World/Nation Briefs December 21, 2011
Blame game begins on tax
cut impasse
WASHINGTON - Continuing a tax cut of up to $40 a week for workers and unemployment benefits for millions of jobless hit a wall Tuesday as the House rejected a two-month extension of both, and President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for the stalemate.
"The clock is ticking, time is running out," Obama said shortly after House voted 229-193 to request negotiations with the Senate on renewing the payroll tax cuts for a year.
House Speaker John Boehner, told that Obama had sought his help, replied, "I need the president to help out." His voice rose as he said it, and his words were cheered by dozens of Republicans lawmakers who have pushed him and the rest of the leadership to pursue a more confrontational strategy with Democrats and the White House in an already contentious year of divided government.
This time, it wasn't a partial government shutdown or even an unprecedented Treasury default that was at stake, but the prospect that payroll taxes would rise on Jan. 1 for 160 million workers and long-term unemployment benefits end for millions of jobless victims of the worst recession since the 1930s.
Yet another deadline has been entangled in the dispute, this one affecting seniors, but the administration announced it had finessed a way around it. Officials said paperwork for doctors who treat Medicare patients in the early days of the new year will not be processed until Jan. 18, giving lawmakers more time to avert a 27 percent cut in fees threatened for Jan. 1.
Spanish debt sale, housing starts boost Dow
Encouraging signs out of Europe and a surprisingly strong report on the U.S. housing market drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 300 points Tuesday. It was the best day for stocks this month.
The Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction and gauges of business and consumer confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly. Both helped ease worries about Europe's debt crisis. The dollar fell against the euro and U.S. government bond prices dropped as traders shifted money out of the safest assets.
Borrowing costs for the Spanish government plunged at an auction of short-term debt, a sign that bond buyers are more confident in the country's ability to pay them back.
Spain's government raised $7.3 billion, much more than its goal. Investors demanded an interest rate of only 1.74 percent to lend to Spain for three months, a steep fall from the 5.1 percent at an auction in November.
Ron Paul moves into contention
in Iowa caucuses
Suddenly, Ron Paul is in contention to win the Iowa caucuses and do well in the New Hampshire primary two weeks before the first votes are cast, reflecting the fluidity of the Republican presidential race as well as the inability of the party's social conservative, tea party and establishment wings to coalesce behind a favored candidate.
Yet, while the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman is earning support for his tight-fisted fiscal positions, he's so out of step with the GOP mainstream on foreign policy and some domestic issues that even his most loyal aides doubt he can use his momentum to win the Republican nomination.
"I'm very much in the Republican tradition," Paul insisted Tuesday as he campaigned in New Hampshire before heading back to Iowa today. "Very much in the American tradition."
True or not, this much is certain: Paul is having a major impact on the campaign. His outsider persona and refusal to acquiesce to the ways of Washington - he's nicknamed "Dr. No" on Capitol Hill for voting against much legislation - has earned him a loyal following that he's leveraged to build a strong organization in Iowa and elsewhere. The respect that has long eluded him in the party may finally be coming to him.
North Korea boosts security after Kim's death
PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Korea has tightened internal security and put troops on alert since the announcement of leader Kim Jong Il's death in moves to consolidate power behind his young son and heir, South Korean intelligence indicated Wednesday.
Concerns over what will happen next in the unpredictable communist enclave - which has a 1.2-million troop military, advanced ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapons development program - have sharply raised tensions around northeast Asia.
Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and North Korean hero Kim Il Sung. His chosen heir - Kim Jong Un - only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.
But South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se said Seoul's National Intelligence Service believes the North is now concentrating on consolidating Kim Jong Un's power.
- The Associated Press