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Obama: TARP would fund plans for business

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama outlined his plan to help private businesses hire and grow Tuesday, saying he would use bank bailout funds to finance it.

The administration is proposing a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff, Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution.

Building on the tax cuts included in the stimulus package he signed into law in February, Obama said, "we are proposing a complete elimination on capital gains taxes on small business investment" in the coming year, along with extending write-offs to encourage small businesses to expand.

"I believe it's worthwhile to create a tax incentive to encourage small businesses to add and keep employees and I'm going to work with Congress to pass one," he said.

The administration also proposes investing in infrastructure nationwide beyond what was included in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Obama said.

"These are needed public works that engage private sector companies, spurring hiring across the country," Obama said. "What this means is that we're going to see even more work -- and workers -- on Recovery projects in the next six months than we saw in the last six months."

The third effort to move the economy ahead would be an extension of relief provisions in the Recovery Act, including emergency assistance to seniors, unemployment insurance benefits, COBRA health insurance, and relief to states and cities to prevent layoffs.

To help support the just-announced initiatives, Obama said, "we're going to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program" used to help stabilize the U.S. financial system.

TARP fulfilled its original purpose at a lower cost than expected, Obama said, and is on track "to actually reap billions in profit for the taxpaying public."

"This gives us a chance to pay down the deficit faster than we thought possible and to shift funds that would have gone to help the banks on Wall Street to help create jobs on Main Street," Obama said.

Gates: NATO troop numbers show commitment

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The pledge of 7,000 more NATO troops in Afghanistan is a sign of the military alliance's commitment to the country, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

The commitment also came as a pleasant surprise, Gates told reporters Tuesday as he traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet with U.S. troops and Afghan leaders.

"Frankly, my hope was that we could get 5,000, so a commitment for (7,000) was better than I expected," Gates said. "And from what I am hearing ... the commitments may go higher than that."

Gates' unannounced visit to Afghanistan comes a week after President Barack Obama said an additional 30,000 U.S. troops would be deployed to Afghanistan.

"Since spring, I have been surprised by the change of tone on the part of our allies," Gates said on the Defense Department Web site. "There has been a ... realization of the importance of being successful in Afghanistan, of the consequences to the alliance of not being successful, and just a greater sense of commitment to this thing."

The Pentagon chief also reaffirmed continued U.S. support to Pakistan in its fight against terrorism on its side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, considered a safe haven for terrorists.

"The key thing to remember about the relationship with Pakistan is, it's Pakistan's foot on the accelerator," he said. "And we are prepared to move ahead with that relationship and cooperation just as fast as they are prepared to accept it.

Reid accuses Republicans of distortion

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Tuesday defended his remarks comparing modern Republican opposition to healthcare to 19th-century debates on slavery.

The Nevada Democrat then accused the Republicans of "distorting" his intent, The Hill reported.

"At pivotal points in American history, the tactics of distortion and delay have certainly been present," Reid said. "They've certainly been used to stop progress. That's what we're talking about here. That's what's happening here. It's very clear. That's the point I made -- no more, no less. Anyone who willingly distorts my comments is only proving my point."

During floor debate Monday, Reid said Republicans showed the same outlook as those who defended slavery.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right," Reid said. "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.' "

Woods' mother-in-law hospitalized

OCOEE, Fla., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A woman seen being taken by ambulance from golfer Tiger Woods' Florida home Tuesday was his mother-in-law, Barbro Holmberg, officials said.

Dan Yates, director of marketing for Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Fla., said Holmberg was admitted to the facility with stomach pains and was in stable condition, WESH-TV, Orlando, reported.

"She is currently undergoing an evaluation," Yates told the broadcaster.

Celebrity news Web sites had reported that Holmberg flew from Sweden to Florida Monday to be with her daughter, Elin Nordegren, as she coped with a media firestorm surrounding allegations of Woods' infidelity following the golfer's Nov. 27 car crash outside the couple's $2.6 million Windermere, Fla., estate.

WESH reported a radio log indicating an adult female was taken to the hospital while on "advanced life support." The station also shot video footage that appeared to show a woman on a stretcher being attended to by paramedics at Woods' home.

Video footage posted by WFTV.com showed a Cadillac Escalade resembling Woods' parked outside the hospital and described the driver as a blonde woman.

The latest incidents came as reports surfaced that Nordegren had moved out of the mansion and has reportedly purchased an island retreat near Stockholm.

The New York Post Tuesday cited comments from unnamed "neighbors and sources close to Woods" published by RadarOnline.com indicating Nordegren, 29, was now living at a residence near Woods' Windermere, Fla., home.

Report: Cab driver source of weapons claim

LONDON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A Iraqi cab driver was the source for a false claim regarding Saddam Hussein's arsenal of mass destructive weapons, a British defense specialist alleged.

A cab driver on the Iraq-Jordanian border allegedly overheard two Iraqi military commanders say Hussein could unleash weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, said Adam Holloway a former Grenadier Guardsman and member of Parliament who specializes in defense issues.

Though British intelligence officials doubted the credibility of the information, then Prime Minister Tony Blair used it to bolster public support for the war in 2002, Holloway told The Daily Mail in a story published Tuesday. The weapon's claim later was widely discredited.

Tuesday, John Scarlett, the head of Britain's joint intelligence committee under Blair, was expected to be asked about the allegation during a government inquiry into Britain's involvement in the war, The Guardian reported.

Inmate executed using new drug protocol

LUCASVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Kenneth Biros Tuesday became the first U.S. inmate executed under a new one-drug lethal injection protocol, Ohio officials said.

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility officials said Biros, 51, died at 11:47 a.m. in the death house of the prison located near Lucasville, Ohio, after he was injected with single, large dose of the powerful anesthetic thiopental sodium, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Before he died, Biros reportedly said, "Now I am paroled to my Father in heaven, and I will spend all my holidays with my Lord and Savior. Peace be with you."

Biros was convicted of killing and dismembering Tami Engstorm, 22, in 1991.

His lawyers had appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court after federal Judge Gregory Frost Monday refused to halt the execution because of the new injection protocol.

Defense lawyer Timothy Sweeney called the protocol "experimentation."

"We are making an effort to put the brakes on the process so everyone can take a step back and do a more careful, cautious review," Sweeney said.

The new protocol uses a single dose of thiopental sodium, replacing a three-drug cocktail that had caused complications in previous executions.