Obama challenges GOP to fund jobs programs
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – President Barack Obama on Tuesday offered congressional Republicans a new corporate tax cut and jobs spending package he said might “help break through some of the political logjam in Washington,” only to have GOP lawmakers immediately throw cold water on the idea.
The announcement and quick rejection underscored how elusive common ground is between the Democratic White House and Republicans in Congress on fiscal issues.
Obama outlined his proposal in a speech at a massive Amazon.com plant in Chattanooga, his latest stop on a summertime campaign to refocus his agenda on the economy. He said “serious people” in both parties should accept his offer.
“I’m willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs,” Obama said. “That’s the deal.”
But the office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, complained that Obama’s plan was simply a repackaging of proposals the White House has always supported.
Pentagon: Afghan forces to need help
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said Tuesday it is offering no “zero option” for the number of troops that would remain in Afghanistan after the U.S. combat mission ends in December 2014. It said in a report to Congress that “substantial” long-term military support will be needed to ensure that the Afghans can hold off the Taliban insurgency.
The White House has not ruled out leaving no troops behind after 2014, although officials say the most likely option is a residual training force of roughly 9,000.
In its twice-a-year report to Congress on war progress, the Pentagon said Afghanistan’s military is growing stronger but will require a lot more training, advising and foreign financial aid after the American and NATO combat mission ends.
Peter Lavoy, the Pentagon’s top Afghan policy official, said a number of post-2014 options have been developed, taking into account the Afghans’ need for additional training.
San Diego sues mayor over lawsuit costs
SAN DIEGO – The city of San Diego sued Mayor Bob Filner on Tuesday to require that he pay any costs incurred from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his former communications director, dealing another setback to the leader of the nation’s eighth-largest city amid mounting calls that he resign.
The City Council voted 9-0 to ask that the mayor pay any damages and attorney fees if the city is found liable. The decision behind closed doors came hours before the council was to consider a request by the mayor’s attorney to have the city pay his legal expenses.
Irene McCormack Jackson sued the mayor and the city July 22, alleging the mayor asked her to work without panties, demanded kisses, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her in a headlock while whispering in her ear.
Student locked in cell reaches deal with U.S.
SAN DIEGO – A 25-year old college student has reached a $4.1 million settlement with the federal government after he was abandoned in a windowless Drug Enforcement Administration cell for more than four days without food or water, his attorneys said Tuesday.
The DEA introduced national detention standards as a result of the ordeal involving Daniel Chong, including daily inspections and a requirement for cameras in cells, said Julia Yoo, one of his lawyers.
Chong said he drank his own urine to stay alive, hallucinated that agents were trying to poison him with gases through the vents, and tried to carve a farewell message to his mother in his arm.
It remained unclear how the situation occurred, and no one has been disciplined, said Eugene Iredale, another attorney for Chong. The Justice Department’s inspector general is investigating.
Probe finds train driver was on telephone
MADRID – The driver was on the phone with a colleague and apparently looking at a document as his train barreled ahead at 95 mph – almost twice the speed limit. Suddenly, a notorious curve was upon him.
He hit the brakes too late.
The train, carrying 218 passengers in eight carriages, hurtled off the tracks and slammed into a concrete wall, killing 79 people.
On Tuesday, investigators looking into the crash announced their preliminary findings from analysis of the train’s data-recording “black boxes,” suggesting that human error appears to be the cause of Spain’s worst railway disaster in decades.
The derailment occurred near Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, late last Wednesday. About 66 people injured in the crash are still hospitalized.
Associated Press
