Senate Democrats urge Obama to bypass Republicans on the debt ceiling

Democratic leaders in the Senate on Friday urged President Obama to consider bypassing Congress to prevent the nation from defaulting on its spending obligations if lawmakers cannot agree to raise the nation’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling next month.

In a joint letter that served as a warning to congressional Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and his leadership team encouraged Obama to “take any lawful steps” to avoid default — “without Congressional approval, if necessary.”

The letter appeared to be an effort to push the White House to play hardball in its negotiations with Republicans as the federal government edges up against a legally imposed limit on borrowing.

Republicans have insisted that they will not increase the government’s borrowing authority without deep spending cuts, including to entitlement programs. On Friday they rejected the idea of unilateral action by the president.

“The Democrat leadership hiding under their desks and hoping the President will find a way around the law on the nation’s maxed-out credit card is not only the height of irresponsibility, but also a guarantee that our national debt crisis will only get worse,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a statement.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), said that Americans “will not tolerate” hiking the debt ceiling without spending cuts.

Obama has said he considers raising the limit — which the nation will hit in February — an obligation of Congress because doing so allows the government to pay off debts it has already incurred.

Unlike in the summer of 2011, when Obama negotiated with Boehner in an effort to pair a debt-ceiling increase with a broad deficit reduction package of spending cuts and new tax revenue, the president has insisted he will no longer negotiate spending concessions in exchange for a higher ceiling.

That has left both sides without a clear strategy for how to proceed in what is likely to be a bitter and protracted fight.

In their letter, Reid, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) indicate that they will support Obama if he moves without Congress.

They wrote that the GOP position to block a debt-limit increase unless Democrats agree to cuts in Medicare and Social Security is “outrageous and absurd.”

They urge Obama to act unilaterally “in the event that Republicans make good on their threat by failing to act, or by moving unilaterally to pass a debt limit extension only as part of unbalanced or unreasonable legislation.”

One option some congressional Democrats have long advocated would involve Obama invoking the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to declare congressional action unnecessary for raising the limit.

The amendment holds that the validity of the country’s public debt “shall not be questioned.” Some constitutional experts believe that statement means that Congress cannot tie the government’s hands to borrow funds to meet obligations the government has already incurred.

The White House has indicated that Obama does not believe the Constitution gives him the right to ignore the congressionally imposed limit on borrowing.

Officials have been less definitive, however, about another route: allowing the Treasury Department to mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to bolster the nation’s assets. The seemingly wacky idea has been gaining traction in recent days because of a law that allows the Treasury to mint coins of any value.

Asked recently about the coin, White House press secretary Jay Carney pointedly refused to rule it out as an option — though he repeatedly indicated that there “is no plan B” to congressional action.

In his statement, McConnell called the coin idea “ridiculous” and accused Democrats of considering “outright abdication of Congressional responsibility” in order to avoid cutting spending. The letter from Senate leaders came a week after a similar suggestion from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She told reporters last week that if she were president, she would invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling “in a second.”

“I’ve made my view very clear on that subject,” she said. But, she added, “I’m not the president of the United States.”

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US mulls aid to French in Mali, including drones

WASHINGTON: The US military is weighing support for French forces in Mali including surveillance drones, a US official said Friday, as Washington backed moves to deny safe haven to extremists in the country.

US commanders were looking at providing intelligence and aerial refueling tankers among a range of options, such as logistical backup and boosting intelligence sharing, which would involve surveillance drones, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Backed by French air power, Mali on Friday unleashed an offensive against Islamist rebels who have seized control of the north of the West African country and are now threatening to push south.

Senior US officials held talks with their counterparts in the French capital and other allies on drawing up an action plan, the official said.

President Francois Hollande confirmed in Paris that French forces were supporting an attack aimed at repelling the Al-Qaeda-linked radicals who have triggered international alarm with moves towards the capital Bamako.

The United States said Friday it shared France's goal of denying the extremists safe haven in Mali.

"We are monitoring the situation closely," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told AFP.

"We have noted that the government of Mali has asked for support, and we share the French goal of denying terrorists a safe haven in the region."

Hollande gave no indication of the scale of French involvement, but said it would last "for as long as is necessary."

The American military has a network of air bases in Italy, Spain and elsewhere in the region that could provide refueling tankers and other assistance to the French.

Former colonial power France has warned that the Islamist rebels were seeking to transform the vast nation into a "terrorist state."

State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland meanwhile said Washington was "consulting very closely" with the French government on the fighting.

"Obviously we remain deeply concerned by the recent events in Mali. We echo the international community's condemnation of these recent aggressive acts."

Earlier Friday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian briefed his US counterpart Leon Panetta about the situation.

-AFP/ac

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Stop show on Nirbhaya: Bombay HC

NAGPUR: The Bombay high court's Nagpur bench has stayed the telecast of Sony TV's 'Crime Patrol' episode on the Nirbhaya gang-rape case till further orders.

The telecast was slated for Friday and Saturday. Social organization Bharatiya Stree Sangh had moved the high court challenging the telecast. Its counsel Harshada Kurhekar contended that the telecast of this episode might affect the judicial outcome of the case. She pointed out that the case was sub judice. The BSS contented that the episode was commercialization of the tragedy that had shocked the nation. It said it would "increase the misery of the victim's family as well as hurt the feelings of women in general".

The division bench of justices AP Lavande and Arun Chaudhari issued the order and sent notices to Sony Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Indian Broadcasting Foundation. The show was expected to reconstruct the December 16 brutal gang-rape and torture of a 23-year-old physiotherapist trainee by six men in south Delhi. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29 because of grievous injuries. tnn

A social organization said that the episode was an attempt to commercialize the tragedy that had shocked the nation.

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

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Obama Promises Faster Transition in Afghanistan

President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that most U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quickening troop drawdown that will bring the decade-long war to a close at the end of 2014.

"Our troops will continue to fight alongside Afghans when needed, but let me say it as plainly as I can: Starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission -- training, advising, assisting Afghan forces," Obama announced at an East Room news conference in Washington.

"It will be a historic moment and another step toward full Afghan sovereignty, something I know that President Karzai cares deeply about, as do the Afghan people," he said.

Administration officials said Afghan forces were "exceeding initial expectations" in their capabilities. Afghan security forces are expected to lead 90 percent of security operations across the country in February.

"By the end of next year -- 2014 -- the transition will be complete," Obama said. "Afghans will have full responsibility for their security, and this war will come to a responsible end."

The rosy assessments belied the serious political, economic and security challenges that remain.

Left unanswered by Obama and Karzai: How many U.S. troops might stay after 2014; what their mission would be and whether they could be effective; and whether the forces would have immunity from prosecution in Afghan courts.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

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Obama said he was still reviewing recommendations from the Pentagon and will make an announcement in the coming weeks after penning an anticipated bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan. Karzai said the exact number would be up to the United States to decide.

Both leaders confirmed in a statement that the United States "does not seek permanent bases in Afghanistan."

They also agreed today to turn over battlefield combatants held by the U.S. military in Afghanistan to Afghan government control, which has been long-sought by Karzai.

Roughly 66,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan. The military has proposed keeping several thousand troops in the country after 2014 as advisers, trainers and logistical support for Afghan forces; the White House has said it remains open to pulling out all troops entirely.

Obama's visit with Karzai was the first face-to-face encounter since the November election and since last year's dramatic increase in so-called green-on-blue attacks, when U.S. and NATO soldiers have been killed by the Afghans they are training or working alongside.

There were 45 insider attacks in 2012 that resulted in 62 deaths among coalition forces, including 35 Americans. There has been one attack already in the first 11 days of 2013.

The White House summit included a private Oval Office meeting between Obama, Karzai and Vice President Joe Biden. The trio also attended a private lunch in the Old Family Dining Room.

Karzai Thursday attended meetings with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and top military brass at the Pentagon, where he was afforded all the pomp and circumstance accorded a head of state: a 21-gun salute, and marching bands and honor guards from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

Karzai's relationship with the United States has at times been a rocky one as he has sometimes made critical statements about the allied troop presence in his country. U.S. officials believe he has made those comments out of political expediency to improve his standing with Afghans and show his independence.

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality.

President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the birthday of the slain civil rights leader. King’s Bible will be stacked with the burgundy velvet and gilded Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration.

Obama chose the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration in 2009, making him the first president to do so since it was initially used in 1861. President Harry S. Truman also used two Bibles, as did Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.

The announcement about the Bibles, to be made publicly Thursday, is part of the slow unspooling of inaugural details that fascinates lovers of ceremonial Americana.

Presidential inaugurations have become more filled with rites, and such decisions are especially weighty now at a time when the White House is aware that Americans are struggling to come together.

King’s family said in a statement that he would be “deeply moved” to see Obama use the traveling Bible on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, “and we hope it can be a source of strength for the President as he begins his second term.”

“With the Inauguration less than two weeks away, we join Americans across the country in embracing this opportunity to celebrate how far we have come, honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through service, and rededicate ourselves to the work ahead,” the statement added.

According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which organizes the swearing-in ceremony, King traveled with various books, including this Bible. “It was used for inspiration and preparing sermons and speeches, including during Dr. King’s time as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church” in Montgomery, the committee said in a statement.

Obama and Vice President Biden will be sworn in privately on Sunday, Jan. 20 — the date required by the Constitution. For that first ceremony, Obama will use the family Bible of his wife’s family. According to the inaugural committee, that Bible “was a gift from the First Lady’s father, Fraser Robinson III, to his mother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson, on Mother’s Day in 1958. Mrs. Robinson was the first African-American woman manager of a Moody Bible Institute’s bookstore.” That Bible was the only one Michelle Obama’s grandmother used after that, a committee statement said.

For both the private and then the Monday public ceremonies, Biden will be sworn in with a Bible that has been in his family since 1893: a five-inch-thick volume with a Celtic cross on the cover. He also used it for his swearings-in as a U.S. senator and in 2009 as vice president.

Some aspects of the inaugural ceremony have changed slightly over the decades. Having official prayers offered dates only to the 1930s, historians say. But presidents have used Bibles to be sworn in since George Washington, even though the Constitution does not require it. The Constitution also does not require the phrase “So help me God” at the end, but that has become standard, said Donald Ritchie, the historian of the U.S. Senate.

He also noted that the image of the president’s spouse holding the Bible dates only to Lady Bird Johnson doing so in 1965.

Chief justices of the Supreme Court now traditionally deliver the oath, but Ritchie said any federal official can do so.

Several non-Christian members of Congress have recently used other scriptures, including Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in 2007. The Minnesota Democrat used a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Obama veered from tradition in one key aspect of the ceremony: He invited Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights figure Medgar Evers, to deliver the invocation prayer. It will be the first time a woman, and a layperson rather than clergy, has done so.

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Captain blames faulty brakes, motor for NY ferry accident

NEW YORK: The captain of a packed ferry that crashed into a New York City pier injuring 74 people blamed malfunctioning brakes and a faulty motor for the accident, US investigators said Thursday.

"As the boat was coming in, the captain found that the reverse thrust was not operating as anticipated," said Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident.

The captain said there was also a problem with the motor on the vessel, telling investigators that at some point "both diesel engines shut off," while he steered it toward the pier, Sumwalt told reporters.

There were 326 passengers and five crew on board the ferry at the time of Wednesday's mishap.

The accident took place during the morning rush hour at Pier 11 in lower Manhattan's East River, not far from Wall Street. The ferry was arriving from New Jersey.

Sumwalt said the captain, who is 36 years old, has 12 years of experience as a ferryboat captain and tested negative for alchohol use, as did the entire crew. Results of drug testing have yet to be completed, he said.

Some witnesses reported that the ferry, the Seastreak Wall Street, was going too quickly as it approached the pier.

Weather conditions were good at the time of the accident, with hardly any wind and good visibility.

Dozens of ferries bring thousands of commuters from New Jersey or Brooklyn to Manhattan every day, but accidents are rare.

The most serious mishap, in October 2003, killed 11 people and injured 70 others when a Staten Island ferry slammed into a pier at full speed.

- AFP/ck

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Border truce violations almost doubled last year

NEW DELHI: Ceasefire violations, which are now threatening to derail the India-Pakistan peace process, were not long ago, besides being fewer, a very organized affair, with both sides following the rules of the game.

As per what had evolved into an informal protocol over the years, each side would warn the other about their firing intent by raising a red flag, and would never fire directly on posts in front. Timings were predictable too, often once a month and definitely on important occasions like January 26 or August 14-15, during a cricket match or when a high-profile foreign dignitary visited India. That was until mid-2012, when the Indo-Pak tensions along the Line of Control picked pace and raced to a new level.

The firings then became more frequent, the warning flags were not raised. Fire would even be directed on the posts across. And both sides engaged occasionally in "aggressive cross-border actions". Statistics speak for themselves — in 2010, there were 57 violations, in 2011 there were 61. But in 2012, the figure virtually doubled to 117. In the first 10 days of this year, there have already been at least four violations.

"There has been an increase in ceasefire violations. There been an increase in infiltration attempts. In 2012, there was an overall increase over 2011. That is a fact. And that is something we are dealing with, both ourselves and with the Pakistani authorities," national security advisor Shivshankar Menon said on Thursday.

While terrorist infiltrations have always been significantly higher along the LoC in the Kashmir Valley, it is particularly along the stretch from south of Uri to north of Rajouri in the Jammu region that most ceasefire violations have taken place. Other than for these violations, the ceasefire between the two countries along the borders since November 2003 has been largely holding well.

A senior source in the security establishment said there have been occasional flare-ups in the region, but no serious attention seems to have been paid to them by both New Delhi and Islamabad. And it peaked on January 8, with the beheading of an Indian soldier that is now threatening the tense diplomatic engagement between the two sides.

Sources said there could be several reasons why the ceasefire was being breached in this particular area which includes the Mendhar sector. On the Poonch side, Indian forces occupy dominant positions while in Mendhar sector, where the two soldiers were brutally killed, the Pakistan army enjoys more dominant positions. This mismatch could be one of the triggers.

The other trigger involves the efforts to help terrorists to infiltrate into J&K. The Pakistan army regularly provides firing cover for them to come in. Inputs have also spoken of changing trends in infiltration, including many happening in winter.

Traditionally, winter months were infiltration-free because of the heavy snowfall and bad weather. But that is not the case any longer. In light of the latest flare-up, many seasoned hands in the establishment are calling for political leadership to pay closer attention to the local dynamics at play in the Uri/Mendhar sectors.

The Army assessment is that while 2011 witnessed only 52 "successful" infiltrations, the number jumped to 121 in 2012. Infiltration attempts have steadily risen since the departure of General Pervez Musharraf. Apart from the lull after the 26/11 terror attacks, Indian sources have noted a steady rise in the attempt by Pakistanis to push terrorists into Jammu & Kashmir.

These were also the years when due to the rising violence, terrorism and military action on the western flank, Pakistan moved a large number of its forces from the east to the west to deal with the war in Afghanistan and in the border regions.

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Google and Twitter Help Track Influenza Outbreaks

This flu season could be the longest and worst in years. So far 18 children have died from flu-related symptoms, and 2,257 people have been hospitalized.

Yesterday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a citywide public health emergency, with roughly 700 confirmed flu cases—ten times the number the city saw last year.

"It arrived five weeks early, and it's shaping up to be a pretty bad flu season," said Lyn Finelli, who heads the Influenza Outbreak Response Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Boston isn't alone. According to the CDC, 41 states have reported widespread influenza activity, and in the last week of 2012, 5.6 percent of doctor's office visits across the country were for influenza-like illnesses. The severity likely stems from this year's predominant virus: H3N2, a strain known to severely affect children and the elderly. Finelli notes that the 2003-2004 flu season, also dominated by H3N2, produced similar numbers. (See "Are You Prepped? The Influenza Roundup.")

In tracking the flu, physicians and public health officials have a host of new surveillance tools at their disposal thanks to crowdsourcing and social media. Such tools let them get a sense of the flu's reach in real time rather than wait weeks for doctor's offices and state health departments to report in.

Pulling data from online sources "is no different than getting information on over-the-counter medication or thermometer purchases [to track against an outbreak]," said Philip Polgreen, an epidemiologist at the University of Iowa.

The most successful of these endeavors, Google Flu Trends, analyzes flu-related Internet search terms like "flu symptoms" or "flu medication" to estimate flu activity in different areas. It tracks flu outbreaks globally.

Another tool, HealthMap, which is sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital, mines online news reports to track outbreaks in real time. Sickweather draws from posts on Twitter and Facebook that mention the flu for its data.

People can be flu-hunters themselves with Flu Near You, a project that asks people to report their symptoms once a week. So far more than 38,000 people have signed up for this crowdsourced virus tracker. And of course, there's an app for that.

Both Finelli, a Flu Near You user, and Polgreen find the new tools exciting but agree that they have limits. "It's not as if we can replace traditional surveillance. It's really just a supplement, but it's timely," said Polgreen.

When people have timely warning that there's flu in the community, they can get vaccinated, and hospitals can plan ahead. According to a 2012 study in Clinical Infectious Diseases, Google Flu Trends has shown promise predicting emergency room flu traffic. Some researchers are even using a combination of the web database and weather data to predict when outbreaks will peak.

As for the current flu season, it's still impossible to predict week-to-week peaks and troughs. "We expect that it will last a few more weeks, but we can never tell how bad it's going to get," said Finelli.

Hospitals are already taking precautionary measures. One Pennsylvania hospital erected a separate emergency room tent for additional flu patients. This week, several Illinois hospitals went on "bypass," alerting local first responders that they're at capacity—due to an uptick in both flu and non-flu cases—so that patients will be taken to alternative facilities, if possible.

In the meantime, the CDC advises vaccination, first and foremost. On the bright side, the flu vaccine being used this year is a good match for the H3N2 strain. Though Finelli cautions, "Sometimes drifted strains pop up toward the end of the season."

It looks like there won't be shortages of seasonal flu vaccine like there have been in past years. HealthMap sports a Flu Vaccine Finder to make it a snap to find a dose nearby. And if the flu-shot line at the neighborhood pharmacy seems overwhelming, more health departments and clinics are offering drive-through options.

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Hero Teacher Talks Shooter into Dropping Gun

A California high school teacher is being hailed a hero for talking a 16-year-old shooter into putting down his gun and turning himself in after opening fire on a classroom and wounding another student, police said.

The student victim was taken to a nearby hospital and remains in critical but stable condition, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters on Thursday.

The teacher, whose name has not yet been officially released by authorities, helped evacuate nearly two dozen students out a door at Taft Union High School in Taft, Calif., while calmly engaging the young gunman, who is a student at Taft Union, in conversation.

Chris McCullah/The Californian/ZUMA

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The teacher and a campus supervisor, who responded to the gunfire and arrived at the classroom, helped convince the teenager to stop shooting.

"They talked him into putting the shotgun down," Youngblood said.

The shooting began around 9 a.m. in the school's science building and sheriff's deputies were on the scene within one minute of the call. An armed security guard who is typically at the school was not on campus because he had been snowed in, the sheriff said.

Two other students received minor injuries: One reported hearing loss and the other fell over a table. The teacher was shot with a pellet, but refused medical treatment, according to police.

The school's 900 students were evacuated from the building and many of them were met by parents within minutes of the first 911 calls.

Today's shooting comes less than month after 20-year-old Adam Lanza opened fire on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. killing 20 children and six adults.

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