The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’re just treating this like we treat any other well that we drill.”

Wendell Guidry,

drilling superintendent for one of the relief wells that BP says is the best hope for stopping the Gulf of Mexico oil leak Article, 1ACelia reaches hurricane strength

MIAMI - Celia was upgraded to hurricane status Sunday as it howled toward open seas, away from Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was expected to gradually strengthen, and it already had maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph with higher gusts. The storm is listed as a Category 1 hurricane.

Celia was centered about 365 miles south of Acapulco on Sunday afternoon, the hurricane center said, and it was moving westward at about 7 mph. It’s center was at latitude 11.6 north and longitude 100.3 west.

That course would take it toward the open Pacific, and forecasters said it posed no immediate threat to land.

Dario Rodriguez, a forecaster at Mexico’s National Meteorological Service, said Mexico would not be affected by wind or rain from Celia because it was too far out to sea.

Rodriguez said the hurricane could cause some increased waves along the southern Pacific coast in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and possibly Michoacan.

Elsewhere Sunday, Blas weakened and was downgraded to a tropical depression. The storm was far from land, with its maximum winds dropping to 35 mph, down from about 60 mph Saturday night.

That storm was centered 470 miles southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and it was moving west-northwest at about 13 mph.

Gates: Lifting gay ban not a done deal

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that President Barack Obama could end up vetoing legislation that would lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Obama supports repealing the law, and the White House has pushed for quicker congressional action than the Pentagon has favored. Gates also supports repeal.

But Gates told Fox News Sunday that Obama probably still would veto a forthcoming spending bill that includes the repeal - if the bill also contains money for defense projects he says are wasteful.

Gates wants to get rid of an aircraft engine and additional transport aircraft that some lawmakers want to keep. They generally represent areas with defense contractors that would stand to lose business from the cuts.

Climate bill lacks votes, senator says

WASHINGTON - A Senate sponsor of a climate and energy bill said Sunday that supporters are still short of the 60 votes they need to advance the legislation.

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut says about 50 senators support the bill while 30 others oppose it.

That leaves 20 or so senators undecided.

A major sticking point has been the bill’s approach to carbon emissions, which some scientists blame for global warming. Lieberman says capping carbon pollution and putting a price on it is at the heart of the bill. Republicans reject the idea of a carbon tax.

President Barack Obama has called a bipartisan meeting to discuss the climate bill and other energy matters Wednesday.

Lieberman appeared Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

China wavers on yuan, Schumer says

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said China is retreating from a pledge to end the yuan’s fixed rate to the dollar and that he plans to advance trade-sanctions legislation.

“Just a day after there was much hoopla about the Chinese finally changing their policy, they are already backing off,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Sunday in an e-mailed statement. “We intend to move forward as quickly as possible with legislation.”

The People’s Bank of China indicated Saturday that it’s abandoning the 6.83 yuan peg to the dollar. A stronger yuan would make Chinese exports more expensive and bring relief to foreign manufacturers that have been struggling to compete.

China, however, is still steering a path to economic recovery, and with workers at home demanding raises - which would also increase the price of exports - the central bank sought to curb speculation of a major rise in the value of the yuan, also called the renminbi.

“There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the renminbi exchange rate,” the People’s Bank of China said in a lengthy commentary Sunday on its decision.

“It is only strong legislation that will get the Chinese to change and will stop jobs and wealth from flowing out of America as a result of unfair trade policies,” Schumer said.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 06/21/2010

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