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Obama seeks incentives for home energy

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama Tuesday called on Congress to provide temporary incentives for U.S. homeowners who invest in energy-efficient retrofitting.

"The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy-efficient ... is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put America back to work while saving money and reducing harmful emissions," Obama said during a visit to a Home Depot in Alexandria, Va., while ticking off retrofitting examples such as installing new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, correcting ceiling leaks and modernizing heating and cooling equipment.

He also noted energy-related investments made under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act put the nation on a pace "to upgrade the homes of half a million Americans by this time next year ... boosting the economy, saving money on energy, creating clean energy jobs that can't be outsourced."

And there's another reason to retrofit, Obama said to some chuckles -- insulation is sexy.

"Here's what sexy about it: saving money," he said. "You put in the insulation, you -- you weatherize your home now, you will make up that money in a year or two years or three years, and then everything after that is just gravy."

Illinois prison to house Gitmo detainees

CHICAGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The federal government will work to acquire a prison in Thomson, Ill., to house terror suspects now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Cabinet officials said.

"We write to inform you that the president has directed, with our unanimous support, that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the (Thomson Correctional Center)," several Cabinet officials wrote Tuesday to Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn. "Not only will this help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nation's federal prisons, but it will also help achieve our goal of closing the detention center at Guantanamo in a timely, secure and lawful manner."

Discussions began in earnest in November about about acquiring the 1,600-bed, maximum-security facility to house a limited number of Guantanamo Bay detainees, wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair.

Federal department and agencies will work with state and local law enforcement authorities to identify and alleviate any risks associated with the transfer, the letter said. The facility, about 150 miles northwest of Chicago, could house 35 to 90 of the Guantanamo detainees and create up to 3,800 jobs, officials said.

"The president has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States," the letter said, closing with, "There are many steps still to be taken and many requirements still to be met, but we look forward to working with you to complete the federal acquisition of the facility in Thomson."

During a floor session Tuesday, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said the Obama administration was "putting international public relations ahead of public safety."

Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., said in a statement the announcement was "good news" for national security and Illinois' economy.

Deal involves 22 million Bush e-mails

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Watchdog groups say a deal reached with the Obama administration will allow the restoration of e-mail from former President George W. Bush's administration.

Under Monday's settlement, e-mail traffic selected from days between January 2003 and April 2005 -- a period covering 22 million e-mails -- will be restored from backup tapes, CNN reported Tuesday. Of the 94 days, 40 were picked by statistical sample, 21 were suggested by the White House and 33 were days the groups deemed "historically significant" from before the start of the Iraq war to when the dismissal of several U.S. attorneys was being planned.

Also requested were several days of e-mails sent about the time it was announced a criminal investigation was under way into the disclosure of then-CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said it could be years before most of the e-mails are made public, the U.S. news network said.

"The e-mails themselves are not what we're getting," Sloan said.

Documents on how the Bush administration e-mail messages were handled, as well as subsequent information on how White House e-mail is archived, will be released under terms of the settlement of the 2007 lawsuit filed by CREW and National Security Archive, CNN said.

But the National Archives must sort out which documents are covered by the Freedom of Information Act and which ones are protected by the Presidential Records Act, meaning they could be withheld for five to 10 years after the Bush administration left, Sloan said.

The e-mail flap dates to the 2006 firings of several federal prosecutors. When congressional committees demanded the administration provide documents related to the firings, the White House said millions of e-mail messages could have been lost. CREW and the National Security Archive sued, arguing the Bush administration violated federal laws requiring presidential records to be preserved.

3 killed as Cyclone Mick crosses Fiji

SUVA, Fiji, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Fiji islanders were assessing damage Tuesday after Cyclone Mick tore through the South Pacific Ocean country, leaving at least three dead, officials said.

Three residents of Fiji's most populated island, Viti Levu, died when the Category 2 storm came through Monday, packing winds of up to 95 mph, with one fatality reported to be a student who was struck by a falling tree, The Times of London reported.

The Fiji Times said 3,845 people left their homes to take shelter at 68 evacuation centers across the country Monday night, while more than 200 ferry boat passengers spent a second night aboard the Suilven, which was sheltering at Balaga Bay outside Savusavu.

Meanwhile, police were said to be moving quickly to head off looting in the wake of the storm. The Fiji Times reported that business centers were sealed off after reports of looting at supermarkets. Police officials said a curfew was enforced until Tuesday morning in the towns of Lautoka and Nadi, with roadblocks set up at entry points to the cities.

China's population to peak at 1.4 billion

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- China's population will likely top out at slightly less than 1.4 billion in 2026, lower than previously predicted, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Data released as part of the Census Bureau's population estimates and projections for 227 countries and areas also indicated that India's population is projected to surpass China's in 2025.

Officials said the new estimates included revisions for some countries, including China, where population is expected to decline both earlier and more sharply than previously thought due to declining fertility. The Bureau said China's total fertility rate is estimated to have been 2.2 births per woman in 1990, 1.8 in 1995 and less than 1.6 since 2000 -- currently half a birth below that of the United States.

China surpassed the 1.2 billion population mark in 1994 and reached 1.3 billion in 2006. Its labor force, however, will continue to grow for several years is not expected to peak until 2016 at 831 million, 24 million more workers than it has now.

India's population growth rate currently is about 1.4 percent, nearly three times that of China, while its total fertility rate is currently estimated at 2.7 births per woman.

Man allegedly killed over health club spat

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A New York man was killed as he worked out in his fitness club, apparently in a confrontation over who had first dibs on an elliptical machine, witnesses said.

Douglas Smith, 50, of Brooklyn was struck on the head Saturday with a hammer allegedly swung by Shawn Hing, 19, and allegedly was knifed three times by an accomplice, for whom a manhunt was under way. Hing was being held without bond after being charged with second-degree murder, the New York Daily News reported Monday

Smith died in the hospital a day after the attack, the newspaper reported.

Witnesses in the club said Smith and another club member had argued over use of the exercise machine, and that the other man called in the alleged killers, officials said.

"They came from outside and attacked him with a hammer and a knife," a trainer at the club, Pat St. Charles, 37, said.

Detectives were attempting to question the club member who allegedly called in Hing and his alleged accomplice, the Daily News reported.