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WORLD BRIEFING Senate OKs Democratic tax-cut bill WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed a yearlong extension of tax cuts for all but the high- est-earning Americans through the Senate on Wednesday, giving Democrats a significant political victory on a mea- sure that is fated to go no further in Congress. Senators approved the Democratic bill by a near party-line 51-48 vote, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding over the chamber in case his vote was needed to break a tie. Minutes earlier, lawmak- ers voted 54-45 to kill a rival Republican package that would have included the best-off in the tax reductions. with rumors swirling of a final showdown in that city, neighboring Turkey tightened its borders but said refugees will be allowed through. ''We are expecting a big attack on Aleppo,'' Mohammed Saeed, an activist based in Aleppo, told The Associated Press. ''People are wor- ried they might face ran- dom shelling while flee- ing.'' Thursday, July 26, 2012 – Daily News 5A The rebels have made stunning advances over the past week, but the bat- tle for control of Syria, a geographic and political linchpin at the heart of the Middle East, is far from over. And the potential for wider, regional unrest is great. The $250 billion Democratic measure would extend tax cuts in 2013 for millions of Americans that otherwise would expire in January. But it would deny those reductions to individuals making over $200,000 yearly and couples earn- ing at least $250,000. Passage of the Democ- ratic measure put the Sen- ate on record as backing a bill that closely follows the tax-cutting vision of President Barack Obama. It averted what would have been a significant embarrassment for Democrats and Obama, who has made tax fairness — meaning tax increases on the rich — an overar- ching theme of his re- election campaign. The vote also serves as a counterpoint to the GOP-run House, which next week will approve tax cuts nearly identical to the $405 billion Republi- can plan the Senate reject- ed Wednesday. GOP attacks on Obama's business remark WASHINGTON (AP) — Relentless GOP criti- cism of a 12-day-old remark about business owners has taken a cam- paign toll on President Barack Obama, forcing him to defend himself and giving Republican Mitt Romney a break from steady attacks. The development has delighted Republicans, who were eager to shift the campaign focus from Romney's tax returns, overseas assets and Bain Capital record. Acknowledging that the Republican's criti- cisms were hitting a mark, Obama's team rolled out two new TV ads this week in which he employed for the first time what many Democrats consider a powerful tool: the presi- dent talking directly into the camera and counter- ing GOP claims. ''Those ads taking my ter warned that his coun- try will act immediately if it discovers Islamic mili- tants such as Lebanon's Hezbollah are raiding Syria's chemical or bio- logical weapons stocks. Fear prompts gun sales DENVER (AP) — Firearms sales are surg- ing in the wake of the Colorado movie mas- sacre as buyers express fears about both person- al safety and lawmakers who are using the shooting to seek new weapons restrictions. In Colorado, the site of Friday's shooting that killed 12 and injured dozens of oth- ers, gun sales jumped in the three days that fol- lowed. The state approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm — 25 percent more than the average Friday to Sunday period in 2012 and 43 percent more than the same interval the week prior. Dick Rutan, owner of Gunners Den in subur- ban Arvada, Colo., said requests for concealed- weapon training certifi- cation ''are off the hook.'' His four-hour course in gun safety, required for certifica- tion for a concealed- weapons permit in Col- orado, has drawn dou- ble the interest since Friday. ''What they're saying forge the image of the 20-something leader who took power follow- ing the December death of Kim Jong Il. ''Kim Jong Un is breaking with his father's secrecy-shroud- ed leadership,'' said Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at South Korea's Kyungnam University. ''The reve- lation of his wife is a sign that Kim wants to show a more open lead- ership.'' Sally Ride ignites debate NEW YORK (AP) — Pioneering astronaut Sally Ride, who rel- ished privacy as much as she did adventure, chose an appropriately discreet manner of com- ing out. on Wednesday. It was quickly followed by an apology to People from the 41-year-old Sanders to his family. Stewart has been in a relation- ship for several years with Pattinson. Sanders is married and has two children. ''I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrass- ment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected,'' Stewart said. ''This momentary indis- cretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry.'' is: They want to have a chance. They want to have the ability to pro- tect themselves and their families if they are in a situation like what happened in the movie theater,'' Rutan said. Day-to-day gun sales frequently fluctuate, but the numbers also look strong outside of Col- orado, too. North Korea ends words about small busi- ness out of context — they're flat-out wrong,'' Obama says in the newest ad. ''direct to camera'' format plays to the president's strength, and they don't think Romney can match it. But like any strategy deployed 15 weeks before Election Day, it might lose some of its impact over time. Syria rushes reinforcements BEIRUT (AP) — Syri- an troops rushed dozens of tanks and reinforce- ments Wednesday toward Aleppo, the country's strategically vital com- mercial capital, in a bid to crush a rebel advance that has spread to wide swaths of the sprawling city. As five days of fighting in Aleppo intensified, and Democrats say the speculation SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea ended weeks of specu- lation Wednesday by confirming that the mystery woman beside young leader Kim Jong Un at recent public events is indeed his wife, ''comrade Ri Sol Ju.'' At the end of an obit- uary that she co-wrote with her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, they disclosed to the world their relationship of 27 years. That was it. As details trickled out after Ride's death on Monday, it became clear that a circle of family, friends and co- workers had long known of the same-sex relationship and embraced it. For many millions of others, who admired Ride as the first American woman in space, it was a reve- lation — and it sparked a spirited discussion about privacy vs. public candor in regard to sex- ual orientation. Some commentators, such as prominent gay blogger Andrew Sulli- van of the Daily Beast, second-guessed Ride's decision to opt for pri- vacy. ''She had a chance to The news was buried in a state TV report about Kim's tour of a new amusement park, delivered casually by a newscaster who gave no details about Ri, includ- ing how long she and Kim have been married. Kim, who inherited rule of North Korea from his father, Kim Jong Il, seven months ago, has been seen with Ri at a concert, a kindergarten visit and other events recently, but state media did not mention her before now, fueling widespread speculation about her identity. Analysts said the announcement was a calculated move by Kim and his advisers as they expand people's hori- zons and young les- bians' hope and self- esteem, and she chose not to,'' he wrote. ''She was the absent hero- ine.'' Stewart, Sanders issue apologies LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kristen Stewart has apologized publicly to boyfriend and ''Twi- light'' co-star Robert Pattinson following tabloid reports she had a brief but steamy affair with her ''Snow White and the Huntsman'' director Rupert Sanders. ''utterly distraught about the pain I have caused my family. My beautiful wife and heav- enly children are all I have in this world. I love them with all my heart. I am praying that we can get through this together.'' Us Weekly published photographic evidence of the affair in its latest issue, with the two in steamy and compromis- ing embraces. Sanders said he is Olympic organizers display video package instead of the North Korean flag. Clearly that is a mistake,'' organizers said. ''We will apolo- gize to the team and the National Olympic Com- mittee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.'' The statement, how- ever, included another gaffe: It failed to refer to the countries by their official Olympic names, causing organizers to reissue the statement using ''Republic of Korea'' and ''Democra- tic People's Republic of Korea.'' Some see signs Assad trying to carve out Alawite land (AP) — London Olympic organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match Wednesday, prompting the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour. The flag flap began during player introduc- tions when a North Korean player was introduced along with a shot of the South Kore- an flag. wrong flag GLASGOW, Scot- enclave BEIRUT (AP) — In the recent sectarian vio- lence in Syria, some observers see a grim pattern: Alawite fighters from President Bashar Assad's minority sect, they say, are trying to carve out a breakaway enclave for themselves by driving out local Sunnis, killing entire families and threatening anybody who stays behind. makes up the backbone of Assad's regime has historically been cen- tered in towns and vil- lages of Syria's moun- tainous Mediterranean coast. If the regime falls, that heartland could become a refuge The Alawite sect that C & C PROPERTIES for the community — and even for Assad him- self — from which to fight for survival against a Sunni majority that has long resented their domination. That would mean a bloody Balkanization of Syria's 17-month-old conflict, an ominous scenario for a country that sits along the Mid- dle East's most turbu- lent fault lines. Any attempt to create a breakaway state could trigger a wave of sectar- ian killings and have dangerous repercussions in a region where many religious, ethnic and tribal communities have separatist aspirations. Already, there has been a degree of demo- graphic shift: Sunnis and Alawites both have for months been fleeing the worst hit areas of the country for safety, mainly with their com- munities. The past week, as Assad's firm grip on the key cities of Damascus and Aleppo — two longtime bas- tions of support — appeared to be wob- bling, there were reports of Alawites streaming from hotspots into the area along the Mediter- ranean coast in the north of the country. But activists and opposition groups believe Assad and mem- bers of his power base are going further and are preparing an Alaw- ite stronghold. Recent killings in overwhelm- ingly Sunni villages close to Alawite com- munities, they say, are meant to lay the ground- work. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. FOR 24/7 PROPERTY INFO CALL 1-888-902-7253 AND ENTER THE PROPERTY CODE FROM THE AD. The match against Colombia was delayed for more than an hour, and organizers apolo- gized for the error. ''Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden Park, the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen Sierra Sound Car Audio 35th $ The 22-year-old actress issued her apol- ogy to People magazine 226 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-3735 All CD's 13.99 Anniversary Sale or less 2 BD 2 BA 1000 SQ.FT. 2 BD 2 BA 1344 SQ.FT. 2 BD 2 BA 1344 SQ.FT. 2 BD 2 BA 1440 SQ.FT. 2 BD 2 BA 1104 SQ.FT. 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