LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There’s always the possibility that some ammunition will catch brush on fire.”
National Guard Lt. Col. Hank McIntire,
after a training session in Utah sparked a wildfire that
burned thousands of acres and at least three homes Article, this page House GOP to announce new agenda
WASHINGTON - House Republicans plan to unveil a roughly 20-point agenda Thursday, less than six weeks before midterm congressional elections in which they’re favored to add substantially to their ranks and possibly gain control of the chamber.
Party leaders are set to go public with the plan at a hardware and building supply store in Sterling, Va., according to GOP officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The agenda will focus on jobs, spending, health care, national security and overhauling Congress, but omit any mention of social issues such as same-sex marriage or abortion rights.
The agenda is still being drafted and details were not immediately available, but aides familiar with it said it would echo ideas Republican leaders have already touted, such as scrapping President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul and requiring that all legislation be made publicly available before it comes to the House for a vote.
Democrats quickly branded the yet-to-be-finalized agenda a retread of the policies that led to the current economic turmoil.
“It took them more than 20 months to repackage a plan that’s no different from the one that caused the Great Bush Recession,” said Doug Thornell, a spokesman for Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Democrats’ House campaign committee chief.
Muslims call for ‘week of dialogue’
NEW YORK - Leaders of prominent U.S. Muslim groups called Monday for a national week of interfaith dialogue to combat religious intolerance and said they support the right to build an Islamic center near ground zero.
“We stand for the constitutional right of Muslims, and Americans of all faiths, to build houses of worship anywhere in our nation as allowed by local laws and regulations,” the Muslim leaders said in a statement delivered at the site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque, to be called Park51.
They called for a “week of dialogue” on the weekend of Oct. 22-24, during which Muslims would conduct open houses at their places of worship to help ease tensions.
“We ask Muslims to open mosques nationwide to welcome people, to let them understand the Islamic faith and what American Muslim community is,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on Islamic-American Relations. “We also urge Muslims to visit places of worship in other faith communities.”
Oil-spill aid fund to waive wage rule
NEW ORLEANS - The administrator of the fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster said he will waive a requirement that wages earned by spill cleanup workers be subtracted from their claims of lost revenue.
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is doling out the $20 billion fund that BP set up, made the key concession Monday. He said no wages paid by BP PLC to the workers will be subtracted.
Feinberg said it will help fishermen who have been working on spill response while they couldn’t fish.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility has received more than 68,000 claims since taking over from BP in August, and has paid more than $240 million.
An April 20 oil rig explosion killed 11 workers, triggering the spill from the well that eventually spewed out more than 4.9 million barrels of oil. A barrel is equal to 42 gallons.
Sect leader’s children in custody
LOS ANGELES - Child-welfare authorities have taken custody of two children belonging to the leader of a religious group that briefly disappeared over the weekend in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Reyna Marisol Chicas, 32, was placed into an involuntary mental-health evaluation after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies found her group gathered in a park Sunday, ending a 22-hour search across desert terrain.
Chicas’ 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were among the eight children in the group, whose members sparked concern after leaving behind farewell letters to loved ones before taking off on a mysterious religious trip.
Both children are in the custody of child-welfare workers pending further evaluation, said Capt. Mike Parker of the sheriff’s department. Chicas is not recognizing her children, Parker said. The Salvadoran immigrant was described by former neighbors as a doting mother, who always had her kids in tow.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 09/21/2010