Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Obama: Americans are completely fed up with Washington - Chicago Tribune Posted: 17 Oct 2013 08:55 AM PDT WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama said on Thursday that "Americans are completely fed up with Washington" a day after the latest fiscal impasse was narrowly averted and called for talks with Congress on the budget, immigration and farm legislation. Hours after he signed into law a hastily arranged bill to end a 16-day government shutdown and head off a debt default, Obama said events over the last two weeks had inflicted "completely unnecessary" damage on the U.S. economy. GOVERNMENT REOPENS National parks, museums and monuments will begin reopening today as the federal government resumes operations after a late-night congressional deal to end the 16-day shutdown. The White House budget office told hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the bulk of whom had been idle for the past 16 days, to be ready to return to work on Thursday. On its website, the Smithsonian said all of its museums will be open on Thursday, with the National Zoo set to reopen Friday. National monuments -- including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument -- also are expected to begin welcoming back visitors on Thursday. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield also reopened Thursday morning. Officials at Yosemite National Park announced that it reopened Wednesday night after Congress approved a deal to end the federal government shutdown. Visitors can use public areas and roads immediately while other park facilities and services begin to reopen Thursday, park Supt. Don Neubacher said. "We are excited to reopen and welcome visitors back to Yosemite," he said in a statement. "Autumn is a particularly special season to enjoy Yosemite's colorful grandeur." The timetable for other national monuments to resume normal public hours remains unclear. The National Park Service, which operates the monuments, still had not reactivated parts of its website early Thursday. SHUTDOWN ENDS  Congress approved a bill late Wednesday to fund the government and extend the federal government's debt ceiling and thus avoid a financial default. President Obama signed the bill in the early hours of Thursday. The legislative stalemate stemmed from budgetary disagreements over Obama's Affordable Care Act. In the end, the Democratic-led Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure on a 81-18 vote, and the Republican-controlled House followed suit 285 to 144. Obama signed the 35-page bill just after midnight. The down-to-the-wire deal, however, offers only a temporary fix and does not resolve the fundamental issues of spending and deficits that divide Republicans and Democrats. It funds the government until Jan. 15 and raises the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, so Americans face the possibility of another bitter budget fight and another government shutdown early next year. Although the deal would only extend U.S. borrowing authority until the first week of February, the Treasury Department would have tools to temporarily extend its borrowing capacity beyond that date if Congress failed to act early next year. But such techniques eventually run out. In addition to lifting the federal debt limit, the deal calls for creating a House-Senate bipartisan commission to try to come up with long-term deficit-reduction ideas that would have to be approved by the full Congress. Their work would have to be completed by Dec. 13, but some lawmakers say the panel faces an extremely difficult task. Taking the podium in the White House briefing room on Wednesday night, Obama said that with final congressional passage, "We can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and from the American people." "Hopefully next time it won't be in the 11th hour. We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis," Obama said. He outmaneuvered Republicans by holding firm in defense of "Obamacare" to win agreement, with few strings attached, to end the 16-day shutdown. As he was walking out of the briefing room, a reporter asked if this would happen again in just a few months. "No," he said, and continued walking. Reuters and David Ng and Robert J. Lopez, the Los Angeles Times

Cory Booker: Mr. Mayor becomes Mr. Senator - Washington Post Posted: 17 Oct 2013 08:48 AM PDT Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment. More about badges | Request a badge Washingtologist Badge Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area. More about badges | Request a badge Post Writer Badge This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer. Post Contributor Badge This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren't staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story. More about badges | Request a badge Post Recommended Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post. You must be logged in to report a comment. You must be logged in to recommend a comment.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Business Times : latest

---

US stocks jump on budget deal Posted: 16 Oct 2013 04:31 PM PDT NEW YORK CITY: An 11th-hour deal to end the government shutdown and raise the US debt ceiling sparked a strong rally on Wall Street Wednesday, with gains of nearly 1.4 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 205.82 points (1.36 per cent) at 15,373.83. The broader S&P 500 rose 23.48 (1.38 per cent) to 1,721.54, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 45.42 (1.20 per cent) at 3,839.43. Although it was not a completely done deal -- final votes were still required in both houses of Congress late Wednesday -- it was expected that the crisis that had unnerved global markets would be over by Thursday. "This agreement is likely to prevent a government default on its debt and spending as well as re-open previously closed non-essential government services," said Gary Thayer at Wells Fargo Advisors. "However, the compromise does not resolve all the budget problems; it only provides a temporary postponement. Nevertheless, reducing the risk of default could help lift sentiment and boost economic activity over the near term." Big banks led the surge: Bank of America, which beat profit forecasts for its third quarter, gained 2.3 per cent, Citigroup 4.1 per cent and JPMorgan Chase 3.2 per cent. In Nasdaq tech shares, Facebook led the way with a 3.3 per cent jump while Google added 1.8 per cent. Fresh third-quarter earnings from a number of companies had a mixed impact. Dow component Intel rose 1.3 per cent despite cutting its forecast for the rest of the year. For the third quarter the chipmaker beat forecasts slightly. Railway operator CSX fell 0.8 per cent despite a 1.8 per cent gain in quarterly profits. The company pointed out a significant drop in the volume of coal it hauls. Pepsico shares were up 2.1 per cent despite third-quarter earnings of US$1.91 billion that were barely higher than a year earlier. Apple shares were 0.5 per cent higher despite reports that it had cut back orders for its new iPhone 5C due to slow demand in the market for the smartphone. Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker dropped 14.3 per cent after sharply cutting its earnings forecast for the year, even as the company reported a 44 per cent profit gain for the third quarter. -- AFP

You are subscribed to email updates from Business Times : latest To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Senator: Announcement of Senate deal may be imminent - CNN International Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:18 AM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content] U.S. News & World Report Senator: Announcement of Senate deal may be imminent CNN International Washington (CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 10:55 a.m.]. Senate Republican leaders met Wednesday before a gathering of the full GOP caucus, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said the announcement of a deal to reopen the government and ... Senate Reaches Bipartisan Fiscal DealNew York Times Leaders Adding Final Touches to Senate Budget DealWall Street Journal House may vote first on Senate government shutdown/debt-limit planLos Angeles Times Washington Post -Fox News -Politico all 1,308 news articles »

Sheriff weighs charges for parents in bullying death - USA TODAY Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:54 AM PDT Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd talks about the events leading up to the arrest over the weekend of two juvenile girls in a Florida bullying case at a news conference in Winter Haven, Fla., Oct. 15.(Photo: Calvin Knight, The Ledger, via AP) Story Highlights One 12-year-old suspect shows "remorse and cooperation" Boyfriend at the center of the feud says he was "shocked" by girl's death If convicted, the suspects are unlikely to serve much jail time, if any The sheriff who arrested two girls for allegedly bullying a 12-year-old into committing suicide says authorities are trying to decide whether they can also charge one of the suspect's parents. The pair — ages 12 and 14 — were arrested Monday and charged with third-degree felony aggravated stalking in connection with the death of Rebecca Sedwick, of Lakeland, Fla., who jumped from a cement factory tower Sept. 9. Rebecca, who authorities say was bullied relentlessly for months, was "terrorized" by as many as 15 girls physically and online. One message to Rebecca said she should "drink bleach and die.'' Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday that the bullying began after the 14-year-old suspect began dating a boy Rebecca had been seeing. She "began to harass and ultimately torment Rebecca," Judd said, and prodded the 12-year-old to join in. The younger suspect has shown "remorse and cooperation" over the incident and was released into her parents' custody, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The older suspect, described by Judd as "very cold," remains in juvenile custody. The sheriff said authorities are still investigating the girls, and also trying to decide whether the parents should be charged. "I'm aggravated that the parents aren't doing what parents should do," Judd told reporters. "Responsible parents take disciplinary action." CYBERBULLYING: A wake-up call for parents about monitoring Web use Judd told NBC's Today on Wednesday that investigators so far have found no criminal charges that could be filed against the parents, "but if we can find contributing to the delinquency of a child, we would certainly bring that charge." He said the parents of the 14-year-old suspect are in "total denial." "They don't think there is a problem here, and that is the problem," he said. Judd added that the girl's parents gave her back her Facebook access even after learning about her alleged bullying of Rebecca. "That's terrible," he said. "That's why we moved fast to lock their daughter up." Rebecca Sedwick, 12, of Lakeland, Fla., is shown in a family photo. She killed herself Sept. 9, 2013, after enduring months of bullying .(Photo: Family photo via WTSP-TV) The sheriff said the tipping point leading to the arrests came when the older suspect allegedly posted on Facebook on Saturday: "Yes ik [I know] I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF [I don't give a (expletive)]" "We decided, look, we can't leave her out there," the sheriff told reporters. "Who else is she going to torment? Who else is she going to harass? Who is the next person she verbally and mentally abuses and attacks?" The suspect told deputies that her Facebook account was hacked and that she did not write that post, WTSP-TV reported. A man who answered the phone at the older suspect's Lakeland home told the Associated Press that he was her father and said that "none of it's true." "My daughter's a good girl, and I'm 100% sure that whatever they're saying about my daughter is not true," he said. A man who answered the door at the home of the younger suspect identified himself as her father. He told WTSP that he had lost a daughter himself years ago and that his whole family is devastated over what happened to Rebecca. "I feel horrible about the whole situation, but like I said, there's two sides to every story," he told the Tampa TV station. "The day that this happened, we all felt super horrible. I've even brought my daughter numerous times to the grave where she jumped. She even went over there and prayed at night, but that's all that can be done right now and I can't really say too much more," he said. John Borgen, the boyfriend at the center of the feud between Rebecca and the two suspects, said he was "shocked" by her suicide. "(It) made me mad because she should have just told somebody," Borgen told WTSP. He said he knew as many as 15 girls from school were teaming up against his former girlfriend, but never expected what happened. "They need to take life seriously," Borgen said. "Why do you need to be bullying somebody?" Rebecca's mother, Tricia Norman, told reporters that the day the arrests were announced was "really rough," WTSP-TV reported. "It is bittersweet for me," she said. "There's some relief. There's some regret. There's some sadness because of her birthday being this weekend." Norman, who has created an anti-bullying page on Facebook in her daughter's name, said the suspects needed help. "I can't say that I want these girls to spend the rest of their time in jail or any time in jail, but they do need serious rehabilitation," she told reporters. Rebecca's mother said both girls were former friends of her daughter and that the younger girl had even been in her home for a slumber party. "I had to ask her to leave because of problems with other girls. She was doing bad things and gossiping; she made other girls cry," she said. "I told her she had to leave. I always had a bad feeling about that girl." Sheriff Judd, noting the suspects have clean criminal records, said that the girls — if convicted — are not likely to serve much time in jail, if any. Contributing: Associated Press

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Business Times : latest

---

US stock marts deep in the red Posted: 15 Oct 2013 04:33 PM PDT NEW YORK CITY: US stock markets closed deep in the red Tuesday as politicians in Washington remained deadlocked over a deal to reopen the government and avoid default on its debts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 133.25 points (0.87 per cent) at 15,168.01. The broader S&P 500 fell 12.08 (0.71 per cent) to 1,698.06, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 21.26 (0.56 per cent) at 3,794.01. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 broke four-day winning streaks. Stocks extended their slide in the afternoon after early hopes for a breakthrough in the divided Congress had evaporated. On the 15th day of a US federal government shutdown, the result of Congress's failure to approve a budget for the 2014 fiscal year that began on October 1, Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over the budget and raising the borrowing limit. The US Treasury has warned that if Congress fails to lift the US$17.6 trillion debt ceiling by Thursday, it will lose its ability to borrow and could run out of cash to pay all its obligations. "We're far from a deal at this point," White House spokesman Jay Carney admitted. Apple shares added 0.5 per cent after it announced it was hiring the chief executive of British fashion house Burberry, Angela Ahrendts, as its new head of retailing. Citigroup fell 1.5 per cent after missing forecasts for its third-quarter results, blaming in part slower trading gains. Earnings per share were US$1.00 for the quarter, on revenues that jumped 30 per cent from a year ago, to US$17.9 billion, short of the US$18.7 billion estimates. Johnson & Johnson edged up 0.1 per cent as it came in with a modest gain on earnings, net profits at US$2.98 billion from US$2.96 billion a year ago, and raised its full-year per-share forecast by four cents to US$5.44-US$5.49. Coca-Cola fell 0.7 per cent. The soft-drink maker posted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, but revenues fell 2.5 per cent under pressure from currency exchange rates. -- AFP

You are subscribed to email updates from Business Times : latest To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Lawmakers: House, Senate working on competing plans - Washington Post Posted: 15 Oct 2013 09:13 AM PDT House Republican leaders want to put forward their own plan to reopen the federal government, raise the debt ceiling and amend President Obama's health-care law, lawmakers said Tuesday. But it is not clear whether they can muster enough votes to pass the bill, and Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) was noncommittal when asked by reporters whether the legislation would move forward. Both the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) quickly attacked the House GOP effort, saying it could sabotage bipartisan negotiations that had been gaining traction in the Senate, and stood no chance being passed there or accepted by President Obama. "It's nothing more than a blatant attack on bipartisanship," Reid said in a speech on the Senate floor. Democrats, he said, "felt blind sided." At a late-morning news conference, Boehner — whose previous efforts at compromise have been defeated by his party's right wing — said "there have been no decisions about what exactly we will do." He said he was talking to lawmakers from both parties to find "a way forward" and was keenly aware that the nation was very close to reaching the limits of its borrowing authority. "I have made clear for months and months that the idea of a default is wrong and we shouldn't get anywhere close to it," Boehner said. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said earlier Tuesday that the bill being formulated by House Republicans was designed to be attractive to Democrats,, because it would follow key timelines that have been established in the Senate negotiations. For example, the bill would fund government agencies until Jan. 15, and raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. But unlike the Senate proposal, the plan would also include significant changes and restrictions on Obama's signature health-care law, other lawmakers said, such as a two-year repeal of the medical device tax and a provision eliminating the employer health-care contribution for members of Congress and White House officials. Such changes have previously been rejected by Democrats, however, and a White House spokeswoman was quick to express opposition on Tuesday. "The President has said repeatedly that members of Congress don't get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the latest proposal from House Republicans does just that, in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans." The White House said Obama would meet with House Democratic leaders on Tuesday afternoon. It remains far from clear whether the House will be able to pass the bill it is proposing. If Democratic lawmakers refuse to support it, the bill would need votes from all but 15 of the 232 Republican lawmakers. Emerging from the meeting Tuesday morning, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) said many members have "sincere, deep concerns" with the plan. He noted that he is willing to reopen the government but has not voted to raise the debt ceiling since 1997, and has vowed never to do so again.

2 arrests made in death of bullied Florida girl - CBS News Posted: 15 Oct 2013 09:12 AM PDT WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Two girls have been arrested in the death of a 12-year-old central Florida girl who authorities say committed suicide after being bullied online by several girls for nearly a year, a sheriff said Tuesday. The girls are 12 and 14, and they have been charged with felony aggravated stalking, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Grady Judd scheduled a news conference Tuesday morning in Winter Haven regarding the arrests. Authorities have said Rebecca Ann Sedwick was "terrorized" by as many as 15 girls who ganged up on her and picked on her for months through online message boards and texts. Some of the girls' computers and cellphones were seized in the investigation. Play Video Mother says cyber-bullying drove 12-year-old daughter to commit suicide Play Video 12-year-old commits suicide after months of online torment Last month, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reported that the one message that her mother, Tricia Norman, cannot forget urged Rebecca Ann to kill herself. "'You haven't killed yourself yet,'" Norman recalled the message saying. "'Go jump off of a building.'" On Sept. 9, authorities say, Rebecca climbed a tower at an abandoned concrete plant and hurled herself to her death. The bullying began over a "boyfriend issue," and Rebecca had become depressed, Judd has said. After the suicide, police looked at the girl's computer and found search queries for topics including "what is overweight for a 13-year-old girl," ''how to get blades out of razors" and "how many over-the-counter drugs do you take to die." One of her screensavers also showed Rebecca with her head resting on a railroad track. Florida has a bullying law named after a teenager who killed himself after being harassed by classmates. Amended July 1 to cover cyberbullying, the law leaves punishment to schools, though law enforcement also can seek more traditional charges.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Senate seeks deal to avoid US default as time runs short - Reuters Posted: 14 Oct 2013 09:38 AM PDT By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:32am EDT (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers in the Senate said on Monday they hoped to reach a deal soon to reopen the government and avert a looming default as investors worried that Republicans and Democrats might not be able to resolve their differences by a Thursday deadline. After weekend negotiations proved fruitless, senators from both parties said they still thought they could reach agreement in the coming hours. With the most unrealistic demands off the table, the two sides were trying to craft a temporary measure that would allow Washington to step back from the ledge. "I'm hopeful we can have something meaningful by the end of the day," Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi said on MSNBC. The Treasury Department says it cannot guarantee that the U.S. government will be able to pay its bills past October 17 if Congress does not raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by then. It's not clear whether Congress can meet that deadline. Even if Republicans and Democrats in the Senate reach agreement on Monday, hard-liners such as Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz might be able to delay a vote for several days. The House of Representatives also would need to sign off on the plan. Republican leaders there face strong pressure from a vocal conservative flank that is deeply reluctant to make concessions to President Barack Obama and his Democrats. Many say they won't back any deal that doesn't undercut Obama's 2010 healthcare reform law, the Affordable Care Act - a non-starter for Democrats. "We've got to draw some lines in the sand now. This, to me, is an epic battle over Washington versus America, and I hope America wins," Republican Representative Matt Salmon of Arizona said on CNN. Analysts expect that any deal is likely to come down to the wire. Though Treasury likely will have enough cash on hand to meet its obligations for a week or so, it might be forced to pay a higher interest rate on the bonds it is due to issue on Thursday. Banks and money market funds are already shunning some government bonds that are normally used for short-term loans. In China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, the state news agency Xinhua said it was time for a "de-Americanized world." U.S. stocks fell at the open on Monday. The S&P 500 Index was down 0.53 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.48 percent by mid-morning. The ongoing government shutdown is beginning to weigh on the economy as well. The hundreds of thousands of federal employees who have been temporarily thrown out of work are likely to get back-pay when the standoff is resolved. But they aren't getting paid now, forcing many to dial back on personal spending and cancel holiday travel plans. Any agreement that would come in the following days would not resolve disagreements over long-term spending and the Affordable Care Act that led to the standoff in the first place. Despite the objections of rank-and-file conservatives like Salmon, many Republicans are eager to move the discussion away from "Obamacare" and toward possible spending cuts. "All of us now are talking about spending, which is where we should have been in the first place," Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on MSNBC. Republicans have floated plans that would push back any possible default for several weeks and keep the government open for several months, but Democrats say that would simply set up another market-rattling confrontation which could spook consumers and further weigh on the economic recovery. "If we just extend this to January, we'll be right back in the middle of this," Democratic Senator Mark Begich of Alaska said on MSNBC. (Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Claudia Parsons)

Shiller, two others win economics Nobel for 'bubble' warnings - CNN Posted: 14 Oct 2013 04:38 AM PDT Robert Shiller, one of three Americans to win the Nobel Prize in economics Monday. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Shiller is a professor at Yale University. He is joined by Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen, who both teach at the University of Chicago. The award was for their work on the pricing of financial assets. Together they concluded that predicting the price of stocks and bonds in the short term is virtually impossible. But they showed it is possible to forecast the broad course of prices over longer periods, such as the three to five years. Shiller was among those who warned in the 1990s that the run-up in stock prices as part of the Internet stock bubble was the result of "irrational exuberance." Last decade, Shiller made similar warnings about the run-up in U.S. home prices. That proved to be correct when the housing bubble burst and plunged the nation into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. He helped to develop the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which is one of the most closely watched measures of home values. In a press conference Monday, Shiller said economists are still drawing lessons from the bursting of the housing bubble. "I think there's much more to be done. I think it will take decades," Shiller said. "But we've been through financial crises many times in our history and we've generally learned from them." Fama and Hansen are not as well known as Shiller outside the field of economics. Starting in the 1960s, Fama helped to demonstrate that new information is quickly incorporated into stock prices, a fact that makes short-term price predictions difficult. The Nobel committee said that finding helped lead to the emergence of index stock funds, which are now a staple of so many investors' portfolios today. Hansen developed a statistical method that was well suited to testing theories of asset pricing, the committee said. Fama and Hansen were not immediately available for comment early Monday. Last year's prize went to Alvin Roth of Harvard University and Lloyd Shapley of UCLA, whose work on resource allocation was used for everything from matching job applicants to openings to coming up with way to allocate transplant organs to patients. First Published: October 14, 2013: 7:28 AM ET

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Senate Leaders Talk; GOP Blames Obama for Gridlock - New York Times Posted: 13 Oct 2013 09:03 AM PDT By JEREMY W. PETERS and ASHLEY PARKER Published: October 13, 2013 WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Sunday kept up the drumbeat of blame against President Obama for what they say is his failure to negotiate with them on the fiscal crisis that will come to a head on Thursday, when the government will run out of money to pay its bills. As the Republicans pointed fingers at the White House, Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell were set to sit down again on Sunday in an effort to come up with some sort of agreement — even one that will kick the most pressing problems down the road for a few weeks or months. Their discussions appear to be the only hope, at least on Sunday, for a deal after talks between House Republicans broke down on Saturday, with no indication when they would resume. The House was not meeting on Sunday, although the Senate would be called into session. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said on ABC's "This Week" that he could feel a deal "coming together" as Mr. Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, and Mr. McConnell, the chamber's top Republican, prepared for their second day of talks. But Mr. Graham also warned his colleagues that the longer the showdown lasted, the more damage they were doing to Congress. "To my colleagues in the House on both sides, and to my friends in the Senate, we're ruining both institutions," he said. Some of the senators also sought to redirect the conversation from the shutdown and debt ceiling fight to the issue that closed the government on Oct. 1: the House Republicans' insistence that they would not pass any spending bill that included financing for the new health care law. Mr. Graham, for one, said that "defunding Obamacare" or delaying it for a year was "not a realistic possibility now." The law partly went into effect the same day the government shut down. "The shutdown will be old news next year," he added. "Obamacare's faults will be front and center in 2014 if we don't screw this up." But Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, said Mr. Obama was to blame for his refusal to deal with the fiscal crisis. "This is the first time in history that a president of the United States has said, 'Look, I'm not even going to talk about it,' " Mr. Portman said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He added later: "The president should engage. You've got to deal with the underlying problem, which is the spending problem." On CNN's "State of the Union," Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, played down fears that a default on the debt this week would be the cause of a downgrade of the nation's credit rating, as happened during a similar showdown in 2011. The downgrade, he said, was not caused by the threat of default, but by the size of the United States' debt. "The vast majority of people are afraid of what this growth of our debt is going to do to us," he said. On Saturday, Mr. Reid said he was slightly optimistic about his dialogue with Mr. McConnell. "I hope that our talking is some solace to the American people and the world," he said. (Not far away, officials meeting in Washington at the annual sessions of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank publicly expressed alarm that the United States might provoke a global debt crisis by Congress's inaction.) "Senator McConnell and I have been in this body a long time," Mr. Reid added. "We've done things for a long time together. We don't agree on everything, and that's, as you know, an understatement." The relationship between the two men has been so chilly that it took two other senators, Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, to arrange the meeting. For Speaker John A. Boehner and other House Republicans, the options were much grimmer. If Mr. Boehner compromises, he risks angering the conservatives who dominate his conference. For its part, the White House is sticking with its stance that it will not negotiate until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is raised. The White House has no public events planned on Sunday, although aides did not rule out that Mr. Obama might confer with some lawmakers, as he did with Senate Democrats on Saturday afternoon. Mr. Schumer, who was at that meeting, said: "There's a will among all three parties — the president, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans. Now we'll see if there's a way." Earlier on Saturday, conservatives left their meeting at the Capitol in a sour mood, with many saying they were outraged that Mr. Obama had refused to meet them halfway. Representative John Carter of Texas described Mr. Obama as "acting like a royal president." "He's still 'my way or the highway,' " Mr. Carter said. With concerns growing that global financial markets could be thrown into turmoil if Congress does not agree to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans said they did not know whether Mr. Boehner would have enough support from the most conservative members in his conference to put a Senate plan up for a vote — if the leaders reach a deal. "The question is: What will Senate Republicans do; what will Senate Democrats do?" said Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois. Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California, added: "The problem here is that we don't have a functioning majority. After three weeks of this, they're still not figuring it out. I don't know what it takes." The failure of talks with the White House further strained the relationship between House Republicans and the president. It was the House Republicans' refusal to approve a spending bill unless it stripped financing from the health care law that shut down the government. And now Republicans in the Senate and the House are looking for a way out of the crisis. With the latest developments, Representative Aaron Schock, Republican of Illinois, said there had been "a total breakdown in trust" between House Republicans and the administration. Feelings ran so high on the House floor on Saturday morning that there was a brief altercation between Representative Joseph Crowley, a New York Democrat, and Chris Vieson, the floor director for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader. There were conflicting reports about whether the conflict became physical or was confined to words, but both sides said they had apologized. If Republicans needed any reminder about how outraged their most conservative supporters would be if they committed to a compromise that did not include provisions to weaken the health care law, they needed look no further than out the window. Glenn Beck, the fiery radio personality, was leading a group of Tea Party activists on the National Mall.

Cousin confesses to killing missing toddler in decades-old 'Baby Hope' case - New York Daily News Posted: 13 Oct 2013 09:01 AM PDT The answer to the Baby Hope murder mystery was all in the family. Cops arrested a cousin of the toddler brutally murdered 22 years ago — marking a dramatic turn in one of the city's most notorious cold cases. Conrado Juarez, 52, confessed Saturday to killing the girl and disposing of her body in a cooler with the help of his sister, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. His tiny victim, whose name had been a mystery for more than two decades, was identified for the first time as 4-year-old Anjelica Castillo. Juarez, a dishwasher from the Bronx, told cops he sodomized and then quietly smothered Anjelica with a pillow in a hallway at his sister's home in Astoria, Queens. When the little girl went motionless, Juarez summoned his sister, Balvina Juarez-Ramirez, from another room, Kelly said. Juarez-Ramirez, who was caring for the girl, insisted they secretly get rid of her body, Kelly said. RELATED: LUPICA: ARREST IN BABY HOPE CASE A 'EUREKA!' FOR KELLY She brought him a filthy cooler — as the other family members living there remained unaware of the cruelty underway just down the hall, Kelly said. Juarez and his sister, who is now dead, carried the cooler out of the apartment and took a black livery cab to Manhattan, where they dumped the icebox along a wooded stretch of the Henry Hudson Parkway. "They then separated and Juarez returned to the Bronx and his sister to Queens," Kelly said, "never to speak of the heinous act again until the NYPD investigators, through their relentless investigation, caught up with Juarez." The man's arrest on Friday capped a case that vexed some NYPD investigators throughout their entire careers. "You know that phrase, 'I'm on cloud nine'? That's where I am right now," said former NYPD Detective Jerry Giorgio, who had the case for more than two decades until retiring from the NYPD in 1997. The child's rotting remains were found stuffed inside the blue and white picnic cooler along the parkway near Inwood on July 23, 1991. The little girl weighed only 28 pounds and had been folded in half. She was naked, bound and sexually abused. Detectives pursued hundreds of leads that turned up nothing. As the years passed, the investigators' affection and sorrow for the mystery child grew. They eventually named her Baby Hope. RELATED: BABY HOPE'S FATHER NOW PRIME SUSPECT: SOURCE Investigators paid for the the nameless girl's burial at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx and inscribed a touching message on her tombstone: "Because we care." "I'm very happy and certainly I'm relieved to the fact that when we visit this plot out in St. Raymond's we can now attach a name to this little girl," Joseph Reznick, the former commander of the detectives in the 34th Precinct in Washington Heights, said Saturday. The case returned to the spotlight last week when cops announced that an anonymous phone tip led them to identify the dead girl's mother. Detectives obtained the mom's DNA profile from an envelope she had licked. Her DNA matched a sample taken from Anjelica's remains, a source said. Investigators built up the family tree, tracing relatives from Queens to the Bronx and all the way to Mexico, where Anjelica's father was born. They learned that when the child's parents split, her father took her and a sister to the home in Queens. Anjelica's mother, who a source said had 10 children by three men, took custody of a third sister, Kelly said. The girl's unidentified father has not been found, a source said. RELATED: 'BABY HOPE' MOM'S LAST IMAGE OF CHILD 22 YEARS AGO WAS CHILLING GOODBYE FROM DAD Through old-fashioned street work, detectives tracked down Juarez's Bronx address. Juarez's daughter answered the door and told cops a lie: that Juarez now lived in Mexico and had been there for the past 12 years, Kelly said. But his wife told investigators a different story, saying he was at work at a downtown Manhattan restaurant. Investigators used a ruse to lure Juarez out of the eatery and then persuaded him to talk with them, a law enforcement source said. The interrogation lasted five hours, the source added. "At the beginning he was blowing smoke, but he finally just gave it up," the source said. When Juarez confessed, "it was like there was a big weight lifted off his shoulders," a different source said. The mustachioed monster said nothing as he was led out of the cold case offices in Brooklyn, his hands cuffed behind his back. Juarez, a father of four also known as Enidino Juarez, was charged with second-degree murder and showed no remorse at his arraignment late Saturday night. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. RELATED: BABY HOPE DETECTIVE KEEPS FAITH IN FINDING KILLER "I think we have a long way to go before we know what really happened," his court-appointed lawyer, Michael Croce, said after the hearing. Juarez's neighbors in Morris Heights recalled seeing the quiet, unassuming man pushing shopping carts full of bottles he had collected. "He would be digging through trash cans," said Andre Holloway, 30. "He was always by himself." Giorgio said he expects Juarez to draw quite a bit of unwanted attention behind bars. "They will have their way with this guy in prison, even though he's in his 50s," the ex-detective told the Daily News. "But what bugs me is that he got to live for another 20 years with no conscience at all." With Jan Ransom and Ryan Sit On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my