Obama told me so: 08/27/14

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Aug. 28, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Ad-Diyar

Chaldean patriarch says U.S. behind ISIS

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako has unleashed a vehement attack on the West, accusing the U.S. of supporting ISIS.

“America is behind ISIS, which is the crime of the century, and they want to brazenly displace Christians from their homes and churches,” Sako told Ad-Diyar, saying the reason was that the West’s labor force needed immigrants.

“But we will not leave our land, whatever the sacrifices,” he stressed.

Al-Liwaa

Prince Salman moves to Paris to stimulate Saudi grant

A Lebanese official welcomed reports that said Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Salman bin Abdulaziz would visit France Tuesday to discuss hot issues, most notably violence in Syria and Iraq as well as the Saudi grant to boost the capabilities of the Lebanese Army in the face of the growing threat posed by extremist groups such as ISIS and the Nusra Front on the countries in the region, Europe and the world.

Al-Akhbar

Qatar, Turkey negotiating with ISIS

Al-Akhbar has learned that former head of the Muslim Scholars Committee, Sheikh Salem Rafii, contacted the ISIS commander in Qalamoun, Abu Talal al-Hamad, urging him to extend the deadline by another three days to give a Qatari-Turkish mediation a chance and allow the negotiating team enough time to arrive.

Committee sources said Rafii warned ISIS against “slaughtering” any soldier because this would have a negative impact on Syrian refugees.

Al-Akhbar has also learned that the Lebanese government received assurances that ISIS would not kill any of the captive soldiers it held.

Al-Mustaqbal

Eastern bishops hold world powers responsible for ISIS

The patriarchs and heads of eastern churches expressed dismay over the “regional and international" silence on the suffering of Christians in the Middle East.

They called – following a meeting held in Bkirki in the presence of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, Lebanon’s Vatican ambassador and representatives of the five permanent members at the U.N. Security Council – on the international community to assume their responsibilities in returning displaced Christian families to their homes.

They also urged Arab and Islamic countries to issue a fatwa criminalizing attacks on Christians, their churches and their property.

The patriarchs stressed on the role the international community can play in uprooting terrorism from the Middle East.

They held the international community responsible for the “growing" threat posed by ISIS and other takfiri and terrorist groups” and urged world powers as well as Arab countries to “put pressure against those financing these organizations.”

Wawrinka gets into tiff with fan in US Open win

NEW YORK -- In the heat of the moment, locked in a suddenly tight match after midnight at Flushing Meadows, Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka snapped at a rowdy spectator, telling him to "Shut up."

An hour later, his 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) victory over 91st-ranked Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the second round of the U.S. Open complete, Wawrinka was able to laugh about the exchange.

"At the end of the day, they start to get a little bit drunk," Wawrinka said at his news conference, shaking his head and chuckling. "It was OK. I had to talk to a few of them. At the end, it's normal. ... Everybody was into the match. That's OK. It can happen."

In a match that began Wednesday and finished after 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the third-seeded Wawrinka quickly built a two-set lead before faltering a bit, muttering aloud at himself after one miss: "Too many mistakes!"

By the time he was in the grind of the fourth set, Wawrinka was talking directly to a fan who was bothering him, turning toward the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands and saying: "Shut up, man! Seriously, shut up."

Once his mind was back on the tennis, Wawrinka was fine.

At the outset of the match, Wawrinka explained afterward, "It was comfortable, because I was playing really good tennis. I think I was serving big. I was moving really well and taking the ball early, dictating every point. That's why it (looked) like — not easy, but it (looked) good for me."

Bellucci, a left-hander, was ranked as high as 21st in 2010, but arrived in New York with a record of only 11-10 this season.

He entered Wednesday with a 5-19 record against opponents ranked in the top 10, including 0-9 on hard courts.

But after a poor start, he began giving Wawrinka some trouble.

Bellucci finally earned his first break point of the match in the fourth game of the third set. He converted the chance on a 10-stroke exchange, stumbling as he flubbed a shot that clipped a net cord, then righting himself to deliver a backhand lob winner that landed on the baseline for a 3-1 lead that helped him take that set.

Wawrinka called that "one bad game."

And then, making things really interesting, Bellucci went up a break at 2-1 in the fourth set.

But Wawrinka was able to break back to get back on serve. At 5-4 in the fourth set, Wawrinka held two match points, but Bellucci saved them to hold serve there and get to 5-all. With a chance to force a fifth set, though, Bellucci faltered in the tiebreaker.

"I tried to focus more on my game and not on what he was doing," Wawrinka said in an on-court interview. "Tried to make him work a lot. I was playing a little bit smarter at the end of the match."

Wawrinka made a real breakthrough at Flushing Meadows last year, eliminating defending champion Andy Murray and getting to his first major semifinal in the 35th Grand Slam tournament of his career.

He now has reached the third round of the U.S. Open for the fourth time in the past five years.

Wawrinka's next opponent is 92nd-ranked Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia, who eliminated 30th-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Philippine economy grows 6.4 percent in 2Q

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine officials say that the country's economy expanded by 6.4 percent in the second quarter and tied with Malaysia as the second fastest growing in Asia during the period.

The government statistics agency reports Thursday that growth was higher than 5.6 percent posted in the first quarter, driven by industry, which grew by 7.8 percent, followed by services, which posted 6.0 percent growth.

Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan says the economy is "back on the higher trajectory" and on track to hit its 2014 target of 6.5-7.5 percent growth in gross domestic product.

The first quarter growth was dampened by a major earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan that wreaked havoc in the central Philippines late last year.

Survey: Americans' pessimism on economy has grown

WASHINGTON -- Americans are more anxious about the economy now than they were right after the Great Recession ended despite stock market gains, falling unemployment and growth moving closer to full health.

Seventy-one percent of Americans say they think the recession exerted a permanent drag on the economy, according to a survey being released Thursday by Rutgers University. By contrast, in November 2009, five months after the recession officially ended, the Rutgers researchers found that only 49 percent thought the downturn would have lasting damage.

And that was when the unemployment rate was 9.9 percent, compared with the current 6.2 percent.

"They're more negative than they were five years ago," said Rutgers public policy professor Carl Van Horn.

The slow pace of improvement during most of the recovery, now in its sixth year, has eroded confidence and slowed a return to the pay levels that many enjoyed before the economy suffered its worst collapse since the 1930s. About 42 percent of those surveyed say they have less pay and savings than before the recession began in late 2007. Just 7 percent say they're significantly better off.

The survey results dovetail with estimates that the median household income was $53,891 in June, according to Sentier Research. That's down from an inflation-adjusted $56,604 at the start of the recession.

Each year of subpar growth has compounded the anxieties of many Americans. In contrast to the robust snapbacks that coincided with most economic rebounds, this recovery proved tepid well after the recession had ended. Consumers struggled with an overhang of mortgage debt and the risk of layoffs for much of the recovery. A majority of those surveyed say they fear that job security has all but disappeared and that they'll have little choice but to work part time during retirement.

"No current worker had ever experienced this before," Van Horn said. "This recession was everywhere."

Researchers at Rutgers' John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development surveyed online a national cross-section of 1,153 adults between July 24 and August 3. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. The survey is part of a broader series of polls taken over multiple years to study the consequences of the recession for workers.

Recent evidence of economic strength has done little to brighten most Americans' outlooks. The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index has surged more than 170 percent since bottoming in March 2009. Yet only 14 percent of the respondents said the gains have affected them a lot — a sign of either meager investments or the extent to which families unloaded their stock holdings near the bottom of the market.

Employers have added an average of more than 244,000 jobs a month since February, a vigorous pace that recalls the dot-com era of the 1990s. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate has dropped more than a full percentage point from 7.3 percent to a nearly normal 6.2 percent.

This month, job growth helped propel the Conference Board's consumer confidence index to its highest reading since October 2007. The index often tracks the unemployment rate.

The gap between the index and the Rutgers survey likely reflects the type of questions posed by the university researchers. They asked about family finances, job satisfaction, retirement plans and the specific consequences of the recession. By contrast, the confidence index asks about broader perceptions of business and employment conditions and plans to buy autos, homes and household appliances.

Explosion at BP refinery, no injuries reported

WHITING, Ind. -- An explosion at a BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana, has rattled nearby homes. No injuries have been reported and no evacuation has been ordered.

A Whiting Fire Department spokesman said the explosion late Wednesday could be heard clearly several blocks from the plant. However, when fire commanders called plant officials to see if assistance was needed, they were told only to stand by.

Plant officials say the plant's fire department was handling the incident. Officials at the BP plant, just east of Chicago, did not immediately provide details about the explosion.

The Chicago Sun-Times said Wednesday was the anniversary of a 1955 explosion in Whiting that killed two people.

Tim Hortons a big part of Canadian identity

TORONTO -- Few things unite Canadians the way Tim Hortons does. For half a century, they have warmed themselves on chilly mornings with the chain's coffee and Timbits — or doughnut holes to Americans.

So news this week that Burger King will buy Tim Hortons served as a bittersweet reminder of how beloved the homegrown chain is in Canada, where 75 percent of the all the coffee sold at fast food restaurants comes from "Timmy's," as it is affectionately known. Tim Hortons is found in just about every small town and large city across Canada, and hockey-mad Canadians often head to their local Timmy's before or after their kids' games.

Tim Hortons, in a bid to quell any concerns that its distinctly Canadian brand could be watered down, went out of its way to assure that the red and brown coffee and doughnut shop won't change, taking out big ads in newspapers and declaring "fellow Canadians can all rest assured that Tim Hortons will still be Tim Hortons following this transaction."

The chain's aura in Canada comes from its namesake: hockey Hall of Famer Tim Horton, the co-founder who died at 44 in a 1974 car accident after playing in a game for the Buffalo Sabres. In a long run with Canada's most popular NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the defenseman won four Stanley Cups, including Toronto's last in 1967. That, and the chain's omnipresence, puts his fame in Canada on the order of a New York Yankees baseball legend like Mickey Mantle or Yogi Berra.

"Tim Hortons is iconic in terms of Canada and I wouldn't like to see that diluted," said Daraius Bharucha, a 46-year old teacher from Ajax, Ontario, and a customer since he immigrated to Canada from India 21 years ago. Bharucha said the first thing he does when he returns home to Canada from a vacation is visit the local Timmy's. He knows he's home. "Even among new Canadians the idea of going to a Timmy's has become part of the vocabulary," he added.

While the takeover by Burger King, which is based in Miami but controlled by a Brazilian private equity fund, is getting much attention in Canada, it's not causing panic. U.S.-based Wendy's recently owned Tim Hortons and its brand remained intact. Wendy's then spun off Tim Hortons as a separate company in 2006 after more than a decade of ownership.

In the meantime, Tim Hortons kept expanding and now has 4,546 restaurants, including 3,630 in Canada, 866 in the United States and 50 in the Persian Gulf.

Both Burger King and Tim Hortons vow they will continue to be run independently. So don't expect to see Timbits alongside Whoppers on Burger King menus.

The global corporate headquarters of the two chains will be based in Oakville, Ontario, and the move is viewed as being driven by Burger King's desire for a tax haven.

The Canadian government welcomed the deal. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spokesman said the government has been "reducing business taxes and creating jobs and boosting investment, making Canada one of the best countries in the world to do business."

Harper previously celebrated the return of Tim Horton's corporate headquarters to Canada in 2009 with a speech that talked about Timbits and the equally famous "double-double" coffee of two sugars and two creams.

"Millions of Canadian hockey parents like me know well that when it is 20 degrees below zero and everyone is up for a 6 a.m. practice, nothing motivates the team more than a box of Timbits, and nothing warms the parents in the stands better than a hot double-double," Harper said then.

Harper also quoted Canadian author Pierre Burton, who said "In so many ways the story of Tim Hortons is the essential Canadian story. It is the story of success and tragedy, of big dreams in small towns, of old fashioned values and tough-fisted business, of hard work and of hockey."

Harper's support is built in rural areas and with the "Tim Horton's crowd" — which is popular with blue-collar Canadians. While some wealthier Canadians might prefer Starbucks, most just want a Timmy's double-double.

And they hope something so Canadian won't be diluted.

"It's the association with hockey and the legend of Tim Horton and a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the tragic circumstances in which he died at a young age," Bharucha said. "There is that kind of mystique attached to that name."

Obama crafts legal rationale for immigration steps

WASHINGTON -- The White House is crafting a blame-it-on-Congress legal justification to back up President Barack Obama's impending executive actions on immigration.

Facing an expected onslaught of opposition, the administration plans to argue that Congress failed to provide enough resources to fully enforce U.S. laws, thereby ceding wide latitude to White House to prioritize deportations of the 11.5 million people who are in the country illegally, administration officials and legal experts said. But Republicans, too, are exploring their legal options for stopping Obama from what they've deemed egregious presidential overreaching.

A self-imposed, end-of-summer deadline to act on immigration is rapidly approaching. While Obama has yet to receive the formal recommendations he's requested from Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, administration officials said the president is intimately familiar with the universe of options and won't spend much time deliberating once Johnson delivers his recommendations.

After resisting calls to act alone in hopes Congress would pass a comprehensive immigration fix, Obama in June bowed to immigration activists and said that "if Congress will not do their job, at least we can do ours." The most sweeping, controversial step under consideration involves halting deportation for millions, a major expansion of a 2012 Obama program that deferred prosecutions for those brought here illegally as children.

Roughly half a million have benefited from that program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.

But while prosecutors are routinely expected to use their discretion on a case-by-case basis, such blanket exempting of entire categories of people has never been done on the scale of what Obama is considering — potentially involving many millions of people if he extends relief to parents of DACA children, close relatives of U.S. citizens or immigrants with clean criminal records.

"The question is how broadly can the president extend the categories and still stay on the side of spectrum of ensuring the laws are faithfully executed?" said Cristina Rodriguez, who left the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2013 to teach at Yale Law School.

Other options under consideration, such as changes to how green cards are distributed and counted, might be less controversial because of the support they enjoy from the business community and other influential groups. But Derrick Morgan, a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney and a scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Obama will still face staunch opposition as long as he attempts an end run around Congress.

Obama's goal had been to announce his decision around Labor Day, before leaving on a trip next week to Estonia and Wales. But a host of national security crises have pushed the announcement back, likely until after Obama returns, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and demanded anonymity.

Obama's actions will almost surely be challenged in court.

"Any potential executive action the president takes will be rooted in a solid legal foundation," White House spokesman Shawn Turner said.

What's more, Obama may have undermined his case because he has insisted time and again that he's the president, not the king, and "can't just make the laws up by myself." In a 2012 interview with Telemundo, Obama defended his decision to defer deportations for children but said he couldn't go any bigger.

"If we start broadening that, then essentially I would be ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally. So that's not an option," he said then.

Republicans are already hinting that they'll consider legal action to thwart what they've denounced as a violation of the separation of powers. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a conference call this month with GOP House members, accused Obama of "threatening to rewrite our immigration laws unilaterally."

"If the president fails to faithfully execute the laws of our country, we will hold him accountable," Boehner said, according to an individual who participated in the call.

The House already has passed legislation to block Obama from expanding DACA and, through its power of the purse, could attempt to cut off the funds that would be needed to implement the expansion. House Republicans could also consider widening or amending their existing lawsuit against Obama over his health care law, a case that both parties have suggested could be a prelude to impeachment proceedings.

How the Dow Jones industrial average did Wednesday

U.S. stocks drifted mostly higher Wednesday as the Standard & Poor's 500 index set a record for the third day in a row. Trading volume was about one-third below average ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend in the U.S. with many investors away on vacation.

On Wednesday:

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,122.01.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.10 of a point to close at 2,000.12.

The Nasdaq composite fell 1.02 points, or 0.02 percent, to 4,569.62.

For the week:

The Dow is up 120.79 points, or 0.7 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 11.72 points, or 0.6 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 31.07 points, or 0.7 percent

For the year:

The Dow is up 545.35 points, or 3.3 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 151.76 points, or 8.2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 393.03 points, or 9.4 percent.

Washington residents get more insurance choices

SEATTLE -- People who buy their own health insurance through the state's health exchange, Washington Healthplanfinder, will have more choices next year and will only see a small change in rates.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner approved on Wednesday 10 health insurers to sell 90 plans for 2015, said spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis. That's two more insurers than were OK'd for 2014, she said.

The number of plans that will be available in 2015 jumped from the current 46 to 90, she said.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said the increased interest from health insurers is "a clear sign that health reform is working."

"Consumers will have two more insurers to choose from next year, nearly double the number of health plans, and a record low rate change," Kreidler said in a statement.

The average rate change will be 1.9 percent, she said. That's significantly lower than the insurers' original request of 8.6 percent, Marquis said.

This new rate is for individuals and families who do not have employer-sponsored health coverage. The exchange board is schedule to certify these plans at a meeting Thursday.

Gov. Jay Inslee said the Affordable Care Act has made health care less expensive for Washington residents.

"States like Washington that are implementing the Act as written are seeing the lowest rates in decades — projected at 1.9 percent for 2015," Inslee said in a statement. "I only wish other states that neglected needed changes in our health care system would fully adopt the Affordable Care Act so their residents could get the same benefits as Washingtonians — high quality affordable care."

The rate changes vary with providers, according to a chart released by the commissioner's office. For example, inside the exchange is Bridgespan Health Company, which is offering 30 plans and was approved for a rate decrease of 2.9 percent. Coordinated Care Corporation will have nine plans and will have a 2.5 percent rate increase, according to the chart. Details on all the plans can be found on the agency's website, www.insurance.wa.gov .

Kreidler also announced that Kaiser Health Plan of the Northwest and Moda Health Plan Inc. were approved to sell 23 health plans inside the Healthplanfinder Business, formerly called SHOP. Kaiser enrollees will receive an average rate decrease of 3.7 percent, he said. Moda is new to the market and will be available statewide, while Kaiser is only available in Clark and Cowlitz counties.

"I'm very proud of how we've implemented health reform in Washington state," Kreidler said. "It hasn't always been easy, but these numbers show that the Affordable Care Act clearly delivered on its promise to bring people better access to affordable, quality health insurance."

Qantas Airways posts $2.6 billion loss for year

SYDNEY -- Qantas Airways Ltd. on Thursday posted a record 2.8 billion Australian dollar ($2.6 billion) statutory loss for the last fiscal year reflecting a profit-draining battle with its smaller rival Virgin Australia and aircraft write downs.

Australia's flagship airline's result for year to June 30, 2014, compared to a AU$1 million profit a year earlier. The loss is the largest the former state-owned airline has ever posted in its 94-year history.

The result included a AU$2.6 billion write down to the value of its aging international fleet of Boeing 747s and Airbus A380s, reflecting a weakened Australian dollar.

Excluding the write down and other one-off costs, Qantas made an underlying pre-tax loss of AU$646 million, compared to a AU$186 million profit a year earlier.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce described the result as "confronting," but said the massive loss represented the year that was past.

"We have now come through the worst," he said in a statement.

"With our accelerated Qantas transformation program, we are already emerging as a leaner, more focused and more sustainable Qantas group," he added.

Joyce said the underlying loss for the latest year reflected higher fuel costs and capacity growth on services outstripping demand.

Joyce forecast a profit in the first half of the current fiscal year.

Qantas has decided to separate its domestic and troubled international arms and created a new corporate entity for Qantas International, a change made possible by recent Australian law change.

Jack Daniel's leads higher results at Brown-Forman

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Led by demand for its flagship Jack Daniel's brand, spirits maker Brown-Forman Corp. said Wednesday its first-quarter net income rose 5 percent despite lower stockpiling by distributors.

The company behind such other brands as Southern Comfort, Finlandia and el Jimador said the three-month performance was slowed by lower inventory levels by distributors, reflecting the company's decision to ease up on price increases. In the past two years, distributors stocked up ahead of larger price increases made by the company in the first quarter, inflating sales for the spirits maker. This year, the price hikes by Brown-Forman were much smaller.

The company said it expects more stable inventory levels for the rest of the fiscal year.

"We anticipate higher rates of sales growth over the balance of the year, led by Jack Daniel's and our portfolio of premium whiskey brands," Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga said.

Underlying net sales for the entire Jack Daniel's brand grew by 5 percent in the quarter, led by 29 percent growth in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey. Underlying sales indicate revenue adjusted for foreign exchange fluctuations or unusual changes in distributor inventories.

The company reported mixed results for its other top brands.

For the quarter ending July 31, the company reported net income of $150 million, or 70 cents per share. That's compared to $143 million, or 66 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts expected earnings of 72 cents per share.

Quarterly net sales rose 3 percent to $921 million. Analysts expected revenue of $893.4 million.

The Louisville-based company reported flat underlying net sales in the United States during the quarter.

In developed markets outside the U.S., underlying net sales declined by 1 percent, with double-digit drops in the United Kingdom and Germany.

In France, those sales grew by double digits, helped by the launch of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey earlier in the year. Solid sales gains also occurred in Australia, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Among Brown-Forman's other leading brands, underlying net sales for Finlandia vodka products declined 13 percent in the quarter, due mainly to weak sales in Poland, a key market, the company said.

Sales for the el Jimador tequila lineup grew by 15 percent on the same underlying basis, led by strong gains in both the U.S. and Mexico. Net sales for the Southern Comfort brand dropped by 7 percent.

The Canadian Mist brand had a 7 percent drop in net sales, while the Woodford Reserve bourbon brand had sales growth of 29 percent.

Japan lab unable to replicate stem cell results

TOKYO -- The Japanese laboratory that retracted a paper reporting a potentially major breakthrough in stem cell research said Wednesday its researchers have not managed to replicate the results.

Scientists at the government-affiliated Riken Center for Developmental Biology said they are still trying to match results reported in two papers published by the journal Nature in January and then retracted in July. But they refused to say whether or not they expected to succeed in doing so.

"It's like asking scientists to try to predict the odds of winning a lottery," said Shinichi Aizawa. Later in the press conference he said his analogy was not entirely apt in explaining his reluctance to speculate on the chances for success.

Riken scientist Haruko Obokata, originally lauded for leading the research that raised hopes for a discovery of a simple way to grow replacement tissue for various diseases, is participating in the experiments. They are to continue until next March.

Obokata and other researchers in Boston and Japan participating in the project said they used a simple procedure to turn ordinary cells from mice into stem cells. They exposed cells from spleens of newborn mice to a more acidic environment than they are used to.

Having failed to generate the stem cells using spleen cells from one type of mouse, the scientists plan to use cells from another type of mouse, and from other organs, and to alter the methods of stressing those cells, said lead researcher Hitoshi Niwa.

The discovery of problems with the original research caused an uproar and prompted an investigation at Riken. One senior Japanese scientist involved in the research died earlier this month in an apparent suicide.

Riken announced plans Wednesday for an organizational overhaul to prevent any further problems, changing its director and reducing the number of researchers by half.

Memphis brings Tenn. supermarket wine votes to 75

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Election officials have certified that Memphis voters have submitted enough signatures for a November referendum on supermarket wine sales, bringing the total number of communities holding a vote on the issue to 75.

Currently, wine can only be sold in liquor stores. But a state law that passed this year will allow it to be sold by grocery and convenience stores starting in July 2016 if citizens vote to approve the change.

Red White and Food, a coalition that lobbied for the change, said Tuesday that certifications this week in Chattanooga and Memphis brought the statewide total to 75. The submission deadline was Thursday. Only communities that currently allow package stores or liquor by the drink are eligible to hold votes.

Specialty businesses cater to pampered pets

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Like a trio of princesses waiting to be served, once a month, three German shepherds named Kratos, Xena and Zeus wait to be pampered.

First up is a doggy manicure, as they have their nails clipped and buffed. Stylists at Barx Pet Boutique in rural Franklin gently clean their ears and trim the fur on their legs and feet.

If the dogs are good, they close out the visit with a handmade treat — peanut butter bones made with organic honey and other natural ingredients.

"All they'll eat now is these treats. They won't touch any other kind, so we have to bring them here," Greenwood resident Monique Klinger, the dogs' owner, told the Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/1vR1uLD ).

For many owners, their dogs and cats are looked at more as babied children than pets. The animals get tissue massages to relieve the stress of playing all day long. They are set up for photography sessions, given matching designer outfits and fed treats made of organic and human-quality ingredients.

Specialized businesses have emerged to provide those services, providing the royal treatment for the pets while giving owners the peace of mind that their animals are receiving the best care.

"We love our dog. It's in a way where she's like our baby," said Justin Gash of Franklin. "It's not so much about pampering her as taking good care of her."

Gash and his wife, Andrea, will do almost anything for their miniature schnauzer, Phoebe.

They take her to the groomer to get her coat washed and trimmed. They drive 20 minutes out of their way to buy the dog special-made treats.

For special occasions, the Gashes have Phoebe wear special dresses and other boutique items.

"The boutique items are fun. We'll dress her up when people come over, and they think it's great," Gash said.

Barx Pet Boutique and the sister business, Gerbeaux Gourmet Dog Bakery, have become the Gashes go-to place for babying Phoebe.

The Gashes discovered it soon after moving to Franklin in 2011. Since that time, it's not just their dog who's formed a bond with the business.

"We always use the same groomer, and she knows Phoebe very well by now," Justin Gash said.

"We never have to worry about taking her in — they'll call us afterward even and check-up on her, to make sure everything is good."

Pet industry statistics reveal that the Gashes are not alone. Owners are paying more and more to make their pets happy.

"The more they have them pampered, the more they like it," said owner Jennifer Whitaker, owner of Gerbeaux and Barx. "It's just like a kid. If your kid is going to scream for that toy or that treat, it's the same thing as a dog."

According to the American Pet Products Association, a pet-related trade group, owners spent more than $55 billion on their dogs, cats and other animals in 2013. Estimates for 2014 are set at $58 billion.

While a majority of that money is spent on food, medicine and veterinary care, 13 percent was spent on grooming and other extraneous services.

Businesses are taking advantage of that desire. On the south side of Indianapolis, Barkefellers upscale grooming and boarding provides a full spa experience for dogs.

The animals can get bathed, have groomers shave between their foot pads, get their nails trimmed and then be fluffed dry.

Hot oil treatments, gentle joint rubs and hour-long body massages are also popular treatments.

Greenwood's Bath and Beyond Pet Salon features pedicures, ear cleaning and teeth brushing, as well as a doggy day care where dogs can socialize and interact with other animals during the day.

At Dogtropolis, a Center Grove area boarding and grooming business, pet owners can pay a little extra to get such luxuries as a warm blanket from the dryer for their bed, bottled water or a car ride to Petsmart for a shopping spree.

At Barx, technicians do everything from trims to washing to putting nail polish on dogs' claws.

Some pet owners want their dogs to have a more stylish 'do, so the groomers can cut an edgy mohawk or shag cut.

One of their services is a dog facial. They use a blueberry scrub, specially made so it doesn't hurt the eyes, to shampoo the dog's face. The scrub soaks into the dogs pores and removes any dirt and other gunk that might be around the eyes.

In the bakery, Whitaker cooks up frosted and un-frosted treats using ingredients such as homemade peanut butter, carob and yogurt frosting. She had started baking all-natural treats for her own dogs — two shih tzus named Amos and Aspen, two German shepherds named Greta and Baron, and a bulldog named Vinnie.

Her concerns about what she was feeding her dogs were similar to what other pet owners were worried about themselves.

"I grind my own peanuts for the peanut butter, and there are only a few ingredients in each cookie. You or I could eat the same thing that these cookies are made of," Whitaker said.

Klinger has found that her German shepherds have now become doggie treat snobs, refusing to eat anything other than what she can pick up at Gerbeaux.

The animals are partial to the peanut butter cookies, but also enjoy the bacon and cheese versions. When their breath is stinky, Klinger picks up a package of the mint and charcoal snacks that use peppermint, molasses and active charcoal for fresh breath.

The lengths that she goes may be extreme at times. But Klinger considers it a small token for the companionship her dogs provide her.

"These are my babies. I do anything for them," Klinger said.

---

Information from: Daily Journal, http://bit.ly/1iTzNzl

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Daily Journal.

Lebanon police bust prostitution ring involving Syrian minor

BEIRUT: The Internal Security Forces said Wednesday that they busted a prostitution ring in the Metn town of Beit Mery, arresting six people including a Syrian minor.

On July 26, a 21-year-old Syrian woman filed a complaint against a man identified as Fawaz Jomaa, a Syrian, for confiscating her identification documents and blackmailing her into prostitution, the ISF said in a statement.

Police launched an investigation into the woman’s claims and a month later raided a house used for prostitution in Beit Mery.

The raid resulted in the arrest of Jomaa, 45, and his 25-year-old Lebanese wife on charges of running and facilitating the work of the prostitution ring.

The ISF also detained two Syrian men on charges of facilitating prostitution, a 35-year-old Syrian woman, and a 16-year-old Syrian girl for prostitution.

The raid was carried out by the Moral Protection Bureau of the ISF.

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Lebanese kidnapped in Nigeria freed: NNA

BEIRUT: A Lebanese man who was kidnapped in Nigeria last week was released Wednesday, the National News Agency said.

Saadallah al-Saklawi was abducted on Aug. 22, and his captors demanded a $500,000 ransom.

The state-run agency said the armed group freed Saklawi after his family paid a ransom.

Saklawi is from Deir Qanun village and was a resident of the southern town of Tyre.

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Salam: Politicians, media risking safety of Lebanese captives

BEIRUT: While criticizing politicians for turning the case of the abducted soldiers and policemen into a sectarian matter, Prime Minister Tammam Salam also warned media outlets that their competition for exclusive news was placing the lives of the captured troops in danger.

“There have been statements by some politicians and others that only result in tensions and do not help us in confronting the dangerous, imminent security threat that is facing the entire region ... and Lebanon,” Salam, surrounded by reporters, said after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri.

“These kidnapped soldiers are our sons ... because they headed to Arsal, placing their lives at risk, to confront this terror that has no religion not for a certain group, sect or religion.”

Since the end of the clashes earlier this month in the northeastern border region of Arsal, local television channels and newspapers have been racing to publish information from captors and possible deals to release the kidnapped personnel.

The Nusra Front is said to be holding three soldiers and 15 policemen out of the 29 security personnel held hostage by the militant groups. ISIS is holding the 11 others and a corpse of a deceased soldier.

The militants have so far released eight security personnel - five policemen and three soldiers.

Angered by questions on the ongoing efforts to release the soldiers, Salam spoke about the fierce competition among journalists in Lebanon, saying such behavior negatively affected the ongoing negotiations.

This constant competition, Salam said, “placed the lives of soldiers at risk.”

“Publishing information and details about the release of the soldiers is only complicating the case and disrupting all efforts aimed at their release.”

“We have been listening to some statements by the media and politicians distinguishing between Sunni, Shiite and Christian soldiers. This is shameful,” he said.

He said his government was shouldering its responsibility and working relentlessly to guarantee the safety of the soldiers.

“They are defending Lebanon not a politician!” he stressed.

The prime minister said he held talks with Berri about possible solutions to end the paralysis in the presidential election, hoping political leaders would elect a new president, which would pave the way for the parliamentary polls.

“It is important to speak with Speaker Berri if someone wants to find solutions to the crises, primarily the big constitutional crisis [that is] the inability of political forces to elect a new president for the republic,” he said.

"Contacts and efforts are ongoing, but time is running out and the country is paying a high price for this paralysis in the presidency in terms of their security and livelihood.”

"The security threat comprises the biggest share in [the price people are paying]. There are [people] who seek to inflict damage on Lebanon and the Lebanese.”

March 14 says Aoun's FPM pushing Lebanon toward civil war

BEIRUT: The March 14 coalition Wednesday accused Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement of pushing Lebanon toward civil war, after a recent alleged call for Christians to take up arms.

“March 14 General Secretariat condemns the FPM call on Christians to take up arms in partnership with Hezbollah,” the coalition said in a statement at the end of its weekly meeting.

The alleged FPM call, which came after a proposal by Aoun’s parliamentary bloc for a direct popular vote, “torpedoes the Constitution,” according to the statement.

“The FPM is accused of clearly pushing Lebanon toward a civil war, because torpedoing the Constitution and inciting people to [take up arms] for personal security constitute a substantive approach toward violence and the unknown,” March 14 said.

The statement stressed that safeguarding Lebanon’s Christians and Muslims could only be achieved through the legitimate security forces.

“Consequently, March 14 calls the Lebanese, Christians in particular, to recruit in the legitimate security and military forces to contribute to the defense of Lebanon in the face of all internal and external dangers."

March 14 reiterated the need to elect a new president in line with the Constitution, “which is a national responsibility that falls on the representatives of the Lebanese people as a whole.”

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Japan lab unable to replicate stem cell results

TOKYO -- The Japanese laboratory that retracted a paper reporting a potentially major breakthrough in stem cell research said Wednesday its researchers have not managed to replicate the results.

Riken announced plans Wednesday for an organizational overhaul to prevent any further problems, changing its director and reducing the number of researchers by half.

Summit Electric starts Gonzales construction

GONZALES, La. -- Summit Electric Supply has begun construction on a new facility in Gonzales.

The facility will include 50,000 square feet of warehouse space — nearly twice the capacity of Summit's current Gonzales location.

The move also allows Summit to expand its counter sales area, offer additional customer service support and broaden its scope of work.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1tJkBGX) Summit has serviced residential, commercial and industrial contractors in the Gonzales area since January 2003.

Summit Electric Supply is a privately held, independent electrical distributor headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Lebanon Speaker Berri puts faith in Saudi-Iran talks

Syria likely used chlorine gas 8 times in April: UN

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Group maps best assets of Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. -- A group that inventoried Gulfport's assets says the city needs better signage to attract tourists.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1tJ1Qn5 ) ten teams of three surveyors each from outside the area scoured Gulfport to determine where the city can expand and what it desperately needs to fix.

The group, from the Mississippi Development Authority, said this was the largest "asset mapping" in state history. The state makes available these surveyors to provide a fresh set of eyes to cities in Mississippi.

The report released Tuesday found Gulfport has too many overgrown vacant lots and the city's parks need more attention.

UN Interim Force in Lebanon's mandate extended

BEIRUT: The U.N. Security Council extended the mandate of the Interim Force in Lebanon for an additional year in a decision issued Tuesday evening.

Resolution 2172 was unanimously adopted to extend the mandate of the peacekeeping force until Aug. 31, 2015, with no major changes in deployment.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the presence of the mission remained necessary for peace and stability in south Lebanon, citing recent incidents of rockets fired from south Lebanon toward Israel and of retaliation by the Israeli army across the Blue Line.

Since the war on Gaza began last month, several rockets were fired from south Lebanon into Israel, prompting the latter to fire a barrage of retaliatory shells.

The council expressed “deep concern at all violations in connection with Resolution 1701 (2006), and looking forward to the rapid finalization of UNIFIL’s investigations with a view to preventing such violations in the future.”

The15-member council also condemned in “the strongest terms all attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon, reaffirming its determination to ensure that no such acts of intimidation will prevent UNIFIL from implementing its mandate.”

In the resolution, the council strongly “called upon all parties concerned to respect the cessation of hostilities, to prevent any violation of the Blue Line and to respect it in its entirety and to cooperate fully with the United Nations and UNIFIL.”

It emphasized that more work remained to be done by the parties to advance the full implementation of Resolution 1701 and urged Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its army from northern Ghajar without further delay in coordination with UNIFIL.

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IMF chief Lagarde under investigation in France

PARIS -- Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, was placed Wednesday under official investigation for negligence in a French corruption probe that dates back to her days as France's finance minister.

In a statement after a fourth round of questioning before magistrates, Lagarde said she would return to her work in Washington later in the day and said the decision was "without basis."

She and her former chief of staff face questions about their role in a 400 million-euro ($531 million) payment to a businessman.

"After three years of proceedings, dozens of hours of questioning, the court found from the evidence that I committed no offense, and the only allegation is that I was not sufficiently vigilant," she said in her statement.

Under French law, the official investigation is equivalent to preliminary charges, meaning there is reason to suspect an infraction. Investigating judges can later drop a case or issue formal charges and send it to trial.

The payment was made to Bernard Tapie in arbitration over a dispute with state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais over the botched sale of sportswear company Adidas. Critics have said the deal was too generous, and was symptomatic of the cozy relationship between money and power in France.

The court investigating the Tapie payment has been constituted specifically for allegations of wrongdoing against office-holders.

Ryanair launches flexible business-class tickets

DUBLIN -- Ryanair has launched a flexible business-class ticket in its latest U-turn from its no-frills tradition.

The Dublin-based airline says more than a quarter of its passengers already are business travelers, and hopes the new product will allow it to capture three-fourths of all business travel between Britain and Ireland, its two biggest markets.

Wednesday's announcement sent Ryanair shares 2.5 percent higher to 7.11 euros ($9.37) on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Marketed under the slogan "Your boss will approve," Ryanair's business ticket reverses some of the airline's more reviled policies for fee-dazzled travelers. Business tickets allow a large checked-in bag, free changes to flights, including on the day of travel, and preferential boarding.

Some business-class staples remain absent. There's no executive lounge, and no seats recline on Ryanair's tightly packed aircraft.

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The report said it couldn't be proven that anyone had died because of wait times at the medical center in Phoenix. On Tuesday, President Obama pledged to do better by vets and announced initiatives.

State of Michigan to host latest virtual job fair

LANSING, Mich. -- Job seekers and employers will be able to connect through a State of Michigan-sponsored online career fair.

The MiVirtualCareerFair is set for Wednesday. It's to feature three-dozen employers and is expected to be the largest such event to date.

More than 140 employers and 20,750 job seekers have connected since MiVirtualCareerFair debuted two years ago.

During the fairs, job seekers can explore customized employer booths, interact with participating employers and search and apply for job opportunities.

Wednesday's six-hour career fair is to include Lansing Community College, Real Estate One, TRW Automotive and U.S. Marines.

Participation for job seekers is free.

Another virtual career fair is scheduled for Nov. 12.

---

Online:

http://bit.ly/1evwlmb

ExxonMobil to pay civil penalty for 2012 oil spill

NEW ORLEANS -- ExxonMobil Pipeline Company has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act stemming from a 2012 crude oil spill from its "North Line" pipeline near Torbert in Pointe Coupee Parish.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday the company will pay the penalty to resolve the government's claim.

The federal complaint alleged that ExxonMobil discharged at least 117,000 gallons of crude oil when its pipeline ruptured April 28, 2012, about 20 miles west of Baton Rouge, spilling oil into the surrounding area and into an unnamed tributary connected to Bayou Cholpe.

EPA says the penalty is in addition to costs ExxonMobil incurred to respond to the oil spill and to replace the segment of ruptured pipeline.

Malaysia Airlines set for shakeup after disasters

HONG KONG -- Malaysia is preparing to unveil the latest overhaul of its beleaguered state-owned airline, which is reeling from twin disasters months apart that killed hundreds of passengers.

Khazanah Nasional, the state investment company that owns 69 percent of Malaysia Airlines, said in early August it will announce details of the overhaul by the end of this month. Malaysian news reports said the announcement will come Friday.

Analysts expect Khazanah to slash jobs, drop money losing routes to Europe and China, and replace top management.

A substantial revamp has long been on the cards for Malaysia Airlines, which was struggling with chronic financial problems even before it was hit by the double disasters this year.

Investigators continue to scour the southern Indian Ocean for Flight 370 which severed contact with air traffic controllers and apparently veered far of course while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people on board. In July, 298 people were killed when Flight 17 was blasted out of the sky as it flew over an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The tragedies have scarred its brand, once associated with high-quality service. Travelers on recent long-haul flights have posted photos on social media of nearly empty cabins and departure lounges. The airline says passengers fell 11 percent in July from the year before.

Khazanah has promised a complete overhaul of Malaysian Airlines, which has lost 5.5 billion ringgit ($1.7 billion) since the beginning of 2011 and has undergone at least four previous restructurings in the past dozen years. To carry out its revamp, the fund said earlier this month it would take full ownership of the airline by buying out minority shareholders.

"This is the last chance," said Mohshin Aziz, an aviation analyst at Maybank.

Malaysia Airlines "would be dead already" were it not for its high level of state support, he said.

CEO Ahmad Jauhari, who had little airline experience before joining the company and whose contract is up in September, is likely to be shown the door.

Another prime target of the overhaul is likely to be the carrier's 20,000-strong workforce, which is bloated compared with regional rivals such as Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines. Those and other established Asian carriers have also been facing rising competition from upstart budget carriers such as Malaysia's AirAsia.

The airline may cut up to 5,500 staff, or a quarter of its workforce, according to a report in Malaysia's Star newspaper, which cited unnamed sources.

Staff cuts have always been a difficult sell because the jobs provided by the state-owned carrier are a form of economic patronage. Mohshin said they would be logical if routes to China and to Amsterdam and other Western European cities are cut.

"If you're going to cancel routes, those planes are useless and when you don't use aircraft you don't need a lot of employees," he said.

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Hackerspaces used to turn ideas turn into reality

MESA, Ariz. -- At HeatSync Labs, the tables are littered with computer chips, pens, pads and tools while the room is abuzz with the chatter of would-be inventors hoping to change the world — or just make cool things. They are part of a growing global movement of so-called hackerspaces.

The idea for places where people could experiment began to take shape in the U.S. after Mitch Altman, 57, founder of a similar setup in San Francisco called Noisebridge, and other Americans attended a 2007 computing conference in Germany where panelists spoke of their own hackerspaces. Altman returned home, met with fellow tinkerers and rented a space for Noisebridge the next year.

Similar workshops were opening up across the country and dozens more have popped up since. More than 1,600 are now operating worldwide.

Anti-UAW workers to form own union at VW plant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Volkswagen workers who oppose the United Auto Workers at the German automaker's plant in Chattanooga are looking to form their own union.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/1vM9f5u ) reports that the group wants to form the first chapter of what would be called the American Council of Employees.

Worker Mike Burton said if the group can collect 500 signatures, it would be able to call for an election at the plant. He says 108 workers had signed up on the first day.

The UAW narrowly lost a union vote at the plant in February but has since established a local chapter aimed at gaining representation without another vote.

Volkswagen wants to create a works council to represent blue- and white-collar workers but can't do so without an independent union.

10 things to know about corporate inversions

WASHINGTON -- Burger King plans to become is the latest U.S. company to shift its legal address out of the country by merging with a foreign company. Burger King has announced plans to buy Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain.

Burger King's operations will stay in Miami. But the corporate headquarters of the new company will be in Canada.

The transaction is called a corporate inversion, a maneuver that is becoming popular among companies looking to lower their tax bills.

Burger King stressed that the deal is being driven by the international growth possibilities of Tim Hortons, not a desire to take advantage of Canada's lower tax rates.

Still, at least one senator — Democrat Sherrod Brown of Ohio — is urging fast-food patrons to take their business elsewhere, to Wendy's or White Castle, two fast-food chains that happen to be based in Ohio.

Ten things to know about corporate inversions:

---

1. WHAT IS A CORPORATE INVERSION?

An inversion happens when a U.S. corporation and a foreign company merge, with the new parent company based in the foreign country. For tax purposes, the U.S. company becomes foreign-owned, even if all the executives and operations stay in the U.S.

---

2. WHY INVERT?

There can be many business reasons for two companies to merge. The decision to incorporate the new parent company in a foreign country can generate significant tax savings over time.

The U.S. has the highest corporate income tax rate in the industrialized world, at 35 percent. The U.S. is also the only developed country that taxes corporate profits earned abroad. Foreign profits are subject to U.S. taxes once they are brought to the U.S., though corporations can deduct any foreign taxes paid.

Companies that become foreign-owned don't have to worry about the Internal Revenue Service trying to tax the profits they make abroad.

Most U.S. corporations pay federal income taxes at rates much lower than 35 percent because the tax code is filled with breaks for businesses. Inversions open the door for even more.

---

3. 'STRIPPING'

Inverted corporations must still pay U.S. taxes on the profits they earn in the U.S. However, they can lower their U.S. tax bills through a maneuver called "earnings stripping."

Here is how it works: The new foreign parent company "lends" money to the U.S. firm, which must pay it back. The U.S. firm then deducts the interest payments it makes to the parent company, reducing its taxable profits — "stripping" them from its balance sheet.

"You haven't raised any new money," said Robert Willen, a New York-based tax adviser. "All you've done is literally out of thin air, you've created a debt obligation on which the U.S. company is the debtor and the foreign parent is the creditor."

---

4. 'HOPSCOTCHING'

Many U.S.-based corporations are hoarding money overseas, either to invest abroad or to shield it from U.S. taxes. Experts say the total amount could exceed $2 trillion.

If a foreign subsidiary sends profits directly to a U.S. corporation, the U.S. firm must pay taxes on it. However, if those profits are funneled through a foreign parent company that was formed through an inversion, the money can be invested in the U.S. without paying U.S. taxes.

The technique is called "hopscotching" because the money — at least on paper — bounces from country to country while avoiding U.S. taxes.

---

5. HOW BIG IS THE ISSUE?

Nearly 50 U.S. companies have inverted in the past decade, and more are considering it, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The recent wave of inversions has been dominated by health care companies, including drugmaker AbbVie, which has announced plans to merge with a drug company incorporated in Britain. Walgreen Co. had been considering an inversion, but the nation's largest drugstore company announced in early August that it will no longer pursue one.

---

6. WHAT HAS CONGRESS DONE?

In 2004, Congress tried to curb inversions by saying U.S. companies couldn't escape U.S. taxes by simply reincorporating abroad, with the same shareholders and executives running the new company. Instead, Congress passed a law saying that in order to become a foreign-owned corporation, U.S. companies must merge with a foreign partner, even if the foreign partner is much smaller.

---

7. WILL CONGRESS DO MORE?

Several Democrats in Congress have announced bills to make it harder for U.S. corporations to invert. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he was working with key Senate Republicans in an effort to come up with a bipartisan response.

President Barack Obama included provisions in his 2015 budget request to limit inversions. The president has renewed his push in recent weeks.

But in the current political climate, it's hard to see House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the Obama White House all agreeing on a fix. We're talking about taxes, and Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much when it comes to taxes.

---

8. CAN OBAMA ACT ALONE?

The Treasury Department says it is "reviewing a broad range of authorities for possible administrative actions that could limit the ability of companies to engage in inversions, as well as approaches that could meaningfully reduce the tax benefits after inversions take place."

Experts are divided over how much Treasury can do without action by Congress.

---

9. WHAT DO DEMOCRATS SAY?

Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have questioned the patriotism of corporate executives who elect to invert their companies. At the same time, they are trying to make it a political issue ahead of this year's congressional elections, accusing Republicans of protecting corporate loopholes.

"They are renouncing their citizenship even though they're keeping most of their business here," Obama said in a recent speech. "They shouldn't turn their back on the country that made their success possible."

---

10. WHAT DO REPUBLICANS SAY?

Key Republicans say the only way to adequately address inversions is to overhaul the tax code, making it more attractive for businesses to locate in the U.S.

"Anything short of that and you're not going to be able to do it," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

Hatch and other Republicans say they could support limited efforts to fight earnings stripping, which many see as nothing more than a tax dodge. But in general, Republicans said they don't like the idea of punishing corporations for trying to lower their tax bills.

"We want to promote American competiveness, not hurt it," said Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana, a senior Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Conflicts weighing heavily on German consumers

BERLIN -- A closely-watched survey shows economic expectations among German consumers have "completely collapsed" over concerns about the conflicts in Iraq, Israel and Ukraine.

The GfK institute said Wednesday its latest index of economic expectations slid 35.5 points in August to 10.4 — the largest one-month decline since the survey began in 1980. Its headline forward-looking consumer climate indicator also fell to 8.6 for September from 8.9 in August.

In addition to the conflicts, GfK says "the gradually accelerating spiral of sanctions in Russia have now also had a negative impact on the previously extremely optimistic economic outlook of Germans."

Europe's largest economy shrank a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent in the second quarter.

The poll of 2,000 consumers is conducted on behalf of the European Union's executive European Commission.

Video games come of age as spectator sport

NEW YORK -- Video games have been a spectator sport since teenagers crowded around arcade machines to watch friends play "Pac-Man." And for decades, kids have gathered in living rooms to marvel at how others master games like "Street Fighter II" and "Super Mario Bros."

But today there's Twitch, the online network that attracts millions of visitors, most of whom watch live and recorded footage of other people playing video games —in much the same way that football fans tune in to ESPN.

Twitch's 55 million monthly users viewed over 15 billion minutes of content on the service in July, making Twitch.tv one of the world's biggest sources of Internet traffic. According to network services company Sandvine, Twitch generates more traffic in the U.S. than HBO Go, the streaming service that's home to popular shows such as "Game of Thrones" and "Girls."

Fans watch for the same reasons ancient Romans flocked to the Colosseum: to witness extraordinary displays of agility and skill.

Jacob Malinowski, a 16-year-old Twitch fan who lives outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, admits that some may question the entertainment value of Twitch's content.

"(But) I think it's interesting because you get to watch someone who's probably better at the game than you are," he says. "You can see what they do and copy what they do and get better."

Amazon's commitment to purchase Twitch for nearly $1 billion this week is an acknowledgement that the service's loyal fan base and revenue streams from ads and channel subscriptions present enormous opportunity.

Most Twitch viewers are gamers themselves who not only see the live and recorded video sessions as a way to sharpen their abilities, but also as a way to interact with star players in chatrooms or simply be entertained.

Sorah Devlin, a 31-year-old mother of two from Geneva, New York, says she watches Twitch with her 7-year-old son and 4 year-old daughter and enjoys it more than children's television programming. Their game of choice is "Minecraft," which lets players build —or break— things out of cubes and explore a blocky 3-D world around them. Devlin and her kids watch popular "Minecraft" players who go by names such as iBallisticSquid and SuperChache show their skills. The players, she says, have a sense of humor and are good at keeping the content "at most PG" so she is comfortable watching them with the kids.

"He likes being able to ask questions and it made him open up more," she says of her son. As for Amazon's purchase, Devlin says she was "kind of surprised, but I think they are starting to realize that gamers are much more of an enterprise than they thought."

Indeed, Twitch fans are the stuff of advertisers' dreams. They are mostly male and between the ages of 18 and 49, an important demographic for advertisers. Twitch's so-called user engagement is high. Nearly half of visitors spend 20 or more hours a week watching Twitch video, according to the company.

"You've got a hyper-growth platform with a niche audience," says Nathaniel Perez, global head of social media at advertising firm SapientNitro. "It's basically the best you can get, from an advertisers' perspective."

As a result, Twitch's commands premium prices from advertisers. The company's cost per thousand views, or the amount an advertiser pays to run one video ad 1,000 times, is $16.84 in the U.S., according to video ad-buying software company TubeMogel. That's well above the average $9.11 per thousand advertisers typically pay for video ads placed on other sites.

"Their users are relevant to so many advertisers," says Alex Debelov, CEO and co-founder of Virool, a video advertising platform company.

Twitch can be lucrative for talented gamers too. The site allows some gamers who set up channels —what the company calls "broadcasters"— to charge $5 monthly subscription fees to viewers. Plus Twitch gives a portion of all ad revenue to broadcasters.

Twitch didn't start out as a video game-focused company. The company, based in San Francisco, spun out of Justin.tv, a quirky service that revolved around a video feed tracking the daily activities of co-founder Justin Kan. The focus shifted to live video for gamers in 2011.

Brett Butz, 26, who works as a compliance officer outside of Boston, says he's spent $20 to $25 to watch content on Twitch, which is "more than I ever paid for YouTube," which also broadcasts games. While YouTube is popular with gamers, Butz says he prefers Twitch as a place to view games.

Amazon is promising to let its newest acquisition operate independently. But for some gamers, the deal brands Twitch with a corporate stamp.

"I'm curious to see if, in a year, it'll still have cache," says Patrick Markey, psychology professor at Villanova University who focuses on video games. "It's definitely considered a gamer platform but now that Amazon is buying it, is it becoming mainstream...is it going to lose its coolness?"

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Dairy group says it didn't intend to deny access

BOISE, Idaho -- An Idaho dairy industry group said Tuesday it didn't intend to deny media access to dairies when it mailed a letter to about 500 members urging them to turn down interview and tour requests.

The letter from the United Dairymen of Idaho was sent anonymously to The Associated Press late last week.

In it, co-chairs Tom Dorsey and Tony Vanderhulst advised dairy producers that there's been an increase in requests from media groups seeking to film on-farm footage since a law passed earlier this year making it illegal to secretly film animal abuse at agriculture operations.

The men recommended that dairy producers either turn down media requests or refer members of the media to dairy industry groups.

Late Tuesday, the organization's CEO Karianne Fallow issued a prepared statement saying the group wasn't trying to stop media access.

"In hindsight we understand how our Aug. 13 letter to United Dairymen of Idaho members might make someone think otherwise, but it is not the intention of the United Dairymen of Idaho to deny media access to Idaho dairies," Fallow wrote.

Dairy farm families often host tours for media, school students, health professionals and others, and organizing on-farm tours is one of the primary roles of United Dairymen, Fallow wrote.

"Our goal is to do so in a coordinated way and provide assistance to our farmers in support of the Gem State's dairy industry," Fallow wrote.

Earlier this year Idaho lawmakers passed a law making it a criminal offense for people to secretly film animal abuse at agricultural facilities. Opponents of the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, are suing the state contending that it curtails free speech rights.

But agriculture groups say the law is needed to prevent animal rights groups from unfairly targeting certain businesses and to protect private property rights.

The letter, which was labeled confidential, states that there has been heightened interest from the news media as a response to the legislation.

"We are working to confine and contain the nature of the requests, but encourage you to remain alert for unexpected visits to your farms," the men wrote in the letter.

The letter also provided four suggested responses if dairy farmers are contacted by the news media, including three ways to turn down requests and one way to refer reporters to the industry groups.

"Animal hygiene and farm safety are critical to my operation. We simply don't conduct tours like the one you're requesting," reads one response.

Cindy Miller, the spokeswoman for United Dairymen of Idaho, confirmed Monday that the letter was sent to about 500 dairy families statewide.

"We had some requests for dairy tours by some groups, and we just wanted to let our farm producers know what we could do to help them," Miller said.

Bob Naerebout, director of the Idaho Dairymen's Association, said Monday that the letter wasn't intended to block news media from covering the industry. Rather, he said, the industry groups wanted to let members know they had options.

"Our dairymen need to focus and want to focus on what they do best: Producing a high quality work product," Naerebout said at the time. "And they're not, shall we say, comfortable with the media."

Ritchie Eppink, an attorney for ACLU-Idaho, said the agriculture groups that pushed for the law frequently told lawmakers the dairy industry has nothing to hide.

Eppink hasn't seen the letter but was read portions of the letter during an interview with the AP.

Eppink said the suggested responses are troubling because many dairies offer tours to school children or other groups, and the letter appeared to encourage dairy farmers to misrepresent whether they give tours when speaking to the press.

"If there's really a problem with the press and others visiting these farms, then the IDA should be figuring out why that's a problem," Eppink said. "There shouldn't be anything that they're scared to show people — this is our food supply."

Bright-colored air gun bill passes state Assembly

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state Assembly approved legislation on Tuesday that would require certain replica guns to be sold in bright colors or transparent to avoid deadly mix-ups with police officers.

SB199 advanced on a 41-34 vote, the minimum needed to pass, after Republican lawmakers and an influential Democrat blasted it as ineffective. It now returns to the Senate.

Democratic Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles introduced the bill after two California teenagers were shot by law enforcement officers confusing toy guns for real ones.

A similar bill failed in 2011, but SB199 advanced after the fatal October shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, when a sheriff's deputy mistook the boy's toy rifle for a real AK-47.

"Boys have been shot and killed by law enforcement carrying these guns," said Assemblyman Mark Levine, D-San Rafael. "Horrific things happen when a toy gun is confused for the real thing."

To distinguish the guns, the bill would require certain replica firearms have a brightly colored surface or prominent fluorescent strips.

The bill would apply to air guns that fire pellets or BBs that are six millimeters or eight millimeters, a definition excluding other types of toy guns.

It has support from several law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department.

Opponents say real guns already are sold in bright colors and that criminals could paint their weapons to confuse police. Former Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, also voted against the bill, saying it was the wrong approach to a serious problem.

"Paint is not the solution," said Perez. "Paint leads to a situation where people who we don't think should have guns in the first place can go and paint the gun they have."

Other bills acted on by the Legislature on Tuesday:

—AB1327 by Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, R-Camarillo, establishes restrictions on the government's use of drones for surveillance. The privacy rights bill passed out of the Senate on a 25-8 vote. The bill returns to the Assembly.

—AB1673 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, would ban lobbyists from hosting fundraisers at their homes and offices after one firm was slapped with a record fine. The bill passed 34-0 in the Senate and goes back to the Assembly. A similar bill, SB1441 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, is in the Assembly after passing the Senate.

—AB1585 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, allows victims of human trafficking to petition a judge to set aside prostitution convictions. It is supported by Attorney General Kamala Harris. It heads to the governor on a 76-0 vote.

—AB1439 by Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, would crack down on Internet sweepstakes cafes by prohibiting businesses whose customers use casino-style video monitors to play gambling-style games for cash and prizes. It heads to the governor on a 72-0 vote.

—AB1517 by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, would set deadlines for crime labs to test rape kits and submit information to a national database. The Assembly approved amendments extending the timelines. It heads to the governor on a 69-0 vote.

—SB29 by Sen. Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, would allow elections officials to count ballots that are received up to three days after an election. The bill passed the Senate on 21-11 vote and goes to the governor.

—SB113 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote. The bill passed 21-12 and goes to the governor.

—SB838 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, responds to the sexual assault of a Northern California teenager who committed suicide after a photo of the attack was posted on social media. It would require a juvenile who is convicted of rape, sodomy, oral copulation or an act of sexual penetration to complete a mandatory sexual-offender treatment program. The bill passed 36-0 and goes to the governor.

—SB1174 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would place a measure on the November 2016 state ballot to repeal Proposition 227, a 16-year-old law that banned most bilingual education in public schools. The bill was passed on a majority vote over the objection of Republicans who say Democrats drafted it in way so that future changes would only require majority legislative vote and bypass voter approval. The bill passed on a 25-10 vote and goes to the governor.

—SB1210 by Lara would establish the California Dream Loan Program in University of California and California State University systems to provide loans to student who are in the country illegally and cannot access federal or private student loans. The bill passed on a 25-9 vote and goes to the governor.

—SB1177 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is a student privacy bill that seeks to ban the use of student data for commercial use, require providers to use data for school purposes only and ban the sale of student personal information to advertisers and third parties. The bill passed 36-0 and goes to the governor.

—SB844 by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, requires the Secretary of State to post online the amount of total contributions and the names of the top 10 donors for and against each ballot proposition. It would also require that online voter guides include links to financial disclosure reports for candidates and ballot propositions. The bill passed 36-0 and goes to the governor.

Associated Press writer Judy Lin contributed to this report.