August 12, 2008 02:41 pm
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Russian President Dmitri Medvedev orders end to military action in Georgia
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia Tuesday, saying it had punished Georgia and brought security for civilians and Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway South Ossetia region.
"The security of our peacekeepers and civilians has been restored," Medvedev said in a nationally televised statement. "The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses. Its military has been disorganized."
At the same time, Medvedev ordered the military to quell any signs of Georgian resistance.
"If there are any emerging hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions, you should take steps to destroy them," he told his defense minister at a Kremlin meeting.
Russia's foreign minister, meanwhile, said that Georgia's president must leave office and Georgian troops should stay out of the pro-Russian South Ossetia region for good.
Bush demands Russia withdraw from Georgia, forget any plans to dump its pro-Western government
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a crisis of Cold War proportions brewing, President Bush is demanding that Russia withdraw its troops from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, agree to an immediate cease-fire and abandon any thought it might have about toppling the country's pro-Western government.
"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," Bush said from the White House on Monday just an hour after he returned to Washington from attending the Olympics in China.
In his strongest comments since the fighting erupted over Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region last week, Bush told Russia to end a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence in Georgia and accept international mediation to end the crisis, as Georgian leaders have.
"The Russian government must reverse the course it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step toward solving this conflict," the president said. He added that he is deeply concerned that Russia, which Georgian officials say has effectively split their country in two, might bomb the civilian airport in the capital of Tbilisi and take the city.
Bush said Russia's escalation had "raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region" and had "substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world."
Obama's plan to not tax seniors with incomes under $50,000 draws critics even from allies
WASHINGTON (AP) — If you're a senior citizen and make less than $50,000 a year, Barack Obama has a deal for you: the rest of your life free of federal income tax.
Sounds appealing, right? Maybe to many seniors. But tax policy experts in Washington are giving it bad reviews. They see it as another subsidy for senior citizens, who already get federal help through Social Security and Medicare and often have economic advantages over other demographic groups.
Seniors typically have paid off their mortgages. Many have investments and usually don't pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. The kids are usually grown, so they're not saddled with day care or college costs.
"The odds are the retired folks — they're getting pensions, they're getting Social Security, they have investment assets, they own a house — so ... they're better off than somebody who is 30 or 40 years younger who's trying to buy a house (and) trying to start saving," said Clint Stretch, managing principal of tax policy for Deloitte Tax.
The Obama campaign says the idea would give tax cuts averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors who are battling inflation with mostly fixed incomes. The campaign also says the plan would relieve millions of older people from having to file complicated tax returns.
Roadside bomb hits Pakistan vehicle in
NW city, 14 killed
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A roadside bomb hit a Pakistan air force truck in a northwestern city Tuesday, killing 14 people as the military pounded insurgent positions in a nearby tribal region.
The blast hit the vehicle on a bridge on the outskirts of Peshawar, provincial police chief Malik Naveed Khan said. The truck was traveling between the city and the nearby air force base in Badaber.
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said al-Qaida-linked militants were likely behind the attack. He said Pakistan had been taking action against Taliban militants, but he did not say whether Tuesday's attack could be a response to recent military operations in the region.
"It is our firm resolve that we will root out terrorism from Pakistan, and all of our security agencies are working together to achieve this goal," he told The Associated Press.
The powerful explosion went off around 11 a.m. and tore a large hole in the bridge, reducing the Mazda truck to a smoldering wreck. The site was littered with debris, blood and also the mangled wreckage of a motorcycle.
Study: Half of overweight adults may be
heart-healthy, defying
conventional wisdom
CHICAGO (AP) — You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.
The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.
The results also show that stereotypes about body size can be misleading, and that even "less voluptuous" people can have risk factors commonly associated with obesity, said study author MaryFran Sowers, a University of Michigan obesity researcher.
"We're really talking about taking a look with a very different lens" at weight and health risks, Sowers said.
In the study, about 51 percent of overweight adults, or roughly 36 million people nationwide, had mostly normal levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood fats called triglycerides and blood sugar.
Administration to relax protected species rules, cutting back independent reviews
WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.
New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival.
The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.
"We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good," Kempthorne said in a news conference organized quickly after AP reported details of the proposal. "It is important to use our time and resources to protect the most vulnerable species. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species."
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Mental disability groups protest 'Tropic Thunder' premiere in Los Angeles; boycott called for
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Tropic Thunder" is pushing the envelope too far for groups representing the mentally disabled.
Dozens of people from organizations such as the Special Olympics and the American Association of People with Disabilities protested the movie-industry spoof across the street from the film's Los Angeles premiere at Mann's Bruin Theatre on Monday. The protesters held up signs with slogans such as "Call me by my name, not by my label" and chanted phrases like "Ban the movie, ban the word."
The groups are outraged over scenes featuring the liberal usage of a disparaging term used to describe the mentally disabled. In the movie, director and co-star Ben Stiller plays a fame-hungry actor cast in a war movie who previously had a role as a mentally disabled character named Simple Jack. The DreamWorks film, which opens Wednesday, also stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black.
"When I heard about it, I felt really hurt inside," said Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett. "I cannot believe a writer could write something like that. It's the not the way that we want to be portrayed. We have feelings. We don't like the word retard. We are people. We're just like any other people out there. We want to be ourselves and not be discriminated against."
Andrew J. Imparato, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said he and other representatives from advocacy groups representing the mentally disabled met with DreamWorks co-chair Stacey Snider and watched a private screening of the film Monday morning. Imparato called the movie "tasteless" and said it was "offensive start to finish."
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