World/Nation Briefs January 15, 2013
<p>Small chunks of ice flow along the Boise River east of the Broadway Bridge, at sunrise Sunday. Boise's low temperature on Sunday was 4 degrees, and it was expected to remain cold in Southern Idaho for much of the next week.</p>
Obama: Fight on debt ceiling could delay benefits
WASHINGTON - Declaring "we are not a deadbeat nation," President Obama warned on Monday that Social Security checks and veterans' benefits will be delayed if congressional Republicans fail to increase the government's borrowing authority in a looming showdown over the nation's debt and spending.
Obama said he was willing to negotiate deficit reduction with GOP leaders but insisted that those talks be separate from decisions to raise the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert a possible first-ever national default.
"They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy," Obama said in a news conference one week before he is sworn in for a second term. "What I will not do is to have that negotiation with a gun at the head of the American people."
Bitter brinkmanship between the White House and congressional Republicans over spending has become a defining event over the past four years, testing both Obama's leverage and his resolve at different moments of his presidency. House Speaker John Boehner brushed off Obama's insistence on separating the debt ceiling from negotiations over spending cuts.
"The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time," Boehner said.
Mali Islamists threaten to avenge airstrikes
BAMAKO, Mali - Despite a punishing bombardment by French warplanes, al-Qaida-linked insurgents grabbed more territory in Mali on Monday, seizing a strategic military camp that brought them far closer to the government's seat of power.
Declaring France had "opened the gates of hell" with its assault, the rebels threatened retribution.
"France ... has fallen into a trap much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia," said Omar Ould Hamaha, a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, one of the rebel groups controlling the north.
French fighter jets have been pummeling the insurgents' desert stronghold in the north since Friday.
Clinton to testify before House committee
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will testify Jan. 23 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the deadly Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Libya.
That's the word from Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the panel. He said in a statement late Monday that Clinton will answer questions about the raid that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.
Clinton had been scheduled to testify last month but she suffered a concussion when she fell during an illness. She was later hospitalized with a blood clot in her head.
She has planned to step down and President Barack Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry to replace her.
GOP governor pushes for boost to Medicaid
PHOENIX - Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday she plans to push for an expansion of the state's Medicaid program under the federal health care law, a surprising decision that could have an impact on other Republican governors weighing a similar decision.
Brewer has opposed the federal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act, citing worries over a potential overreliance on federal funding.
A provision in the 2010 law allows for states to increase Medicaid coverage, and Brewer told lawmakers in her annual State of the State address on Monday that virtually all of the expansion would be funded by the federal government. Not taking the money wouldn't contribute to the lowering of federal deficits, she said.
CNET reporter quits after CBS interference
LOS ANGELES - Technology reviews by website CNET have long been respected for their thoroughness and integrity, but that reputation has come under scrutiny after a top reporter quit over what he says is editorial interference by its parent company, CBS Corp.
The dispute centers on CNET's choice of best gadgets from last week's International CES show in Las Vegas.
CNET voted Dish Network Corp.'s "Hopper with Sling" the best home theater and audio product. Because CBS is in a legal fight with Dish over the Hopper's ad-skipping capabilities, CBS vetoed the selection, saying the product couldn't be considered "Best of CES." Instead, CNET's official selection was a sound bar from TV maker Vizio.
Reporter Greg Sandoval tweeted on Monday morning that he was resigning, saying he had lost confidence that CBS is committed to editorial independence.
- The Associated Press