UNITED STATES
Government Shut Down-If a stopgap budget (6 continuing resolutions have already been passed leading up to this point) is not passed by midnight Friday, the federal government will shut down. This would cause tax refund checks to be delayed, federal parks and monuments to close, 800k federal workers furloughed and paychecks for other gov't employees to be delayed, including military personnel. Congress would still get paid.
-The cliff notes leading to this are:
>Republicans and Democrats haven't agreed to an official budget for 2011 (it was due back in September 2010)
>Newly elected tea party Republicans, dozens of which have never held elected office, ran on the promise to cut over $100B from the federal budget. They realized they couldn't swing this and dropped their target to $50B. Tea partiers got pissed that these guys weren't living up to their campaign promises started loudly criticizing them. This caused Republicans to dig in and not give up any further.
>Democrats presented a plan to cut $30-some billion from the budget, Republicans insisted on more.
Emergency meetings between both houses of congress and the white house in order to get a plan down.
>Apparently the numbers they have essentially agreed upon, but the Repubs have placed policy riders into their version, which are unacceptable for Dems.
>These riders are (prepared to be get mad that these could cause a govt shutdown, since in both cases the dollar value is minimal):
>Language stating the EPA cannot regulate greenhouse gasses (as upheld by federal courts according to the EPA charter). Mind you, the Administration has told the EPA to study the effects and gave the power for the EPA to enact and enforce rules on this, they have NOT made any thus far. Repubs say this power is "bad for business" and wants to strip the EPA of it.
>To strip federal funding to Planned Parenthood (despite federal funding to Planned Parenthood already bans the use of money to be used to fund abortions)
>Both parties are afraid of public backlash if this happens, but moreso the Republicans. Last time this happened was during Clinton's administration and the next election the Republicans (who controlled the house w/ Newt Gingrich) suffered a huge setback.
INTERNATIONAL
Another Japan Quake-Thursday morning a 7.1 quake rocked Japan in a similar region to the previous 9.0 quake and tsunami that caused massive death tolls and the nuclear mess. The quake cause buildings 200 miles away to sway, but no reports of major damage were reported.
Libya-NATO air strikes mistakenly attacked rebel forces, killing at least 13. It has been the second mistaken attack on rebels in a week.
-Rebels have been pushed back from some smaller eastern cities. Rebels have been claiming the air support has not been used enough (ironically, this comes just as the US has stepped back it's forces, with France and Britain taking their place).
Ivory Coast-Supporters of the elected president, Alassane Ouattara, have essentially surrounded the previous president, who is still clinging to power, in the Presidential Palace. Rumors that he is negotiating his surrender have gone around, but so far nothing public has happened. The palace continues to be assaulted and shelled, but so far they have been held short of fully storming the palace.
-UN has told Ouattara that once he attains power (assuming it happens) to seriously investigate charges that his supporters have committed atrocities during the unrest.
Brazil School Shooting-A gunman walked into an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and killed 11 people before committing suicide.
China Dissident-China claims the activist and artist I mentioned earlier this week was held on "economic crimes" (right...) and told the international community to fuck off and not interfere.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
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