World Briefly

By The Associated Press | Clanton Advertiser

Published Friday, January 23, 2009

Obama ends ban on funds for international groups that promote or perform abortions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday quietly ended the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.

Liberal groups welcomed the decision, while abortion rights foes criticized the president.

Known as the "Mexico City policy," the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, said Obama signed an executive order on the ban, without coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. That was in contrast to the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week.

Obama's action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.

The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.

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Launching PR campaign, Ill. governor claims he's being removed so lawmakers can raise taxes

CHICAGO (AP) — Launching an all-out media blitz as his impeachment trial draws near, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared himself Friday to an honest, hardworking cowboy about to be lynched by a band of black-hatted political insiders eager to raise taxes.

After keeping mostly out of the public eye since his arrest on federal corruption charges, Blagojevich is reversing course with a series of interviews and public statements portraying himself as the victim of vengeful lawmakers eager to toss him out of office.

"The heart and soul of this has been a struggle of me against the system," Blagojevich said at a news conference Friday.

Blagojevich denied any wrongdoing but wouldn't discuss the federal corruption charges filed against him last month. Instead, he focused on his efforts to expand government health care programs without raising taxes.

He has chosen not to mount any defense in the Senate impeachment trial that begins Monday and could remove him from office within days. He may ask the Illinois Supreme Court to block the trial, arguing its rules are hopelessly biased against him.

Blagojevich, a fan of Western movies, drew a long analogy Friday between his situation and that of a cowboy accused of stealing a horse. His story ended with one cowboy suggesting the accused thief be hanged, with the other suggesting he first be tried, then hanged.

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NY gov picks little-known congresswoman for Clinton's seat, opens up rift among Democrats

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Instantly opening a rift among New York Democrats, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand — a little-known, pro-gun Democrat from a rural Republican district — won appointment Friday to the Senate seat left vacant by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Gov. David Paterson announced his choice a day after presumed front-runner Caroline Kennedy — a woman with considerably more star power but less experience — mysteriously dropped out of contention in an embarrassing turn of events that touched off sniping between the governor and the Kennedy camp.

Gillibrand, at 42, will be the youngest member of the Senate and one of 17 women in the chamber. The second-term congresswoman will assume the seat once held by Kennedy's uncle Robert F. Kennedy as well as by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

"For many in New York state, this is the first time you've heard my name and you don't know much about me," said Gillibrand (pronounced JILL-ih-brand). "Over the next two years, you will get to know me. And, more importantly, I will get to know you."

Before the governor even took the podium to introduce Gillibrand, anti-gun crusader Rep. Carolyn McCarthy said she would challenge Gillibrand in the Democratic primary next year, or find someone who would. Gillibrand has a 100 percent voting record with the National Rifle Association.

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Despite GOP concerns, Obama asks Congress to pass big stimulus bill soon

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats sought to ease Republican complaints about a massive economic stimulus plan Friday, meeting with GOP leaders in the White House and promising to consider some of their recommendations.

Many Republican lawmakers say the $825 billion package is too costly, and that too much of the spending is for long-range projects that won't aid the economy quickly. Some economists say the package should be even bigger, however, and it was unclear whether Republicans would have much impact.

House and Senate GOP leaders "had some constructive suggestions, which we'll review," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters after the meeting with Obama and House and Senate leaders from both parties in the Roosevelt Room.

Speaking at the National Press Club shortly after the White House gathering, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader in the Senate, said he believes the measure will clear Congress by the mid-February target date set by Obama and Democratic leaders.

In brief remarks before the meeting, Obama urged bipartisan support for the package, adding that he wanted to hear the Republicans' concerns.

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Officials: Suspected US missile strike kills at least 18 in northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected U.S. missiles killed 18 people on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border Friday, security officials said, the first attacks on the al-Qaida stronghold since President Barack Obama took office.

At least five foreign militants were among those killed in the strikes by unmanned aircraft in two parts of the frontier region, an intelligence official said without naming them. There was no information on the identities of the others.

Pakistan's leaders had expressed hope Obama might halt the strikes, but few observers expected he would end a tactic that U.S. officials say has killed several top al-Qaida operatives and is denying the terrorist network a long-held safe haven.

The United States has staged more than 30 missile strikes inside Pakistan since August last year — a barrage seen as a sign of frustration in Washington over Islamabad's efforts to curb militants that the U.S. blames for violence in Afghanistan and fears could be planning attacks on the West.

Pakistan publicly protests the strikes in the northwest as violations of its sovereignty that often kill civilians and undermine its own campaign against terrorists that have also launched bloody attacks on domestic targets.

But many observers believe the government secretly agrees with the tactic and may provide intelligence on the targets, noting that Islamabad's admitting to assisting the attacks would be politically damaging.

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Detainee released from Guantanamo becomes top commander in Yemen terrorist group

WASHINGTON (AP) — A released Guantanamo Bay terror detainee has reemerged as an al-Qaida commander in Yemen, highlighting the dilemma facing President Barack Obama in shaping plans to close the detention facility and decide the fates of U.S. captives.

A U.S. counterterror official confirmed Friday that Said Ali al-Shihri, who was jailed in Guantanamo for six years after his capture in Pakistan, has resurfaced as a leader of a Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.

"By Allah, imprisonment only increased our persistence in our principles for which we went out, did jihad for, and were imprisoned for," he said in a video posted on a militant-leaning Web site Friday. It was the second time this week a reference to al-Shihri has shown up on the Web site. He was mentioned in an online magazine on Jan. 19 with a reference to his prisoner number at Guantanamo, 372.

Al-Shihri was released by the U.S. in 2007 to the Saudi government for rehabilitation. But this week a publication posted on a militant-leaning Web site said he is now the top deputy in "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," a Yemeni offshoot of the terror group headed by Osama bin Laden. The group has been implicated in several attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen's capital Sana.

The announcement from the militant site came the same day that President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing the closure of the jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year.

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Study concludes Western forests dying at increasing rate, likely due to climate change

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Trees in old growth forests across the West are dying at a small, but increasing rate that scientists conclude is probably caused by longer and hotter summers from a changing climate.

While not noticeable to someone walking through the forests, the death rate is doubling every 17 to 29 years, according to a 52-year study published in the Friday edition of the journal Science. The trend was apparent in trees of all ages, species, and locations.

"If current trends continue, forests will become sparser over time," said lead author Phillip J. van Mantgem of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.

"Eventually this will lead to decreasing tree size," he said. "This is important because it indicates future forests might store less carbon than present."

Old growth forests, particularly those in the Northwest, store large amounts of carbon, making them a resource in combatting global warming, said Jerry Franklin, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Washington. But as trees die, they decompose and give off carbon dioxide, contributing to the amount of greenhouse gases. Young forests store very little carbon, and it takes hundreds of years to replace old growth, he said.

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Bahamas police detain lawmaker and paramedic in alleged Travolta extortion plot

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Authorities in the Bahamas have detained an island lawmaker and a paramedic in an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, police said Friday.

One of the suspects, ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, was detained on Friday. Earlier, several tabloids quoted him describing efforts to revive the celebrity's chronically ill son, Jett, who died of a seizure this month at their family vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Authorities did not reveal what the alleged extortion involved. Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston returned home to Florida with the ashes of their 16-year-old son, and Travolta's publicist Paul Bloch said Friday he has no comment.

Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, has been held for questioning since Thursday, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames told The Associated Press.

Dames said Lightbourne was detained after police issued an alert that he was wanted for attempted extortion, was "considered dangerous and should be approached with caution."

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Throwing the book at her: Iowa woman arrested for hanging on too long to library book

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been arrested because she failed to return a library book.

Thirty-nine-year-old Shelly Koontz was arrested Thursday night on a fifth-degree theft charge. She is accused of keeping "The Freedom Writers Diary," which she checked out from the public library in nearby Jesup in April.

Police say the book — which is about a high school teacher's effort to inspire students to write — is valued at $13.95.

Court records show library employees tried repeatedly to contact Koontz by phone and mail. A police officer even visited her home last September.

Officials at the Buchanan County jail say Koontz was released after posting $250 bond. No telephone listing for Koontz could be found in the Independence area.

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Chiefs coach Herm Edwards fired after going 6-26 in worst 2-year span in team history

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Herm Edwards, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs during the worst two-year span in team history, was fired Friday.

Edwards goes out with a three-year regular-season record of 15-33 and with one year remaining on a four-year, $12 million contract. As head coach of the New York Jets in 2001-05, he had a regular-season mark of 39-41 and was 2-3 in the playoffs.

Edwards had been waiting to learn his fate since president and general manager Carl Peterson abruptly resigned on Dec. 15. When Scott Pioli was introduced as Peterson's successor on Jan. 13, he was noncommittal and said only that he intended to speak with Edwards.

"This was not an easy decision. Herm is an outstanding football coach and a man of integrity. We appreciate his leadership over the past three seasons, and we wish him all the best in the future," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a written statement.

Pioli said he has had several conversations with Edwards over the last week.

"After careful consideration, Clark and I felt that it was best to make a change," Pioli said.

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