Congress likely to give shutdown workers back pay

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A partial government shutdown enters its fifth day, with Congress convening for a session that promises no progress in breaking the impasse but will at least offer back pay to furloughed federal workers.

The GOP House is scheduled Saturday to vote on legislation backed by the White House and congressional Democrats that would make sure the 800,000 sidelined government employees would get their pay when the shutdown ends. The Senate is expected to clear it later, even as early as Saturday, for President Barack Obama's signature.

Lawmakers keep replaying the same script on Capitol Hill: House Republicans pass piecemeal bills to reopen popular and politically sensitive programs ? on Friday, disaster relief and food aid for the poor ? while Democrats insist that the House vote on a straightforward Senate-passed measure to reopen all of government.

"But the far right of the Republican Party won't let Speaker John Boehner give that bill a yes-or-no vote," Obama said in his Saturday radio and Internet address. "Take that vote. Stop this farce. End this shutdown now."

There seemed little chance of that. For one thing, flinching by either side on the shutdown might be seen as weakening one's hand in an even more important fight looming just over the horizon as the combatants in Washington increasingly shifted their focus to a midmonth deadline for averting a first-ever default.

"This isn't some damn game," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said as the White House and Democrats held to their position of agreeing to negotiate only after the government is reopened and the $16.7 trillion debt limit raised. Republicans pointed to a quote in The Wall Street Journal from an anonymous White House official that "we are winning ... It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts.

At issue in the shutdown is a temporary funding measure to keep the government fully open through mid-November or mid-December. More than 100 stopgap continuing resolutions have passed without much difficulty since the last shutdown in 1996. But tea party Republicans, their urgency intensified by the rollout of health insurance marketplaces this month, are demanding concessions in Obama's health care law as their price for the funding legislation, sparking the shutdown impasse with Democrats.

"I was disappointed when certain parts of the federal government were forced to shut down because Senate Democrats refused to make any changes whatsoever to the deeply flawed health care law known as Obamacare," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP's weekly address. "Republicans are eager to end the shutdown and move ahead with the fiscal and economic reforms that our country so urgently needs."

Obama has repeatedly said he won't negotiate on the temporary spending bill or upcoming debt limit measure, arguing they should be sent to him free of GOP add-ons. Congress, whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans, routinely sent Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, "clean" stopgap spending bills and debt-limit increases.

"The American people don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their job," Obama said in his address. "Neither does Congress."

House Republicans appeared to be shifting their demands, de-emphasizing their previous insistence on defunding the health care overhaul in exchange for re-opening the government. Instead, they ramped up calls for cuts in federal benefit programs and future deficits, items that Boehner has said repeatedly will be part of any talks on debt limit legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Democrats blocked numerous attempts by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to approve House-passed bills reopening portions of the government. The Texas Republican is a chief architect of the "Defund Obamacare" strategy and met earlier this week with allies in the House and an aide to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to confer on strategy.

In a lengthy back-and-forth with Reid and other Democrats, Cruz blamed them and the White House for the impasse and accused them of a "my way or the highway" attitude.

But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., likened the Republican strategy to "smashing a piece of crockery with a hammer, gluing two or three bits back together today, a couple more tomorrow, and two or three more the day after that."

The shutdown led the White House to scrub a presidential trip to Asia, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed its customary monthly report on joblessness as impacts of the partial shutdown spread.

Secretary of State John Kerry, filling in for Obama at an Asian economic summit, warned about the foreign-policy damage caused by the failure of members of Congress to resolved their differences.

"I believe that those standing in the way (of a resolution) need to think long and hard about the message that we send to the world when we can't get our own act together," Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

___

Online:

Obama: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-likely-shutdown-workers-back-pay-081154429--politics.html

Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent Tammy Baldwin house of representatives paul ryan

Faculty Council discusses its role in university affairs

Faculty Council discussed the importance of making the search for the new provost open, led by both the council and the new chancellor.

In the council?s meeting Oct. 2, council member Dennis Miller told council that UM System President Tim Wolfe said the search for Provost Brian Foster?s replacement will be led by the new chancellor.

Foster is set to retire Jan. 1, 2014, less than two months after Chancellor Brady Deaton?s departure.

Some members of the council voiced opinions that the search be conducted in a joint effort.

?We felt that the search for provost should be an open search, and faculty should work with the administration, work with the new chancellor on the search for a new provost,? Miller said. ?What I think we want to do is assert or use our shared authority ... to work with the chancellor when it?s time to get a new provost.?

The council discussed the belief that it should have a voice, regardless of the search?s nature.

They also reviewed a resolution, written by Miller and Faculty Council chairman Craig Roberts, about the matter.

?Be it resolved that the faculty council strongly recommends to the chancellor of the University of Missouri that the faculty have shared authority, in which the faculty participates with the chancellor, in all aspects of the process to hire a new provost,? the resolution stated.

The resolution will be delivered to the new chancellor after the selection is announced.

Fiscal Affairs Committee chairman Sudarshan Loyalka also brought up a motion that recommended the College of Arts and Science pursue a supplemental fee. This fee would come in the form of a lab fee, such as the ones other colleges on campus require.

Loyalka said all schools within the university except arts and science currently have fees ?to enhance educational experiences of the students.?

He said the fee could be used to fund fellowship programs, various events and travel expenses for students in the college.

In the past, the idea has been met with hesitation by Foster, said Cooper Drury, council and Fiscal Affairs committee member.

Council member Harry Tyrer expressed an understanding of Foster?s feelings.

?If arts and sciences gets a supplemental fee,? he said. ?Then the Board of Curators, and more importantly the general assembly, will see that as tuition and will limit our ability to increase the tuition to whatever those boundaries are.?

The council discussed advising this motion despite the arts and science committee?s hesitation, but no final decision was made.

Source: http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/10/3/faculty-council-discusses-its-role-university-affa/

george zimmerman website edmund fitzgerald uss enterprise white house easter egg roll 2012 andy cohen andy cohen mozambique

U.S. hearing postponed for accused operator of Silk Road online drug bazaar

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal magistrate judge postponed a bail hearing on Friday for the alleged mastermind of the Silk Road online drug bazaar in order to give the 29-year-old's lawyer more time to prepare.

Wearing leg shackles and a red jail uniform, Ross William Ulbricht was led into the San Francisco court room, where he was represented by a public defender during the 10-minute proceeding.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero rescheduled the bail hearing until next Wednesday after public defender Brandon LeBlanc asked for more time. LeBlanc told reporters his client denied all charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Ulbricht on Tuesday and accused him of running the Silk Road website, a market place for illegal goods, under the online alias "Dread Pirate Roberts."

Authorities said they seized $3.6 million worth of the bitcoin digital currency, which was used instead of cash or credit cards to complete transactions for drugs and other illegal merchandise.

Federal prosecutors in New York have charged him with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to court filings.

They also say Ulbricht tried to have someone killed who had threatened to expose the identities of thousands of Silk Road users unless Ulbricht sent him money.

For more than two years, Silk Road allowed thousands of tech-savvy sellers to post ads for drugs and other illegal products, which they shipped to customers through the mail.

Like eBay, which does not permit the sale of illegal products, sellers on Silk Road depended on positive reviews left by their customers in order to maintain good reputations and generate more sales.

Bitcoins, which provide a degree of privacy in online transactions, can be stored in "wallets" kept online or on individual personal computers.

According to the complaint, Ulbricht, whose alleged online alias comes from the Princess Bride novel and movie, operated the Silk Road site from his apartment and nearby Internet cafes in San Francisco.

The site also offered tutorials on hacking ATM machines, contact lists for black market connections and counterfeiters, and guns and hit men for sale, according to the charges.

Authorities said Ulbricht's website generated sales of more than 9.5 million bitcoins, roughly equivalent to $1.2 billion. Bitcoin exists solely in cyber form, and some devotees promote it as the future of money. Authorities have stepped up their scrutiny of the virtual currency and its possible connection to money laundering and other illegal activities.

The criminal case is U.S. v. Ulbricht 13-mg-023287.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-hearing-postponed-accused-operator-silk-road-online-200019712--sector.html

forrest gump bernard hopkins 2012 white house correspondents dinner devils la riots rachel maddow

Blaming, shaming ? but still no way out: Nobody?s giving an inch, leading to darkening fears about debt-limit deadline

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama laid the blame for the government?s partial shutdown at the feet of House Speaker John Boehner, escalating a government-shutdown confrontation that was leading headlong into a potentially more damaging clash over the nation?s borrowing?authority.

Speaking at a construction company in Washington?s Maryland suburbs today, Obama cast Boehner as a captive of a small band of conservative Republicans who want to extract concessions in exchange for passing a short term spending bill that would restart the partially shuttered?government.

?The only thing preventing people from going back to work and basic research starting back up and farmers and small business owners getting their loans, the only thing that is preventing all that from happening right now, today, in the next five minutes is that Speaker John Boehner won?t even let the bill get a yes or no vote because he doesn?t want to anger the extremists in his party,? Obama?said.

The dispute over the shutdown deepened worries about a bigger problem rumbling ever closer ? a mid-October deadline for increasing the government?s borrowing limit before it runs out of money to pay creditors. The U.S. Treasury warned today that failure to raise that debt ceiling could spark a new recession even worse than the one Americans are still recovering?from.

?The president remains hopeful that common sense will prevail,? the White House said in a written statement after an unproductive meeting at the White House about the political standoff that has idled 800,000 federal workers and halted an array of services Americans expect from their?government.

Boehner, R-Ohio, complained to reporters that Obama had used the meeting simply to declare anew that he won?t negotiate over his health care?law.

House Republicans, pushed by a core of tea party conservatives, are insisting that Obama accept changes to the health care law he pushed through Congress three years ago as part of the price for reopening all of government. Obama refuses to consider any deal linking the health care law to routine legislation needed to extend government funding or to raise the nation?s debt?limit.

?We?re probably through negotiating with ourselves,? Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said on?MSNBC.

Republicans who initially sought to defund the health care law in exchange for funding the rest of government have gradually scaled back their demands but say they need some sort of offer from?Obama.

Expressing frustration after the White House meeting, Boehner said: ?All we?re asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under?Obamacare.?

The White House said Obama would be happy to talk about health care ? but only after Congress moves to reopen the government ?and stop the harm this shutdown is causing to the economy and families across the?country.?

If the shutdown dispute persists it could become entangled with the even more consequential battle over the debt limit. The Obama administration has said Congress must renew the government?s authority to borrow money by Oct. 17 or risk a first-ever federal default, which many economists say would dangerously jangle the world?economy.

Treasury?s report today said defaulting on the nation?s debts could cause the nation?s credit markets to freeze, the value of the dollar to plummet and U.S. interest rates to?skyrocket.

The shutdown stalemate is already rattling investors. Stock markets in the U.S. and overseas faded Wednesday, and Europe?s top central banker, Mario Draghi, called the shutdown ?a risk if protracted.? Leading financial executives met with Obama, and one, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, said politicians should not use a potential default ?as a?cudgel.?

Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said the House could easily defuse the worsening?situation.

?Get us through this six weeks and then let?s sit down and figure out how we pay our debts and bring down federal spending,? McCaskill of Missouri, said on?MSNBC.

Republicans planned to continue pursuing their latest strategy: muscling bills through the House that would restart some popular?programs.

Votes were on tap for restoring funds for veterans and paying members of the National Guard and Reserves. On Wednesday, the chamber voted to finance the national parks and biomedical research and let the District of Columbia?s municipal government spend federally controlled?dollars.

Democrats demanded that the entire government be reopened, and the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made clear that the GOP?s narrower bills have no chance of survival. They said the strategy showed that Republicans were buckling under public pressure, with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., saying groups like veterans were being ?used as a pawn in this cynical political?game.?

Republicans countered that Democrats were being inflexible and were to blame for the continued closure of programs the GOP was trying to reopen. A favorite target was Reid, who has made clear that the Senate will be a graveyard for the Republican?effort.

?The Senate?s refusal to work with the House is an all-time low,? Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla.,?said.

Reid told reporters that Obama and Democrats are ?locked in tight? on not diluting the health care?law.

Source: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/oct/03/blaming-shaming-but-still-no-way-out-nobodys-giving-an-inch-leading-to-darkening-fears-about-debt-limit-deadline/

George Zimmer juneteenth anchorman 2 Instagram Video Odin Lloyd russell brand

Tornado Alley moving closer to Georgia

ATLANTA -- We all remember the EF3 tornado that hit Adairsville just last year, and who could forget the EF4 tornado that devastated Ringgold two years ago.

As Georgians, we know that severe weather, especially tornadoes, are a threat to our state every year. However, what many of us were taught as children, and even as adults, as to where the most tornadoes, and also the largest, occur has changed, and it may surprise you.?

The "traditional" Tornado Alley stretches from Texas all the way up to South Dakota. Dixie Alley is the not quite as bad, but still important "mini" Tornado Alley. However, in the last 40 years those maps changed ... a lot!?

A new study done by the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and published by the American Meteorological Society shows that very little of the original Tornado Alley is still a part of the NEW Tornado Alley.

The study focused specifically on F2 strength tornadoes or higher. Because those are the ones that cause the most damage along with injuries and fatalities. They also looked at how long the tornado stayed on the ground, because the longer it does, the more damage it causes. The research found that Deep South tornadoes typically have longer paths than those in the Great Plains because they actually travel at a faster rate.

The study only did the last 40 years. It started in 1973, after the Fujita scale was first implemented, but stopped in 2010. They took out 2011 for fear the super outbreak would skew the results. But that's what makes this even more interesting. Even WITHOUT the super outbreak of 2011,when the Southeast was anihilated by over 300 tornadoes, the new tornado map never changed.

So why is this important? Very little research money is coming to the southeast at this point to study tornadoes, it's all funneled into the Great Plains. As tornado alley begins to shift closer to Georgia, maybe we need to do a little more in terms of research right here at home.

RELATED STORIES:
- Learn what to do in a tornado and get a helmet to save your life
- Your Weather Pictures
- Severe Storms rip through North Georgia destroying homes and businesses
- Sign up for daily weather forecast emails
- Sign up for severe weather text alerts for your county

Source: http://wizarmy.11alive.com/news/news/430032-tornado-alley-moving-closer-georgia

osama bin laden death spinal muscular atrophy brooklyn nets may day protests tony nominations 2012 facebook organ donor jessica simpson gives birth

Canadian coach Kieran Crowley names team for Americas Rugby Championship

TORONTO - Canadian rugby coach Kieran Crowley will be able to rely on some veteran help next month at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship in Langford, B.C.

The Oct. 11-19 tournament features sides from Canada, Argentina, the U.S. and Uruguay. Sanctioned by the IRB, its goal is to develop domestic-based players in the Americas.

Canada was runner-up at last year's ARC, defeating Uruguay 28-10 and the U.S. 23-3 before losing to unbeaten Argentina 28-9.

While Crowley has selected some young players, he has also named such veterans as Ray Barkwill, Nick Blevins, Adam Kleeberger, Jamie Mackenzie, Mike Scholz, Andrew Tiedemann, Conor Trainor, Sean White and Doug Wooldridge.

Uruguay, ranked 32st in the world, will be bringing its full national team this year, according to Crowley, with an eye to preparing for its World Cup qualification showdown next year with the 18th-ranked U.S. Eagles.

Like Canada, the U.S., will be using a domestic side at the ARC although Crowley says it looks stronger than the one the Americans fielded last year. Argentina, ranked 10th in the world, will be bringing a developmental side with its top players currently involved in the ongoing Rugby Championship tournament.

The Eagles Select XV includes capped players Shawn Pittman, Phil Tiel, Nick Wallace, Toby L'Estrange and Tito Lamositele.

The Canadian rugby schedule this fall also includes the Gold Coast Sevens in Australia Oct. 12-13 while the 15-man national team hosts the New Zealand Maori in Toronto on Nov. 3 before heading to Europe for tests in Georgia, Romania and Portugal.

The Maori game in Toronto falls outside the IRB's international window so Crowley will not be able to summon all his overseas pros. But he hopes to have most back for the November tour.

"We're still dealing with a couple (of clubs), trying to get players released," he said.

The sevens circuit continues Nov. 29-30 in Dubai and Dec. 7-8 in South Africa.

Crowley is dangling an ARC carrot for his 15-man squad.

"There's still probably a couple of positions open for the November tour which these guys get a chance to put up their hands for," he said.

Depth is needed at prop and loose forward among other positions, he added.

The Canadian ARC squad was picked after Crowley and his staff carefully watched this summer's Canadian Rugby Championship. It features eight members of the B.C. Bears and seven from the champion Ontario Blues, five from the Prairie Wolf Pack and three from The Rock.

Young talent includes Jake Illnicki and Irish-born fullback Jack Fitzpatrick, who played for Canada in the Junior World Rugby Trophy.

"The younger guys get a chance now to play at a higher level and see what it's like," said Crowley. "It's a stepping stone for them."

Not available for selection due to injury are Tom Dolezel, Jake Webster, and Sean Duke.

Ontario Blues fly-half Liam Underwood is unavailable due to university commitments.

---

Canada roster for IRB Americas Rugby Championship

Kyle Baille, Castaway Wanderers, Charlottetown; Ray Barkwill, Niagara Wasps, Niagara Falls, Ont.; Nick Blevins, Calgary Hornets, Calgary; Alistair Clark, Baystreet RFC, Oakville, Ont.; Zac Coughlan, Swilers RFC, St. John's, N.L.; Joe Dolesau, Burnaby Lake RC, Burnaby, B.C.; Jack Fitzpatrick, Dublin University Football Club, Dublin; Aaron Flagg, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Kyle Gilmour, St. Albert Rugby Club, Edmonton; Micha Gorvorchin, Burnaby Lake RC, New Westminster, B.C.; Matt Heaton, SABRFC, Godmanchester, Que.; Jake Illnicki, Williams Lake Rustlers, Williams Lake, B.C.; Adam Kleeberger, Castaway Wanderers, White Rock, B.C.; Jamie Mackenzie, UVic Vikes, Oakville, Ont.; Duncan Maguire, St. Albert Rugby Club, St. Albert, Alta.; Ryan March, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Adam McQueen, Calgary Hornets, Canmore, Alta.; Henry (Hank) McQueen, Balmy Beach, West Vancouver; Callum Morrison, UBCOC Ravens, Victoria; Mike Scholz, Castaway Wanderers, London, Ont.; Andrew Tiedemann, Castaway Wanderers, St. Albert, Alta.; Conor Trainor, UBCOB Ravens, Vancouver; Sean White, James Bay AA, Victoria; Jordan Wilson-Ross, James Bay AA, Alliston, Ont.; Doug Wooldridge, Lindsay RFC, Lindsay, Ont.

Head Coach: Kieran Crowley

Assistant Coach: Chris Silverthorn

Scrum Coach: Mike Shelley

Manager: Mark Winokur

Performance Analyst: Calum Ramsay

Strength and Conditioning Coach: Andy Evans

2013 IRB Americas Rugby Championship Schedule (all times ET)

Oct. 11

U.S. vs. Argentina, 9 p.m.

Canada vs. Uruguay, 11 p.m.

Oct. 15

Argentina vs. Uruguay, 9 p.m.

U.S. vs. Canada, 11 p.m.

Oct. 19

Uruguay vs. U.S., 6 p.m.

Argentina vs. Canada, 8 p.m.

? Copyright 2013

Source: http://www.timescolonist.com/cmlink/gmg-glacier-media-group/canadian-press/sports/rugby/canadian-coach-kieran-crowley-names-team-for-americas-rugby-championship-1.638274

Chicago Marathon 2012 texas rangers steve jobs meningitis bobby valentine bobby valentine Karrueche Tran

Port Orchard, WA 2013 Ford Escape Used SUV Bremerton, WA Gig Harbor, WA Bruce Titus Port Orchard Ford for $25,992

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.brucetitus.com --- Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Bruce Titus Port Orchard Ford http://www.brucetitus.com/ Location: 1215 East Bay St Port Orchard, WA 98366 Port Orchard, WA 2013 Ford Escape Used SUV Bremerton, WA Gig Harbor, WA Bruce Titus Port Orchard Ford for $25,992 Engine: 1.6L 4 cyls Transmission: Automatic Color: Blue Mileage: 21192 ...

Source: http://brucetitus.com/Used-2013-Ford-Escape-Port-Orchard-WA/vd/16315161

Prince Harry Vegas Melky Cabrera Mayim Bialik Rich Kids of Instagram felix hernandez Ron Palillo julia child