Monster snowstorm to blanket more than half of United States

NEW YORK - A massive winter storm hit the US Rockies and Plains on Friday then punched east, with snow set to assault a 1,609-kilometer corridor through the weekend, creating transportation "havoc" in the middle of the country.

The system started as rain from Mexico and turned to snow as it met icy air. Up to 45 centimeters of snow were expected in the Sangre de Cristo mountains south of Denver, according to the National Weather Service.

As the storm heads east, up to 41 cm of snow were likely in western Missouri and St. Louis. Areas to the east could get about 15 cm with ice developing in Kansas, and Arkansas, and up to 10 cm of snow in Washington, DC, before the system heads out to sea late on Sunday, AccuWeather said.

"The storm is expected to create havoc over the central part of the country, then extend eastward into the Mid-Atlantic states," said Randy Adkins, an AccuWeather meteorologist.

The FlightAware.com flight tracking website reported 1,431 flight cancellations on Friday and 12,465 delays, with problems at snow-hit airports like Denver causing knock-on effects around the country.

While the storm will spare the heavily populated Northeast, it likely will disrupt air and auto travel from Kansas City to Indianapolis, and will bring the heaviest snowfall so far this winter to Cincinnati and the Ohio River Valley, said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Walker.

Although the Kansas City area is expected to get up to 6 inches of snow, it should be over by the time the Kansas City Chiefs begin their National Football League playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday afternoon. 

St. Louis emergency management officials are bracing for auto travel disruptions and possible power outages, but based on current forecasts, are not expecting to be overwhelmed, spokesperson Tracy Panus said.

"This is not the first storm we’ve had in the St. Louis area," Panus, who is with the St. Louis County Police Department of Emergency Management, said by telephone.

As the system moves eastward, it will hand off to a second coastal storm on Sunday that will bring 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of snow to the Washington, DC, area before it moves off the coast that night, Walker said.

"There could be a period of ice that we’re concerned about across portions of central North Carolina and back into the mountains," he added.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

March for our Lives

People arrive for the March for Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, DC on Saturday. Galvanized by a massacre at a Florida high school, hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to take to the streets in cities across the United States on Saturday in the biggest protest for gun control in a generation

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Melania taps little-known Hispanic designer for inaugural debut

WASHINGTON - Melania Trump on Thursday picked a little-known New York designer of Hispanic descent and daughter of a wounded veteran, for her first outfit celebrating husband Donald's presidential inauguration.

The choice of a knee-length, black coat from Norisol Ferrari for her visit to the Arlington National Cemetery was something of an inspired choice for Trump, who has been criticized in the past for favoring high-end European clothes.

A string of designers have refused to work with the incoming first lady because of her husband's divisive politics, making her sartorial choices for his inaugural events even more closely watched than usual.

"God, I hope we can be a less angry nation," Ferrari told Women's Wear Daily, saying she did not agree with designers who wanted to boycott Trump.

"I am absolutely opposed to discrimination in any way. I wanted to give her her own voice. Empowering women is all that matters to me," she told WWD.

The designer, who was born in the United States and is of Colombian and Venezuelan descent, said she was "honored" to dress Melania Trump, who will on Friday become only the second foreign-born first lady in US history.

"Mrs Trump's visit to Arlington was particularly poignant for me, as my biological father is a wounded veteran. His experience and the lifelong disabilities he sustained, affected my family deeply," she told WWD.

Ferrari declined to say how she voted in last year's election, in which much of the fashion industry supported Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and said she appreciated the exposure.

"I'm an independent designer, female-owned business, a first-generation minority woman," she told WWD.

"Women in general don't get opportunities like this in fashion. I'm very fortunate to one have such a beautiful muse."

Clever choice or not, the 46-year-old former model was heavily criticized on social media for appearing grumpy, hiding behind dark sunglasses at the cemetery and arriving in Washington from New York looking funereal.

But US media did gush over the green cascading coat and matching dress worn by her 35-year-old step daughter Ivanka, who unlike Melania is moving straight to Washington with her husband, Jared Kushner, an incoming White House advisor.

Ivanka's outfit was reportedly the work of famed New York designer Carolina Herrera, who was born and brought up in Venezuela before moving to the United States and becoming a designer par excellence of timeless elegance.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Meet PH bet to Miss World pageant

NEW YORK – Catriona Elisa Gray is the Philippines’ bet for the Miss World Beauty pageant in Washington DC on December 18.

Gray wrote the script for her own contestant introduction video to Miss World 2016, now seen by more than half a million viewers worldwide.

“Syempre, I’m introducing myself, so who better to write the script than me. I wanted not only to show the beautiful sights of our country but also who I am as a person,” she said.

Gray said her unique name is a combination of her two grandmothers’ names.

“My grandmother on my dad’s side, she is of Scottish heritage and she used to speak Gaelic, which is the Celtic Scottish language. She used to paint these beautiful oil canvass paintings and she would sign her name at the bottom. In Gaelic, Catherine is Catriona. My middle name Elisa is actually taken from my lola on my mom's side 'coz her name was Elsa,” she explained.

Gray grew up in Australia, but as an adult, she chose to live and work in the Philippines as a fashion model.

She may have lived the glitzy and glamorous life of a model, but her real passion, she said, is helping the poor kids in the Philippines, especially in Tondo, Manila.

“I was shocked that families were living with such little resources, that they were getting by on so little. I think if you give a child education, they can really make something of themselves, they can help their families in the long run,” she said.

Being a creative person, Gray said art and music are part of her life.

With less than three weeks before the Miss World pageant, Gray believes she is ready to take on the international stage and hopefully bring home another crown and scepter for the Philippines.

Read more on Balitang America.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Snowstorm bears down on northeastern United States

NEW YORK - The northeastern United States prepared Thursday for snow, high winds and frigid temperatures, as a gust of wintry weather bore down on New England and surrounding states, cancelling flights.

Temperatures in New York were expected to drop to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 degrees Celsius) with a wind chill factor of minus nine degrees Fahrenheit, according to national weather forecasts.

Tracking system FlightAware said that about 2,000 flights entering, leaving or inside the United States had been canceled.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for a huge area spanning states from Chicago trough New York, New England and the US capital Washington.

Heavy winter weather was hitting the country's midwest, dropping a blanket of snow and cancelling flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

The northeastern winter warning was in effect in New York from Thursday evening through midday Friday, with forecasters predicting six to 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) of snow and winds that could reach up to 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for New York's Long Island.

The storm in the Big Apple, where forecasters expect three to seven inches of snow, will pose a first test for the city's new Mayor Bill de Blasio, who assumed his post Wednesday.

De Blasio said the city had "laser" focus as it prepared. "We are ready," he said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo activated the State Emergency Operations Center and urged people to use public transportation, warning of possible highway closures due to inclement weather.

Officials also warned about the risk of freezing or hypothermia due to the frigid temperatures.

In Boston, temperatures had already dropped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit early Thursday. The state was under a winter storm warning, with strong snowfall expected until Friday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Suspect shot dead after car chase from White House to Capitol

WASHINGTON - US police shot a female motorist dead on Thursday after she led them on a wild high-speed chase from the White House through downtown Washington to the Capitol building.

Lawmakers and tourists scattered and ducked for cover as shots rang out during a police operation to halt the woman, who was driving with a one-year-old child in her black Infiniti luxury sedan.

Washington police chief Cathy Lanier told reporters that the suspect had been pronounced dead, but refused to discuss her identity or her possible motive while the investigation was continuing.

"The child is approximately a year old, and is in good condition, and in protective custody," Lanier said, adding that officers had fired shots at two locations as they tried to halt the vehicle.

"I will say that both at the White House and at the Capitol, the security perimeter worked," she said, adding that a Capitol Police officer and a Secret Service agent had been injured.

"They did exactly what they were supposed to do. They stopped a suspect from breaching the security perimeter in a vehicle at both locations," she said.

Officials said that the chase had begun at the "outer perimeter" of White House security, where the suspect's car had struck a barrier and a uniformed Secret Service officer.

No shots were fired at the White House, but agents gave chase. As the car closed in on the Capitol, the seat of Congress, it was cornered by police cruisers and armed officers on foot.

Footage aired by broadcasters showed the car executing a tight U-turn as shots rang out, and then speeding off. Shortly afterwards it hit another barrier and more shots were fired.

Lanier, while refusing to speculate on the cause of the incident, said it "does not appear in any way to be an accident. This was a lengthy pursuit."

The chief of the Capitol Police, Kim Dine, said he had no information to suggest a terrorist motive for the "isolated incident."

David Loewenberg, a 21-year-old student, said he was in his basement apartment near the Capitol when he heard "a succession of seven or eight gun shots" and rushed outside.

"I could make out a black car that had either run up on the side of the curb or crashed," he told AFP.

Loewenberg saw a police officer leaving the scene "hugging" a child in his arms. "It was a girl as far as I could tell," he said. "The child was taken away pretty quickly by the police officer."

The incident was the second major security breach in the US capital in less than three weeks. On September 16, a deranged gunman stormed the nearby Navy Yard and killed 12 people.

Thursday's scare also came three days into a US government shutdown, which has raised political tensions and caused hundreds of thousands of workers to be sent home without pay.

Senators sheltering inside the Capitol told reporters that they had heard up to six shots while police sealed off the building and emergency vehicles converged at the scene.

About half an hour after the incident began, the security lockdown at the Capitol was eased and the doors reopened.

Outside the Dirksen office building, which houses senators' offices, staff members not sent home by the shutdown could be seen taking cover behind trees and vehicles.

The White House was also briefly placed in lockdown, with Secret Service agents in tactical gear deployed around the building. The security alert was later partially lifted.

Matthew Jacobs, a 26-year-old tourist from Wellington, New Zealand, was on a bicycle near the White House when the car chase began.

He said he saw "some car try to get through a barrier. Rammed through it, bowled someone over and took off."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How govt shutdown ripples across America

Science was put on hold, normally bustling stores went quiet and families depending on government aid feared losing their baby food as a government shutdown rippled across the country.

The budget impasse in Washington shut all but essential U.S. government services for the second straight day on Wednesday, while neither political party appeared willing to budge.

Republicans want to tie continued government funding to measures that would undercut Obama's signature healthcare law, while Obama and his Democrats say that is a non-starter. (Full Story)

Here are some snapshops of people affected across the United States.





SEARCH FOR MISSING HIKER DEFIES SHUTDOWN

Some work was just too important to halt for Ted Stout, 50, even though he was furloughed Tuesday as park chief of interpretation and education at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in central Idaho. Wednesday marked his eighth day of searching for a missing hiker.

Stout said he and several other laid-off workers would keep combing the vast lava fields for 63-year-old Jo Elliot-Blakeslee on their own time, without pay and despite worsening weather.

"It’s pretty much consuming our lives. We can't let her down now. This needs to continue," said Stout, who has worked for 10 years at a National Park Service site that spans 750,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of volcanic rifts, cinder cones and underground tunnels carved by ancient lava flows.

At its height, the hunt for Elliot-Blakeslee and a companion found dead last week from exposure drew helicopters and up to 100 searchers but those efforts have been scaled back partly because of the government shutdown, Stout said.

"We’re just in a real unusual situation," Stout said. "All we can do is keep looking."

LIVING ON THE EDGE

Jocelyn Gonzalez, 22, is a stay-at home mother in Los Angeles who relies on assistance for her two young kids from Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a food voucher program the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it may not be able to fund if the shutdown lasts into late October.

Gonzalez’s husband, Alexis, works as a waiter and makes less than $1,000 a month, she said. Because of a lack of income, her family around the time the birth of her oldest child, Hazel, had to move from the working class Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles to a cheaper, higher-crime area south of downtown.

They started receiving WIC when Hazel was born, and with an infant daughter, Delilah, now part of their family they rely on the program’s coupons to get free milk, baby food, formula, fruits and vegetables, she said.

"There’s been times where we don’t have a lot of money but I have my coupons right there," Gonzalez said.

If the WIC program runs out, Gonzalez said her options will be limited.

"We can’t afford daycare so I don’t know what I would do," she said. "I can’t even imagine, because it helps us out a lot."

FAST FOOD SOLUTION

Myrna Pascual, 61, an analyst with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Diego, fears a U.S. government shutdown could force her to borrow against her home, increase her credit card use and possibly look for work at fast food restaurants.

"I would do that just to get by, because I'm not saved up," said Pascual.

If Pascual remains out of a job until next week, she said she plans to file for unemployment benefits, but cannot be sure she will be eligible.

Her husband is retired and has limited resources on a fixed income. Both of her college student daughters still live at home.

She recently rented a room in her home to a boarder and started selling some of her possessions on eBay.

"My options are very limited," she said. "I'm just hoping for the best."

HOLD THE DONUTS

The Dunkin' Donuts near three of Chicago's federal office buildings usually has a line out the door as court clerks, Environmental Protection Agency lawyers and Internal Revenue Service agents feed their sugar habits.

On Wednesday, business was so scarce one customer had three attendants, each of them offering "Can I help you?" in chorus. This makes store manager Vanessa Banderas nervous about her workers' jobs, and her own.

"The way it was today, it was like 'Oh my God, where is everybody? Where's the business?'" said Banderas, 30, of Chicago, a single mother with four school-age children.

If business remains this slow, she will have to temporarily lay off about half of the store's 18 workers, she said.

"I just thought Obama's doing the right thing because he wants health care for everyone and then look what's going on," Banderas said.

SCIENCE SHUT DOWN

National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Fritz helped build the computer model that predicted flooding from Hurricane Sandy that hammered New York and New Jersey a year ago. Now the roughly 65 people in her office have been sent home without pay.

"It's like getting the wind knocked out of you," said Fritz, 38 and a union steward, who faces $130,000 in student loans for her masters degrees in oceanography and meteorology.

The family's main breadwinner, she pays $500 to $600 a month on the loans, plus rent and health insurance.

Now, all spending is on hold.

"I need a new laptop," Fritz said. "That's not happening."

PAYCHECK 'HELD HOSTAGE'

In a time of crisis, Karen Buondonna looks for levity. She jokes that she is well-prepared for the furlough because it is her third in just over two years, thanks to a stop-gap funding extension and sequestration.

A researcher for the Federal Aviation Authority's drone program in New Jersey, Buondonna considered riding out the government shutdown at the beach in Atlantic City. But, faced with the prospect of losing a paycheck, she has spent her days at home, hoping to be called back to work.

"My paycheck is being held hostage because of something I am not a part of," said Buondonna, 46, the main bread winner in her family, which includes her 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. "It's very disruptive and very stressful. I have bills to pay just like everyone else."

Buondonna, speaking as a representative of her union, and not as an employee of the FAA, said she has already canceled a planned kitchen renovation and may have to use her savings to make her next mortgage payment.

But what she was most distressed about was being prevented form doing her job.

"It's not just a job to me," she said. "I believe in the mission of my agency. I am a dedicated government worker."

NO FISHING

Among the federal parks closed by the shutdown is Florida's Everglades National Park, where Rich Smith, 33, has been fishing since he was a boy and today makes his living as a guide.

Park Rangers have told fishing guides to stay out of the park during the shutdown, threatening them with big fines if they disobey, he said.

"Unfortunately there isn't anything else for me. This is my 11th year of guiding full time, you don’t just pick up and do something else. In the Florida Keys we’re 100 per cent about tourism," Smith said.

Smith fishes more than 200 days a year in the park, charging customers $400 to $600 for four to eight hours of fishing. A month-long shutdown could cost him as much as $10,000.

Smith had a trip booked for Thursday, paid for months ago by a repeat customer. Now he may have to cancel.

"There are other areas he can fish," Smith said, "but the Everglades is one of the best destinations on planet earth."

RIPPLE EFFECT 'HURTS EVERYONE'

Victims of discrimination will just have to wait.

Rebecca Eaton and her colleagues at the Seattle branch of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigate claims of employment discrimination in violation of federal law in Washington state, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska.

They arrived at work on Tuesday to a memo instructing them to freeze all legal cases and close the office.

"The ripple effect of this one thing is hurting everybody," said Eaton, 39, a legal assistant, who has so far constricted her spending and cancelled an annual vacation.

She worries unemployment benefits could be delayed because federal funding that covers processing costs in the Washington state office have been halted. The state unemployment office said it was covering this shortage by dipping into its own limited funds, which could run out in a few weeks.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apart from dollar, investors keep cool about US shutdown

The first U.S. government shutdown in 17-years weakened the dollar on Tuesday, sending it to an eight-month low against the euro, but met a subdued response from investors in equity and fixed income markets.

U.S. Federal government agencies have been directed to cut back services after lawmakers failed to pass a temporary spending bill before a midnight deadline, threatening the salaries of over a million workers.

"No one really knows when they are going to get their act together, so you would have thought there would have more of a reaction than there has been," said Greg Matwejev, director of FX Hedge Fund Sales and Trading at Newedge.

The dollar has borne the brunt of the response so far, falling to a 1-1/2 year low against the safe-haven Swiss franc and hitting an 8-month low against a basket of six major currencies. The weakness lifted the euro to an eight-month high of $1.3589.

However, MSCI's world equity index, tracking shares in 45 countries, gained 0.15 percent by early in the European session, though it saw its biggest daily fall of September on Monday as investors anticipated the shutdown.

Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index inched 0.2 percent higher after the open but held near a three-week low.

U.S. stock index futures also pointed to gains when Wall Street opens later in the with the broad S&P stock futures inched up 0.5 percent after cash prices fell on Monday.

"The U.S. shutdown is a central point for the markets, but as long as the hope for just a temporary shutdown exists, it will not be a strong burden for equities," Christian Stocker, equity strategist at UniCredit said.

Markets were also absorbing the mixed readings on economic activity across the manufacturing sector for September.

Euro zone factory activity grew for the third month running in September as demand enabled picked up. While activity in China expanded only slightly last month raising questions over the strength of its nascent recovery.

DEBT FLAT

In fixed income markets, German government bond yields, normally seen as a safe haven by investors in times of uncertainty, were steady though yields on U.S. Treasury 10-year notes did rise to hit 2.645 percent, a gain of three basis points.

Gold, another traditional safe haven asset, did pop higher after the shutdown became apparent, hitting $1331.66 an ounce, though it is trading well within its recent $1,300 to 1,350 range.

While many market players expect the government shutdown, which in the past has lasted from one day to nearly a month, to ultimately be resolved, they are more fearful about implications for debt ceiling negotiations due later this month.

"People will start to think the deadline for the debt ceiling, which is around the October 17, is not going to be met in that case there is a risk of a default," Eric Chaney, chief economist at AXA Group, said.

Any likelihood of that the U.S. government is going have problems servicing its massive debt is likely to hit equity market hard though it would raise expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its monetary stimulus in place for longer.

Elsewhere Italian bonds were also broadly steady a day before Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta faces a vote of confidence as Italy tries to draw a line on growing political tensions.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government bond was up one basis point at 4.58 percent.

Meanwhile Brent crude fell below $108 a barrel to trade near a 7-week low on worries that the shutdown of the U.S. government may crimp oil demand.

Brent crude for November fell 70 cents to $107.67 a barrel. U.S. crude was at $101.99, down 34 cents.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What happens with a US gov't shutdown?

The U.S. federal government was due to start partially shutting down on Tuesday after lawmakers failed to compromise on an emergency spending bill before a midnight deadline.

With a partial government shutdown, there will be far-reaching consequences for everything from National Park admissions to economic data.

Much of the impact or relative lack of disruption is determined by whether agencies are partly funded by industry user fees or deemed to be essential services.  













Here is a roundup of some of the impact that would be felt:

FEDERAL WORKERS: As many as 1 million federal employees could face unpaid furloughs or missed paydays, according to the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 670,000 union members.

THE WHITE HOUSE: The Executive Office of the President will furlough about 1,265 staff and retain 436 as excepted workers. Among the staff retained will be 15 to provide "minimum maintenance and support" for the White House. Executive agencies will be reduced to skeleton staff, including four at the Council of Economic Advisors.

ECONOMIC DATA: The United States will stop publishing much of its economic data if the government shuts down, including the closely watched monthly employment report.

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION: The SEC would continue reviewing applications for initial public offerings (IPOs) and monitoring markets as normal in the early weeks of a government shutdown, and can continue operating fully for a few weeks, a spokesman said.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Signup for the new U.S. health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act due to start on Oct. 1 will proceed. Across the vast department and its sub-agencies, about 52 percent of staff will be furloughed - some 40,512 workers. Among the programs shuttered would be the Centers for Disease Control's annual seasonal flu influenza program. The National Institutes of Health would not admit new patients in most circumstances.

U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Some 55 percent of the FDA's employees will be working. Of those reporting to work, 74 percent will be funded with fees paid to the FDA by the industries it regulates. The FDA's expert advisory committee meetings, which recommend whether the agency should approve new products, will for the most part continue. The next scheduled panel is on Oct. 8 to recommend whether to approve expanded use of certain pacemakers and defibrillators from Medtronic Inc. . The FDA will cease most of its food safety, nutrition and cosmetics activities, such as routine inspections of plants and facilities. It will also be unable to monitor imports, and will cease certain compliance and enforcement activities.

U.S. INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES: Substantial numbers of intelligence personnel could be placed on leave, but those assigned to vital national security missions, including supporting the president, and collecting data from informants or spy devices such as eavesdropping systems or satellites, will generally remain on the job.

Shawn Turner, chief spokesman for National Intelligence Director James Clapper, said: "The immediate and significant reduction in employees on the job means that we will assume greater risk and our ability to support emerging intelligence requirements will be curtailed."

NATIONAL PARKS: National parks would close, meaning a loss of 750,000 daily visitors and an economic loss to gateway communities of as much as $30 million for each day parks are shut, according to the non-profit National Parks Conservation Association.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: All military personnel would continue on normal duty status, but half of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian employees would be placed on unpaid leave. Pentagon has said it will halt military activity not critical to national security.

Officials have said military personnel, who are paid twice a month, would receive their Oct. 1 paychecks but might see their Oct. 15 paychecks delayed if a government shutdown takes place and no funding deal is reached by Oct. 7.

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE: Most of the federal tax agency's 90,000 employees would be furloughed. Taxpayers who requested an extension beyond the April 15 deadline to file their 2012 taxes must do so by Oct. 15 and will be able to file these returns even if the IRS is still shut down then.

FEDERAL RESERVE AND OTHER FINANCIAL AGENCIES: Bank regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, would stay open because they do not rely on Congress for funding. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pay for themselves and would remain open. Loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will still be available during the government shutdown. Both firms, which were seized by the U.S. government in 2008 as rising mortgage losses threatened them with insolvency, will continue normal operations. The Federal Housing Administration, which offers mortgage lenders guarantees against homeowner defaults, will have limited operations.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Fewer than 18,000 of the department's 114,486 employees would be furloughed, and if the furlough is prolonged, some of those could be brought back to work. Criminal litigation would continue under a government shutdown, while civil litigation would be curtailed or postponed as much as possible "without compromising to a significant degree the safety of human life or the protection of property," the department said in its contingency plan.

COURTS: The U.S. Supreme Court would probably operate normally, as it has during previous shutdowns, but a spokesman declined to share the high court's plans. Federal courts would remain open for about 10 business days if the government closes on Oct. 1, and their status would be reassessed on or about Oct. 15.

U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE'S OFFICE: Already squeezed by automatic spending cuts imposed by the so-called sequester, the USTR office has reduced travel to the 41 countries where there are concerns about intellectual property, Trade Representative Michael Froman said.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: The agency would be one of the hardest hit, with less than 7 percent of its employees exempt from furlough. The broad-based shutdown of all but emergency services would delay rule-making, potentially including finalization of renewable fuel volume requirements for 2014.

AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT: USDA meat inspectors would stay on the job. Statistical reports would not be published, and the important Oct. 11 U.S. crop report could be delayed depending on how long a shutdown lasts. USDA has said its website, USDA.gov, "will go dark and be linked to a 'splash' page," denying access to historical data and other information.

TRAVEL: Air and rail travelers in the United States should not feel a big impact, since passport inspectors, security officers and air traffic controllers will all continue to work as usual.

WASHINGTON SIGHTS: Most popular tourist spots in the nation's capital would close, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Zoo and all Smithsonian Museums. The zoo's live animal webcams would be disabled. All animals will continue to be fed and cared for.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PH econ managers unfazed by US govt shutdown

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine economic managers were unfazed by the US federal government's partial shutdown on Tuesday.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said it is "highly unfortunate for the rest of the world, as even countries like the Philippines are taken on a wild economic ride because of the political game of chicken in Washington."

"Fortunately for the Philippines, we enjoy a strong fiscal position, a structural current account surplus economy whose growth is led by consumption, and a young, educated population. This will allow the Philippines to ride out this situation better than other emerging markets - whose economic models are exports and extractives-based," he said.

However, the Finance chief expressed concern about the possibility of the US defaulting on its debt.

“What is more worrisome to the Philippines is if the US political stalemate cause America to default on its debt by failing to pass a measure on the debt ceiling. A US default, unimaginable for most of history yet now in the realm of the possible because of current political circumstances, can only lead to unprecedented chaos in the global financial markets," Purisima said.

At the same time, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the central bank will maintain a presence in the markets if the US government shutdown results in excessive volatility.

"We will continue to watch how the developments in the US will pan out. We will, as is our policy, maintain a presence in the markets if the domestic market reaction leads to excessive volatility," Tetangco said.

"The immediate impact would be on global and domestic financial market volatility, as investors may move away from risk assets to traditional safe haven assets," he added.

Tetangco said the Philippines' macroeconomic fundamentals would cushion any effects from market volatility.

"The domestic economy has sources of resilience owing to the buffers we have built," he said.

The U.S. government began a partial shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects.

Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions.

After House Republicans floated a late offer to break the logjam, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected the idea, saying Democrats would not enter into formal negotiations on spending "with a gun to our head" in the form of government shutdowns. - With Reuters

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jessica performs at US Memorial Concert

MANILA – Filipino-Mexican singer Jessica Sanchez staged yet another moving performance on Sunday evening (Monday morning in Manila) during the PBS National Memorial Day Concert held at the Capitol in Washington DC.

Wearing a long red dress, Sanchez performed her own version of “God Bless America” to honor those who have served in the American Forces Network.

The 17-year-old “American Idol” Season 11 runner-up wowed the crowd as she belted out the high notes of the song effortlessly.

Before she appeared on stage, the concert’s hosts noted that Sanchez’s performance will be special for the young singer since her father is an Iraq war veteran and her grandfather is a US Navy veteran.

Before the concert ended, Sanchez again went onstage and joined an all-star lineup including season 12 “Idol” winner Candice Glover, “The Voice” finalist Chris Mann and “Dancing with the Stars” finalist Katherine Jenkins as they performed “America the Beautiful.”



Last year, Sanchez also graced the PBS National Memorial Day Concert as she led the singing of the American national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

video
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama praises Filipina nurse in State of the Union address

MANILA, Philippines - US President Barack Obama praised a Filipina nurse, who is considered one of the heroes of the Hurricane Sandy disaster, in his State of the Union address before the joint session of Congress in Washington D.C., Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning, Manila time).

In his speech, Obama mentioned Menchu Sanchez, a nurse at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, as an example to all Americans.

"We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans in the same way they look out for one another every single day, usually without fanfare all across the country. We should follow their example," he said,.

"We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, she wasn't thinking about how her own home was faring. Her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe," the US president said.

Sanchez was seated between First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, during the State of the Union address.

When President Obama mentioned Sanchez, the First Lady was seen nudging Sanchez and smiling at her.

Sanchez was invited by Obama for her role in saving 20 at-risk infants during the Hurricane Sandy disaster that devastated large parts of New York and New Jersey last year.

She devised a plan to transport 20 at-risk infants at the Langone Medical Center to intensive care units around the city.  She organized the nurses and doctors to carefully carry the babies down eight flights of stairs with only cell phones to light the way. 

Even as her own home was flooding, Sanchez thought only of protecting the babies in her care, the White House said. 

Sanchez was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines and she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.  

She has worked as a nurse in New York for more than 25 years, and has been at NYU since 2010. 

Sanchez currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children, both of whom are in college. - With report from Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN News

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Joint statement of the Philippines-United States ministerial dialogue

Following is the text of a joint statement by the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America issued on 30 April 2012, in Washington, D.C.

The Philippines-United States alliance: Charting a course forward


I. Preamble

The Philippines-US alliance is stronger than ever, reflecting the deep and abiding ties linking our two nations and forged through a history of shared sacrifice and common purpose. Seventy years ago this month, thousands of Filipino and US troops served together in defense of our last strongholds in Corregidor and Bataan.

Later, when we signed our Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, we united against the spread of communism. Today, Filipinos and Americans are inextricably bound by common values and shared aspirations, including a commitment to democracy and the rule of law, building a robust economic partnership, and deepening people-to-people ties.

Our alliance remains an anchor for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. With this in mind, our Ministers meet today in Washington to reaffirm the Manila Declaration signed by our governments on November 16, 2011 and to ensure that our alliance remains robust, agile, and responsive in order to meet changing global and regional dynamics.

Our consultations seek to address common strategic and security objectives, promote economic cooperation, advance people-to-people ties, and enshrine principles of good governance and the rule of law.

The Ministers reaffirm our shared obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty and our mutual commitment to the peace and security of the region.

II. Common Strategic Objectives

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States articulate the following shared objectives characterizing our collective and individual engagements in the Asia-Pacific region:


Enhance peace, security, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
Support efforts to increase cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM+), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the East Asia Summit (EAS).
Reaffirm our common interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas and subscribe to a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas through peaceful, collaborative, multilateral, and diplomatic processes within the framework of international law, including as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Recognizing the outstanding contributions of the Philippines as the ASEAN country coordinator for the United States since 2009, ensure a smooth transition as Burma assumes this role in July.
Strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation on humanitarian and disaster relief preparedness activities and enhancing combined capabilities in responding to natural disasters.
Support expanded regional counterterrorism cooperation through intelligence sharing and coordination of surveillance and interdiction efforts.
Encourage the efforts at the regional and international levels including the East Asia Summit to promote nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We agreed that we should continue to work together to ensure compliance and implementation of relevant United Nations non-proliferation commitments and to pursue cooperation through multilateral mechanisms.
Reduce all types of environmental degradation including illegal fishing, deforestation, poaching of endangered species, climate change, and destruction of coral reefs.
Cooperate in the prevention and eradication of piracy.



III. Security Partnership

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States reaffirm our shared obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty, which remains the foundation of the Philippines-U.S. security relationship. In seeking to enhance our security cooperation, we intend to do the following:


Continue to hold discussions through the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue Defense Working Group and the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board on further enhancing the defense and security aspects of our alliance on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit, in accordance with both countries’ domestic laws and constitutional processes, and the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Agreement Relating to Military Assistance, the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement and the Agreement Regarding the Treatment of United States Armed Forces Visiting the Philippines (Visiting Forces Agreement).
Jointly explore modalities for strengthening the defense capabilities of the Philippines in order to establish a minimum credible defense posture through robust cooperative security assistance programs.
Affirm that our respective military forces should be prepared to respond in a timely and effective way to the range of contingencies that may arise in our region, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and should be able to work with the armed forces of regional partners.
Ensure that our collective defense capabilities and communications infrastructure are operationally and materially capable of countering the full spectrum of traditional and non-traditional threats.
Cooperate on building the Philippines’ maritime security presence and capabilities and strengthening its maritime domain awareness in order to contribute to national defense and enhanced regional security related to issues such as illegal fishing, transnational crime, and natural disasters. To that end, the United States intends to transfer a second High Endurance cutter to the Philippines this year.
Review joint exercises and training activities and afford priority to those that have high value and great impact with regard to our common objectives, such as but not limited to maritime security.
Continue our joint counterterrorism efforts, including through U.S. non-combat support to the Philippine security services in combating al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in the southern Philippines.
Continue joint training and exercises such as the recently completed Exercise Balikatan 2012 to enhance force interoperability.
Support the National Coast Watch System and work to expand joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities to deter and respond proactively, rapidly, and seamlessly to various situations in the region.
Enhance cooperation in information sharing in a timely manner particularly during emergent situations, and work towards establishing appropriate mechanisms for this purpose.
Maintain our cooperation with respect to the protection of cyberspace. Enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure to counter cyber threats.
Strengthen cooperation and participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.


IV. Burgeoning Economic Relationship

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States are long-standing economic partners that share a mutual commitment to free trade, economic opportunity, and poverty reduction. We intend to work together to deepen and enhance our bilateral economic relationship through the following:


Reaffirm the Partnership for Growth Joint Statement of Principles signed in Manila on November 16, 2011 and seek to mobilize a broad range of Philippine and U.S. entities within and outside our governments to achieve a more accelerated, sustained, and inclusive growth path for the Philippines.
Endeavor to increase bilateral trade and investment through continuing our Trade and Investment Framework Agreement discussions, among other efforts.
Note our shared desire to continue discussing the Philippines’ interest in eventually joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Seek to support cooperative activities that promote readiness in key areas, including mutually beneficial legislative measures that may serve as building blocks to the TPP.
Continue implementation of the five-year, $434 million (USD) Millennium Challenge Corporation compact between the Philippine and the United States in order to reduce poverty, promote inclusive economic growth, and create new opportunities for the Filipino people.
Reaffirm the Philippines-U.S. customs and trade facilitation agreement signed during the 2011 APEC summit in Honolulu.
Support programs to increase tourism exchanges between the two countries, and identify and address obstacles to more vibrant tourist exchanges.


V. Mutual Commitment to Government Transparency and the Rule of Law

Our nations are committed to principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance.

As joint steering committee members of the Open Government Partnership, we support a set of common principles guiding the relationship between governments and their citizenry. We support continued efforts to promote greater government transparency and the rule of law.

Among other measures, we intend to promote the establishment of a National Justice Information System for the Philippines, an integrated criminal justice database system that will facilitate the efficient recording, monitoring, tracking and reporting of crimes, cases, offenders, and victims.

We also intend to continue our close cooperation in countering the global scourge of trafficking in persons.

VI. Conclusion

The Philippines-U.S. alliance remains an essential element undergirding regional peace, security, and prosperity. As our nations reflect on the strength and durability of our alliance, we also look to enhance our relationship in order to address even more effectively the range of regional challenges and opportunities that are of interest to both our governments. Both nations therefore resolve to continue our regular consultation and coordination on these issues.

source: gmanetwork.com

Pentagon suffers Internet access outage

WASHINGTON — An unspecified number of Defense Department personnel in the Washington D.C. area and in the Midwest were cut off from the public Internet for nearly three hours on Thursday because of technical problems, a department spokeswoman said Friday.

The outage was not caused by any malicious activity, said the spokeswoman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel April Cunningham. She said the networks are back up and operating at normal capacity.

Defense Department users were cut off “due to technical issues at three of the (Department of Defense) gateways interfacing to commercial Internet access points,” Cunningham said in an email.

The department’s Defense Information Security Agency worked with commercial vendors and “mission partners” to reroute critical DoD traffic and to mitigate the issue until technical issues were resolved, she said.

The number of people affected by the outage was not known, “but is estimated in the thousands, given the number of people who work in the Pentagon,” Cunningham told Reuters.

source: interaksyon.com

Elton John to pen personal story about AIDS

LONDON — Elton John will write a personal account of his life during the AIDS epidemic, including his friendship with Queen frontman Freddie Mercury who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991 aged 45.

The "Rocket Man" musician founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation around 20 years ago to raise funds to help fight the disease, and proceeds from "LOVE IS THE CURE: Ending the Global AIDS Epidemic" will go to the charity.

In a statement released on Monday, publishers Hodder & Stoughton promised a "very personal story of... Elton's life during the AIDS epidemic, including his agony at seeing friend after friend perish needlessly."

Among the individuals it describes are Mercury and Ryan White, an American boy who became a "poster child" for HIV/AIDS after he was banned by a school because of his condition.

According to reports at the time, John was with White when he died in a US hospital in 1990 aged 18.

"This is a disease that must be cured not by a miraculous vaccine, but by changing hearts and minds, and through a collective effort to break down social barriers and to build bridges of compassion," John said.

"Why are we not doing more? This is a question I have thought deeply about, and wish to answer — and to help change — by writing this book."

An estimated 34 million people worldwide had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS in 2010, up 17 percent from 2001 when 28.6 million were living with HIV.

According to the Hodder statement, HIV/AIDS has claimed 60 million lives.

Hodder & Stoughton acquired LOVE IS THE CURE with US sister company Little, Brown and Company.

It is due to be published in July 2012 to coincide with the 2012 XIX International AIDS Conference to be held in Washington DC. — Reuters

source:gmanetwork.com

More Americans are moving abroad

MANILA, Philippines — Are you one of those itching to go to the United States to work or relocate permanently to the so-called land of milk and honey?

Give your urges a second thought.

The unthinkable is happening. America, the top place on earth where people from many parts of the world would like to immigrate, is fleeing from itself.

This is the gloomy message of “The Economic Collapse Blog,” one of a series of articles by its editor, Michael Snyder. He is a graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and has two law degrees from the University of Florida. He is an attorney who has worked for some of the largest and most prominent law firms in Washington, DC. Snyder is a very active blogger and is also a respected researcher, writer, speaker, and activist

In his latest work, Snyder based his assessment of why Americans are leaving in droves by announcing that millions have already left the United States in search of a better life. And for those planning to do the same, the author asks “What is the best country for Americans to relocate?”

Those who are trying to run away are hoping that other countries would offer a safe haven for their families and their future. They hope that despite some cultural and social differences, not to mention economic and personal freedom that America used to dispense in abundance, they hope their new-found sanctuary would be better off or at least not as bad as the one they are leaving behind.

“As the economy continues to crumble and as our society slowly falls apart, millions of others are thinking about it. But moving to another country is not something to be done lightly. The reality is that there are a vast array of social, cultural, economic, and safety issues to be considered,” warns the author.

A recent CNBC program contained the following amazing statistics. According to the US State Department, 6.3 million Americans are either working or studying overseas. That is the highest number that has ever been recorded.

One recent survey says; “the percentage of Americans aged 25 to 34 actively planning to relocate outside the US has quintupled in just two years, from less than 1 percent to 5.1 percent.”

That same survey found that 40 percent of all Americans in the 18-to-24 age group are expressing interest in relocation outside of the United States. Two years ago that figure was only at 15 percent.

The American economy continues to get worse and worse. “If you have not heard yet, it has been announced that an all-time record 46 million Americans are now on food stamps,” Snyder says.

A lot of Americans want to escape this country before they get sucked into the vortex of poverty that has trapped so many other American families. 2.6 million more Americans fell into poverty last year. In addition, according to the US Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans living in extreme poverty today is higher than has ever been measured before.

“A staggering 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be low- Income or living in poverty. There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though 30 million extra people have been added to the population since then.”

source: mb.com.ph

Virginia Earthquake Rattled the East Coast of United States

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia rattled the East Coast of the United States including New York City and Wshington DC.

The City Hall in New York was evacuated after a tremor was felt as well as some buildings in Manhattan.


The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck about a half mile beneath the surface. Trembling was felt at the White House all throughout the East Coast of United States. There were no immediate reports of damage.