Obama: Iran must take concrete steps
GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Iran must take "concrete steps" to assure the global community its nuclear program is peaceful, not for nuclear arms, U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday.
"Iran must demonstrate through concrete steps that it will live up to its responsibilities with regard to its nuclear program," Obama said of negotiations on Iran's nuclear plans held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Delegations representing Iran, the U.N. Security Council's permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and Germany reached agreement to meet again at the end of October. That would allow international nuclear inspectors time to gain access to Iran's recently revealed uranium enrichment facility near Qom.
"Iran must demonstrate its commitment to transparency," Obama said from Washington. "Since Iran has now agreed to cooperate fully and immediately with the International Atomic Energy Agency, it must grant unfettered access to IAEA inspectors within two weeks."
Iran also "must take concrete steps to build confidence that its nuclear program will serve peaceful purposes," Obama said.
Allowing IAEA inspectors access to the Qom plant "is a confidence-building step" that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful provided the country's low-enriched uranium is shipped to a third country for fuel fabrication."
The United States supports Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power, Obama said, but the America expects action going forward.
"We're committed to serious and meaningful engagement, but we're not interested in talking for the sake of talking," he said. "If Iran does not take steps in the near future to live up to its obligations, then the United States will not continue to negotiate indefinitely, and we are prepared to move towards increased pressure."
If Iran takes concrete steps and lives up to its obligations, it will have a better relationship with the United States and the international community.
"The burden of meeting these responsibilities lies with the Iranian government," Obama said, "and they are now the ones that need to make that choice."
'Miracle' pilots return to the skies
NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The two heroic pilots who safely brought down a disabled passenger jet in the Hudson River in New York in January teamed up again Thursday for another flight.
Chesley Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles flew a US Airways flight from Charlotte, N.C., to New York's LaGuardia Airport in the morning and returned in the afternoon, this time without incident, the New York Post reported.
The two pilots were at the helm of a Charlotte-bound flight Jan. 15 when a flock of geese hit the engines and shut them down just after takeoff from LaGuardia. They opted to make a water landing on the Hudson River, and all 155 people aboard escaped safely.
Gov. David Paterson dubbed the incident "the Miracle on the Hudson," and Sullenberger attained hero status with the nickname "Sully," Newsday said.
US Airways said Sullenberger was back in regular rotation to fly and would also supervise other pilots as part of its safety management team, the Post said.
Senate passes stop-gap spending bill
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate passed a stop-gap measure that would allow the federal government to keep operating beyond the end of the last day of the 2009 fiscal year.
The continuing resolution, passed on a 62-38 vote, extends funding to government agencies at the levels in the 2009 appropriations bills, which expired Wednesday, The Hill reported Thursday.
So far, lawmakers have sent only one of the 12 appropriation bills for fiscal year 2010, which began Thursday, to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The House approved the same continuing resolution last week.
Judge: Publish FBI interview with Cheney
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The FBI must make public most of its interview with former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on the leak of a CIA operative's identity, a federal court ruled.
While the investigation into CIA agent Valerie Plame's outing in 2003 concluded long ago, administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama asked that Cheney's 2004 interview with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald be kept sealed, arguing its publication would deter future presidents and vice presidents from cooperating in criminal investigations, The Hill reported Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Thursday most of the interview notes could be made public. He also ruled that White House officials could withhold any information deemed essential to national security.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the lawsuit, praised Sullivan's ruling while expressing dissatisfaction with the national security exceptions.
"Judge Sullivan rightly rejected a Justice Department interpretation of the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) that would have allowed the government to withhold virtually any law enforcement record even where an investigation has long since been concluded." CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said. "We are disappointed, however, that the judge allowed (the Justice Department) to withhold portions of some records because the American people deserve to know the truth about the role the vice president played in exposing Mrs. Wilson's covert identity."
Utah endures first snowstorm of season
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Parts of northern Utah received the snowstorm of the season with some ski areas getting as much as eight inches of snow, a weather service official says.
Mike Conger of the National Weather Service's Salt Lake City office, said ski areas in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon got their fair share of snow during Wednesday's storm that prompted a winter storm warning for the surrounding area, The Salt Lake Tribune said Thursday.
"We could have a hard freeze in northern Utah and the southwest part of the state around Cedar City if clear skies plunge temperatures overnight," Conger said. "We have a freeze warning out because of that possibility."
AccuWeather.com said Thursday that Colorado and Wyoming are enduring occasional snow showers in the wake of Wednesday's snow event across the Rocky Mountains.
As the Rocky Mountains faces snowfall, rain showers were predicted for western Washington and northwestern Oregon Thursday.
AccuWeather.com predicted another heavy snow event for this weekend for eastern Oregon, Idaho and the northern Rockies.
