Wednesday, April 17, 2013

In the news, Wednesday, April 17, 2013


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TUE 16      INDEX      THU 18
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from KXLY 4 News (ABC Spokane)

Senate rejects expanded gun background checks
9 amendments facing vote on Wednesday

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from LiveScience

Loophole in Spooky Quantum Entanglement Theory Closed

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from MoneyTalksNews.com

16 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half
Think you can't take a big bite out of your food budget? Eating fewer restaurant meals is one way to save, but there are plenty more.

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from Patheos
[Information from this site may be questionable.]

Why traditional churches should stick with traditional worship
[Family Channel]

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from The Spokesman-Review

Preliminary test indicates ricin in letter to Obama


Boston bombings: Authorities recover pressure cooker lid
Third victim identified as Lu Lingzi of China

IEDs not new threat to U.S.
172 incidents reported in last 6 months, though most are ‘non-terror related’

Spokane residents create memorial in Riverfront Park
Running shoes to be donated to those in need

Washington rules phone books not necessary

Transatlantic flights face turbulence ahead
Global warming will make air currents more volatile

Alaskans likely to vote on legalizing pot


Background checks set for Senate vote today
Democrats’ gun control bill faces tough odds

Letter to senator’s office tests for deadly toxin ricin
Envelope discovered at mail processing center

Conservative voting record

Gospel soloist Shea dies at 104

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In brief:  From Wire Reports:

North Dakota governor signs limit on abortion

Bismarck, N.D. – Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed into law a measure that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the disputed premise that at that point a fetus can feel pain.

The law signed Tuesday is the latest among a raft of measures passed in North Dakota this session that are meant to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

Abortion-rights advocates have called the laws blatantly unconstitutional and have promised a long legal fight that they say the state can’t win.

Dalrymple last month signed a law that bans abortion as early as six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected, making North Dakota the most restrictive state in the nation in which to get the procedure.

Dalrymple also signed into law last month other measures that make the state the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome and require a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges. The measures also ban abortion based on genetic selection.


Earthquake shakes Iran, Pakistan, Dubai

Tehran, Iran – An earthquake toppled homes and shops on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border Tuesday, killing dozens of people and causing skyscrapers to sway in Dubai. It also forced Iranian officials – for the second time in less than a week – to issue assurances that its main nuclear reactor wasn’t damaged.

At least 34 people were killed in a single village in Pakistan, a military official said. But the overall death toll became clouded after conflicting reports from Iran.

At first, Iran’s state-in Press TV said at least 40 people died, which would push the two-nation tally to 74. But it later retreated from its account, and other Iranian outlets stepped in with a far less dire picture.


Musharraf nixed for parliament election

Peshawar, Pakistan – High court judges disqualified former military ruler Pervez Musharraf from Pakistan’s parliamentary election, likely ending any hope of a political comeback.

Musharraf has faced paltry public support, a raft of legal challenges and Taliban death threats since he returned to Pakistan last month after years in self-imposed exile.

Many experts predicted Musharraf’s fate and have been scratching their heads at what drove his decision to return. Some have speculated he misjudged how much public backing he would get, while others guessed he was simply homesick.


Venezuela riots leave seven dead

Caracas, Venezuela – Venezuela’s attorney general said Tuesday that seven people have been killed and 61 injured in post-presidential election clashes between police, supporters of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro and challenger Henrique Capriles, who has demanded a recount.

Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz also said 135 people had been arrested since election results were announced late Sunday that gave Maduro a victory by 1.5 percentage points. Capriles, the governor of Miranda state, has charged that Maduro stole the election, citing 3,200 alleged irregularities in Sunday’s balloting.

The developments Tuesday included Maduro, favored by the late former President Hugo Chavez as his successor, saying in a nationally televised speech that he would not permit an opposition march planned for today to the Caracas headquarters of the National Electoral Council.


Pend Oreille County to get broadband

Pend Oreille County residents can check out a new, fast broadband fiber service in a series of demonstrations this week in Newport.

The “community broadband fest” will be held today through Saturday at Community Network System, a service of the Pend Oreille Public Utility District. The showroom is at 110 W. Pine St.

Three retail service providers have signed on to provide Internet service: Concept Communication Corp., iFiber Communications and Pend Oreille Valley Networks.

The PUD this year is finishing a $34 million expansion of its fiber network to reach about 5,000 homes and businesses. Until now, the connections have been available to school districts, libraries, government offices, the Newport hospital and some major industries in the county.

The demonstrations will be 4-7 p.m. today, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Information: www.cnsfiber.net


IMF predicts continued economic sluggishness

WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund has lowered its outlook for the world economy this year, saying government spending cuts will slow U.S. growth and keep Europe in recession.

The global lending organization has cut its forecast for global growth to 3.3 percent this year, down from its forecast in January of 3.5 percent. It’s keeping its prediction of 4 percent global growth in 2014.

The IMF expects the U.S. economy to expand 1.9 percent this year. That’s below its January estimate of 2.1 percent and last year’s U.S. growth of 2.2 percent. Still, the IMF says the U.S. economy should expand 3 percent in 2014.

The latest forecasts come in advance of spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington this week.


European chief pushes for centralized banking
BRUSSELS – The head of the European Central Bank is urging the 17 European Union countries that use the euro to move swiftly toward forming a full banking union to stabilize the bloc’s financial sector.

Mario Draghi told the EU parliament Tuesday that it is of “utmost importance” to pass the legal prerequisites for centralized banking oversight before the summer.

He says Europe must then move to set up the next “key element” of the new system – a joint resolution mechanism that would restructure or wind down failed banks and minimize costs to taxpayers.

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Afghan opium cultivation grows
Poppy production could hit record high

U.S. employed torture post-9/11, report says
Bush involved directly in discussions, group contends
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, John Bolton, called the report “completely divorced from reality” and stressed that the procedures were “lawyered, and lawyered again, and lawyered again.” “The whole point of the Bush administration’s review of the techniques was so that no one would be tortured,” he said. “The intention was precisely the opposite.”

City says no to Olmsted park in Kendall Yards
Kendall Yards developer offered to donate land

Crime lab work went undone
Worker accused of lying about completing tests on evidence

House transportation budget passes
Plan includes Spokane projects, $450 million for Columbia bridge

Wolf attacks deer in Wenatchee

Time short for cabin site renters
Most on Priest Lake have not yet applied to renew leases

House approves tax law changes
Lawmakers aim to balance budget

Governor introduces bill to address drunken driving
Comprehensive program’s costs yet to be determined

Wash. March unemployment rate drops to 7.3 percent

GU law school fights enrollment trend
Last year’s first-year class fell by 25 percent

Struggling Greece sticks with austerity plan

Housing starts show continued strength

Azure skies in Microsoft cloud
Service will help tech giant battle Amazon

American grounds all flights
Computer system failure caused trouble for hours

FBI looks into Pilot Flying J rebates

Editorial: Carrying on with lives, community events important after bombings

Do we have a Syria strategy?
TrudyRubin

FDA sets restriction for generic OxyContin

Raising the bar
Homemade granola bars take little effort, pay off big

Sear, slow cook in the same pot
Lamb dinner is easy in Moroccan tagine

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