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Second IRS official resigns after scandal

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Second IRS official resigns after scandal
Daniel Werfel(Photo: James J. Lee Military Times)

Story Highlights

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller offered his resignation Wednesday
had targeted Tea for extra scrutiny
President called the misconduct “inexcusable”

(PhatzNewsRoom / ) — WASHINGTON — President said on Thursday that he was naming a trusted White House budget official, Daniel Werfel, to serve as his new acting IRS commissioner, while a second top IRS official announced he was stepping down from the agency in the aftermath of revelations that the agency had targeted for extra scrutiny.

Joseph Grant, commissioner of the agency’s tax exempt and government entities division, will retire on June 3, according to an IRS statement. Grant joined the IRS in August 2005 and became the deputy commissioner of the tax exempt division in 2007. He became the second senior IRS official in as many days to offer his resignation.

Grant had only be elevated to the position of commissioner of the division last week–two days before the agency confirmed the targeting of Tea Party groups and applying for .

Meanwhile, Obama announced that the controller of the of Management and Budget, Werfel, will move into the job of acting IRS commissioner next week, replacing Steven Miller.

“Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill,” Obama said in a statement. “The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time.”

Obama said on Wednesday that he’d accepted the resignation of Miller, saying the agency needed a change in leadership.

Werfel, 42, will start the job on Wednesday and has agreed to serve in the position through September.

Werfel, who is known around the White House as Danny, will lead the IRS efforts to restore its reputation that has taken a beaten since it was made public that the organization was targeting conservative groups.

He has served in a number of other positions at OMB, including deputy controller, chief of financial integrity and as a policy analyst. He also served during the George W. Bush administration as a member of the Federal Accounting and Standards Advisory Board.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who has known Werfel for more than 15 years, said Werfel has the makeup to help the agency get through a difficult period.

“He is an immensely talented and dedicated public servant who has ably served presidents of both parties. Danny has a strong record of raising his hand for — and excelling at — tough management assignments,” Lew said in a statement.

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Syrians losing patience, confidence in revolution

May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

3b99e3af806aec84bf4226457edcef71 Syrians losing patience, confidence in revolution

Story Highlights

vows $45 million in humanitarian aid
U.K. also giving rebels $15 million in non-lethal support
Off the battlefield, some help shore up humanitarian aid

(PhatzNewsRoom / ) — ALEPPO, Syria — Mahmoud Abu Kador managed to keep working as a tailor despite the intense firefights between rebels and Syrian troops for almost a year.

But he shut down recently, not because of the violence but over relentless demands for bribes from rebels and the drift of the rebellion from a demand for to desires for an Islamic state.

“At first, I believed in the revolution because I believe in civil rights, but now the revolution is going in a different direction, and Islamist groups are spreading all over the country,” Kador says.

“I hope Syria will find the middle way, not too secular and too conservative,” he says.

Monday, President said the United States is working with Britain to strengthen the moderate opposition in Syria. At a conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama called the violence in Syria appalling. Cameron announced more than $45 million in humanitarian aid for Syria and more than $15 million in non-lethal support for opposition rebels.

Forces opposing Syrian dictator include members of the Free Syrian Army, a of deserters and officers from the Syrian Army, but also foreign fighters and jihadists with ties to al-Qaeda and other Islamist . The fighting has killed more than 70,000 people, and 1.4 million Syrians live as refugees outside the country, according to the United Nations.

Since last summer, Aleppo has been essentially divided between the and government troops battling for control of what was once the commercial hub of Syria and its largest city.

Checkpoints enforce the divide. Cars are no longer allowed to cross from one side to the other. For businessmen such as Kador, it is almost impossible to make a profit under such circumstances.

Many Syrian civilians caught in the middle of the conflict say they support neither Assad nor the opposition.

“Before the fighting started, people here (Aleppo) supported Assad, but after they saw what happened in Homs and other places, they joined the revolution, but now that they see the problems, they are questioning the revolution,” says Abu Ahmad, who runs a backpack factory in Aleppo.

“This is not freedom,” he says. “We were supposed to get it without the destruction.”

Shortly before the fighting started, Ahmad borrowed materials from suppliers to make backpacks for students. No one bought his backpacks after the fighting broke out, and he is $75,000 in debt, a small fortune in Syria, and struggling to keep his inventory safe from the fighting and looting.

Throughout Syria, it has become hard to make a living. In opposition-controlled areas, few people are able to work, and most people live off savings and humanitarian aid. The country has seen a sharp spike in crime. In many areas, kidnapping is emerging as a serious threat.

The family of Aleppo resident Abu Yousef had to pay almost $40,000 to kidnappers who took Yousef’s cousin. A strong supporter of the revolution, Yousef says a corrupt faction of the FSA was responsible for the abduction. No one has faced any charges or legal action in courts run by the opposition movement.

“Even now, I’m afraid that someone will come into my shop and kill me or kidnap me,” says Yousef, a former jewelry maker who works in his uncle’s tire shop. “If no one helps the revolution, then more people will be like these criminals and steal for a living. If it goes on like this much longer, maybe even I will get this idea.”

Yousef has lost his house to an airstrike. His car was crushed when a building hit by tank fire collapsed on it. His jewelry shop is on the front lines and has been damaged considerably.

He says he still supports the revolution and believes it is made up of many honest people. Like many Syrians, he hopes Islamist groups will win control of Syria because he says they have a reputation for being honest and evenhanded.

Over the course of the country’s two-year uprising, Islamist groups have developed strong bases of support.

Off the battlefield, Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. Treasury Department, provide humanitarian assistance and run Islamic courts to settle civil disputes or criminal cases in opposition-controlled areas.

“The Islamic revolution is better than any other side, but there is one problem with this side: They don’t accept anyone else’s opinions,” says Abu Yousef, a lawyer in Aleppo who shares the same name as the former jeweler.

“People in Syria can’t accept Islamic government, but at this time, they are needed,” he says. “But when Assad goes, they will not be needed. I think there will be another revolution against the Islamists.”

Kador may not wait around to see who prevails. He managed to stay in business selling his T-shirts on the government side of the city, but now that is not feasible because of the obstacles. He has stopped working and lives off his savings, which he estimates will last only a few weeks.

“I don’t believe in joining any groups like the (Free Syrian Army),” he says. “If I can legally emigrate somewhere else, I will.”

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Obama: We need proof of Syria chemical weapons use

May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

obama syria chemical weapons.si Obama: We need proof of Syria chemical weapons use

Story Highlights

President vows to defend South Korea against nuclear-armed
Obama also said he would act against Syria, if it is proved the government used
Obama spoke after meeting with the president of South Korea

(PhatzNewsRoom / AP) — Weapons of mass destruction took center stage at the White House on Tuesday as President Obama met with South Park Geun-hye.

First, Obama vowed to defend South Korea against by nuclear-armed North Korea, saying the American defense alliance with the south “will never waver.”

Then Obama said he would act against Syria is it is proven that the government of Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapon – but he warned against action based on “perceptions,” citing the Iraq war as a cautionary tale.

“I don’t make decisions based on ‘perceived,’” Obama said at a after meeting with the president of South Korea. “And I can’t organize international coalitions around ‘perceived.’

“We tried that in the past, by the way, and it didn’t work out well,” Obama said, referring to Iraq. “So we want to make sure that, you know, we have the best analysis possible.”

The George W. Bush administration launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq because of concern that Saddam Hussein’s government had weapons of mass destruction, but such weapons were never found.

Obama said his administration is investigating reports of chemical weapons use and will act if necessary.

If anyone doubts his resolve, Obama said, he cited the deadly against 9/11 organizer Osama bin Laden and Libyan dictator .

“Whether it’s bin Laden or Gadhafi, if we say we’re taking a position, I would think at this point the international community has a pretty good sense that we typically follow through on our commitments,” the president said.

Obama said the United State has both moral and in Syria, but must be sure that crossed a “red line” when it comes to use of chemical weapons.

Again calling on Assad to step down, Obama cited the non-lethal aid and humanitarian assistance that the United States and allies are supplying to Syrian rebels.

“We’re not doing nothing,” Obama said.

The president also said of Syria: “I think that, understandably, there’s a desire for easy answers. That’s not the situation there.”

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Mexico welcomes Obama for listening tour

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

aca7d712173df784a13e2fea861a187c Mexico welcomes Obama for listening tour

Story Highlights

Leading party is open to changes in labor laws as it tries to woo U.S. corporations
Attitudes towards Americans have softened as commerce has improved
Mexico and the U.S. have cooperated closely in recent years, especially on security matters

(PhatzNewsRoom / ) — MEXICO CITY — Past visits of U.S. presidents here would often be occasioned by demonstrations denouncing “the empire” to the north.

While leftism and anti-American attitudes are alive and well in segments of Mexico society, most notably in some unions and universities, its lure has faded as ordinary Mexicans increasingly see America as a friend rather than an oppressor.

“Anti-Americanism,” said Fernando Dworak, was always “one of the great” political cornerstones of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for seven decades.

President arrived here Thursday to talk trade, security and immigration with President Enrique Peña Nieto in what his advisers say is a listening tour with the Mexican leader.

Obama said the U.S. will cooperate with Mexico in fighting drug-trafficking and organized crime in any way Mexico’s government deems appropriate, and Peña Nieto emphasized that the security relationship must be expanded to focus on trade and commerce.

“I agreed to continue our close cooperation on security, even as the nature of that cooperation will evolve,” Obama said. “It is obviously up to the Mexican people to determine their and how it engages with other nations — including the United States.”

here say Obama will find that Peña Nieto is less enthusiastic about security and more interested in commerce, and that he heads a PRI that is less focused on ideology and more open to changes in labor laws as it tries to woo U.S. corporations away from China to create jobs in Mexico.

The PRI was stunned in 2000 when it was ousted from power by the conservative PAN party. It won the presidency back in 2012, but with a campaign in which Peña Nieto promised to loosen restrictions on business activity and tie Mexico more tightly to free trade with the United States, which buys approximately 80% of its exports.

As commerce between the two countries has come closer, so have attitudes towards Americans.

Political analysts say anti-yanqui pandering has fallen out of favor as the country has opened up trade-wise over the 20 years since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA, which eliminated many of the trade barriers between Mexico, the USA and Canada.

“There’s a historic distrust,” Dworak said, pointing to the Mexican-American war — when Mexico a lost a third of its territory — as the origin. But nowadays, “It doesn’t move the masses.”

Mexico and the United States have cooperated closely in recent years, especially on security matters. It’s uncertain if that will continue as “the PRI has traditionally had misgivings about Uncle Sam’s influence in its country,” said George Grayson, Mexico expert at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

“Every new Mexican president wants to diminish his country’s dependence on the U.S,” he said.

In Chilpancingo, south of Mexico City, violent protests were taking place against proposals to reform Mexico’s education system so that teachers could be examined for competency and prohibited from selling their jobs to the highest bidder, as is currently allowed.

During the protests, an irate individual burst into a media scrum on the sidelines of a protest camp occupied by striking teachers to denounce “the empire,” a shorthand here for the United States.

Many ordinary Mexicans show fewer misgivings about the United States.

Photographer Rodrigo Oropeza covered a protest by a left-leaning union outside the U.S. Embassy before Obama’s arrival, but described it as “insignificant.”

“Ten years ago, there would have been a mega-march” to welcome a U.S. president, he said.

This week, a national opinion survey of Mexico by the Pew Research Center was released that found 66% of Mexicans have a favorable opinion of the United States — up from 56% a year ago.

“We secretly admire the United States,” said Alejandra Apreza, who manages a coffee shop in a neighborhood by the president’s office.

Mexicans also like American brands, she said, mentioning Starbucks, which mushroomed in well-to-do-neighborhoods over the past 10 years, and Wal-Mart, now the country’s largest retailer and employer.

Mexicans are also increasingly embracing the best of their own country, said physical therapist Anabel Nyssen. She points to the popularity of products such as mescal and tequila, spirits previously passed over for imported spirits by middle- and upper-class Mexicans. And there is the emergence of a world-renown culinary scene in Mexico City, which is heavy on local ingredients and traditions.

“People are rediscovering what Mexican is,” Nyssen said.

Even as attitudes evolve towards all things American, many Mexicans see no reason for American intervention in the country, although many seem skeptical of their political leaders and institutions.

“They show us a face and behind it are private interests,” Nyssen said of the president’s plans for overhauling the state-run petroleum industry and structural reforms.

Some politicians try to take advantage of such suspicions by clinging to a nationalist discourse, including two-time left-wing presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He tours the country tirelessly accusing his opponents of selling out the country and campaign under the slogan, “The homeland is not for sale,” but some political observers say he message — which hasn’t been enough to win elections — resonates with many in the population due to past experiences with privatizations and reforms, not any sort fear of foreigners.

“(Mexicans) think that if you privatize something, something will get (unduly) rich,” said Eduardo García, editor of the online financial publication Sentido Común. “(Mexico) created the world’s wealthiest man (Carlos Slim) after it privatized the telephone company.”

Just 21% of respondents in a poll published by the Excélsior newspaper said that a pact signed between Mexico’s three big political parties to achieve structural reforms would benefit them. Others responded that Americans are being fooled by a wave of positive press coverage and pronouncement from pundits — often pertaining to proposed reforms — that the country is experiencing an economic boom. Mexico is still home to grinding poverty in many regions.

“Peña Nieto says the economy is good when (he’s) in other countries,” said David Ubilla, an electricity worker who was thrown out of work in 2010 when his notoriously inefficient utility was shut down by the government. “The reality is that the economy isn’t doing so well.”

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Man named in ricin mailing case goes into hiding

April 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Man named in ricin mailing case goes into hiding
Itawamba County Sheriff’s Department deputies finish inspecting a home and property in the Ozark community, northeast of , Miss., on Thursday.(Photo: Rogelio V. , AP)

Story Highlights

Dutschke’s home, former business searched in connection with letters
Charges were initially filed against an Elvis impersonator but then dropped
Earlier in week, Dutschke remarked to reporters, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take”

SALTILLO, Miss. (AP) — A whose home and business were searched as part of an investigation into poisoned letters sent to the president and others has dropped in order to escape the spotlight, but is cooperating with authorities, a friend and his attorney said.

Everett Dutschke, 45, had his home and former business in Tupelo, Miss., searched in connection with the letters, which allegedly contained . They were sent last week to President , Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and earlier to an 80-year-old Mississippi judge, Sadie Holland.

Charges were initially filed against an Elvis impersonator but then dropped. Attention then turned to Dutschke, who has ties to the former suspect and the judge and senator.

Dutschke, who previously had kept in touch with reporters from The , did not answer or return calls to his cellphone Thursday, a day investigators spent searching a different home where he had spent time a day earlier about 20 miles from Tupelo.

He just needed to get away from all the news , his friend Kirk Kitchens told the AP. “I just helped him get out of the spotlight,” Kitchens said at his home in nearby Saltillo.

Kitchens said he and Dutschke stayed at a home for a while Wednesday before slipping out through the woods to rendezvous with someone who drove Dutschke elsewhere.

Earlier in the week, as investigators searched his primary residence in Tupelo, Dutschke had remarked to reporters, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Dutschke has not been arrested or charged in the letters case. The FBI has said nothing about the building searches or Thursday’s developments. Dutschke’s lawyer, Lori Nail Basham, said there is no arrest warrant for her client, who she said continues to cooperate with investigators.

Investigators spent much of the day Thursday investigating the second home as a plane circled overhead. Earlier in the day, Itawamba County Sheriff Chris Dickinson said agents told him Dutschke had been under surveillance, but authorities weren’t sure where he had gone.

The case has taken a couple of twists and turns since charges were initially filed last week against Paul , 45, an Elvis impersonator, but then dropped after authorities said they had discovered new information. Curtis’ lawyers say he was framed. Attention then turned to Dutschke, who has ties to the former suspect and the judge and senator.

Hal Neilson, another attorney for Curtis, said the defense gave authorities a list of people who may have had a reason to hurt Curtis, and Dutschke’s name came up. He said “took it and ran with it.”

Dutschke and Curtis were acquainted. Curtis said they had talked about possibly publishing a book on an alleged conspiracy to sell body parts on a black market. But he claimed they later had a feud.

Judge Holland is a common link between two men who have been investigated and both know Wicker.

Holland was the presiding judge in a case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney in 2004. Holland sentenced him to six months in the county jail. He served only part of the sentence, according to his brother.

Holland’s family has had political skirmishes with Dutschke in the past.

Her son, Steve Holland, a Democratic state representative, said he believes his mother’s only other encounter with Dutschke was at a rally in the town of Verona in 2007, when Dutschke ran as a Republican against Steve Holland.

Holland said his mother confronted Dutschke after he made a derogatory speech about the Holland family. She demanded that he apologize, which Holland says he did.

Steve Holland said he doesn’t know if his mother remembers Curtis’ assault case.

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Charges dropped in ricin case; new home searched

April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Charges dropped in ricin case; new home searched
Federal agents wearing hazardous material suits and breathing apparatus inspect the home and in the West Hills Subdivision house of Paul in Corinth, Miss.(Photo: Rogelio V. , AP)

Story Highlights

Paul Kevin Curtis was released from jail hours before charges were dropped
Authorities are searching the home of J. Everett Dutschke for any connection
Ricin ingredients were not found in Curtis’ home

(PhatzNewsRoom / AP) — JACKSON, Miss. — Charges were dropped Tuesday against the man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President and two other politicians, while authorities searched the home of another man in connection to the case.

The move was announced in a brief document filed in federal court in Oxford, Miss., hours after Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was released from custody. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be re-instated.

At a Tuesday, attorneys for Curtis declined to discuss whether they were told what new information the government had uncovered.

“I respect President Obama,” Curtis said. “I love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to him or any other U.S. official.”

couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Numerous law enforcement officers went to , Miss., the home of J. Everett Dutschke, 41. Dutschke adamantly claims that he has nothing to do with the letters attributed to Curtis.

In a , Dustchke said he feels targeted by Curtis’ defense, and that he didn’t know why his name was brought into it.

“I guess Kevin got desperate. I feel like he’s getting away with the perfect crime,” he said.

He said he feels like his is a defense trick to establish reasonable doubt.

“I don’t know anything about this. Where are the allegations coming from? Who made the allegations? The defense attorney for the accused,” he said.

He said defense attorney Christi McCoy’s bringing his name into the case has caused his family a lot of problems.

“It has made my family incredibly unsafe. It has put a target on us, and it was reckless and irresponsible,” he said. “The phone has been ringing off the hook, with calls and hang-ups and all sorts of horrible things.”

On Monday, an FBI agent said federal authorities didn’t find any ricin in Curtis’ Corinth, Miss., home or vehicle. McCoy said the search results bolstered Curtis’ claims of innocence.

On Tuesday, federal authorities including the 47th Civil Support Team, a full-time response team for emergencies or terrorist events that involve weapons of mass destruction or toxic industrial chemicals, searched Dutschke’s house.

He also said he didn’t realize that there would soon be media outside his house and he would be the center of attention.

“I consented to the search earlier, and I didn’t know it would be this big of a deal,” he said.

Dutschke’s attorney, Lori Basham, said her client has cooperated with officials throughout the investigation.

“I have heard conflicting reports on if there was a search warrant or if he signed a consent, which means they wouldn’t have had to have a search warrant,” she said. “So I’m unaware if there was a search warrant or if he just agreed.”

Dutschke denies reports that he and Curtis were rivals of any kind, saying they corresponded at one point because Dutschke wanted Curtis to take what he said was a fake Mensa certificate off his Facebook page.

He said that caused some arguments, but that he never considered Curtis any kind of rival. He said those correspondences took place in 2010, and that he hasn’t heard anything from Curtis since.

A 2007 photo posted on Dutschke’s MySpace page shows the former politician posing with Sen. , a Republican from Mississippi, in several photos, including one in which Wicker presented an award to Dutschke. Wicker received one of the ricin-laced letters last week.

When asked to comment on having previously known Dutschke, spokesman Ryan Taylor said Wicker’s office could not comment on the story because of the ongoing federal investigation.

Other photos on the same site show Dutschke with other Mississippi Republican heavy hitters, including former Gov. Haley Barbour, former Sen. Trent Lott, Sen. Thad Cochran and Rep. Alan Nunnelee.

Contributing: Dustin Barnes, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger; The Associated Press

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Mississippi man arrested in ricin letters case

April 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Mississippi man arrested in ricin letters case
A Prince George’s County, Md., firefighter dressed in a protective suit walks out of a government mail in Hyattsville, Md., on Wednesday. Police swept across the U.S. Capitol complex to chase a flurry of reports of and envelopes Wednesday after preliminary tests indicated poisonous in two letters sent to President and a Mississippi senator.(Photo: Alex Brandon, AP)

Story Highlights

In addition to Obama, four U.S. senators report receiving suspicious mail
Lab tests still pending on substance sent to Sen. Wicker
Ricin not considered effective for mass terrorism

(PhatzNewsRoom / USA Today) — WASHINGTON — The FBI said Wednesday it has arrested a “believed to be responsible” for mailing letters that tested positive for poisonous ricin to President Obama, a senator and another official.

Paul Kevin Curtis was arrested at his home in Corinth, Miss., the FBI said.

Curtis is “the individual believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S. Postal Service which contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin,” the FBI said in a statement.

The White House and Capitol Hill were on alert after initial tests Wednesday showed that suspicious letters contained ricin, a deadly toxin.

As investigated the letters to Obama and Sen. , R-Miss., several other senators reported that they, too, had received suspicious mail. The reports prompted U.S. to close portions of two congressional office buildings for a brief time.

Preliminary tests on the granular substance in the letter to Obama showed evidence of ricin, but additional lab analysis is underway to confirm that finding, according to an FBI statement. Similar testing is being done on the letter to Wicker, and results can take 24-48 hours.

Both letters bore a Memphis postmark, law enforcement authorities said. In an obtained by the , the FBI reports that both letters say: “To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.” Both are signed, “I am KC and I approve this message,” wording that candidates use at the end of their broadcast political ads.

Ricin can be deadly if ingested or inhaled, but it’s generally considered ineffective as a weapon for mass terrorism because it is very difficult to put it into an airborne form.

The letters to Obama and Wicker both were intercepted at off-site screening facilities where official mail is checked for potential contaminants.
Obama was briefed on the suspicious letters Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning, said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Both the FBI and the White House stressed that there is no indication of any connection between the letters and Monday’s twin bombings at the Boston Marathon. Carney cautioned that Americans shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.

“Before we speculate or make connections that we don’t know … we need to get the facts,” Carney said.

The letter to Wicker was discovered first, on Tuesday, and Capitol Police said it contained a “white granular substance.” The letter to Obama was revealed Wednesday morning.

Another suspicious package was received Wednesday morning at the Washington offices of Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., according to Shelby’s spokesman Jonathan Graffeo. He said the package is being investigated by Capitol Police and it was not known if it was similar to the ones addressed to Obama and Wicker.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued a statement saying that a suspicious letter was received Wednesday morning at his Saginaw, Mich., field office. He said the staffer who received the letter did not open it and turned it over to authorities, who are investigating and testing the letter for toxins.

“We do not expect to learn at least a preliminary result of those tests until late tonight or tomorrow,” Levin said in a statement. “The staffer who discovered the letter is being kept overnight at a local hospital for precautionary reasons, but has no symptoms. We do not know yet if the letter has any connection to suspicious mail sent to other public officials.”

Also Wednesday, authorities evacuated the Phoenix office of Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., after receiving reports of suspicious letters. Flake later announced that investigators had determined that there was no threat.

All routine mail to Congress and the White House is screened off-site, FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said, but those tests can produce inconsistent results. If the tests indicate the possibility of a biological agent, the material is sent to an accredited laboratory for further analysis, and only those tests can confirm the presence of a biological agent.

As news of the letters spread Wednesday, tensions ran high at the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police alerted congressional staff just after noon that they were investigating a suspicious package in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, as well as suspicious envelopes received in upstairs offices of both the Hart building and the nearby Russell Senate Office Building. The message advised staff that they were not required to stay in their offices, but to avoid the areas where the suspicious packages were being investigated.

An announcement in the buildings just before 1 p.m. said that test results on the packages were negative and closed off areas had reopened. Scott Ongill, a Senate staffer, said such alerts are not unusual. “There is a couple, three (alerts) a week around the Capitol campus. It’s not that uncommon an occurrence. They’re doing due diligence.” He said they usually end up being tourists who left something.

Ricin is derived from the same plant used to produce castor oil. Because it is not readily put in the form of an aerosol that spreads easily through the air, it is considered far less worrisome as a weapon than anthrax, the substance mailed to members of Congress in shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in an episode that killed five and sickened 17 others.

“It’s high school chemistry to make it, but it’s not a serious bio threat,” said Randall Larsen, former executive director of the WMD Commission, which was set up by Congress to investigate threats posed by . “You won’t find bio-terror experts getting all upset by ricin. It’s usually (used by) nut jobs doing something to try to get attention from people.”

Michael Osterholm, a former bioterrorism adviser to the George W. Bush administration who heads the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, called the interception of the ricin letters “a success story.”

“It’s a horrible situation that it happened but it’s a success that it was found,” Osterholm said. “The ability to identify ricin in a letter was not in place before 2001. The U.S. mail is being tested for things like this. This was not a letter that got opened and someone said, ‘Oh my gosh.’”

Handling a letter would be unlikely to give someone a lethal dose of ricin, Osterholm says. The poison is most dangerous when inhaled; getting it on one’s fingers wouldn’t pose that sort of risk. However, if someone is poisoned with ricin, there is no treatment and it can kill in one to three days.

Contributing: Mary Orndorff Troyan, Deirdre Shesgreen, Deborah Barfield Berry and Maureen Groppe of the Gannett Washington Bureau; Liz Szabo, Jim Michaels, Gregory Korte and Natalie DiBlasio of USA TODAY.

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U.S. military buildup in S. Korea months in making

April 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

98d70364e858aef9189cb44a04a9a295 U.S. military buildup in S. Korea months in making

Story Highlights

MRAP vehicles moved to last year
B-1 bombers have been training for Korea-type missions for months
Hundreds of Marines training in in Australia

(PhatzNewsRoom / ) — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s deployment in the last week of its most advanced fighters, bombers and warships to counter ’s mounting threats has overshadowed its more gradual buildup of forces in the region.

Over the last year, the military has responded to the administration’s “pivot” to Asia as it withdraws troops from Afghanistan and its war in Iraq recedes into history. The rebalancing of forces addresses, in part, the rise of in the region. Other changes were made with a clear focus on North Korea.

Some of the changes include:

• On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced its intent to sell upgrades to the South Korean military for 60 F-15 fighters already being purchased. The upgrades include advanced radar systems and sniper targeting equipment on the , which will replace its aging fleet of F-4 aircraft, according to the Pentagon.

• The military also announced Wednesday it was sending a missile defense system to the Pacific to bolster defense against North Korea. The Terminal Area Defense System (THAAD) system “is a land-based missile defense system that includes a truck-mounted launcher, a complement of , an AN/TPY-2 tracking radar, and an integrated fire control system,” the Pentagon announcement said.

It’s the first deployment of the missile-defense system, said Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry, an Army spokeswoman. It is one of two in existence, both of them based at Ft. Bliss in Texas.

The Army plans to develop six of the systems, which require about 95 soldiers to operate. It will take a few weeks for the system to reach Guam.

• Last fall, the Pentagon began shipping Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks to South Korea. The vehicles, by the Pentagon’s count, have saved the lives of thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from roadside bombs and presumably would offer similar protection in North Korea should U.S. forces need to travel on its roads.

• B-1 bomber pilots based at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas are spending more time training for long flights over the Pacific and spending less preparing for attacks in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan.

• Hundreds of Marines have been training in the tropical port of Darwin, Australia, since mid-2012.

On Tuesday, North Korea ratcheted up the threats further, announcing that it will restart a reactor it had closed in an arms-control agreement. That follows a week of bluster that included boasts about attacking targets on U.S. soil. George Little, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that while a North Korean attack did not appear imminent, the military had a “range of assets to deal with the threat.”

Little emphasized that the Pentagon wanted to avoid a confrontation but was prepared to deal with it.

B-2 stealth bombers took part last week in war games with the South Koreans, and on Sunday F-22 fighters landed in South Korea. Two advanced Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic-missiles prowled waters in the region, Little said.

“We are looking for the temperature to be taken down on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel took a step in that direction Tuesday when he spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Minister of National Defense Gen. Chang Wanquan.

Little provided this account of their conversation: “The secretary emphasized the growing threat to the U.S. and our allies posed by North Korea’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and expressed to General Chang the importance of sustained U.S.-China dialogue and cooperation on these issues.”

Hagel also met Wednesday with a top South Korean diplomat to emphasize the U.S. commitment to its ally.

Meanwhile, the North Korean army said Thursday morning in Korea, which was Wednesday afternoon in Washington, that it had final approval to launch “merciless” military strikes on the United States, involving the possible use of “cutting-edge” nuclear weapons, according to a statement published by the official KCNA news agency.

The rounds of threat-and-response, at least for now, appear to be for show, not playing for keeps, said Peter Singer, director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution.

“In its toddler-like cries for attention — there have been some 20 plus threats of war over the last year,” Singer said. “In turn, our demonstrations are of what we have in the toolkit if they actually do act out.”

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Senators warn that immigration bill still needs work

April 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

91bfa95b938025c676037586b1889418 Senators warn that immigration bill still needs work
Several southwest Michigan pastors, along with immigrant families and members of the public, take part in a pray-in Friday for immigration changes. The event was held outside the office of Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., in downtown Kalamazoo.(Photo: Matt Gade, AP)

Story Highlights

AFL-CIO, U.S. Chamber accord would create W-Visa
Bipartisan groups in Senate and House have been writing own bills
Program would start granting visas in April 2015 and expand each year

(PhatzNewsRoom / ) — WASHINGTON — Key welcomed an agreement Sunday by business and labor that would remove a large to a major immigration overhaul, but they cautioned that much work remains to be done and that no final deal has been reached.

The compromise between officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO would create a “W-Visa” program that would bring in up to 200,000 foreign workers a year to do janitorial, hospitality and construction work.

As outlined Saturday by the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union, the plan would establish a Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research to make recommendations on changes to the number of visas for low-skilled workers the country gives out each year.

The accord addresses one of the biggest issues facing negotiating a sweeping that would legalize the nation’s 11 million , strengthen and change the way the United States grants visas.

“We have created a , a modern visa system that includes both a bureau to collect and analyze labor market data, as well as significant worker protections,” AFL-CIO Trumka said in a statement. “We expect that this new program, which benefits not just business, but everyone, will promote long overdue reforms by raising the bar for existing programs.”

Bipartisan groups in the Senate and House who have been writing their own bills are hurrying to file their bills in early April, and President has supported their efforts to move quickly on the complicated topic.

The group of senators negotiating an immigration bill, known as the Gang of 8, had asked business and labor to forge a compromise on this issue but has not officially signed off on the agreement.

“This issue has always been the deal breaker on immigration reform, but not this time,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been involved in the current immigration deal and several failed efforts in the past.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of the Gang of 8, said Sunday he was encouraged by the agreement but called it simply a starting point in the long legislative process that lies ahead.

“We will need a healthy public debate that includes committee hearings and the opportunity for other senators to improve our legislation with their own amendments,” Rubio said in a statement.

“We haven’t signed off,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

“There are a few details yet. But conceptually, we have an agreement between business and labor, between ourselves that has to be drafted,” he said.

One of the biggest sticking points in the talks has been how much the foreign workers would be paid. Labor officials have been fearful that low salaries paid to the foreign workers would bring down wages for American workers.

Ava Avendaño, the AFL-CIO’s director of immigration and community action, said the two sides agreed that the foreign workers would be paid the higher of the prevailing industry wage, or the actual wages paid by the employer to other workers with similar experience and qualifications.

The W-Visa Program would start April 1, 2015, and grant 20,000 visas in the first year. That would increase to 35,000 available visas in the second year, 55,000 visas in the third year and 75,000 in the fourth, Avendaño said. After that, the program would grow, or shrink, based on recommendations of the newly created immigration bureau.

The deal ensures that small businesses have access to the workers and limits the number of W-Visas that can be granted to construction companies.

Once granted a W-Visa, workers would be able to switch between U.S. employers — a possibility that does not exist under current law — and stay in the USA year-round. They would also be able to apply for legal permanent residence, or green cards, on their own. Current law requires employers to do that on their behalf.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a group that supports an immigration plan that would legalize the nation’s undocumented immigrants, called the agreement a “historic breakthrough” that significantly increases the likelihood of an immigration plan passing Congress.

“It is the first time in our generation that the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce have come to terms on a new worker program,” Sharry said Saturday. “We applaud labor and business for devising a ‘break the mold’ approach that carefully balances the need to protect native-born and immigrant workers alike with the desire of employers to access foreign workers when legitimately needed.”

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President Obama: Immigration bill could pass by summer

March 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

c6839ff5c94d47c597427e8a79ecf392 President Obama: Immigration bill could pass by summer
President speaks at the White House on Tuesday.(Photo: Paul Frederiksen, Sports)

Story Highlights

Obama says he is “confident” Washington can complete work on an overhaul of
Sen. Charles Schumer says Gang of Eight has completed 90% of its work on crafting legislation
Obama said he “prepared to step in” and introduce his own plan if necessary

(PhatzNewsRoom / USA Today) — WASHINGTON — President Obama expressed optimism on Wednesday that Congress will have a bill that overhauls the nation’s immigration laws ready next month and that passage of the legislation can be completed by summer’s end.

“If we have a bill introduced at the beginning of next month as these indicate it will be, then I’m confident that we can get it done certainly before the end of the summer,” Obama said in an interview with the Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Obama’s comments come as four ’s so-called “Gang of Eight,” including John McCain and Democrat Charles Schumer, took a tour of the Arizona-Mexico border on Wednesday.

Schumer told reporters after the tour that the lawmakers were 90% done with their work crafting the legislation.

Obama called on Congress this week to hustle up and get him an as soon as possible.

The president overwhelmingly won the Latino vote in his race against , but he’s been criticized by some Latinos for failing to revamp immigration in his first term and for a record number of deportations being carried out under his watch.

In the Telemundo interview, Obama dismissed the suggestion that there could be potential for his party if the push on immigration falls short.

“I’m not concerned about the Democratic Party, I’m concerned about the people whose actual lives are (going to) be impacted by it,” Obama said.

“The most important thing is that we’re seeing a to finally solve this problem in a way that strengthens our , makes sure that there’s a pathway to citizenship, an earned one, a tough one, but a pathway so that people can live out their dreams and make sure that they have a better life for themselves and their kids,” he said.

He also noted that he is reserving the option of introducing his own plan.

“I’ve got my own legislation I’m prepared to step in,” Obama said. “But I don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”

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