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World
Iraqi vice president predicts security accord with U.S. unlikely this year
BAGHDAD – Time’s running out for reaching a security agreement with the United States, and an accord is unlikely before the end of this year, Iraq’s Sunni Muslim vice president said Monday.
The United Nations mandate that authorizes the U.S. military presence in Iraq will expire Dec. 31, and without a so-called status of forces agreement, it’s questionable whether the U.S. will have a legitimate right to maintain its troops in Iraq, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi told McClatchy Newspapers.
Hashimi also expressed strong concern that the improved security situation in Iraq could deteriorate just as the U.N. mandate runs out.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview with the London Times newspaper Monday that if there was no agreement and no renewal of the U.N. mandate, “the U.S. forces will be confined to their bases and have to withdraw from Iraq.” But he added that “a sudden withdrawal may harm security.”
Germany, France, Britain launch major financial-rescue plans
PARIS – Acting with urgency and unity, which had been sorely lacking, European nations unveiled plans Monday that could inject a mind-boggling $1 trillion into troubled banking systems whose failures have threatened to drag the world into a deep recession.
Stock markets around the globe rallied after Britain, Germany and France announced concrete steps that will dramatically reshape the world economy by guaranteeing bank loans and recapitalizing their countries’ commercial banks.
National
Young voter turnout expected to surge this election
WASHINGTON – After backing the candidates on Facebook, “tweeting” about the issues and posting their analyses on YouTube, a record number of young people are expected to vote in November.
Between 1972, the first election when 18-year-olds were allowed to vote, and 2000, turnout among those 18 to 24 declined by 16 percentage points. But 2004 signaled a change, with an 11 percent increase in youth voting.
That uptick continued during this year’s presidential primary campaign, with more than 6.5 million young people participating, according to statistics from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE.
Voters under 30, who make up about one-fifth of the electorate, are energized and engaged more than ever before, said Karlo Marcelo, a CIRCLE research consultant.
McCain rolls out new $52.5 billion economic-relief plan
WASHINGTON – Republican John McCain unveiled Tuesday $52.5 billion worth of proposals targeting seniors, workers and the unemployed in a bid to get a handle on an economy that’s hurting him in the polls.
Speaking in Blue Bell, Pa., McCain outlined a plan that would allow people 59 and older who withdraw money from Individual Retirement Accounts or 401(k) retirement plans in 2008 and 2009 to pay an income tax rate of only 10 percent – instead of the usually higher rates – on the first $50,000 withdrawn each year. There would be no penalty for such withdrawals.
McCain’s plan also calls for halving the capital gains tax on stocks purchased and held for more than a year from 15 percent to 7.5 percent for two years, increasing the tax write-off for stock losses from $3,000 to $15,000 for tax years 2008 and 2009, and suspending taxes on unemployment insurance benefits for those two years.
Local/BSU
Boise couple arrested after child found in cold, feces-covered home
A Boise couple was arrested after police found a toddler sleeping in a cold, feces-covered bedroom.
Marijean K. Stewart, 24, and Zachary J. Smith, 24, both of Boise, were charged with felony injury to a child after police discovered them and the child living in horrifying conditions.
Boise officers responded to check on a home on the 6400 block of Russett Street in Boise after dispatch reported a 911 hang up. When officers arrived, they found Stewart and Smith in the home. They also found piles of human feces, urine and feces stains throughout the house.
Police went to check on Stewart’s 3-year-old son and found him sleeping on the floor in a very cold bedroom. The boy was dressed only in a urine-soaked diaper and was sleeping near a pile of human feces.
Officers say the child’s bedroom appeared to be about 50 degrees. The only heat in the home was coming from an oven that was turned on and the door left open.
The child was placed in the custody of Idaho Health and Welfare.
BSU presents an evening with author Greg Mortenson
Boise State University will present a free, open-to-the-public reading by “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Morrison Center. There are no tickets; seating is first-come, first-served. Groups of 10 or more should contact Brian MacDonald at 426-4624 for seating arrangements.
Mortenson’s appearance is part of Boise State’s First Year Read program. Every new degree-seeking student was given a copy of “Three Cups of Tea” and has spent the fall semester discussing the book in classes.
What The?
So he wasn’t actually that much of a threat to society
Officials at a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, prison mistakenly released a 20-year-old inmate charged with breaking and entering. When they realized their error a week later, they called him, and he came back.
I’m an amateur filmmaker, officer, I swear
A landlord secretly installed tiny cameras in ceiling fans and behind mirrors in the bedrooms and bathrooms of seven apartments he rented to women in Norristown, Pa. He did this for 19 years until one of the ladies discovered one of the cameras and called the cops.
COMPILED BY ARBITER STAFF