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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OWq0Tyejplo/Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
While it is been "one of the more poorly kept national security secrets in Washington and Islamabad" that Pakistani leaders privately endorse U.S. drone strikes aimed at terrorists in their country, The Washington Post says that:
"Top-secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos" it has obtained show that "top officials in Pakistan's government have for years secretly endorsed the program and routinely received classified briefings on strikes and casualty counts."
The Post's exclusive, written by intelligence correspondent Greg Miller and investigative legend Bob Woodward of Watergate fame, adds that:
"The files expose the explicit nature of a secret arrangement struck between the two countries at a time when neither was willing to publicly acknowledge the existence of the drone program. The documents detailed at least 65 strikes in Pakistan and were described as 'talking points' for CIA briefings, which occurred with such regularity that they became a matter of diplomatic routine. The documents are marked 'top secret' but cleared for release to Pakistan.
"A spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. A CIA spokesman declined to discuss the documents but did not dispute their authenticity."
The report came just hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with President Obama at the White House. Voice of America writes that:
"As he has done elsewhere in Washington, Prime Minister Sharif called for an end to drone strikes the United States has used to target al-Qaida and militant figures in Pakistan's tribal areas."
But as NPR's Philip Reeves said Tuesday on Morning Edition:
"There's a difference between the public and the private positions of senior Pakistani government officials on this issue. Some senior figures in government and in the army are known to have in the past privately supported drone strikes. And, indeed, a certain element of the Pakistani public actually feels the same way."
Nawaz is expected to be back in Pakistan on Friday.
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2013, photo, House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., laughs as he walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Forget a grand bargain. Reaching even a small budget deal will be a challenge when negotiators start meeting in an effort to salvage any kind of agreement in the aftermath of this month’s shutdown debacle and debt limit crisis. "If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we’re going to focus on our differences and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we’ll get nothing done," Ryan, said in an interview on Oct. 24. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2013, photo, House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., laughs as he walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Forget a grand bargain. Reaching even a small budget deal will be a challenge when negotiators start meeting in an effort to salvage any kind of agreement in the aftermath of this month’s shutdown debacle and debt limit crisis. "If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we’re going to focus on our differences and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we’ll get nothing done," Ryan, said in an interview on Oct. 24. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Forget a grand bargain. Reaching even a small budget deal will be a challenge when negotiators start meeting next week in an effort to salvage any kind of agreement in the aftermath of this month's shutdown debacle and debt limit crisis.
Long-standing, entrenched differences over taxes make a large-scale budget pact virtually impossible, according to lawmakers, their aides and observers who will be monitoring the talks.
Republicans say they simply won't agree to any further taxes atop the 10-year, $600 billion-plus increase on upper-income earners that Obama and Democrats muscled through in January. Without higher taxes, Democrats say they won't yield to cuts in benefit programs like Medicare.
"If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we're going to focus on our differences, and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we'll get nothing done," House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in an interview Thursday. "So we aren't focusing on a grand bargain, because I don't think in this divided government you'll get one."
In an interview Thursday with Nevada public radio station KNPR, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed that a large-scale grand bargain isn't in the cards.
Ryan, his party's vice presidential nominee a year ago, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., are two of the key congressional figures in the talks. They both say they're seeking "common ground" between the sharply different Republican and Democratic budgets.
Common ground, however, is a much different concept that compromise. It involves finding ideas upon which they can agree rather than compromising principles such as Republican opposition to tax increases or the unwillingness on the part of many Democrats to consider cutting future Social Security benefits by decreasing the annual cost-of-living adjustments.
Instead of a broad agreement encompassing tax hikes and structural curbs on the relentless growth of benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid, Ryan says he's seeking a "smaller, more achievable objective." The talks, he said, will also focus on alleviating another upcoming round of automatic spending cuts known as sequestration and replacing them with longer-term cuts.
"If we can agree on sensible medium- and long-term policies to replace these short-term cuts, we can do something good for the economy and our national security," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a speech Thursday before the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
Sequestration mostly hits so-called discretionary spending, the money approved by Congress each year to run agency operations. Ryan wants to cut autopilot-like spending on so-called entitlement programs like Medicare to ease sequestration's effects on both the Pentagon and domestic programs.
"I think we all agree that there's a smarter way to cut spending" than sequestration, Ryan said. "If I can reform entitlement programs where the savings compound annually ... that is more valuable for reducing the debt that a one-time spending cut in discretionary spending."
Reid reiterated that Democrats aren't interested in doing that until Republicans are willing to look at raising tax revenues.
The automatic spending cuts are mandated by the failure of the 2011 deficit supercommittee to reach an agreement. They would carve $91 billion from the day-to-day budgets of the Pentagon and domestic agencies in 2014 compared with the limits set by the 2011 budget deal. The Pentagon would absorb almost 60 percent of the cuts.
While the first official meeting of the larger House-Senate negotiating team is scheduled for next week, Ryan and Murray have already been talking.
Republicans are looking at a bushel basket of cuts to Medicare health care providers contained in Obama's budget. They also have voiced support for curbing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, an idea Obama has backed, but only in the context of a broader deal in which Republicans would allow tax increases. That proposal won't fly in the current talks.
So where might common ground be found? One option embraced by Murray and utilized earlier this year to ease $12 billion worth of sequestration cuts would be to lower spending "caps" in future years to offset some of the automatic cuts now. That would save $142 billion over the coming decade.
There are also several supercommittee ideas like curbing Postal Service cost overruns, making federal workers contribute more to their pensions and raising premiums on higher-income Medicare beneficiaries.
There are also lots of fee proposals contained in Obama's budget, but most of them promise lots of irritation while raising relatively little money. Lawmakers have annually repelled attempts by Obama to increase airline security fees by $18 billion over a decade to help pay for Transportation Security Administration operations.
Democrats, meanwhile, are wary of using cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs to ease cuts in the defense budget. Negotiators still might explore curbing generous military retirement, health care and prescription drug benefits as a way to restore cuts to readiness and procurement of weapons systems.
"Congressional Democrats and the White House, rightly in my view, don't want to use domestic entitlement cuts to offset easing or eliminating the defense side of sequestration on top of the nondefense discretionary side," said Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Even a small deal promises to be a challenge. Those watching the talks say there's no shortage of issues that could cause them to unravel.
"I think you would always bet on failure if you had to pick an outcome. This is the Congress after all, and repeated experiences with this issue set would say that failure is the most likely scenario," said former longtime Senate GOP aide Rohit Kumar, a tax policy expert with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. "For a deal to come together both sides have to be able to declare victory."
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-24-US-Budget-Battle/id-4094c27abc91458fafe1ba71a29fe626In this Instagram photo, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler (center, in white shirt holding cellphone) is seen at a summer party where underage drinking appears to be taking place.
In this Instagram photo, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler (center, in white shirt holding cellphone) is seen at a summer party where underage drinking appears to be taking place.
Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler meets with reporters Thursday to explain his actions during a summertime visit to a teenage house party.
Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler meets with reporters Thursday to explain his actions during a summertime visit to a teenage house party.
Doug Gansler is Maryland's top law enforcement official. As the state's attorney general, he's spoken out against the perils of underage drinking.
So, naturally, the posting of an Instagram photo of Gansler in the middle of what appears to be a wild underage drinking party — the attorney general is surrounded by shirtless dancing teenagers and red plastic cups — is proving to be a big political problem.
Gansler explained to the Baltimore Sun, which published the photo in its Thursday edition, that he had stopped by the Delaware beach house party briefly to speak with his teenage son. He said he did not remember if he saw any of the attendees drinking, though partygoers later confirmed that many were.
"Assume for purposes of discussion that there was widespread drinking at this party," Gansler, who is running for governor in 2014, told the paper. "How is that relevant to me? ... The question is, do I have any moral authority over other people's children at beach week in another state? I say no."
At a press conference Thursday, Gansler said he "should have probably assumed there was drinking" going on at the party, but that he "wasn't there to determine if there was drinking."
The particular party took place last summer at a six-bedroom beach house where a group of recent private school graduates lived during a weeklong stay.
The Sun reported that the weeklong stay was organized by some of the graduates' parents, who laid down a set of ground rules preventing the teenagers from driving, taking girls behind closed bedroom doors and drinking hard alcohol. Two fathers were also put on chaperone duty each night.
An anonymous attendee told the Sun, "I don't remember much, but it was one of the best parties I've been to, hands down."
The flap comes on the heels of a run of bad press for the attorney general. Earlier this month, the The Washington Post reported that Gansler regularly ordered the state troopers who drive him around to turn on the lights and sirens, run red lights, speed and use the shoulder to bypass traffic. Gansler even took the wheel himself on one occasion, turning the sirens on and running red lights, the Post said.
Gansler on Wednesday paid a $400 speeding ticket — issued to his state-owned vehicle after it was spotted by a traffic camera — that was overdue by 16 months. He said that he was not operating the vehicle at the time, even though a state trooper says otherwise.
A Democratic gubernatorial primary poll released last week shows Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown leading the Democratic primary field with the support of 41 percent of likely voters. Gansler was in second with 21 percent.
Brown has been endorsed by some of the most prominent Democratic figures in Maryland politics, including outgoing Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Barabara Mikulski and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.
DANVERS, Mass. (AP) — A teacher who was allegedly killed by one of her students had asked him to stay after school the day she was killed, a classmate said Thursday, as students met with grief counselors and tried to come to grips with the slaying of the popular teacher.
Philip Chism, 14, was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of Colleen Ritzer, a 24-year-old math teacher at Danvers High School.
Rania Rhaddaoui sat two seats away from Chism in Ritzer's Algebra I class, the final class of the school day. She said Chism was drawing in a notebook rather than taking notes Tuesday.
"She came over and said, 'I didn't know you draw,' and he said, 'yes,' then later on, she said, 'Can you stay after with me?'" Rhaddaoui said. "Obviously, he stayed after because when I was leaving, he was still at his desk."
She said Ritzer had scheduled a test for Friday, but she was unsure why exactly Ritzer asked Chism to stay after school.
Ritzer never returned home that day. Blood in a second-floor bathroom helped lead investigators to her body, which was dumped in the woods behind the school in a close-knit community about 20 miles north of Boston.
Chism was picked up by police in the early morning hours Wednesday, walking along Route 1 in neighboring Topsfield. His attorney declined to comment outside court Wednesday and did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.
The high school remained closed for classes Thursday, but grief counselors were on hand to offer comfort to students.
Kaitlyn Nash, 16, went to the school to be with her friends. She said students who knew and loved Ritzer were still trying to make sense of what happened. She said she found it particularly frightening that she had theater rehearsal Tuesday afternoon and was at the school when authorities believe Ritzer was killed.
"It's just terrifying," she said. "I know a lot of people don't want to go back to school at this point. I know we have to, and we just need to get on with."
Classes were expected to resume Friday.
Authorities offered no clues Thursday on Chism's alleged motive. They also would not say how Ritzer was killed.
Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said the case was still being investigated.
Chism had moved to Massachusetts from Tennessee before the start of the school year and was a top scorer on the school's junior varsity soccer team.
Jean McCartin, a Danvers School Committee member, said the school has extensive programs to help ease the transition for new students who may have problems but there was no information about Chism that would have presented any red flags.
"He just presented himself to us like any other student would," she said Thursday. "And that's what I think is so hard for the administration right now. You know, their hearts are breaking because they just didn't know he was in need, if he was in need. ... No one knows why he would have behaved in this way and done such a terrible thing."
Students were also puzzled. Chism's teammates on the soccer team have said he was soft-spoken and nonviolent.
Rhaddaoui said Chism was quiet, and she never saw him raise his hand in math class. She said they were also in the same history class, where he told classmates he spoke three languages: English, Portuguese and Japanese.
Ritzer was described as an enthusiastic, caring teacher who stood outside her classroom and said hello to all students, whether they were in her classes or not.
"She was very approachable," Rhaddaoui said. "She was always smiling. She always made the best of every situation."
Ritzer's family released a statement Thursday, asking the media to respect their privacy as they make arrangements "to celebrate Colleen's vibrant life."
Chism appeared briefly in court Wednesday for arraignment on a murder charge and was ordered held without bail.
Ritzer was the second teacher allegedly killed by a student in the U.S. this week. A Sparks, Nev., middle school teacher was shot Monday, allegedly by a 12-year-old student.
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Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ellis Island will reopen to the public Monday, almost exactly a year after Superstorm Sandy's swells reached 8 feet and badly damaged the former U.S. immigration entry point.
"We are delighted to be able to share Ellis Island's uniquely American story with the world once more," Superintendent David Luchsinger said in a statement Thursday.
The Oct. 29 storm swamped boilers and electrical systems, and the 27.5-acre island in New York Harbor was without power for months.
The Ellis Island Immigration Museum, housed in the main building on the island, showcases the stories of the millions of immigrants who passed through the island to start their lives in the United States.
More than a million documents, photographs and other artifacts at the museum were moved before the storm because it was impossible to maintain the climate-controlled environment needed for their preservation.
While the halls and buildings will reopen, the artifacts remain in a temporary storage facility in Maryland, park officials said. There's no estimate on when they will return to the island, because considerable work to upgrade and fix the buildings is still ongoing.
"You're not going to see a complete restoration of Ellis Island for a while," spokesman John Warren said.
Crews are still working on revamping so that the next bad storm won't leave the island shuttered for a year, he said.
Nearby Liberty Island, which also flooded during Sandy, reopened on July 4th but was closed during the partial federal government shutdown.
"I can think of no better way to celebrate Lady Liberty's 127th birthday than to welcome visitors back to the place where those 'huddled masses yearning to breathe free' first came to our shores," Luchsinger said, referring to a line in the Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus," which is engraved on a plaque hung inside the statue's pedestal.
There's no cost estimate yet on how much it will take to repair and revamp the island.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-10-24-Ellis%20Island/id-7595cf08d02d4661b5acefd9d89889d7
The first seven seconds of footage from the movie has leaked online.
By Alex Zalben
