Haiti pushes forward with humanitarian aid
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The Haitian government says the search-and-rescue phase of earthquake relief efforts are completed and teams are pushing forward with humanitarian aid.
United Nations officials said Friday that 67 international search-and-rescue teams consisting of more than 1,900 rescuers and 160 dogs had been active in Haiti since the Jan. 12 earthquake. Together, officials said, the teams were able to rescue 132 disaster victims from the rubble.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said government officials set the preliminary death toll from the magnitude-7.0 quake at 111,481. An estimated 609,000 people in the capital Port-au Prince have been left homeless.
OCHA officials said humanitarian relief efforts were continuing in Port-au Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other affected areas, with the biggest concern being a lack of shelter and the overwhelming number of people with untreated injuries. They said more aid is getting through as additional transportation and fuel are becoming available for relief operations.
Reports indicate that roads are becoming more crowded as fuel supplies pick up, with some 30 percent of Haitian gas stations now reported to be open. U.N. officials warned road congestion could slow the delivery of relief items.
Obama: Court ruling 'devastating'
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said the Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance was "devastating" and gave too much political influence to "special interests."
In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said the ruling -- which overturned limits on corporate and labor spending in political campaigns -- "opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy."
"It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way -- or to punish those who don't," the president said.
Obama said political figures who "stand up to the special interests" would face "assault come election time."
"I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest," he said. "The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections."
Echoing statements he made several times following Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, Obama said he has directed administration officials to begin work with Congress to "develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision."
"We have begun that work, and it will be a priority for us until we repair the damage that has been done," Obama said.
States grapple with Supreme Court ruling
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on political spending by corporations and unions raises questions about laws in two dozen states, The New York Times reports.
Some experts said while the decision overturning restrictions on corporate and union campaign contributions probably won't lead to immediate changes in laws, state laws will eventually be challenged in courts or repealed by state legislators as a result of the decision.
The states that explicitly prohibit independent political spending by unions and corporations will be affected most. But the ruling's reach extends to all states because it forbids them to adopt restrictions on corporate and union spending on political campaigns, the Times said.
In his dissent to the 5-4 ruling, Justice John Paul Stevens pondered the burden he said the ruling places on states.
"The court operates with a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel when it strikes down one of Congress' most significant efforts to regulate the role that corporations and unions play in electoral politics," Stevens wrote. "It compounds the offense by implicitly striking down a great many state laws as well."
Some state lawmakers expressed frustration and uncertainty over the ruling.
"It's absolutely outrageous and we've got to find a way to deal with it," said Michael Gronstal, the majority leader in the Iowa state legislature, which is looking at ways to retain some restrictions on political expenditures.
Experts predicted more pressure from state lawmakers and reform groups for states to improve disclosure rules and regulate spending in local races. The Times said lawmakers in Kentucky and Colorado were checking their state constitutions for parts that may have to be rewritten.
The high court ruling came just after the Wisconsin Senate passed a measure to largely ban corporate spending during campaigns, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Conservative and pro-business groups in the state said they were considering suing to block the proposed ban.
Lawyers for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the high court decision should lead to the campaign finance case against him being dropped. In 2005, DeLay was charged with criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering. His trial is pending.
Democratic congressional leaders said Thursday they would pursue legislation designed to limit the impact of the decision, which has been harshly criticized by President Barack Obama and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Some Democrats pull away from Bernanke
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., backs a second term for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke but other Democrats say they want a change.
Sens. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said they oppose reconfirming Bernanke as chairman, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
"It is time for a change," Boxer said. "It is time for Main Street to have a champion at the Fed. ... Our next Federal Reserve chairman must represent a clean break from the failed policies of the past."
The backing of Reid, which came late Friday, was a boost and Bernanke has the support of the Obama administration. But Bernanke's confirmation could need 60 votes to get to a floor vote even though he only needs 51 to win a new term.
Including Boxer and Feingold, at least four Democrats have said they may not vote for Bernanke, the Times reported.
