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Obama Meets With More Than A Dozen Mayors, Stresses Cities' Role In Job Growth

Huffington Post News - 31 min 53 sec ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the nation's cities are central to the economic progress of the United States and says he wants to work with mayors to provide an environment that makes them key job creation hubs.

Obama was meeting with more than a dozen new mayors and mayors-elect, including Bill de Blasio of New York and Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles. Obama said Senate passage next week of a House-approved budget will help metropolitan areas by removing the uncertainty that past fiscal brinkmanship has created in the economy.

He reiterated his call for Congress to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, a provision not contained in the budget agreement. He also said cities would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage because of their vast service sectors.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

State representative says I-75 widening `a colossal waste of money' - The Macomb Daily

Berkley Information from Google News - 35 min 32 sec ago

State representative says I-75 widening `a colossal waste of money'
The Macomb Daily
State Rep. Jim Townsend, D-Royal Oak, had harsh words Friday at a regional planning agency's meeting in Detroit for a proposed widening and reconstruction of I-75 from M-59 to Eight Mile in Oakland County. The $1 billion project, which would widen the ...

and more »

Categories: Berkley Area News

Message to the Congress -- Report Consistent with War Powers Resolution

News from the White House - 36 min 48 sec ago

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

I am providing this supplemental consolidated report, prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148), as part of my efforts to keep the Congress informed about deployments of U.S. Armed Forces equipped for combat.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM OBJECTIVES

In furtherance of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, the United States continues to work with partners around the globe, with a particular focus on the U.S. Central Command's and U.S. Africa Command's areas of responsibility. In this context, the United States has deployed U.S. combat-equipped forces to enhance the counterterrorism capabilities and support the counterterrorism operations of our friends and allies, including special operations and other forces for sensitive operations in various locations around the world. Specific information about counterterrorism deployments to select countries is provided below, and a classified annex to this report provides further information.

Military Operations Against al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and Associated Forces and in Support of Related U.S. Counterterrorism Objectives

Since October 7, 2001, the United States has conducted combat operations in Afghanistan against al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and associated forces. In support of these and other overseas operations, the United States has deployed combat-equipped forces to a number of locations in the U.S. Central, Pacific, European, Southern, and Africa Command areas of operation. Such operations and deployments have been reported previously, consistent with Public Law 107-40 and the War Powers Resolution, and operations and deployments remain ongoing. These operations, which the United States has carried out with the assistance of numerous international partners, have been successful in seriously degrading al-Qa'ida's capabilities and brought an end to the Taliban's leadership of Afghanistan.

The United States is committed to thwarting the efforts of al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and associated forces to carry out future acts of international terrorism, and we have continued to work with our counterterrorism partners to disrupt and degrade the capabilities of al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and associated forces. As necessary, in response to this terrorist threat, I will direct additional measures to protect U.S. citizens and interests. It is not possible to know at this time the precise scope or the duration of the deployments of U.S. Armed Forces necessary to counter this terrorist threat to the United States.

Afghanistan. United States Armed Forces continue to pursue and engage remaining al-Qa'ida and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan while transitioning to an Afghan security lead. There are approximately 55,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and the United States Armed Forces are on track to meet the Afghanistan Force Management Level of 34,000 by February 12, 2014.

The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council most recently extended its authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan until December 31, 2014, in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2120 (October 10, 2013). The mission of ISAF, under North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) command and in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is to reduce the capability and will of the insurgency, support the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), and facilitate improvements in governance and socio-economic development in order to provide a secure environment for sustainable stability that is observable to the population. Forty-eight nations, including the United States and all 28 NATO members, contribute forces to ISAF. For the last few years, the ISAF campaign has focused on preparing the ANSF for full security transition in 2014.

In June 2013, at the "Milestone 2013" ceremony, the ANSF assumed the lead for security nationwide. ISAF is now in support of the ANSF. The only unilateral operations that ISAF conducts are in support of its own security, sustainment, and redeployment. In the coming months, ISAF will focus on developing the sustainability of the ANSF and assisting the ANSF as the Afghan government plans for the elections in 2014. The security transition process -- as agreed to at the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon and reaffirmed at the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago -- remains on track and the ANSF are expected to assume full responsibility for security across the whole of Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

As I noted in my report of June 14, 2013, on March 25, 2013, the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Afghan government under which the United States transferred all Afghan nationals detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan to the custody and control of the Afghan government. Pursuant to the MOU, any new Afghan detainees are to be transferred to Afghan custody and control within 96 hours after capture. United States forces in Afghanistan continue to detain approximately 53 third-country nationals under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), as informed by the law of war.

Libya. In Libya, on October 5, 2013, U.S. Armed Forces captured longtime al-Qa'ida member Abu Anas al Libi.

Somalia. In Somalia, the U.S. military has worked to counter the terrorist threat posed by al-Qa'ida and associated elements of al-Shabaab. On the night of October 4, 2013, U.S. Armed Forces conducted a raid in Somalia to capture a member of al-Qa'ida who is also a top commander in the terrorist group al-Shabaab. The operation did not result in the capture of the targeted individual.

Yemen. The U.S. military has also been working closely with the Yemeni government to dismantle operationally and ultimately eliminate the terrorist threat posed by al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the most active and dangerous affiliate of al-Qa'ida today. Our joint efforts have resulted in direct action against a limited number of AQAP operatives and senior leaders in that country who posed a terrorist threat to the United States and our interests.

Cuba. Combat-equipped forces, deployed since January 2002 to the Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, continue to conduct humane and secure detention operations for the approximately 162 detainees at Guantanamo Bay under the authority provided by the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), as informed by the law of war.

Military Operations in Niger in Support of U.S. Counterterrorism Objectives

As indicated in my report of June 14, 2013, U.S. military personnel in Niger continue to provide support for intelligence collection and to facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region. The total number of U.S. military personnel deployed to Niger is approximately 200.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA

In October and November 2011, U.S. military personnel with appropriate combat equipment deployed to Uganda to serve as advisors to regional forces of the African Union Regional Task Force (AU-RTF) that are working to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and other senior Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leaders from the battlefield, and to protect local populations. The number of U.S. military personnel deployed to the central Africa region, including advisors deployed for this mission and personnel providing logistical and support functions to this and other missions, is approximately 120.

United States forces are working with select partner nation forces of the AU-RTF to enhance cooperation, information-sharing and synchronization, operational planning, and overall effectiveness. Elements of these U.S. forces have deployed to forward locations in the LRA-affected areas, including the Republic of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic in order to enhance regional efforts against the LRA. These forces, however, will not engage LRA forces except in self-defense. It is in the U.S. national security interest to help our regional partners in Africa to develop their capability to address threats to regional peace and security, including the threat posed by the LRA. The United States is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to help the governments and people of this region in their efforts to end the threat posed by the LRA and to address the impact of the LRA's atrocities.

MARITIME INTERCEPTION OPERATIONS

As noted in previous reports, the United States remains prepared to conduct maritime interception operations on the high seas in the areas of responsibility of each of the geographic combatant commands. These maritime operations are aimed at stopping the movement, arming, and financing of certain international terrorist groups, and also include operations aimed at stopping proliferation by sea of weapons of mass destruction and related materials.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN EGYPT

Approximately 715 military personnel are assigned to the U.S. contingent of the Multinational Force and Observers, which have been present in Egypt since 1981.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN JORDAN

As detailed in my report of June 21, 2013, at the request of the Government of Jordan, a combat-equipped detachment of approximately 700 U.S. personnel remain in Jordan following participation in a training exercise that ended on June 20, 2013. The detachment includes Patriot missile systems, fighter aircraft, and related support, command, control, and communications personnel and systems. These forces joined U.S. forces already in Jordan for a total of approximately 1,500 U.S. military personnel. These forces will remain in Jordan, in full coordination with the Government of Jordan, until the security situation becomes such that they are no longer needed.

U.S./NATO OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO

The U.N. Security Council authorized Member States to establish a NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Resolution 1244 on June 10, 1999. The original mission of KFOR was to monitor, verify, and, when necessary, enforce compliance with the Military Technical Agreement between NATO and the then-Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia), while maintaining a safe and secure environment. Today, KFOR deters renewed hostilities in cooperation with local authorities, bilateral partners, and international institutions. The principal military tasks of KFOR forces are to help maintain a safe and secure environment and to ensure freedom of movement throughout Kosovo.

Currently, 23 NATO Allies contribute to KFOR. Eight non-NATO countries also participate. The U.S. contribution to KFOR is approximately 670 U.S. military personnel out of the total strength of approximately 4,900 personnel.

REGIONAL SECURITY OPERATIONS

As stated in my report of June 14, 2013, U.S. Armed Forces remain in Libya and Yemen to support the security of U.S. personnel. These forces will remain deployed, in full coordination with the respective host governments, until the security situation no longer requires them.

Additional information about regional security operations is provided in the classified annex.

I have directed the participation of U.S. Armed Forces in all of these operations pursuant to my constitutional and statutory authority as Commander in Chief (including the authority to carry out Public Law 107-40 and other statutes) and as Chief Executive, as well as my constitutional and statutory authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States. Officials of my Administration and I communicate regularly with the leadership and other Members of Congress with regard to these deployments, and we will continue to do so.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

Categories: White House News

One Year After Sandy Hook: We Owe It to Our Children to Do Everything in Our Power to Prevent Another Tragedy

Huffington Post News - 41 min 57 sec ago

Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which 20 children and six adults were killed as the shooter fired more than 150 rounds of ammunition within five minutes. I was horrified by how those children died -- shot at close range with a high-powered rifle with each child hit as many as 11 times. I was also haunted by what could have happened if the killer had more time -- he was prepared to slaughter hundreds of children. The tragedy convinced me that we needed to do more to protect our kids.

Following the shooting at Sandy Hook, there was an outpouring of support for families and the community affected, and a renewed interest in concrete action. In April of this year, the United States Senate took up a bipartisan package of legislative reforms that would have expanded background checks on firearms sold at gun shows or online. The amendments offered would have helped law enforcement efforts targeting the illegal transfer of guns, and limited certain military-grade weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines, making it harder to shoot large numbers of people in a brief timeframe. These commonsense proposals would help keep powerful weapons out of the hands of wrongdoers without infringing on the fundamental Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners. Despite overwhelming public support, these measures did not pass. I am deeply disappointed that the Senate was unable to come to an agreement on this critical issue.

In the 12 months since Sandy Hook, there have been 26 school shootings in the United States. Mass shootings have tripled since to 2008. We simply cannot afford to wait for the next tragedy to occur before we address gun violence.

A comprehensive approach demands improvement of our mental health system, robust support for state, local and federal law enforcement and the commonsense regulation of firearms. While no single proposal would stop every tragedy from occurring, each would constitute a positive step toward addressing firearm violence. Every elected official should ask: Have I done enough to substantially reduce the likelihood that this ever happens again?

I am a strong defender of the Second Amendment. Pennsylvania has a rich tradition of hunting and I believe strongly that people should be able have guns for protection, sporting and collection. But, I also believe we need sensible gun legislation that will help to prevent these tragedies. This should not be the end of the road.

On the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, I, like so many Americans, remain haunted by memories of December 14, 2012. Elected officials have an abiding obligation to take action against gun violence. We owe it to our children to redouble our efforts to do everything in our power to prevent another tragedy.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Every Republican In This Statewide Race Wants Creationism Taught In Public Schools

Huffington Post News - 43 min 27 sec ago

Science advocates in Texas won a battle last month after the State Board of Education voted to approve new science textbooks that teach evolution. However, they don't seem to have won the war.

During a debate Thursday, three of the four Republican candidates in the state’s lieutenant governor race said that they think creationism should be taught in public schools, according to The Texas Tribune. While the fourth candidate, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, did not specifically state his beliefs on the subject, he later told The Dallas Morning News that he thinks creationism should be taught in schools, just not in science class.

According to the Morning News, none of the candidates referenced the education board’s textbook vote. However, candidates Todd Staples, who is currently serving as the state agriculture commissioner, Senator Dan Patrick and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst all stressed the importance of religion in the classroom.

"Our students ... must really be confused. They go to Sunday School on Sunday and then they go into school on Monday and we tell them they can't talk about God," said Patrick, per the Tribune. "I'm sick and tired of a minority in our country who want us to turn our back on God."

"I believe that in fairness we need to expose students to both sides of this," said Dewhurst, who is currently seeking a fourth term as lieutenant governor, according to the outlet. "That's why I've supported including in our textbooks the discussion of the biblical account of life and creation, and I understand there are a lot of people who disagree with me, and believe in evolution."

When Patterson spoke with the Morning News, he said creationism should be taught in schools “as a social studies/history/comparative religion subject,” but not as science.

In 1987 the Supreme Court ruled that teaching creationism in public schools violated the Constitution.

However, not all Texas officials seem to understand that. Back in 2011, when Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) was running for president, he told a young boy that “in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools.” The Huffington Post noted at the time that although official Texas public school curriculum does not currently include creationism, students are directed to examine all sides of scientific theories.

Currently, only 21 percent of Americans believe "human beings evolved without God's influence," according to a YouGov poll.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Protecting Second Amendment While Trampling the First

Huffington Post News - 46 min 3 sec ago

Two anniversaries arrive in stark contrast this weekend. Sunday, December 15th marks the 222nd anniversary of ratification of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. While Saturday, December 14th marks the 1st anniversary of the deeply tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The collision has manifest in the discourse we've witnessed, in the ongoing political debate over the Second Amendment (right to bear arms) versus the universal values embodied by the First Amendment; freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and petitioning our government for changes in the laws that redress our grievances.

Over the past year we've heard from the gun right's advocates, as they like to call themselves. They've unleashed wave upon wave of personal attacks, threats, intimidations and public displays of firearms as their go-to tactics. Their goal, shut down the debate over common sense gun restrictions.

The tactics have succeeded in blunting momentum to address gun safety at the federal level in Washington, but not entirely successful in states.

In their enthusiasm for the promotion of more guns wielded by more people in more places, they have trampled American's rights as enumerated by the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and petitioning our government for changes in the laws.

No one is off limits to the deeply personal and unusually offensive attacks by the pro-gun crowd. Colorado's last legislative session for example, saw the use of email and social media with some of the most disgusting language imaginable, largely directed at female legislators.

A new term, gun bullies, has sprung up to describe these tactics. As a recent New Republic article enumerates this is not just a Colorado phenomenon. Young American mothers who formed a national social media based group, Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America have been the targets of relentless emails and Facebook posts which feature threats of rape and dismemberment if they don't lower their voices.

The gun bullies were also in action a few weeks ago at a suburban Dallas restaurant gathering of Moms Demand Action members. The shopping mall parking lot became the staging ground for gun-rightists fully armed with assault-type rifles. In Texas they like to call this open carry.

The activists had learned of the meeting via Facebook and decided that gathering in the parking lot with their weapons and some very young children, would send just the right message.

Freedom of speech also suffered a blow in the gun media last month. After a wave of cancellations, threats and advertiser pressure, long time columnist and writer for Guns & Ammo magazine Dick Metcalf was summarily fired within days of publication of his December 2013 editorial, "Let's Talk Limits" endorsing some common sense regulation of guns.

"I don't think that requiring 16 hours of training to qualify for a concealed carry license is infringement in and of itself, wrote Dick Metcalf. "But that's just me..."

Apparently it was just him.

As Guns & Ammo Editor Jim Bequette wrote in his groveling apology to readers, "I made a mistake by publishing the column. I thought it would generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights. I miscalculated, pure and simple. I was wrong, and I ask your forgiveness. Dick Metcalf has had a long distinguished career as a gunwriter, but his association with Guns & Ammo has officially ended."

Wow, those readers wanted the scalp of traitor Metcalf and they got it. Bequette's groveling apology was well received at corporate (NYC-based Intermedia Outdoors Network) where he was promoted to vice president.

So this weekend while we're grieving with all the family members and extended family of the Newtown community, spare a thought for one of America's best and lasting achievements, the Bill of Rights, may we honor and protect it from those whose actions are leading toward its destruction.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Detroit woman, 12-year-old daughter carjacked, terrorized for 12 hours - Detroit Free Press

Berkley Information from Google News - 47 min 58 sec ago

CTV News Barrie
Detroit woman, 12-year-old daughter carjacked, terrorized for 12 hours
Detroit Free Press
A 45-year-old Detroit woman and her 12-year-old daughter were carjacked at gunpoint from a gas station on the city's northwest side Thursday night, held hostage for several hours, then sexually assaulted in an abandoned building before police located ...
POLICE: Mom, 12-year-old daughter rescued after kidnapped in Ferndale, taken ...WXYZ
Ferndale police find suspect in carjacking, kidnapping of mother and daughterRoyal Oak Daily Tribune
11 Hours Of Terror: Mother, Daughter Abducted By Crack Smoking CarjackerCBS Local
Monroe Evening News
all 7 news articles »

Categories: Berkley Area News

Getting Federal Agencies to Work Better -- and Together

Huffington Post News - 50 min 41 sec ago

Zach Tumin is co-author with William J. Bratton of the book "Collaborate or Perish! Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World." He also manages Harvard University's Belfer Center's Project on Technology, Security and Conflict in the Cyber Age and has held senior positions in government. Tumin spoke with Tom Fox about how federal agencies can improve collaboration and transparency. Fox is a guest writer for On Leadership, vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and heads up their Center for Government Leadership.

Q. What opportunities exist for the federal government to collaborate across boundaries?

A. From the U.S. Secret Service to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal agencies have long recognized that core missions require collaboration across boundaries. Today that's essential. In our digital world-and as connected as we are by air, sea, land and space-threat and opportunity move fast. The key to success is to foster networks, be alert to their data and move in time. As former speaker of the House Tip O'Neill once advised, "Make friends before you need them."

Q. What strategies can federal leaders employ to encourage collaboration and transparency among employees?

A. Managers need to set the course but then get the 'change vanguard' moving, as my colleague Steve Kelman has said. This means authorizing and enabling folks who are eager for reform to nominate initiatives, run experiments that can test and prove some new value, and then scale up the winners. It takes a shared vision, resources, cover from above, and performance that will deliver. Take stock of the assets that might be available, from people to platforms to political support. Persistence is key. It took the Air Force years to convert the first drone from surveillance-only to one that could also target-and then to add weapons so it could shoot. Everything about that first predator drone was built from existing assets. Reconfigured, those assets gave the U.S. a new advantage and transformed the battlespace. That's the power of collaboration.

READ MORE

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Los Angeles County First In U.S. To Reach 10 Million People

Huffington Post News - 52 min 12 sec ago

Long the nation's most populated county, Los Angeles hit a demographic milestone earlier this year: 10 million residents.

The county is now estimated at 10,019,365 people as of July 1, according to California Department of Finance data released Thursday. The figure includes all residents, regardless of immigration status.

The densely-populated county's growth has inched along in recent years at an under 1-percent clip, particularly slowing during the recession. In past years, the department had even estimated it had already hit 10 million, only to revise the figures later as growth was found to have slowed more than expected.

But analysts say finally hitting the milestone serves to highlight just what a powerful political and economic engine the Los Angeles region represents. It has more people than 43 states, and on its own would be the 88th most populous country in the world, ahead of Sweden or Austria, for example.

"It's impressive," said Tom Hogen-Esch, a political science professor at Cal State Northridge. "We're one of the largest political entities in the U.S. and our budget ...would make us one of the largest countries in the world."

Bill Schooling, the Department of Finance's chief of demographic research said "it appears very likely" that the new estimate of at least 10 million will hold up over time because of the state's economic growth, although 19,000 residents above the 10 million threshold do technically fall within the margin of error.

Regardless of these estimates, Los Angeles County officials said they have long operated on the notion that at least 10 million people have been living here, county spokesman David Sommers said.

"We believe there is a large element of our population that gets missed in counts," Sommers said. "In terms of social services we provide and critical safety-net services the county is responsible for -- providing care and providing services to a level of the population that has nowhere else to turn -- we know we have a very large base and we believe that base to be over 10 million people. It's nice to see that validation from the state."

L.A. County has seen relatively "strong growth" now for two consecutive years for a county of its size, Schooling said. It saw a 0.75 percent increase in population between July 2012 and July 2013 and a 0.85 percent increase the year before, compared with 0.36 percent three years ago, according to state estimates. San Bernardino County, still reeling from the effects of the recession, is also growing but at a slower rate than neighboring Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

"L.A's been growing at a fairly decent clip for the last couple of years," Schooling said. "If you went back to the worst of the (housing) bubble, you would see a much smaller growth. As recently as the 2010-11 period, it was half the rate of (the current) increase."

"I think the improving economy is a lot of it, jobs being added and we're also seeing a significant amount of natural increase in L.A. -- more births than deaths," which has been the case for many years, Schooling said.

Not only is California a highly desirable place to live, the state also has a higher-than-average birth rate due largely to its slightly younger population and a greater share of immigrants, who tend to have more children than U.S.-born women, said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of L.A.-based Beacon Economics.

But local experts argue that the overall population growth in L.A. County has still been relatively slow. Typically, the population in the county and the state grows at a faster rate than the nation. However, the state and the L.A. Metropolitan area slipped into a much more severe recession than the nation as a whole, which reversed that trend, said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

California saw a population growth rate of about 0.9 percent this year compared to last year while the national rate is about the same.

"The fact that the local economy is lagging in its recovery compared to the state, compared to the nation, I think is having an adverse impact on our net migration and our overall population growth rate," Kleinhenz said. "As the local economy improves next year, which is what we expect, we'll probably see some acceleration in net migration and the decision to have children."

L.A. County grew the most in 1986 when it saw an increase of 182,228 people over the previous year. This year, there was an estimated increase of 74,000 people over 2012, Schooling said.

Contributing to the growth is that the number of births has exceeded the number of deaths in L.A. County by more than 70,000 people a year in recent years. Immigration is also driving the population increase. While many people move from the Los Angeles area to other parts of the state, relatively high rates of immigration counterbalances that, Schooling said.

In the last two years, more people have moved into L.A. County than out of it but that wasn't the case three years ago and during the housing crisis, Schooling said.

Meanwhile, in San Bernardino County, the population grew by nearly 0.6 percent this year to an estimated 2.08 million people. More people have been leaving the county than coming into it for years and it lost more than 6,000 people in 2013 to net migration.

"San Bernardino hasn't completely grown out of the economic doldrums yet," Schooling said. "I think they are working on it. They are still growing but we haven't seen the huge growth in the Inland Empire that we have seen in previous times yet." ___

(c)2013 the Daily News (Los Angeles)

Visit the Daily News (Los Angeles) at www.dailynews.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Categories: Political News and Opinion

California Health Exchange Sees Surge In Applicants, But Spanish Speakers Are Few

Huffington Post News - 52 min 15 sec ago

The number of people who applied for health care coverage through Covered California picked up in the last few weeks, state officials said Thursday.

The number of those enrolled in health plans in November totaled 78,377 individuals. That's nearly double from October, said Peter Lee, executive director for Covered California. In addition, 108,000 people who applied in November were likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal, with coverage beginning in January 2014, Lee said.

"What these numbers are saying is Californians have heard they need to sign up by Dec. 23," Lee said. "We believe these numbers are going to grow, because Californians are talking to Californians."

A total of 109,296 have enrolled in plans in October and November.

But Lee acknowledged that at least 30 percent of those who log on to the Covered California website found the process difficult.

He also said state officials need to increase research into how to reach more Asian-Americans and Spanish-speaking Latinos. "Spanish speakers represent 5 percent of our total enrollment," Lee said. "That's not enough."

The real success in enrollment seems to be among those who qualify for Medi-Cal. By the time Jan. 1 rolls around, at least 1 million to 2 million Californians will join Medi-Cal, said Toby Douglas, director of the California Department of Health Care Services.

By the first of the year, 10 million Californians will be covered under Medi-Cal, Douglas added. ___

(c)2013 the Daily News (Los Angeles)

Visit the Daily News (Los Angeles) at www.dailynews.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Arapahoe High School Shooting Leaves At Least 2 Injured

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 2 min ago

At least two people were injured in a shooting at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. on Friday.

One student was critically injured, according to KDVR. The other victim victim suffered minor injuries.

At a 1:45 p.m. press conference, County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the suspect, who was a student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Robinson said the shooter "targeted a specific teacher that he was interested in confronting." That teacher was not injured.

NEW PIC: From @KDVR: SWAT team leading students away from #Arapahoe High in Littleton, Colo. http://t.co/VuGrvu0anB pic.twitter.com/0ZeBAgT8gi

— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) December 13, 2013


Arapahoe High School is part of Littleton Public Schools and has about 2,000 students.

Ryan Parker of the Denver Post tweeted a photo of the scene outside the school. He wrote that students told him the gunman had also been shot.

Students tell me 2 students were shot about 30 minutes ago. Shooter also shot, they say pic.twitter.com/NrK0nZzBzH

— Ryan Parker (@ryanparkerdp) December 13, 2013


This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Another International Lender Pledges No More Coal

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 4 min ago

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Export-Import Bank has joined the growing list of international financial institutions that will no longer finance coal projects abroad.

Ex-Im is the official export credit agency for the U.S., focused on providing financial support to projects that spur the export of U.S. products and services. On Thursday, the bank announced that it has revised its environmental guidelines to no longer support "high carbon intensity plants," except in countries with no other financially feasible options, or when a plant has carbon capture technology in place.

"No one has been more supportive of U.S. exports and the American jobs they produce and maintain than this bank and this board. Since 2009, we have supported nearly 1.2 million jobs," said Fred P. Hochberg, Ex-Im's chairman and president. "We can't do it, however, without considering the environmental costs associated with transactions."

The bank's support for fossil fuel projects abroad has drawn criticism from environmental organizations, which note that Ex-Im loaned $9.6 billion to fossil-fuel projects in 2012, despite its stated policy to consider the greenhouse gas emissions of projects it funds. In 2011, Ex-Im provided a $805 million loan to build Kusile, a 4,800-megawatt plant in South Africa that will be among the largest in the world when completed.

But changes have been brewing at Ex-Im. During his big climate speech in June, President Barack Obama promised that the U.S. would stop funding coal projects abroad. A few weeks later, Ex-Im declined to fund a massive coal-fired power plant in Vietnam. And in October, the Treasury Department announced that it would no longer fund most coal plants though multilateral development banks.

Other major investment banks around the world have followed suit. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced earlier this week that it too will no longer fund coal.

"The Export-Import Bank's coal restrictions are just the latest resounding statement from public institutions that coal has no place in a 21st century, clean energy economy," said Justin Guay, associate director of the international climate program at Sierra Club.

Guay noted that Ex-Im's restrictions are "particularly historic," as it is the first export credit agency in the world to announce an end to funding for coal plants. "Of course, the most important thing now is implementation, and we'll be watching closely to be sure no new coal plants are approved," said Guay. "But more importantly, all eyes are now on other export credit agencies -- especially the Germans and the Japanese -- to follow suit."

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Congress Can Be Corrupt Without Corrupt People

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 24 min ago

The Supreme Court is considering whether ‘corruption’ can refer to a system as well as individuals. The definition makes all the difference when it comes reforming Washington.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Presidential Proclamation -- Bill of Rights Day, 2013

News from the White House - 1 hour 26 min ago

BILL OF RIGHTS DAY, 2013

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

When America's Founders declared our independence, they set forth an idea that became our Nation's defining creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." They understood that while these truths have always been self-evident, they have never been self-executing. After 15 years of democratic experimentation and national debate, the Bill of Rights came into force, touching off a long journey to carve America's highest ideals into enduring, enforceable law.

The Bill of Rights is the foundation of American liberty, securing our most fundamental rights -- from the freedom to speak, assemble, and practice our faith as we please to the protections that ensure justice under the law. For almost two and a quarter centuries, these 10 Constitutional Amendments have served as a basis from which civil society could grow and flourish. They have encouraged innovation and defended Americans who questioned, challenged, and dared our Nation to be greater.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and constitutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind." Our liberties opened heated debate over the questions of citizenship and human rights, driving progress in the American mind. We learned that our Nation, built on the principles of freedom and equality, could not survive half-slave and half-free. We resolved that our daughters must have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons, and that if we are truly created equal, then the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Americans with disabilities tore down legal and social barriers; disenfranchised farmworkers united to claim their rights to dignity, fairness, and a living wage; civil rights activists marched, bled, and gave their lives to bring the era of segregation to an end. As we celebrate the anniversary of the Bill of Rights, let us reach for a day when we all may enjoy the basic truths of liberty and equality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 15, 2013, as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

BARACK OBAMA

Categories: White House News

Why New York Is Considering Legalizing Marijuana

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 27 min ago

NEW YORK -- Back in 1998, 14-year-old Alfredo Carrasquillo and his friends were heading to a Bronx apartment where they planned to smoke pot and listen to some Tupac when a cop car pulled up on the curb “as if it was a movie or something.”

The cops ordered Carrasquillo and his friends to stand against a fence and then began patting them down and going through their pockets. “I knew I had a bag of weed on me but I wasn’t going to volunteer myself to be arrested,” Carrasquillo said. “Then one officer finds the weed and he says, ‘You should have told me about it before, but now I’m going to have to take you in.’”

That incident -- and the night in jail that followed -- was Carrasquillo’s introduction to the practice known as stop-and-frisk, a lynchpin of police policy in New York since the mid-'90s that has only grown more pervasive since Carrasquillo’s youth.

Every year in New York City, the police stop hundreds of thousands of people and frisk them for guns and drugs, often arresting them for possession of small amounts of pot. Largely because the vast majority of those stopped and arrested are black and Latino, this practice has caused an uproar, culminating in a bill introduced on Wednesday that would legalize marijuana in the state. Carrasquillo, who is black, Puerto Rican and Cuban, has become a prominent figure in the debate.

The morning after the bill was announced, Carrasquillo spoke about his history of pot arrests while sitting at the Brooklyn headquarters of VOCAL-NY, the drug-reform advocacy group that employs him as a community organizer.

He described feeling unsafe when he was growing up in the South Bronx -- and not because of the violent crime that was so common in the area. “You start thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t go down this block because I’m gonna get searched on this block,” he said. “You start feeling you don’t have any rights anymore.”

Carrasquillo estimates he’s been arrested on marijuana charges about 20 times in his life, and although most of the charges were dropped, he said the arrests made it hard for him to get a job until he found his calling as a community organizer. “No one directly said, ‘We’re not going to hire you because of your arrest record,’ but for some reason I was never hired,” he said.

Shapriece Townsend, a 22-year-old from Harlem, sat with with Carrasquillo on Thursday. Townsend said he lost his job at a pharmacy after he was arrested and jailed for three days for marijuana possession last year.

Alfredo Carrasquillo, pictured here at a rally in front of New York City's police headquarters, has become a prominent figure in the debate over marijuana arrests.

He had been heading home from his grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn when he saw a police car tailing behind him. “I thought I’d put a little pep in my step,” he said.

As he picked up speed, the police did too, eventually driving up on the sidewalk and pinning him against a fence with their car, he said. By his account, the two cops then jumped out of the car with their guns drawn and ordered him to put his hands above his head, saying he matched the description of someone who had committed a robbery. When he protested, one officer told him to “shut the hell up” and ordered him to take everything out of his pocket. Townsend says he complied out of fear: “I didn’t want to get shot.”

Supporters of stop-and-frisk and marijuana arrests credit such tactics for the precipitous drop in New York’s crime rate over the last 15 years. They argue that the police are keeping residents of low-income neighborhoods safe by rounding up young people and taking guns off them.

But critics say that the police often go too far, noting that only a small percentage of police stops result in the recovery of a weapon.

What’s more, the police themselves often violate the law when arresting people for pot, according to advocates. Under a 1977 state law, possession of a small amount of marijuana is only punishable by an arrest and jail time if “such marihuana is burning or open to public view,” as the penal code puts it, in its particular way. Advocates say most marijuana arrests are made only after the police force suspects to empty their pockets, which is illegal. And although the outgoing New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly recently directed officers to stop this practice, critics say it continues to be a problem.

An analysis of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practice by the New York Civil Liberties Union found that innocent black and Latino New Yorkers were stopped 400,000 times in 2012, far more often than whites. The report also found that police made more arrests for marijuana possession last year than for any other crime.

In the past year, the disproportionate arrest of blacks and Latinos for marijuana possession has prompted several reform efforts, and Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio rose to prominence this summer while vowing to improve relations between the police and black and Latino New Yorkers.

At a press conference outside City Hall on Wednesday, state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, specifically referred to the racial discrepancy in marijuana-arrest rates while announcing her proposal to end the prohibition of pot use altogether. The disproportionate arrest of blacks amounts to a “civil-rights disaster,” she said.

The bill represents the third effort in 2013 to remove legal barriers to pot use in New York state. Proposals to legalize marijuana for seriously ill patients and to fix the “public view” loophole both passed the State Assembly earlier this year, but the state Senate adjourned in June without taking action on either measure.

Advocates concede that the state’s failure to adopt those far more modest reforms doesn’t bode well for the new proposal.

Still, they welcome the opportunity for a chance to talk about how drug laws affect people of color.

“I think she hit it on the head,” Carrasquillo said of Krueger’s announcement. “It’s a fact that the war on drugs has disproportionately targeted and criminalized communities of color. I’m very happy that’s this thing is on top of the radar.”

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Bill Powers Will Keep His Job As UT-Austin President Despite 'Problems'

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 31 min ago

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers received a cautious endorsement Thursday from his frustrated chancellor that keeps him leading one of the nation's largest campuses despite two years of turmoil.

University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa acknowledged a "strained" relationship with Powers but expressed hope it would get better. Regents then declined to take any action against Powers, whose job has been rumored to be in jeopardy since 2011. "There are problems. I've addressed these problems. And it is my full expectation that President Powers and I will work toward resolving them and moving ahead," Cigarroa said.

Powers refused to characterize what happened as an official vote of confidence.

"There was a question about my employment, it got resolved positively," he said.

Still uncertain is the fate of UT's other biggest figure: football coach Mack Brown. He declined to say earlier Thursday whether he is about to coach his final game, and Powers said he planned to speak with Brown soon.

Powers has led UT since 2006 and is popular among faculty and students. But his vision for higher education has clashed with some regents — sometimes dramatically — whose ideas are supported by Gov. Rick Perry.

It was the first time regents have put Powers' job on an agenda — and the timing was interesting.

One of Powers' chief critics is a UT regent facing possible impeachment by a legislative committee, which had instructed regents not to take any action on campus leadership. The meeting also coincided with questions surrounding Brown, who counts Powers among his bigger supporters.

Fan frustration is mounting after another disappointing season for the Longhorns, who haven't put together a championship-caliber team since last playing for a national title in 2009. The Longhorns end the season Dec. 30 with the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

"I'm going to focus on this. We'll discuss football at the appropriate time," Powers said.

It's been a bruising two years for Powers in leading the 50,000-student campus. The tension began in 2011 when Perry began pushing a series of higher education reforms that called for more accountability on state campuses and lower costs. Academics on the state's largest campuses bristled at the proposals.

Signs of discord continued into 2012, when Perry backed UT regents who rejected a tuition hike plan endorsed by Powers.

Cigarroa said his frustration with Powers stemmed from a lack of communication. He also suggested that he and Powers would agree on a course of action for the university, only to watch Powers give a public impression that the two were misaligned.

But speculation surrounding Powers had quieted recently. He bolstered his reputation in academia upon being named chairman of the Association of American Universities in October, and also received a public endorsement from new UT regents chairman Paul Foster this fall.

Other regents have a less favorable impression of Powers. Regent Wallace Hall faces possible impeachment over accusations that he misused his office in an attempt to force out Powers, who was expected to testify next week to lawmakers about Hall.

The Texas Coalition for Higher Education Excellence, formed in 2011 in wake of the higher education debate, has backed Powers. Also coming to his defense Thursday was influential Texas booster Red McCombs, who is a close friend of Brown's and among the university's more generous donors.

McCombs said he didn't think Powers' future was tied to Brown's.

"No. But on the other hand, there is a connection," McCombs said. "There are some real well-meaning people that feel like Powers has not done a good job. I think he has done one of the best jobs in the country. One of the absolute best."

Texas A&M is also putting leadership at the top of its agenda this week. Its regents are scheduled to vote Saturday on a new interim president to replace Bowen Loftin, who is leaving to become chancellor at the University of Missouri.

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Categories: Political News and Opinion

'Churches Of The Streets' Religious Group Ordered To Stop Feeding Homeless

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 31 min ago

A St. Louis religious group of volunteers that serves hot home-cooked meals to the homeless was ordered to cease its operations until it gets a permit.

For the past year, Churches of the Streets, a community-based organization of Christian volunteers, has been serving dozens of homeless people every Monday night who have nowhere else to go, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. But after the paper ran a feature lauding the group for its benevolent work earlier this month, the city’s Health Department told the group that it had to stop feeding the homeless until it gets proper documentation.

“They’re doing a good thing, they really are,” Pat Mahoney, an environmental health supervisor with the city Health Department, told the Post-Dispatch. “It’s because they’re serving the public. The moment you start inviting the public to attend, that’s when we get into it.”

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Post by Churches on the Streets.

The group thought it was in the clear since it serves its clients on private property. Additionally, residents are allowed to hold barbecues and tailgate out in the open, so Churches of the Streets assumed that feeding people in need would fall under the same category.

But officials say the eating events are not the same.

"It's open to the public, so anything open to the public falls under the food code," St. Louis' health director Pam Walker told the Riverfront Times. "They were bringing the food in their cars and setting it up outside. There's a lot of potential there for food to go bad, and homeless people have a right to not suffer from food poisoning."

But securing a permit may not possible for the group because it’s too costly.

A temporary permit will run the group $50 per day, and annual fees for food establishments range from $130 to more than $300, according to the Post-Dispatch.

A major concern is that these clients will have nowhere else to turn. Because Churches of the Street is open to everyone and has no rules for participating, it brings in a group of people who don’t feel comfortable anywhere else.

"A lot of the people here don't feel welcome in [other] churches, which is sad," church organizer Ralph Valdes told the Post-Dispatch. "So we try to put out the idea that you're accepted here, that there is hope."

Churches of the Streets is just one of a number of religious groups that was told to stop helping some of the most vulnerable populations.

In August, Love Wins Ministries, an organization that feeds breakfast to anyone who needs it on Saturdays and Sundays in Raleigh, N.C., was threatened with being arrested if it didn't shut down its operation.

The group has been volunteering in Moore Square for the past six years and plays a particularly crucial role since no soup kitchens are open on the weekends in Wake County and the city of Raleigh, Rev. Hugh Hollowell, pastor and director of Love Wins, wrote in a blog for HuffPost.

This group also can’t afford to purchase a permit, which costs $800 per day, according to Hollowell.

But Hollowell said he simply could not be deterred.

“We will feed people,” he wrote in his blog. “I am, after all (however imperfectly), a follower of Jesus, who said himself that when we ignore hungry people, we ignore him.”

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Tea Party Congressman Warns Salon: Another Shutdown May Be Coming!

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 34 min ago

GOP firebrand Tim Huelskamp adds: "Rumors I’ve heard is [Boehner's] not going to be running for Speaker again”

Categories: Political News and Opinion

Kansas Airport Terror Plot Busted, Authorities Say

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 38 min ago

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An avionics technician from Kansas was arrested Friday as he planned to drive a vehicle full of explosives into a terminal at Wichita's Mid-Continent Regional Airport, authorities said.

Terry Lee Loewen, 58, was charged with one count each of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempting to damage property and attempting to provide support to terrorist group al-Qaida. Authorities said he was trying to support "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula."

The materials inside the vehicle were "inert" and "at no time was the safety of travelers or members of the public placed in jeopardy," U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Investigators said Loewen is an avionics technician who lives in Wichita and works at the airport. He had been under investigation for about six months, after he made online statements about wanting to commit "violent jihad" against the U.S. The statements were made in a conversation with an FBI employee unbeknownst to Loewen, Grissom said.

Authorities said they believe Loewen acted alone. No other arrests are expected.

According to court documents, Loewen talked to an undercover agent about downloading online documents about jihad, martyrdom and the "Al Qaeda Manual." He frequently expressed his admiration of Anwar Al-Awlaki, the American-born al-Qaida leader who was killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen. Al-Awlaki emerged as an influential preacher among militants living in the West, with his English language Internet sermons calling for jihad, or holy war, against the U.S.

Authorities said Loewen spent months studying the airport's layout, flight patterns and other details to maximize fatalities and damage. During that time, he developed a plan along with undercover FBI agents to use his access card to airport grounds and eventually thrust the vehicle loaded with explosives into the terminal.

He planned to die in the explosion, a fate that he said was inevitable after convincing himself to become a martyr in a jihad against America, according to court documents.

He was arrested about 5:40 a.m. as tried to enter the airport tarmac and deliver a vehicle loaded with what he believed to be high explosives, Grissom said.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback joined the U.S. attorney at the news conference to announce the charges.

"In the ongoing war on terrorism, the good guys won one today," Brownback said.

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport had 68 scheduled commercial flights on Friday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com. Investigators say the man is an avionics technician who lives in Wichita and works at the airport.

Categories: Political News and Opinion

White House To Keep NSA, Cyber Oversight Together

Huffington Post News - 1 hour 47 min ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will continue the National Security Agency's surveillance programs and cyber command operations under the direction of a single military commander, the first move in advance of what published reports described Friday as limited changes proposed by a task force that deliberated for months in secrecy.

The administration had considered splitting oversight of the two sensitive national security programs amid revelations about its surveillance programs sweeping phone and Internet data inside the U.S. and around the world. But National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden said Friday that the government believes maintaining the oversight responsibilities together under one command is the most effective approach to accomplishing both agencies' missions. Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA's director, currently oversees both the agency's surveillance operations and the military's Cyber Command, which monitors and responds to computer intrusions and espionage. Alexander is expected to step down this spring. The administration's decision means he will be replaced by another senior military commander instead of a civilian director, as recommended by some national security experts.

The announcement comes days before a review group working under the Director of National Intelligence is expected to deliver, on Sunday, its findings on NSA surveillance to President Barack Obama. The DNI's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology held no public meetings and met several times with business and privacy groups out of the range of the media and public. DNI head James Clapper exempted the panel from standard federal requirements that it work transparently.

Although the task force has kept its recommendations secret, news organizations have sketched out proposals that would allow most of the NSA's surveillance programs to continue but change ownership of the government's large inventory of telephone records and restrict spying on allied nations. The Wall Street Journal reported that the panel proposed shifting control of sought-after phone records from the government to individual phone companies, while The New York Times said the panel urged the White House to hold a tighter leash on U.S. spying on foreign leaders.

The panel's recommendations come as skepticism over the NSA surveillance mounts in Congress and from technology companies and privacy groups. Worried that reports of foreign data intercepts could drive away international customers, lawyers for a consortium of companies including Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo recently urged legal changes in Congress. Their move coincided with a bipartisan legislative push to scale back the surveillance programs.

One lawmaker said the review panel recommendations could aid plans to end the government's direct control over telephone data.

"I'd encourage the administration to move in the direction of phone companies retaining the data," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Ca., said Friday.

Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has offered legislation to shift control of phone records from the NSA to the phone companies and said the move could be made without diminishing national security. He noted that the firms already hold the same data that the government sweeps up for 18 months and could quickly turn over that material quickly to the NSA and law enforcement. NSA officials have warned that investigations could bog down if the government lost direct control over the records.

Other NSA critics had long urged the White House to split up the responsibilities of the NSA's director by separating the agency's surveillance and cyber command operations. Recent media revelations stemming from leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed the blurring effect of the agency's dual roles abroad, reporting that the NSA hacked into foreign governments and companies alike, using its unique computer hacking abilities to tap into financial and corporate files and the private communications of allies as well as the calling and web patterns of suspected terrorists.

But Hayden said Friday that "without that dual-hat arrangement, elaborate procedures would have to be put in place to ensure that effective coordination continued and avoid creating duplicative capabilities in each organization."

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Pace is the AP White House correspondent.

Categories: Political News and Opinion