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THE NEWS SUN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013
Questionable economy may halt action by Fed Cloudy today with rain expected late. Highs will reach the low 60s. Low tonight of 55 degrees. Thursday will be cloudy with heavy rain expected. One to three inches possible. Daytime highs will be in the mid-60s and an overnight low temperature of 50. Cooler and cloudy Friday with a high of 56, low of 41.
Sunrise Thursday 8:11 a.m. Sunset Thursday 6:38 p.m.
National forecast Tuesday’s Statistics Local HI 56 LO 41 PRC. 0 Fort Wayne HI 57 LO 43 PRC. 0
Forecast highs for Wednesday, Oct. 30
Today's Forecast
Pt. Cloudy
Cloudy
City/Region High | Low temps
Forecast for Wednesday, Oct. 30
MICH.
Chicago 63° | 50°
South Bend 66° | 45°
Fort Wayne 64° | 46°
Fronts Cold
Warm Stationary
Pressure Low
High
OHIO
Lafayette 66° | 54°
ILL.
Sunny
South Bend HI 57 LO 44 PRC. 0 Indianapolis HI 59 LO 50 PRC. 0
-10s
Indianapolis 68° | 50°
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Today’s drawing by:
Terre Haute 72° | 52°
Evansville 77° | 57°
-0s
Tye Thomas Louisville 73° | 55°
KY.
© 2013 Wunderground.com
Submit your weather drawings to: Weather Drawings, Editorial Dept. P.O. Box 39, Kendallville, IN 46755
AUCTION: EN Theatre tickets among items for bid FROM PAGE A1
Carriage House at the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, East Noble Theatre season tickets, tickets to Breakfast with Santa and Gaslight Theatre, dinner for eight delivered to the buyer’s home by East Noble FCCLA, and a Sylvan Lake
moonlight cruise for eight with wine and cheese. Auction attendees who wish to promote a business, political candidate or public message can bid on eight weeks of billboard space, with a choice of any one of several possible locations in Noble or LaGrange counties.
Some say spying has gone too far WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far. The chairman of the House intelligence committee said it might help to disclose more about National Security Agency operations but barring NSA from collecting millions of Americans’ phone records would scrap an important tool. “We can’t ask the FBI to find terrorists plotting an attack and then not provide them with the information they need,” said Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. He spoke at the start of a hearing where top intelligence officials were testifying, including National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander. A bipartisan plan introduced Tuesday would end the NSA’s massive sweep of phone records, allowing the government to seek only records related to ongoing terror investigations. Critics both at home and abroad have derided the program as intrusive and a violation of privacy rights. The proposal comes as President Barack Obama and key lawmakers are saying it’s time to look closely at surveillance programs that have angered many Americans and now are drawing complaints from world leaders because of reports that their cellphone conversations were monitored. The White House is considering ending eavesdropping on friendly foreign leaders, a senior administration official said. The administration tried to tamp down damage Tuesday from the monthslong spying scandal — including the most recent disclosure that the National Security Agency had monitored the cellphone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A final decision about listening in on allies has not been made, the senior official said. The White House also faces complaints at home
about the NSA collecting millions of Americans’ phone records and sweeping up Internet traffic and email. The Obama administration defends those programs as important in the fight against terrorism. Asked about the reports of eavesdropping on world leaders, Obama said in a television interview that the U.S. government is conducting “a complete review of how our intelligence operates outside the country.” Obama declined to discuss specifics or say when he learned about the spying operations. “What we’ve seen over the last several years is their capacities continue to develop and expand, and that’s why I’m initiating now a review to make sure that what they’re able to do doesn’t necessarily mean what they should be doing,” he said Monday on the new TV network Fusion. A second U.S. official said Obama did not know the NSA was monitoring Merkel’s communications until after his visit to Germany in June. The official said information about the surveillance of foreign leaders emerged in the course of the White House’s broader review of spying programs, triggered by media reports based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and insisted on anonymity. The White House says the United States isn’t currently listening to Merkel’s conversations and won’t do so in the future. On Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner said there should be a thorough review of intelligence gathering, bearing in mind the responsibility to keep Americans safe from terrorism and the nation’s obligations to allies. “We have to find the right balance here,” said Boehner, R-Ohio. “And clearly, we’re imbalanced.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for a “total review of all intelligence programs” following the Merkel allegations.
Tickets still are available for the Noble House Benefit Auction at $30 each or a table of eight for $220. To make a reservation, call Noble House executive director Debi Pfaffenberger at 636-3016 or board vice president Nancy Shambaugh at 854-2577 or 894-3529.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lot can change in six weeks. When the Federal Reserve last met in mid-September, almost everyone expected it to start reducing the stimulus it’s given the U.S. economy to help it rebound from the Great Recession. It didn’t. The Fed pulled a surprise by deciding not to slow its $85 billion-a-month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases. Its bond buying has been intended to keep long-term loan rates low to support the economy. And now? After a 16-day partial government shutdown and a batch of tepid economic data, no one thinks the Fed will reduce its stimulus when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Many analysts now predict the Fed will maintain the pace of its bond purchases into next year. Blame the uncertainty surrounding Congress’ budget fight and renewed questions about the economy’s health. “I think March is now the earliest that any reduction in bond purchases will happen,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. By then, Fed members expect to have seen several months of stronger job growth. They also expect Congress to have resolved its budget impasse.
If the Fed does start slowing its stimulus in March, it will have left its policy unchanged not just this week but also at its next meeting in December and at its subsequent meeting in late January. The delay would signal a dimmer economic outlook. The January meeting will be the last for Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is stepping down after eight years. President Barack Obama has chosen Vice Chair Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke. Assuming that Yellen is confirmed by the Senate, her first meeting as chairman will be in March. Many economists think no major policy changes will occur before a new chairman takes over. Congress’ budget fight has clouded the Fed’s timetable. Though the government reopened Oct. 17 and a threatened default on its debt was averted, Congress adopted only temporary fixes. More deadlines and possible economic disruptions lie ahead. A House-Senate conference committee is working toward a budget accord. But wide differences separate Democrats and Republicans on spending and taxes. Without a deal by Jan. 15, another shutdown is possible. Congress must also raise the government’s debt ceiling after Feb. 7. If not, a
market-rattling default will remain a threat. The standoff has led economists to trim their forecasts for economic growth in the October-December quarter. U.S. employers added just 148,000 jobs in September, a steep slowdown from August. And temporary layoffs during the shutdown are expected to depress October’s job gain. The shutdown also postponed the release of many of the government’s economic reports. The delay has made it harder for Fed officials to assess the economy. Given the uncertainties, analysts think the Fed will be cautious about paring its economic support. In June, when Bernanke suggested that the Fed could reduce its bond buying by year’s end, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 560 points in two days. Many investors feared that the Fed might remove its support prematurely and derail an already subpar recovery from the recession. Interest rates rose, too. The increase particularly in mortgage rates, before the Fed had even begun to change policy, alarmed the central bank. Higher mortgage rates could dampen the gains in housing, which has been a rare bright spot for the economy.
HEALTH: Thousands reportedly have health insurance canceled FROM PAGE A1
now reaching policyholders, and they’ve been complaining to their lawmakers — who were grilling Tavenner on Tuesday. “Based on what little information the administration has disclosed, it turns out that more people have received cancellation notices for their health care plans this month than have enrolled in the (health care website),” said Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich. He cited a news report of 146,000 cancellations in his state alone. Up and down the dais, lawmakers chimed in with stories of constituents who had received similar notices. Republicans also offered examples of people being asked to pay more. Democrats countered by citing constituents who had been able to find lower-cost coverage for 2014 than they have now, some saving hundreds of dollars a month. Ranking Democrat Sander Levin of Michigan said one of his constituents has been paying $800 a month for a BlueCrossBlueShield plan and managed to find comparable coverage for $77, after tax credits that lower the premiums. Still, Levin added, “This has become a matter of legitimate discussion.” It could take months to sort out the balance of individual winners and losers. There’s not a central source of statistics on how many people have gotten cancellations. Even the number of people who buy insurance individually is disputed. It isn’t the administra-
AP
Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday before the House
tion’s fault, said Tavenner. “In fact the issuer has decided to change the plan; (they) didn’t have to.” Change is a constant in the individual insurance market, she added, and about half of plans “churn” over in any given year. Obama’s promise dates back to June of 2009, when Congress was starting to grapple with overhauling the health care system to cover uninsured Americans. “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period,” the president said in remarks to the American Medical Association. “No one will take it away, no matter what.” Some immediately saw
Ways and Means Committee hearing on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
the promise as too broad for Obama to deliver on, given that health plans are constantly being changed by the employers that sponsor them or by insurers directly. Nonetheless, Democrats in Congress devised a complicated scheme called “grandfathering” to try to make good on Obama’s pledge. It shields plans from the law’s requirements, provided the plans themselves change very little. Insurers say it has proven impractical. Republicans were not alone in raising concerns at Tuesday’s hearing. But Democrats put their complaints in the context of addressing problems so the law can deliver its
historic promise of coverage to millions of uninsured people. “Let’s not fixate on the website, let’s fix the website,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, put Tavenner on notice, saying, “The promise of affordable care can also be denied through management failure.” Tavenner delivered the most direct mea culpa yet from the administration for the technical problems that have kept many Americans from signing up through HealthCare.gov. “I want to apologize to you that the website has not worked as well as it should,” she told the committee.
Russia breaks Olympic no-waste pledge AKHSHTYR, Russia (AP) — Trucks rumble to the edge of a gigantic pit filled with spray cans, tires and foam sheets and dump a stream of concrete slabs that send up a cloud of limestone dust. Other trucks pile clay on top and a bulldozer mixes everything together in a rudimentary effort to hide the mess. This landfill outside Sochi, which will host the Winter Olympics in 100 days, is smack in the middle of a water protection zone where dumping industrial waste is banned.
As a centerpiece of its Olympic bid, Russia trumpeted a “Zero Waste” program that promised the cleanest games ever, saying it would refrain from dumping construction waste and rely on reusable materials. But on a visit last week to Akhshtyr, just north of Sochi, The Associated Press found that Russia’s state-owned rail monopoly is dumping tons of construction waste into what authorities call an illegal landfill, raising concerns of possible contamination in the water that directly supplies Sochi.
The finding shows how little Russia has done to fulfill its ambitious green pledges. Its $51 billion budget for the Olympics contains no provisions for treating construction waste. In a letter obtained by the AP, the Environmental Protection Agency in the area where Sochi is located told the Black Sea resort’s environment council in late August that it had inspected the Akhshtyr landfill and found “unauthorized dumping of construction waste as well as soil
from excavation works.” The agency said it fined Russian Railways, whose Sochi project costs billions of dollars, $3,000 for the dumping. It didn’t order the dump closed. The EPA’s Sochi representative visited the site earlier this month and insisted it was being cleaned up, villagers and activists who were present at that meeting said. The agency was unavailable for comment this week. The main health concern surrounding the landfill is to the water supply.