Schumer pushes bill to cut student loan debt

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on Congress to allow current workers to refinance their student loan debt to get the same interest rates now offered to current students.

The Democratic is pushing legislation that would let students and former students who took out a student loan before 2013 refinance their debt to get an interest rate of 3.86 percent. That's the same rate now offered to new borrowers.

Schumer says the legislation would save 2.5 million New Yorkers an estimated $12.5 billion over the life of their loans. The legislation would apply to both public and private student loans.

The average student loan debt in New York is $30,000.

Tension against Kurds runs high in Burj Hammoud

BEIRUT: Tensions ran high in Burj Hammoud, north of Beirut, after a catcalling incident spiraled out of control prompting security forces to step in twiceover the weekend to contain frictions.

The brawl started Saturday when a man from Lebanon’s Kurdish community verbally harassed the fiancé of one of the residents as the couple was taking a walk which led to a verbal altercation that deteriorated when the friends of each of the two men joined the fight, media reports said.

But matters worsened Saturday afternoon when one of the men from the Kurdish community threw a gas canister at Elias Kalash, badly wounding him. According to media reports, Kalash was still in hospital in critical condition.

The Internal Security Forces issued a statement Sunday saying it arrested five Syrian men connected to the dispute. The ISF said investigations were ongoing to determine the real reasons behind the dispute.

The 29-second video of a man throwing the canister at Kalash – filmed by one of Burj Hammoud’s residents- went viral on the internet over the weekend.

On Sunday evening, a group of Burj Hammoud residents held a protest outside the neighborhood’s municipality demanding protection against what they dubbed as “attacks” on them by the Kurdish community.

Lebanon has a large Kurdish community; most of them were granted the Lebanese citizenship after the 1975-90 Civil War in the early 1990s.

The bustling Burj Hammoud- one of Beruit’s most populated suburbs – is known as an Armenian stronghold, but in recent years it grew to house several nationalities and religions.

Two rockets from Syria hit Bekaa Valley town

BEIRUT: A rocket from Syria hit a Bekaa Valley town Sunday, with no casualties reported, security sources told The Daily Star.

The rocket fired from the eastern mountain range hit the Bekaa Valley town of Brital, the sources said, causing slight material damage.

Bekaa Valley villages have frequently been subject to similar attacks. Islamist rebel groups fighting in Syria have claimed responsibility for similar attacks on predominantly Shiite towns in the past, citing Hezbollah's role in the Syrian crisis fighting alongside regime forces.

Burning bread crumbs send plane back to Boston

BOSTON -- The smell of burning bread crumbs has forced a Miami-bound American Airlines flight to return to Boston.

An airlines spokeswoman says Flight 1532 took off from Boston's Logan International Airport at 6:36 a.m. Sunday, but passengers soon began smelling smoke.

The plane returned to Boston at 7:10 a.m., and the smell was found to be from bread crumbs burning in an oven. The oven was cleaned, and the flight took off again at 8:20 a.m.

The plane was carrying 150 passengers and five crew members.

Train derailment fuels sleep apnea screening talks

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A deadly Metro-North train derailment last year in which the "dazed" engineer was found to have sleep apnea has pushed the commuter railroad to look into establishing screening for the condition, which could include measuring operators' necks and asking them and their spouses about snoring habits.

Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan confirmed that the railroad that serves New York City's northern suburbs is working with unions on sleep apnea screening, but he cautioned nothing has been decided. Any program, he said, "would be for all employees in any safety-sensitive positions."

While no cause has been established for the Dec. 1 derailment in the Bronx that left four dead and dozens hurt, apnea has gotten much of the attention. Even before the accident, federal railroad officials had been discussing requirements related to sleep disorders. But there is still no national screening requirement for apnea, and railroads around the country have varying practices.

Any screening program that emerges is likely to start with questioning about the subject's sleep habits and some physical measurements. Overnight sleep-observation studies, which can be time-consuming and expensive, could follow.

Apnea robs its victims of rest because their tongue and throat muscles relax too much during sleep, and they are repeatedly awakened as their airway closes and their breathing stops.

"The person basically gasps himself awake," said Dr. Gregory Belenky, director of the sleep and performance research center at Washington State University. "It's very much the functional equivalent of waterboarding."

Loud snoring is a symptom and apnea is more common in those who are overweight. Having a large neck size, over 17 inches for men, is a risk factor.

In the case of engineer William Rockefeller, who was at the controls during the Metro-North derailment, the National Transportation Safety Board said he was classified as obese at 5-foot-11 and over 260 pounds.

Rockefeller told NTSB investigators that he felt strangely "dazed" before his train hit the curve, which has a 30 mph speed limit, at 82 mph. Asked if he was clearheaded enough to realize he was entering a curve, he replied, "Apparently not."

Rockefeller's medical exam after the accident uncovered "severe obstructive sleep apnea," and when experts studied his sleep, he woke up about 65 times an hour without being conscious of it. As few as five interruptions an hour can make someone chronically sleepy.

The Federal Railroad Administration, with the help of Harvard's medical school, has set up a website with resources including an apnea questionnaire and a video of a man snoring thunderously and repeatedly waking up to breathe during a sleep test.

James Stem, a lobbyist with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, said the website is useful but nationwide rules are needed.

"Fatigue is the No. 1 safety issue in the industry today," he said.

At Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, anyone hired to drive a bus or a train is screened for sleep disorders using the Epworth Scale, a questionnaire that asks people to rate their chances of dozing off in various daytime situations, including watching TV and driving but stopped in traffic.

"People with sleep apnea, they fall asleep at stoplights, they fall asleep at meetings during the day," Belenky said. "They'll deny any sleepiness and nod off right in front of you."

If the questionnaire leads to a diagnosis, Boston's drivers are required to get treatment and comply with it.

A common treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, which uses a mask and hose to push a steady flow of air pressure into a person's airway during sleep. The mask can be programmed to reveal whether a person is following doctor's orders.

At the Chicago-area Metra network, spokeswoman Meg Riley said there's no specific test of engineers for sleep apnea, but if their regular exams lead to a diagnosis, the railroad requires treatment and a doctor's statement that the employee is cleared for work.

The Schneider trucking company, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, imposed a screening program after finding that fatigue was the top cause of crashes, said spokesman Don Osterberg. Drivers were asked questions about sleepiness and had their neck circumference and body mass index measured.

If a trucker shows potential risk, a sleep study is ordered, Osterberg said. And if apnea is diagnosed, treatment and compliance are mandatory.

Although Schneider pays for the testing and the CPAP masks, health care costs have dropped because accidents were fewer and less severe, Osterberg said — and drivers felt better.

Rockefeller responded well to CPAP and felt more energetic, the NTSB said. His Epworth scale score dropped from 12 ("See the advice of a sleep specialist without delay.") to 1 ("Congratulations, you are getting enough sleep.").

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Online:

FRA's sleep guide for railroaders: http://bit.ly/1lRf7qf

Vietnam clamps down on anti-China protests

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam forcibly broke up anti-China protests on Sunday after deadly riots targeting Chinese interests over a raging territorial dispute spooked investors and the country's authoritarian regime.

Bejing said it has evacuated 3,000 nationals from Vietnam and was sending the first of five ships to pull out those still at risk.

China's decision to deploy an oil rig to a disputed patch of the South China Sea on May 1 triggered fury in Vietnam and the worst breakdown in ties between Hanoi and Beijing in years. Hanoi sent patrol ships to confront the rig and scores of Chinese vessels protecting it, and they remained locked in a tense standoff.

Last weekend, Vietnam allowed anti-China protests that drew thousands of people, a rare step widely seen as a way of amplifying state anger against Beijing. Doing so was risky for authorities: dissident groups joined the protests, and by Tuesday and Wednesday, the rallies had morphed into riots targeting factories believed to be owned by Chinese companies. Many of those hit were Taiwanese. Two Chinese nationals were killed and more than 100 wounded.

Vietnam's state-security apparatus on Sunday ensured no one was able to protest.

In southern Ho Chi Minh City, police dragged away several demonstrators from a park in the city center. In Hanoi, authorities closed off streets and a park close to the Chinese Embassy, while police barking into bullhorns shoved journalists and protesters away. Police were posted outside well-known dissidents houses, preventing them from leaving, according to activists.

"I want to send a message that if we don't stop China today, tomorrow it will be too late," said demonstrator Dao Minh Chu, as he was pushed away from the park near China's embassy, where last week around 500 people gathered without interference from authorities. Those protests were covered enthusiastically by state media, a clear sign of state sanction.

China has loudly demanded that Hanoi protect Chinese people inside Vietnam, which is heavily dependent on Beijing economically. Hundreds of Chinese have left by commercial flights and across the land border into Cambodia, although there has been calm since Thursday.

On Sunday, China said it dispatched to Vietnam a passenger ship capable of carrying 1,000 people, the first of five vessels it planned to send to complete an evacuation on top of 3,000 nationals who had left earlier.

With Chinese travelling in increasing numbers, Beijing is under pressure to protect them overseas.

A Taiwanese steel mill attacked on Wednesday employed 1,000 Chinese workers, who can be cheaper to hire and easier to manage than Vietnamese laborers.

Yang Yang, a political scientist at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said there were so many Chinese working in Vietnam that sending ships was more practical than planes. "It can also appease the unhappiness of the Chinese public over the violence against Chinese nationals in Vietnam," he said.

In recent years, foreign companies attracted by low wages and a reputation for safety have flocked to Vietnam, opening factories making everything from sneakers to smartphones. The government is aware that last's week violence threatens that vital economic cog, as well as chipping away at its authority by showing it can't keep order — an important part of its compact with a population denied basic rights.

On Saturday, top Vietnamese security official Lt. Gen. Hoang Kong Tu vowed to ensure the safety of all foreign investments and citizens in the country, including those from China. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, which authorities have blamed on "extremists."

China and Vietnam have growing business links and share a political ideology and a commitment to authoritarianism, but they also have a long history of bad blood. Many Vietnamese harbor deep resentment over what they see as China's bullying and economic exploitation of Beijing's far smaller neighbor.

China has been much more assertive in pressing its territorial claims in recent years, often bringing into it into dispute with Vietnam and the Philippines. Spats have broken out over fishing rights and oil exploration missions in recent years, but the placement of the rig 220 kilometers (136 miles) off the coast of Vietnam was considered especially provocative.

Vietnam's government routinely arrests free speech activists and others challenging one-party rule. Anti-China protests are one of the few opportunities for public gatherings in Vietnam and also attract dissident groups, who often claim Hanoi is too soft on Beijing.

Several well-known activists said they had been prevented from leaving their homes on Sunday.

"I think the best way is to allow people to protest," said La Viet Dung, a frequent anti-China protester, adding that police visited him late Saturday asking him not to attend. "They say they are preventing people from protesting because they are worried about extremist actions and violence, but that is not logical."

Dinh reported from Ho Chi Minh City. Associated Press writer Louise Watt and news assistant Henry Hou in Beijing contributed to this report.

Connecticut homeowners face a flood of problems

MIDDLEBURY, Conn. -- People living on Porter Avenue face a threat that could put their homes underwater — but it's not coming from nearby Long Swamp Brook.

The rising cost of flood insurance is putting a financial strain on local residents, and many others across the nation, who have suddenly found their property in a flood zone following a federal revision of flood insurance maps.

Catherine Konnik and her husband Steven bought their Cape Cod style house in 2002. Now that their children are older, the couple was close to selling their home — until a flood insurance quote led the buyers to rescind their offer.

"Your home is your life savings," Catherine Konnik said Monday. "This is my savings account. It's only worth what someone's willing to pay for it. If you can't sell it, it's not worth anything."

The Konniks are having trouble finding a broker to list their house, and Catherine said one agent told them she could only list it at a steep discount.

Since being required to have flood insurance four years ago, Konnik said her premium rose from $400 to $1,300 to $1,700, and then to $1,874.

She recently hosted a gathering of 12 neighbors to discuss the issue and share their problems.

Massive flood damage from Hurricane Katrina and other major storms created a $24 billion deficit in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In response, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, aiming to raise rates to reflect true flood risks, make the program more financially stable and change how flood insurance rate map updates impact policyholders.

But the new law had the unintended effect of raising some rates as much as 10 times higher than before.

In March, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, limiting annual rate increases under NFIP to no more than 18 percent and instructing FEMA to have "an affordability target" seeking to limit the cost of a flood insurance policy to 1 percent of a home's total coverage amount.

In 2010, FEMA revised Middlebury's flood insurance map and, after a public hearing, town officials okayed it.

First Selectman Edward B. St. John, who was not in office at the time, said the problem is that the newer map does not take a flood mitigation project in the area into account.

St. John recalls a flood problem in the neighborhood in the '70s, but he and current Public Works Director Dan Norton say a project to deepen and widen Long Swamp Brook and to remove excess vegetation more than a decade later seems to have solved the problem.

"Even with the big storms we had, it didn't seem to have the impact on the houses on lower Porter Avenue that I saw when I first came to work for the town," said Norton, who was hired in April of 1984.

St. John hopes a search of local records may help the town to apply for a revision to FEMA's map.

Landscapes change over time, and FEMA has procedures in place to update a flood map.

In a Nov. 20, 2013 letter, Paul F. Ford, acting regional administrator for FEMA, explained to U.S. Rep. Elizabeth H. Esty, D-5th District, that applicants must follow the same "rigorous standards" in challenging a map as FEMA does when it establishes the map.

St. John said this means the town would have to pay for consultants and studies — and FEMA still could decide against a map revision.

Porter Avenue residents asked the first selectman to look into seeking grants, but David Murphy, a professional engineer with Milone & MacBroom in Chesire, expressed doubts in an email to St. John.

Murphy said "the best thing homeowners can do is to conduct mitigation (elevating, eliminating basements, adding flood vents) to decrease insurance premiums."

St. John said, "Hopefully we can somehow get some relief to these people. We're leaving every option open."