Clinton loans campaign $6.4 million
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has loaned her campaign a total of $6.4 million during the past month, officials from her campaign revealed Wednesday.
The most recent three loans Clinton made came in addition to the $5 million she loaned the campaign in late January, Newsday reported.
"Senator Clinton gave the campaign a $5 million loan on April 11, a $1 million loan on May 1 and $400,000 loan on May 5," said campaign strategist Howard Wolfson. "She is willing to do so going forward to make sure our message gets out."
After eking a win in the Indiana primary over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and losing lopsidedly in the North Carolina contest Tuesday, Clinton canceled television appearances Wednesday, instead scheduling an appearance in West Virginia, the next primary stop.
Wolfson said the campaign has had "no discussions" about Clinton dropping out.
West Virginia's primary Tuesday is the first of the handful of remaining Democratic presidential preference contests.
Bush vows veto of housing, war funding
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Wednesday vowed to veto a war funding bill and housing bills he said would benefit speculators and lenders.
"I told the members (of Congress) I support $108 billion supplemental without any strings, and that we're going to work toward that goal," Bush told reporters after meeting with House GOP leaders.
The House is scheduled to take up a bill that would provide $195 billion in spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2008 and into fiscal year 2009.
Another veto was promised for housing-related measures being considered in the House.
"(We) are committed to a good housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders," Bush said.
Bush also discussed high gasoline prices, the Columbia free trade agreement and government surveillance.
Concerning fuel prices, he urged Congress to consider refinery construction and environmentally friendly domestic exploration.
Bush called on House Democratic leaders to allow "an up or down" vote on the trade agreement.
He also chided the leadership for refusing to allow a vote on a bill that would reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, saying U.S. security "is at greater risk" because it hasn't been passed.
House GOP slows floor debate in protest
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Republicans in the U.S. House Wednesday sought multiple roll-call votes to adjourn to express displeasure about the Democrats' handling of a war funding bill.
Debate on several housing-related bills and other measures moved at a snail's pace as Republicans requested more time for discussion and roll-call votes for every measure -- even one celebrating moms and Mother's Day -- and sought to adjourn several times.
At issue is the Democratic leadership's decision to send a $195 billion Iraq War spending bill directly through the floor, bypassing a mark-up session in the Appropriations Committee. The measure would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the remainder of fiscal year 2008 and into 2009 and provide funding for several domestic programs, C-SPAN reported.
President George W. Bush said he supports "a $108 billion supplemental without any strings," noting he and congressional Republicans would work toward that goal. He met Wednesday with House GOP leaders.
A similar war funding measure in the Senate will be sent to the Appropriations Committee, C-SPAN said.
Israel braces for Independence Day attacks
JERUSALEM, May 7 (UPI) -- Israel has stepped up security after an increase in intelligence warnings about potential terrorist attacks as it celebrates 60 years of independence.
Both the military and the Shin Bet security service increased their preparedness ahead of the Independence Day holiday due to 11 specific warnings in recent days, sources told Haaretz.
Haaretz said Wednesday that communities near the Gaza Strip were on alert for anticipated rocket attacks.
Meanwhile, Israel paused for its annual Remembrance Day, which was marked by the traditional blasts from air-raid warning sirens in honor of the nation's war dead and victims of terrorist attacks.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a speech on Mount Herzl that while Israel mourned those who had perished, he maintained Israel would not negotiate with Hamas, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Ynetnews said Olmert added that the long-running conflict with the Palestinians was by no means "an unresolvable conflict."
Visas not approved for Myanmar relief
YANGON, Myanmar, May 7 (UPI) -- The United Nations should exert its "responsibility to protect" to force delivery of aid to cyclone victims in Myanmar, a French minister said Wednesday.
While the military government of Myanmar, formerly Burma, approved a U.N. aid package, U.N. officials have expressed frustration about the junta's unwillingness to issue visas to aid workers wanting to enter the country devastated by Cyclone Nargis, The New York Times reported.
The government said 22,500 people died, but relief agencies said they expected the number to top 50,000 because information is incomplete. Myanmar officials said 41,000 people are missing and up to 1 million are homeless.
If the organization doesn't adopt its "responsibility to protect," the United Nations may seek a resolution authorizing the delivery of supplies despite the military junta, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, said in Paris.
Meanwhile, U.N. officials said Myanmar approved an aid flight, but the necessary supplies haven't been assembled in Italy, meaning the plane likely won't depart until the end of the week, the Times reported.
In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Myanmar had not responded to offers of U.S. aid. She said U.S. officials understand "no one has been granted access to go in."
Myanmar granted Denmark's ambassador to Thailand a one-week visa to help evaluate the extent of the damage and aid needs, the Danish foreign ministry said.
California suburb filing for bankruptcy
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 7 (UPI) -- Higher costs for public safety and lower revenues due to the economic downturn have led officials in Vallejo, Calif., to vote in favor of filing for bankruptcy.
The city council voted unanimously late Tuesday to pursue Chapter 9 bankruptcy in the face of a $16 million budget deficit in the fiscal year starting July 1, The San Jose Mercury News reported Wednesday. The decision follows months of negotiations aimed at convincing council members opposed to the move that there is no other solution, the newspaper said.
The San Francisco Bay area suburb has spent months of talks between city officials and representatives of public safety employee unions and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, aimed at avoiding bankruptcy, the report said.
After the talks failed to produce a long-range fiscal plan, Vallejo's top administrators recommended bankruptcy as the only remaining option.
Mayor Osby Davis said he "turned over every rock he could to find a solution" but the city is no longer able to pay its debts.
In addition to increasing labor costs, the city has been hurt by the housing crisis, lower property values and state raids on local coffers, the newspaper said.
