Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 246 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
October 13, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
SUNDAY
Congress lumbers while threatened default looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats in Congress lumbered through a day of political maneuvering Saturday while a threatened default by the T reasury crept uncomfortably closer and a partial government shutdown neared the end of its second week. “We haven’t done anything yet” by way of compromise, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after Senate leaders took
control of efforts to end the impasse, although he and other Democrats said repeatedly there was reason for optimism.
Across the Capitol, tea party caucus Republican Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana said there was “definitely a chance that we’re going to go past the deadline” on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has set for Congress to raise the $16.7 trillion debt limit.
Lawmakers in both parties said they were watching for the reaction to the political uncertainty by the financial markets when they reopen after the weekend. President Barack Obama met with Senate Democratic leaders at the White House after accusing Republicans of practicing the politics of extortion. “Manufacturing crises to extract massive concessions isn’t how our democ-
racy works, and we have to stop it,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
Ironically, though, House Republicans who triggered the shutdown with tea party-driven demands to eradicate Obama’s health law conceded that they had temporarily been reduced to virtual bystander status.
“The Senate needs to hold tough,” Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., quoted Speaker John Boehner, R-
Mark Wilson Photo
Great fun had at Graves Farm Fest
Wild West re-enactors Six Guns and Shady Ladies from El Paso entertain visitors at Graves Farm & Garden sixth annual Farm Festival, Saturday.
each other in the threeAMY VOGELSANG legged race, all dead set on RECORD STAFF WRITER rolling across the finish line first. Dust flew up as the kids Meanwhile, other kids took off. They tripped and cheered as they took on a fell over themselves and mechanical bull and par-
ents with little ones chose den held entertainment for the perfect pumpkin to all ages. walk away with. With hot, A big hit was the Corn roasted corn and a selection of events, the sixth Cannon: a tube that, with a annual Graves Farm Fest at Graves Farm and GarSee GRAVES, Page A3
Medicare to begin open enrollment
Infor mación acerca del periodo abierto de inscripción en Medicare es disponible en pagina A3. Open enrollment for Medicare is between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7 of this year. Most people can not sign up for Medicare or change Medicare plans after this window passes. If you are 65 or older and you or your spouse worked at least 10 years for an employer that contributes to Medicare, you are probably eligible for Medicare plans. Some people under age 65 also qualify for the program. Some exceptional situations may allow you to sign up for Medicare or
change Medicare plans after the open enrollment period. According to Medicare, its options and coverage have expanded as part of the Affordable Care Act. Due to the government shutdown, infor mation about specific plans may not yet be updated on medicare.gov, the official website of Medicare, or cms.gov, the official website for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Check with plan providers or a broker to ensure you choose a plan based on the most up-todate information because plans change year to year.
If you choose to visit a broker, be aware that not all health insurance brokers are licensed by the state to enroll clients in Medicare. You can check the licensing of a broker by emailing the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance at agents.licensing@state.nm. us.
People watch high tide waves as they stand at the Bay of Bengal coast in Vishakhapatnam, India, Saturday.
HIGH 80 LOW 59
TODAY’S FORECAST
The effects of the partial government shutdown varied widely, and in some cases, states and outsiders were stepping in.
Officials said the Statue of Liberty would reopen on Sunday after New York agreed to pick up the $61,600 daily tab for running the site. South Dakota
and corporate donors did the same for Mount Rushmore, beginning on Monday at a cost of $15,200 a day.
The White House, drawing attention to the effects of the partial shutdown on gover nment research, noted that four of five Nobel Prize-winning scientists working for the federal gover nment had to be furloughed. It said two-thirds of the employees at the Centers for Disease Control have had to stay home.
Survey shows rare bird down by half
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Last year was apparently rough for lesser prairie chickens, a rare grouse that has been a candidate for federal protection for years and is now proposed for inclusion under the Endangered Species Act. In 2012, there were an estimated 34,000 lesser prairie chickens across their grassland range, which includes portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. Kansas is home to about half the country’s lesser prairie chicken population. This year’s survey, which was conducted from Mar ch thr ough May for the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, showed the bird’s population has declined by about half, down to an estimated 17,600 total in the five states. The decline was largely attributed to dr ought, which also decimated the bird’s population in the 1990s when it was first proposed for federal protection, said Jim Pitman, small game coordinator the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and
Tourism.
“The important thing is the grassland is still there,” Pitman said. Once the grasslands regenerate from wet weather, the bird population will also increase, he said.
The lesser prairie chicken has been the subject of several attempts by conservation groups who say the bir d is headed for extinction unless it gains protected status under the Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service earlier this year proposed listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the ESA largely because of huge declines in the bird’s population and the loss of vast swaths of its natural grassland habitat. The Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to have a decision by March 2014.
Several landowners, state wildlife agencies and oil, gas and wind energy companies have opposed the federal listing for the bird because they say federal recognition could lead to more regulations and impede their development.
Mark Wilson Photo
You also can check the provider affiliations and continuing education activities of brokers at the website of the of fice, osi.state.nm.us, and clicking on the button that says
Darien Ross of Ruidoso performs during the Cowboy Mounted Shooting event at the fairgrounds, Saturday.
See MEDICARE, Page A3
Wind, rain pound India as massive cyclone hits
BEHRAMPUR, India (AP) — An immense, powerful cyclone packing destructive winds hammered easter n India, forcing more than 500,000 people to evacuate and sending seawater surging inland. Reports of deaths and the extent of damage from Cyclone Phailin won’t become clear until after daybreak Sunday.
AP Photo
Sure shot
Ohio, as telling the GOP rank and file in a private meeting. “The president now isn’t negotiating with us.”
The storm, which made landfall early Saturday night near the town of Golpalpur in Orissa state, was expected to cause large-
• NOVIE ANN STEARMAN • KENNETH MILLER • BILLIE ESTHER CASWELL
scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, of ficials said. It’s also expected to cause extensive damage to crops. Officials in both Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have been stockpiling emergency food supplies and setting up shelters. The Indian military has put some of its forces on alert, and has trucks, transport planes and helicopters at the ready for relief operations. Roads were all but
• DANIEL “DANNY” F. ADAMS
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGES B6 & B7
empty Saturday as high waves pounded the coastline of Orissa state. Seawater pushed inland, swamping villages where many people survive as subsistence far mers in mud and thatch huts. As the cyclone swept across the Bay of Bengal toward the Indian coast Saturday, satellite images showed its spinning tails covering an area larger than France. U.S. forecasters had repeatedly war ned that Phailin would be immense.
CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1 COMICS .................B9 FEATURE ................C3 GENERAL ...............A2
With some of the world’s warmest waters, the Indian Ocean is considered a cyclone hot spot, and some of the deadliest storms in recent history have come through the Bay of Bengal, including a 1999 cyclone that also hit Orissa and killed 10,000 people. “If it’s not a record, it’s really, really close,” University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy told The Associated Press. See CYCLONE, Page A3
INDEX HOROSCOPES .........C3 LOTTERIES .............A2
NATION ..................B6
OPINION .................A4 SPORTS .................B1 WEATHER ............A10 VISTAS...................C1