Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 7 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
REGGAETON TARGETED BY CUBAN GOVT HAVANA (AP) — At 10 o’clock on a Saturday night, the Mariana Grajales park in downtown Havana pulses with a thumping beat. Young men in drooping trousers and women in miniskirts dance, raise ...
January 8, 2013
TUESDAY
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Obama digs for a fight on Hagel, Brennan picks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Digging in for a fight, President Barack Obama riled Senate Republicans and some Democrats, too, on Monday by nominating former senator and combat veteran Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon and anti-terrorism chief John Brennan as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Hagel and Brennan, in separate Senate confirmation hearings, will face sharp questions on a range of contentious issues, including U.S. policy about Israel and Iran, targeted drone attacks and harsh interrogation tactics. Of the two men, Hagel is expected to face a tougher path, though both are likely to be confirmed.
Hagel would be the first enlisted soldier and first Vietnam veteran to head the Pentagon. “These two leaders have dedicated their lives to protecting our country,” Obama said, standing alongside them and the men they would succeed during a ceremony in the White House East Room. “I urge the Senate to confirm them as soon as possible so we can keep our nation secure and the American people safe.” For Obama, a pair of combative confirmation hearings could turn into a distraction as he opens his second term. But the president signaled he was ready to take that risk. Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, has
been criticized as hostile toward Israel and soft on Iran. Opponents also have highlighted his 1998 comments about an ambassador nominee whom he called “openly, aggressively gay” — a comment for which he recently apologized. Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran, was under consideration to run the agency after Obama won the 2008 election but withdrew his name amid criticism from liberal activists who questioned his connection to the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA during the George W. Bush administration. One of Hagel’s toughest critics, Sen. Lindsey Graham, See PICKS, Page A3
AP Photo
President Barack Obama pauses while speaking at the White House, Monday, to announce he is nominating Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, right, as the new CIA director; and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, left, as the new defense secretary.
GOP scoffs at Obama’s vow on debt
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INSIDE SPORTS
AP Photo
People pass a Bank of America branch, in New York, Monday. Bank of America will pay $10.3 billion to the government mortgage agency Fannie Mae to settle claims resulting from mortgage-backed investments that soured during the housing crash.
US banks try to clean up remaining mortgage mess WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks have taken another step to clear away the wreckage of the 2008 financial crisis by agreeing to pay $8.5 billion to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on millions of homeowners.
SEAHAWKS, RAVENS ADVANCE LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Either way, a rookie quarterback was going to make it to the second round of the playoffs. The losing team would go home disappointed, but with the knowledge ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Grace Huddle • Kimberly Niece • Robert Urquides
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HIGH ...48˚ LOW ....30˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
INDEX CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B5 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A7 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A7
The deal announced Monday could compensate
hundreds of thousands of Americans whose homes were seized because of abuses such as “robo-signing,” when banks automatically signed off on foreclosures without properly reviewing documents. The agreement will also help eliminate huge potential liabilities for the banks.
But consumer advocates complained that regulators settled for too low a price by letting banks avoid full responsibility for foreclosures that victimized families and fueled an exodus from neighborhoods across the country. The settlement ends an independent review of loan
Police seek more information in stabbing case JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Police responded to a call about a stabbing in the 2300 block of North Garden Avenue. According to police records, a man stumbled out into the street around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Officers arrived at the scene to find a large quantity of blood on the bathroom floor. Due to the severity of his injuries, the 49-year-old victim was immediately transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and CID was brought in to investigate. The police said that the victim had known his assailant for about six months. He had been sharing his home with Sabastiano See STABBING, Page A3
files required under a 2011 action by regulators. Bruce Marks, CEO of the advocacy group Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America, noted that ending the review will cut short investigations into the banks’ practices.
See BANKS, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, meet Congressman Michael Burgess. The president says he absolutely will not let Republicans threaten a national debt ceiling crisis as a way to extract deeper federal spending cuts. Burgess’ take? “It’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard,” the Texas Republican says. “He’s going to have to negotiate.” Both sides may be bluffing, of course. They may reach an agreement before the debt-limit matter becomes a crisis in March, or possibly late February. But the tough talk suggests this year’s political fight could be even nastier and more nerve-grating than the recent “fiscal cliff” showdown, or the July 2011 brinkmanship that triggered the first-ever ratings downgrade of the nation’s creditworthiness. Asked about the White House’s apparent assumption that Republicans will back down, Burgess said: “I’m not going to foreclose on anything, but that’s just not See DEBT, Page A3
Colo. shooting families listen to police testimony
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — The officers struggled to hold back the tears as they recalled the Colorado theater shooting: discovering a 6-year-old girl without a pulse, trying to keep a wounded man from jumping out of a moving police car to go back for his 7-year-old daughter, screaming at a gunshot victim not to die. “After I saw what I saw in the theater — horrific — I didn’t want anyone else to die,” said Officer Justin Grizzle, who ferried the wounded to the hospital. A bearded, disheveled James Holmes, the man accused of going on the deadly rampage, didn’t See TESTIMONY, Page A3
Sabastiano Bursane
Google chairman Schmidt heading to North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When he lands in North Korea, even Google’s executive chairman will likely have to relinquish his smartphone, leaving him disconnected from the global information network he helped build. Eric Schmidt is a staunch advocate of global Internet access and the power of Internet connectivity in lifting people out of poverty and political oppression. This month, he plans to travel to the country with the world’s most restrictive Internet policies, where locals need government permission to interact with foreigners — in person, by phone or by email — and only a tiny portion of the elite class is connected to the Internet. The visit may be a sign of Pyongyang’s growing desire to engage with the outside world. North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, talks about using science and technology to jumpstart the country’s moribund economy, even if it means turning to experts from enemy nations for help. In recent years, “North Korea has made a lot of investment in science and technology, not just for mili-
See GOOGLE, Page A3
Education and right-to-work legislation are toward the top of Candy Spence Ezzell’s 2013 priority list ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell, hopes 2013 will see the state’s legislature figure out several issues, such as how to protect the retirement benefits of public employees. Ezzell said, two years ago, there were reports that retirement funds were going bankrupt and she and other legislators must work to ensure that they are viable enough. “We have to start somewhere,” she said. “We have to start fast.” Another problem that needs to be solved is the education system, she said. Despite the amount of money put into education,
she said the state is still among those with the highest dropout rates. “It’s a disgrace to our kids and our taxpayers,” she said. “I’m really appalled by that and we've got to fix it. I’m tired of finishing next to last in the nation.” One bill that Ezzell supports would provide extra help in reading for Kindergarten through third-grade students. However, she also stressed the need for parental involvement to make a student successful. “We can’t let our kids down,” she said. Ezzell said she not only wants better education opportunities, but also better work opportunities throughout the state.
Candy Spence Ezzell
That’s why she supports right-to-work legislation, which she said would make the state more competitive and provide good paying jobs. “We have to be in line See EZZELL, Page A3