Obama pitches jobs bill at Denver school
DENVER, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama visited a high school in a poor Denver neighborhood Tuesday to push for passage of the $447 billion American Jobs Act.
The president used Abraham Lincoln High as an example of the kind of school that can be helped by construction aid in the bill, which includes $75.5 million for the Denver County School District. The aid, he said, would serve two purposes, providing jobs for Denver-area construction workers while giving students better facilities.
"Now, this is a fast-growing school in one of the fastest-growing school districts in Colorado. And you guys have been adding new AP courses, and language courses, and doing your best to make sure your kids have the upgraded computers and learning software necessary to prepare them for the jobs and economy of the future," Obama said. "But things like science labs, for example, take money to upgrade, and the ones here at Lincoln High were built decades ago, back in the 1960s."
Obama urged Congress to pass the bill quickly. It includes tax increases for the richest in the United States with some middle-class tax breaks and credits for businesses that add jobs along with $25 billion to repair and modernize public schools and $5 billion for community colleges with other federal aid allocated to road and bridge repair.
Everything in the American Jobs Act is the kind of proposal that's been supported by Democrats and Republicans before," Obama said. "Everything in it will be paid for. It's been two weeks since I sent it to Congress, and now I want it back."
Obama also pushed the bill in an interview Monday night on the BET network, saying the bill would make an immediate difference in the economy.
"It's estimated that that would grow the economy by an extra 2 percent, put 1.9 million people back to work," he said. "Those aren't our estimates. Those are independent estimates. So that could make a difference."
But he bristled when asked about criticism he failed to address black poverty and unemployment.
Newscaster Emmett Miller spoke of a hypothetical young African-American in Chicago's South Side, whose father was gone and whose mother worked 10 hours a day for "peanuts."
There are no jobs and, "You won't even say, 'Look, I am going to help you,'" Miller said.
"Emmett, that is not -- first of all, that is not what people are saying," Obama said. "What people are saying all across the country is we are hurting and we've been hurting for a long time. And the question is how can we make sure the economy is working for every single person."
Egyptian elections to start in late Nov.
CAIRO, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Egyptians will start electing their new lawmakers in late November, the country's interim ruling military council said Tuesday.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decreed that elections to select members to the lower branch of Parliament will take place in three stages between Nov. 28 and Jan. 10. Election of members to an upper council will then be held Jan. 29 to March 11.
Lower house candidates are to register by Oct. 12.
Two-thirds of the 498 Parliament seats are to be reserved for candidates representing political parties and the rest will go to unaffiliated candidates. The aim is for half of the members to be farmers and members of trade unions.
No provision was made for assuring women will be elected to a prescribed number of seats.
McClatchy Newspapers reported the elections timetable, which calls for the new Parliament to open March 17 -- more than a year after Hosni Mubarak was sent packing by a peaceful uprising of the populace -- didn't sit well with some political factions.
The Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood Movement, said in a statement it was "shocked" by the decree's many changes in election law that were "never subject to discussion."
The party faulted the military council for not designating dates for presidential elections, writing a new constitution or for the military to relinquish control of the government.
Liberal political organizations complained the military rulers weren't moving clearly to "hand over the country to a civilian government that reflects the will and vision of the January revolution."
Obama: Bin Laden photos won't be released
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Releasing photos and videos of Osama bin Laden after his May death could expose military and intelligence secrets, a top CIA official said.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group, the executive branch filed papers Monday explaining why the White House will not release 52 photos and videos of the dead al-Qaida founder, Politico reported Tuesday.
CIA National Clandestine Service Director John Bennett wrote in the report that releasing the photos would reveal "intelligence activities and/or methods" that could cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security.
Some FOIA experts say the administration has a good chance succeeding in withholding the images because courts traditionally defer to the executive branch in matters involving national security. Others say the government's arguments are weak because they focus on a public relations impact.
Judge: Oregon death row inmate competent
SALEM, Ore., Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Oregon death row inmate Gary Haugen is competent to engage in reasoned choices regarding his legal strategies, a judge ruled Tuesday.
But Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Guimond, who could have set an execution date following his ruling, has not cleared the way for Haugen to be put to death, instead ordering another hearing for Oct. 7.
Haugen, 49, has repeatedly sought to end his appeals and be executed by lethal injection.
An Aug. 16 execution date was canceled by the state Supreme Court after Haugen's previous attorneys argued he was delusional and mentally incompetent.
The Supreme Court ordered an evaluation and another hearing to determine whether Haugen can "engage in reasoned choices of legal strategies and options."
At Monday's hearing, Portland psychologist Richard Hulteng testified Haugen does not suffer from major cognitive problems nor has he shown psychotic behavior.
Haugen has been on death row since 2007 for the murder of fellow prison inmate David Polin in 2003 at the Oregon State Penitentiary.
He has been at the prison since he was 19, when he pleaded guilty to the 1981 beating death of the mother of a former girlfriend.
