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4A Daily News – Friday, August 17, 2012 Ecuador grants asylum to WikiLeaks founder won asylum in Ecuador, but Julian Assange is no closer to getting there. LONDON (AP) — He's The decision by the South American nation to identify the WikiLeaks founder as a refugee is a symbolic boost for the embattled ex-hacker. But legal experts say that does little to help him avoid extra- dition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations. paid at least 13 percent of his income in federal taxes every year for the past decade, offering that new detail while still decrying a ''small-minded'' fascination over returns he will not release. President Barack Obama's campaign shot back in doubt: ''Prove it.'' Campaigning separately, Romney and running mate Paul Ryan also scrambled to explain their views on over- hauling Medicare, the health care program relied on by millions of seniors. Romney, the former WORLD BRIEFING and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant opera- tors to switch from dirtier- burning coal. Many of the world's leading climate scientists didn't see the drop coming, in large part because it hap- pened as a result of market forces rather than direct gov- ernment action against car- bon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. be a limit to how much seniors pay for Medicare, but they're worlds apart on how to make that happen. You wouldn't know it from the accusations they hurl on the campaign trail, but that is the real heart of the argument between the two leaders and their politi- cal parties. Instead, with British offi- cials asserting they won't grant Assange safe passage out of the country, the case has done much to drag the two nations into an interna- tional faceoff. ''We're at something of an impasse,'' lawyer Rebec- ca Niblock said. ''It's not a question of law anymore. It's a question of politics and diplomacy.'' The silver-haired Aus- tralian shot to international prominence in 2010 after he began publishing a huge trove of American diplomat- ic and military secrets — including a quarter million U.S. Embassy cables that shed a harsh light on the backroom dealings of U.S. diplomats. Amid the fer- ment, two Swedish women accused him of sexual assault; Assange has been fighting extradition to Swe- den ever since. Romney: Always paid at least 13 percent GREER, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney declared Thursday he has company CEO, set up a whiteboard to make his case with a marker, while law- maker Ryan resorted to con- gressional process language to explain why his budget plan includes the same $700 billion Medicare cut that he and Romney are assailing Obama for endorsing. Essentially, Ryan said, he had to do it because Obama did it first. Politically, both topics tie into major elements of the presidential race less than three months before the election: how well the can- didates relate to the daily concerns and to the life cir- cumstances of typical vot- ers. Democrats are using the tax issue to raise doubts about Romney's trustwor- thiness — or, as Republi- cans contend, to distract from a weak economic recovery under Obama. CO2 emissions in US drop to 20- year low PITTSBURGH (AP) — In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon diox- ide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State Univer- sity, said the shift away from coal is reason for ''cautious optimism'' about potential ways to deal with climate change. He said it demon- strates that ''ultimately peo- ple follow their wallets'' on global warming. ''There's a very clear les- son here. What it shows is that if you make a cleaner energy source cheaper, you will displace dirtier sources,'' said Roger Pielke Jr., a climate expert at the University of Colorado. In a little-noticed techni- cal report, the U.S. Energy Information Agency, a part of the Energy Department, said this month that total U.S. CO2 emissions for the first four months of this year fell to about 1992 levels. The Associated Press con- tacted environmental experts, scientists and utility companies and learned that virtually everyone believes the shift could have major long-term implications for U.S. energy policy. Obama and Romney agree there has to be a limit on Medicare WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney agree there has to and you could help pets that have been abandoned in our community Obama relies heavily on cutting payments, the amount hospitals might get for a heart bypass or how much a radiologist is reim- bursed for reading an MRI. Romney would give future retirees a fixed amount of money to pick their health insurance from competing private plans or a government program, there- by limiting taxpayers' finan- cial exposure. There will be conse- quences for seniors and the nation's health care industry no matter which way the debate is decided, because both sides agree Medicare spending must be con- trolled. Big political names will be absent from helicopter crashed during a firefight with insurgents in a remote area of southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing seven Americans and four Afghans in one of the deadliest air disasters of a war now into its second decade. The Taliban claimed they gunned down the Black Hawk. American service per- sonnel in Afghanistan are dying at a rate of about one per day so far this year despite a drawdown of troops. That death rate has risen recently with the sum- mer fighting season in full gear and a rash of attacks by Afghan security forces on their foreign trainers and partners. Syrian foreign minister says rebel victory conventions WASHINGTON (AP) — Sarah Palin and George W. Bush won't be in Tampa, Fla. Hillary Rodham Clin- ton and Al Gore won't make the trip to Charlotte, N.C. And scores of other Repub- lican and Democratic stars are taking a pass as their par- ties gather for this year's national conventions. The reasons are varied — and often, of course, politi- cal. wattage politicians weren't invited to have speaking roles. Advisers to Mitt Rom- ney and Barack Obama are selecting people to stand at the podiums who most fit the message each candidate will try to send. And who won't steal the spotlight. Other party rock stars are choosing to be on the side- lines because they're in hard-fought campaigns of their own. In some cases, high- One of the biggest names in the Democratic Party — Secretary of State Clinton — isn't allowed to attend under the law. But her hus- band, the former president, will be a featured speaker. Final preparations are under way for both conven- tions. Republicans will gath- er Aug. 27-30 in Florida, where Romney will official- ly accept the GOP nomina- tion. Democrats convene Sept. 4-6 in North Carolina, where Obama will get the party nod for a second time. Americans KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A U.S. military Black Hawk crash kills 7 'dreaming' BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister defiantly dismissed rebel forces and their international backers on Thursday as incapable of toppling the military defend- ing Bashar Assad's regime, even as condemnation grew over expanded offensives that activists say have claimed dozens of civilian lives in recent days. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem's confident tone contrasted sharply with a series of recent blows to Assad, including high-level military and political defec- tions and the ability of rebel guerrillas to stage bombings and abductions in the heart of the capital, Damascus. The timing of al- Moallem's interview on Syrian state TV also sug- gested attempts to reassure Assad's supporters at a time when Damascus has few reliable allies remaining. Iran stands firmly behind Assad, but the critical bonds are with U.N. Security Council members China and Russia, which have blocked efforts to impose sanctions and other mea- sures to pressure Syria. A Syrian envoy, Bouthaina Shaaban, was in Beijing on Thursday and described talks with China's foreign minister as ''really great.'' ''Those who think that the Syrian Arab army will be defeated are dreaming,'' al-Moallem said. Police seeking to notify family of crash victim find mom, 2 kids dead VAN BUREN TOWN- Tony & Carmen Kelley 22679 Moran Road Corning, Ca 96021 make a $500 donation to Providing Essentials for the Tehama Shelter to benefit the Tehama County Animal Care Center If we receive 1,500 "likers" on Facebook by Sept. 15 we will 530-824-2195 Fax: 530-824-0748 Beef 'N Brew Sept. 15, 2012 Downtown Red Bluff Red Bluff's 3rd Annual Beef Appetizers Brew Tasting Plum Crazy, The Gold Exchange Brownpapertickets.com For info: 530-833-9961 Tickets @The Loft, SHIP, Mich. (AP) — Offi- cers found a woman and her two young sons dead in their suburban Detroit home Thursday when they went there to notify the woman that her husband had died in a fiery crash in Indiana. Police said they went to the home after being noti- fied of a man's death in a crash near Michigan City, Ind., which is just over the state line. When no one responded they entered through an unlocked door and found the three bodies in separate bedrooms. Investigators didn't say how the three died but said the case was being investi- gated as homicide. The boys, ages 4 and 7, were found in their own beds at the home in Wayne Coun- ty's Van Buren Township, police said. Their mother was found in her bedroom. ''There was no sign of forced entry. No sign of rob- bery,'' Van Buren Township Police Capt. Gregory Lau- rain. Army had record suicides in July WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides among active- duty soldiers in July more than doubled from June, accelerating a trend through- out the military this year that has prompted Pentagon leaders to redouble efforts to solve a puzzling problem. The Army, which is the only branch of the military that issues monthly press statements on suicides, said 26 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in July, compared with 12 in June. The July total was the high- est for any month since the Army began reporting sui- cides by month in 2009, according to Lt. Col. Lisa Garcia, an Army spokes- woman. The Marine Corps had eight suicides in July, up from six in June. The July figure was its highest monthly total of 2012 and pushed its total for the year so far to 32 — equal to the Marines' total for all of 2011. The Marines' July fig- ure is being posted on its website but was provided first to The Associated Press. The Air Force said it had six in July, compared with two in June. The Navy had four in July but its June fig- ure was not immediately available. The Army's suicide numbers have been higher than the other services, in part because it is substantial- ly larger than the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. The Army also has had more members in combat over the past decade. It was the main ground force in Iraq and has a preponder- ance of the U.S. troops today in Afghanistan. 2126 Solano St., Corning Have you been in to see us lately? We are inside Clarks Drug Store Bring in this ad to receive 2000 20% off a Fresh Flower Bouquet of $ Exp. 9-19-2012 or more Floral Shop 824-3971 Clarks Go to www.facebook.com/rbdailynews in the look-up bar near the top of the page, then click to "Like" our Facebook page when you get there