 |
| Wednesday October 1st 2014 |
Islamic State crisis: New strikes in Syria near Kobane
US-led forces have
carried out air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants battling Kurdish
fighters around the northern Syrian border town of Kobane.
A BBC correspondent saw explosions outside the town in the morning.At least 10 people were killed overnight, Syrian activists said, as the jihadists moved to within 2 to 3km (1.2-1.9 miles) of Kobane.
Tens of thousands of people have fled across the border into Turkey since IS launched an offensive two weeks ago.
The jihadists' advance has put pressure on the Turkish government to take a more significant role in the US-led coalition formed to combat IS.
Ministers submitted a proposal to parliament late on Tuesday to allow Turkish troops to conduct operations in Syria and Iraq, and to allow foreign forces to use Turkish military bases.
ISIS beheads 9 Kurdish fighters captured in Syria
BEIRUT – Activists say Islamic State militants have beheaded nine Kurdish fighters, including three women, captured in clashes near the Syria-Turkey border.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that the nine Kurds were captured during fighting over the northern Syrian town of Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab.
The Observatory also says that dozens of militants and Kurdish fighters were killed in clashes overnight.
Images posted on social media networks show women's heads placed on a cement block, said to be in the northern Syrian city of Jarablous, held by militants. The photos could not be independently verified but corresponded to The Associated Press' reporting of the event.
Kurds Defeat ISIS Forces Holding Key Iraq Border Border Crossing
SALHIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq captured a border crossing with Syria on Tuesday, expelling Islamic State militants in heavy fighting that ground down to vicious house-to-house combat and close quarters sniping.In neighboring Syria, Kurdish militiamen were on the defensive as the extremists pressed ahead with a relentless assault on a town near the Turkish border. The attack on Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, has driven more than 160,000 people across the frontier in the past few days.
Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, were doing the bulk of the fighting on the ground as a U.S.-led coalition carried out an aerial assault against the Islamic State group in both Iraq and Syria. Britain joined the air campaign Tuesday, carrying out its first strikes against the extremists in Iraq — though it does not plan to expand into Syria.
On Tuesday, Kurdish fighters in Iraq said they saw some of the heaviest fighting yet. Peshmerga spokesman Halgurd Hekmat told The Associated Press the Kurds seized the border crossing of Rabia, which the extremists captured in their blitz across Iraq over the summer.
RAF bombers attack two Islamic State targets in Iraq, MoD says
Four Brimstone missiles were used in air strikes against two vehicles west of Baghdad overnight
Two RAF Tornado bombers based in Cyprus attacked two Islamic targets overnight, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The aircraft were on an armed reconnaissance mission in support of Iraqi government forces west of Baghdad when the crew was asked to examine a location suspected of being used as an Isis command and control position.
At the scene they were able to identify Isis activity and two vehicles, one of which was an armed pickup truck. Four Brimstone missiles were used to conduct an attack on the vehicles. Initial analysis indicates that the strikes were successful, the MoD said.
It is the second set of air strikes by RAF jets, following an attack on Isis positions in north-west Iraq on Tuesday.
The overnight attacks show that the Tornado crews, with modern radar, infrared sights, and with small but accurate missiles, are able to identify and quickly strike what the RAF calls “targets of opportunity”.
But military planners admit that the flying missions will not be the most efficient, quick, or certain, way to defeat the Isis fighters on the ground.
Several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have joined the international coalition against IS.
Their aircraft have carried out strikes in Syria, but only those from the US, UK and France have hit targets in Iraq.
Talking to the BBC in Baghdad, Mr Abadi said Iraq's army would defeat IS "if we have good air cover" but stressed that no foreign ground troops were needed.
"We are very clear we will not accept any troops on ground except Iraqi troops," he added.
Mr Abadi warned that "international and regional polarisation" had contributed to the rise of IS - which has announced the creation of a "caliphate" in the large swathes of Iraq and Syria under its control - and said he wanted to improve relations with neighbouring countries.
The US-led coalition has conducted more than 230 air strikes on IS positions in Iraq since August. The operation was expanded into Syria on 22 September, since when there have been more than 70 strikes.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have participated or contributed to the air campaign in Syria.
The bombings, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, came a day after Afghanistan and the United States signed a security pact allowing U.S. forces to remain in the country past the end of the year to support Afghans as they take over the fight against the Taliban insurgency.
The first attacker hit a bus with Afghan National Army officers, killing seven and wounding 15 in west Kabul, said the city's criminal investigation police chief Mohammad Farid Afzali.
The second attacker, who was also on foot, blew himself up in front
of a bus in northeastern Kabul, wounding several army personnel, Afzali
said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Under the security pact, along with a separate deal signed with NATO, about 10,000 American troops and several thousand more from other NATO countries will stay to train and advise Afghan forces after the international combat mission ends on Dec. 31.
Pakistan is heading for one of its worst years for polio in recent times. According to figures from the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI), 166 cases of polio have been verified this year, compared with 28 at the same time last year.
This puts the country at significant risk of crossing the 199-mark officially recorded in 2000, or the 198 seen in 2011. It is a major setback for a country that as recently as 2005 saw only 28 cases in total, with everything seemingly on track for polio eradication. Last year there were 93 cases in the country, according to the GPEI.
The worst-affected areas, according to the state minister for the national health service, Saira Afzal Tarar, are the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP), where militants often prevent vaccination.
“Pakistan presents one of the most complex polio eradication environments in the world,” said Ban Khalid al-Dhayi, spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef). “In the areas that remain with poliovirus, there is inaccessibility, violence, misconceptions and misinformation that circulates every day, along with intricate tribal and cultural norms and systems.”
“Massive daily population movements” were also described as a major problem by Unicef.
Dhayi said the recent movement of more than 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) following the military operation in North Waziristan Agency had raised fears of the virus spreading to areas that had not previously seen infections. More than 400,000 children were vaccinated at transit points as they moved out of the conflict zone in Fata and settled in host communities in KP, Punjab and Sindh. IDPs who settled in parts of Punjab due to floods could also increase risks.
Firms reported that growth in new orders was "near stagnation".
The current sluggish growth in the eurozone contributed to exports growing at their slowest pace for 18 months.
The strength of sterling against the euro also hit sales, Markit said.
Where an increase in new export orders was reported, it reflected demand from North America, Germany, Scandinavia and the Middle East, Markit added.
The PMI survey also found that average output prices rose at the slowest pace in 15 months.
However, the number of jobs created in the industry accelerated in September, regaining most of the momentum lost in the prior month, Markit said.
'Flat picture' David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), said manufacturers were taking "a wait and see approach" to the slowdown, but that "anyone involved in supply chains will be watching carefully as we head towards the end of 2014".
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday that despite a general improvement in the UK economy, manufacturing and production, alongside construction, remained well below their 2008 output peaks.
By raising the stakes in the standoff, the protest leaders are risking another round of confrontation with the police who are unlikely to allow government buildings to be stormed. It also puts pressure on the Chinese government, which has so far remained mostly silent and preferred to let Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying deal with the crisis.
The student leaders, who have played a key role in organizing the protests to press for greater electoral reforms, would welcome an opportunity to speak to a Chinese central government official, Lester Shum, vice secretary of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said at a news conference.
"However, we ask them to come to the square and speak to the masses,"
Shum said. "This is a movement of Hong Kongers and not led by any
specific group."
Shum demanded that Leung resign by the end of Thursday. He said there was "no room for dialogue" with Leung because he ordered police to fire tear gas at protesters over the weekend, after the street protests started Friday.
"Leung Chun-ying must step down. If he doesn't resign by tomorrow we will step up our actions, such as by occupying several important government buildings," he said, adding that demonstrators won't occupy "essential" government offices, such as hospitals and social welfare offices.
The protesters oppose Beijing's decision in August that candidates for the territory's top post in inaugural 2017 elections must be approved by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing local elites. The protesters don't want such restrictions and see China as reneging on a promise that the chief executive will be chosen through "universal suffrage."
Taiwanese leaders also have urged Beijing to live up to its pledges for autonomy in the former British colony or risk further alienating the Taiwanese public.
"If
Hong Kong can soon achieve universal suffrage, it would be a win-win
for Hong Kong and the mainland, and it can greatly help narrow the
mental gap between residents on both sides of (the Taiwan Strait) and
allow for the relations to develop positively," Taiwanese President Ma
Ying-jeou said in a statement.
"Otherwise, it may deepen the antipathy of Taiwan's public and hurt the future of the two-side relations," Ma said in the statement, dated Tuesday.
In August, Beijing rejected a proposal for open nominations of candidates for Hong Kong's first-ever leadership election, promised for 2017. Instead, all candidates must continue to be picked by a panel that is mostly aligned with Beijing.
North Korea’s foreign minister has arrived in Moscow at the start of a 10-day visit, with a bilateral agenda that includes “fighting the heroisation of Nazism”, road safety and Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Ri Su-yong will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Wednesday before embarking on an odyssey around Russia’s far-eastern regions aimed at boosting economic cooperation between the two countries.
Since relations with the west have become ever more strained over events in Ukraine this year, Russia has increasingly looked eastwards, including signing a hugely important gas deal with China.
Ri’s trip to Russia could herald closer cooperation with North Korea. According to Russian agencies, the visit is the first by a North Korean minister since Kim Jong-un assumed power in Pyongyang more than two years ago.
There have been a number of lower-level visits between the two countries over the past year, with a number of parliamentary delegations making trips in both directions as both sides seek closer ties.
Alexander Lukashevich, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said Lavrov and Ri would discuss “increasing political dialogue and economic cooperation” between the two countries, as well as the situation on the Korean peninsula and south-east Asia as a whole.
The foreign ministers would work on creating a new basis for bilateral relations, signing a range of documents on cooperation in areas ranging from culture to the economy, Lukashevich said. There would be an “open discussion” about the resumption of six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear programme.
Lukashevich said the two countries had already worked together at the UN on issues such as preventing the heroisation of Nazism, human rights, information security and road safety.
-
Mr Nolen allegedly returned to a packing plant in Moore, Oklahoma, with a knife after being fired, killing one and injuring another.
He was shot by a reserve police officer and was brought to hospital.
Police in Moore say Mr Nolen had "openly admitted" to both the beheading of Colleen Hufford, 54, and the attempt to kill Traci Johnson, 43, according to the Oklahoman newspaper.
He may be released from hospital and transported to a local jail within the next day, police told the newspaper.
Prosecutor Greg Mashburn said he would "vigorously prosecute" the murder charge but that it was more appropriate to leave any questions about a possible terrorism link to federal investigators.
A federal judge ruled the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) must disclose to watchdog group Cause of Action whether records of an investigation exist.
Cause of Action filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit
after TIGTA refused to confirm or deny the existence of the
investigation in what is commonly known as a “Glomar response.”
“The court has ruled that the federal government cannot hide behind confidentiality laws to prevent Americans from knowing if our President has gained unauthorized access to their tax information,” Cause of Action executive director Dan Epstein said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a decisive win for all Americans and for government transparency and accountability.”
Former White House Council of Economic Advisers chairman Austan Goolsbee sparked a mini-scandal in 2010 when he told reporters during a background press briefing that Koch Industries—the company of libertarian philanthropists Charles and David Koch—paid no income taxes.
Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing Tuesday that the state policy is trumped by federal law. They argued the state won't accept documents issued to the immigrants in question as proof of their legal presence in the country, yet it continues to accept such records from other immigrants.
"The state has failed to identify any reason why the same documents should not similarly suffice for plaintiffs," the Justice Department said in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in a lawsuit by young immigrants who challenged the policy.
The federal government didn't challenge the driver's license policy,
but it was asked by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to offer input on
the case. In July, a three-judge panel of the court blocked the driver's
license policy and suggested the rules were intended to express
hostility toward the young immigrants.
The governor is now asking for a 15-judge panel to reconsider the ruling. The Obama administration said no such review is warranted.
The aircraft were on an armed reconnaissance mission in support of Iraqi government forces west of Baghdad when the crew was asked to examine a location suspected of being used as an Isis command and control position.
At the scene they were able to identify Isis activity and two vehicles, one of which was an armed pickup truck. Four Brimstone missiles were used to conduct an attack on the vehicles. Initial analysis indicates that the strikes were successful, the MoD said.
It is the second set of air strikes by RAF jets, following an attack on Isis positions in north-west Iraq on Tuesday.
The overnight attacks show that the Tornado crews, with modern radar, infrared sights, and with small but accurate missiles, are able to identify and quickly strike what the RAF calls “targets of opportunity”.
But military planners admit that the flying missions will not be the most efficient, quick, or certain, way to defeat the Isis fighters on the ground.
Islamic State crisis: Abadi opposes Arab strikes in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi has told the BBC he "totally" opposes Arab nations
joining air strikes against Islamic State in his country.
In an interview, he said Western air power had "filled many gaps" in Iraq's fight against the jihadist group.Several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have joined the international coalition against IS.
Their aircraft have carried out strikes in Syria, but only those from the US, UK and France have hit targets in Iraq.
Talking to the BBC in Baghdad, Mr Abadi said Iraq's army would defeat IS "if we have good air cover" but stressed that no foreign ground troops were needed.
"We are very clear we will not accept any troops on ground except Iraqi troops," he added.
Mr Abadi warned that "international and regional polarisation" had contributed to the rise of IS - which has announced the creation of a "caliphate" in the large swathes of Iraq and Syria under its control - and said he wanted to improve relations with neighbouring countries.
The US-led coalition has conducted more than 230 air strikes on IS positions in Iraq since August. The operation was expanded into Syria on 22 September, since when there have been more than 70 strikes.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have participated or contributed to the air campaign in Syria.
Afghanistan Suicide Bombing: Taliban Militants Attack Buses Carrying Afghan Troops In Kabul, Killing 7
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers in the Afghan capital targeted two buses carrying Afghan army troops on Wednesday, killing seven and wounding 21 people, police said.The bombings, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, came a day after Afghanistan and the United States signed a security pact allowing U.S. forces to remain in the country past the end of the year to support Afghans as they take over the fight against the Taliban insurgency.
The first attacker hit a bus with Afghan National Army officers, killing seven and wounding 15 in west Kabul, said the city's criminal investigation police chief Mohammad Farid Afzali.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Under the security pact, along with a separate deal signed with NATO, about 10,000 American troops and several thousand more from other NATO countries will stay to train and advise Afghan forces after the international combat mission ends on Dec. 31.
Pakistan struggling to cope with surge in polio cases
Once on track for polio eradication, Pakistan now faces a setback as a result of inaccessibility, violence and misinformation
Pakistan is heading for one of its worst years for polio in recent times. According to figures from the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI), 166 cases of polio have been verified this year, compared with 28 at the same time last year.
This puts the country at significant risk of crossing the 199-mark officially recorded in 2000, or the 198 seen in 2011. It is a major setback for a country that as recently as 2005 saw only 28 cases in total, with everything seemingly on track for polio eradication. Last year there were 93 cases in the country, according to the GPEI.
The worst-affected areas, according to the state minister for the national health service, Saira Afzal Tarar, are the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP), where militants often prevent vaccination.
“Pakistan presents one of the most complex polio eradication environments in the world,” said Ban Khalid al-Dhayi, spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef). “In the areas that remain with poliovirus, there is inaccessibility, violence, misconceptions and misinformation that circulates every day, along with intricate tribal and cultural norms and systems.”
“Massive daily population movements” were also described as a major problem by Unicef.
Dhayi said the recent movement of more than 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) following the military operation in North Waziristan Agency had raised fears of the virus spreading to areas that had not previously seen infections. More than 400,000 children were vaccinated at transit points as they moved out of the conflict zone in Fata and settled in host communities in KP, Punjab and Sindh. IDPs who settled in parts of Punjab due to floods could also increase risks.
UK manufacturing growth at 17-month low in September
The Markit UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 51.6 in September from 52.2 in August. A figure above 50 indicates growth.Firms reported that growth in new orders was "near stagnation".
The current sluggish growth in the eurozone contributed to exports growing at their slowest pace for 18 months.
The strength of sterling against the euro also hit sales, Markit said.
Where an increase in new export orders was reported, it reflected demand from North America, Germany, Scandinavia and the Middle East, Markit added.
The PMI survey also found that average output prices rose at the slowest pace in 15 months.
However, the number of jobs created in the industry accelerated in September, regaining most of the momentum lost in the prior month, Markit said.
'Flat picture' David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), said manufacturers were taking "a wait and see approach" to the slowdown, but that "anyone involved in supply chains will be watching carefully as we head towards the end of 2014".
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday that despite a general improvement in the UK economy, manufacturing and production, alongside construction, remained well below their 2008 output peaks.
Hong Kong Protests: Demonstrators Heckle Leader On China's National Day
HONG KONG (AP) — Student leaders of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong warned Wednesday that if the territory's leader doesn't resign by the end of Thursday they will step up their actions, including occupying several important government buildings.By raising the stakes in the standoff, the protest leaders are risking another round of confrontation with the police who are unlikely to allow government buildings to be stormed. It also puts pressure on the Chinese government, which has so far remained mostly silent and preferred to let Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying deal with the crisis.
The student leaders, who have played a key role in organizing the protests to press for greater electoral reforms, would welcome an opportunity to speak to a Chinese central government official, Lester Shum, vice secretary of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said at a news conference.
Shum demanded that Leung resign by the end of Thursday. He said there was "no room for dialogue" with Leung because he ordered police to fire tear gas at protesters over the weekend, after the street protests started Friday.
"Leung Chun-ying must step down. If he doesn't resign by tomorrow we will step up our actions, such as by occupying several important government buildings," he said, adding that demonstrators won't occupy "essential" government offices, such as hospitals and social welfare offices.
The protesters oppose Beijing's decision in August that candidates for the territory's top post in inaugural 2017 elections must be approved by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing local elites. The protesters don't want such restrictions and see China as reneging on a promise that the chief executive will be chosen through "universal suffrage."
Taiwan supports Hong Kong in its demands for greater democracy within the Chinese system
BEIJING – Taiwan, an island that China's ruling Communist Party has long sought to bring into its fold under the same "one country, two systems" arrangement it has for Hong Kong, has thrown its support behind Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.Taiwanese leaders also have urged Beijing to live up to its pledges for autonomy in the former British colony or risk further alienating the Taiwanese public.
"Otherwise, it may deepen the antipathy of Taiwan's public and hurt the future of the two-side relations," Ma said in the statement, dated Tuesday.
In August, Beijing rejected a proposal for open nominations of candidates for Hong Kong's first-ever leadership election, promised for 2017. Instead, all candidates must continue to be picked by a panel that is mostly aligned with Beijing.
North Korean foreign minister begins 10-day Russia visit
Ri Su-yong will meet counterpart Sergei Lavrov and tour far-east Russia in attempt to boost cooperation between countries
North Korea’s foreign minister has arrived in Moscow at the start of a 10-day visit, with a bilateral agenda that includes “fighting the heroisation of Nazism”, road safety and Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Ri Su-yong will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Wednesday before embarking on an odyssey around Russia’s far-eastern regions aimed at boosting economic cooperation between the two countries.
Since relations with the west have become ever more strained over events in Ukraine this year, Russia has increasingly looked eastwards, including signing a hugely important gas deal with China.
Ri’s trip to Russia could herald closer cooperation with North Korea. According to Russian agencies, the visit is the first by a North Korean minister since Kim Jong-un assumed power in Pyongyang more than two years ago.
There have been a number of lower-level visits between the two countries over the past year, with a number of parliamentary delegations making trips in both directions as both sides seek closer ties.
Alexander Lukashevich, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said Lavrov and Ri would discuss “increasing political dialogue and economic cooperation” between the two countries, as well as the situation on the Korean peninsula and south-east Asia as a whole.
The foreign ministers would work on creating a new basis for bilateral relations, signing a range of documents on cooperation in areas ranging from culture to the economy, Lukashevich said. There would be an “open discussion” about the resumption of six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear programme.
Lukashevich said the two countries had already worked together at the UN on issues such as preventing the heroisation of Nazism, human rights, information security and road safety.
-
Oklahoma beheading: Alton Nolen charged with murder
An Oklahoma man accused of beheading a woman after being fired has been charged with first-degree murder.
Alton Nolen, 30, could face the death penalty for what
prosecutors are calling an act of revenge for a complaint that got him
fired.Mr Nolen allegedly returned to a packing plant in Moore, Oklahoma, with a knife after being fired, killing one and injuring another.
He was shot by a reserve police officer and was brought to hospital.
Police in Moore say Mr Nolen had "openly admitted" to both the beheading of Colleen Hufford, 54, and the attempt to kill Traci Johnson, 43, according to the Oklahoman newspaper.
He may be released from hospital and transported to a local jail within the next day, police told the newspaper.
Prosecutor Greg Mashburn said he would "vigorously prosecute" the murder charge but that it was more appropriate to leave any questions about a possible terrorism link to federal investigators.
Court: Obama administration can’t hide investigation into former White House adviser
The Obama administration must acknowledge the existence of an independent investigation into former White House senior economics adviser Austan Goolsbee’s alleged unauthorized access to the Koch brother’s tax returns, a court ruled Tuesday.A federal judge ruled the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) must disclose to watchdog group Cause of Action whether records of an investigation exist.
“The court has ruled that the federal government cannot hide behind confidentiality laws to prevent Americans from knowing if our President has gained unauthorized access to their tax information,” Cause of Action executive director Dan Epstein said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a decisive win for all Americans and for government transparency and accountability.”
Former White House Council of Economic Advisers chairman Austan Goolsbee sparked a mini-scandal in 2010 when he told reporters during a background press briefing that Koch Industries—the company of libertarian philanthropists Charles and David Koch—paid no income taxes.
Obama Administration Faces Immigration Deadline
PHOENIX (AP) — The Obama administration has urged a court to reject Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of a ruling that blocks the state from denying driver's licenses to young immigrants who have avoided deportation under a change ordered by the president.Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing Tuesday that the state policy is trumped by federal law. They argued the state won't accept documents issued to the immigrants in question as proof of their legal presence in the country, yet it continues to accept such records from other immigrants.
"The state has failed to identify any reason why the same documents should not similarly suffice for plaintiffs," the Justice Department said in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in a lawsuit by young immigrants who challenged the policy.
The governor is now asking for a 15-judge panel to reconsider the ruling. The Obama administration said no such review is warranted.
Secret service allowed armed man with assault charge into elevator with Obama
Damaging new evidence comes hours after director Julia Pierson faced a barrage of questions at congressional hearing
The US secret service allowed an armed man with a criminal record for
assault to enter an elevator with president Barack Obama, it was
disclosed on Tuesday, hours after officials admitted they missed three
chances to deter an intruder who broke into the White House earlier this
month.
The Washington Post revealed that the man, a security contractor, was carrying a gun when he was in the elevator with Obama on a 16 September visit to the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Earlier on Tuesday, the director of the secret service, Julia Pierson, faced a barrage of questions about the White House intrusion at a congressional hearing.
The hearing was told that Omar Gonzalez, a former army sniper diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq, was first interviewed by the secret service after he was referred by local police worried by an arsenal of 11 heavy weapons and an annotated map pointing to the White House.
On a second encounter, he was discovered walking around outside the White House fence with a hatchet, but was let go by secret service officers after he told them he was going camping.
And on a third occasion, two officers spotted and recognised Gonzalez outside the White House again but failed to report him before he scaled the fence, ran unimpeded across the North Lawn and through three rooms of the residence just minutes after the departure of the president and his family.
The Washington Post revealed that the man, a security contractor, was carrying a gun when he was in the elevator with Obama on a 16 September visit to the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Earlier on Tuesday, the director of the secret service, Julia Pierson, faced a barrage of questions about the White House intrusion at a congressional hearing.
The hearing was told that Omar Gonzalez, a former army sniper diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq, was first interviewed by the secret service after he was referred by local police worried by an arsenal of 11 heavy weapons and an annotated map pointing to the White House.
On a second encounter, he was discovered walking around outside the White House fence with a hatchet, but was let go by secret service officers after he told them he was going camping.
And on a third occasion, two officers spotted and recognised Gonzalez outside the White House again but failed to report him before he scaled the fence, ran unimpeded across the North Lawn and through three rooms of the residence just minutes after the departure of the president and his family.
Federal judge rules against ObamaCare insurance subsidies in Oklahoma case
A federal judge has sided with Oklahoma in its lawsuit challenging
some subsidies offered to people who buy insurance under the health
care law.
U.S. District Judge Ronald White is the latest to weigh in on regulations that allow health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act in all 50 states. Earlier this month, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia threw out a decision that had questioned those subsidies.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt sued in 2011, claiming that
the law didn't explicitly allow subsidies for people who bought
insurance in states, like Oklahoma, that didn't set up their own
insurance exchanges. In a ruling Tuesday, White agreed, saying the
regulation was "an abuse of discretion."
White stayed his ruling pending appeal.
-
U.S. District Judge Ronald White is the latest to weigh in on regulations that allow health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act in all 50 states. Earlier this month, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia threw out a decision that had questioned those subsidies.
White stayed his ruling pending appeal.
-
No comments:
Post a Comment
THE VOCR
Comments and opinions are always welcome.Email VOCR2012@Gmail.com with your input - Opinion - or news link - Intel
We look forward to the Interaction.