Obama presents $4.1T budget plan
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled a record $4.1 trillion, election-year budget that finances Democratic priorities like education, health care and climate change with new taxes on crude oil, the wealthy and big banks.
Obama called the budget his eighth and final one “a roadmap to a future that embodies America’s values and aspirations: a future of opportunity and security for all of our families; a rising standard of living; and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids.”
The budget calls for a major new tax on crude oil that would raise the price of gasoline, currently averaging about $1.80 a gallon nationwide, by about 24 cents.
Officials: Terrorists planning U.S. attacks
WASHINGTON – A divided Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to halt enforcement of President Barack Obama’s sweeping plan to address climate change until after legal challenges are resolved.
The surprising move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations “an unprecedented power grab.”
By temporarily freezing the rule, the high court’s order signals that opponents have made a strong argument against the plan. A federal appeals court last month refused to put it on hold.
At least 10 die when German trains collide
BAD AIBLING, Germany – Crews using helicopters and boats rescued dozens of people from the wreckage of two German commuter trains that crashed head-on Tuesday in an isolated part of Bavaria, killing at least 10 and leaving authorities trying to determine why multiple safety measures failed.
The trains crashed on a stretch of track running between a river and a forest about 40 miles southeast of Munich. Though the first rescue crews were on the scene in minutes, it took hours for all survivors to be airlifted and shuttled by boat across the river to waiting ambulances.
Nine people were reported dead immediately while a tenth died later in a hospital, police spokesman Stefan Sonntag said. The two train engineers were thought to be among the dead and one person was still missing in the wreckage.
Turkey warns U.S. about ties with Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey has summoned the U.S. ambassador to “convey unease” a day after the U.S. State Department spokesman said that, unlike Turkey, Washington doesn’t recognize Syrian Kurdish forces as “terrorists.”
The issue has strained ties between the two allies and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even called on Washington to choose between Turkey and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, as its partner.
A Foreign Ministry official said Ambassador John Bass was called to the ministry on Tuesday where a senior Turkish official expressed Ankara’s concerns. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn’t authorized to make public statements.
Associated Press
