Daily Archives: September 18, 2013

Republicans plan showdown over Obamacare funding

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WASHINGTON—House Republicans will vote Friday on a stopgap spending measure that defunds President Obama's health care law, setting up a confrontation with Democrats that could force a government shutdown at the end of the month.
 
"The law is a train wreck," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said following a closed-door meeting Wednesday in which the leadership briefed lawmakers on their plan to approve a spending bill through Dec. 15 that includes legislation to defund the health care law as well as legislation to prioritize debt payments if Congress does not raise the nation's debt ceiling by mid-October.
 
GOP leaders were forced to include stricter defunding language in the spending bill after conservatives made clear they would not support a bill that did not specifically cut funding for the health care law. "We listened to our colleagues over the course of the last week. We have a plan that they're happy with. We're going forward," Boehner said.
 
The outcome is likely to be the same: Senate Democrats will reject the language regarding the health care law and return to the House a spending measure without strings attached to keep the government running. Whether or not the House approves the returned measure will determine whether the government will begin shutdown protocols on Oct 1.
 
"House Republicans have decided to pursue a path away from the center, away from compromise," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday, calling the House GOP's latest budget plan one that increases the chances for "a wholly unnecessary and damaging shutdown of the government."
 
Boehner said Republicans are not seeking a shutdown but want to use the budget deadlines to extract additional fiscal changes from Democrats. "There should be no conversation about shutting the government down," Boehner said, "That's not the goal here. Our goal here is to cut spending and to protect the American people from Obamacare. It's as simple as that."
 
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., also said a shutdown was not in the GOP's interest, but said Republicans want to force action in the Senate on the health care law. "We have some leverage there," he said, "We have some Democratic vulnerabilities. We have a lot of Democrats who don't want to have to vote on this, and that frankly might want to work with us in some way to not have to face that choice, but we'll never know that if we can't get the vehicle over there to them to have a chance to deal with it."
 
The GOP plan is two-fold. Following the vote on the spending bill this week, House Republicans will vote as early as next week on a legislative package to raise the nation's borrowing limit for one year in exchange for delaying the implementation of the health care law, an agreement to begin construction of the Keystone oil pipeline, and measures to overhaul the tax code and lower energy prices, among others, said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.
 
The House is scheduled to be in recess next week, but GOP leaders have warned lawmakers that the break could be canceled to address the budget deadlines. Republicans emerging from Wednesday's meeting with the understanding that the tougher showdown is likely to come on the debt ceiling vote.
 
"Our perception is the debt ceiling is where the success will be," said Rep. John Fleming, R-La.
 
Senate Democrats and the White House have so far held firm that they will not negotiate with Republicans on either the stopgap spending measure or the debt ceiling vote. Obama reiterated that pledge Wednesday in a speech before the Business Roundtable, which represents the nation's top executives.
 
"We're not going to set up a situation where the full faith and credit of the United States is put on the table every year or every year and a half and we go through some sort of terrifying financial brinksmanship because of some ideological arguments that people are having about some particular issue of the day. We're not going to do that," Obama said.
 
Contributing: David Jackson

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Republicans plan showdown over Obamacare funding

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WASHINGTON—House Republicans will vote Friday on a stopgap spending measure that defunds President Obama's health care law, setting up a confrontation with Democrats that could force a government shutdown at the end of the month.
 
"The law is a train wreck," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said following a closed-door meeting Wednesday in which the leadership briefed lawmakers on their plan to approve a spending bill through Dec. 15 that includes legislation to defund the health care law as well as legislation to prioritize debt payments if Congress does not raise the nation's debt ceiling by mid-October.
 
GOP leaders were forced to include stricter defunding language in the spending bill after conservatives made clear they would not support a bill that did not specifically cut funding for the health care law. "We listened to our colleagues over the course of the last week. We have a plan that they're happy with. We're going forward," Boehner said.
 
The outcome is likely to be the same: Senate Democrats will reject the language regarding the health care law and return to the House a spending measure without strings attached to keep the government running. Whether or not the House approves the returned measure will determine whether the government will begin shutdown protocols on Oct 1.
 
"House Republicans have decided to pursue a path away from the center, away from compromise," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday, calling the House GOP's latest budget plan one that increases the chances for "a wholly unnecessary and damaging shutdown of the government."
 
Boehner said Republicans are not seeking a shutdown but want to use the budget deadlines to extract additional fiscal changes from Democrats. "There should be no conversation about shutting the government down," Boehner said, "That's not the goal here. Our goal here is to cut spending and to protect the American people from Obamacare. It's as simple as that."
 
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., also said a shutdown was not in the GOP's interest, but said Republicans want to force action in the Senate on the health care law. "We have some leverage there," he said, "We have some Democratic vulnerabilities. We have a lot of Democrats who don't want to have to vote on this, and that frankly might want to work with us in some way to not have to face that choice, but we'll never know that if we can't get the vehicle over there to them to have a chance to deal with it."
 
The GOP plan is two-fold. Following the vote on the spending bill this week, House Republicans will vote as early as next week on a legislative package to raise the nation's borrowing limit for one year in exchange for delaying the implementation of the health care law, an agreement to begin construction of the Keystone oil pipeline, and measures to overhaul the tax code and lower energy prices, among others, said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.
 
The House is scheduled to be in recess next week, but GOP leaders have warned lawmakers that the break could be canceled to address the budget deadlines. Republicans emerging from Wednesday's meeting with the understanding that the tougher showdown is likely to come on the debt ceiling vote.
 
"Our perception is the debt ceiling is where the success will be," said Rep. John Fleming, R-La.
 
Senate Democrats and the White House have so far held firm that they will not negotiate with Republicans on either the stopgap spending measure or the debt ceiling vote. Obama reiterated that pledge Wednesday in a speech before the Business Roundtable, which represents the nation's top executives.
 
"We're not going to set up a situation where the full faith and credit of the United States is put on the table every year or every year and a half and we go through some sort of terrifying financial brinksmanship because of some ideological arguments that people are having about some particular issue of the day. We're not going to do that," Obama said.
 
Contributing: David Jackson

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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U.S. First lady calls summit on food marketing

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WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama wants food makers and entertainment companies to spend less time advertising sweet and salty foods to kids and more time promoting healthier options.
 
Concerned about the nation's childhood obesity issues, the first lady on Wednesday is convening the first White House summit on food marketing to children to get involved parties talking about how to help consumers make healthier food choices. That includes enlisting the persuasive power of the multimillion-dollar food marketing industry.
 
As she helped kick off a nationwide campaign last week to encourage people to drink more plain water, Mrs. Obama said she would keep reaching out to new people and organizations and keep making the case for healthier choices like water and fruits and vegetables.
 
The White House says it has invited representatives from the food and media industries, advocates, parents, representatives of government agencies and researchers, though it did not release a list of names and organizations. Mrs. Obama will open the meeting with public remarks. The rest of the meeting will be closed to the media.
 
Consumer advocates say studies show that food marketing is a leading cause of obesity because it influences what children want to eat.
 
A 2006 report on the issue by the influential Institute of Medicine concluded that food and beverage marketing to children "represents, at best, a missed opportunity, and, at worst, a direct threat to the health of the next generation."
 
Improvements have come in the years since, especially after Mrs. Obama began drawing attention to childhood obesity with a campaign of her own in 2010.
 
She stood with the Walt Disney Co. last year when it became the first major media company to ban ads for junk food from its media channels, websites and theme parks. She also has praised the Birds Eye frozen food company for encouraging children to eat vegetables, including through promotions featuring characters from the Nickelodeon comedy iCarly.
 
But the first lady and consumer advocates say more improvements are needed.
 
"Most of the food ads that kids see are still for unhealthy food, which makes it really hard for parents to feed their children healthfully," said Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest. Wootan planned to attend the summit.
 
In a speech earlier this year to a health conference, Mrs. Obama said limiting the promotion of unhealthy food to kids isn't the only solution.
 
"It's also about companies realizing that marketing healthy foods can be responsible and the profitable thing to do as well," she said.
 
The White House summit, which consumer advocates say marks the first time the White House has focused on this issue, could pick up where Congress and the administration left off a few years ago after the administration gave up trying to get the food industry to agree to voluntary marketing guidelines.
 
Preliminary guidelines released in 2011 asked food companies, advertisers and TV networks only to market foods to children if they are low in fats, sugars and sodium and included specified healthy ingredients. But the effort fizzled after many Republican lawmakers sided with the food industry, which accused government of overreaching.
 
The companies said the guidelines were overly broad and would limit marketing of almost all of the nation's favorite foods. The food companies also said they were feared government retaliation if they didn't go along with guidelines that were intended to be voluntary.
 
Large food companies then announced their own guidelines that, not surprisingly, were more lenient than what the Federal Trade Commission, the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had proposed under the direction of Congress.
 
The FTC publicly backed off some of the guidelines, including a recommendation that companies change packaging and remove brand characters from some foods. In late 2011, the agency said Congress "had clearly changed its mind" and said it would take another look. It never released updated guidelines.
 
New York University food and nutrition professor Marion Nestle, who also was attending the meeting, said studies show that voluntary restrictions don't work.
 
"Food marketing is the elephant in the room," she said. "If you're serious about childhood obesity, you've got to do something about food marketing."
 
Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Tropical storm could hit U.S. Gulf Coast

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A tropical storm is likely to form in the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days, according to a forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
 
Now just a cluster of thunderstorms over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the hurricane center is giving the disturbance an 80% chance of developing into Tropical Storm Jerry within the next five days.
 
Once it forms, the storm is expected to wander around the Gulf for a while, and potentially could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast next week, according to some of the computer models that meteorologists use to forecast weather, says Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.
 
Regardless of its exact track, heavy rain from the system is likely to drench part of northeastern Mexico and the Texas coast this weekend, says AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. Flash floods are possible along the Texas coast, along with rough surf and strong rip currents, he adds.
 
In eastern Mexico, rain from the storm "could cause life-threatening floods and mudslides over areas already impacted by torrential rains during the past several days," the hurricane center forecasts in an online report.
 
Jerry would be the 10th named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. So far, nine storms have developed, but only two have been hurricanes (Humberto and Ingrid).
 
Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Manuel continues to spin just offshore of Mexico's west coast. As of 2 p.m. ET, the storm had winds of 60 mph and was located about 100 miles west-northwest of Mazatlan, Mexico, the hurricane center reports. It was moving to the north-northwest at 5 mph.
 
The storm should parallel the west coast of Mexico for the next couple of days, and "could be near hurricane strength when it approaches the coast" by Friday, according to an online bulletin from the hurricane center.
 
The government of Mexico has issued a hurricane watch for the west-central coast of Mexico, from La Cruz to Topolobampo due to Manuel.The storm has already battered the west coast of Mexico, leading to devastating flooding that's killed at least 27 people and stranded thousands of tourists in Acapulco.
 
Also, far out in the open Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Humberto poses no threat to land. It's located more than 1,000 miles from the Azores and has winds of 40 mph.
 

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Alleged Navy Yard shooter’s clearance dates to 2008

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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Wednesday that the Pentagon will review security at military installations and how it issues clearances to its troops and employees.
 
Hagel's action follows the deaths of 12 civilian employees Monday at the Washington Navy Yard office complex. A Navy contractor shot them to death and was killed by police, authorities said.
 
"We will do everything possible to prevent this from happening again," Hagel said.
 
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will lead the review, Hagel said.
 
The security clearance for Aaron Alexis, the alleged Navy Yard gunman, dates to 2008, shortly after he enlisted in the Navy Reserve, according to the Pentagon.
 
He was not required to renew the clearance, which allowed him to work as a government contractor with access to the Navy Yard. Clearances remain valid for two years after troops leave their service unless a violation that has been adjudicated by courts occurs.
 
Alexis had brushes with the law before he joined the Navy. Most recently, last month, he called police in Newport, R.I., telling them that he was hearing voices and that people were trying to prevent him from sleeping by using a microwave device.
 
Newport police passed that information on to Navy officials. It's unclear what, if anything, was done with the report by the Navy.
 
"We are reviewing all of that," Hagel said.
 
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said that the automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, did not affect security Monday at the Navy Yard.
 
"The budget issue did not degrade security at the Navy Yard," he said.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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No Deal Yet with President Jonathan

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No Deal Yet with President Jonathan….Gov. Akpabio is deceiving Nigerians – Baraje PDP

The Alhaji Abubakar Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to inform Nigerians to discountenance what it calls “tissue of lies and propaganda” from the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction of the party on the outcome of our meeting with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last Sunday 15th September, 2013.

The splinter PDP observed that they read various misleading accounts of what transpired at that meeting between the Progressive Governors – Gov Kwankwaso of Kano, Gov. Wamakko of Sokoto, Gov Amaechi of Rivers, Gov Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Gov, Nyako of Adamawa, Gov Ahmed of Kwara and Gov Lamido of Jigawa with President Jonathan on how to resolve the self-inflicted crisis in PDP.

The New PDP in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr Eze Chukwuemeka Eze urged Nigerians and their supporters to ignore the concocted tales of Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum. Akpabio lied by claiming that they accepted that President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election and that most of their demands were being met.

The Baraji led faction of PDP stated that no agreement was reached on any of the issues they tabled before the President.

“The fact of the case is that no agreement has been reached on any of the issues we tabled
before the President and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the Tukur camp to deceive them and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the Tukur camp to deceive them” the breakaway PDP said

On whether President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election or not, the party said PDP has a mechanism and system of electing their standard-bearers for any election and until the time to choose the party’s presidential standard-bearer comes, any speculation on that was just a “mere academic exercise”.

Tukur’s Faction Not Serious about Peace Moves

Meanwhile, the baraje led PDP said it has been vindicated in their claim that Alhaji Tukur and his faction were not serious about their purported search for the return of peace in PDP.

“Just few hours after Sunday’s meeting between the Progressive Governors and the President, Tukur’s faction once more showed its disdain for peace by unilaterally setting up a Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of our Kano chapter. This was done without recourse to either the Leader of the party in Kano State, Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from Kano. This illegality is a clear violation of our party’s constitution and was hurriedly done just to spite Gov. Kwankwaso, the Party Leader in the state.

“We hereby urge our people in Kano State to ignore this illegality as we have set in motion the machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by our party’s constitution.

“We are still at a loss why Tukur and his cohorts do not want peace to reign in PDP, but no matter the odds we are very determined to ensure that peace is restored to our party with the prayers of Nigerians.

“Along this line, we once more appreciate the efforts of our Party Elders to resolve the current crisis bedevilling our party and wish them success irrespective of the evil designs of Tukur’s faction to
elongate the crisis for selfish reasons”.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Nigeria: These Pugilist-leaders

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The scuffle which was reported on September 17th 2013, to have occurred in the Nigeria’s House of Representatives, is a mark the (dis)honournable members have scored, showcasing their incompetence to handle the affairs that bother to the reason the electorates elected them.

It was in the event of the meeting between the seven governors of the new Peoples Democratic Party, and members of the House of Representatives, that the fight ensued.

This is a pointer that President Goodluck Jonathan should watch his purported second term ambition in 2015, because aggrieved nerves and different interests are sending their prepositions of the bigger brawl that might occur in the country should he re-contest.

It is also another indication that some persons or group are not happy since it came to the public notice that President Jonathan is interested in deciding who should come out to contest in the aforementioned year and who should not.

In an indication that Jonathan should give up his ambition for a new term, it is imperative to say that a patriotic statesman or woman is not lured by over possessiveness of power, but is accentuated by the love of his people, and is ready to send any of his or her ambition that may jeopardize the system on an errand.

Nevertheless, the show of shame at the House of Representatives is a negative representation of Nigeria before the comity of nations. Our talents in harnessing the nature-given resources of this country should not always be explored and exploited in sorry states. And those who were fingered in the fight might not be bathing their eyelids to tender their resignation letters. Yet, we are crying and shouting on top of the roof of corruption, when many are oblivious that a public office holder caught desecrating his or her office with open fight, is also a corrupt person.

Only our ancestors know who these people are representing, when they cannot show themselves before the people as gentlemen and women. In the recent past, precisely on June 22, 2010, the same Representatives engaged themselves in a free -for-all hostility and battering, not elsewhere, but on the floor of the House.

The recent fight has shown that the House is overdue to be scrapped, as it could be deduced that the members lack the spirit of organisation and comportment. They can never be seen as leaders, when they are leading us with wars. Their character and attitude is a show to Nigerians to embrace the negative lifestyle, which majority of us churlish.

Diplomats are not known to behave like thieves and prostitutes whose major occupation is to fight at the slightest provocation without caring what they teach their wards since the end aim is to make their mischievous-money, but diplomats are known to doing things that are praiseworthy and impact positively on the onlookers they represent.

It is time those leaders represented Nigeria and Nigerians very well. Protestation is not about fighting and being over ambitious for position. Those so-called leaders should stop being involved in shameful acts, as this.

We are not in the military era. They should not make us to re-think that not everybody in clothes is supposed to be allowed to walk the street as sane person. Likewise, not everybody in clothes in the House of Representatives is supposed to be allowed in the House.

Those leaders should not make us and the international comity to think or record in the security index that the House of Representatives is now one of the dangerous places to be in Nigeria. We are not even fighting about their over-bloated salary otherwise christened mumbo-jumbo pay that can be used to improve the country, but they are the ones messing us up with shame.

President Jonathan and his co-leaders should understand that it is not a crime to swap words, but it is not gentlemanly to engage in an open fight that breach trust of people. We would have applauded them if their fights were to defend the populace. But regrettably, they were fighting for power, their pockets and possibly plunge the country into ultra-chaos, which only we the poor masses would bear the brunt upon the hard conditions we are already facing.

Those leaders who fought in the glaring eyes of kid should understand their mannerisms are of nincompoops’. If they are truly leaders, they should resign, as an apology is not enough to douse the molested psyches of Nigerians who once trusted them they have sent to the cleaners.

Odimegwu Onwumere, a Poet/Writer, writes from Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. Email: apoet_25@yahoo.com

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Obama: Debt ceiling is not a ‘bargaining chip’

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President Obama said Wednesday that he will not allow the debt ceiling to become "a bargaining chip to set policy," calling the tactic "irresponsible" politics.
 
"It would fundamentally change how American government functions," Obama told the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs.
 
As the White House and Congress gear up for new budget battles, Obama said congressional Republicans are trying to use the debt ceiling to "extort" harmful budgets from his administration.
 
Obama asked the business people to "flip the script," and imagine the political reaction if a Democratic House speaker told a Republican president: We won't raise the debt ceiling unless you raise corporate taxes by 20%.
 
"That can't be a recipe for government," Obama said.
 
The debt ceiling gives the government the authority to borrow money to pay bills it has already racked up; failure to increase it could lead to a government shutdown, Obama told his business audience.
 
The Treasury Department reports that it expects to exceed the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling in mid- to late October.
 
Congressional Republicans said Obama can solve the budget and debt ceiling impasses by agreeing to less federal spending.
 
"No one is threatening to default," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The president only uses these scare tactics to avoid having to show the courage needed to deal with our debt crisis. Every major deficit deal in the last 30 years has been tied to a debt limit increase, and this time should be no different."
 
Buck also pointed out that, as a U.S. senator, Obama once voted against a debt ceiling hike.
 
Obama's speech was the latest in a series of economic events conducted by the president. He is using them to promote programs he has put in place since the 2008 financial crisis, and to make his arguments in the renewed budget battles with congressional Republicans.
 
In 2011, Obama told the Business Roundtable that just the prospect of a debt ceiling breach and default led to a lower stock market and a downgrade in the nation's credit.
 
Obama made a brief speech to the business leaders just before a question-and-answer session that was closed to the press.
 
The White House and Congress are also at a budget impasse that could lead to a government shutdown.
 
The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and the White House and Congress must agree to a new spending plan or face a shutdown.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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U.S. Court decides if gay juror can be taken off case

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A multibillion dollar case between two giant pharmaceutical companies grappling over arcane antitrust issues has unexpectedly turned into a gay rights legal imbroglio that raises questions over whether lawyers can bounce potential jurors solely based on their sexual orientation.
 
The case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday centers on whether Abbott Laboratories broke antitrust laws when it increased the price of its popular and vital AIDS drug Norvir by 400% in 2007. But broader public attention likely will be given to the three-judge panel's look at whether Abbott wrongfully removed a juror in the case brought by competitor SmithKlineBeecham.
 
The cost increase angered many in the gay community. SmithKlineBeecham, meanwhile, claims it was meant to harm the launch of its new AIDS treatment, which requires use of Norvit. And the company contends "Juror B" was removed simply because he was gay.
 
"It's a big deal," said Vik Amar, University of California, Davis professor. "The headlines from this case are going to be about antitrust law — it will be about sexual orientation in the jury pool."
 
Before trials, lawyers for both sides are allowed to use several "preemptory challenges" each to remove someone from the jury pool without legal justification.
 
For its part, Abbot argued, it bounced "Juror B" for three reasons, none having anything to do with his sexual orientation. Lawyers said they felt the juror's impartiality was compromised because he was the only potential juror who had heard of the SmithKline treatment in question, that he was also the only prospective juror who had lost a friend to AIDS and that he worked for courts.
 
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 prohibited lawyers from using their challenges to bounce a potential juror from a case because of race.
 
Eight years later, the high court added gender to the prohibition of potential jurors lawyers can remove from a trial without a legal reason.
 
But the high court has never ruled on sexual orientation. The California Supreme Court has barred the removal of gays from jury pools without justification since 2000, but its rulings aren't binding on federal courts.
 
In July, the three appeals court judges asked the drug companies what effect the U.S. Supreme Court's striking down of the federal ban on same-sex marriage benefits had on the antitrust case. It's the latest high-profile gay-rights issue the court has heard. The 9th Circuit had earlier struck down California's ban on same-sex marriages and ordered the same-sex partner of a court employee to receive the same benefits as married colleagues.
 
Unsurprisingly, Abbott lawyers argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act had no effect on its legal fight with SmithKline.
 
Abbott argues that the high court's DOMA ruling doesn't mean anything in the antitrust case because it didn't put gays in the same class minorities and women who need special protection during jury selection. The company's lawyers urged the judges to stay focused on the antitrust laws and procedural issues at the center of the appeal.
 
SmithKline is joined by gay rights activists Lambda Legal and other public interest groups who filed their own legal argument urging the court to protect gays from getting bounced from juries for no reason.
 
"The discrimination at issue here is particularly harmful, because it reinforces historical invidious discrimination within the court system and undermines the integrity of the judicial system," Lambda wrote the court.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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U.S. Mother of alleged Navy Yard gunman: ‘My heart is broken’

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NEW YORK — The mother of the man who police say fatally shot 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard expressed sorrow Wednesday for what her son had done, adding that her "heart is broken."
 
Cathleen Alexis released a statement that was read to a CNN reporter who spoke with her briefly in her Brooklyn apartment. A pastor, Bishop Gerald Seabrooks, later read the statement to media gathered outside the home.
 
"Our son Aaron Alexis has murdered 12 people and wounded several others," Cathleen Alexis says in the statement. "His actions have had a profound and everlasting effect on the families of the victims. I don't know why he did what what he did, and I'll never be able to ask him, why. Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that I am glad. To the families of the victims, I am so, so very sorry that this has happened. My heart is broken."
 
Authorities say Aaron Alexis, 34, walked into work Monday at the Navy Yard's Building 197 with a shotgun he assembled in a men's room and killed 12 people before being fatally shot by police.
 
Cathleen Alexis has been holed up in her apartment with journalists camped outside her home since the tragedy in Washington. On Wednesday, she broke her silence, agreeing to provide the brief statement.
 
Deborah Feyerick, a national correspondent for CNN, said Alexis choked up at times as she read her statement. Alexis declined to say when she last spoke to her son, why he may have unleashed such violence and whether she had thought her son was troubled.
 
Alexis told Feyerick she came home Monday after hearing about the shooting and hasn't been able to leave since. Some co-workers have reached out to the mother, but on Wednesday she remained alone in her apartment.
 
Seabrooks, who came to Alexis' home as a member of the Brooklyn Clergy/ NYPD Task Force, spoke to reporters outside Alexis' home after the statement was released. He said Alexis was deeply pained by her son's actions and was focusing on the loss of the victims rather than her son's death.
 
Seabrooks said that in his NYPD role he often visits families affected by violence. He and several others have been buying her water and food as well as comforting her.
 
"She's very, very sad — under a lot of stress, a lot of duress," Seabrooks said of Cathleen Alexis. "She's grieving for this tragedy, for her son as well as the victims. She's a tremendous woman who is very concerned about the other victims. She's not even mentioning her son."
 
Seabrooks added that Alexis didn't discuss any personal information about her son and revealed little about their relationship.
 
He also asked reporters outside the home to give Alexis — and her neighbors — some space. The street has been filled with news trucks and journalists since Monday.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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