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NEWS TUESDAY,
MARCH 16, 2010 NEWS
EARLY EDITION
Poll
Charts Rising U.S. Environmental Satisfaction
Americans have grown more content about current environmental quality
over the past year, though 53 percent still rate conditions as only fair
to poor, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday. Forty-six percent
of the 1,014 adults surveyed March 4 to 7 described current U.S. environmental
conditions as excellent or good. That was up from 39 percent in March 2009
and was the highest positive environmental rating measured by Gallup since
2002. The percentage of Americans who say the environment is only fair
to poor was down from 61 percent last year. Reuters
Cash-Strapped
States Go All In On Gambling
Faced with a drop in gambling revenue, states are adding games, considering
new casinos and increasing lottery options — anything to keep their cut
of the profits rolling in. States are adamant that they don't want to take
advantage of anyone, but with budgets in free-fall and tax increases a
losing hand politically, lawmakers acknowledge they are dependent on gambling
dollars. At least 18 states this year are looking to expand games of chance
because of a drop-off of anywhere from 5 to 14 percent in the money they
collect from casinos, horse racing, lotteries or other gambling. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: States are financially hurting
citizens by enticing them to waste their needed earnings on gambling.
AG
Sees Promising Change Toward Open Government
Attorney General Eric Holder vowed Monday to pursue a government-wide
strategy to open greater amounts of information to the public. In the past
year, "we've seen something truly promising: an obvious and encouraging
change in our government's attitude toward information," Holder told Justice
Department employees in a speech. "We must keep up this work." President
Barack Obama has given Holder the lead in pushing the federal bureaucracy
to release more information. Las
Vegas Sun
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Dodd
Unveils Plans To Expand Fed Powers Over Banks
A new Democratic Senate bill to tame the financial markets would give
the government new powers to break up firms that threaten the economy and
would force the industry to pay for its failures. Legislation unveiled
Monday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd falls shy
of the ambitious restructuring of federal financial regulations envisioned
by President Obama or contained in legislation already passed in the House.
But the bill would still be the biggest overhaul of regulations since the
New Deal. It comes 18 months after Wall Street's failures helped plunge
the nation into a deep recession. Fox
News
U.S.
Ties In 'Crisis Of Historic Proportions'
U.S.-Israeli relations have hit a 35-year low over a contentious east
Jerusalem building project that threatens to derail peacemaking efforts
with the Palestinians, Israel's envoy to Washington was quoted as saying
Monday. Ambassador Michael Oren's remarks clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's assurances that the political turmoil resulting from the settlement
announcement, which the Obama administration slammed as "an insult," was
under control. "Israel's ties with the United States are in their worst
crisis since 1975 ... a crisis of historic proportions," the Yedioth Ahronoth
newspaper quoted Oren as saying to Israeli diplomats in a phone briefing
over the weekend. Fox
News
VOA VIEW: Obama
is causing problems with one of the nation's best ally.
Mexico’s Drug
Violence Claims An American Couple Tied To U.S. Consulate
Suspected drug gang hit men separately ambushed two cars carrying families
with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an
American couple and a Mexican man. Three young children survived, although
two suffered wounds. The slayings came amid a surge in bloodshed along
Mexico's border with Texas and drew condemnation from the White House.
Mexico's president expressed outrage and promised a fast investigation
to find those responsible. CNS
News
Ford
Had 20 Acceleration Deaths As Regulators Cited Human Error
U.S. regulators have tracked more deaths in vehicles made by Ford Motor
Co., Chrysler Group LLC and other companies combined than by Toyota Motor
Corp. during three decades of unintended acceleration reviews that often
blamed human error. Fifty-nine of 110 fatalities attributed to sudden acceleration
in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records occurred in vehicles
other than those sold by Toyota, whose recalls have drawn widespread attention
to the issue, according to data compiled for Bloomberg News by the NHTSA.
Bloomberg
Continental
Cuts Back On Free Food
Continental Airlines will discontinue offering free food to economy-class
passengers on the majority of its domestic flights in the United States
and Canada and on flights to some leisure destinations in Latin America
and the Caribbean, the airline announced Monday. "Our traditional free-food
model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect
today's market and customer preferences," Jim Compton, executive vice president
and chief marketing officer, said in a statement. CNN
Obama
Slams Insurers, Demands Health Care Reform
The yearlong fight over health care reached a fever pitch Monday as
President Obama took his call for change to the political swing state of
Ohio, slamming insurance companies and repeating his call for a final congressional
vote on his sweeping reform plan. The president's push came as the House
of Representatives prepared for an expected vote this week on the roughly
$875 billion bill passed by the Senate in December. Under the strategy
adopted by congressional leaders, both chambers of Congress then would
pass a series of changes designed in part to make the legislation more
acceptable to House Democrats. CNN
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Congress Has
a Right, and Duty, to Earmark
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R.-Okla.), named by the National Journal as the senator
with the most conservative voting record in 2009 and rated by the National
Taxpayers Union as having the Senate's fifth-best voting record on bills
affecting taxing and spending, told CNSNews.com that he intends to lead
a new effort to protect and defend the right of members of Congress to
“earmark” appropriations and authorization bills. CNS
News
Credit
Card Data Evidence Of Consumer Rebound
Credit card delinquency rates slipped or held firm at most major U.S.
lenders last month, showing fewer Americans are falling behind on bills,
and providing some evidence that the worst of consumers' stress may be
over. Charge-off rates were mixed at the companies -- including JPMorgan
Chase & Co, American Express Co and Citigroup Inc -- a reflection of
a broad rate rise last summer and a sign that the lenders still face hurdles
in the wake of the deep recession. The delinquency rates likely received
a seasonal boost, but nonetheless signal the card issuers are less likely
to have to write off bad loans in the future. Charge-offs are loans the
companies do not expect to be repaid. Reuter
Obama
Seeks To Reassure Seniors On Health Care
With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama sought to reassure
seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in
Congress, pledging it would make preventive care cost-free and close a
gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage. "This proposal adds almost
a decade of solvency to Medicare," Obama said in a visit to a senior center.
MSNBC
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Dodd
Unveils Financial Market Reform Plan
A new Democratic Senate bill to tame the financial markets would give
the government new powers to break up firms that threaten the economy,
force the industry to pay for its failures and create a consumer watchdog
within the Federal Reserve. Legislation unveiled Monday by Senate Banking
Committee Chairman Chris Dodd falls shy of the ambitious restructuring
of federal financial regulations envisioned by President Barack Obama or
contained in legislation already passed in the House. CBS
Most
Power On LI Should Be Back By Weds., Some Thurs.
As the frustration level of nearly 60,000 ratepayers still without
power rises, LIPA this afternoon acknowledged restoration work could spill
over into Thursday, though it expects 95 percent to have service back by
Wednesday. The weather isn't cooperating: Just today, rain and wind knocked
out power to another 15,000 homes, LIPA said. Newsday
Arteries
Improve After Smokers Quit
A year after kicking the habit, smokers' arteries showed signs of reversing
a problem that can set the stage for heart disease, according to the first
big study to test this. The improvement came even though smokers gained
an average of 9 pounds after they quit, researchers found. Their levels
of so-called good cholesterol improved, too. "A lot of people are afraid
to quit smoking because they're afraid to gain weight," said the study's
leader, Dr. James Stein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison cardiologist.
Las
Vegas Sun
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China
Trims Holdings Of U.S. Treasury Debt
China retained its spot as the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury
debt in January although it trimmed its holdings for a third straight month.
The string of declines are likely to underscore worries that the U.S. government
could face much higher interest rates to finance soaring budget deficits.
The Treasury Department said Monday that China's holdings dipped by $5.8
billion to $889 billion in January compared to December. Japan, the second
largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, also trimmed its holdings
but by a much smaller $300 million to $765.4 billion. CBS
Rove:
Obama Not Doing ‘Homework In Advance’ On Foreign Trips
With tensions simmering between the US and Israel in the wake of Vice
President Joe Biden’s trip to the region last week, former senior Bush
White House adviser Karl Rove said today that Israel’s announcement of
new settlements in East Jerusalem shows that President Obama and his top
aides aren’t doing “their homework in advance.” “I think this is
part of a broader problem with the Obama administration, and that is there
doesn’t seem to be enough groundwork done before these international meetings
that they don’t get caught by surprises like this,” Rove said on ABC’s
“Top Line.” ABC
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Obama,
U.S. Governors Favor “College-Ready” School Standards
The first U.S.-wide set of academic standards for schoolchildren may
be adopted by half of all states this year, while President Barack Obama
presses to overhaul the main law designed to hold accountable 100,000 public
schools for their students’ achievement. Obama is scheduled today to present
to Congress a blueprint for transforming the No Child Left Behind law,
which uses testing to gauge student achievement, into a measure that would
offer schools more flexibility in demonstrating academic progress. Governors
and chief schools officers on March 10 proposed specific grade-level requirements
for reading, writing and math. Bloomberg
Biden
Predicts Net Job Gain For 2010 1Q
The economic stimulus package would see the United States showing a
net gain in jobs for the first quarter of 2010, Vice President Joe Biden
said Monday. "We're not just creating jobs and putting paychecks in somebody's
pocket," Biden said in Cincinnati during a fundraising appearance for Rep.
Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio. "Every bit of this money gets pumped back into
the economy." He told about 500 supporters who had paid between $100 and
$500 for the luncheon the economic stimulus package passed last year means
"you are going to see us creating a net-plus jobs this quarter." UPI
News
VOA VIEW: A soon to be proven false claim.
Delinquencies
Slow But They Exceed Modifications
Though the rate of delinquent mortgages is slowing, the number of loans
that are delinquent 60 days or more since the first of the year exceed
the total number of loans modified through private and governmental programs.
The February 2010 Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing
Services, Inc. shows that while delinquency rates in the U.S. have risen
to historic highs, the pace of deterioration has slowed. However, the nation's
housing market remains far from a full recovery. UPI
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'Hamas
Used Kids As Human Shields'
Hamas gunmen used Palestinian children as human shields, and established
command centers and Kassam launch pads in and near more than 100 mosques
and hospitals during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last year, according
to a new Israeli report being released on Monday that aims to counter criticism
of the IDF. The detailed 500-page report, obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem
Post, was written by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
(Malam), a small research group led by Col. (res.) Reuven Erlich, a former
Military Intelligence officer who works closely with the army.Jerusalem
Post
US Industrial
Output Rises Again
US industrial production has increased for the eighth month in a row,
beating expectations of a fall. Levels of production were "held down somewhat
by winter storms in the Northeast" according to the Federal Reserve, which
publishes the data. Overall industrial output was up 0.1% in February,
compared with January. In the same period the manufacturing sector fell
0.2%, but the output of mines rose 2% and the index for utilities went
up by 0.5%. BBC
Burma
And N Korea Slam UN Reports
Recommendations by the UN special envoy to Burma "violated the right
of a sovereign state", Burma's UN envoy told the UN Human Rights Council.
North Korea's UN envoy "categorically" rejected a recent UN report describing
the country as "one big prison". Meanwhile, the UN report on Burma used
"unverifiable sources", the UN special envoy Tomas Quintana said. BBC
BA
Plans To Keep 60% Of Passengers Flying
British Airways today announced emergency plans to leep 60 per cent
of its customers flying during the planned cabin crew strike this weekend
– either on its plane or other airlines – as the dispute threatened to
hit Labour’s general election campaign. With little sign of a breakthrough
in the dispute between BA and Unite, the Prime Minister was dragged into
a bitter political row over the party’s links with the unions. Following
accusations that the Government had minced its words for fearing of antagonising
Unite, Gordon Brown finally condemned the threatened strike as “unjustified
and deplorable”. Independent
Small
Firms Feel Failed By Government
Most smaller firms believe the Government and banks have not done enough
to support them during the recession, according to a new study today. A
survey of 650 businesses by XLN Telecom showed most were dissatisfied with
the Government's handling of the financial crisis. Only one in four expressed
any optimism about the coming year and nine out of 10 said small firms
were having to carry "unfair tax burdens" as a result of banks being bailed
out. Independent
Supreme
Court Considers UK Soldiers' Right To Sue Over Military Missions
The extent to which British soldiers on any military operation in any
country will be able to sue the government under the human rights act will
be decided by a landmark case which opened in the supreme court today before
nine of the country's most senior judges. The Ministry of Defence is challenging
an appeal court ruling which, it claims, will have a serious impact on
commanders by allowing troops to sue even as a result of decisions made
in the heat of battle. Guardian
Israel
Claims Jerusalem Settlement Plan Would Not Harm Palestinians
The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, stepped up the row
over Jewish settlement plans in East Jerusalem today, saying they would
not hurt the city's Palestinian residents. Speaking to Israel's parliament,
Netanyahu said the construction of homes for Jews in the city's eastern
sector "in no way" hurts Palestinians. His comments came after an admission
by the Israeli ambassador to Washington that Israel's relations with the
US are at their worst for 35 years. Guardian
House
Market Stalls, Fuels Double-Dip Recession Fears
Prices are up a measly 0.1pc compared to February, the smallest margin
ever recorded at this time of the year, when prices have never fallen month
on month, according to property website Rightmove. The near standstill
in prices has fuelled concerns that a decline in the housing market could
lead to a slowdown in the wider economy as unemployment, public sector
spending cuts and potentially higher interest rates hit the consumer. Telegraph
Army
Training Exercises Cut By A Third To Save Money
Training exercises for military operations have been cut by a third
to save money at a time when the Army is engaged in heavy fighting in Afghanistan.
A record 80 training exercises were cancelled last year while the number
of British troops in Helmand reached 10,000. Last week a coroner castigated
the Ministry of Defence over “inadequate” mine detection training following
the death of Cpl Sarah Bryant, the first British woman killed in Afghanistan,
and three SAS soldiers. The Daily Telegraph has also learnt that units
training to deploy to Afghanistan within the next two years have had their
training cut. Telegraph
Prison
Mobile Phone Debate Jammed Up In The System
On paper, it’s a no-brainer: Prisoners have mobile phones they are
using to run gangs, call friends and intimidate witnesses. Tech companies
have the equipment to jam the phones by flooding the airwaves, and prisons
want to use them. But the 1930’s law setting up the nation’s telecommunications
bureaucracy makes such jamming illegal. That drives Howard Melman, the
CEO of CellAntenna, crazy. Witnesses are dying and gangs are flourishing
because Congress has yet to put the Safe Prison’s Act bill on President
Obama’s desk, Melman argues. His company, which mostly sells tech to expand
cell coverage inside buildings, also does a small business in jammers.
And over the last seven years, he’s become one of the most public faces
of the campaign to rid prisons of rogue cell phones. Wired
FCC
To Release Ambitious, But Pragmatic, National Broadband Plan
The FCC is set to share the nation’s first official broadband plan
with Congress Tuesday, a sort of Declaration of the Internet which seeks
to ensure that a fast broadband connection is just as much an unalienable
right as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That’s pretty ambitious,
but the FCC is as unambiguous about its intentions as the Colonists were
about throwing off the yoke another form of oppression. For example, goal
number three states that “Every American should have affordable access
to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they
so choose.” Wired
One
Billion Could Miss Sanitation Goal Without Boost To Efforts
With five years to go before the deadline for halving the number of
people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization
(WHO) warn in a report released today that without stepped-up efforts,
nearly one billion people will be overlooked. UN
News
Human
Rights Situation In DPR Korea Is Bleak
The many instances of harrowing and horrific human rights violations
in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will continue unless
certain measures at the national and international levels are taken, the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the country said today.
UN
News
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