World/Nation Briefs June 15, 2012

EPA sets tighter standards for soot pollution

WASHINGTON (AP) - Responding to a lawsuit from 11 states, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new air quality standards to lower the amount of soot that can be released into the air.

The Obama administration, facing strong resistance from congressional Republicans and industry officials, had sought to delay the politically fraught rule until after the election, but was forced to act by a court order. Critics, including officials representing the oil and gas industry, refineries and manufacturers, complained that overly strict rules could hurt economic growth and lead to job losses.

An Obama administration official said the new rule was based on a rigorous scientific review. Virtually all counties in the United States would meet the proposed standard with no additional actions needed beyond compliance with current and impending rules set by the EPA, the official said.

Soot, made up of microscopic particles released from smokestacks, diesel trucks, wood-burning stoves and other sources, contributes to haze and can burrow into lungs. Breathing in soot can cause lung and heart problems.

Dr. Albert Rizzo, chairman of the board of the American Lung Association, said soot, also known as fine particle pollution, is a known killer. "The science is clear, and overwhelming evidence shows that particle pollution at levels currently labeled as officially 'safe' causes heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks," he said.

The long-delayed rule, to be made public today, responds to a federal court order requiring the Obama administration to update air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. Administration officials described the rule to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it has yet to be announced.

Eleven states, including New York and California, filed suit earlier this year to force a decision. The states and the American Lung Association say current standards jeopardize public health. Soot has been linked to thousands of premature deaths each year, as well as aggravation of respiratory illnesses, heart attacks and strokes.

More than a dozen states, along with environmental groups, sued the EPA several years ago, contending that the Bush administration had ignored science and its own experts when it decided in 2006 not to lower the nearly decade-old annual standard for soot. The agency's own analysis found a lower standard recommended by scientific advisers would have prevented almost 2,000 premature deaths each year.

The EPA initially promised it would review recent science and issue a decision in 2011. After months of inaction, states led by New York filed suit to force a decision. The lung association and the National Parks Conservation Association filed a similar suit. A federal court eventually ordered the EPA to propose a new rule by Thursday. A final rule is due in December after a public comment period.

The new rule would set the maximum allowable standard for soot at range of 12 to 13 micrograms per cubic meter of air. The current annual standard is 15 micrograms per cubic meter.

Administration officials said the proposed changes are consistent with advice from independent scientists and are based on extensive research showing negative health impacts from soot at lower levels than previously understood. The agency will solicit comments from the public, as well as industry, public health groups and other interested groups to help determine the final standard.

Besides California and New York, states joining in the lawsuit forcing an EPA decision were Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

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Egypt courtdissolves Islamist-led parliament

CAIRO - Judges appointed by Hosni Mubarak dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament Thursday and ruled his former prime minister eligible for the presidential runoff election this weekend - setting the stage for the military and remnants of the old regime to stay in power.

The politically charged rulings dealt a heavy blow to the fundamentalist Islamic Brotherhood, with one senior member calling the decisions a "full-fledged coup," and the group vowed to rally the public against Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak.

The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effectively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt's troubled transition in the past year, leaving the country with no parliament and concentrating power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak.

Several hundred people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the rulings to denounce the action and rally against Shafiq, the presidential candidate seen by critics as a symbol of Mubarak's autocratic rule. But with no calls by the Brotherhood or other groups for massive demonstrations, the crowd did not grow.

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China suspends officials in forced abortion case

BEIJING - China suspended three officials and apologized to a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy in a case that sparked a public uproar after graphic photos of the mother and her dead baby were circulated online.

The case has renewed criticism of China's widely hated one-child limit, which, while designed to control the country's exploding population, has led to often violently imposed forced abortions and sterilizations as local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing.

Feng Jianmei, 27, was beaten by officials and forced to abort the baby at seven months on June 2 because her family could not afford a 40,000 yuan ($6,300) fine for having a second child, Chinese media reported this week.

Photos of her and the reportedly stillborn baby lying on a hospital bed were posted online and went viral, triggering a public outpouring of sympathy and outrage.

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Nationwide manhunt under way for surgeon

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Surgeon Timothy Jorden saved the lives of patients with gunshot wounds, lived in a big home by Lake Erie and owned four vehicles. He was a product of a working-class neighborhood who became an Army officer before coming home to earn his medical degree.

Now the healer is linked to a killing.

Police across the country were on the lookout Thursday for the 49-year-old trauma surgeon in connection with the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend in a building at the Buffalo hospital complex where they both worked. Police say the former Army weapons expert may be armed and should be considered dangerous.

"He was an excellent surgeon. He saved so many lives. For him to take one is unreal," said a stunned June DuPree, a neighbor of Jorden's in an exclusive cluster of homes on a lakefront bluff.

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Feds estimate cost of raising a child is $235,000

WASHINGTON - For $235,000, you could indulge in a shiny new Ferrari - or raise a child for 17 years.

A government report released Thursday found that a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about that much in child-related expenses from birth through age 17. That's a 3.5 percent increase from 2010.

The report from the Agriculture Department's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion said housing is the single largest expense, averaging about $70,500, or 30 percent of the total cost.

Families living in the urban Northeast tend to have the highest child-rearing expenses, followed by those in the urban West and the urban Midwest. Those living in the urban South and rural areas face the lowest costs.

The estimate also includes the cost of transportation, child care, education, food, clothing, health care and miscellaneous expenses.

- The Associated Press