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‘Homeland’ star Claire Danes gives birth to first child

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Emmy-winning actress Claire Danes has given birth to her first child, a boy, the publicist for the “Homeland” star said on Wednesday.

Cyrus Michael Christopher Dancy was born on Monday to Danes, 33, and her husband, British actor Hugh Dancy.

Danes’ performance as CIA operative Carrie Matheson on Showtime’s “Homeland” series scored her an Emmy win in September, while the psychological thriller won the TV industry’s highest honor of best drama series.

Danes is nominated for her second Golden Globe award in the role at the Hollywood awards show in January. She also has won multiple awards for her past work on 2010 TV film “Temple Grandin,” and as a 15-year-old on the 1990s coming-of-age television drama “My So-Called Life.”

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker)

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Physician Launches Black Health Website

NATIONWIDE – The glaring realities facing the Black community’s health and well-being are in a state of emergency. Whether it is high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, various forms of cancer or obesity, Blacks in many cases have the unfortunate distinction as the leading sufferers of these health maladies. Dr. Corey Hebert aims to help tackle these dilemmas via cyberspace, with the launch of BlackHealthTV.com, an online social media and video website geared toward a community overwrought with preventable and treatable ailments and diseases. Launched in October, Dr. Hebert hopes by making health information available online in an interactive format more people will be privy to information that can save their lives or at the very least help them make more well-informed health decisions. “I was sitting at a table in New York with a bunch of very educated African Americans and one of the guys at the table had a Ph.D. from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and he burned himself with a plate at the table,” explained Dr. Hebert when asked what inspired him to launch BlackHealthTV.com. health_care_12-18-2012_1.jpg “The first thing he told me was, ‘Man let me get some butter so I can put it on this burn.’ And I explained to him that’s the worst thing that you could ever put on a burn. You should never put butter on a burn,” Dr. Herbert told The Final Call in an exclusive interview. Applying butter on a burn can cause infection. The man continued to insist butter was the answer telling Dr. Hebert, “trust me.” “I said trust you? I’m a medical doctor and I’m telling you that you’re not supposed to put butter on a burn … everybody at the table disagreed with me,” said Dr. Hebert. That encounter led him to conduct a poll of 1,000 Black people across the country of varying socio-economic status and education levels. The results said Dr. Hebert was 85 percent thought butter was the correct first-aid remedy. “The lack of information is appalling and we know that whatever was out there is not working because the health disparities are increasing. If they’re increasing I just felt I had to do something,” continued Dr. Hebert, an award-winning medical journalist and regular contributor on the Dr. OZ Show. Indeed, the statistics are daunting. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the news regarding Black Americans and optimum health is not good. Black men have higher rates of getting and dying from prostate cancer. Black women are 1.4 times more likely to die from breast cancer than White women. Blacks are more likely to die from asthma. An estimated 3.7 million or 14.7 percent of all non-Hispanic Blacks age 20 and older have diabetes, the leading cause of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. In 2009 a staggering 44 percent of all new HIV infections were Black, despite being only 14 percent of the total U.S. population, and 45 percent of Black adults are obese. What makes BlackHealthTV.com unique is that it is not text heavy, but features video presentations with health tips, health news, recipes, and information on children’s health. Visitors to the site can also sign up to receive “health tips of the day” via email. Using modern technology is an opportunity for more access to information, and though Blacks still lag somewhat behind when it comes to the “digital divide,” the gap is closing. The Pew Research Center notes that 44 percent of Blacks are smart phone users and are more likely than Whites to use their cell phones for accessing Internet and multimedia content. The percentage of Blacks that use the Internet increased from 35 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in 2011, according to Pew. It is this reason; BlackHealthTV.com is formatted different than other health websites explained Dr. Hebert. “African Americans search for “health” more than any other group on the Internet and have downloaded more health apps for iPhones than any other group,” said Dr. Hebert, co-founder and CEO of the site. Other health sites are mostly written word, which can be intimidating to many, he explained. “I have friends that are Master’s degree people that really can’t decipher some of the stuff on WEB M.D., so the only way that an African American or any minority group or any majority group for that matter can get information and really understand it is if it’s delivered in a way that makes them feel very comfortable,” said Dr. Hebert. The online video concept grew from there he explained. “When I start off my videos about diabetes and they start off by saying, ‘You got sugar. Let me tell you what sugar is.’ It puts African Americans at rest about the anxiety about his or her diabetes because I’m speaking to them in a way that they understand and they can appreciate,” said the Baton Rouge, La. native who was raised by a single mother and went on to graduate Morehouse College and Meharry Medical College. Dr. Hebert said the most important thing to him is that for the first time, a Black person who may not be able to read can now access health information on demand. Through BlackHealthTV.com, Dr. Hebert plans to link up with other Black organizations. “That’s my goal. To partner with every Black organization in America and have our content be available to them on their website and any other way that they’d like to get it. We also envision in the long term to be able to have an actual television network called Black Health TV where we have all health content for African Americans, twenty-four seven,” said Dr. Hebert who specializes in pediatrics and emergency medicine. Making sure the Black community has easy to access information to guide them toward making wiser choices when it comes to their health is what drives Dr. Hebert, who has been featured also on the Discovery Channel, The Oprah Winfrey Show and other major networks. “I had never been to a classroom with Black people until I got to Morehouse College and that really changed my life and I knew at that point that I was going to have to take care of my people, at all cost. I don’t care what I have to do, I’m going to make sure that at the very least that an African American man or woman can make a poor choice but that poor choice that they make is based on the education that they have and that’s a choice that they’ve really made,” he explained. The poor health and dietary choices Black people continue to make, said Dr. Hebert are not based on education or fact, something he hopes will eventually change. “Before I die, you’re going to have all the facts in your mind and if you want to choose to do the wrong thing, that’s your choice. That’s what White people have; that’s what Hispanic people are being able to get right now; that’s what we need to have too and that’s the goal for me. To make sure that I empower every African American, or African for that matter, to have the health information that they need to make the right decisions for their health,” said Dr. Hebert. _____

By Starla Muhammad Special to the NNPA from The Final Call

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Why Bill Ackman Went on a Three-Hour Rant Against Herbalife

Is Herbalife (HLF) “the best-managed pyramid scheme in the history of the world,” as fund manager William “Bill” Ackman suggests? Is the maker of weight-loss and nutrition products being unfairly maligned by a man who will make money if investors flee the stock? Did you care about Herbalife before Ackman issued a marathon critique of its business on Dec. 20? You may well not own the stock, as it’s not exactly a blue chip play. But now that Herbalife Chief Executive Officer Michael Johnson and Ackman are blasting each other on the media circuit, the question is what to make of this drama.

This isn’t your typical short-seller’s fight. Start with the fact that Ackman presented his case against Herbalife at a special complimentary event hosted by the Sohn Conference Foundation. The Sohn Conference, now in its 17th year, famously brings together billionaire investors each summer to share their top investment picks and raise money for pediatric cancer research. This is the first time it has held an event featuring one person, according to organizers. The reason became clear at the end of Ackman’s three-hour show: Any money he makes on this bet will go to charity, with $ 25 million slated for Sohn regardless of how it turns out.

Why not make a ton of money and use just some of it for a good cause, as Ackman normally does? Because profiting from Herbalife’s alleged exploitation of its distributors feels like “blood money,” Ackman said. His goal: to let the Federal Trade Commission take this research and shut the company down. Herbalife’s Johnson, meanwhile, is calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue Ackman for “blatant market manipulation.”

The most intriguing thing about Ackman’s high-profile crusade against Herbalife is the fact that Ackman launched it. The founder of Pershing Square Capital Management is best known these days as an activist investor who buys up huge stakes in such companies as Canadian Pacific (CP), JC Penney (JCP), and Target (TGT) to force changes he hopes will drive up the stock price. While he made more than $ 1 billion by betting against bond insurer MBIA (MBI), Ackman prefers to put his money on businesses that can improve, vs. those poised to crash.

All the more reason to wonder why he has spent more than a year researching the case against a company that’s arguably an easy target. Multilevel marketing companies, from Avon (AVP) to Amway, have long dealt with criticism that they’re built on the backs of gullible distributors. People make an upfront investment to sell products on behalf of the company—usually to family and friends—in the hope that they’ll make a decent commission from the sales. Moreover, they’re rewarded for recruiting others to do the same. For most sellers, that system rarely leads to a lucrative income. For investors, the question is what portion of sales are fueled by signing up new recruits vs. selling to consumers who want the products.

In Herbalife’s case, Ackman contends, it’s not much. The model is so stretched worldwide—Ackman used the term “pancake scheme”—that Herbalife has resorted to selling weight loss products in Ghana. (With KFC (YUM) making major inroads there, that might not be a bad thing.) Ackman’s not the first to make that case. David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, well-known for his success in shorting stocks, was asking tough questions of Herbalife’s management months ago. The SEC even looked into the matter.

Although Johnson was brimming with vitriol on Dec. 19, when the Herbalife CEO told CNBC that the world would be better off without Ackman, the company e-mailed a statement after the Sohn Conference presentation to say the inaccuracies were too “numerous” to address right now and to further complain about having been denied a chance to participate.

What we do know is that Bill Ackman hates this flavor of multilevel selling so much that he’s planning to put up a website to warn people against seeking a career through Herbalife. He’s used to being a shareholder’s friend in fighting management, not some villain who profits from others’ misfortune. Try telling that to Fidelity, Herbalife’s largest investor with more than 17 million shares in its funds. While a spokeswoman says the firm doesn’t comment on individual holdings, it has also been selling down its stake in recent months. Herbalife will need to find some fresh recruits.

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Wounded presage health crisis for postwar Syria

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — A baby boy joined the ranks of Syria’s tens of thousands of war wounded when a missile fired by Bashar Assad‘s air force slammed into his family home and shrapnel pierced his skull.

Four-month-old Fahed Darwish suffered brain damage and, like thousands of others seriously hurt in the civil war, he will likely need care well after the fighting is over. That’s something doctors say a post-conflict Syria won’t be able to provide.

Making things worse, there has been a sharp spike in serious injuries since the summer, when the regime began bombing rebel-held areas from the air, and doctors say a majority of the wounded they now treat are civilians.

This week, Fahed was recovering from brain surgery in an intensive care unit, his head bandaged and his body under a heavy blanket, watched over by Mariam, his distraught 22-year-old mother.

She said that after her first-born is discharged from the hospital in Atmeh, a village in an area of relative safety near the Turkish border, they will have to return to their village in a war zone in central Syria.

“We have nowhere else to go,” she said.

Even for those who have escaped direct injury, the civil war is posing a mounting health threat. Half the country’s 88 public hospitals and nearly 200 clinics have been damaged or destroyed, the World Health Organization says, leaving many without access to health care. Diabetics can’t find insulin, kidney patients can’t reach dialysis centers. Towns are running out of water-purifying materials. Many of the hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting are exposed to the cold in tents or unheated public buildings.

“You are talking about a public health crisis on a grand scale,” said Dr. Abdalmajid Katranji, a hand and wrist surgeon from Lansing, Michigan, who regularly volunteers in Syria.

No one knows just how many people have been injured since the uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011, starting out with peaceful protests that turned into an armed insurgency in response to a violent government crackdown.

More than 43,000 have been killed in the past 21 months, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, basing his count on names and details provided by activists in Syria. He said the number of wounded is so large he can only give a rough estimate, of more than 150,000.

Casualties began to rise dramatically at the start of the summer. At the time, the regime, its ground troops stretched thin, began bombing from the air to prevent opposition fighters from gaining more territory.

Seemingly random bombings have razed entire villages and neighborhoods, driving terrified civilians from their homes, with an estimated 3 million Syrians out of the country’s population of 23 million now displaced.

About 10 percent of the wounded suffer serious injuries and many of those will need long-term care and rehabilitation, said Dr. Omar Aswad of the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations, an umbrella for 14 aid groups.

This includes artificial limbs and follow-up surgery. “This is of course not available and will be one of the major (health) problems in the months right after the war,” said Mago Tarzian, emergency director for the Paris-based Doctors Without Borders.

For now, aid groups are struggling to provide even emergency treatment in under-equipped clinics.

The two dozen small hospitals and field clinics in rebel-run areas of Idlib province in the north only have a few Intensive Care Unit beds between them, said Aswad. None has a CT scanner, an important diagnostic tool.

“We need generators, we need medical supplies and the most pressing is medicine,” he said.

The challenge has been compounded by new types of injuries.

The regime has begun dropping incendiary bombs that can cause severe burns, according to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, citing amateur video and witness accounts.

Ole Solvang, a researcher for the group, said he saw remnants of such a bomb on a recent Syria trip. Aswad said doctors in Idlib and nearby Aleppo province reported seeing patients with burns from such weapons.

Doctors and hospitals have also been targeted. Aswad, who fled the city of Idlib in March after regime forces entered it, said five friends in a secret association of anti-regime physicians have been arrested. Hospitals, ambulances and doctors have been attacked, Solvang said, calling it “a worrying trend that makes the medical situation even worse.”

One of the bright spots is a 50-bed emergency care clinic set up six weeks ago in a former elementary school in Atmeh.

Largely funded by a wealthy Syrian expatriate, the Orient clinic, with five ICU beds, handles some of the most serious cases in a radius of some 150 kilometers (90 miles), said its director, orthopedic surgeon Abdel Hamid Dabbak.

In the past, seriously wounded patients had to go to Turkey, risking dangerous delays at the border, he said. Now, once patients are stabilized in Atmeh, they are sent to a sister clinic across the border for follow-up care.

In Orient’s ICU, a 24-year-old rebel fighter was breathing oxygen through a mask. He had been brought in a day earlier, bleeding heavily from stomach wounds and close to death, said Dr. Maen Martini, a volunteer physician from Joliet, Illinois. After surgery, he stabilized and was taken off a respirator. A delayed crossing into Turkey would have killed him, Martini said.

The fighter’s neighbor was little Fahed, whose house had been struck by a missile on Saturday in the village of Kafr Zeita in Hama province. “The roof collapsed on us,” his mother said of the attack. “We ran out … I saw him bleeding from his head, but it was just a small cut.”

The local clinic said the injury was more serious than it seemed and the family rushed to Atmeh, more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the north.

Since surgery, Fahed has been nursing and has moved his arms and legs, and the doctor is hoping for a near-complete recovery.

“Clinically, he has improved dramatically,” he said.

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North Korean Video Game Has Western Ties

Video games represent a true luxury for most North Koreans living in a country where even the elite have only hours of electricity each day. That has not stopped a Western company in the capital city of Pyonyang from creating what may be the first North Korean game widely available online.

The game, called “Pyongyang Racer,” is a simple Web browser game that allows players to drive a car around North Korea’s capitol city of Pyongyang, according to Beijing Cream. Players must avoid hitting cars and collect gasoline in the form of petrol barrels to keep their run going as long as possible — all while getting warnings from one of Pyongyang’s famously picturesque traffic girls.

“Pyongyang Racer” has an unusual development history as a video game. The North Korean programmers who made the game work for Nosotek, a Western company that describes itself as the “first western IT venture” in North Korea.

Nosotek’s North Korean programmers previously made mobile-phone games based on the Hollywood films “The Big Lebowski” and “Men in Black.” Those games ended up getting published through a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp (owner of Fox News), according to Bloomberg News.

Nosotek claims to have “attracted the cream of local talent as the only company in Pyongyang offering Western working conditions and Internet access.” That would likely be true in North Korea, given the nuclear-armed country’s pariah status among Western countries and businesses.

The Nosotek website also praises the advantages of working in North Korea because “IP secrecy and minimum employee churn rate are structurally guaranteed.” Translation: North Korean programmers would likely never leave Nosotek with the company’s intellectual property secrets because they have practically no other employment options.

Nosotek built the game for Koryo Tours, a company based in Beijing, China, to distribute “Pyongyang Racer” through the Koryo Tours website. Koryo Tours is currently the leading company that runs tours of secretive North Korea for Westerners and other foreigners.

“This game was developed in 2012 and is not intended to be a high-end technological wonder hit game of the 21st century, but more a fun race game (arcade style) where you drive around in Pyongyang and learn more about the sites and get a glimpse of Pyongyang,” Koryo Tours said on the game’s website.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. You can follow TechNewsDaily Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter @jeremyhsu. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily, or on Facebook.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Leah Remini sued by former managers over “Family Tools” commissions

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Leah Remini‘s new TV gig is already giving her a headache, months before it even starts. Former “King of Queens” star Remini is being sued by her former managers, the Collective Management Group, which claims that it’s owed $ 67,000 in commissions relating to her upcoming ABC comedy “Family Tools,” which debuts May 1.

In a complaint filed with Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, the Collective says that it entered into an agreement with the actress in November 2011 that guaranteed the company 10 percent of the earnings that emerged from projects that Remini “discussed, negotiated, contemplated, or procured/booked during Plaintiff’s representation of Remini,” regardless of whether the income was earned after she and the Collective parted ways.

According to the lawsuit, that would include the $ 1 million that it says Remini will earn for the first season of “Family Tools.” (The suit allows that it isn’t owed commission on a $ 330,000 talent holding fee that Remini received from ABC prior to officially being booked on the show.)

Remini, pictured above wearing the self-satisfied smirk of someone who just might stiff her former managers out of their commission, terminated her agreement with the Collective “without warning or justification” in October, the suit says.

Alleging breach of oral contract among other charges, the suit is asking for an order stipulating that it’s owed the $ 67,000, plus unspecified damages, interest and court costs.

Remini’s agent has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.

(Pamela Chelin contributed to this report)

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Allscripts names new CEO to spearhead recovery

(Reuters) – Embattled healthcare technology firm Allscripts named its board member and former chief operating officer of rival Cerner Corp Paul Black as its CEO, replacing Glen Tullman, and said it ended a review of strategic alternatives.

The move, effective immediately, raises new questions for the direction of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc after activist shareholder HealthCor Management installed three of its nominees to the company’s board last summer, following a bitter fight with Tullman.

Allscripts has struggled to boost new business following its acquisition of Eclipsys Corp in 2010. It had hoped to expand into software and equipment for hospitals and healthcare systems with that purchase but ended up losing business to Cerner Corp and closely held Epic Systems Corp.

The company, which has been the subject of takeover interest, also said on Wednesday that Lee Shapiro would step down as president.

Allscripts shares, which have nearly halved in value this year, were down 19 percent at $ 8.70 in extended trade on Wednesday. They had closed at $ 10.68 earlier on the Nasdaq.

“Both Glen and the board of directors believe that after Glen’s 15 years of leadership, it is the right time now for a new leader to focus on execution, position the company to deliver shareholder value and lead Allscripts through its next phase of growth,” Allscripts spokeswoman Ariana Nikitas said.

Tullman’s resignation comes months after Healthcor cited problems with his leadership and demanded his ouster.

“I think Glen has been under a lot of pressure since the attempted coup by former board members and HealthCor demanded some changes and Allscripts agreed to put some of HealthCor’s appointees on the board,” said Anthony Vendetti, an analyst at Maxim Group, adding he has personally known Tullman since he became CEO.

Black left Cerner in 2007 after more than 12 years with the company, helping to make it a market leader with more than $ 1.5 billion of annual revenues and playing an instrumental role in its double-digit organic growth, Allscripts said.

“I think (Black) is the ideal candidate for CEO,” said Vendetti, who has a “buy” rating on Allscripts stock and a price target of $ 15.

“We view this news positively as Mr. Black is well regarded in the industry. With that said, we maintain our neutral rating for the time being,” Steven Halper of Lazard Capital Markets wrote in a note.

LONG ROAD TO GROWTH

Allscripts stock has fallen more than 42 percent this year amid weak bookings that hampered sales and profit.

The company withdrew its full-year outlook in November, as it began to consider strategic alternatives. Later that month, Reuters reported that Blackstone Group LP had emerged as the frontrunner to buy the company but that the two sides were far apart on price and a deal was highly uncertain, according to people familiar with the matter.

Black is no stranger to the buyout industry, having served as operating executive of Genstar Capital LLC, a private equity firm, and senior advisor at New Mountain Finance Corporation, an investment management company.

His background may come in handy as he seeks to turn around the company’s financial performance in a difficult environment for healthcare IT firms. These companies face a dwindling customer base as hospitals consolidate physician practices into their existing vendors.

“The expectation is that it will take some time (for the company) to fundamentally turn around its business,” analyst Vendetti said. He added that Allscripts’ main goal should be to re-establish client trust in their products and the ability to integrate their product portfolio.

A comment in the Allscripts statement from Tullman, who had been CEO since 1997, made no reference to the reasons for his departure. He said he was confident that Allscripts was in good hands and had a bright future ahead.

Analyst Halper said he remained concerned about the long-term growth prospects of the company.

“With the selection of Paul Black, hopefully the company can redefine its strategic direction,” Halper said.

(Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Gary Hill, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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U.S. “fiscal cliff” talks turn sour, Obama threatens veto

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Talks to avoid a U.S. fiscal crisis stalled on Wednesday as President Barack Obama accused opponents of holding a personal grudge against him while the top Republican negotiator called the president “irrational.”

As a year-end deadline nears, Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner are locked in intense bargaining over a possible deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of harsh tax hikes and automatic spending cuts that could badly damage an already weak economy.

Obama said he was puzzled over what was holding up the talks and told Boehner‘s Republicans to stop worrying about scoring “a point against the president” or forcing him into concessions “just for the heck of it.”

“It is very hard for them to say yes to me,” he told a news conference in the White House. “At some point, you know, they’ve got to take me out of it.”

The rise in tensions threatens to unravel significant progress made over the last week.

Boehner and Obama have each offered substantial concessions that have made a deal look within reach. Obama has agreed to cuts in benefits for seniors, while Boehner has conceded to Obama’s demand that taxes rise for the richest Americans.

However, the climate of goodwill has evaporated since Republicans announced plans on Tuesday to put an alternative tax plan to a vote in the House this week that would largely disregard the progress made so far in negotiations.

On Wednesday, Obama threatened to veto the Republican measure, known as “Plan B,” if Congress approved it.

Boehner’s office slammed Obama for opposing their plan, which would raise taxes on households making more than $ 1 million a year and is a concession from longstanding Republican opposition to increasing any tax rates.

“The White House’s opposition to a backup plan … is growing more bizarre and irrational by the day,” Boehner said through his spokesman, Brendan Buck.

Boehner expressed confidence the House would pass the legislation on Thursday. He urged Obama to “get serious” about a balanced deficit reduction plan.

Wall Street is on edge over the fiscal cliff talks although investors still expect a deal. The S&P 500 stock index slipped 0.76 percent on Wednesday.

Business leaders have descended on Washington to lobby for a deal to avoid going over the cliff while putting public finances on a more sustainable path. Without an agreement to narrow deficits over the long run, the United States could eventually lose investors’ trust, triggering a debt crisis.

An acrimonious presidential campaign that culminated in Obama’s re-election on November 6 has added to the bad blood in Washington between Obama and congressional Republicans.

The two sides also clashed bitterly last year over the government’s limit on borrowing – known as the debt ceiling – an episode that nearly led the nation to default on its debt.

On Wednesday, Obama said the fiscal cliff must not get bogged down with negotiations over the debt ceiling, an issue that must be dealt with again early next year.

But Boehner’s offer to raise the debt ceiling enough for another year of borrowing is facing opposition from a large group of Republicans, a House Republican aide said.

LITMUS TEST

Any fiscal cliff agreement by Obama and the Republican leadership would need the support of their parties’ rank and file in Congress, and Thursday’s vote on Plan B will be a test of Boehner’s ability to deliver votes on any eventual deal.

Boehner faces opposition from Republican Tea Party conservatives over his concession to raise tax rates. But in a sign some conservatives are coming around to Boehner’s position, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist gave his blessing to the bill.

Other conservative groups, including the influential Club for Growth, are urging Republicans to vote against Plan B.

Obama and Boehner appear to have bridged their biggest ideological differences but remain hung up on the mix of tax hikes and spending cuts meant to narrow the budget gap.

“What separates us is probably a few hundred billion dollars,” Obama said.

The White House wants taxes to rise on household incomes above $ 400,000 a year, a concession from Obama’s opening proposal for a $ 250,000 income threshold.

If a deal is not reached soon, some $ 600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts are set to begin next month.

Senior administration officials described negotiations as at a standstill and Obama warned he would ask everyone involved in the talks, “what it is that’s holding it up?”

Still, the top Republican in the Senate said a resolution to the stalemate could come by the end of the week.

“There’s still enough time for us to finish all of our work before this weekend, if we’re all willing to stay late and work hard,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Many Democrats dislike the president’s offer to reduce benefits to seniors, although some political allies of Obama have given signs they feel they could swallow this concession.

“I don’t like these particular changes,” said Democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen, a member of the House leadership from Maryland. But he added: “What people are seeing is the president willing to compromise in order to get things done.”

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Thomas Ferraro and Vicki Allen; Kim Dixon and Richard Cowan; Writing by Jason Lange; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)

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Worries grow in east Congo with fighter buildup

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Aid workers warned Wednesday that armed groups are setting up new front lines in and around the city of Goma in eastern Congo, where the U.N. said it now has documented at least 126 rape cases last month.

Thousands of fighters from the M23 rebel group withdrew several weeks ago from Goma, and the fighters have since taken steps toward negotiating with the Congolese government.

However, residents in Goma say M23 and other armed fighters are now positioning themselves in an around the city — including inside camps for people displaced by the violence.

The arrival of several thousand fighters within the last week is prompting fear among civilians, who already have experienced years of fighting and rebellions, said Tariq Riebl, Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator there.

“They are very concerned — people are seeing this and they don’t know what it means,” he said. “I think what everyone is scared about is that it seems like people are ramping up, ramping up but for what purpose?”

Oxfam warns that more than 1 million people could come under attack if violence again flares in Goma, where more than 100,000 people already have fled from elsewhere in the region.

“Goma is typically the last refuge safe haven and now it’s being directly called into question. If Goma falls in a big battle, where are people going to go?” Riebl said.

“This is very, very disconcerting because you have a population of over 1 million people and if war were to break out, we’re looking at a horrific situation.”

The M23 rebel group, which is believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda, is made up of hundreds of soldiers who deserted the Congolese army in April.

They took control of many villages and towns in the mineral-rich east over the last seven months, culminating in the seizure of Goma on Nov. 20. It took days of negotiations and intense international pressure, including from the U.N., for the thousands of fighters from M23 to finally withdraw from the regional capital.

The U.N. mission says it’s received allegations of serious rights violations, including killings and wounding of civilians, rape, looting, and forced recruitment of children, by elements of the M23 rebels in Goma and neighboring areas.

Congo’s armed forces are also blamed for a series of attacks as they fled Goma in retreat in late November.

The U.N. said Tuesday it now has been able to document at least 126 rapes during that period in the Minova area, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Goma.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said that two Congolese soldiers so far have been arrested in connection with the rapes, while seven others had been implicated in looting in the area.

“The Congolese Armed Forces have started investigating those human rights violations,” he said. “The U.N. Mission is supporting the military justice procedure in conducting thorough investigations into these allegations to ensure that the perpetrators are identified and held accountable.”

Rape has long been used as a brutal weapon of war in eastern Congo, where both soldiers and various armed groups use sexual violence to intimidate, punish and control the population.

Africa News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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