Bill Clinton, Party-Builder In Chief

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hide captionFormer President Clinton was the one modern Democratic president who focused on building up his party, an effort he continues today.

Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

Former President Clinton was the one modern Democratic president who focused on building up his party, an effort he continues today.

Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

President Obama may be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party, but his unpopularity in some parts of the country means there are certain places on the campaign trail where it's best for him to stay away.

Enter former President Clinton, who can go where Obama fears to tread.

The ex-president recently made his first campaign foray of the 2014 election cycle in an unlikely state — Kentucky, where Obama won just 38 percent in 2012 (but where Clinton won twice in the 1990s). Clinton appeared there last week on behalf of Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is running to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Few will be surprised to see him appear in other Republican-friendly states where Senate Democrats face tough re-election campaigns — places like his native Arkansas, North Carolina and Louisiana.

It's hard to know how much of Clinton's campaigning is aimed at improving wife Hillary Clinton's 2016 chances if she runs for president and how much it is the former president simply reveling in the art of politicking, with him at the center of attention.

But one useful lens through which to view Clinton's travels is as an extension of his longstanding party-building efforts.

Daniel Galvin, a Northwestern University political scientist who has studied presidents as party-builders, argues that modern Republican presidents have done much better at building up their party's organizational and competitive capacity than their Democratic counterparts. Clinton, however, was an exception.

In his book, Galvin compared the party-building efforts of recent presidents in six areas — among them, the financing of party operations, the recruitment of candidates and the development of human capital. Republican presidents rated far better than Democrats, who tended to be consumers — sometimes ravenously so — of party resources rather than creators.

Democratic presidents, for decades, could rely on organized labor and big-city machines and their control of Congress, Galvin says. Lacking those advantages, Republican presidents focused on building up their national and state party structures.

The one Democratic exception was Clinton during his second term. (During his first term and 1996 re-election, Clinton followed the traditional Democratic pattern of being a net consumer of party resources.)

But in the last two years of his presidency, that changed. Galvin speculates that the realization that Democrats weren't going to soon regain the House, and the Lewinsky scandal, both played a role in the repositioning.

Clinton went on a torrid money raising pace for the party. And he pushed the Democratic National Committee to create a national voter database that Democratic candidates could use in races from the federal level down to the local level.

The Clintons' recent commitment to help the DNC raise money to pay down its nearly $16 million debt — and to help expand the electorate and increase voter protections — are in keeping with that interest in long-term party-building.

The former president's current efforts are "consistent with the recognition that we saw in the Clinton White House during his second term that party organization building is one of the ways that presidents can really help their party and its competitive fortunes in the future," Galvin said. "It's important for all candidates up and down the ballot, to have a common stock of resources."

Like Clinton in his first term, Obama has also followed the Democratic pattern of being a taker, rather than a maker of party resources. That has caused years of grumbling among Democratic Party officials, dating back to 2008 even before he became president.

There are signs that could be changing in Obama's second term.

Obama's campaign organization recently moved to share the data it collected about voters and volunteers with the DNC, so that the party can help candidates across the ballot in 2014.

But it's still too early to know if Obama will ultimately match Clinton's efforts in building up the party.

Senate Democrats Defect On Obama Civil Rights Nominee

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hide captionDebo Adegbile, special counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, speaks with the media outside the Supreme Court in Feb. 2013 after presenting arguments in the Shelby County, Ala., v. Holder voting rights case.

Evan Vucci/AP

Debo Adegbile, special counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, speaks with the media outside the Supreme Court in Feb. 2013 after presenting arguments in the Shelby County, Ala., v. Holder voting rights case.

Evan Vucci/AP

In a stinging blow to the Obama administration, seven Senate Democrats joined with Republicans Wednesday to block one of the president's key civil rights nominees.

The 47 to 52 vote marked the first defeat of a Democratic nominee since lawmakers changed Senate rules to make it easier to push through judges and executive branch candidates. And it came after a clash that pit powerful law enforcement interests against the civil rights community.

A campaign by the Fraternal Order of Police worked to define civil rights lawyer Debo Adegbile through one controversial episode in his long career.

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey set the stage with this line on the Senate floor: "It was 3:55 AM on December 9, 1981, when 25-year-old Philadelphia police officer Danny Faulkner was brutally murdered in the line of duty."

The killer was Mumia Abu Jamal, an African American activist who was sentenced to death, until a group of lawyers got his sentence reduced to life behind bars by uncovering faults in the trial. Attorneys at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where Adegbile worked for years, handled some appeals on the case.

That drew the ire of Officer Faulker's widow, who sent a letter to lawmakers read by Sen. Toomey before today's vote. "The thought that Mr. Adegbile would be rewarded in part for the work he did for my husband's killer is revolting."

Republicans had other objections to Adegbile, mostly centered on the expectation he'd aggressively enforce voting rights laws.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "He has a long record of left wing advocacy marked by ideologically driven positions and very, very poor judgment."

But McConnell said for him the deciding factor was the Abu Jamal case.

"The decision to champion the cause of an extremist cop killer sends a message of contempt to police officers," he added.

And that was the tone of the day. Adegbile's supporters called it a smear. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont cried foul, pointing out that no Republicans would work with him to help cops by sending more federal money to buy bullet-proof vests.

"Not a single Republican has joined me in the effort to reauthorize what was a bipartisan piece of legislation that actually saves the lives of police officers," Leahy thundered, "but boy, they will come down here and wax eloquently and misleadingly against this good nominee."

Adegbile has worked for Leahy for months as an aide on the Senate Judiciary Committee. But before that, he spent a decade at the Legal Defense Fund and twice argued voting rights cases before the Supreme Court. Adegbile pulled himself out of poverty and periods of homelessness as the child of immigrants in the Bronx. President Obama held him out as an illustration of the American dream.

Those are solid qualifications to lead the civil rights division at the Justice Department, says LDF president Sherrilyn Ifill, especially since lawyers who work for defendants in criminal cases are simply doing their job.

"The criminal defendants that we represent, we represent to vindicate constitutional principles and it's never more important than in capital cases where we're talking about the state exercising the authority to take the life of a human being," she said.

After all, Ifill said, that never stopped John Roberts from getting confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"That's why even people like Chief Justice John Roberts could donate 25 hours of pro bono service during the time he was a law firm partner to a man who had committed multiple murders in the state of Florida," Ifill added.

But sources tell NPR the administration never properly vetted Adegbile's nomination with police groups before it happened. And cops were furious.

Law enforcement turned up the heat and Senate Democrats badly miscalculated the numbers. They labored to check the votes of several Democrats facing close elections this fall but overlooked too many members of their base.

One of the biggest surprises was Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who voted for Adegbile to proceed through the Judiciary Committee before voting against him on the Senate floor.

Coons, who chaired part of Adegbile's nomination hearing, said he "was troubled by the idea of voting for an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights who would face such visceral opposition from law enforcement on his first day on the job."

He added: "The decades-long public campaign by others...to elevate a heinous, cold-blooded killer to the status of a political prisoner and folk hero has caused tremendous pain...and shown great disrespect for law enforcement officers and families throughout our region. These factors have led me to cast a vote today that is more about listening to and respecting their concerns than about the innate qualifications of this nominee."

Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada gave voice to the uncertainty,but too late to do anything about it.

"I sure hope that we get enough votes for this good man," Reid said. "If we don't, maybe it's time America had a good discussion on civil rights."

As the vote drew near, Vice President Joe Biden showed up to help break a possible tie.

But so many Democrats defected that it wasn't even close.

IRS Hearing Begins With Refusals To Answer — And Ends In Shouting

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

The House Oversight Committee again called Lois Lerner to testify on IRS actions and again she pleaded the fifth. The hearing ended in an argument between committee members.

Decades-Old Case Looms Large In Defeated Civil Rights Nomination

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Debo Adegbile was the nominee to lead the Justice Department Civil Rights Division, and he has a compelling story — from child actor to activist lawyer. The Senate defeated his nomination Wednesday.

With Waste Dump Closed, Where To Put Nuclear Leftovers?

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Workers are about to re-enter a New Mexico waste dump that was hit by a recent accident. The incident is shaping up to be yet another setback in the quest to find a home for America's nuclear waste.

My Brother's Keeper In The Community: Hopes And Aims At Ground Level

President Obama's new initiative, My Brother's Keeper, aims to ease disparities faced by young men of color in the U.S. Malik Washington of the William Kellibrew Foundation explains what's needed to make it successful.

Former IRS official refuses to testify at hearing

WASHINGTON -- A House committee is recalling a former Internal Revenue Service official who refused to answer questions about the agency's tea party controversy at a hearing last spring. But it's unclear whether she will answer questions this time, either.

Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that improperly targeted tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. After publicly disclosing the targeting, Lerner refused to answer questions about it at a congressional hearing, invoking her constitutional right not to incriminate herself.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said Sunday he expected Lerner to testify at Wednesday's hearing. But a committee spokeswoman said Tuesday she could only confirm that Lerner was expected to attend the hearing.

Lerner's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

Target tech chief resigns as it overhauls security

NEW YORK -- Target Corp.'s executive ranks have suffered their first casualty since hackers stole credit card numbers and other personal data of millions of the retailer's shoppers last year.

The nation's second largest discounter told The Associated Press that Beth Jacob, who has overseen everything from Target's web site to its internal computer systems as chief information officer since 2008, has resigned. The company said it will search for an interim CIO.

The departure, which was effective on Wednesday, comes as Target works to overhaul some of its divisions that handle security and technology following the massive data breach. Target said the resignation was Jacob's idea, but some analysts speculate that the executive has faced intense scrutiny as the company has tried to restore its reputation among investors and shoppers.

"People are questioning Target's security and she was the fall guy," said Walter Loeb, a New York-based independent retail consultant.

The resignation points to the changing roles and demands on CIOs. They've long assumed a behind-the-scenes position overseeing not only technology, but the overall safety and security of company systems. But security experts say more is being demanded of them as the public becomes more aware of big security breaches.

"Now, they have to take on an active role," said Heather Bearfield, partner in the technology and assurance group at accounting firm Marcum LLP. "You can't sit back and rely on the infrastructure."

Target disclosed on Dec. 19 that a data breach compromised 40 million credit and debit card accounts between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. Then on Jan. 10 it said hackers also stole personal information — including names, phone numbers, and email and mailing addresses — from as many as 70 million customers.

When all is said and done, Target's breach could eclipse the biggest known data theft at a retailer: TJX Cos. in 2007 disclosed a breach of customer information that compromised more than 90 million records at its T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores.

Target has said it believes hackers broke into its network by infiltrating the computers of a vendor. Then the hackers installed malicious software in the checkout system for Target's estimated 1,800 U.S. stores.

In the wake of the breach, Target has been working to make changes. The company is accelerating its $100 million plan to roll out chip-based credit card technology, which experts say is more secure than traditional magnetic stripe cards.

The company also is changing technology and security duties within the company. For instance, compliance duties at Target were overseen by Target's current vice president of assurance risk and compliance, who already had plans to retire at the end of March. Now, Target is separating the responsibility for assurance risk and compliance.

The compliance officer makes sure that the company meets outside regulatory requirements and internal policies, while the risk assurance division identifies and monitors the risks affecting the business.

Target, which is based in Minneapolis, also said it plans to look outside the company for a chief information security officer and a chief compliance officer. Before the overhaul, information security functions were split among a variety of executives. Target's new chief information security officer will centralize those responsibilities, the company said.

Additionally, Target said it is working with an outside adviser, Promontory Financial Group, to evaluate its technology, structure, processes and talent as part of the overhaul.

"We recognize that the information security environment is evolving rapidly," said Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Meanwhile, Target has been dealing with the fallout from the theft. The company said last week that its fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent on a revenue decline of 5.3 percent as the breach scared off customers.

Target said sales have been recovering as more time passes, but that it expects business to be muted for some time: It issued a profit outlook for the current quarter and full year that missed Wall Street estimates because it faces hefty costs related to the breach.

In a letter to Steinhafel that was furnished by Target, the outgoing CIO did not mention the data breach, but Jacob said that resigning was a "difficult decision."

During her tenure, Jacob played a big role in bringing Target's online operations in-house a few years ago. She also got attention for overseeing Target's innovation lab that opened last May in San Francisco. The lab looks at futuristic technology, including how wearable gadgets like smart watches might be used in stores.

But during her time as CIO, Target also endured some public relations nightmares related to its online operations. The web site had several outages, particularly the well-publicized launch of a limited collection from Italian designer Missoni in the fall of 2011. The company has worked hard to fix those problems.

Shares of Target ended down 73 cents, or more than 1 percent, to $60.60 on Wednesday. The stock is down a little over 3 percent since the breach was disclosed.

EU freezes assets of Ukrainians for fund misuse

BRUSSELS -- The European Union says it is freezing the financial assets in Europe of 18 people held responsible of misusing state funds in Ukraine.

The EU's 28 foreign ministers approved the list of names Wednesday. The identity of those targeted was withheld pending the official publication in the EU's legal journal Thursday, at which point the sanctions will be effective for the coming 12 months.

Officials say releasing the names could give those targeted a last chance to pull their assets out of the 28-nation bloc.

The ministers said the sanctions also contain provisions facilitating the recovery of the frozen funds for Ukraine's new government "once certain conditions are met."

Wednesday's move follows similar action by Switzerland and Austria last week.

Facebook to delete posts for illegal gun sales

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Under pressure from gun control advocates, Facebook agreed Wednesday to delete posts from users seeking to buy or sell weapons illegally or without a background check.

A similar policy will be applied to Instagram, the company's photo-sharing network, Facebook said. The measures will be put into effect over the next few weeks at the world's largest social network, with 1.3 billion active users.

"We will remove reported posts that explicitly indicate a specific attempt to evade or help others evade the law," the company said in a statement.

The move reflects growing alarm that the Internet is being used to sell banned weapons or put guns in the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers, the mentally ill or others barred under federal law from obtaining firearms. Gun control advocates say Facebook has become a significant marketplace, with thousands of gun-related posts.

Google Plus and Craigslist already prohibit all gun sales, legal or illegal.

Facebook said that instead of patrolling its network for violators, it will rely on reports from users and police.

The new policy was worked out in an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has been pressing the company along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group backed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Moms Demand Action. Moms Demand Action collected more than 230,000 signatures on petitions calling on Facebook to act.

"Responsible social media sites know that it is in no one's interest for their sites to become the 21st-century black market in dangerous and illegal goods that place our families and communities at risk," Schneiderman said.

Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's legislative policy arm, portrayed the new policy as a victory for the NRA, saying Bloomberg and those he supports tried — and failed — to shut down discussion of gun rights on Facebook.

"NRA members and our supporters will continue to have a platform to exercise their First Amendment rights in support of their Second Amendment freedoms," Cox said.

But Tom King, president of the NRA's New York affiliate, warned that the policy could be used to silence gun rights organizations on Facebook.

"This is something that could greatly get out of control very quickly," King said.

The new policy was crafted to deal with the patchwork of laws around the country. New York, for example, has some of the nation's toughest gun laws. It prohibits the sale of weapons such the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and it is one of 16 states that require background checks on buyers making private firearm purchases.

Under the new policy, Facebook would allow a user to list an AR-15 as long as it wasn't offered for sale in states where the weapon is illegal.

It will also remove any posts in which a gun seller offers to skip a background check, even if such checks aren't required in the seller's state.

"This is one of many areas where we face a difficult challenge balancing individuals' desire to express themselves on our services and recognizing that this speech may have consequences elsewhere," Facebook said.

The company already has systems in place to remove advertising that is false and deceptive, and it prohibits ads for illegal drugs, tobacco products and prescription drugs.

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, complained that Facebook hasn't gone far enough.

"They are talking about a community-based reporting system. Do what these other companies did and shut it down. Shut down the private sales of guns," he said.

There's no way to know how many guns are sold via Facebook, because the transactions are actually completed offline, said John Feinblatt, chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. But such sales have occurred.

In Kentucky, for example, federal authorities in February charged an Ohio man with illegally selling a 9 mm pistol to a Kentucky teenager in a transaction arranged through Facebook.

Feinblatt said that are "virtual gun shows" online. His group issued a report in December showing 66,000 active ads on a popular gun sales website called Armslist.

Obama urges Congress: Give America a raise

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- President Barack Obama – and the governors of four New England states – dined Wednesday at a college town eatery that pays its employees more than the minimum wage, as Obama pressed his election-year campaign to “give America a raise.”

“He knows what it’s like to work all his life and he understands that if people are working hard they shouldn’t be in poverty,” Obama said of the owner of the Cafe Beauregard.

Obama was joined by Govs. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island and Peter Shumlin of Vermont. He noted that in the year since he’s been pushing to raise the federal minimum wage, six states have passed laws to raise theirs, including Connecticut.

From lunch, Obama took his case to Central Connecticut State University, urging Congress to raise the federal minimum wage for tens of millions hourly workers from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by 2015.

“Too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up,” Obama said. “It is a central task for all of us to build an economy that works for everybody, not just for some.”

Obama said a number of employers, including Costco and most recently Gap, have boosted wages.

“It’s not bad business to do right by your workers, it’s good business,” he said, noting higher wages can help lower turnover, boost morale and increase productivity.

A number of business groups oppose raising the minimum wage, and critics point to a Congressional Budget Office report issued last month that said the most likely scenario under Obama’s proposal would be that almost 1 million people would be lifted out of poverty, but that another 500,000 could lose their jobs.

The legislation “might sound good in theory, but could cost as many as a million jobs,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last week.

The minimum wage campaign is a key piece of the yearlong agenda Obama unveiled in his State of the Union address. Last month signed an executive order boosting the minimum wage to $10.10 for employees involved in future government contracts.

But, he said, “to finish the job, Congress has to get on board.”

He said it shouldn’t “be that hard,” because “nearly three in four Americans” support raising the minimum wage. But Republicans in Congress are opposed.

“Maybe I should say I oppose raising the minimum wage,” Obama quipped to laughter. “They’d be for it, that’s possible.”

Workers who didn’t get a minimum-wage increase, Obama said, got the “equivalent of a $200 pay cut,” because their salaries aren’t keeping pace with inflation.

“That’s a month of groceries for the average minimum-wage worker,” he said. “That’s two months’ worth of electricity.”

He pushed back against criticism that raising pay would hurt the economy, saying workers would spend the money.

“Which means that suddenly, businesses have more customers, which means they make more profits, which means they can hire more workers,” he said. “Which means, you get a virtuous cycle. It’s common sense.”

Although many Democratic lawmakers support legislation to increase the minimum wage, it’s not been a priority for the Senate leadership. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said there won’t be vote on the measure until late March or early April.

Polls do suggest there is widespread public support. A Pew Research Center survey conducted last month found strong support for increasing the minimum wage, with 73 percent of those surveyed in favor.

Email: akumar@mcclatchydc.com; lclark@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @akumar01; @lesleyclark

Brighton suspends oil, gas drilling applications

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- The Brighton City Council says the city won't accept new applications for oil and gas drilling until July 15.

City officials say the suspension was adopted Tuesday to give members of the council and planning commission time to revise regulations and learn about oil and gas development.

The suspension also gives officials time to review new state rules, meet with state regulators and industry representatives and hold public hearings.

Mayor Dick McLean says the action is a timeout, not a ban.

Officials say the suspension could be lifted before July if revised regulations are in place sooner.

2-year extension offered for canceled health plans

WASHINGTON -- Warding off the specter of election-year health insurance cancellations, the Obama administration Wednesday announced a two-year extension for individual policies that don't meet requirements of the new health care law.

The decision helps defuse a political problem for Democrats in tough re-election battles this fall, especially for senators who in 2010 stood with President Barack Obama and voted to pass his health overhaul.

The extension was part of a major package of regulations that sets ground rules for 2015, the second year of government-subsidized health insurance markets under Obama's law — and the first year that larger employers will face a requirement to provide coverage.

Hundreds of pages of provisions affecting insurers, employers and consumers were issued by the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. It will likely take days for lawyers and consultants to fully assess the implications.

The cancellation last fall of at least 4.7 million individual policies was one of the most damaging issues in the transition to a new insurance system under Obama's law. The wave of cancellations hit around the time that the new HealthCare.gov website was overwhelmed with technical problems that kept many consumers from signing up for coverage. It contradicted Obama's promise that you can keep your insurance plan if you like it.

The latest extension would be valid for policies issued up to Oct. 1, 2016. It builds on an earlier reprieve issued by the White House.

Other highlights of the regulations include:

— An extra month for the 2015 open enrollment season. It will still start Nov. 15, as originally scheduled, after the congressional midterm elections. But it will extend for an additional month, through February 15 of next year. The administration says the schedule change gives insurers, states and federal agencies more time to prepare. This year's open enrollment started Oct. 1 and ends Mar. 31.

— New maximum out-of-pocket cost levels for 2015. Annual deductibles and copayments for plans sold on the insurance exchanges can't exceed $6,600 for individuals or $13,200 for families. While not as high as what some insurance plans charged before the law, cost sharing remains a stretch for many.

—An update on an unpopular per-member fee paid by most major employer health plans. The assessment for 2015 will be $44 per enrollee, according to the regulations. Revenues from the fee go to help insurers cushion the cost of covering people with serious medical problems. Under the law, insurance companies can no longer turn the sick away. The per-person fee has been criticized by major employers. It is $63 per enrollee this year, and is scheduled to phase out after 2016. Some plans, including multi-employer arrangements administered by labor unions, will be exempt from fees in 2015 and 2016.

—Treasury rules for employers and insurers to report information that's crucial for enforcing the law's requirements that individuals carry health insurance, and that medium-to-large employers offer coverage. Although officials said the reporting requirements have been streamlined, businesses see them as some of the most complicated regulations to result from the health care law. The Internal Revenue Service will collect the information, because it is in charge of dispensing tax credits for individuals and small businesses to buy coverage as well as levying fines on those who fail to comply. The individual mandate is already in effect; the employer requirement begins to phase in next year.

—Notice of a potential delay, optional for states, in a promised feature of new health insurance markets for small businesses. The feature would allow individual employees — not the business owner — to pick their coverage from a list of plans. The health insurance exchanges for small businesses have been troubled by technical issues this year. Small Business Majority, a group that supports the health care law, said it's disappointed. The administration says no final decision has been made.

It's not clear how many people will actually be affected by the most closely watched provision of the new regulations, the two-year extension on policies that were previously subject to cancellation. The administration cites a congressional estimate of 1.5 million people, counting those in individual plans and small business policies.

About half the states have allowed insurance companies to extend canceled policies for a year under the original White House reprieve. The policies usually provided less financial protection and narrower benefits than the coverage required under the law. Nonetheless, the skimpier insurance was acceptable to many consumers because it generally cost less.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which represents state regulators, was skeptical of the change.

"Creating two tiers of plans — the compliant and non-compliant — could result in higher premiums overall and market disruptions in 2015 and beyond," said NAIC president Adam Hamm, who is North Dakota's insurance commissioner. Although Hamm is a Republican, the NAIC is nonpartisan.

Separately, the House on Wednesday voted to delay for one year the penalty faced by individuals under the law if they fail to sign up for health insurance. It was the 50th time Republicans have forced a vote to repeal, gut or change Obama's health overhaul.

A Day in the Life: The First Lady Talks Healthy Families in Miami

We never know what curveballs life is going to throw at us. But we do know that those curveballs come. That’s why it’s so important that everyone – including healthy young adults – sign up for health insurance and get our friends and family to sign up too. Today, I'm traveling to Miami to meet with folks doing extraordinary work on the ground to get more people health coverage — and I'm taking over the @MichelleObama Instagram account to share it all with you.

I hope you'll follow along and help me get the word out.

Hi everyone, it's Michelle! I'm taking over the Instagram account today during my trip to Miami to talk about the health of our country's families, and why it's so important for everyone to #GetCovered. I hope you follow along. -mo

read more

Russia, West try to hammer out Ukraine diplomacy

PARIS -- The European Union prepared $15 billion in aid to Ukraine and top diplomats from the West and Russia gathered in Paris on Wednesday to defuse tensions over the Russian military takeover of the strategic Crimean Peninsula.

NATO prepared to take up the issue directly with Russia in an extraordinary meeting of the military alliance, originally created as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union, and an international team of military observers headed to tense Crimea.

The ultimate goal in Paris is to get the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the same room, negotiating directly in the fast-moving dispute that has raised tensions to nearly Cold War levels.

"It will be a test this afternoon of whether Russia is prepared to sit down with Ukraine, and we will strongly recommend that they do so," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

On the verge of economic collapse, Ukraine accused Russia of a military invasion after pro-Russian troops took over Crimea on Saturday, placing forces around its ferry, military bases and border posts. Moscow does not recognize the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev that ousted the pro-Russian president, and raised the pressure by threatening to end discounts on natural gas supplies.

Wednesday's offer by the European Union matched the Russian bailout for fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych took the Russian loans instead of a wide-ranging trade and economic agreement with the EU, which fuelled the protests that eventually led to his ouster.

On Tuesday, the U.S. readied a $1 billion aid package.

"The situation in Ukraine is a test of our capability and resolve to stabilize our neighborhood and to provide new opportunities for many, not just a few," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Spain ahead of meetings planned with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris, warned against Western support of what Moscow views as a coup. He said that could encourage government takeovers elsewhere.

"If we indulge those who are trying to rule our great, kind historic neighbor, we must understand that a bad example is infectious," Lavrov said.

Wednesday's Paris gathering, originally scheduled to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, came after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to step back from the brink of war, but the crisis is far from resolved.

"This is my first trip to such an important venue where the Ukrainian future, maybe the future of the region, will be decided," Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukraine's foreign minister, said of the meetings in Paris. "We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully."

On the flight from Kiev to Paris, Deshchytsia told reporters that Ukraine was unlikely to go to war to prevent Russia from annexing Crimea but said doing so wouldn't be necessary because Russia would be unwilling to suffer the resulting economic penalties and diplomatic isolation.

Russia has suggested that it will meet any sanctions imposed by Western governments with a tough response, and Putin has warned that those measures could incur serious "mutual damage."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a team of 35 unarmed military personnel to Crimea on Wednesday at the fledgling government's request.

"They will not be contented with assurances that these people are volunteers, who bought their uniforms in a shop," Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said. The hope is to learn "who is in power there and conclusions the OSCE should draw from that."

---

Juergen Baetz reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Laura Mills in Moscow, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, and Lara Jakes, Greg Keller, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, contributed.

Ice cream flavor recalled from some Aldi stores

LUDINGTON, Mich. -- A northern Michigan ice cream maker is recalling a flavor that's sold at many Aldi stores and may contain nuts.

House of Flavors in Ludington is recalling Belmont Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream because it may contain a nut that's not declared on the label. People allergic to nuts may be at risk.

House of Flavors released a statement Wednesday, saying the ice cream was shipped only to Aldi stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The recall follows two complaints from people who had allergic reactions.

Customers can return the ice cream to an Aldi store. Anyone seeking more information can call (800) 930-7740.

Felon fights for $500K Vernon public pension

VERNON, Calif. -- A former Vernon official convicted of misappropriating public funds has filed another lawsuit seeking to prevent the city from shrinking his annual pension from more than $500,000 to $115,000.

Bruce Malkenhorst has challenged the constitutionality of a new state law shielding local governments from lawsuits seeking to restore the retirement funds of felons.

His latest legal action targets California and the tiny Southern California city of Vernon, where he worked for 29 years as administrator, finance director, redevelopment director and clerk, among other positions, the Orange County Register reported Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1kywTA2 ).

Malkenhorst left in 2005 when he was charged with misappropriating funds. He had been paid as much as $911,000 a year and his pension was among the largest in the California retirement system.

A California Public Employees Retirement System audit in 2012 found Vernon officials improperly boosted the pensions of nearly two dozen top employees.

After he pleaded guilty, Malkenhorst's pension was slashed to $115,000 a year. He lost two other lawsuits seeking to prevent his $540,000 annual retirement payments from being reduced. Those cases are under appeal.

In September state lawmakers passed legislation that says officials convicted of felonies for actions they took in office still can appeal benefit changes to a public retirement system, but they cannot take legal action against a former employer.

The federal suit claims the law is unconstitutional "because it seeks to interfere with the vested property rights of a United States citizen, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge, even though the property that the government seeks to seize is property unrelated to the facts underlying the felony," according to a court filing cited by the Register.

Senate Blocks Obama's Nominee For Civil Rights Job

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hide captionDebo Adegbile, shown at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 when he was an attorney with the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP.

Alex Brandon/AP

Debo Adegbile, shown at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 when he was an attorney with the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP.

Alex Brandon/AP

Eight Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined Republicans in a vote to block President Obama's nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

The Washington Post writes:

"[Adegbile's] nomination was adamantly and vocally opposed by conservatives due to his participation in an appeal filed on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal — an internationally-known prisoner convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner."

It marks the first Obama administration nominee to be rejected under new Senate rules approved in November requiring only a simple majority to move such nominations ahead.

Politico says:

"Adegbile previously worked for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, which worked in support of Abu-Jamal's efforts to overturn his death sentence."

"That past led both of Pennsylvania's senators — including Democrat Bob Casey — to oppose Adegbile's nomination. Republicans spent much of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning on the Senate floor criticizing the assistant AG choice pointedly for his work with Abu-Jamal."

"'He decided to join a political cause ... and in my view, by doing so he demonstrated his own contempt for — and frankly a willingness to undermine — the criminal justice system of the United States,' said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). 'I do not believe that Mr. Adegbile's nomination is consistent with justice for the family of officer Danny Faulkner or for anyone else that cares about the law enforcement community.'"

Ex-IRS Official Invokes 5th Amendment Again, Then Things Get Hot

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hide captionFormer IRS official Lois Lerner raises her hand as she's sworn in Wednesday at the start of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. She declined to answer questions posed by Chairman Darrell Issa, invoking her Fifth Amendment right.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former IRS official Lois Lerner raises her hand as she's sworn in Wednesday at the start of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. She declined to answer questions posed by Chairman Darrell Issa, invoking her Fifth Amendment right.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As she's done before, the woman at the center of the political storm over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of some conservative groups from 2010 into 2012 invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions during a brief appearance before a congressional committee on Wednesday.

Questioned repeatedly by House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Lois Lerner gave the same answer during the 10 minutes or so she that was being questioned:

"On the advice of my counsel, I respectively exercise my Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer that question."

Issa eventually gave up. "Ladies and gentlemen, seeking the truth is the obligation of this committee," he said. "I can see no point in going further. I have no expectation that Miss Lerner will cooperate with this committee."

With that, the chairman brought down his gavel and adjourned the hearing.

That's when things got hot.

The ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, asked to speak, saying "you cannot run a committee like this."

Issa had Cummings' microphone shut off.

"I want to ask a question," Cummings could be heard saying, "what's the big deal?"

At that point Issa had the microphone turned back on. But when Cummings began making a statement about what he sees as the unfairness of the Republican-led committee's investigation, Issa had the microphone shut off again.

"We're adjourned, close it down," Issa said.

"I am a member of the Congress of the United Sates of America!" Cummings shouted. "I am tired of this. ... You cannot just have a one-sided investigation!"

Moments later, Issa left the hearing room. Cummings kept speaking. C-SPAN's microphones in the room picked up his comments.

As you'll likely recall, the IRS first came under fire last May when Lerner — who at that time led the agency's division that oversees tax-exempt groups — apologized to conservative organizations that had been singled out for extra scrutiny. Many of those groups had complained about delays in their applications for tax-exempt status.

She spoke just ahead of a report from the Treasury's inspector general for tax administration about the agency's activities — a report that concluded some conservative groups had been "deliberately targeted." A political furor erupted, eventually leading to the resignation of the agency's acting director. Lerner retired from the agency later in the year.

Last May, Lerner was called before Issa's committee. That's when she first invoked her Fifth Amendment right.

While it's not expected that any criminal charges will be filed against current or former IRS officials, Issa's committee isn't the only Capitol Hill panel still looking into what the IRS did:

— The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee continues to hold hearings and request documents from the agency.

— The Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee, as ranking Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah has said, "continues to work in a bipartisan fashion to investigate what happened, and we hope to conclude this investigation in the near future."

A Fighting Chance For Obama's Proposed Military Cuts?

Audio for this story from Tell Me More will be available at approximately 3:00 p.m. ET.

The President's new budget proposes cutting the Army to its lowest troop level since before World War II. Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments weighs in.

Support Group stresses Lebanon Army needs

BEIRUT: The International Support Group for Lebanon emphasized Wednesday the country’s dire need for assistance to cope with the overwhelming number of Syrian refugees, and to address the country's pressing security needs.

In its summary statement issued by the U.N. Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman, the group, which includes the five permanent members of the Security Council, also stressed the importance of all Lebanese parties committing to the Baabda Declaration and the policy of disassociation.

During the opening ceremony, President Michel Sleiman said international assistance for the Lebanese Army was needed to successfully implement his national defense strategy, which suggested the incorporation of Hezbollah’s arms under Lebanese Army command.

Sleiman, who met separately with French President Francois Hollande and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, also sought financial assistance to help his government with the rising number of Syrian refugees.

The ISGL, which was created in New York last year to support the country’s national institutions and Army, also “emphasized the crucial importance for confidence and stability in Lebanon of the presidential and parliamentary elections being conducted on time on the basis of Lebanon’s constitutional procedures and democratic practice.”

“Recognizing the increased terrorist threat to Lebanese civilians, participants underlined the need for a comprehensive response to it, including further international support to the Lebanese security services,” the group said in a statement after the end of the opening ceremony of the two-day conference in Paris.

“They reiterated that there should be no impunity in Lebanon, and noted that the trial in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon opened on 16 January 2014,” it added.

The group also highlighted the critical role played by the Lebanese Army in working to address the growing threats to security in Lebanon and along its borders as a result of the Syrian crisis, stressing the need to further strengthen the military’s capabilities.

Members welcomed international assistance already given in line with the Army’s five-year capabilities development plan, including a $3 billion Saudi grant, as well as the future conference in Rome aimed at providing the military with international assistance.

As for the burden posed by the three-year-old crisis in neighboring Syria, the ISGL called for greater “burden-sharing,” encouraging the government to coordinate closely with the U.N. and other partners to address the critical humanitarian needs of refugees in Lebanon.

“They welcomed continuing efforts to expand resettlement programs for Syrian refugees and encouraged the international community to look for ways to further assist in this regard,” the statement said.

“Participants reiterated their concern at the severe negative impact of the Syrian conflict on vulnerable communities and key sectors in Lebanon, including health, education, infrastructure and employment,” it added.

They encouraged the Government of Lebanon and partners to swiftly work on implementing the “Roadmap for Stabilization” developed during the first ISG meeting in partnership with the World Bank and the U.N.

“They encouraged further such assistance both through existing humanitarian and development instruments and through the World Bank-managed Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Lebanon,” it said, thanking Norway, France and Finland, and the World Bank for their initial contributions.

While welcoming the formation of a new government, the ISGL highlighted the “paramount importance of the government being able to address the immediate economic, security and humanitarian challenges facing the country effectively and without delay.”

The international group thanked President Michel Sleiman for his leadership to promote dialogue and safeguard Lebanon from the impact of the conflict in Syria.

“They stressed the importance of the commitment by all Lebanese parties to the Baabda Declaration and Lebanon’s policy of disassociation,” it said.

Nusra Front in Lebanon claims rocket attack

BEIRUT: The Nusra Front in Lebanon claimed responsibility for three rockets fired into Lebanon Wednesday, citing Hezbollah's role in Syria.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star one rocket hit the Bekaa Valley village of Nabi Sheet, which borders Syria.

On its twitter feed, the Al-Qaeda-linked group said it fired the rockets against the "party of Iran's strongholds in response to its massacres in greater Syria."

It vowed to carry out more "quality operations" against the group, urging soldiers in the Lebanese Army to defect and accusing it of working under the command of Hezbollah.

"To Lebanese Army members ... we tell them to recognize that the leaders of this Army ... cannot go against Hezbollah's decisions," the group said.

Addressing Sunnis in Lebanon, the group asked them to urge their sons to defect as well.

Protesters block road over security measures in Beirut

BEIRUT: Around 50 shop owners blocked a road in the Beirut neighborhood of Ouzai Wednesday protesting security measures they claim could put them out of business.

The men used burning tires to block the street around 5 p.m., but security forces reopened the road an hour later.

After listening to the shop owners, members of the Internal Security Forces promised the protesters to relay their demands to the relevant authorities.

The protesters argued that police blocked a road leading to Al-Manar Television Station’s headquarters as part of citywide security measures, making it difficult for customers to reach the commercial street.

Security forces have taken strict measures in Beirut and its southern suburbs following a series of car bombs over the past year.

State probing resignation of Corn Palace director

MITCHELL, S.D. -- State investigators are trying to determine if the man who abruptly resigned as director of Mitchell's Corn Palace tourist attraction may have broken any laws, according to the city's mayor.

Director Mark Schilling stepped down Monday after 13 years on the job. He told The Associated Press the next day that "I don't believe there is any wrongdoing" and that he stepped down as director because "it's just time for a change, and the best for the city."

The state Division of Criminal Investigation is now looking into the matter, Mitchell Mayor Ken Tracy told The Daily Republic (http://bit.ly/NvncnY ).

The mayor said he asked Schilling to resign following a state audit of the city-owned tourist attraction. Results of that audit have not yet been released to the public, but Tracy said it found that "a number of policies and procedures" were not being followed.

"They were of such a serious nature that I was left with little choice but to seek (Schilling's) resignation," the mayor said. "Failure to adhere to city policies and procedures is, in my estimation, a serious violation of city policy. That was my reason for taking the action that I did."

No other city employees were involved, he said.

"Whatever actions were taken were the sole responsibility of Mark Schilling," Tracy said.

Schilling told the AP that he had not seen the audit and declined to comment about it.

Russ Olson, an audit manager with the state Department of Legislative Audit, headed the probe of the Corn Palace, which began in mid-December. The focus was on the operation of the Corn Palace and on its enterprise fund within the city's budget, he said. An enterprise fund is any fund within the city's budget that operates in a manner similar to a business.

"We were basically asked if we could come down and have a look, and see what we thought of the operation," Olson said. He declined to release further details.

Landowners file lawsuit over Missouri River floods

OMAHA, Neb. -- A group of farmers and business owners is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, claiming the agency mismanaged the Missouri River since 2006 and contributed to major flooding in five states.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims some plaintiffs experienced extensive damage — particularly during the extended 2011 flooding that devastated hundreds of thousands of acres of mostly farmland in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Corps officials did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday morning.

Outside experts who reviewed the 2011 flooding said the Corps did the best it could in dealing with record amounts of water that flowed into the 2,341-mile-long river after unusually heavy spring rains in Montana and North Dakota.

Adidas expects World Cup boost but warns on Russia

BERLIN -- German sportswear maker Adidas expects the soccer World Cup will boost sales this year, but warned that volatility in the currencies of markets like Russia and Argentina will dampen results.

Adidas predicts sales to rise by a "high single digit" in 2014 when not counting the currency effects, after growing 3 percent in 2013.

When including the currency shifts, however, it warned sales would be significantly lower, after a 3 percent drop last year.

Adidas shares were down 1.4 percent in morning trading.

The company said Wednesday it made net income of 787 million euros ($1.08 billion) in 2013, a 6 percent rise. In the fourth quarter, it made a profit of 42 million euros when excluding one-time costs, compared with a loss of 7 million euros a year earlier.

US service sector grew at slower pace in February

WASHINGTON -- U.S. service companies expanded more slowly in February as hiring levels declined in a cautionary sign for the economy coming out of winter.

The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its service-sector index fell to 51.6 from 54 in January. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

But the harsh winter weather posed challenges. The real estate, retail, hotel, food services and construction industries all contracted last month. And a measure for hiring plunged 8.9 percentage points to 47.5, evidence that many companies shed workers. It raises concern that the February jobs report the government will release Friday could disappoint.

"Risk of a Friday shock has risen," concluded Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The trade group's survey covers businesses that employ 90 percent of the workforce, including retail, construction, health care and financial services firms.

Anthony Nieves, head of ISM's services survey, said comments from businesses indicate that snow and freezing temperatures held back employment.

Several companies were "pulling the reins back," Nieves said. "Weather has come into play a bit."

Despite the downturn in employment, measures for new orders and production in the index both point to continued expansion.

"Economy still plugging along, but at a very slow rate of growth," said one firm interviewed for the survey.

Many recent economic indicators have pointed to weakening momentum. A survey by payroll processor ADP showed that private U.S. companies added slightly more jobs in February than in January, though harsh winter weather still weighed on hiring.

The government said the economy grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, down sharply from an initial estimate of a 3.2 percent rate.

The service-sector survey often parallels consumer spending, but that measure has recently become mixed due to higher home heating bills.

Consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in January after a 0.1 percent gain in December, according to the government. But much of that increase came from spending on home heating, which surged at its fastest pace since October 2001.

U.S. manufacturing has started to recover from a winter that delayed shipments of raw materials and caused some assembly lines to stop. The ISM said in a separate report this week that its manufacturing index rose to 53.2 in February from 51.3 in January. The increase only partly reversed a five-point drop in January from December.

All of that has lowered expectations about how many jobs the economy added in February, with the consensus view of economists at 145,000. That would be a modest improvement from gains of 113,000 and 74,000 in the previous two months. But it remains below the monthly job creation average of the past two years of more than 180,000.

Iran stands firm on maintaining a nuclear program

TOKYO -- Iran's foreign minister is pushing back against calls for deeper cuts to its nuclear program.

Mohammad Javad Zarif says that the West "cannot entertain illusions" of Iran completely ending its uranium enrichment program. Speaking in Tokyo on Wednesday, he also reiterated that his country is not going to close its heavy-water nuclear reactor.

His remarks came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Washington, D.C., that Iran must dismantle its enrichment facilities and the reactor.

Iran is trying to negotiate a deal with the U.S. and six other global powers to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.

Zarif said Iran is eager to tap Japan's nuclear power technology and also seeks investment in its oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Obama wildfire proposal could help timber industry

APPLETON, Wis. -- President Barack Obama is proposing using disaster funds to help fight wildfires to avoid draining forestry budgets, a move that could help boost Wisconsin's timber industry.

Gannett Wisconsin Media reports (http://post.cr/1f76UaG ) about half of the nation's forestry budget is devoted to fighting wildfires, up from 20 percent decades ago.

Brian Deese is deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. He said Tuesday that the president's plan wouldn't increase spending, but would let the Department of Agriculture draw on existing disaster funds to fight wildfires.

Deese says the agriculture and interior departments have been shifting money from other services to fight wildfires.

Rep. Paul Ryan opposes the plan. The Janesville Republican known for his work on the budget says what's needed is more money to fight wildfires.

Fire erupts in Sidon mosque

SIDON, Lebanon: A fire erupted in a mosque in the coastal city of Sidon Wednesday, destroying an entire floor of the building.

The janitor and his family were able to escape the huge blaze, which reached the Rawda Mosque's library as well as the rooms and courtyard where worshipers gather.

Civil Defense teams struggled to put out the fire as large plumes of smoke covered the city's skyline.

Internal Security Forces launched an investigation into the incident, and after questioning the janitor, authorities suspected the source of the blaze was an electrical fire, a security source told The Daily Star.

Lebanon police arrest four on human trafficking, prostitution charges

BEIRUT: Police arrested three people on charges of human trafficking and one on charges of prostitution, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement Wednesday.

The Morals Protection Department of the Judicial Police detained a Lebanese national identified by his initials, A.S., 54, and a Syrian citizen, identified as H.S., 51, both of whom were accused of facilitating prostitution and human trafficking.

Interrogation with the two men revealed that another Syrian, identified as M.D., 43, was tasked with bringing the women from Syria. M.D. was caught red-handed at the residence of the Lebanese detainee, where he intended to “hand over" two Syrian women, the statement said.

M.D. told investigators he deceived the women and promised to employ them as domestic workers in Lebanon.

One of the two women, identified by the initials F.N., 26, was detained on charges of prostitution. The other woman, T.S., 48, was released on bail as she was considered a victim of human trafficking, the statement said.

Obama's Budget: Magic Wand Or Club?

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hide captionPresident Barack Obama delivers remarks on his 2015 budget plan Tuesday at Powell Elementary School in Washington.

Pool/Getty Images

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on his 2015 budget plan Tuesday at Powell Elementary School in Washington.

Pool/Getty Images

Think of the budget plan released Tuesday by President Obama as a magic wand. If he could wave it and make every line come true, how would the U.S. economy look?

Like this:

Wealthier Americans would be paying more in taxes, while poorer ones would be getting new tax credits. More roads would be under construction and scientists would be receiving more funding. Smokers would be paying more in taxes to allow four-year-olds to attend preschool.

Obama's focus is on job creation, job training and education — and he would pay for changes by imposing higher taxes.

But Republicans don't see a magic wand here. They view the White House budget as a club that will beat down the economy with heavier taxes.

The Obama plan "would demand that families pay more so Washington can spend more," House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday in a statement. "Republicans believe in a different vision."

On Monday, Ryan released a report suggesting the government eliminate funding for many poverty programs he says have failed.

So are the two economic visions really so different? How?

Alan Viard, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former staff economist for the George W. Bush administration, said he does see immense differences between Obama's fiscal plans and Ryan's.

In effect, Obama would tweak the budget to try to shrink income disparities. But Ryan, he says, would "radically" change the budget by instituting structural changes in taxes, anti-poverty programs and entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

In that sense, the Obama's plan could be seen as a less dramatic approach, in that it would stay closer to the country's existing path, Viard says. "There's nothing 'socialist' in Obama's budget. It's a commitment to the status quo, with minor changes that he would consider improvements.

"It tilts the economy more in the direction of taxing the rich" to help the poor in the short term, he adds, but without changing big entitlement programs for the long term.

Obama Budget: A Blueprint With Little Chance Of Passage

The relatively minor structural changes disappointed groups hoping for something more dramatic from the White House.

Obama's $3.9 Trillion Budget Would Produce $564 Billion Deficit

"President Obama's budget unfortunately continues a holding pattern on current federal fiscal policy," Steve Bell, with the Bipartisan Policy Center, said in a statement. He said the budget fails to "make hard choices and address the fundamental drivers of deficits and debts in years ahead."

But AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said the budget would strengthen the economy by imposing "fairer taxes" and avoiding "cuts to Medicare beneficiaries or elimination of a separate program for workers who lose their jobs due to trade."

The $3.9 trillion budget plan for fiscal 2015 is projected to produce a $564 billion deficit, down from more than $744 billion this fiscal year. And it's far below the record $1.4 trillion in 2009 — a fiscal year that began when President George W. Bush was in office.

On Wednesday, lawmakers will weigh in. At the Senate Budget Committee, Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell will testify, and is likely to get a warm reception from chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., who said Tuesday, "I strongly support the president's proposal."

Then, Wednesday afternoon, Burwell will head over to Ryan's House committee to repeat her performance.

It's not likely her testimony will change any minds on Capitol Hill. Even before she speaks, key congressional leaders have issued their verdicts.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the White House budget "would hurt our economy and cost jobs." House Budget Committee ranking Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said it "expands economic growth, makes critical investments in our future, and responsibly reduces the deficit."

Ukraine premier: Crimea will remain in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's new prime minister said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers.

In the first interview since taking office last week, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for causing one of the sharpest international crises in Europe since the end of the Cold War.

A special task force could be established "to consider what kind of additional autonomy the Crimean Republic could get," Yatsenyuk told The Associated Press. Since last weekend, Russian troops have taken control of much of the peninsula in the Black Sea, where Russian speakers are in the majority.

The prime minister, approved by parliament on Feb. 27, also denied a report that cash-strapped Ukraine was negotiating with the United States for deployment of U.S. missile defenses in exchange for financial help.

"This is not true," Yatsenyuk told the AP. "We have no talks with the government of the United States of America on any kind of deployment of any military forces. The only negotiations we have is to get financial support, financial aid from the U.S government in order to stabilize the economic situation in my country. It's absurd."

On Tuesday, Putin said Ukraine's current leaders had come to power as the result of an unconstitutional coup. In the interview, Yatsenyuk blamed Russia's leader for the current crisis and said Putin was the one acting outside the law.

"A number of military forces of the Russian Federation are deployed in Crimea. We cannot figure the reason out why Russian boots are on Ukrainian ground. And it's crystal clear that it was ordered personally by President Putin. This is Ukrainian territory and Russia wants to grab control over Crimea. But I will underline again, we will do our best in order to regain control over Ukrainian territory. The Russian military should return to its barracks."

"What happened in Crimea is unconstitutional and resembles ... a coup supported by the Russian government and the Russian military," Yatsenyuk said. "The Ukrainian government is legitimate. And let me remind Mr. Putin that this government was supported by the constitutional majority of Ukrainian MPs with 371 votes. We are legitimate and we must fulfill our responsibilities. And we strongly recommend to our Russian partners to build up relations with the new Ukrainian government."

A spokesman said it was the prime minister's first sit-down interview since he assumed the post last week.

Diplomatic exit for Ukraine? Talks, $15B in EU aid

PARIS -- The European Union prepared $15 billion in aid to Ukraine and top diplomats from the West and Russia gathered in Paris on Wednesday to defuse tensions over the Russian military takeover of the strategic Crimean Peninsula.

NATO prepared to take up the issue directly with Russia in an extraordinary meeting of the military alliance, originally created as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union, and an international team of military observers headed to tense Crimea.

The ultimate goal in Paris is to get the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the same room, negotiating directly in the fast-moving dispute that has raised tensions to nearly Cold War levels.

"It will be a test this afternoon of whether Russia is prepared to sit down with Ukraine, and we will strongly recommend that they do so," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

On the verge of economic collapse, Ukraine accused Russia of a military invasion after pro-Russian troops took over Crimea on Saturday, placing forces around its ferry, military bases and border posts. Moscow does not recognize the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev that ousted the pro-Russian president, and raised the pressure by threatening to end discounts on natural gas supplies.

Wednesday's offer by the European Union matched the Russian bailout for fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych took the Russian loans instead of a wide-ranging trade and economic agreement with the EU, which fuelled the protests that eventually led to his ouster.

On Tuesday, the U.S. readied a $1 billion aid package.

"The situation in Ukraine is a test of our capability and resolve to stabilize our neighborhood and to provide new opportunities for many, not just a few," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Spain ahead of meetings planned with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris, warned against Western support of what Moscow views as a coup. He said that could encourage government takeovers elsewhere.

"If we indulge those who are trying to rule our great, kind historic neighbor, we must understand that a bad example is infectious," Lavrov said.

Wednesday's Paris gathering, originally scheduled to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, came after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to step back from the brink of war, but the crisis is far from resolved.

"This is my first trip to such an important venue where the Ukrainian future, maybe the future of the region, will be decided," Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukraine's foreign minister, said of the meetings in Paris. "We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully."

On the flight from Kiev to Paris, Deshchytsia told reporters that Ukraine was unlikely to go to war to prevent Russia from annexing Crimea but said doing so wouldn't be necessary because Russia would be unwilling to suffer the resulting economic penalties and diplomatic isolation.

Russia has suggested that it will meet any sanctions imposed by Western governments with a tough response, and Putin has warned that those measures could incur serious "mutual damage."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a team of 35 unarmed military personnel to Crimea on Wednesday at the fledgling government's request.

"They will not be contented with assurances that these people are volunteers, who bought their uniforms in a shop," Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said. The hope is to learn "who is in power there and conclusions the OSCE should draw from that."

---

Juergen Baetz reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Laura Mills in Moscow, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, and Lara Jakes, Greg Keller, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, contributed.

Airbus Helicopters production coming to Columbus

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- American Eurocopter has changed its name to Airbus Helicopters Inc. and will begin manufacturing a new commercial helicopter in Columbus.

WCBI-TV in Columbus reports (http://bit.ly/1q5AG8E) the announcement came Tuesday in Columbus and France.

The plant in Columbus has manufactured the Lakota used primarily by the military. Officials say the plant will now produce up to 60 AStar helicopters per year. The AStar is used by the military, various law enforcement and rescue organizations around the country and commercial businesses.

"The plant here in Columbus has been in charge of Lakota. Our next step, which has been decided, is the production of the AStar; the very successful, helicopter AStar here in Columbus, Miss. We will produce up to 60 helicopters per year in the plant here and this is a major decision for the group," said Guillaume Faury, Airbus president and CEO.

Production on the AStar could begin as early as September. There are currently 280 employees at the Columbus plant.

"It's pretty clear that Airbus helicopters, since we arrived, has led the way on much of the economic growth that's taken place. When we came here originally in 2001, there was nothing out at this airport. Today, you look around. There's Severstal, there's PACCAR, Stark Aerospace, Aurora. We led the way. We had some insight on what this place could mean, what it could give us and what it could provide and the quality of the labor force. And I think that's proven itself," said Sam Adcock, General Manager of Mississippi Airbus Helicopters.

Adidas expects World Cup boost but warns on Russia

BERLIN -- German sportswear maker Adidas expects the soccer World Cup will boost sales this year, but warned that volatility in the currencies of markets like Russia and Argentina will dampen results.

Adidas predicts sales to rise by a "high single digit" in 2014 when not counting the currency effects, after growing 3 percent in 2013.

When including the currency shifts, however, it warned sales would be significantly lower, after a 3 percent drop last year.

Adidas shares were down 1.4 percent in morning trading.

The company said Wednesday it made net income of 787 million euros ($1.08 billion) in 2013, a 6 percent rise. In the fourth quarter, it made a profit of 42 million euros when excluding one-time costs, compared with a loss of 7 million euros a year earlier.

Meeting to discuss planned petroleum coke storage

WYANDOTTE, Mich. -- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality plans a community meeting to discuss a proposal to store petroleum coke along the Detroit River.

Petroleum coke, or petcoke, is a solid byproduct generated by petroleum refineries. It's commonly burned as fuel in cement kilns and power plants.

Petcoke piles along the Detroit River drew complaints last year and Detroit officials ordered them removed. A company called Detroit Bulk Storage is appealing the decision and applying for a DEQ air permit to store and ship petcoke from a River Rouge site.

The DEQ requires a facility handling bulk petroleum coke to get a permit with strategies for controlling the sooty dust it can emit. The meeting is Wednesday in Wyandotte.

The proposal has drawn some opposition. The company says it's safe.