UPI NewsTrack TopNews

Obama outlines energy plan

LANSING, Mich., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama included exchanging 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for less expensive crude in his New Energy plan.

Speaking before an audience at Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich., the likely Democratic presidential candidate repeated his proposal to provide families a $1,000 energy rebate, paid for by a windfall tax on profits made by oil companies. He also stressed investing in technology that "can help us recover more from existing oil fields, speed up the process of recovering oil and gas resources from shale formations in Montana and North Dakota, in Texas and Arkansas, and in parts of the west and central Gulf of Mexico."

He proposed leasing more of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gas production during the next five years. His plan includes a proposal to tap into natural gas reserves "and work with the Canadian government to finally build the Alaska natural gas pipeline, delivering clean natural gas and creating good jobs in the process," Obama said.

The proposals Obama discussed included:

-- Providing short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump

-- Helping create 5 million new jobs by investing $150 billion in the private sector during the next 10 years to build a clean energy future.

-- Putting 1 million plug-in hybrid cars in the road by 2015.

-- Ensuring 10 percent of the nation's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, increasing to 25 percent by 2025.

-- Implementing an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Report: Arnold floats sales tax hike

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, meeting privately with lawmakers, suggested raising the sales tax to balance the California budget, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Schwarzenegger, who has insisted repeatedly he would not raise taxes, suggested the state's $15.2-billion budget deficit could be closed with a temporary hike of one-cent in the sales tax, coupled with agreement by legislative leaders to restrain spending and give the governor authority to cut programs when California's budget is in deficit, Democratic and Republican legislative sources told the newspaper.

The tax hike would take effect immediately and would remain in effect for three to four years, at which time the sales tax would be lowered incrementally to a lower rate than the current level of 7.25 percent. That would allow Schwarzenegger to characterize the change, over time, as a tax cut, the Times said.

A one-cent sales tax hike could raise more than $5 billion a year, the report said.

Schwarzenegger last week ordered the layoff of more than 10,000 state employees, in a move officials said would save the state $1.2 billion per month. However, state employees performing critical health and safety functions and those whose jobs bring in revenue were exempted, and analysts said the move may not save as much money as the governor hoped.

Bush, S. Korea to tackle global concerns

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and his Korean counterpart will discuss free trade, North Korean denuclearization and other global issues, a White House aide said.

After a stopover in Alaska, Bush will travel to Seoul, and then Bangkok before arriving for the 2008 summer Olympics opening ceremonies Friday in Beijing.

Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak "will certainly discuss the free trade agreement and their strategies for getting it through their respective legislatures," said Dennis Wilder, National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs.

"And of course they'll discuss the visa waiver program that the South Koreans are very interested in having with the United States."

He said he believed discussions about U.S. beef exports to South Korea would not be conducted.

"(We) have a voluntary agreement between our beef exporters and Korean beef importers," Wilder said. "That agreement seems to be working extremely well."

Regarding North Korea, Wilder said verification protocol negotiations are ongoing and "we certainly are in close contact with the North Koreans about what they need to do. We are hopeful that we will be able to reach an understanding with the North Koreans, but we're not at that juncture yet."

"It is up to the North Koreans now to come back to us and accept a verification protocol," he said.

Edouard tracks along Louisiana, Texas

MIAMI, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Tropical storm warnings were posted Monday from the mouth of the Mississippi River to along the Texas Gulf as Tropical Storm Edouard picked up steam.

At 8 p.m. EDT the center of the storm was about 125 miles south-southeast of Lafayette La., and about 205 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas, moving west in the Gulf of Mexico at about 7 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was expected to turn toward the west-northwest Monday night and the center of the storm should be near the upper Texas coast by midday Tuesday.

A hurricane watch was issued for an area west of Intracoastal City, La., to Port O'Connor, Texas. Edouard was dumping 2-4 inches of rain along portions of the Louisiana coast and southeastern Texas.

Edouard has maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. It had not gained strength by Monday evening, forecasters said, but was expected to be near hurricane strength by the time it reaches the coastline Tuesday.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Monday the Johnson Space Center in Houston would be closed through Tuesday because of the threat posed by Edouard. NASA said flight control of the International Space Station will continue from Johnson and the Space Station Mission Control Center will remain open.