LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Anyone who says that we’re somehow suppressing domestic oil production isn’t paying attention.”
President Barack Obama,
defending his record on oil drilling and ordering the government to fast-track an Oklahoma pipeline Article, 1A2 officials leave Florida slaying case
SANFORD, Fla. - The police chief and prosecutor who have been criticized for not arresting a neighborhood-watch volunteer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager both left the case Thursday, with the chief saying he is temporarily leaving his job to let passions cool.
Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee’s decision came less than a day after city commissioners gave him a “no confidence” vote, and after a couple of weeks of protests and uproar on social-media websites. Lee has said evidence in the case supported George Zimmerman’s claim that the Feb. 26 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was self-defense.
About three hours later, Gov. Rick Scott announced that the local state attorney, Norman Wolfinger, had recused himself from the case. In a letter to Scott, Wolfinger said that while he thought he could fairly oversee any prosecution that develops in the case, his recusal was aimed at “toning down the rhetoric and preserving the integrity of the investigation.” Scott appointed Angela Corey, the state attorney for the Jacksonville area, to take over the case.
Study says Obama taxes would hit 1 in 4
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s latest budget would raise taxes next year on 1 in 4 households, but with little impact on families earning under $200,000 a year, a nonpartisan research group has estimated.
The Tax Policy Center analysis also said that about 1 in 8 households would get tax cuts, though few would go to families making more than $500,000.
White House officials disputed some of the findings, saying Obama’s proposals would not boost taxes on any families earning under $250,000. They attributed the study’s conclusion that some lower- and middle-class families would face higher taxes in part to researchers’ decision to include the impact of Obama’s plans to raise levies on some corporations, since many people own shares of companies.
Analysts at the center defended their assumption that higher corporate taxes ultimately affect individuals.
Mortgage giants’ spending questioned
WASHINGTON - A U.S. government watchdog is questioning $600,000 that taxpayer-funded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spent on an October convention, according to a report released Thursday.
About half of the spending was “of questionable value,” the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent about 90 employees to the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention and Exposition at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago in early October.
About $280,000 was spent on sponsorships and business meals.
Taxpayers have spent more than $150 billion to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the most expensive bailout of the 2008 financial crisis.
Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association;
Freddie Mac is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Santorum: Obama preferred to Romney
SAN ANTONIO - Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Thursday compared rival Mitt Romney to an Etch A Sketch toy and said Republicans should give President Barack Obama another term if Santorum isn’t the Republican nominee.
“You win by giving people a choice,” Santorum said during a campaign stop in Texas. “You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than the person in there.”
“If they’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future,” Santorum added.
Santorum’s reference was to Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom’s comment Wednesday that “everything changes” for the fall campaign. “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch,” he said on TV. “You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”
Romney, who had no public appearances Thursday, issued a statement expressing disappointment “that Rick Santorum would rather have Barack Obama as president than a Republican.”
Front Section, Pages 4 on 03/23/2012