TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

National Briefs

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 24, 2009

As lawmakers focus on divisive policy issues, Democrats' health bills leave gaps

WASHINGTON (AP) - For consumers, the health care bills taking final shape in Congress don't rate close to a perfect 10.

The Democratic measures would leave 12 million or more eligible Americans uninsured. Many middle-class families who'd now be required to buy coverage would still find the premiums a stretch, even with government aid. A new federal fund to provide temporary coverage for people with health problems would quickly run out of cash.

For now, these bread-and-butter concerns take a back seat to more pressing issues for Democratic lawmakers trying to deliver on President Barack Obama's signature issue.

Congressional Democrats are trying to resolve differences within their own ranks on abortion, taxes and allowing the government to sell health insurance as a competitor to private companies. Those are all crucial policy questions, and House and Senate Democrats have taken conflicting approaches. But in the end, the concerns lawmakers are focusing on may not match the needs of their constituents.

The House passed its health care bill 220-215 earlier this month. The Senate cleared the way Saturday for debate on legislation unveiled by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The bill, a compromise between two committee-passed versions, could undergo significant changes as senators amend it during weeks of arduous debate ahead.

FBI seeks public's help to find relatives of those killed in civil rights cases

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Over the last three years, the FBI scoured faded documents, interviewed aging lawmen and tracked down witnesses from killings that occurred decades ago, many of them involving white police officers who shot black men or teenagers.

Now, the agency is at a dead end in the search for relatives in at least 33 civil rights-era cases, and the FBI needs the public's help. Agents are appealing for relatives of the victims to come forward, the latest challenge in a three-year-old effort to right historical wrongs.

"We have done everything we can to find those families and we've run out of leads," said Cynthia Deitle, unit chief for the FBI's civil rights division. "Whether it's a spouse, child or parent. We've even gone as far as locating cousins who are the next of kin."

In some cases, the FBI is looking for family members to provide any evidence or details about the crimes. In others, agents want to give a status update or simply tell the relatives the FBI's investigation has ended.

Among the cases is Johnny Robinson, a black teen shot by police in 1963 in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Ala. Another case is the killing of John Earl Reese, a 16-year-old who died in 1955 when two men fired shots on a black cafe in Gregg County, Texas.

Obama looks to ease worries in India with elaborate state visit

WASHINGTON (AP) - India has watched with wariness as President Barack Obama'stype:bold,italic; administration has lavished attention on rivals Pakistan and China. Now, Obama is trying to ease Indian worries by honoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the first state visit of his presidency.

India will receive Tuesday's elaborate welcome because the relationship quietly has become one of the most important the United States has. It is seen as crucial to the U.S.-led fight against extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as a counterweight to China and as key to efforts to settle world trade and climate change deals.

Singh's visit, however, comes at a delicate time. Indians are bristling over a perception that Obama neglected India during his recent trip to Asia and seemed to endorse a stronger role for China in India's sensitive dealings with Pakistan.

The tension has disturbed a wave of goodwill between the countries orchestrated by former President George W. Bush, who oversaw the transformation of the relationship after decades of Cold War-era distrust. The new ties are symbolized by a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation accord signed into law last year after years of close communication among senior Indian and U.S. officials who negotiated and then sold the accord to lawmakers.

Obama and Singh are now consumed with steering their countries through tough economic times and with winning domestic political battles. That means less time spent nurturing a relationship that blossomed under Bush.

Program to help trucking companies cross Mexican border attracts drug smugglers

LAREDO, Texas (AP) - A U.S. program that offers trusted trucking companies speedy passage across American borders has begun attracting just the sort of customer who places a premium on avoiding inspections: Mexican drug smugglers.

Most trucks enrolled in the program pause at the border for just 20 seconds before entering the United States. And nine out of 10 of them do so without anyone looking at their cargo.

But among the small fraction of trucks that are inspected, authorities have found multiple loads of contraband, including nearly 13 tons of marijuana seized in a three-week period last spring.

Some experts now question whether the program makes sense in an environment where drug traffickers are willing to do almost anything to smuggle their shipments into the U.S.

The trusted-shipper system "just tells the bad guys who to target," said Dave McIntyre, former director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M University.

Lawyer says 9/11 defendants will plead not guilty so they can express political views

NEW YORK (AP) - The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said.

Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said Sunday the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."

The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.

Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, is a nephew of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain "their assessment of American foreign policy," Fenstermaker said.

Study: Preschoolers at home-based daycare may spend hours in front of TV screen

SEATTLE (AP) - Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

When added to the two to three hours many parents already admit to allowing at home, preschoolers in child care may be spending more than a third of the about 12 hours they are awake each day in front of the electronic baby sitter, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle and a researcher at the University of Washington.

That's double the TV time he found in a previous study based on parental reports of home viewing, according to findings published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The study is the first to look at TV watching in child care in more than 20 years.

The figures come from a telephone survey of 168 licensed child care programs in Michigan, Washington, Florida and Massachusetts. Christakis said he thought television use was probably underreported.

Of the child care programs surveyed, 70 percent of home-based child cares and 36 percent of centers said children watch TV daily. The children were watching TV, DVDs and videos. The study did not track what kind of programs were shown.

Michael Jackson wins 4, but Taylor Swift wins 5, named artist of the year

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The King of Pop is still winning awards and setting records doing it.

But while Michael Jackson won a record four posthumous awards, he couldn't beat Taylor Swift for top honors at Sunday night's American Music Awards.

The 19-year-old was named the year's favorite artist, giving Jackson his only loss of the night, and giving her five trophies in all.

"Music has never been ultimately about competition," she said as she accepted the top prize via satellite from London, where she is to perform Monday. "To even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson, who we will miss and love forever, is an unimaginable honor."

The victories came during a performance-filled show that closed with an S&M-themed, sexually charged performance by Adam Lambert.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

ADVERTISEMENT