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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 – Daily News – 3B WORLD BRIEFING Obama puts core on ’fringe’ WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama stepped carefully when talking for the first time about the conservative tea party movement, saying the core of the loose anti-government net- work is ‘‘on the fringe’’ but acknowledging others have legiti- mate concerns about federal reach and spending. The latest political phenome- non, barely a year old, has leaders on both sides of the political spec- trum puzzled. Republicans want to co-opt the passion — and votes — of tea party disciples to help them oust Democrats from congressional control in the fall midterm elec- tions. As for Democrats, they have focused mainly on trying to marginalize and ignore them. For instance, several Democratic offi- cials say there’s no apparent strat- egy yet at the White House for combatting the network’s grow- ing influence. But the leaderless coalition, born in communities from coast to coast shortly after Obama’s inauguration last year, seems to have some staying power. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken last week showed that more people view the movement favorably than unfa- vorably. Imminent threat spurred militia raids, arrests DETROIT (AP) — Federal authorities had been monitoring Deep tissue massage therapy specializing in chronic pain & injury relief. your giddy-up? Been pushin cattle, Working horses? Got a hitch in A Better Path Located between Red Bluff & Corning Sally Eisinger, CMT 824-6860 stage of determining whether vic- tims actually have a claim against the Vatican itself for negligence for allegedly failing to alert police or the public about Roman Catholic priests who molested children. The case was filed in 2004 in Kentucky by three men who claim they were abused by priests and claim negligence by the Vatican. Their attorney, William McMurry, is seeking class-action status for the case, saying there are thou- sands of victims across the coun- try. members of a Michigan-based Christian militia for some time but were forced to ‘‘take them down’’ over the weekend after learning of an imminent threat against police, the U.S. attorney leading the pros- ecution said Tuesday. Barbara McQuade’s comments came three days after eight mem- bers of a small group of ‘‘Christ- ian warriors’’ were arrested in sev- eral Midwestern states and a day after the FBI nabbed a ninth sus- pect, Joshua Stone, following a standoff at a trailer in rural Michi- gan. ‘‘The time had come that we needed to arrest them and take them down,’’ McQuade told The Associated Press in an interview at her office. Across the street in Detroit fed- eral court, Stone was arraigned Tuesday and was ordered held without bond until a hearing Jack the Ribber • Ribs •Tri-Tip • Pulled Pork • Specials Mon.-Fri. 11am-8pm Sat. 5-9pm 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 Paid advertisement COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2995 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Wednesday. Vatican cites sovereignty VATICAN CITY (AP) — Dragged deeper than ever into the clerical sex abuse scandal, the Vat- ican is launching a legal defense that the church hopes will shield the pope from a lawsuit in Ken- tucky seeking to have him deposed. Court documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press show that Vatican lawyers plan to argue that the pope has immunity as head of state, that American bishops who oversaw abusive priests weren’t employees of the Vatican, and that a 1962 document is not the ‘‘smoking gun’’ that pro- vides proof of a cover-up. The Holy See is trying to fend off the first U.S. case to reach the ‘‘This case is the only case that has been ever been filed against the Vatican which has as its sole objective to hold the Vatican accountable for all the priest sex abuse ever committed in this country,’’ he said in a phone inter- view. ‘‘There is no other defen- dant. There’s no bishop, no priest.’’ Dems seize on GOPsex scandal WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic groups tried Tuesday to make a campaign issue out of news that the national Republican Party spent $1,946 at a sex- themed California nightclub, but GOP activists said party chairman Michael Steele will weather the hubbub. The Republican National Committee fired a staffer who helped organize the Jan. 31 visit to Voyeur Hollywood West, which features topless dancers, bondage outfits and erotic themes. It said it will recoup the money from a donor who paid the tab and was reimbursed by the party on Feb. 4. The episode raises new ques- & Gardening 10-25% OFF MSRP HYDROPONICS Indoor Lighting ADVANCED 1417 SOLANO ST., CORNING 824-1100 NOW OPEN SUNDAYS tions about Steele’s oversight of the RNC. But party officials said Steele knew nothing of the night- club visit by a group of young Republicans, which was listed in a federally required financial disclo- sure report, and they promised to tighten accounting practices. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pressed numerous GOP candidates to say whether Steele should remain as head of the NRC. But GOP activists predicted the matter would blow over soon. ‘‘I don’t think there’s going to be anyone who wants to challenge him,’’ said Washington-based consultant John Feehery, who has advised several Republican candi- dates and officeholders. Steele generally has done a good job of catering to the needs of RNC members, Feehery said. Obama calls for Iran sanctions WASHINGTON (AP) — With the president of France at his side, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday he hopes to have international sanctions against Iran in place ‘‘within weeks,’’ not months, because of its continuing nuclear program. But he acknowledged he still lacks full support. ‘‘Do we have unanimity in the international community? Not yet. And that’s something that we have to work on,’’ Obama said. Obama said while ‘‘the door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk though it,’’ there have been no signs that the Irani- ans are close to moving back from their nuclear program — and patience has all but run out. 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