QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This has the potential to sink Obamacare.”
Michael Cannon, a health-policy expert at the Cato Institute, commenting on lawsuits filed over a legal glitch in President Barack Obama’s health-care law Article, 7A
5 hurt on Vortex ride at N.C. State Fair
RALEIGH, N.C. - Five people were injured on a carnival ride known for its wild twirls and flips at the North Carolina State Fair, and officials were trying to determine Friday exactly what caused the accident.
Two people remained hospitalized in critical condition, injured when the Vortex started up again as riders were getting off late Thursday evening, officials said. Three other people sustained less serious injuries.
Among the possible causes for the accident that investigators will review is a safety switch that malfunctioned on the ride Monday, according to Tom Chambers, the chief of the ride inspection unit at the state Labor Department. The ride was temporarily idled as workers replaced the switch, Chambers said. It reopened Monday after being tested.
State Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler, whose agency runs the fair, said he remains confident in the safety of the rides. He stressed that the accident was “an isolated incident.”
The injured riders ranged in age from 14 to 39, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said at a news conference.
Obama team to Congress: Rest Iran whip
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has asked Congress to hold off on enacting new sanctions against Iran. It said a pause in the push to impose new penalties would give negotiators flexibility in talks now underway to get Iran to comply with demands it prove its nuclear program is peaceful.
Even as U.S. officials argue that tough sanctions are what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, the White House and State Department said Friday that the administration wants lawmakers to wait on new sanctions legislation to give the negotiations time to get traction. Some lawmakers have argued that now is not the time to ease pressure.
But State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said it was the consensus of the administration’s national security teams that a pause “would be helpful in terms of providing some flexibility while we see if these negotiations will move forward.” She said the position was delivered to lawmakers and congressional aides at a White House meeting on Thursday.
Guardsman charged in 3 bosses’ shooting
MEMPHIS - A Tennessee National Guard recruiter was charged in federal court on Friday, accused of shooting three of his superiors at an armory after he was told he would be relieved of duty and dismissed from active service.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Diane Vescovo told Amos Patton he is charged with committing assaults within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and carrying a weapon during a federal crime of violence.
The 42-year-old sergeant first class was ordered to the armory north of Memphis on Thursday, where he was told that he was being relieved of duty, reduced in rank and recommended for removal from active reserve, U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton III said at a Friday news conference.
Officials on Thursday identified two of the three victims as Tennessee National Guardsmen Maj. William J. Crawford and Sgt. Maj. Ricky R. McKenzie. Both were recruiters who were Patton’s superiors. One was shot in the lower leg and the other in the foot.
On Friday, the Guard identified the third victim as Lt. Col. Hunter Belcher, also above Patton in the chain of command.
He was grazed by a bullet just below the right knee. All three men were treated and released.
GOP negotiator backs tax rise for deal
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Cole, one of the chief Republican negotiators of a congressional budget deal, said Friday that he supports raising taxes as part of talks with Senate Democrats.
Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said that curtailing tax breaks such as the treatment of private-equity managers’ carried interest should be part of the negotiations. He also wants to generate money from U.S. companies’ untaxed overseas profits coupled with a revamp of the tax code.
“The reality is, you’re going to have to have a deal here,” Cole said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Political Capital with Al Hunt airing this weekend. “And a deal means everybody gives something up.”
Cole offered an insight into how negotiations could unfold: Any willingness on the Republicans’ part to raise revenues would have to be accompanied by Democrats’ willingness to cut entitlement program spending. Republicans, however, won’t insist on curbing President Barack Obama’s health-care law as a condition to keeping the government open.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 10/26/2013