Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Congress gets closer to cliff’s edge
Vol. 121, No. 313 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — FBI files on Marilyn Monroe that could not be located earlier this year have been found and re-issued, revealing the names of some of the movie star’s communist-leaning acquaintances who drew concern from government officials and her own entourage. But the files, which previously had been ... - PAGE C3
SUNDAY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middleclass tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a “self-inflicted wound to the economy.”
NORMA JEAN AND J. EDGAR
December 30, 2012
Obama chastised lawmakers in his weekly radio and Internet address for waiting until the last minute to try and avoid a “fiscal cliff,” yet said there was still time for an agreement. “We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America’s progress,”
he said as the hurry-up negotiations unfolded.
For all the recent expressions of urgency, bargaining took place by phone, email and paper in a Capitol nearly empty except for tourists. Alone among top lawmakers, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell spent the day in his office.
In the Republicans’ weekly address, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri cited a readiness to compromise. “Divided government is a good time to solve hard problems — and in the next few days, leaders in Washington have an important responsibility to work
together and do just that,” he said. Even so, there was no guarantee of success, and a dispute over the federal tax on large estates emerged as yet another key sticking point alongside personal income tax rates. In a blunt challenge to Republicans, Obama said that barring a bipartisan agreement, he expected both houses to vote on his own proposal to block tax increases on all but the wealthy and simultaneously preserve expiring unemployment benefits. Political calculations See CLIFF, Page A3
AP Photo
In this combination of photographs, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leave the White House separately, Friday.
Bush 41 leaves ICU
‘Over here! Over here! OVER HERE!’
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INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Ducks and other waterfowl scramble to gain front-row feeding advantage as visitors arrive at Spring River Park armed with bags of bread, Friday.
RHS WINS POE CORN INVITE
Whether you go driving around town to look at Christmas lights with family and friends or kiss a loved one under mistletoe, the holiday season is full of traditions. For basketball fans, the Poe Corn Invitational is as much a part of Christmas as Santa. The Roswell boys basketball team has built ... - PAGE B1
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Lois Ann Curry Grace Lara Romero John Ashley Blevins II Robert Scribner Jr. Gertrude Ramirez Emily Mayer Karla Jo Waldon Jean Boswell - PAGE A2, B6
HIGH ...50˚ LOW ....31˚
HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush’s condition continued to improve Saturday, prompting doctors to move him out of intensive care, a spokesman said. “President Bush’s condition has improved, so he has been moved today from the intensive care unit to a regular patient room at The Methodist Hospital to continue his recovery,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said Saturday. “The Bushes thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes.” Bush was hospitalized Nov. 23 for treatment of a bronchitis-related cough. He was moved to intensive care at the Houston hospital on Dec. 23 after he developed a fever. On Friday, McGrath said Bush had improved since arriving in the ICU. He said he was alert and in good spirits and was even doing some singing.
Week’s 2nd snowstorm hits Northeast, parts of Ohio
NEW YORK (AP) — A widespread winter storm dumped snow over the Northeast and parts of Ohio on Saturday, just days after the regions were hit by another storm moving from the nation’s midsection. The National Weather Service expected up to a foot of snow in parts of souther n New England, with the heaviest snowfall possibly in Providence, R.I., and Boston, which declared parking bans to allow snow removal vehicles to clean the streets. Winter storm warnings were in effect in parts of those states and in Connecticut. New York City and Philadelphia saw a mix of
rain and snow as the storm moved in from the west. In Ohio, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati saw about 2 to 5 inches of snow by Saturday after noon, the National Weather Service said. “Expect those accumulations to kind of work their way northeastward through much of New York state and much of New England,” weather service meteorologist Brian Hurley said. Drivers throughout the regions were warned to be cautious. Officials lowered the speed limit on much of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about 300 miles from the Ohio state line to east-central Pennsylvania, from 65
mph to 45 mph. About 20 vehicles piled up in a stor m-related chain-reaction crash on Interstate 93 in New Hampton, N.H., police said, and five people were injured. Flights at Philadelphia’s airport, mostly arrivals, were delayed about an hour, spokeswoman Stacy Jackson said. Parts of southern Indiana saw 6 to 8 inches of snow from the storm, some in areas that had received more than a foot from a blizzard earlier in the week. That blizzard was part of a stor m system that dumped more than a foot of snow in some places and has been blamed for at least 16 deaths. It also
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
The act includes people over the age of 60 as a group among others that may experience a crime “motivated by hate.” However, hate is hard to prove, Kernan said, preventing the criminal from getting the sentencing they deserve. “I think you can prove hate in a lot of instances,” she said. “But with the elderly, most of the time, [the criminal is] a family member or it’s a random act of violence. “I just think it’s really hard to prove that they hated them because they’re elderly.” Another issue on Kernan’s agenda involves the state’s budget and making sure it can provide for
AP Photo
People walk in the snow at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday.
spawned more than a dozen tor nadoes in Alabama, the National Weather Service said.
State budget, education programs on Kernan’s agenda
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C4 FEATURE ...............C3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B3 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 SUNDAY BIZ ..........C5 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Courtesy Photo
State Sen. Gay Kernan, RHobbs
In the new year, Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, said she is looking forward to working with the new legislators taking office. “It’s going to be an interesting session, in regards to the new faces,” said Kernan, who will begin her 10th year as a senator in 2013. “We’ll have to see how things work out in the Senate because of that. “Every session, there’s always a surprise — that’s what makes it interesting.” Ker nan also hopes to breathe new life into old legislation, such as a bill to remove age status from the Hate Crimes Act.
retirement funds, as well as education programs. An example of which is a reading intervention bill Kernan has supported that would provide literacy help for young children. As a for mer educator, Kernan said she is most interested in “making sure we do the right thing for our kids and our future.”
Sometimes there’s a reason why things don’t always pass, she said, so she is looking at possibly retooling the bill.
“It has some merit, but it’s going to be difficult to pass in its current form,” she said. “I’ll try again and see where it goes.” igilmore@rdrnews.com
But Saturday’s snow wasn’t as heavy as that of the previous stor m, the weather service said.
United Way of Chaves County
622-4150 Collected
$435,053 Goal
$500,000
87% Of Goal Collected