World/Nation

House approves conservative budget to erase red ink

WASHINGTON - Normally quarrelsome House Republicans came together Wednesday night and passed a boldly conservative budget that relies on nearly $5 trillion in cuts to eliminate deficits over the next decade, calls for repealing the health care law and envisions transformations of the tax code and Medicare.

Final passage, 228-199, came shortly after Republicans bumped up recommended defense spending to levels proposed by President Barack Obama.

Much of the budget's savings would come from Medicaid, food stamps and welfare, programs that aid the low-income, although details were sketchy.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., chairman of the House Budget Committee, called the plan a "balanced budget for a stronger America" - and one that would "get this economy rolling again."

Democrats rebutted that the GOP numbers didn't add up and called their policies wrong-headed.

AP investigation renews U.S. pressure on Thai government

The U.S. government and major business leaders are renewing their call on the Thai government to crack down on slavery in its fishing fleets, and to punish people who force migrant workers to catch seafood that can go to the United States.

The State Department, the U.S. seafood and retail industries and a member of Congress reacted swiftly Wednesday to an Associated Press investigation published this week that found slave-caught fish clouds the supply networks of major supermarkets, restaurants and even pet stores in the United States. The AP reported that hundreds of men were trapped on the remote Indonesian island of Benjina, and tracked seafood they caught to Thai exporters who then sell to the U.S.

"It has become increasingly clear that workers in the fishing industry, many of whom are migrants, are exploited at multiple points along the supply chain, from harvesting to processing," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing Wednesday.

The State Department blacklisted Thailand last year for failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking. Psaki did not say whether current trade talks with Thailand include labor rights.

The National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Fisheries Institute, in a letter to the ambassadors of Thailand and Indonesia, also demanded to know what will be done to free the slaves described in AP's coverage and bring their masters to justice. The industry leaders said that in the past they have asked the Thai government to address forced labor, but have lacked specific allegations.

U.S. conducting airstrikes in support of Iraqi forces in Tikrit

WASHINGTON - At Iraq's request, the U.S. began airstrikes in Tikrit on Wednesday in support of a stalled Iraqi ground offensive to retake the city from Islamic State fighters. The bombing marked a significant expansion of the U.S. military role in Iraq.

"These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing" unintended damage to civilian structures, Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, the commander of the U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State group, said in a written statement.

"This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat ISIL in the vicinity of Tikrit," Terry said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

Tikrit is deemed an important test of the ability of Iraq, with coalition support, to retake ground it ceded to the Islamic State last year. The U.S. initially did not provide air support in Tikrit because Baghdad pointedly chose instead to partner with Iran in a battle it predicted would yield a quick victory. In recent days, however, the Pentagon has called the Iraqi offensive "stalled."

An Associated Press correspondent in Tikrit reported hearing warplanes overhead late Wednesday, followed by multiple explosions. An Iraqi commander in the city told the AP that a warehouse used to store Islamic State weapons was bombed by a U.S. plane, and a U.S. official in Washington confirmed that arms warehouses were among the targets. The Iraqi commander spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the airstrikes.

Yemen's president flees by sea as Shiite rebels advance

SANAA, Yemen - President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled Yemen by sea Wednesday as Shiite rebels and their allies moved on his last refuge in the south, captured its airport and put a bounty on his head, officials said. Hours later, Saudi Arabia announced it had begun airstrikes against the Houthi rebels.

The departure of the close U.S. ally and the imminent fall of the southern port of Aden pushed Yemen further toward a violent collapse. It also threatened to turn the impoverished but strategic country into another proxy battle between the Middle East's Sunni powers and Shiite-led Iran.

Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir said his country had begun airstrikes against the rebels. He said his government had consulted closely with the U.S. and other allies but said the U.S. military was not involved in the operations. He declined to say whether the campaign involved U.S. intelligence assistance.

- The Associated Press