16 Americans killed in Haiti quake
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Sixteen Americans have been confirmed dead in the Haiti earthquake, the U.S. State Department said Sunday.
Officials said 15 private citizens and a U.S. government employee were among those killed, Fox News reported.
The U.S. broadcaster said the U.S. Embassy in Haiti reported Sunday that at least 70 Americans still remain unaccounted for in the devastating earthquake and 2,000 U.S. citizens had been evacuated.
Fox News quoted a U.S. official saying that up to 400 people have been sleeping inside the embassy in Port-au-Prince each night.
Some 62 people, mostly Haitians, have reportedly been rescued in international relief efforts so far.
Bush: Don't politicize Haiti disaster
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President George Bush said Sunday the humanitarian response to the Haiti earthquake should not be politicized.
Asked by ABC's "This Week" about comments from some U.S. conservatives accusing President Barack Obama of using the Haiti disaster for political gain and others asserting that aid to the impoverished nation is wasted, Bush said, "We've got to deal with the desperation. And there ought to be no politicization of that."
Bush, making the Sunday talk show rounds with fellow former U.S. President Bill Clinton in a bid to elicit donations for Haiti relief efforts, disagreed with conservatives who contend efforts to help Haiti are useless because its corrupt government has thrown away millions of dollars in past foreign aid.
Agreeing with Clinton that a long-range strategy on Haiti needs to be established to ensure aid is well-spent, Bush said, "The fundamental question for the country is, do we care? Beyond the earthquake, do we care?
"And the answer is, I think we should, and I think we ought to care from a humanitarian perspective and I also think from a strategic perspective, because it makes sense to have a stable democracy in our neighborhood."
Poll: Public sours on Obama's performance
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. public is becoming increasingly polarized and is souring on President Barack Obama's performance, a poll released Sunday indicates.
A year into his presidency, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that nearly half of all Americans contend Obama is failing to deliver on his major campaign promises, while a narrow majority indicated they have just some or no confidence that he will make the right decisions for the country's future.
The Post said the poll found that more than a third see Obama as falling short of their expectations, a number that has doubled since the same question was asked at the 100-day mark of his presidency in April.
The pollsters found a huge polarization based on party orientation. Republicans are very critical of Obama, with just 20 percent approving of his overall job performance, compared with 87 percent of Democrats.
The Post said the poll was conducted by Tuesday through Friday among a random national sample of 1,083 adults, and carried a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points.
Obama remembers King at D.C. church
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama spoke in a Washington church Sunday, remembering the achievements and importance of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
Speaking a day before the nation officially commemorates King, Obama told the congregation at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church -- where King spoke in 1956 following the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott -- the civil rights leader understood that without broad support, the drive to gain equal rights for African-Americans wouldn't succeed.
"He remained strategically focused on his goal, his eyes were always on the prize," Obama said.
Obama, referencing his historic 2008 election, said that even though "the good people of this country elected an African-African president of the United States," America has not entered into a post-racial age.
The president in his 30-minute address also talked a bit about politics, healthcare, education, immigration and employment.
"Even after one of the country's worst recessions, life in America isn't even close to being as bad as it was (for African-Americans) doing King's time," Obama said, adding that while the U.S. government is working hard to lower the unemployment rate and improve schools, "Parents still need to parent. Folks can't look to government for everything."
