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ByVivianSalamaand Robert Burns The Associated Press WASHINGTON Emerg- ing from his first meet- ing with President Donald Trump, Iraqi Prime Min- ister Haider al-Abadi said Monday he was assured the U.S. will accelerate its sup- port for his country's strug- gle against the Islamic State group. "I think they are pre- pared to do more" than the administration of Pres- ident Barack Obama, he said. Obama was reluc- tant to commit large num- bers of U.S. troops to com- batting IS in Iraq, but his approach, which relied on training and supporting lo- cal forces, has succeeded in pushing the militants out of much of the territory they once held. Speaking at a Washing- ton think tank shortly af- ter his White House visit, al-Abadi said he got the impression that the Trump administration will take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail. "I think this administra- tion wants to be more en- gaged in fighting terror- ism," he said. "I sense a dif- ference in terms of being head-to-head with terror- ism." He added, however, that military force is not necessarily the most effec- tive tool. "There are bet- ter ways for defeating ter- rorism." Asked whether he had seen specific Trump ad- ministration improve- ments to the previous ad- ministration's approach, al- Abadi said: "To be honest, I haven't seen a full plan. I know there is a plan. I haven't seen it. We have our own plan." Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently presented Trump with the outlines of a comprehensive approach to defeating IS and other ex- tremist groups on a global scale, but specifics are yet to be worked out. Officials have indicated that the ap- proach is unlikely to depart radically from the Obama strategy, at least with re- gard to the ongoing efforts in Iraq and Syria. Al-Abadi appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a federally funded think tank. The prime minis- ter spoke optimistically of completing the recapture of Iraqi lands still held by IS. He said government forces, working effectively with Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga and supported by American airpower and military advisers, are on the brink of fully liberating Mo- sul, the northern city that has been the Islamic State group's main Iraqi strong- hold since 2014. In brief remarks in the presence of reporters dur- ing al-Abadi's White House visit, Trump raised his fre- quently stated objections to the Iran nuclear deal ne- gotiated by his predeces- sor, but did not talk specifi- cally about how he intends to support Iraq. "One of the things I did ask is, 'Why did President Obama sign that agreement with Iran?' because nobody has been able to figure that one out," Trump said. "But maybe someday we'll be able to figure that one out." Trump said he hopes to address the "vacuum" that was created when IS moved into Iraq and added that "we shouldn't have gone in" to Iraq in the first place. Trump campaigned on a promise to dramatically ramp up the assault on IS and has vowed to eradi- cate it. In his think tank ap- pearance later, al-Abadi again struck a humorous note at Trump's expense. After expressing hope that Iraq will succeed in end- ing decades of internal conflict, he said his coun- try should be wary of parti- tioning areas along ethnic or religious lines as some have recommended. "We have to build bridges with others and work with others to be more secure," he said. "Otherwise, what do you do? You build walls? What do you do?" He then grinned widely at the allu- sion — intended or not — to Trump's plan to erect a wall on the border with Mexico. Later this week al-Abadi will be attending a 68-na- tion meeting to discuss the coalition against the Is- lamic State group. WAR ON TERRORISM Iraqileader:TrumptoacceleratesupportforISfight EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Monday. By Erica Werner and Mark Sherman The Associated Press WASHINGTON Judge Neil Gorsuch emphasized "the importance of an indepen- dent judiciary" on Monday in opening remarks to a Senate Judiciary Commit- tee bitterly divided over his nomination to the Supreme Court. "Under our Constitu- tion, it is for this body, the people's representatives, to make new laws. For the ex- ecutive to ensure those laws are faithfully enforced. And for neutral and independent judges to apply the law in the people's disputes," said Gorsuch, President Don- ald Trump's pick to fill the high court vacancy created 13 months ago by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch, 49, who serves on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals, is a respected, highly credentialed and conserva- tive judge with a legal phi- losophy akin to Scalia's, who has spent 10 years on the federal bench. Democrats claimed that he's found in favor of corporations over "the little guy" during that time, while Republicans credit him with an intelli- gent and straightforward approach of interpreting the law as it is, not as anyone would wish it to be. Since Scalia's death, the court has split 4 to 4 on a handful of cases. Gorsuch's confirmation would gener- ally restore the court's 5-4 conservative tilt, although Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch clerked, has joined the liberals on cases involving gay rights, abortion rights and race. "These days we some- times hear judges cyni- cally described as politi- cians in robes, seeking to enforce their own politics rather than striving to ap- ply the law impartially. If I thought that were true I'd hang up the robe. But I just don't think that's what a life in the law is about," Gor- such said. Gorsuch delivered a very personal opening state- ment, speaking of his West- ern upbringing and his par- ents and grandparents, and choking up as he hugged his wife, Louise, of 20 years, and talked about their two daughters. Gorsuch spoke to the Senate Judiciary Commit- tee after hours of open- ing statements from sena- tors revealed deep partisan divides between Demo- crats and Republicans on the panel. Democrats an- grily condemned Republi- cans for refusing to act on Barack Obama's nominee last year, while Republicans accused Democrats of try- ing to turn Gorsuch's con- firmation hearing into a ref- erendum on the GOP pres- ident. "The nominee before us today is not President Trump," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. "The nomi- nee before us today is not Leader McConnell," the Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, who engineered the 10-month blockade of Obama's court pick, Judge Merrick Garland, last year. "So I hope this nomina- tion hearing focuses on the one person before us," Til- lis said. Democrats made clear that it wouldn't. Addressing Gorsuch, Sen. Dick Durbin repeated a comment by White House chief of staff Reince Prie- bus last month that Gor- such "represents the type of judge that has the vision of Donald Trump." "I want to hear from you why Mr. Priebus would say that," Durbin, D-Ill., said to Gorsuch. "Most Ameri- cans question whether we need a Supreme Court jus- tice with the vision of Don- ald Trump." Democrats, under in- tense pressure from liberal base voters horrified by the Trump presidency, entered the hearings divided over how hard to fight Gorsuch's nomination given that the mild-mannered jurist is no right-wing bomb thrower and is widely expected to win confirmation in the end, one way or another. Seeming to acknowledge that the outcome was not in question, Durbin remarked to Gorsuch: "You're going to have your hands full with this president. He's going to keep you busy." Several of the more lib- eral Senate Democrats have already announced plans to oppose Gorsuch and seek to block his nomination from coming to a final vote. But delay tactics by Democrats could lead McConnell to exercise procedural ma- neuvers of his own to elim- inate the 60-vote filibus- ter threshold now in place for Supreme Court nom- inations, and with it any Democratic leverage to in- fluence the next Supreme Court fight. SUPREME COURT Gorsuch: 'Independent judiciary' is important PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch listens on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. By Seth Borenstein and David Keyton The Associated Press OSLO, NORWAY If you want to pursue happiness, grab a winter coat. A new report shows Norway is the happiest country on Earth, Amer- icans are getting sadder, and it takes more than just money to be happy. What makes Norway and other northern Eu- ropean countries top the happiness list has a lot to do with a sense of com- munity and broad social welfare support, accord- ing to experts and cheer- ful Norwegians, including one whose job it is to make people laugh. "The answer to why Nor- wegians are happy — it's a bit boring — it's well func- tioning institutions," ex- plained Norwegian co- median Harald Eia. "The schools, health care, po- lice, all the bureaucracy treat people with respect and that trickles down and makes us happy, makes us trust each other, makes us feel a part of the whole community. So it's very boring: bureaucrats are the secret to our happiness." Norway vaulted to the top slot in the World Hap- piness Report despite lower prices for oil, a key part of its economy. In the U.S., happiness has been declining for the past de- cade even as the nation has become richer. The United States was 14th in the latest ranking, down from No. 13 last year, and over the years Amer- icans steadily have been rating themselves less happy. "It's the human things that matter. If the riches make it harder to have fre- quent and trustworthy re- lationships between peo- ple, is it worth it?" asked John Helliwell, the lead au- thor of the report and an economist at the Univer- sity of British Columbia in Canada (ranked No. 7). "The material can stand in the way of the human." Studying happiness may seem frivolous, but serious academics have long been calling for more testing about peo- ple's emotional well-be- ing, especially in the United States. In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report recommending that fed- eral statistics and sur- veys, which normally deal with income, spend- ing, health and housing, include a few extra ques- tions on happiness be- cause it would lead to bet- ter policy that affects peo- ple's lives. Norway moved from No. 4 to the top spot in the re- port's rankings, which combine economic, health and polling data compiled by economists that are av- eraged over three years from 2014 to 2016. Nor- way edged past previous champ Denmark, which fell to second. Iceland, Switzerland and Finland round out the top 5. "I think it's the work- life balance. So we have a big safety net, so we get free education, free health care, so it's really good," said 29-year-old Marin Maal in Oslo. "And we're close to nature." Central African Repub- lic fell to last on the hap- piness list, and is joined at the bottom by Bu- rundi, Tanzania, Syria and Rwanda. The report ranks 155 countries. REPORT Who's happy, who's not: Norway tops list, US falls New&ConsignedFurniture,Mattress,&More Redding • 3705 MeadowView Dr. • 530-917-7797 Red Bluff • 616 CedarSt. • 530-917-1138 Wrapped in new plastic Flippable! TWIN SET only $ 105 QUEEN DOUBLE PILLOW TOP MATTRESS only $ 230 Mattress ROCK BOTTOM PRICES! FULL SET only $ 135 KING SET only $ 195 QUEEN SET only $ 165 amazingfindshome.com Deliveryavailable YourOneStopConvenienceStore ONE STOP E X P A N D E D Craft Beer Section Full Line Of Top Shelf Liquor 5am to 11pm 714 Walnut St., Red Bluff More Than Just a Gas Station! 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