Iran asks U.N. help to free its hostages
TEHRAN, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has called on the United Nations to do what's necessary to free Iranians taken hostage in Syria and Libya.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Salehi expressed concern about the kidnapped Iranians and asked Ban to help Iran secure their release, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.
"The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the immediate release of its abducted nationals and cautions that using the hostages as human shields is a violation of the international law and human rights," Salehi said in his letter to Ban.
Seven Iranians were kidnapped last week as they were visiting Benghazi, Libya. On Saturday, insurgents in Syria kidnapped 48 Iranians Tehran said were pilgrims but rebels said were members of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Salehi discussed his talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the Syrian situation with reporters Wednesday, Iran's government-supported Press TV reported.
"We [will] exhaust all means to secure the release of the Iranian abductees in Syria," Salehi said.
Salehi also said Iran was willing to host talks between the Syrian government and opposition parties to try to end the unrest in the country that has been going on since March 2011.
"I have offered the proposal to my Turkish counterpart to prepare the ground for several Syrian opposition members who are in Turkey to travel to Iran for talks," he said.
Salehi said Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Hassan Qashqavi will travel to Libya soon to work on securing the release of those abducted.
Obama to detail possible budget cuts
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- President Obama must detail the first of $1.2 trillion in spending cuts to be made if Congress can't find ways to slash the deficit under a law signed Tuesday.
The report, due early next month, could crystallize for voters the harsh realities of the cuts that would have to be made automatically Jan. 2 under sequestration, Politico reported.
Consensus on where to make the initial cuts could be difficult. Democrats want to save domestic programs, while Republicans want to preserve military spending.
The president is required to make the across-the-board spending cuts, known as "sequestration," after a bipartisan committee failed last year to agree on a plan to cut the budget and increase taxes.
The cuts should not be necessary, Jeffrey Zients, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the House Armed Services Committee last week.
"The right course is not to spend time moving around rocks at the bottom of a cliff to make for a less painful landing," he said. "The right course is to avoid driving off the cliff altogether."
The administration is prepared to be realistic. Zients has sent out a memo to federal agencies telling them to begin thinking about where to cut.
Romney welfare ad draws rebuttals
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton labeled as "not true" a Mitt Romney campaign ad accusing the Obama administration of gutting the 1996 welfare reform act.
Clinton said he was especially disappointed with the ad because as governor of Massachusetts Romney himself had requested changes in the law, Politico reported.
"Governor Romney released an ad today alleging that the Obama administration had weakened the work requirements of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That is not true," Clinton said Tuesday night.
In an e-mail Romney spokesman Ryan Williams responded that President Obama had been a vocal opponent of the 1996 law considered one of Clinton's signature achievements.
Former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta held a Chicago news conference to rebut the ad and support Obama, Gaggle reported.
Podesta said that Obama was trying to administer the welfare program under much tougher economic conditions.
Latest polling highlights divisions
HAMDEN, Conn., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Efforts to paint Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch elitist aren't working in key swing states, a poll indicates.
Surveys conducted by Quinnipiac University in Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin last week indicate that Romney appears to be holding his own with white working-class voters, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
U.S. President Barack Obama's goal is to keep Romney from running up huge margins with those voters who lack college degrees and have household income between $30,000 and $100,000, the newspaper said, while Romney is trying to peel off as many female voters as possible from Obama's electoral coalition.
The latest batch of Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News swing state polls show Obama with a 4-percentage point lead over Romney in Virginia and a 6-point lead in Wisconsin.
Romney holds a 5-percentage point lead over the president in Colorado.
Among white working-class voters, Romney leads Obama by 14 percentage points in Wisconsin, 15 percentage points in Colorado and 31 percentage points in Virginia.
Obama leads Romney among women by 8 points in Colorado, 14 points in Virginia and 23 points in Wisconsin.
The poll of 1,428 voters was conducted by phone July 31-Aug. 6. It carries a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Ernesto douses Yucatan Peninsula
CHETUMAL, Mexico, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Ernesto weakened to a tropical storm Wednesday as it doused Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula with torrential rain, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Formerly a category 1 hurricane, Ernesto packed 50 mph winds and heavy rains at 11 a.m., prompting Mexican officials to issue a hurricane watch along the Gulf of Mexico from Barra de Nautla to Coatzacoalcos.
Ernesto was about 265 miles east of Coatzacoalcos, moving west at 15 mph, the center said.
After moving across the southern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, the center of Ernesto was expected to emerge over the Bay of Campeche Wednesday night, forecasters said.
On its forecast track, Ernesto was expected to approach the Mexican coast Thursday, the center said.
Ernesto weakened as it moved across land but could regain hurricane strength before its second landfall, the hurricane center said.
Tourist and commercial activities ground to a halt Tuesday across Quintana Roo state and more than 2,000 people were evacuated, El Universal reported. Dozens of tourists were evacuated from Mahahual and bused to Chetumal, Informador.com reported.
The airport in Chetumal suspended operations and several main roads were closed, officials said.
