Sonora, California
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 — A5
THEIJNIOXDE MOOhT
1 m1 AND THE NATION AND WORLD
ama aims atstu ent oan servicers
NEws NoTEs STATE
lomatic negotiations was tan-
SF floats soda warning labels
tamount to rushing into war with Tehran.
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco could become the 6rst city in the county to require warning labels on advertisingfor soda and other sugary beverages. The San Francisco Chronicle reports Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced new legislationtoday.Itcould go before voters next year. Wiener'sproposal is modeled on a failed attempt at the
'The decision to undercut our president and circumvent our constitutional system offends me as a matter of principle," Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement. In an open letter Monday to the leaders of Iran, Republican lawmakers warned that any nuclear deal they cut with Obama could expire the day he walks out of the Oval Office. The letter was an aggressive attempt to make it more dif5cult for Obama and
state level last year. It was ve-
fiveworld powers to strike an
hementlyfought by thebeverage industry. Under the new plan, a retailer who allows soda advertising without warni ng labels in hi s o r h e r store would have 30 days
initial agreement by the end of March to limit Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran insistsisforpeacefulpurposes.
to remove the ads or face
Olympiansamong i0 dead in air crash
fines.
'Simpsons'cocreator dead at 59 LOS ANGELES — Sam Simon, a co-creator of 'The Simpsons" and animal-rights advocate who made a midlife career shiR into philanthropy and channeled much of his personal fortune into social causes, has died. Simon died Sunday at his home in Paci6c Palisades, Calif., his agent, Andy Patman said. He was 59. He was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer in 2011. After stints writing for "Taxi," "Cheers" and 'The Tracey Ullman Show," Simon helped launch "The Simpsons." During his w r iting and producing career, he collected nine prime-time Emmy awards.
He left "The Simpsons" after its fourth season under a deal that rewarded him with ongoing royalties &om the show, which is now in its 26th season.
NATlON
Train crashesinto tractor-trailer HALIFAX, N.C.— An Amtrak train slammed into a tractor-trailer that got stuck on the tracks while trying to make a difficult left-hand turn Monday. One of the train'scars toppled and the conductor and at least 54 others were injured. It was the third serious train crash in less than two months. Two deadly crashes in New York and California in February killed a total of seven people and injured 30. The oversized flatbed trailer involved in Monday's crash was transporting a modular building wrapped in blue plastic and jammed with electrical equipment, said Lt. Jeff Gordon, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Boston jury hears from victims BOSTON — Jurors in the trial o f
B o s ton M a r athon
bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heard descriptions of horrendous injuries from survivors, then saw a video of Tsarnaev minutes aAer the explosions walking calmly into a Whole Foods store to buy a half-gallon of milk. The juxtaposition by prosecutors apparently was aimed at supporting their contention that, after planting and detonating two bombs with his brother, Tsarnaev went about his life as if nothing had happened. The blasts on April 15, 2013,killed three people and injured more than 260.
Dems denounceGOP letter on nuketalks WASHINGTON — Democrats in the White House and Congress accused 47 GOP senators of undermining President Barack Obama in international talks to curb Iran's nuclear program, saying that trying to upend dip-
WORLD
BUENOS AIRES — Two helicopters carrymg French sports stars 61ming a popular European reality show crashed ina remote part of Argentina, killing 10 people, including two Olympic medal winners and a sailing champion, authorities said. The helicopters apparently collided in the air Monday near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, about 730 miles (1,170 kilometers) northwest of Buenos Aires, La Rioja Secretaryof Security Cesar Angulo told TN television. All 10 people on board — eight French nationals and two Argentine pilots — were killed. Among the dead were French Olympic gold medalwinning swimmer Camille Muffat, Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine and sailor Florence Arthaud, according to a statement &om La Rioja's government. They were taking part in the reality show"Dropped."
2 Americansface charges in Rome ROME — T w o A merican touristsface charges for carving their names into the Colosseum, the latest act of vandalism sustained by the a ncient monument a t
the
hands oftourists,police said Monday. The tourists from California, aged 21 and 25, were cited Saturday for carving their first names 3 inches high into an upper level of the Colosseum, said Carabinieri Capt. Lorenzo Iacobone. The two were &eed on their own recognizance but will face charges for aggravated damage to a monument. Their names or hometowns were not released by police. Iacobone said the young women apologized for the vandalism, but he said such acts"are extremely serious. No one considers the damage they are creating." A Russian tourist who carved his initials into the Colosseum in November was handed a four-month suspended sentence and a 6ne of $21,270after opting for a speedy trial. It was the fifth such act of vandalism by tourists last year, including a Canadian tourist who tried to steala piece of stone from the Colosseum hidden in his backpack. — The AssociatedPress
March 9
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 4 0 million A mericans are i n
end," said Ted Mitchell, the Education
d e b t Department's under secretary for high-
thanks to their education, and most of their loans come &om Uncle Sam. So President Barack Obama is aiming to clamp down on the private companies thatservicefederalstudent debtwith a presidential memorandum he will issue today. Obama's policy tweaks, to be unveiled during a speech at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, don't require new legislation &om Congress — a plus as far as the White
er education. Obama's memorandum targets third parties like Sallie Mae/Navient that contract with the government to collect on federal student debt. Those companies will be required to better inform borrowers about their repayment options and notify them when they are delinquent on payments, the White House said. The president is also instructing the
House is concerned. But they won't be
government to create a website where studentscan see alltheir federal loans
earth-shattering for student-borrowers, either. Instead, the new steps seek to tilt the student lending process more toward the student, with a particular focus on graduates struggling to make their monthly payments. ''We are trying to enhance the borrower experience from beginning to
in one place — a major problem for students with multiple loans, as well as those whose loans have been sold by one lender to another. He's also asking for a single website where borrowers can file complaints about loan servicers, in an apparent recognition that customerservicefor student borrowers
has often been shoddy in the past. Although Obama has long lamented the burdenplaced on young Americans and the broader economy by student debt and college affordability, he's run into obstacles that have limited his efforts to improve the situation. Usinghis executive authority, Obama expandedafederalloan repayment plan to allow more low-income Americans to cap their monthly payments at an affordablepercentage of their income. But when Obama this year proposed to eliminate the so-called "529" college savings plan to make way for education tax bene6ts, opposition was so strong he had to jettison the idea. And the president's State of the Union pitch this year for two years of &ee community college for every eligible American has gained little traction in the Republican-controlled Congress.
Senatols Hillary Clinton steers clear of focuson email controversy — for now oil industry, clean water SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A hearing by state lawmakers today on problems in California's protection of drinking-water aquifers from thestate oiland gas industry also is slated to focus attention on the way oil companies in the state use high-pressure steam toforceup petroleum. State oil and gas regulators have acknowledged "routinely" allowing oil and gas producers to inject steam underground at pressure so high that it cracks open underground rock formations, in violation ofstate and federal regulation, according to a stateSenate report prepared for today'sjoint hearing by the Senate's environmental q u a l ity and natural resources and
water committees. The way that oil companiesin Californiause steam injection to extract oil &om aging oil 6elds came under scrutiny in June 2011, when a Chevron worker, Robert David Taylor, fell into a sinkhole of boiling fluid that opened suddenly in a Kern County oil field. Taylor boiled to death, state authorities found. Environmental groups said Monday that forcing steam underground at pressure high enough to &acture rock formations risks opening up more sinkholes, as well as increasing the risk of oil-field fl uids s eeping into federally protected aquifers holding potential sources of drinking water.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton may soon address her email practices at the State Department following a week of scrutiny and few signs that it will go away. The potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate ignored the issue at a forum Monday while fellow Democrats urged her to speak out — and predicted she would — about her decision to conduct business while secretaryof state in a private email account. Republicans are ramping up their atten-
dressthe email controversy directly, according to a person familiar with her thinking. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to speak publicly. Meanwhile, Sen. D i ck Durbin of lllinois — the No. 2 Senate Democrat — became the fust member of the Senate Democratic leadership to call on Clinton to publicly explain her side of the story. "She should come forward and explain the situation," Durbin said today on MSNBC. "I think it's only tion on the issue. fair to say to Hillary Clinton: Clinton was considering Tell us your side of the story. holding a news conference in ...What did you put on this New York within days to ad- personal email?"
At th e W h it e H ouse, spokesman Josh Earnest said P r esident B a r ack Obama indeed knew she was using a nongovernment account during her tenure.
Obama had indicated earlier that he only learned of that from recent news re-
ports. Earnest said the president actually learned from those news reports of Clinton's privately run email server,but was familiar with her private account earlier because the two had exchanged emails when she was in office. Obama did not
know at the time that she was using private email exclusively, Earnest said.
RaceforUN chiefbegins;campai gnsdemand woman UNITED NATIONS (AP) — At a p r ivate working lunch for the five most pow-
erful members of the United Nations Security Council, the conversation turned to the question of the next U.N. secretary-general. A European ambassador reminded colleagues of a General Assembly resolution nearly as old as the 70-yearorganization itself, a guiding document for a selectionprocess for U.N. chief that has remained secretiveand almost completely male. The January 1946 resolution says a "man ofeminence and high attainment" should hold the post. Perhaps, the ambassador suggested, some might want to add the words "or a woman." No doubt. Just three female candidates have been included in past closed-door
votes and straw polls that the Security Council has used to make its choice for decades, but now two cam-
paigns are launching to make sure the next "Your excellency" is a she. "There have been eight men and no women. To me, it's time," said Jean Krasno, a lecturer at Yale who leads the new Campaign to Elect a Woman Secretary-General. Secretary-General Ban K i-moon w il l
r e m ai n i n
office through Dec. 31, 2016, but the talk about his successor has already
•
started,especiall y among U.N. watchers who've gone as far as scrutinizing the handwriting on paper ballots after Security Council straw polls. Ban's successor is expected to be chosen late next year, though there is no official date. On Sunday, the campaign will l aunch WomanSG.orgto feature around a dozen women it says are outstanding possible candidates with political experience. Every few weeks, another group of possible candidates will be posted online.
• I '
this FRIDAY
GETLOM,EVENTS •
"."
.
EgpL 'RE THE
urhen you domnload theNem
Mother I, de
/+I IF/
Lottery Daily 3 Afternoon: 7, 5, 5 Evening: 3, 2, 1
LettersThat Changed our World
Daily 4
The missivesthat move us, shake us and, sometimes, alter the course
3,1,3, 1
Fantasy 5 18, 20, 30, 33, 38
of history
im
"
ii
m
s~
Daily Derby 1. 1, Gold Rush 2. 3, Hot Shot 3. 8, Gorg. George Race time: 1:40.00
HE NION
EMOCRA T
THE MOTHER LODE'S LEADING INFORMATION SOURCE
Presented byThe Union Democrat and The Tuolumne County Visitor's Bureau