U.S. governors fret over budget trims
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Five days before the United States goes into a second year without a formal budget, state governors issued a bipartisan fiscal warning in Washington.
The 3-day annual convention of the National Governors Association focused on Democratic President Barack Obama's proposed budget and the Republican party's goal of making it even leaner to pare down the national debt.
Democrat Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington State, who is chairman of the NGA, told a news conference Congress needs to be aware of the fragility of states' economies, The Washington Post reported.
"This is a critical time, where the states are facing a $175 billion shortfall in the next two years," Gregoire said. "Anything Congress does to undermine economic recovery would be very troublesome to us."
Obama's 2010 budget was never approved by Congress and the country is operating under a "continuing resolution." Friday is the deadline to enact a budget.
Three U.S. airports exposed to measles?
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Health officials said they were tracking down airline passengers who may have come into contact with a woman infected with measles at three U.S. airports.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the woman entered the United States from Europe last week and passed through Dulles International Airport in Washington as well as the airports in Denver and Albuquerque.
The CDC could not confirm the specific airline the woman flew or where her journey originated, but doctors in New Mexico confirmed she had the disease, CNN said Sunday.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued a written statement Friday saying the infected passenger passed through Concourse C of Denver International Airport the night of Feb. 22.
The notice said measles is highly contagious and travelers and airport employees should be alert for the next couple of weeks for symptoms that include fever and runny nose followed by the familiar red rash.
Giffords marks slain aide's birthday
TUCSON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., wounded in a Jan. 8 shooting spree in Tucson, paid a video tribute to a member of her staff who was killed in the attack.
The tribute, from Giffords and her staff, went to Gabe Zimmerman, who would have turned 31 Friday.
Zimmerman was one of six people to die in the parking lot shootings that left Giffords, one of 13 people wounded, fighting back from critical injuries.
Giffords marked Zimmerman's birthday with a posting on her Facebook page, CNN said Sunday. The tribute include a montage of photos accompanied by a Neil Young tune, "Roger and Out."
Zimmerman, a Tucson native, was director of community outreach for the congresswoman, who is recovering in a Texas rehab facility.
Jared Loughner, the suspect in the shootings, remained in custody, awaiting further legal proceedings.
Arizona considering classroom guns
PHOENIX, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Texas and Arizona are among the dozen legislatures nationwide considering the legalization of guns in the classroom, gun control advocates say .
Lawmakers in Arizona will consider three bills that would let people over the age of 21 carry guns on campuses, The New York Times reported.
There are also three gun bills pending in the Texas Legislature. Supporters of the legislation say teachers and students are targets of would-be gunmen.
Still, the easing of gun laws has plenty of critics, especially in the wake of the January shooting in Tucson that left six people dead and 13 wounded.
Administrators and campus police chiefs at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona oppose the measures, as do most students, the newspaper said.
Arizona State Rep. Jack Harper, a Republican, introduced a bill that would let professors carry guns.
"When law-abiding, responsible adults are able to defend themselves, crime is deterred," Harper said.
Arizona's gun lobby, which has numerous allies in the state Legislature, is pushing bills that would relax gun control.
"We can't rest on our laurels," said Todd Rathner, head of the Rathner & Associates lobbying firm, which wants the Colt named the state's official firearm. "We're making inroads, but I've been in politics long enough to know that the pendulum swings and there is no way to know if the pendulum won't swing in the other direction."
So far, Utah is the only state that allows guns to be carried on all campuses, the report said.
Political protest turns deadly in Oman
SOHAR, Oman, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Military troops opened fire on about 1,000 protesters in Sohar, Oman, Sunday, killing at least two of them, witnesses said.
"A helicopter is dropping shells and teargas," an unidentified witness in the northern port city of Sohar told Gulf News by telephone.
Other demonstrators told Radio France International police opened fire with rubber bullets on protesters calling for political reform in the country ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Demonstrations began in mid-January as similar protests overturned leadership in the Arabic countries Tunisia and Egypt.
In a move to appease dissenters, bin Said announced Saturday he had made six Cabinet changes and was raising the country's minimum wage, the reports said.
