Gloves Come Off During Heated GOP Debate

Gloves Come Off During Heated GOP Debate Mitt Romney's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination laid into him during a heated debate Tuesday night, accusing him of a lack of commitment to conservative values and attacking the health-care overhaul he shepherded into law as Massachusetts governor.

Mr. Romney had largely skated through the year's first seven debates as the other GOP contenders tussled among themselves or ganged up on the front-runner of the moment. His steady performances have kept him in the top ranks of the Republican field.

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Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry sparred repeatedly during Tuesday's debate in Las Vegas.

But at Tuesday's debate in Las Vegas, Mr. Romney's rivals sought to heighten the wariness of some conservatives that he had run for office and governed as a liberal Republican. They tried to take advantage of one of his chief vulnerabilities, the state health insurance law that later became the model for President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul. Both laws require most individuals to buy health insurance.

Mr. Romney defended his law as a policy suitable for Massachusetts. "I was asked about the Massachusetts plan, was it something I'd impose on the nation,'' he said. "And the answer is: absolutely not." But the former governor got into a contentious exchange with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who disputed Mr. Romney's claim to have cast the Massachusetts law as a local solution that should not be adopted nationally.

The attacks on Mr. Romney's health-care law were only one element of a debate that had multiple targets, reflecting a campaign in which all the candidates now know well each others' vulnerabilities and are eager to gain an edge. Former business executive Herman Cain got hit repeatedly on his signature "9-9-9" tax plan, while Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was criticized for backing the 2008 financial services industry bailout.

Asia Today: What does the Republican presidential debate in the U.S. mean for Asia? Also Samsung launches the Galaxy Nexus, heating up competition with Apple, and Japanese investment bank Nomura eyes a branch of GE Capital Finance in China.

Mr. Santorum said that while he had run for office as a conservative, Mr. Romney ran in 1994 "as a liberal, to the left of [Ted] Kennedy, and lost." It was in that election that Mr. Romney, trying to unseat Sen. Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.), said he supported Roe v. Wade and that "abortion should be safe and legal in this country." As a presidential candidate, Mr. Romney says he supports reversing Roe v. Wade and that abortion should be limited only to instances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

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Clinton vows backing for Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya - In a historic visit punctuated by celebratory gunfire and cries of “God is great,’’ Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton toured the Libyan capital yesterday to pledge continued US support for a transitional government still struggling to consolidate control over the war-ravaged country.

Clinton, the highest-ranking US official to visit Libya since the ouster of autocratic leader Moammar Khadafy in August, offered Libyan leaders practical and financial help on a wide range of fronts, from rebuilding the economy to caring for the country’s war-wounded to rounding up thousands of anti-aircraft missiles that have gone missing amid recent fighting.

But she also warned of lingering dangers, including the risk of prolonged resistance by Khadafy loyalists as well as the possibility that democracy could be usurped before it has time to take root.

“We are still at the point where liberation has not yet been claimed because of ongoing conflict,’’ Clinton said at a joint news conference with Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister of Libya’s interim national council. “There has to be a resolution before many of these programs can be put into action.’’

As she spoke, there were fresh reminders of the challenges facing the interim government as it seeks to bring normalcy and order to the battered country after decades of dictatorship. In the Khadafy stronghold city of Surt, pro-Khadafy forces repelled new assaults by revolutionary militias seeking to eliminate one of the last remaining holdouts of the former government. In Tripoli, control over parts of the city remained divided among rival militia groups, some of whom have resisted the idea of disarming and returning to civilian life.

Clinton said that the US and Libyan governments remain focused on restoring security and pledged that NATO warplanes would continue to back the interim government’s military while fighting continued. She acknowledged that US officials were concerned that Khadafy could cause significant problems as long as he is at large.

“We want to do everything we can to prevent him from causing trouble for the new Libya,’’ said Clinton. “We don’t know where he is, but we hope he can be captured or killed soon so you don’t have to fear him any longer.’’

A senior State Department official said later that Clinton’s “captured or killed’’ phrase was “not intended to signal a policy change.’’

Clinton arrived in a capital city that has been cleared of the rubble and burned-out vehicles from weeks of street battles over the summer, yet still resembles an armed camp. Gun-toting men in mismatched camouflage guarded intersections and government buildings, and the staccato of small-arms fire greeted Clinton’s motorcade as she arrived under an overcast sky.

At the airport, dozens of militiamen crowded around America’s top diplomat, some shouting “God is great!’’ in Arabic as Clinton stopped to shake hands and exchange greetings. The secretary’s motorcade raced through the city with a motley escort of militia fighters in vans and pickup trucks.

At Tripoli’s main hospital, Clinton spoke with wounded fighters, including a man injured during fighting four days earlier. Doctors thanked Clinton for promised help with supplies and equipment but said more was needed.

“We’re on your side,’’ she told them.

At a town hall meeting, Clinton was greeted enthusiastically by university students, who took turns quizzing her on topics from women’s rights to US internships. Everywhere, Clinton offered encouragement and a promise of continued US backing.

“Libya is as well-positioned as any country in recent history to make this journey to democracy successfully,’’ she told the gathering. “But it will not be easy. You have to unify.’’

Clinton’s six-hour visit started with private meetings with Jibril and with Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the chairman of the interim national council. One aide said Clinton sought to create a foundation for a “completely different partnership between the United States and Libya that is deep and broad.’’

Unlike other Arab states that have overthrown dictatorships, Libya has vast resources, including one of the world’s largest petroleum reserves and billions of dollars in cash and assets locked away in Western accounts during Khadafy’s rule.

Citing those riches, Clinton offered only modest increases in US financial and other aid. She announced millions of dollars in additional funds and dozens of specialists to help Libyan officials recover and destroy conventional weapons from Khadafy’s arsenal.
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Fact checking the GOP Vegas debate

(AP)  

WASHINGTON - Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan ignited plenty of sparks in the Republican presidential debate Tuesday night and President Barack Obama's health care law came in for its usual thumping. In both cases, the facts took a bit of a beating as well.

A look at the accuracy of some of the claims in the Las Vegas debate:

HERMAN CAIN: "It does not raise taxes on those that are making the least."

THE FACTS: An independent analysis of his tax plan, released Tuesday, concluded otherwise. The Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank, said Cain's plan would increase taxes on 84 percent of U.S. households, hitting low- and medium-income households the hardest. The analysis said that households making $10,000 to $20,000 would see whopping tax increases averaging $2,705 — an increase of nearly 950 percent.

The rich, however, would get big tax cuts, the analysis said.

Cain's plan would scrap current taxes on income, payroll, capital gains and corporate profits. He would replace them with a 9 percent tax on income, a 9 percent business tax and a 9 percent national sales tax.

The study is in line with economic theorists — whether on the left or right — who note that sales taxes tend to hit low-income families the hardest because they spend more of their income than wealthier families do.

Unlike most states, Cain's plan would not exempt food or medicine from sales taxes. Used items, however, would be exempt.

Cain said his plan would create zones where people and businesses could get additional tax deductions, which would reduce taxes for low-income people. The Tax Policy Center said it did not take the zones into account because the Cain campaign did not provide any details on how they would work.

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RICK PERRY: "Mitt, you lose all of your standing, from my perspective, because you hired illegals in your home and you knew about it for a year. And the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy."

MITT ROMNEY: "I don't think I've ever hired an illegal in my life."

THE FACTS: The truth is that Romney never directly hired an illegal immigrant. But he hired a landscaping company that employed them.

In bringing up the matter, Perry resurrected a charge that has dogged Romney since his last presidential bid. In 2006, Romney learned that the landscaper of his suburban Boston home had employed illegal immigrants. He gave the company a second chance under the condition that it would no longer employ undocumented workers.

But in 2007, during the height of his first Republican presidential campaign, the same company was caught employing illegal immigrants at Romney's home. Romney then fired the landscaper.

At the time, and again Tuesday night, Romney said there's only so much an individual can do when hiring a legitimate company.

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ROMNEY to PERRY: "You were the chairman of Al Gore's campaign."

THE FACTS: Romney's claim was misleading, at best. He neglected to mention that Perry's role in Gore's failed 1988 campaign for the Democratic nomination was limited to Texas. It was also marginal.

Perry was a Democrat serving in the state legislature at the time and had no significant leadership role in Gore's third-place finish in Texas. He was one of 28 Democratic Texas lawmakers who endorsed Gore. In any event, he was far from being "the chairman" of Gore's campaign. Perry switched parties in 1989 and successfully ran for state agriculture commissioner as a Republican.

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MICHELE BACHMANN: "Even the Obama administration chose to reject part of Obamacare. ... Now the administration is arguing with itself."

THE FACTS: True, the administration is moving to scrap a long-term insurance program that was part of Obama's health care law. But it would be wrong to take that as a sign the administration is losing faith in the overhaul. Quite the contrary.

Unlike the central provisions of the health care law, the long-term insurance plan, called CLASS, was voluntary. From an accounting viewpoint, that was its fatal weakness.

Without some reason for large numbers of healthy people to sign up, experts warned all along that CLASS would attract too many people in frail health. Rising benefit costs would send premiums spiraling upward. Healthier people would drop out, and eventually taxpayers would have to bail CLASS out.

Obama's health insurance mandate, requiring nearly everyone to have insurance, protects his overhaul from a similar fate.

"You have to have a broad risk pool," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that advocates cutting the federal deficit. "By mandating coverage, (the health care law) creates a broad risk pool and that makes the system much more sustainable."

Libyan fighters said to advance into Bani Walid

REPORTING FROM BEIRUT -- Fighters loyal to Libya's new government on Monday advanced into the desert city of Bani Walid, one of the last bastions of support for ousted leader Moammar Kadafi, officials in the capital told news agencies.

Transitional government officials gave conflicting statements about how far their forces had gone into Bani Walid, about 95 miles southeast of Tripoli, the capital.  The former rebels have previously said that their forces had advanced deep into Bani Walid, only to be later pushed out of the city.

The former rebels, who toppled Kadafi in August, have besieged Bani Walid for a month but have met stiff resistance and suffered heavy casualties. Many Kadafi loyalists are said to have regrouped in Bani Walid and the coastal city of Surt, which also remains under siege.

Both Surt and Bani Walid have been heavily bombed by the Western-led NATO alliance. Still, outgunned Kadafi loyalists have refused to capitulate. Most civilians are believed to have fled the two cities.

The steadfast resistance has proved somewhat of an embarrassment for Libya's ruling Transitional National Council, which vowed quick victories in both cities when offensives were launched last month. A short-lived uprising by pro-Kadafi militants in Tripoli last week added to the uncertainty surrounding Libya's new administration. Commanders say the Tripoli revolt was quickly put down and posed no danger to the capital.

Officials are hoping to declare Libya officially "liberated" at some point in the coming days and proceed with a timetable for elections and the writing of a constitution. The interim government would also like to incorporate various rebel militias into new national police and military units.

But Libya's new rulers would first like to see their tricolor banner hoisted in both Surt and Bani Walid, replacing the green flag of the Kadafi years.

Dan Wheldon dies in 15-car Indycar crash

(CBS/AP)  

LAS VEGAS — Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnared in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

The 33-year-old racer was a two-time Indy winner, including this year's race.

Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pileup during Lap 11.

Wheldon was airlifted from the track to University Medical Center; about two hours later, his colleagues were told of his death by IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, who said Wheldon's injuries were "unsurvivable."

"One minute you're joking around at driver intros. The next, Dan's gone," said Dario Franchitti, whose wife, actress Ashley Judd, had to bring him a box of tissues. "I lost, we lost, a good friend. Everybody in the IndyCar series considered him a friend. He was such a good guy. He was a charmer."

With the race cancelled, drivers, many sobbing openly, took part in a five-lap salute around the oval in honour of one of the sport's biggest stars.

The race was only minutes old when Wheldon, who started at the back of the 34-car field and was in position for a US $5-million payday if he had won, couldn't steer clear of a wreck that started when two cars touched tires.

Within seconds, several cars burst into flames and debris covered the track nearly halfway up the straightaway. Some points of impact were so devastating workers had to patch holes in the asphalt.

The deadly realities of racecar driving
Fellow drivers remember Dan Wheldon
Read Dan Wheldon's May, 2011, interview with CBS' Early Show

Video replays showed Wheldon's car turning over as it went airborne and sailed into what's called the catch fence, which sits over a barrier that's designed to give a bit when cars make contact. Rescue workers were at Wheldon's car quickly, some furiously waving for more help to get to the scene.

"When we came around after the caution (flag) was thrown, I can't even describe to you what the scene looked like on the race track from our point of view," rookie driver James Hinchcliffe of Toronto told ABC. "It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before in my life."

Added Ryan Briscoe: "I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it. The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere. So it was scary, and your first thoughts are hoping that no one is hurt because there's just stuff everywhere. Crazy."

Wheldon, who came to the United States from England in 1999, won 16 times in his IndyCar career and was the series champion in 2005.

Despite winning this year's Indy 500, Wheldon couldn't put together a full-time ride this season. He was racing in Las Vegas on the same team as Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que.

"It's a very sad day," Tagliani said on his Twitter account. "He was my little brother from another mother."

Pooja Misrra a participant continues to trouble others:Bigg Boss 5

contestants are showing their true colors now. Pooja Misrra, a Bigg Boss 5 housemate continues to trouble others

Mumbai: Kicking a dustbin and breaking kitchen stuff, the alienated Pooja Misrra lost her temper on Shonali Nagrani in Bigg Boss this week. When Shonali provoked her further, asking, if she would “hit” her, Pooja hinted, she could get physical, if Shonali didn’t behave herself. “Get off my back,” an irritated Pooja screamed in rage; her blood boiling with anger.

What people saw in a trailer of the reality show, was a visibly furious Pooja, who has been cornered by most contestants on the show right from the beginning. All her attempts to make peace with the Housemates have more or less backfired, with them playing games and politics with the troubled soul.

“Standing at crossroads with growing impatience, Pooja has been trying her best to keep her cool. But the scheming Housemates are not letting her live in harmony, assuming she is hogging mileage and footage,” says public relations expert Dale Bhagwagar, who is a specialist with Bigg Boss hype and hoopla.

“Unluckily, for all Housemates, the public has realized that Pooja is a helpless victim of ‘created’ circumstances inside the House. Though the Housemates have been trying their best to ignore her, she has emerged an uncanny favourite with the cameras and the audiences alike,” he adds.

Meanwhile, there are reports about Nihita Biswas landing up at Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, with a medical complication she hadn’t disclosed to the Bigg Boss team. The 22-year old wife of jailed ‘bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj, was the first contestant to be evicted from Bigg Boss, when she lost with a huge margin of votes against Pooja Misrra.

Cong fight over Pranab's letter to PM for 2G: BJP,

New Delhi: The surfacing of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 2G spectrum allocation on Wednesday led to a political slugfest with BJP demanding Home Minister P Chidambaram's resignation and Congress snubbing it for "jumping to conclusions".

The CPI also demanded that Chidambaram's role as the then finance minister needs to be examined and questioned.

BJP charged that Mukherjee's letter to the Prime Minister in the case shows the "complicity" of Chidambaram and demanded his resignation. The party also alleged that not only UPA allies but also the Congress were involved in it.

The Telecom Ministry could have gone in for auction of 2G spectrum licenses had the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram insisted on this, according to a Finance Ministry document submitted to the Supreme Court today.

"Ultimately, the cat is out of the bag. It was very clear from day one that Chidambaram agreed to A Raja's formula for 2-G spectrum allocation. If he had stuck to the Finance Ministry officials position that spectrum should not be allocated in 2008 at 2001 prices the scam would not have taken place," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

He insisted that today's revelations- through an RTI reply- have exposed Chidambaram's complicity in the 2G spectrum scam as Finance Minister in UPA-I government.

Javdekar demanded that in the wake of this expose, Chidambaram should step down from his post.

Lashing out at BJP, Congress accused it of "jumping to conclusions" on the 2G issue with its demand for Chidambaram's resignation.

"BJP should stop being excited about everything. BJP is jumping to conclusions. Let us wait for a while if there is any such report. I have not seen the report," party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary said.

CPI national secretary D Raja said," Chidambaram's position, morally speaking, is increasingly becoming untenable."

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