doubling of interest rates for new student loans, congressional officials said Wednesday. The agreements underscored the pres- sures both parties face to avoid angering vot- ers and embarrassing headlines in the run-up to this November's presidential and congres- sional elections. Letting road-building pro- grams grind to a halt during an economic downturn would be a blow to the image of lawmakers, while Democrats and Republi- cans alike seemed eager to avoid enraging the government's authority to spend money on highways, bridges and transit systems from lapsing on Saturday, along with its ability to collect gasoline and diesel taxes. With both parties checkmating each other's top priorities this campaign season, Democ- rats and Republicans say the highway mea- sure will be Congress' top job-creation ini- tiative until the November elections. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chief Sen- ate sponsor of the transportation bill, said the measure would save or create 3 million jobs. gets 40 years in prison HOUSTON (AP) — A man who claimed Texas' version of a stand-your- ground law allowed him to fatally shoot a neighbor after an argument about a noisy party was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years for murder. Texas man who argued he was standing his ground Raul Rodriguez, 46, had faced up to life in prison for the 2010 killing of Kelly Dana- her. fighter, was angry about the noise coming from a birthday party at his neighbor's home. He went over and got into an argu- ment with 36-year-old elementary school teacher Danaher and two other men at the party. Rodriguez, a retired Houston-area fire- Geneva were sent by special envoy Kofi Annan to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — including Syrian allies Russia and China — but not to major regional players Iran and Saudi Arabia. The absence of those two countries, as well as the lack of any appetite for interna- tional military intervention, could make it difficult for the group to find the leverage to end the bloodshed in Syria. An effort by Annan to broker a peace plan failed earlier this year. — Syria's most important ally and protector — agreeing on a transition plan that would end the Assad family dynasty, which has ruled Syria for more than four decades. But Moscow has rejected efforts by outside forces to end the conflict or any plan to force regime change in Damascus. The United Nations said Wednesday that the conflict, which began in March 2011 as part of the Arab Spring that swept aside entrenched leaders across the region, is descending into sectarian warfare. Diplomatic hopes have rested on Russia In a 22-minute video he recorded on the night of the shooting, Rodriguez can be heard telling a police dispatcher ''my life is in danger now'' and ''these people are going to go try and kill me.'' He then said, ''I'm standing my ground here,'' and fatally shot Danaher and wounded the other two men. Rodriguez's reference to standing his ground is similar to the claim made by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is citing Florida's stand-your- ground law in his defense in the fatal Febru- ary shooting of an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Rodriguez's case, however, was decided under a different kind of self- defense doctrine. The active components of marijuana were identified in the system of Rudy Eugene, according to toxicology results released by the Miami-Dade County Med- ical Examiner. The laboratory tested for but did not detect any other street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, or any adulterants found in street drugs in Eugene, the 31-year- old who friends said was religious and read both the Bible and Quran. in face-chewing attack MIAMI (AP) — Only marijuana was found in the system of a Florida man shot while chewing another man's face, accord- ing to a medical examiner's report released Tuesday. Only marijuana found in system of Fla. Man The department ruled out the most com- mon components found in the street drugs known as bath salts. An outside forensic tox- icology lab, which took a second look at the results, also confirmed the absence of bath salts, synthetic marijuana and LSD. The results were released weeks after a Miami police union official had speculated that because Eugene's behavior had been so bizarre he was probably under the influence of bath salts. Gunmen attack ship docked in NJ NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dock workers rushed to unload stacked containers from a cargo ship that arrived in New Jersey from the Middle East on Wednesday after a Coast Guard inspection team heard knocking for about two hours that suggested stowaways might be inside one of the boxes. More than a dozen ambulances and law enforcement officials met the 850-foot Ville D'Aquarius when it docked early Wednes- day at Port Newark, one of the nation's busiest ports. Large mechanical cranes began unloading containers from the ship. By midday Wednesday, all but one Coast Guard suspects stowaways on cargo ambulance had quietly left the pier. Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said offi- cials have inspected 80 of the 200 containers authorities believe could be carrying people. The ship has 2,000 containers altogether. The Coast Guard team had boarded the ship outside New York Harbor early Wednesday as the ship prepared to dock, Rowe said. The officers were knocking on a bulkhead, or partition, of the ship as a rou- tine security check and heard knocks back, he said, but they couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound. The return knocks ended after about two hours, Rowe said. The team followed protocol and didn't open the container at sea in order to control the situation, he said. Belviq is first new prescription weight- loss pill to win US er's office for comment were not immedi- ately returned. Messages left with the medical examin- pro-government TV station Wednesday near Syrian TV station BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen attacked a approval in decade WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved Arena Pharmaceutical's anti-obesity pill Belviq, the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss to enter the U.S. market in over a decade. Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug appeared safe enough to win the FDA's endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments. The agency cleared the pill Wednesday for adults who are obese or are overweight with at least one medical complication, such as diabetes or high cholesterol.The FDA denied approval for Arena's drug in 2010 after scientists raised concerns about tumors that developed in animals studied with the drug. The com- pany resubmitted the drug with additional data earlier this year, and the FDA said there was little risk of tumors in humans. ''The approval of this drug, used respon- sibly in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle, provides a treatment option for Americans who are obese or are overweight and have at least one weight-related comor- bid condition,'' said FDA's drug center director, Dr. Janet Woodcock, in a statement.