In NH, Obama to push for payroll tax cut extension

WASHINGTON (AP) — Targeting Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, President Barack Obama is in New Hampshire, a political battleground, to begin a year-end push to extend payroll tax cuts.

During a speech Tuesday at a Manchester high school, the president was to argue that a failure to extend the tax breaks would hurt middle-class families already struggling amid a shaky economy, effectively daring congressional Republicans to block a measure and thus increase taxes.

"If we don't act, taxes will go up for every single American, starting next year. And I'm not about to let that happen," Obama said Monday, previewing the message he was expected to deliver.

The White House says a middle-class family making $50,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $1,000 if the payroll tax cuts are not extended.

The president's trip follows the collapse of the special congressional deficit-reduction supercommittee, which failed to reach a deal on $1.2 trillion in cuts ahead of a Wednesday deadline. Democrats had hoped to tuck the payroll tax extension, as well as a renewal of jobless benefits for the unemployed, into a supercommittee agreement.

With that option seemingly off the table, the White House plans to make a full-court press for a separate measure to extend the payroll tax cuts before they expire at the end of the year — and set up Republicans as the scapegoat if that doesn't happen.

Republicans aren't wholly opposed to the extension. In fact, party members sent the White House a letter in September stating that extension of the payroll tax cut is one element of Obama's $447 billion jobs bill where the two sides may be able to find common ground.

Some Republicans worry that the tax cut extension would undermine the solvency of Social Security, and others are opposed to any effort to pay for the renewal by taxing the wealthiest Americans.

Last year's cut in the 6.2 percent payroll tax, which raises money for Social Security, was accomplished with borrowed money. The White House has been vague on exactly how it wants to see another round of cuts paid for; spokesman Jay Carney on Monday said only that the money should come from "asking millionaires and billionaires to pay a little bit extra."

A senior administration official said the president would not insist on the cuts being paid for immediately. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal administration strategy.

The 2 percent payroll tax cut expiring in December gave 121 million families a tax cut averaging $934 last year at a total cost of about $120 billion, according to the Tax Policy Center. Economists say allowing the cuts to expire would harm an economy already hobbled by 9 percent unemployment.

Obama wants to cut the payroll tax by another percentage point for workers, at a total cost of $179 billion, and cut the employer share of the tax in half as well for most companies, which carries a $69 billion price tag.

The issue could appeal to independent voters in low-tax New Hampshire, the presidential swing state Obama won in 2008. With Republican candidates blanketing the state with an anti-Obama message ahead of the Jan. 10 primary, the president and his surrogates, including Vice President Joe Biden, are seeking to steal some of the spotlight for their economic message.

It's been nearly two years since Obama visited New Hampshire. And on Tuesday, he'll find a state that has shifted distinctly to the right since his 2008 victory. Recent polls show that, if the election were held today, Obama would lose by roughly 10 percentage points to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Romney is expected Tuesday to begin airing his first television ads in New Hampshire, and they will criticize Obama's economic record.

Associated Press writer Steve Peoples in Manchester, N.H., contributed to this report.

'Multiple' sources strengthen case against Iran: U.S. official

'Multiple' sources strengthen case against Iran: U.S. official

Washington (CNN) -- "Multiple" sources have corroborated the report about an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, a scheme the administration is alleging is tied to Iran's military, a U.S. official told CNN Thursday.

When U.S. officials first learned of the alleged plot, "there were significant doubts there was any 'there' there," the official said. But "multiple sources of independently verified information" corroborated the account, the official said. "It coalesced into a picture of something unusual but serious," the official said.

The official said a key indicator that the plot was real was the wire transfer of large sums of cash.

The United States is offering "specialized briefings" to officials in other countries who have sought more information about the alleged plot, said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland. She cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as having wanted more information.

A senior administration official said the impetus for the specialized briefings came from U.S. officials. Briefing teams -- composed of senior officials from various agencies -- are going to China, Turkey and Russia and perhaps to other countries.

The news came on the same day that the United States reported having had "direct contact with Iran" about the alleged plot and as the Obama administration ratcheted up its rhetoric against the Islamic republic.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland disclosed the contact to reporters. A senior administration official told CNN it occurred Wednesday and was initiated by the United States.

Two State Department officials said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice met with Mohammad Khazaee, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Iranian officials declined to confirm the meeting.

President Barack Obama weighed in on the alleged plot Thursday, saying it is "not just a dangerous escalation, this is part of a pattern of dangerous and reckless behavior" by the Iranian government.

Obama called it a sign that Iran has "been outside of accepted norms of international behavior for far too long" and said the United States will work with international partners and will take steps to ensure that Iran "pays a price."

Iran denies the allegation. A Tuesday letter from Iran's permanent U.N. representative to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "outrage" over the allegation and said the country "strongly and categorically rejects these fabricated and baseless allegations, based on the suspicious claims by an individual. Any country could accuse other countries through fabrication of such stories. However, this would set dangerous precedents in the relations among States."

Speaking to reporters with visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Obama underscored a principle of international behavior: that diplomats are protected.

"This plot was not simply directed at the United States of America. This was a plot that was directed against the Saudi ambassador. And I think that what you're going to see is folks throughout the Middle East region questioning their ability to work effectively with Iran."

Even if Iran's leaders did not have detailed operational knowledge of the alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador in the United States, "there has to be accountability with respect to anyone in the Iranian government" engaging in such an activity, Obama said.

Iran must answer to the international community "why anyone in their government" would be engaging such activities, he said.

"This is just one example of a series of steps that they've taken to create violence and to behave in a way that you don't see other countries doing," he said.

Obama said Attorney General Eric Holder "laid out a very specific set of facts" and the United States would not have brought the case forward if it weren't able to back up the allegations.

"What we know is that an individual of Iranian-American descent was involved in a plot to assassinate the ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia," Obama said. "And we also know that he had direct links, was paid by and directed by individuals in the Iranian government. Now, those facts are there for all to see."

He praised the "outstanding" U.S. intelligence work that helped thwart the alleged plot, which he said would also have killed innocent civilians.

"We would not be bringing forward a case unless we knew exactly how to support all the allegations that are contained in the indictment," he said.

Obama said the United States will prosecute the individuals named in the indictment and "continue to mobilize the international community to make sure that Iran is further and further isolated and that Iran pays the price for this kind of behavior."

Khazai wrote Ban that Iran condemns and has been a victim of terrorism, citing "the assassination of a number of Iranian nuclear scientists in the past two years carried out by the Zionist regime and supported by the United States."

He called the U.S. move "politically motivated" and a "showcase of its long-standing animosity towards the Iranian nation." The letter says Iran wants to have "friendly relations" with all countries in the region, "particularly with its Muslim neighbors.

"The Iranian nation seeks a world free from terrorism and considers the current U.S. warmongering and propaganda machine against Iran as a threat not just against itself but to the peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region. The Islamic Republic of Iran warns against the implications of this horrible scenario and submits that the continuation of such divide-and-rule policies could have detrimental effects on peace and security."

There has been tension and rivalry between Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, and Saudi Arabia, which is predominantly Sunni.

Rice wrote Ban on Tuesday about the "attempted plot" and said it "constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security."

"We have confirmed information that this conspiracy was conceived, sponsored and directed by elements of the government of Iran. Had this terrorist plot not been disrupted, it would likely have resulted in the injury or death of the Saudi ambassador and others."

Rice said that information shows that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and some of its "high-ranking officers," including Hamed Abdollahi, Abdul Reza Shahlai and Ali Gholam Shakuri, directed and funded the conspiracy."

She said the United States intends to discuss the issue with other members of the U.N. Security Council.

Details about the case surfaced Tuesday.

Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are accused of conspiracy to murder a foreign official, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, the FBI said.

Arbabsiar was arrested in September. David Tomscha, a friend of Arbabsiar in Corpus Christi, Texas, said the man traveled to Iran once a year and owns property in Iran.

Shakuri remains at large, the bureau said.

8 America in the firing, killed

Gunmen on Wednesday afternoon a little after about 30 minutes after the fire in the salon Meritej went down in a car. Police Sergeant Steve Bowles said about half a mile away, police stopped him and he surrendered without any resistance. Gunman's name was not released yet. Police still are trying to find the cause of the murder.
Bowles said there should be a reason, in our estimation, as to her relationship with someone in the salon. Last four years in between the seal massacre is the second time. Two out of three of the injured died in hospital. The third is said to be in critical condition.

Bowles said that all the victims' bodies were scattered in the salon and the injured were lying there. The third injured person was lying to the police outside the salon. Bowles said that when he was arrested several weapons were seized from his car.
He said that we feel that the people had taken shelter in the salon at that time. Bowles said the event was crowded too much time at the salon. Have not yet confirmed what weapon he used to kill people is. Employees of the salon by Bruel Laurin Long Beach Press - Telegram reported that the killer is the husband of another employee.
Source: http://www.livehindustan.com/news/videsh/international/article1-America-2-2-195773.html