The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We know how it is, we know some people due to ignorance are going to perceive of these things and hold most Muslims accountable.”

Yosof Wanly,

the imam at an Oregon Islamic center, which police said was set on fire after it was revealed that terrorism suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud occasionally worshipped there Article, this page Rangel wants House to reject censure

WASHINGTON - Rep. Charles Rangel is ready to tell the House that a censure should be reserved for crooked politicians and that he is not one of them.

The 80-year-old Democrat from New York’s Harlem neighborhood wants his punishment for ethics violations downgraded to a reprimand, according to congressional and nongovernment sources who are in touch with Rangel but are not authorized to be quoted by name.

Rangel will ask the House ethics committee chairman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., for time to plead his case on the floor of the House.

The ethics committee voted 9-1 on Nov. 18 that Rangel should be censured for committing 11 counts of fundraising and financial misdeeds that violated House rules.

Rangel plans to argue that censure has been imposed for violations including bribery, accepting improper gifts, personal use of campaign funds and sexual misconduct; none is present in his case.

Civilian-court 9/11 trials said doubtful

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department probably will never receive congressional approval to put the purported Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators on trial in a civilian court, a key senator on the issue of terrorism trials said Sunday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he believes he has the votes in the Senate to block purported 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from a civilian court.

Graham said Mohammed and his purported conspirators should be tried in military court at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Civilian courts may be the right venue for some terrorism cases, Graham said, such as lowlevel al-Qaida operatives and the accused Christmas airliner bomber.

Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Mohammed would be tried in federal civilian court in New York City, not far from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center. In the face of resistance from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other local politicians, that plan was shelved and is now all but dead.

Health-care tax break seen as target

WASHINGTON - Job-based health-care benefits could wind up on the chopping block if President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans get serious about cutting the deficit.

Budget proposals from leaders in both parties have urged shrinking or eliminating tax breaks that help make employer health insurance the leading source of coverage in the nation and a middle-class mainstay.

The idea isn’t to just raise revenue, economists say, but finally to turn Americans into frugal health-care consumers by having them face the full costs of their medical decisions.

Employer-provided health insurance is part of a worker’s compensation. Unlike wages, it isn’t subject to income and payroll taxes.

Repealing the tax break would raise several hundred billion dollars a year, depending on how it’s done. Many economists believe employers would boost pay if they didn’t provide health care. Proponents of repeal usually call for a tax credit to offset part of the cost of individually purchasing coverage.

Police say missing boys in ‘danger’

MORENCI, Mich. - Three boys who disappeared on the same day their father tried to hang himself were feared to be in “extreme danger,” and the father hadn’t been ruled out as a suspect in their disappearance, Michigan police said.

The father, 39-year-old John Skelton, was being treated at a hospital in Ohio for “mental-health issues“ after he attempted suicide Friday, Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said.

The boys, 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner, were last seen Thursday, Weeks said Sunday. Their mother, Tanya Skelton, reported them missing Friday.

Authorities were searching Sunday not just for the boys but also a female acquaintance, Joann Taylor, whom Skelton said he had given them to before the suicide attempt. However, officials haven’t even been able to confirm Taylor’s existence, Weeks said.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 11/29/2010

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