World/Nation 11/14/2013
• Night flights signal faster pace of relief efforts
TACLOBAN, Philippines - Soldiers sat atop trucks distributing rice and water early Thursday in this typhoon-devastated city and chainsaw- wielding teams cut debris from blocked roads, small signs that a promised aid effort is beginning to pick up pace even as thousands flocked the airport, desperate to leave.
The first C-130 transport planes arrived at 3 a.m. at Tacloban airport, the first nighttime flight since the typhoon struck on Friday, suggesting air control systems are now in place for a 24-7 operation - a prerequisite for the massive relief operation needed.
Food, water and medical supplies from the U.S., Malaysia and Singapore sat on pallets along the tarmac.
Military officials were among the thousands waiting outside the airport trying to get their families out.
"My family has nothing to eat, and we have no place to stay," said Sgt. William Escala. "We cannot bear the stench. The kids are getting sick."
• Promise of clean, next-generation biofuel unfulfilled
NEW YORK - The first trickle of fuels made from agricultural waste is finally winding its way into the nation's energy supply, after years of broken promises and hype promoting a next-generation fuel source cleaner than oil.
But as refineries churn out this so-called cellulosic fuel, it has become clear, even to the industry's allies, that the benefits remain, as ever, years away.
The failure so far of cellulosic fuel is central to the debate over corn-based ethanol, a centerpiece of America's green-energy strategy. Ethanol from corn has proven far more damaging to the environment than the government predicted, and cellulosic fuel hasn't emerged as a replacement.
"A lot of people were willing to go with corn ethanol because it's a bridge product," said Silvia Secchi, an agricultural economist at Southern Illinois University.
But until significant cellulosic fuel materializes, she said, "It's a bridge to nowhere."
• Immigration issue won't be touched this year
WASHINGTON - Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that the House will not hold formal, compromise talks on the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration bill, a fresh signal from the Republican leadership that the issue is dead for the year.
The slow, relatively quiet death came more than four months after the Senate, on a bipartisan vote, passed a far-reaching bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally and tighten border security.
That fanfare for that bill was quashed by strong opposition among House Republican rank and file who reject a comprehensive approach and question offering citizenship to people who broke U.S. immigration laws to be in this country. House incumbents also are wary of primary challenges from the right.
One of the clearest signs that any action was unlikely was word that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who had worked for months on the Senate bill, had abandoned the comprehensive approach. Rubio had taken political heat from conservatives after Senate passage of the immigration bill.
• Four Marines die in operation at California base
SAN DIEGO - Four Marines were killed Wednesday during an operation to clear a range of unexploded ordnance at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, a Marine official said.
The deaths occurred during a periodic sweep of explosive material to make ranges safe for future exercises, said a Marine official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
There was no live firing on the range at the time, the official said.
The identities of the dead were withheld pending notification of relatives. Base officials released no details on the 11 a.m. accident. Authorities were investigating the cause.
• Lower U.S. deficit fails to jumpstart budget talks
WASHINGTON - Across-the-board spending cuts, a better economy and the partial shutdown combined to help the U.S. government kick off the 2014 budget year with a smaller deficit. A steadily shrinking deficit, however, has done little to jumpstart tense budget negotiations in Washington to keep the government open past January.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the deficit in October was $91.6 billion. That's 24 percent lower than the $120 billion imbalance recorded in October 2012. The deficit is the gap between the government's tax revenue and spending.
The decline comes after the government reported last month that it ran an annual deficit of $680 billion in the budget year that ended on Sept. 30. That was the lowest in five years and the first in that period below $1 trillion. It's also half the record $1.4 trillion gap reported in 2009.
- The Associated Press