Chambliss attacks 'reckless' Dem spending
WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., blamed Democrats Saturday for "reckless" spending and called the $13 trillion debt a "dangerous" threat to the country.
"At some point we have to say, 'Enough is enough.' We have to make tough decisions about spending beyond our means," Chambliss said in the weekly Republican radio and Internet address.
He called on President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., and other Democrats to "take a step toward responsibility and restraint and reject the path of reckless spending that America is presently on."
Citing Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, Chambliss said, "One of the most dangerous threats confronting America today doesn't come from without, but from within, and I'm talking about our national debt."
The debt, if divided among Americans, would amount to $42,000 a person, he said, noting it has climbed $2.4 trillion -- an average of $5 billion a day -- since Obama took office in January 2009.
Chambliss said much of the debt is held by nations including China and others "that often don't share our values or positions."
Petraeus calls for unity in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, July 3 (UPI) -- Gen. David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, called for "unity of effort and common purpose" in Kabul Saturday.
"Civilian and military, Afghan and international, we are part of one team with one mission," Petraeus told about 1,700 people at the U.S. embassy in his first public comments since taking the helm, CNN reported.
In battle against Taliban insurgents, the general said: "On this important endeavor, cooperation is not optional."
Petraeus's first day in charge was marked by militant violence. Militants killed at least five people and wounded 20 others at the compound of a U.S. aid agency subcontractor in the northern city of Kunduz, CNN reported.
Against that backdrop and what military officials see as a tough road ahead, Petraeus said: "I'm reminded we must achieve unity of effort and common purpose."
A ceremony Sunday will mark the formal handover from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, forced out for remarks he and his aides made to a reporter for Rolling Stone about President Barack Obama and other U.S. civilian leaders.
Two civilian deaths in Kandahar operation
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 3 (UPI) -- Two civilians were killed in a military operation that ended with the arrest of a Taliban officer in Kandahar, Afghanistan, NATO reported Saturday.
A joint Afghan-international unit fired shots as they closed in on a house in the village of Amin Kalacheh, inadvertently killing two bystanders and wounding a third.
NATO said in a written statement that the incident was being reviewed by security personnel, government officials and village elders.
The operation resulted in the capture of a Taliban sub-commander responsible for various bombings and other attacks in Kandahar.
Rail cars burn near Kansas City
SUGAR CREEK, Mo., July 3 (UPI) -- Three tanker cars loaded with chemicals caught fire near a BP refinery in Missouri early Saturday, firefighters said.
The incident occurred in Sugar Creek, Mo., not far from Kansas City, and at one point was sending flames 200 feet into the air.
The fire was burning itself out and no evacuations had been ordered, KSHB-TV, Kansas City, Mo., reported. Firefighters were, however, keeping a close eye on a car near the blaze that may be carrying dangerous chlorine.
The fire started in a tanker full of the gasoline ingredient toluene and spread to a car filled with animal fat and a third that contained oil, authorities said.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated.
Bus crash in Incheon kills 12
INCHEON, South Korea, July 3 (UPI) -- South Korean police say 12 people were killed Saturday when a tourist bus went off an elevated roadway in the city of Incheon.
The other dozen people aboard the bus were injured, some of them critically, The Korean Herald said.
Investigators said the accident occurred when the bus driver tried to avoid a stalled vehicle on the Incheon Bridge.
The bridge, which opened to traffic in October, connects the Songdo international business district to the Incheon airport. The bus was traveling to Songdo from Yeongjong Island.
Police gear up for Taste of Chicago finale
CHICAGO, July 3 (UPI) -- Chicago police vow to keep things under control at the Taste of Chicago festival this weekend after three people were stabbed near the annual food fair.
Police Superintendent Jody Weis reassured the public Friday that security at the downtown entertainment and food festival was on track after an outbreak of violence in the Grant Park area Thursday night that included three stabbings and 22 arrests. The 30-year-old summer extravaganza draws more than three million residents and visitors over its 10-day run.
"Sometime things happen," Weis said. "I'm very comfortable with the police numbers we had in place."
At the same time, however, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that Weis planned to have extra uniformed and plainclothes police on duty at the event when it wraps up Sunday night.
The city canceled its annual July 3rd fireworks show this year to save money and will have three smaller 15-minute Fourth of July fireworks displays along the 26-mile-long lakefront.
