Vatican: Pope could intervene in stoning
TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI, who is following the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, says he could involve himself through diplomatic channels.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said there is precedent for Benedict's intervention when requested by authorities in other countries, CNN reported Sunday.
"The Holy See is following the case with attention and participation," Lombardi said. "The position of the church, which is opposed to the death penalty, is that stoning is a particularly brutal form."
Although Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of adultery, a final verdict has not been confirmed, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said.
Peace Corps worker shot in Losetho
MASERU, Lesotho, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. aid worker was fatally shot while returning from a Peace Corps event in Maseru, Lesotho, the aid organization said in a statement.
Police said robbery was the apparent motive when Thomas Maresco, 24, and a female companion were attacked Friday while returning to the organization's center from an event, CNN reported Sunday.
"The area the hotel is in is very safe -- with not much crime, but we think they were observed leaving the hotel on foot and when they were returning, (an) assailant was waiting outside the hotel," Lesotho police Inspector Lekhotla Mojete told CNN. "The stranger started making demands of them, which they didn't fully understand and (the assailant) then shot the deceased."
He said the woman accompanying Maresco ran back into the hotel for help, but police were unable to find the gunman when the arrived on scene.
"We believe this was a robbery," Mojete said, adding that no arrests have been made.
A statement by the Peace Corps said Maresco, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., taught secondary education worked on raising HIV awareness in the Thaba-Tseka district since November 2009. Maresco was scheduled to serve until January 2012.
Graham: U.S. needs tax cuts
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday the economy needs tax cuts, and Democrats may lose control of Congress.
"We need to extend all the tax cuts," Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press." "Now is not the time to raise taxes. (President Barack Obama) has openly said that he wants to increase taxes to 39.6, the top rate, and let some of the Bush (administration) tax cuts expire."
With the midterm elections only a couple of months away, Graham said Democratic control of Congress would be in jeopardy if the elections were held now.
"Yes. I think if the election were held tomorrow it (Democratic control) would be," he said. "There are a couple months to go and at the end of the day I don't know what their agenda is going to be between now and November. But what they've done in the past no one seems to like.
"The healthcare bill is not being talked about by any Democrat," he added. "The stimulus bill has been an absolute flop. So I don't know what they do between now and November other than run against us."
Also appearing on the program was David Plouffe, author of a new book, "The Audacity to Win," and the manager of Obama's 2008 campaign.
On tax cuts, Plouffe said, "If we're going borrow money from the Chinese to give further tax cuts, it ought not go to millionaires. We ought to do more for small businesses in tax cuts. So what the president is proposing is permanent extensions of tax cuts for the middle class. We have a small business plan right now in front of the United States Senate that would provide huge tax relief, incentive for lending and incentive for expansion. That's what we ought to be doing."
McCain: Democrats 'flailing'
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A top Republican said Sunday the Obama administration is "flailing around" on the economy, but a top Democrat said "we are climbing up."
Asked about President Barack Obama's plan to announce to a new economic plan this week that reportedly will focus on tax cuts, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Fox News Sunday, "Well, my reaction is that we always like to see deathbed conversions, but the fact is if we'd had done this kind of thing nearly a couple years ago we'd be in a lot better shape."
He added, "Look, they're just flailing around. Every place I go in my state where people are hurting very badly, one of the major things that small business and large business people tell me is they want some kind of certainty."
McCain said there is a lot of uncertainty "because nobody knows when the next regulation is going to come down, what are the taxes going to be, what's the -- you know, we tell them small businesses ... every transaction over $600 now has to be reported to the (Internal Revenue Service) thanks to 'Obamacare.'"
He added, "I hope that they'll do a payroll tax cut."
Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic Party and former Virginia governor, conceded the economy needs to grow faster.
"But remember, we were shrinking at 6 percent a year when President Obama took office in GDP," Kaine said. "And so there has been a turnaround from negative to positive. It's clear that we've got a longer way to go. The auto industry's hiring again and putting people back to work."
Kaine declined to call it a "recovery summer," but said, "I say we are climbing out of a ditch and we are climbing up."
