Three states bidding for Obama library
CHICAGO – At least six locations in three different states have entered official bids to house Barack Obama’s presidential library.
Four of the confirmed bidders ahead of Monday’s deadline are from Chicago, the president’s hometown. Obama’s birth state of Hawaii offered an oceanfront location in Honolulu. Columbia University, where Obama was a law professor, pitched a West Harlem site in New York City.
The Chicago sites include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago State University and a commercial development near Lake Michigan. A widely expected bid from the Bronzeville neighborhood on the city’s South Side could not immediately be confirmed.
The Obama Foundation plans to announce a decision in early 2015.
President to extend gay rights protections
WASHINGTON – After years of pressure from gay rights groups, President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the White House said Monday.
While Obama lacks the authority to extend that protection to all Americans, the order being drafted by the White House would impact about 14 million workers whose employers or states currently do not ban workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. The scope of the measure was tabulated by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, which studies sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.
Russia cuts Ukraine off from fuel supplies
MOSCOW – Russia halted natural gas deliveries to Ukraine on Monday, spurning Ukraine’s offer to pay some of its multibillion-dollar gas debt and demanding upfront payments for future supplies.
The decision, coming amid deep tensions over eastern Ukraine, provoked strong words from both sides but does not immediately affect the crucial flow of Russian gas to Europe. Ukraine has enough reserves to last until December, according to the head of its state gas company Naftogaz.
Still, the Russian move could disrupt Europe’s long-term energy supplies if the issue is not resolved, analysts said.
Israel puts pressure on Hamas during search
JERUSALEM — Israel warned Monday it would exact a heavy price from Hamas, as a massive search for three missing Jewish seminary students turned into the widest crackdown on the Islamic militant group in the West Bank in almost a decade.
Israel has blamed Hamas for the apparent abductions, without providing proof, and has arrested more than 150 Palestinians since the three teens disappeared in the West Bank late Thursday.
Most of those rounded up were from Hamas, including activists and political leaders. Israel’s Security Cabinet discussed further steps Monday, reportedly including the possible deportation of Hamas leaders from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
Associated Press
