Angry crowds greet members at health care events; congressman says swastika painted at office
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) - Jeers and taunts drowned out Democrats calling for a health care overhaul at town halls Tuesday, and one lawmaker said a swastika was spray-painted at his office as debate turned to noisy confrontation over President Barack Obama's plan. The president himself was treated more respectfully.
The bitter sessions underscored the challenge for the administration as it tries to win over an increasingly skeptical public on the costly and far-reaching task of revamping the nation's health care system. Desperate to stop a hardening opposition, the White House created a Web site to dispel what it says are smears and House Democrats set up a health care "war room" out of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office to help lawmakers answer questions.
At a crowded community college in Pennsylvania, Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter heard from speaker after speaker who accused him of trampling on their constitutional rights, adding to the federal deficit or allowing government bureaucrats to take over health care.
"You'll be gone, by God the bureaucrats will still be here," said one man.
"My children and grandchildren are going to pay for this," said another.
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver, JFK's sister and Special Olympics founder, dies at age 88
BOSTON (AP) - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the presidential sister who founded the Special Olympics and helped demonstrate that the mentally disabled can triumph on the field of competition and lead productive lives outside the walls of institutions, died Tuesday at age 88.
Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at a hospital on Cape Cod in the company of her husband, her five children and her 19 grandchildren, her family said.
"She understood deeply the lesson our mother and father taught us: Much is expected of those to whom much has been given," said her sole surviving brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is battling a brain tumor.
She was also the sister of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; the wife of 1972 vice presidential candidate R. Sargent Shriver; the mother of former NBC newswoman Maria Shriver; and the mother-in-law of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shriver was credited with helping to bring the mentally disabled into the mainstream and transforming America's view of them from institutionalized patients to friends, neighbors and athletes.
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Myanmar's pro-democracy leader returns to isolation after trial with resolve, charisma intact
BANGKOK (AP) - Myanmar's generals have again succeeded in isolating democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but her fleeting emergence during a grueling trial showed that her steely resolve and charisma remain intact.
A Myanmar court on Tuesday convicted the 64-year-old Nobel Peace laureate of violating her house arrest by allowing an uninvited American to stay at her home. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor was quickly commuted to 18 months house arrest after an order from the head of the military-ruled country, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years, and the extension will remove her from the political scene next year when the junta holds its first election since 1990. Her party won in the polls then but was never allowed to take power.
Her conviction and continued detention were condemned by world leaders and sparked demonstrations in cities from London to Japan. The European Union began preparing new sanctions against the country's military regime and a group of 14 Nobel Laureates, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on the U.N. Security Council to take strong action against the country.
President Barack Obama termed Suu Kyi's conviction a violation of "the universal principle of human rights" and said she should be released immediately.
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Families: 3 American hikers detained by Iran entered the country by mistake, hope for release
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Three American hikers detained in Iran for nearly two weeks entered the country by mistake and their families are hoping for a quick resolution that will reunite them with their children, the families said in a statement Tuesday.
Joshua Fattal, freelance journalist Shane Bauer and Bauer's girlfriend, Sarah Shourd, were hiking near a waterfall on a mountain in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region on July 31 when they accidentally crossed the border into Iran, according to family members.
They contacted a colleague to say they had entered Iran by mistake and were surrounded by troops, according to a Kurdish official in Iraq. Iran's state television said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border guards.
"Shane, Sarah and Josh are young travelers who share a great love of the world and a deep respect for different cultures, societies and religions," the families said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We believe that when the Iranian authorities speak to our children, they will realize that Shane, Sarah and Josh had no intention of entering Iran and will allow them to leave the country and reunite with their families. We continue to hope that this misunderstanding will be resolved as quickly as possible."
The families said they would not comment beyond the statement.
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US, NATO deaths from bombings spike 6-fold in Afghanistan; 3 more US troops killed
KABUL (AP) - U.S. and NATO deaths from roadside and suicide bomb blasts in Afghanistan soared six-fold in July compared with the same month last year, as militants detonated the highest number of bombs of the eight-year war, figures released Tuesday showed.
Three U.S. Marines and a Polish soldier died in the latest attacks, setting August on course to surpass the record 75 deaths U.S. and NATO troops suffered from all causes in July.
U.S. commanders have long predicted that 2009 would be the deadliest of the war, after President Barack Obama ordered an additional 21,000 troops here to try to quell the rising Taliban insurgency. A record 62,000 U.S. troops are now in Afghanistan.
U.S., NATO and Afghan troops are working to protect voting sites around the country so Afghans can take part in the country's second-ever direct presidential election Aug. 20. Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt the elections, and attacks are on the rise around Afghanistan, where roadside bombs are now the cause of the majority of U.S. and NATO deaths.
Last month 49 coalition troops died in bomb attacks, a more than six-fold increase from the eight killed in roadside and suicide bomb attacks in July 2008, according to figures from the U.S.-based Joint IED Defeat Organization.
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SC gov defends using state plane for personal trips, says flights similar to predecessors
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday justified his use of state planes for personal trips in which he often brought along his wife and four sons, saying his taxpayer-funded travel was no different than that of his predecessors.
"I've got a busy life, and I've tried as best I can - within the context of the current mess-up, that has been more than well-chronicled, and more than well talked about - to be a reasonable father, while at the same time, being a good governor," Sanford said in response to questions from reporters after a Cabinet meeting. "I can't tell you the number of sporting events I've missed, of theirs."
An Associated Press investigation found that Sanford used state aircraft for personal and political trips, contrary to state law regarding official use. Records reviewed by AP showed that since he took office in 2003, the two-term Republican has taken trips on state aircraft to locations of his children's sporting events, hair and dentist appointments, political party gatherings and a birthday party for a campaign donor.
On many occasions, records showed, the governor mingled his non-official travels with official business. He used the state plane in March 2006 to travel from Myrtle Beach to Columbia at a cost of $1,265 - when his calendar showed his only appointment in Columbia was "personal time" at his favorite discount hair salon. He had flown to Myrtle Beach on a private plane and attended a county GOP event.
Sanford said Tuesday the dentist appointment was scheduled after he chipped a tooth and was part of a trip to meet with a television news director.
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Chevy Volt, using battery and gas engine, could get 230 mpg in city; car hits showrooms in '10
WARREN, Mich. (AP) - General Motors said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt electric car could get 230 mpg in city driving, making it the first American vehicle to achieve triple-digit fuel economy if that figure is confirmed by federal regulators.
But when the four-door family sedan hits showrooms late next year, its efficiency will come with a steep sticker price: $40,000.
Still, the Volt's fuel efficiency in the city would be four times more than the popular Toyota Prius hybrid, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S.
Most automakers are working on similar designs, but GM would offer the first mainstream plug-in with the Volt, which seats four and was introduced at the 2007 Detroit auto show.
The Volt will join a growing fleet of cars and trucks powered by systems other than internal combustion engines.
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Productivity surges in 2nd quarter at fastest rate in almost 6 years while labor costs plunge
WASHINGTON (AP) - Productivity surged in the spring by the largest amount in almost six years while labor costs plunged at the fastest pace in nine years. The results point to a recession losing steam, but they do not bode well for the unemployed or those forced to work shorter weeks who were hoping for more hours.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the April-June quarter, while unit labor costs dropped 5.8 percent. Both results were greater than economists expected.
Productivity can help boost living standards because it means companies can pay their workers more, with those wage increases financed by rising output. However, in this recession, companies have been using their productivity gains from layoffs and other cost cuts not to hire again but to bolster their profits.
The result: Many companies have been reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings despite falling sales.
Businesses producing more with fewer employees means millions of unemployed Americans likely will continue to face a dismal job market. Some analysts also worry that companies' aggressive cost-cutting could make it hard to mount a sustainable recovery. That's because a lack of wage growth and a shortage of jobs will likely depress consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic output.
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AP Source: Michael Jackson's doctor bought anesthetic from Las Vegas pharmacy
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The potent anesthetic that Michael Jackson's doctor gave him as a sleep aid came from a Las Vegas pharmacy searched Tuesday by federal drug agents and police, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Authorities are investigating Jackson's June 25 death as a manslaughter and believe the anesthetic propofol he was given at his rented Los Angeles mansion was a major factor. Propofol normally is used to render patients unconscious for medical procedures and only is supposed to be administered by anesthesia professionals in medical settings.
As investigators build their case, a central issue is what drugs were in Jackson's system when he died and how those medications were obtained. Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has told investigators he administered propofol and multiple sedatives to Jackson in the hours before he died, the law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Los Angeles and Las Vegas police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents served a sealed search warrant Tuesday morning at Applied Pharmacy Services in Las Vegas, which the official said legally sold propofol to Murray. Investigators discovered large amounts of the drug and other medications in Jackson's home after his death. DEA agents were able to track the anesthetic back to the Las Vegas pharmacy.
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Jason Grimsley makes appearance at courthouse where grand jury is investigating Clemens
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former pitcher Jason Grimsley, a key figure in the federal investigation of steroids in baseball, met with prosecutors Tuesday at the courthouse where a grand jury is looking into whether Roger Clemens lied to Congress.
A former Houston-area gym owner also was at the federal courthouse, giving testimony in the probe into whether Clemens misled a congressional committee last year when the seven-time Cy Young Award winner denied under oath using steroids or human growth hormone.
Grimsley and his lawyer, Edward Novak, did not comment after spending a little more than an hour meeting with prosecutors. Grimsley's agent, Joe Bick, said Grimsley did not give formal testimony and this was the 15-year major leaguer's first involvement with the current investigation.
"It was just a meeting," Bick said. "He called me and told me he was going to be meeting with some people."
Shortly after lunch, ex-bodybuilder and former gym owner Kelly Blair spent some 90 minutes testifying before the grand jury. Blair said previously that he used to take steroids himself and once provided Andy Pettitte's father with HGH for medical reasons, but he has denied supplying Clemens or any professional athletes with the substances.