World/Nation Briefs 6.8.2012
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fundraising gluttony is in. Can a political stomach ache be far behind?
President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are on an unprecedented fundraising binge that shows no sign of ending.
Motivated by the sheer terror of being outspent by one another, the two candidates are locked in an ever-escalating game of financial one-upmanship. And it comes at a cost all its own.
—Think of what other things they could be spending that time on if they weren’t courting donors: say, governing, or preparing to govern. Or talking to a broad swath of voters rather than campaign partisans.
—Think of what else all that money — sure to exceed $1 billion — could be used for: Fighting poverty? Improving education? Putting a nick in the $15.8 trillion national debt?
———
The future of automotive safety: Cars that talk to each other to prevent crashes
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a safety demonstration, it was a heart-stopper: A Ford Taurus was seconds away from cruising through an intersection when suddenly a row of red lights pulsed on the lower windshield and a warning blared that another car was approaching fast on the cross street.
Braking quickly, the driver stopped just as the second car, previously unseen behind a large parked truck, barreled through a red light and across the Ford’s path.
The display at a recent transportation conference was a peek into the future of automotive safety: cars that to talk to each other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer, the government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses using volunteer drivers in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The vehicles will be equipped to continuously communicate over wireless networks, exchanging information on location, direction and speed 10 times a second with other similarly equipped cars within about 1,000 feet. A computer analyzes the information and issues danger warnings to drivers, often before they can see the other vehicle.
On roadways today, the Taurus in the demonstration likely would have been ‘‘T-boned’’ — slammed in the side by the other car. There were more than 7,800 fatal intersection accidents on U.S. highways in 2010.
———
APNewsBreak: Pentagon orders police to account for surplus military weapons, suspends handouts
The Defense Department has stopped issuing weapons to thousands of law enforcement agencies until it is satisfied that state officials can account for all the surplus guns, aircraft, Humvees and armored personnel carriers it has given police under a $2.6 billion program, The Associated Press has learned.
The department’s Defense Logistics Agency ordered state-appointed coordinators in 49 states to certify the whereabouts of that equipment that has already been distributed through the long-running arrangement overseen by the agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office. The temporary halt on transferring weapons applies to all states, agency officials said Thursday.
The program provides police departments and other law enforcement agencies with military equipment ranging from guns and helicopters to computers and air conditioners and even toilet paper. The equipment is cheap or free for law enforcement agencies to acquire, but much of it comes with strict rules that prohibit it from being sold and dictate how it must be tracked.
The military decided to conduct a ‘‘one-time, clean sweep’’ of all state inventories instead of reviewing them piecemeal, said Kenneth MacNevin, a spokesman for the federal agency. While some gear, including guns, has been stolen or otherwise gone missing over the years, MacNevin said the reporting requirements themselves aren’t new and that the review wasn’t prompted by anything specific.
‘‘Leadership decided to make sure we have a good, full accounting for all of this,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re not doing this based on any thought there’s a problem. We’re doing it because accountability is accountability.’’
———
AP IMPACT: US troops are killing themselves at fastest pace since nation began a decade of war
WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides are surging among America’s troops, averaging nearly one a day this year — the fastest pace in the nation’s decade of war.
The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan — about 50 percent more — according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.
The numbers reflect a military burdened with wartime demands from Iraq and Afghanistan that have taken a greater toll than foreseen a decade ago. The military also is struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other misbehavior.
Because suicides had leveled off in 2010 and 2011, this year’s upswing has caught some officials by surprise.
The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems. Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.
———
As Iran tensions fester, United Arab Emirates nears start of oil pipeline to dodge key strait
FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) — By night, the lights of dozens of ships anchored off this eastern Emirati port create the mirage of a far-off city at sea.
The crowded anchorage reflects Fujairah’s rise as one of the world’s busiest maritime refueling stations. Soon it will also become a vital new exit route for Arabian crude oil destined for world markets.
The United Arab Emirates is nearing completion of a pipeline through the mountainous sheikdom that will allow it to reroute the bulk of its oil exports around the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the path for a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strategically sensitive waterway, which is patrolled by Iranian and U.S. warships, in retaliation for ramped-up Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
That threat has raised worries among Gulf countries that conflicts could block the route to market for their most lucrative resource. But only the UAE and Oman have coastlines on Indian Ocean side of the strait that would enable them to go around the chokepoint by land. Saudi Arabia also can avoid Hormuz by shipping its Gulf fields’ oil production out of its Red Sea ports, but it would have to increase the capacity of those ports and of pipelines running across the breadth of the country to handle its total output.
———
’Drug’ O’Neill nickname sticks, despite others in Belmont field with history of violations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The affable man with the horse that may become the first Triple Crown winner in more than a generation can’t seem to outrun his unflattering nickname: ‘‘Drug’’ O’Neill.
But Doug O’Neill is far from the only trainer in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with a history of improperly medicated horses. The Associated Press reviewed the histories of all 11 trainers with horses in the race and found that 10 had at least one violation of medication regulations set by state racing boards.
O’Neill has been under the most scrutiny because his colt, I’ll Have Another, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and is the 4-5 favorite to add the Belmont and complete the first Triple Crown in 34 years.
‘‘We had the black cloud before he won the Derby,’’ D. Wayne Lukas, the elder statesman among trainers, said of horse racing’s drug problems. ‘‘Now it’s just gotten darker.’’
Lukas, who will run 20-1 Optimizer in the Belmont, didn’t mention his own record. He has had almost as many violations as O’Neill, though spanning a longer career with a larger stable and including none in the last 13 years.
———
US braces for debris from Japan tsunami, but what will float in and who will pay still unclear
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — More than a year after a tsunami devastated Japan, killing thousands of people and washing millions of tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. government and West Coast states don’t have a cohesive plan for cleaning up the rubble that floats to American shores.
There is also no firm handle yet on just what to expect.
The Japanese government estimates that 1.5 million tons of debris is floating in the ocean from the catastrophe. Some experts in the United States think the bulk of that trash will never reach shore, while others fear a massive, slowly-unfolding environmental disaster.
‘‘I think this is far worse than any oil spill that we’ve ever faced on the West Coast or any other environmental disaster we’ve faced on the West Coast’’ in terms of the debris’ weight, type and geographic scope, said Chris Pallister, president of a group dedicated to cleaning marine debris from the Alaska coastline.
David Kennedy, assistant administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service, told a U.S. Senate panel last month that in most cases debris removal decisions will fall to individual states. Funding hasn’t been determined.
———
Pressure rises on Spain to get aid for ailing banks, a rising threat to country’s finances
MADRID (AP) — Spain is under rising pressure to find a lifeline for its deeply troubled banks.
Politicians in Europe and investors around the world are worried that the recession-hit country can’t come up with the money needed to save its banks without bankrupting the government. Expectations are rising that Spain’s leaders will have to seek an international bailout for banks crumbling under the weight of bad real estate loans.
As Spain’s leaders struggle for a solution to their banking crisis, the country’s borrowing costs have soared close to the level that forced the governments of Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek financial rescues.
As much as (euro) 100 billion ($126 billion) may be needed to bolster Spanish banks, the credit rating agency Fitch said Thursday. Fitch, which had previously said (euro) 30 billion was needed, downgraded the country’s debt rating to two notches above junk and warned that further downgrades were possible.
Spain sold (euro) 2 billion ($2.52 billion) in bonds Thursday, but had to pay investors much higher rates than in previous bond sales. There is a growing sense that time is running out for Spain’s government and banks to continue muddling through.
———
Ex-wife casts more doubts on injury claims of veteran who sang on ’America’s Got Talent’
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Timothy Michael Poe won over the crowd and the judges of NBC’s ‘‘America’s Got Talent’’ even before he began to sing, with his moving story of blocking a grenade blast in 2009 to save his buddies in Afghanistan — an act of heroism he said broke his back and left him with a brain injury.
When a judge remarked during the episode broadcast Monday on the disappearance of Poe’s stutter during his cover of a Garth Brooks song, he spun another tale: He discovered his talent only after his speech therapist suggested he sing in the shower to help with the stutter.
The truth, according to an ex-wife, was that Poe not only was never hurt on the battlefield, he had been singing ‘‘pretty much his whole life’’ and spent four years fronting an alternative rock and cover band in Rochester, Minn. A MySpace page last updated in February 2009 for the Rochester band Crawl Space lists Poe as vocalist.
Singing was the least of Poe’s fictions, according to the Minnesota Army National Guard, which has issued statements contradicting Poe’s account on the television show, igniting a firestorm online, especially among veterans and on military blogs, over Poe allegedly claiming glory and sympathy to which he’s not entitled.
The Guard says its records show Poe never was injured in combat in Afghanistan or Iraq.
———
James scores 45 points, leads Heat to 98-79 victory over Celtics that ties East finals at 3-3
BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James has walked off the court here too many times with nowhere to go except summer vacation.
The destination this time: Game 7 in Miami, with a spot in the NBA finals on the line.
James had 45 points and 15 rebounds, overwhelming the Boston Celtics and leading the Heat to a 98-79 victory Thursday night that forced a decisive game in the Eastern Conference finals.
After two days of questions about the Heat’s future and his own history, James provided his response in resounding fashion in a building where Miami had lost 15 of its previous 16 games, and where his season had twice come to an end.
‘‘In an environment like this, you want to have a big game,’’ he said. ‘‘I wanted to be there for my teammates, no matter what was going on throughout the course of the game.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Fundraising gluttony is in. Can a political stomach ache be far behind?
President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are on an unprecedented fundraising binge that shows no sign of ending.
Motivated by the sheer terror of being outspent by one another, the two candidates are locked in an ever-escalating game of financial one-upmanship. And it comes at a cost all its own.
—Think of what other things they could be spending that time on if they weren’t courting donors: say, governing, or preparing to govern. Or talking to a broad swath of voters rather than campaign partisans.
—Think of what else all that money — sure to exceed $1 billion — could be used for: Fighting poverty? Improving education? Putting a nick in the $15.8 trillion national debt?
———
The future of automotive safety: Cars that talk to each other to prevent crashes
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a safety demonstration, it was a heart-stopper: A Ford Taurus was seconds away from cruising through an intersection when suddenly a row of red lights pulsed on the lower windshield and a warning blared that another car was approaching fast on the cross street.
Braking quickly, the driver stopped just as the second car, previously unseen behind a large parked truck, barreled through a red light and across the Ford’s path.
The display at a recent transportation conference was a peek into the future of automotive safety: cars that to talk to each other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer, the government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses using volunteer drivers in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The vehicles will be equipped to continuously communicate over wireless networks, exchanging information on location, direction and speed 10 times a second with other similarly equipped cars within about 1,000 feet. A computer analyzes the information and issues danger warnings to drivers, often before they can see the other vehicle.
On roadways today, the Taurus in the demonstration likely would have been ‘‘T-boned’’ — slammed in the side by the other car. There were more than 7,800 fatal intersection accidents on U.S. highways in 2010.
———
APNewsBreak: Pentagon orders police to account for surplus military weapons, suspends handouts
The Defense Department has stopped issuing weapons to thousands of law enforcement agencies until it is satisfied that state officials can account for all the surplus guns, aircraft, Humvees and armored personnel carriers it has given police under a $2.6 billion program, The Associated Press has learned.
The department’s Defense Logistics Agency ordered state-appointed coordinators in 49 states to certify the whereabouts of that equipment that has already been distributed through the long-running arrangement overseen by the agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office. The temporary halt on transferring weapons applies to all states, agency officials said Thursday.
The program provides police departments and other law enforcement agencies with military equipment ranging from guns and helicopters to computers and air conditioners and even toilet paper. The equipment is cheap or free for law enforcement agencies to acquire, but much of it comes with strict rules that prohibit it from being sold and dictate how it must be tracked.
The military decided to conduct a ‘‘one-time, clean sweep’’ of all state inventories instead of reviewing them piecemeal, said Kenneth MacNevin, a spokesman for the federal agency. While some gear, including guns, has been stolen or otherwise gone missing over the years, MacNevin said the reporting requirements themselves aren’t new and that the review wasn’t prompted by anything specific.
‘‘Leadership decided to make sure we have a good, full accounting for all of this,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re not doing this based on any thought there’s a problem. We’re doing it because accountability is accountability.’’
———
AP IMPACT: US troops are killing themselves at fastest pace since nation began a decade of war
WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides are surging among America’s troops, averaging nearly one a day this year — the fastest pace in the nation’s decade of war.
The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan — about 50 percent more — according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.
The numbers reflect a military burdened with wartime demands from Iraq and Afghanistan that have taken a greater toll than foreseen a decade ago. The military also is struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other misbehavior.
Because suicides had leveled off in 2010 and 2011, this year’s upswing has caught some officials by surprise.
The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems. Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.
———
As Iran tensions fester, United Arab Emirates nears start of oil pipeline to dodge key strait
FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) — By night, the lights of dozens of ships anchored off this eastern Emirati port create the mirage of a far-off city at sea.
The crowded anchorage reflects Fujairah’s rise as one of the world’s busiest maritime refueling stations. Soon it will also become a vital new exit route for Arabian crude oil destined for world markets.
The United Arab Emirates is nearing completion of a pipeline through the mountainous sheikdom that will allow it to reroute the bulk of its oil exports around the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the path for a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strategically sensitive waterway, which is patrolled by Iranian and U.S. warships, in retaliation for ramped-up Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
That threat has raised worries among Gulf countries that conflicts could block the route to market for their most lucrative resource. But only the UAE and Oman have coastlines on Indian Ocean side of the strait that would enable them to go around the chokepoint by land. Saudi Arabia also can avoid Hormuz by shipping its Gulf fields’ oil production out of its Red Sea ports, but it would have to increase the capacity of those ports and of pipelines running across the breadth of the country to handle its total output.
———
’Drug’ O’Neill nickname sticks, despite others in Belmont field with history of violations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The affable man with the horse that may become the first Triple Crown winner in more than a generation can’t seem to outrun his unflattering nickname: ‘‘Drug’’ O’Neill.
But Doug O’Neill is far from the only trainer in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with a history of improperly medicated horses. The Associated Press reviewed the histories of all 11 trainers with horses in the race and found that 10 had at least one violation of medication regulations set by state racing boards.
O’Neill has been under the most scrutiny because his colt, I’ll Have Another, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and is the 4-5 favorite to add the Belmont and complete the first Triple Crown in 34 years.
‘‘We had the black cloud before he won the Derby,’’ D. Wayne Lukas, the elder statesman among trainers, said of horse racing’s drug problems. ‘‘Now it’s just gotten darker.’’
Lukas, who will run 20-1 Optimizer in the Belmont, didn’t mention his own record. He has had almost as many violations as O’Neill, though spanning a longer career with a larger stable and including none in the last 13 years.
———
US braces for debris from Japan tsunami, but what will float in and who will pay still unclear
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — More than a year after a tsunami devastated Japan, killing thousands of people and washing millions of tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. government and West Coast states don’t have a cohesive plan for cleaning up the rubble that floats to American shores.
There is also no firm handle yet on just what to expect.
The Japanese government estimates that 1.5 million tons of debris is floating in the ocean from the catastrophe. Some experts in the United States think the bulk of that trash will never reach shore, while others fear a massive, slowly-unfolding environmental disaster.
‘‘I think this is far worse than any oil spill that we’ve ever faced on the West Coast or any other environmental disaster we’ve faced on the West Coast’’ in terms of the debris’ weight, type and geographic scope, said Chris Pallister, president of a group dedicated to cleaning marine debris from the Alaska coastline.
David Kennedy, assistant administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service, told a U.S. Senate panel last month that in most cases debris removal decisions will fall to individual states. Funding hasn’t been determined.
———
Pressure rises on Spain to get aid for ailing banks, a rising threat to country’s finances
MADRID (AP) — Spain is under rising pressure to find a lifeline for its deeply troubled banks.
Politicians in Europe and investors around the world are worried that the recession-hit country can’t come up with the money needed to save its banks without bankrupting the government. Expectations are rising that Spain’s leaders will have to seek an international bailout for banks crumbling under the weight of bad real estate loans.
As Spain’s leaders struggle for a solution to their banking crisis, the country’s borrowing costs have soared close to the level that forced the governments of Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek financial rescues.
As much as (euro) 100 billion ($126 billion) may be needed to bolster Spanish banks, the credit rating agency Fitch said Thursday. Fitch, which had previously said (euro) 30 billion was needed, downgraded the country’s debt rating to two notches above junk and warned that further downgrades were possible.
Spain sold (euro) 2 billion ($2.52 billion) in bonds Thursday, but had to pay investors much higher rates than in previous bond sales. There is a growing sense that time is running out for Spain’s government and banks to continue muddling through.
———
Ex-wife casts more doubts on injury claims of veteran who sang on ’America’s Got Talent’
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Timothy Michael Poe won over the crowd and the judges of NBC’s ‘‘America’s Got Talent’’ even before he began to sing, with his moving story of blocking a grenade blast in 2009 to save his buddies in Afghanistan — an act of heroism he said broke his back and left him with a brain injury.
When a judge remarked during the episode broadcast Monday on the disappearance of Poe’s stutter during his cover of a Garth Brooks song, he spun another tale: He discovered his talent only after his speech therapist suggested he sing in the shower to help with the stutter.
The truth, according to an ex-wife, was that Poe not only was never hurt on the battlefield, he had been singing ‘‘pretty much his whole life’’ and spent four years fronting an alternative rock and cover band in Rochester, Minn. A MySpace page last updated in February 2009 for the Rochester band Crawl Space lists Poe as vocalist.
Singing was the least of Poe’s fictions, according to the Minnesota Army National Guard, which has issued statements contradicting Poe’s account on the television show, igniting a firestorm online, especially among veterans and on military blogs, over Poe allegedly claiming glory and sympathy to which he’s not entitled.
The Guard says its records show Poe never was injured in combat in Afghanistan or Iraq.
———
James scores 45 points, leads Heat to 98-79 victory over Celtics that ties East finals at 3-3
BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James has walked off the court here too many times with nowhere to go except summer vacation.
The destination this time: Game 7 in Miami, with a spot in the NBA finals on the line.
James had 45 points and 15 rebounds, overwhelming the Boston Celtics and leading the Heat to a 98-79 victory Thursday night that forced a decisive game in the Eastern Conference finals.
After two days of questions about the Heat’s future and his own history, James provided his response in resounding fashion in a building where Miami had lost 15 of its previous 16 games, and where his season had twice come to an end.
‘‘In an environment like this, you want to have a big game,’’ he said. ‘‘I wanted to be there for my teammates, no matter what was going on throughout the course of the game.
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