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from KHQ.com
Here we go again: Big asteroid set to buzz Earth
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from Real Clear Politics
O'Reilly: Disturbing Situation Involving John Kerry And Michelle Obama
Bill O'Reilly exposes confusion at the State Department, which almost awarded an outspoken anti-American activist with the "International Woman of Courage" award.
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Taking stock of security
District 81’s school resource officers could be carrying firearms by fall
Bill before Senate increases penalties on gun-sale crimes
N. Korea hit by tougher Penalties
UN action seeks to halt trade linked to nukes
REI head vetted by Senate committee
Jewell is nominated to be interior secretary
Powerful storm crushes coast
Bin Laden son-in-law brought to U.S.
Abu Ghaith extradited on terrorism charges
Senate confirms CIA pick
GOP senators rip Paul on filibuster
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In brief: From Wire Reports:
Atlanta – While some states push to tighten gun control laws after the Connecticut school massacre, lawmakers in gun-friendly Georgia want to ease rules preventing some mentally ill people from getting licenses to carry firearms.
Legislators in Georgia’s House voted 117-56 on Thursday to allow people who have voluntarily sought inpatient treatment for mental illness or substance abuse to get licenses. The same bill would force officials to check on whether applicants have received involuntary treatment in the past five years before issuing licenses. Georgia also may change its laws to allow people to carry guns in churches, bars and on college campuses, contrary to what’s happening elsewhere in the United States.
“Simply being hospitalized doesn’t make a person a criminal or a threat,” said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the bill sponsor, in a statement. The legislation now heads to the state Senate.
Levin says he won’t seek re-election to Senate
Washington – Democratic Sen. Carl Levin announced Thursday he will not seek re-election in 2014, saying he wants to serve as Senate Armed Services chairman and an advocate for his home state of Michigan “without the distraction of campaigning for re-election.”
Levin, 78, was first elected to the Senate in 1978 and is the longest-serving senator in Michigan’s history.
Levin is the sixth member of the Senate to announce his retirement, creating an open seat for Democrats in a state that has backed President Barack Obama twice but where Republicans hold the governor’s office. Democrats, who control 55 seats in the Senate, have to defend open seats in West Virginia, Iowa and New Jersey in the aftermath of three other retirements and will try to hold on to 21 seats in next year’s elections.
The last time Michigan had an open Senate seat was in 1994 and Levin’s retirement could create a large field of potential successors.
Audit finds U.S. spends millions on unused space
Miami – Millions of square feet of wasted space in federal courthouses that have opened since 2000 are costing U.S. taxpayers upwards of $51 million a year, congressional auditors reported Thursday.
The 33 courthouses, including the Ferguson Courthouse in downtown Miami, were overbuilt by more than 3.5 million square feet at an initial construction cost of $835 million, according to the study by the Government Accountability Office. That’s enough space for nine average-size courthouses, the GAO estimated.
Rent, maintenance and operation costs account for the $51 million in extra costs each year. And that amount will keep rising.
The study was released by a U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform panel that is scheduled to hold a hearing on the issue today in Miami. In addition to the extra space issue, Republican-controlled House committees have been investigating surplus and empty federal properties such as Miami’s historic Dyer Courthouse, which has been vacant since 2008.
Rebels willing to release hostages, source says
Manila, Philippines – Syrian rebels who seized 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights want the Red Cross to escort them out of the area because of fighting with Syrian government forces, the Philippine military said today.
The 21 peacekeepers were seized Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, just a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in an area where the U.N. force had patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria without incident for nearly four decades.
Philippine military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the rebels were willing to release the peacekeepers, and asked for the International Committee of the Red Cross to escort them to a safe area.
According to Burgos, the rebels said the peacekeepers have to be removed because there was heavy fighting in the area.
He said the information came from the U.N. command in the Golan Heights, which was negotiating for the release of the peacekeepers.
“They want the ICRC to pick them up and escort them,” Burgos said. “Hopefully they will really be released and we are also waiting for that.”
Committee passes tribal land bill
BOISE – Legislation to clarify that land owned by tribal governments is exempt from property taxes just like land owned by other government entities got unanimous backing from an Idaho Senate committee on Thursday, despite last-minute opposition from Benewah County.
Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne told the committee, “The tribal government is not just a government, the tribal government is also a business – big business.” County Commissioner Phil Lampert said he believes the tribe has more than adequate resources to pay county property taxes.
The bill, HB 140, earlier cleared the House tax committee on a unanimous vote and passed 64-3 in the House. It now moves to the full Senate.
After the meeting, Payne said the prickly relations between his county and the tribe have improved. “I was actually surprised by this bill,” he said. “We’re working together better than we have in years.”
Committee OKs insurance exchange
BOISE – An Idaho House committee overwhelmingly approved the new state health insurance exchange bill Thursday, sending it to the full House for debate.
The measure, HB 248, combines legislation from Gov. Butch Otter that earlier passed the Senate with changes proposed by 16 House GOP freshmen calling for more legislative oversight.
All the North Idaho members on the House Health and Welfare Committee joined the 10-1 majority supporting the bill. “It’s between a federal exchange, that we have much less control and input, versus a state nonprofit exchange,” said Rep. Ed Morse, R-Hayden. “I think the changes made to the bill strengthen it.”
Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, said, “We’re not going to take control of our sovereignty by rolling over and letting the federal government take control of our health care here in Idaho.”
Also backing the bill were Reps. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, and John Rusche, D-Lewiston.
Facebook announces changes to News Feed
MENLO PARK, Calif. – Facebook has redesigned its social network to address complaints that the News Feed on its website has turned into a jumble of monotonous musings and random photos.
With the makeover unveiled Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hopes to turn the News Feed into something more like a newspaper tailored to the particular interests of each of the social network’s more than 1 billion worldwide users.
Previous tweaks to the News Feed have triggered howls of protest among Facebook’s users. Hoping to minimize the grousing this time around, Facebook intends to roll out the changes in phases over about six months to a year, the company said.
The new features will include enabling users to choose streams of content that may feature nothing but photos or posts from their closest friends, family members or favorite businesses. Or they will be able to peruse content about music, or sports, as if they were grabbing a section of a newspaper.
By adding more personal touches, Facebook is acknowledging that the computer-generated formulas that it has been using to determine the content shown to each user have become less effective as the social circles within its network have widened to include a more diverse array of information.
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Military museum will house glass tomb
Other leaders on display
Jim Kershner’s this day in history
Shawn Vestal: Investor trying to rebuild his life
Brian Main: Like others, he fell for Jeffreys’ ideas
State says Montvale owner may have committed fraud
Transfer called bankruptcy ruse
State lawmakers attempt to reform ‘failing’ schools, end old mandates
Bulk of measures look to boost voter participation
Pot tax bill would fund early learning
Bill to end death penalty draws support, slim hopes
Households gain back lost wealth
Young investors look to fuel housing market
Unemployment claims drop to near five-year low
Sherwood Mall to get upgrade
Investors, including Bobby Brett, purchased the two downtown buildings
Study used temperature data since the last ice age
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from The Wenatchee World
Old news
By Linda Barta Librarian and News Assistant
100 years ago — 1913
As part of an immense plan of development in this state, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway will put an $8 million dam at Priest Rapids in order to furnish water for irrigation purposes on the arid land in the vicinity of Beverly and Hanford and north along the Columbia River.
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| Chumstick Canyon near Leavenworth in 1910 |
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