health: Lincoln Tribune

السبت، 14 أبريل 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Obama’s 2011 tax returns show big drop in income as book revenues dip
Deaths of U.S. Coast Guard members at Alaska base likely homicides
Indonesia searches for boat carrying Middle Eastern asylum seekers
More than 650,000 displaced by military campaign in northwestern Pakistan
WMO’s hurricane committee retires Irene as Atlantic hurricane name

Obama’s 2011 tax returns show big drop in income as book revenues dip

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:07 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Tax returns released by the White House on Friday show that the income of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle suffered a big drop last year due to falling sales from his three books.

The 48-page document was released by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, showing that the Obamas reported an adjusted gross income of $789,674 in 2011, the lowest during their time in the White House. The Obamas reported $1,728,096 of adjusted gross income in 2010 and $5,505,409 in 2009.

The adjusted gross income of the Obamas in 2011 dropped by about a million dollars when compared to a year earlier, mainly due to falling book sales. The tax returns show Obama made about $441,369 in business income in 2011, significantly lower than the $1,382,889 in business income in 2010.

But the tax burden for the Obamas has continued to drop during the previous years. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total federal taxes tax in 2011, or about 20.5 percent, lower than many Americans who earn less. The Obamas also paid $31,941 in state income tax in Illinois, or about 4 percent.

"The President believes we must reform our tax system which is why he has proposed policies like the Buffett Rule that would ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share while protecting families making under $250,000 from seeing their taxes go up," Carney said in a statement, adding that the Obamas would pay more in taxes under his own proposals.

In 2010, the Obamas paid a total of $453,770 in federal tax, or about 26 percent of their adjusted gross income. The previous two years their federal tax burden was more than 32 percent, with a total federal income tax of $1,792,414 in 2009.

According to the tax returns released on Friday, the Obamas donated $172,130 - or about 22 percent of their adjusted gross income - to 39 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was a $117,130 contribution to the Fisher House Foundation, a scholarship fund for children of fallen and disabled soldiers, which receives the after-tax proceeds from Obama's children's book 'Of Thee I Sing.'

The White House also released the tax returns of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill. Together, they reported adjusted gross income of $379,035. The Bidens paid $87,900 in total federal tax for 2011. They paid $13,843 in Delaware income tax and $3,614 in Virginia income tax. The Bidens contributed $5,540 to charity in 2011.

Deaths of U.S. Coast Guard members at Alaska base likely homicides

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:40 PM PDT

KODIAK ISLAND, ALASKA (BNO NEWS) -- The shooting deaths of two U.S. Coast Guard members at a communications station on Kodiak Island off Alaska are likely the result of a double homicide and not a murder-suicide, officials said on Friday. No arrests have been made yet.

Two U.S. Coast Guard members were found shot dead on Thursday at the Coast Guard Communications Station in Kodiak, the main city on Kodiak Island, which is separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The discovery prompted a precautionary lockdown at the base and nearby schools.

"The Coast Guard has been informed by the FBI that they are treating this investigation as a double homicide," the Seventeenth District of the U.S. Coast Guard said in a brief statement on Friday, giving few other details. "There is no evidence to suggest these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide."

The victims have been identified as Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins, an electronics technician, and Richard Belisle, a civilian employee and retired Coast Guard chief petty officer. "As an organization with roots in saving lives and a focus on protecting people, this tragic event has shocked us all," said Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander of the district.

No arrests have been made as of Friday and authorities have advised all residents in Kodiak to use 'reasonable safety precautions' and to report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement. An FBI spokesman previously said there is no evidence to suggest the shootings are related to terrorism.

Indonesia searches for boat carrying Middle Eastern asylum seekers

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:26 PM PDT

MATARAM, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A boat carrying dozens of illegal immigrants remains missing in Indonesian waters after it is believed to have sunk on Thursday afternoon, local authorities said on Friday.

The wooden boat, which is carrying around 50 illegal immigrants from the Middle East, is believed to have sunk at around 1:50 p.m. local time on Thursday when it was southwest of the Maluk Strait in Indonesia's West Sumbawa.

Mataram Basarnas communication staff member Wisnu Satrio told the Antara news agency on Friday that the immigrants - presumably asylum seekers trying to reach Australia - flagged for help when they were spotted by local air water police on Thursday afternoon.

According to Wisnu, Indonesia's National Disaster Agency deployed a search-and-rescue team with the assistance of a helicopter from Denpasar, Bali. However, the rough waters and high waves made it difficult for rescuers to reach the scene.

Authorities believe the boat was trying to reach Australian waters, but the rough waves forced them to head back and report their emergency from waters off Southwestern Sumbawa. Shortly before the unidentified wooden boat went down, an unknown person called the Australian Embassy about the sinking vessel.

Last Sunday, Indonesian authorities rescued 120 asylum seekers, believed to be from Afghanistan and Iran, as their sinking boat was trying to reach Australia. The Singapore-registered MT Hermia tanker rescued the men and docked in the port city of Merak, located in the province of Banten in western Java, where the illegal immigrants were trying to be convinced to disembark but refused.

Indonesia is commonly used as a transit region for asylum seekers trying to reach Australia illegally. Over 200 people are believed to have died in December 2011 when a boat carrying people mostly from Afghanistan and Iran sank in Indonesian waters. Only 47 people survived the incident.

More than 650,000 displaced by military campaign in northwestern Pakistan

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:09 PM PDT

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- An estimated 650,000 Pakistanis have been displaced by an ongoing military campaign in the northwestern region of the country, United Nations (UN) officials said on Friday.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva that a number of new arrivals have been reaching UNHCR at the Jalozai camp for the internally displaced, which is located near the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Some 10,000 people are being registered daily at the camp, Edwards stated, adding that 72 registration desks have been established to keep pace with the flow of new arrivals. Around 11,000 families, or more than 50,000 individuals, have moved into the Jalozai camp.

However, the majority of those registered at the camp have chosen not to stay inside the camp, preferring instead to move in with friends and relatives or to live in rented accommodation. According to the UN, in total, more than 650,000 people are displaced in the Khyber Pakkhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas as a result of security operations against militant groups.

The UNHCR along with other UN agencies have been providing assistance in the areas of mother and child heath, child protection, water and sanitation, primary education, distribution of food rations and vaccinations.

In addition, systems have also been set up to identify and assist people with particular protection concerns, Edwards said. A grievance and legal desk has been established at the Jalozai registration point to facilitate vulnerable groups who may need additional assistance due to lost registration forms, old national identity cards, or missing identity cards.

WMO’s hurricane committee retires Irene as Atlantic hurricane name

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 10:27 AM PDT

MIAMI, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) -- The hurricane committee of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which manages the list of potential names for tropical cyclones to be used every six years for both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins, has decided to retire the Atlantic name Irene.

Irene was a major category three hurricane which formed in August 2011 and affected Caribbean countries before it tore a path of destruction along the U.S. East Coast, killing at least 49 people and causing an estimated $18.7 billion in damage in the affected countries. It was the deadliest storm of last year's Atlantic hurricane season.

Because the large number of fatalities and extreme damage caused by Irene, WMO's hurricane committee decided during an annual meeting on Friday to retire the name and replace it with Irma. If the committee had not decided to scrap the name, Irene in the Atlantic could have appeared again as soon as 2017.

The only time that there is a change in the list of names is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. When that occurs, the WMO committee removes the offending name from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

The lists are re-cycled every six years, i.e., the 2011 list will be used again in 2017.

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السبت، 14 أبريل 2012

Lincoln Tribune

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