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Obama backpedals on scholar arrest comment

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Friday clarified his comments on the arrest of a black professor, saying he should have been more careful in choosing his words.

Obama dropped in on the daily press briefing at the White House to modify his comments on the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his Cambridge, Mass., home last week. A police sergeant confronted Gates after he had entered his house by forcing the front door open. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was arrested Thursday by officers investigating a report of a possible break-in.

Obama, who said the police had acted "stupidly" by arresting and booking Gates, said he talked with the arresting officer, Sgt. Jim Crowley, and said and wanted "to make clear that in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically -- and I could have calibrated those words differently. And I told this to Sergeant Crowley."

Obama said he still thinks Crowley overreacted, adding the attention the case has received indicates race is still a "troubling aspect of our society."

"What I'd like to do then I make sure that everybody steps back for a moment, recognizes that these are two decent people, not extrapolate too much from the facts -- but as I said at the press conference, be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues. And even when you've got a police officer who has a fine track record on racial sensitivity, interactions between police officers and the African-American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding," he said.

Petraeus: Iraq security changes going well

BAGHDAD, July 24 (UPI) -- Army Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Friday the security duties changeover in Iraq appears to be progressing in a good manner.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq traveled to Baghdad Friday to meet with top military and political officials like the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, CNN reported.

Petraeus said all appears to be going well in the transfer of security duties from coalition to Iraqi forces.

According to a Central Command initial assessment, Iraqi security forces are doing a more than adequate job protecting their country, the U.S. Army said.

During his visit to Iraq, Petraeus will conduct an assessment of security in the war-torn country following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from urban Iraqi areas on June 30, CNN reported.

The Central Command chief also reinforced the need to be wary in Iraq regarding the presence of militant groups such as al-Qaida.

$4.35B education grant program announced

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The federal government Friday set U.S. states against each other to compete for $4.35 billion in education reform and innovation funds.

President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competitive grants.

"This competition will not be based on politics, ideology, or the preferences of a particular interest group," Obama said in a speech at the Department of Education. "Instead, it will be based on a simple principle -- whether a state is ready to do what works. We will use the best data available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform -- and states that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant.

"Not every state will win and not every school district will be happy with the results. But America's children, America's economy, and America itself will be better for it."

The program is part of an overall $10 billion in education grant money available through the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The program stresses adoption of international benchmark standards and assessments, development and retention of effective teachers, data systems that can be used to improve practices and the turnaround of low-performing schools.

"We're looking to drive reform, reward excellence and dramatically improve our nation's schools," Duncan said.

Shortages prompt Kenyan violence

ISIOLO, Kenya, July 24 (UPI) -- Recent clashes in the Kenyan town of Isiolo have resulted in the deaths of 20 people, officials say.

The Integrated Regional Information Networks said Thursday that so far in July, a total of 20 people have died in the northern Kenyan town in rioting over insufficient supplies of water and food.

Tribal leaders say weapons given to herders three months ago are being used in raids on Isiolo communities. Officials urged the government to seize the nearly 300 firearms to prevent further bloodshed.

A Kenya Red Cross Society official said deteriorating living conditions in the town caused by hundreds of displaced people have left residents in desperate need of both food and medicine.

"Kenya Red Cross Society has provided first-aid services and distributed some blankets to children in the (temporary) camps; the affected families, however, need food and medical assistance," KCRS communications manager Titus Mung'ou said.

Mung-ou told IRIN the government and aid agencies have begun efforts to relocate those displaced residents and provide them with aid.

Michigan lawmakers want Gitmo detainees

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- Some Democratic lawmakers from Michigan are viewing the Guantanamo detainees as a possible means of boosting their state's finances, legislators say.

Several Democrat members in the U.S. House and Senate are floating the idea of housing detainees from the U.S. detention facility in Cuba in Michigan prisons set to close because of the state's budget crunch, The Hill reported Friday.

The move would save or create jobs in a state with the nation's highest unemployment rate of 15.4 percent.

Democratic Sen. Carl Levin and Reps. Bart Stupak and Dale Kildee say Michigan prisons could house the Gitmo detainees as long as nearby residents and state and local officials agreed to the move.

The Hill says the idea is opposed by most of the state's Republicans who cite safety concerns.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Select Intelligence Committee and a candidate for governor, says Michigan prisons can provide the same protection as Gitmo.

Report criticizes FEMA response

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency was slow to recognize a health threat in emergency housing for hurricane victims, a new report says.

The 80-page document, released by a federal inspector, criticizes FEMA for not reacting sooner when formaldehyde problems were found in trailers housing victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, CNN reports.

Shortly after moving into the trailers, some residents began complaining of health problems attributed to formaldehyde.

The report says FEMA reacted to the threat only after media attention "grew to disturbing levels."

It also accuses the agency of delaying testing so it could develop a communications strategy.

"Because of the delays, the test results may have underestimated the extent of formaldehyde exposure that residents had experienced," the report says.

The report was released by Richard Skinner, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security.

FEMA spokesman Clark Stevens says FEMA agrees with the report's findings.