EARLY EDTION

Obama Added More To National Debt In First 19 Months Than All Presidents From Washington Through Reagan Combined
In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan. The U.S. Treasury Department divides the federal debt into two categories. One is “debt held by the public,” which includes U.S. government securities owned by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments and other entities outside the federal government itself. The other is “intragovernmental” debt, which includes I.O.U.s the federal government gives to itself when, for example, the Treasury borrows money out of the Social Security “trust fund” to pay for expenses other than Social Security. CNS News
VOA VIEW: Obama has done everything possible to destroy the American economy for decades to come.

U.S. Asks Appeals Court To Stay Stem Cell Funding Ban
The Obama administration on Wednesday asked an appeals court for an emergency stay that would lift the ban on federal funding of research involving human embryonic stem cells. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth last month ruled that the research violated U.S. law because it involved destroying human embryos, a setback for President Barack Obama who had tried to expand research in hopes it would lead to new cures of diseases. On Tuesday, Lamberth refused to put his ruling on hold while the administration appealed. The Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to intervene and lift the injunction pending the appeal. Reuters

Obama: We Need To Tax The Wealthiest
Accusing Republicans of calculating that "if I fail, they win," President Obama said Wednesday that Congress must let tax cuts for the wealthy expire at the end of this year, arguing the government cannot balance its books without that revenue. In a stump-style speech in Cleveland, Mr. Obama blasted the GOP for sitting "on the sidelines" while he and congressional Democrats have pushed to pump money into the economy and to clean up what he said were the excesses of the Bush administration that led to the economic downturn. And Mr. Obama directly took on House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, who in his own speech in Cleveland late last month challenged Mr. Obama to join together in a bipartisan effort to cut spending and extend all the Bush-era tax cuts. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Obama is making another mad mistake.

Top Ballot Item: Bid To Legalize Pot In Calif.
If Passed, Prop 19 Would Allow Adults 21 and Older to Possess up to an Ounce of Pot for Personal Use. No single election contest this fall combines the buzz and history-making potential of California's Proposition 19, which would make the state the first to legalize recreational use of marijuana. It's the most eye-catching of roughly 150 ballot measures that voters in 35 states will be considering on Nov. 2 - encompassing such volatile topics as abortion, affirmative action, health care and liquor sales. CBS

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Rep. Boehner: 'I'm Open To The President's Ideas'
Rep. Boehner called for bipartisan cooperation on two new proposals: First, to pass a spending bill now at the 2008 level and second, to extend the current tax rates for two years. "What that will do is help small businesses who have no clue what the coming tax rates are going to be. It gives them some certainty and if we’re able to do this together, I think we’ll show the American people that we understand what’s going on in the country and we’ll be able to get our economy moving again," Boehner told me. The President has made it clear that he does not support extending the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans – but Boehner said now is not the time to worry about the deficit. ABC

Chronic Drinking Ups Stress Hormones
Drinking and withdrawal from chronic drinking can increase the stress hormone cortisol, raising the risk of memory loss, U.S. and British researchers say. "Prolonged and elevated levels of glucocorticoid hormones can damage or destroy neurons, and lead to an increased vulnerability to other situations that can damage neurons, such as raised excitatory amino acid activity," A.K. Rose of the University of Liverpool said in a statement. "This can underlie loss of memory functions." The review also finds brain concentrations of corticosterone remain raised for long periods after alcohol withdrawal, even after the blood concentrations return to normal levels. UPI

Geithner Says China Needs To Let Markets Drive Yuan Higher
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Chinese officials need to allow the yuan to rise more quickly against the dollar, in order to show China’s trading partners that the world’s second largest economy is following through on its promises. “Frankly they haven’t let the currency move very much so far,” Geithner said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “They know they’re just at the beginning of that process and I think we’d like to see them move more quickly.” Premier Wen Jiabao’s government has limited the yuan’s gain to less than 1 percent versus the dollar since a June pledge for greater flexibility. With November elections approaching, U.S. legislators have planned hearings on the topic and may push a bill to let U.S. companies seek tariffs in compensation for an undervalued yuan. Bloomberg

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President Obama Pushing National Infrastructure Bank
President Obama today in Ohio is touting a trio of economic proposals, including a $50 billion plan to improve the nation's transportation system and in doing so, create jobs to boost the country's sluggish economic recovery. "I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world," the President said Monday in Wisconsin, vowing that the funds would help build or repair 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of railways, and 150 miles of runways. If the plan is approved by Congress, the projects would be financed by a government-run bank, known as an Infrastructure Bank. According to the White House, the Infrastructure Bank would "leverage federal dollars and focus on investments of national and regional significance that often fall through the cracks in the current siloed (sic) transporation programs." ABC

Peru Official Sees Exports Surging As China Passes U.S. To Be Top Market
Peru’s exports may rise to a record this year after China overtook the U.S. to become the Andean country’s top destination for sales abroad. Chinese demand will help boost Peru’s exports 17 percent to $31.6 billion after last year’s 15 percent decline, Juan Carlos Mathews, export director at the government’s trade promotion agency Promperu, said in an interview in Lima yesterday. Exports may rise 9 percent next year, he said. China overtook the U.S. as Peru’s top export destination for the first month on record in July, aided by a free-trade agreement signed in 2009, Mathews said. China accounted for 17 percent of Peru’s exports according to preliminary data for July, compared with 16.8 percent for the U.S., as the world’s second-largest economy increased purchases of fruit, fresh fish and wood products, Mathews said. Bloomberg

Group Backs Mandatory Flu Shots For Health Workers
Flu vaccination should be required for all doctors, nurses and other health workers, the nation's largest pediatricians' group says, calling it a long overdue step to protect patients. In a new policy statement released Wednesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics says voluntary vaccination programs just haven't worked. Too many health workers still shun annual flu vaccinations. And evidence shows some have passed flu along to patients. The academy says it should be up to hospitals to devise mandatory programs and enforce them. "Employees of health care institutions have both ethical and professional obligations to act in the best interests of the health of their patients," and that includes annual flu vaccinations, the new policy says. Vaccination rates of at least 80 percent offer the best protection against transmitting the flu in medical settings, the policy says, but only about 40 percent of health workers get vaccinated each year. Las Vegas Sun

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'Widespread Signs' Economy Is Slowing
The economy grew at a sluggish pace through the summer months, and there are now "widespread signs" that activity is slowing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its latest snapshot of regional economic conditions. Economic growth continued at a modest pace in 7 of the central bank's 12 districts, according to the September edition of the Fed's Beige Book, which is published eight times a year. The western districts, Boston and Cleveland were among those reporting modest economic growth from mid-July through the end of August. But New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, and Chicago all reported mixed conditions or deceleration in overall activity. CNN
VOA VIEW: No positive economic signs.

Hillary Clinton: United Nations Is ‘Single Most Important Global Institution’
In a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the work of the United Nations and said it is “the single most important global institution.” At the CFR in Washington, D.C., Clinton said, “Now the U.N. remains the single most important global institution. We are constantly reminded of its value: The Security Council enacting sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Peacekeepers patrolling the streets of Monrovia and Port-au-Prince. Aid workers assisting flood victims in Pakistan and displaced people in Darfur.” CNS News

Igor, 2 Other Tropical Systems No Threat To Gulf Of Mexico
The U.S. National Hurricane Center was monitoring newly formed Tropical Storm Igor in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and two other tropical systems in the Atlantic basin on Wednesday, but so far none showed any early signs of entering the energy-rich Gulf of Mexico and disrupting offshore production. Igor was bringing "squally" weather to the Cape Verde Islands, packing winds of 40 miles per hour as it moved west at just 6 mph. Early computer models showed the system strengthening into a hurricane in about three days as it moved west to northwest in the open Atlantic. Reuters

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More Americans Pick Debit Over Credit
Credit spending is on the decline as "cautious consumers" prefer to pay now as opposed to pay later, according to a new study released Wednesday. Data obtained by Javelin Strategy & Research shows that credit card use in 2009 was at an all-time low of 56%, down from 87% in 2007. Javelin first started polling data eight years ago. Additionally, last year, for the first time ever, the total payment volume for Visa debit cards surpassed that of credit cards, a trend that the financial industry research group expects to continue throughout 2010. According to Javelin, if this trend is allowed to continue unabated, credit card use will fall to 45% in 2010. MSNBC

Quran Burning Still On For 9/11, Minister Says
The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday afternoon he was determined to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off. The Rev. Terry Jones said at a press conference that he has received a lot of encouragement for his protest, with supporters mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers. The plan is to incinerate the Qurans in a bonfire Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11. "As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Jones, who took no questions. CBS
VOA VIEW: Jones is a fanatic nut case.

BP: Multiple Companies, Teams Contributed To Spill
In an internal report released Wednesday, oil giant BP PLC blamed itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the drilling rig explosion that preceded it. The 193-page report was posted on the company's website, even though investigators have yet to begin a full analysis of the blowout preventer, a key piece of equipment that should have cut off the flow of oil from the ruptured well but did not. That means BP's report is far from the definitive ruling on the blowout's causes, but it may provide some hint of the company's legal strategy — spreading the blame among itself, rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton — as it faces hundreds of lawsuits and possible criminal charges over the spill. Government investigators and congressional panels are looking into the cause as well. Washington Times

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Hartford's Inclusion Of Muslim Prayers In Council Meetings Sparks Outrage
The decision by Hartford, Conn., leaders to begin kicking off their council meetings with a Koranic prayer -- in a show of solidarity with Muslims -- led to a busy morning Wednesday for staff members who were bombarded by hate mail overnight. "All night long, the e-mails have been coming," Petrel Maylor, an executive assistant to Council President rJo Winch, told FoxNews.com. "I've been called everything except a child of God." Winch, who was holding a news conference Wednesday to explain the change in invocations, gave her blessing to Muslim prayer in a press release Tuesday. "I feel it is very important that, as a council, we project a culture of inclusiveness in the city of Hartford," Winch said in the release. "Too often it is our differences that divide us. In my opinion, it is our combination of differences that makes us strong." Fox News
VOA VIEW: Bad timing.

Hermine Flooding Kills 1 In Texas
The National Weather Service says flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine has killed one person in a town north of Austin, Texas. National Weather Service duty officer Tony Merriman says the unidentified person died in a vehicle overcome by floodwaters early Wednesday in Killeen. Flood warnings have been posted throughout the region after the remnants of the storm dumped several inches of rain across central and North Texas. Television footage on a local Fox affiliate shows whitewater pouring under an amusement park roller coaster in Arlington, west of Dallas, and firefighters helping residents stranded by the water. Fox News

Health Insurer Faces $9.9 Billion In Fines
California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from Pacificare over allegations the health insurer mismanaged claims from physicians, failed to make payments in a timely manner and other violations. The California Department of Insurance alleges that Pacificare, which was bought by UnitedHealth Group in 2006, violated the state's insurance code 992,000 times between 2006 and 2007. 8diggEmail Print CommentEach of those violations carry a fine of up to $10,000 each, according to CDI spokesman Ioannis Kazani. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said the $9.9 billion fine, if enacted, would be the largest the group has seen. CNN

Google Instant Speeds Up Search
Google introduced Google Instant search Wednesday with results given to users as they type the letters of words — not even the words themselves. The change should save users 2 to 5 seconds per search, the company said. "It's not search as you type; it's search before you type," she said. As an example, from San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art, where the news conference was held, she typed the first four letters of "Fauvism" — and it brought up results for the early 20-century movement in painting based only on those first four letters. MSNBC

Castro Says Cuban Model Doesn’t Work
Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model doesn't work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago. The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows. Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore" Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog. He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg's account. Las Vegas Sun

More Education, Less Heart Risk
In high-income countries, the more education a person has, the lower the heart and stroke risk, U.S. researchers say. However, the study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, finds highly educated women in low- and middle-income countries had a slight increase in the incidence of fatal and non-fatal heart attack and stroke. This may be due to higher smoking rates in women with greater education levels in low-, middle- and high-income regions, the study says. Smoking, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, typically declines as formal education rises, but researchers found nearly half of the highly educated women from high-income countries smoked, compared with 35 percent for those with the least amount of schooling. UPI News

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France Calls On Syria To Cooperate With IAEA Inspectors
France on Wednesday called on Syria to show more transparency in its dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning its the site of a suspected nuclear reactor it was allegedly building before it was destroyed in an Israeli air strike. The IAEA issued a report earlier this week claiming that Syria had refused to allow agency inspectors to visit the site. "[The IAEA report] tackles the recent IAEA-Syria developments according to the general warranty agreement concluded by Syria. However, there are still some pending issues, namely regarding the nature of the Dair Alzour site," said a French foreign ministry spokesperson. Jerusalem Post

Castro To Ahmadinejad: Stop Denying The Holocaust
Israel and the Jewish people found an unlikely defender in Fidel Castro, the retired dictator of Cuba, on Tuesday,  when he came out strongly against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and supported Israel's right to exist. In a rare interview with Jewish-American reporter Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, the ailing 84-year-old leader said he sympathized with the Jews who have suffered from repeated persecution over the course of history. "The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours," Castro said. "There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust." Jerusalem Post

Clinton Says Mexico Drug Crime Like An Insurgency
Drug-related violence in Mexico increasingly has the hallmarks of an insurgency, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. "It's looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, when the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country," she said. Her comments were made following a major speech to US foreign policy experts in Washington. A Mexican government spokesman rejected Mrs Clinton's analogy. Speaking in Mexico City, Alejandro Poire said that "all the efforts of the Mexican state were going into fighting criminals". BBC

Vitamin B 'Puts Off Alzheimer's'
A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease. Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia. Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's. Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed. The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, looked at 168 elderly people experiencing levels of mental decline known as mild cognitive impairment. This condition, marked by mild memory lapses and language problems, is beyond what can be explained by normal ageing and can be a precursor to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. BBC

US Soldiers 'Killed Afghan Civilians For Sport And Collected Fingers As Trophies'
Twelve American soldiers face trial over an secret "kill team" that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies. Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven other soldiers are accused of covering up the killings as well as a violent assault on a new recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians. Guardian

'Collaborator!' – A Charge That Has Plagued Egypt
In the centuries after Egypt's last native ruler, Nectanebus II, was driven out by the Persians, Egypt was conquered and occupied by almost every major colonial power. It was only in 1952 that General Mohamed Naguib's successful military coup managed to overthrow the monarch, ending British influence and restoring sovereignty to the land of Egypt. Almost 60 years later, this colonial legacy still haunts the country. Opponents of political and social change bank on a deep-seated fear of foreign influence to tighten their grip on power by accusing everyone who promotes an alternative to them of collaboration. The "treason" card can be used against anyone and everyone. According to Egyptian conspiracy theorists, liberal politicians are probably American agents with a western agenda. Similarly, Islamists are accused of getting orders from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or all of the above. Guardian

Top Prosecutor Backs US-Style Murder Laws For Britain
Britain's most senior prosecutor has added his voice to the calls for a radical reform of Britain's murder law. Keir Starmer QC, who as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said that he supports recommendations made by the Law Commission for a move towards US-style homicide law, in which the seriousness of the offence is ranked by degrees. Mr Starmer's intervention will add pressure to the Government's ongoing review of criminal justice, which will also consider reform of murder. Independent

Pope Won't Be Arrested In UK, Protesters Admit
Campaigners supported by Prof Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist, had hoped to have Benedict XVI held over his supposed cover-up of child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. But leaders of the Protest the Pope coalition now admit that the Pontiff cannot be arrested as Britain acknowledges him as a head of state, granting him sovereign immunity from criminal prosecution. It came as the Pope himself announced that he “can’t wait” to arrive in the country next Thursday for the first-ever state papal visit to Britain. The opponents of the historic event, who represent human rights, equality and secular groups, still plan to hold a march and rally in central London in protest at the estimated £12million cost to taxpayers of the state visit and Benedict XVI’s stance on sexuality, contraception and clerical abuse. Telegraph

Threat To Burn Koran Could Endanger Those Assisting Afghanistan, Warns UN Envoy
The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today voiced his outrage over the threat by a religious group in the United States to burn copies of the Koran, warning that it could endanger the lives of those working to further peace and development in the Asian nation. “If such an abhorrent act were to be implemented, it would only contribute to fuelling the arguments of those who are indeed against peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, said in a statement. “It could also put in jeopardy the efforts of so many Afghans and foreigners who are trying to assist Afghanistan to find its own way to peace and stability within the framework of its own culture, traditions and, indeed, religion,” he added. UN News

Ban Urges Wider Global Partnerships To Implement UN Anti-Terrorism Strategy
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging stronger partnerships between the United Nations, governments, regional organizations and civil society in an effort to implement provisions of the UN global strategy against terrorism to enhance international peace and security. ‘Looking into the future, the Secretary-General envisages enhanced implementation of the Strategy through building in-depth knowledge of the Strategy, strengthening partnerships and ensuring comprehensiveness,” Mr. Ban says in a report to the General Assembly. He acknowledges that the work of the UN on counter-terrorism has increased, but says there is still a need for an in-depth knowledge of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in order to translate its provisions into action on national, regional and global levels. UN News

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