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WORLD BRIEFING Turkey fortifies its border with Turkey deployed anti-air- craft guns, rocket launch- ers and other weapons along its border with Syria on Thursday, a mili- tary buildup that came as world powers showed new urgency to resolve the crisis before it ignites the region. Syria BEIRUT (AP) — Fourteen women who sur- vived the horrors of World War II paraded Thursday in an unusual pageant, vying for the honor of being crowned Israel's first ''Miss Holo- caust Survivor.'' Billed by organizers as a celebration of life, the event also stirred contro- versy. In a country where millions have A bomb exploded in central Damascus near a busy market and the coun- try's main justice com- plex, wounding at least three people, damaging cars in a parking lot and sending a black cloud ris- ing above the Syrian capi- tal. It was not clear who was behind the bombing. Much of the violence that has gripped Syria since the uprising began in March 2011 has been sanctioned by the govern- ment of President Bashar Assad to crush dissent. Activists say more than 14,000 people have been killed. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several mas- sive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are join- ing the fray. Assad told Iranian state TV Thursday that his country still supports him, and he warned that any intervention in Syria will cause a ''domino'' effect in the region. He has given similar warnings before, saying the entire Middle East will go up in flames if others meddle in his country. deliver WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's health care over- haul is on the way to its ultimate jury: the fami- lies, doctors, business people and state officials who'll have to grapple with the confusing details while striving to fulfill its promise. With the Supreme Court hurdle cleared, open enrollment for mil- lions now uninsured is scheduled to begin in just 16 months, in October 2013. Much of the health care industry is ready. People who do have insurance won't have to worry about the loss of popular new benefits, such as coverage for young adult children or improvements to Medicare's prescription plan. States must scramble to And, starting in 2014, insurance companies will no longer be able to turn away people with a histo- ry of medical problems, or charge them more. But carrying out the Holder on Thursday became the first sitting Cabinet member held in contempt of Congress, a rebuke pushed by Repub- licans seeking to unearth the facts behind a bungled gun-tracking operation and dismissed by most Democrats as a political stunt. The vote was 255-67, with more than 100 Democrats boycotting. African-American law- makers led the walkout as members filed up the aisle and out of the chamber to protest the action against Holder, who is the nation's first black attor- ney general. Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California joined the boy- cott, saying Republicans had gone ''over the edge'' in their partisanship. Seventeen Democrats The National Rifle Association pressed hard for the contempt resolu- tion, leaning on members of both parties who want to stay in the NRA's good graces. Holder said after- ward the vote was merely a politically motivated act in an election year voted with Republicans in favor of the contempt vote, while two Republi- cans — Reps. Scott Rigell of Virginia and Steven LaTourette of Ohio — joined other Democrats in voting No. Obama, Romney weigh in on law will be a mad scram- ble for states, especially Republican-led ones where officials had hoped this day wouldn't come. And the court added a new complication by giv- ing individual states more leeway to turn down the law's expansion of Med- icaid, expected to provide coverage to about 16 mil- lion uninsured people. After the ruling, chances of repealing the entire law appear much slimmer for Republicans, although they will again make it an election rally- ing cry. However, a target- ed repeal strategy aimed at individual components of the law including cost controls, taxes and spend- ing cuts, may still work. contempt WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric House holds Holder in ruling WASHINGTON (AP) — Battling fiercely for the White House, Presi- dent Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney implored voters to see the Supreme Court's health care ruling in different ways Thurs- day, with Obama appeal- ing for people to move on with him and his chal- lenger promising to rip up the law. ''Today's decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure,'' Obama declared after a divided high court upheld the law, including a requirement that people carry health insurance. ''It's time for us to move forward.'' Romney did just the opposite, pinning the court's decision to the election and asking voters to render their own ruling. ''If we want to get rid of Obamacare,'' he said, ''we're going to have replace President Obama.'' touched by the Holocaust, many argued that judging aging women who had suffered so much on phys- ical appearance was inap- propriate, and even offen- sive. ''It sounds totally macabre to me,'' said Colette Avital, chair- woman of Israel's leading Holocaust survivors' umbrella group. ''I am in favor of enriching lives, but a one-time pageant masquerading (survivors) with beautiful clothes is not what is going to make their lives more meaning- ful.'' Pageant organizer Shi- mon Sabag rejected the criticism, saying the win- ners were chosen based on their personal stories of survival and rebuilding their lives after the war, and physical beauty was only a tiny part of the competition. ''They feel good been together. They are having a good time and laughing in the rehearsals,'' said Sabag, director of Yad Ezer L'Haver, or Helping Hand, which assists needy Holocaust survivors and organized the pageant. Colorado wildfire destroys hundreds of homes COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — From above, the destruc- tion wrought by a raging Colorado wildfire becomes painfully clear: Rows and rows of houses — hundreds in all — were reduced to ashes even as some homes just feet away survived. On one street, all but three houses had burned to their foundations, said Ryan Schneider, whose home is still standing in a neighborhood where 51 others were destroyed. ''I was real happy at Democrats and Repub- licans immediately launched fundraising appeals off the court's decision, underscoring the campaign ramifica- tions of a judicial decision that is supposed to be devoid of politics. It was conservative Chief Justice John Roberts who cast the defining vote, upending the traditional lines of political attack and sur- prising many in the White House. 'Miss Holocaust Survivor' crowned HAIFA, Israel (AP) — While the aerial photos helped show the scope of one of the worst fires to hit the American West in decades, they did little to help ease the concerns of many residents who still did not know the fate of their properties. ''Naturally, we're apprehensive and the spir- it is down a little bit,'' Bill Bartlett said outside a Red Cross shelter in Colorado Springs. He believes his neighborhood was spared, but couldn't be sure. Amid the devastation in the foothills west and north of the state's sec- ond-largest city, there were hopeful signs. More than 120 soldiers helped stop flames advancing on the U.S. Air Force Acade- my and cooler conditions could help slow the spread of a fire that could become one of the most destructive in state histo- ry. first. My wife was happy,'' he said. ''The emotion of seeing the other homes, though, was instant sadness.'' Authorities initially did not know the extent of the damage, saying it was difficult to assess because the fires and smoke were too intense. More than 30,000 people frantically packed up belongings Tuesday night as the flames swept through their neighborhoods. Community officials were planning to begin the process of notifying residents Thursday that their homes were destroyed. They planned to schedule meetings for residents of different streets to advise them per- sonally that their homes have been destroyed. Officials had not released such lists as of Thursday afternoon. the official notification is a formality. Residents rec- ognize their street on aer- ial pictures taken of the devastation and carefully scrutinize the images to determine the damage. Aerial photos and video from The Associat- ed Press and the Denver Post showed widespread damage, and Mayor Steve Bach said a more accurate assessment might be available later Thursday. Colorado Springs, about 60 miles south of Denver, is also home to the U.S. Olympic Train- ing Center, NORAD and the Air Force Space com- mand, which operates military satellites. They were not threatened. Con- ditions were still too dicey to allow authorities to begin trying to figure out what sparked the blaze that has raged for much of the week and already burned more than 29 square miles. But for many residents, Friday, June 29, 2012 – Daily News 7C tion, could be a drag on down-ballot Democrats. Sen. Jon Tester, D- Mont., is out, his cam- paign said. So are Demo- cratic Reps. Mark Critz of Pennsylvania and Jim Matheson of Utah. In West Virginia, where more than 40 percent of Democratic voters chose an incarcerated felon over Obama in the May prima- ry, Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall will both steer clear of Char- lotte. Georgia, a top target of House Republicans, won't attend, his office confirmed. Neither will former Rep. Charlie Wil- son, D-Ohio, who is fight- ing to reclaim the seat he lost in 2010, and Pam Gulleson, the Democratic nominee for an open House seat in North Dakota. Rep. John Barrow of Pottery 20,000 years old found in a cave emergency management director, said officials know people displaced by the blazes face hardships but urged patience. ''Being evacuated on the long-term is difficult. So as you prepare to evac- uate, you need to think about, not just a day or two, but think a week or two weeks. What would you do out of your home for two weeks?'' he said. The weather forecast President Barack Obama was to tour fire- stricken areas on Friday as hundreds of locals and some tourists who were staying at Red Cross shel- ters hoped life would return to normal soon. Many more stayed with friends and family. The evacuated area is a mix of apartment com- plexes, single-family homes, hotels and devel- opments such as technol- ogy parks, said Joe Raso, president of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. Bret Waters, the city's offered some optimism for firefighters to make progress, with the temper- ature expected to reach into the mid-80s — about 5 degrees cooler than Wednesday — and humidity 15 to 20 percent, about 5 points higher. Winds were forecast to be 10 to 15 mph. day, the fire was only 5 percent contained. The cost of fighting the blaze had already reached $3.2 million. As of mid-day Thurs- Some Democrats in competitive states are skipping convention WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Democrats in tough races are returning their invitations to the Democratic National Convention with a note attached: Thanks, but no thanks. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is the highest- profile Democrat to announce she'll skip the September shindig in Charlotte, N.C. At least 11 Democratic incum- bents and front-running challengers will be no- shows, according to a count by The Associated Press. tive-leaning or toss-up states where President Barack Obama, whose speech accepting the party's presidential nomi- nation will be the climax of the three-day conven- BEIJING (AP) — Pot- tery fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery in the world, archaeologists say. The findings, which will appear in the journal Science on Friday, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in east Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting con- ventional theories that the invention of pottery corre- lates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers. The research by a team of Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the cre- ation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel. ''The focus of research has to change,'' Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said by telephone. In an accompanying Science article, Shelach wrote that such research efforts ''are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergency RED BLUFF of sedentary agricultural societies.'' News Corp. approves Murdoch plan to split company LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Thursday that its board has approved a plan to split into two companies, one containing struggling newspaper and book publishing business- es and the other compris- ing faster-growing enter- tainment operations. Murdoch will serve as chairman of both new companies and CEO of the entertainment company. The Murdoch family, which controls nearly 40 percent of the voting shares in News Corp., is expected to maintain con- trol of both companies. News Corp.'s board unanimously approved the split in principle. It will take a more formal look at the details in coming months. The separation is also subject to regulatory approval and is expected to take about a year. The split of News Corp. is a symbolic turning point for Murdoch, the compa- ny's 81-year-old CEO. Through the years, Mur- doch maintained a fond- ness for newspapers even as he purchased entertain- ment companies and built a media conglomerate with a market value of $53 billion. In hearings last summer before U.K. law- makers, he conceded that he regularly called news- paper editors under his employ with the greeting: ''What's doing?'' Investors have already applauded the change. Since news of the split broke early Tuesday, News Corp. shares are up 9 per- cent. They slipped 32 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $21.99 on Thursday. News Corp. said exist- ing shareholders will get one share of stock in the publishing company for every News Corp. share they own. The exact ratio could change. Each com- pany would maintain two classes of stock, voting shares and non-voting shares. television and movie com- pany will be more highly valued by shareholders who hadn't been unwilling to accept the dour growth prospects of the newspa- per and book business. Murdoch is hoping the Tehama County CONTRACTORS GUIDE DAILYNEWS 2012 TEHAMACOUNTY Magazine-size print and online Distribution through Spring, 2013 Licensed contractors only. If you're a licensed contractor In Tehama County, your business name, Lic #, phone and specialty will be listed at no charge advertising is available In this directory! To add information and stand out from the crowd, low cost All hail from conserva- DEADLINE: TUE, JULY 10 Call your Daily News Advertising Representative For further information! (530) 527-2151