Drought costs U.S. state of Texas $3.6 bln in agriculture losses

HOUSTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Texas, the second-largest agriculture state in the United States, has lost about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars in agriculture due to prolonged drought, and without sufficient rain, the state's agriculture losses could exceed 4.1 billion dollars by the end of this year, officials said Monday.

"Extreme or exceptional drought conditions for the second year in a row and prolonged weather with over 100 degree temperatures" have devastated agricultural crops and livestock operations, especially in central and south Texas which covers about 40 percent of Texas, said Carl Anderson, an economist with the Texas AgriLife Extension.

Texas agriculture officials on Monday estimated that the state's total crop losses have reached 2.6 billion dollars, while livestock losses since last November have reached another 974 million dollars.

"The impact of this drought - the losses and associated wildfires - are devastating to Texas farmers and ranchers," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said Monday, adding that intensive management and planning are essential during these "extremely difficult times."

The commissioner said he had made a second formal request last week to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to "take immediate action in providing federal emergency assistance for Texas producers."

Texas, the second-largest agricultural state in the United States following California, accounts for about 7 percent of the total U.S. agricultural income. Texas also leads the country in cotton and cattle production.

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Study shows major quakes highly possible in western Canada's B.C. and American northwest

VANCOUVER, July 20 (Xinhua) -- British and American researchers said Monday that evidence shows large earthquakes could possibly happen in western Canada's British Columbia and American northwest in the future and scientists have underestimated the potential, local daily Vancouver Sun reported.

They said that they studied subsoil samples and sediments from the Alaskan coast and found evidence of major earthquakes 900 years ago and 1,500 years ago. The two earthquakes were even stronger than a magnitude 9.2 quake in 1964, which caused a 12-metre-high tsunami in the Gulf of Alaska and 131death.

The researchers from Britain's Durham University, America's University of Utah and Plafker Geohazard Consultants said that the underlying geology of the region shows a very large and widespread quake is possible.

"Our findings show that a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future," Ian Shennan, a professor of geography at Durham, who led the study, said in a statement.

The 1964 tsunami spread southward along the coast of British Columbia, American northwestern states of Washington, Oregon and into northern California, University of Utah geologist Ron Bruhn said.

"Our work suggests that the northeastern Aleutian mega thrust has greater earthquake magnitude and tsunami potential than previously thought," he added.

The study was published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

Indicted U.S. financier Stanford appeals judge's no bond decision

HOUSTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Attorneys of indicted U.S. financier Allen Stanford on Monday asked a U.S. appeals court to release their client on bond because he needs time to prepare for his defense.

Stanford's lawyers on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans to overturn a decision made last month by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston that revoked the 59-year-old Texan financier's 500,000-U.S. dollar bond.

Hittner made the no bond decision on grounds that the once highflying financier's international contacts and presumed access to vast wealth hidden around the world made him a "serious flight risk."

In a 46-page appeal filed Monday, Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's criminal defense attorney, said Hittner's decision was based on "a series of misleading and inaccurate statements of fact" from prosecutors. "As a result, a 59-year-old man accused primarily of financial crimes sits in jail and cannot effectively meet with his lawyers or otherwise prepare for his defense."

Stanford, accused of swindling investors of as much as 7 billion U.S. dollars, was initially granted bail by a magistrate judge, but district judge Hittner revoked the bond after prosecutors argued that Stanford is a serious flight risk.

Stanford has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 18. He was indicted, along with his three associates and a top Caribbean regulator, on charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Stanford could face life in prison if convicted.

Micheletti expresses "unwavering commitment" to staying in power

TEGUCIGALPA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' interim government leader Roberto Micheletti expressed here on Monday an "unwavering commitment" to thwarting the return of the ousted president Manuel Zelaya.

"My position is unwavering.I continue in the place where we were," said Micheletti in a speech at the presidential residence.

The mediator of the Honduran political crisis, Nobel peace laureate Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, had called for a unity government led by Zelaya.

Arias asked for 72 hours to try convincing Micheletti to accept the plan proposed at the mediation talks that ended Sunday in Costa Rica.

Micheletti said the San Jose mediation talks could proceed on conditions that Zelaya, "who has broken the Republic's constitution not once but various times," does not return to Honduras.

He said he had called U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday, requesting Washington to send an observer in response to rumors of heavy civilian deaths in the aftermath of the coup.

U.S. President Barack Obama, declining to recognize Micheletti as the legitimate president, hasn't cut aid to Honduras. The United States has requested Zelaya not to return before a diplomatic solution is reached between the two parties.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Zelaya's supporters staged a demonstration outside the Congress, pressing his immediate reinstatement.

The National Front Against the Coup said it was impossible for the mediation in Costa Rica to be successful given the tough stances adopted by Micheletti.

The European Union has made a "difficult decision" to suspend 65.5 million euros (about 93 million dollars) in aid to Honduras, said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU external relations commissioner.

Obama pushes House on health care initiative

President Barack Obama talks about his plan for health care reform following a roundtable discussion with health care providers during a visit to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, Monday, July 20, 2009. The teddy bear in the background is the hospital logo. (AP Photo)

With his signature health care initiative buffeted from all sides, President Barack Obama is summoning key House Democrats to the White House as he increases pressure on Congress to get the job done.

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee 鈥?the only one of three House panels weighing health overhaul legislation that has yet to pass it 鈥?were to meet with the president Tuesday afternoon, the White House announced.

That follows a committee drafting session that lasted past midnight Monday as panel members slogged through numerous amendments, with majority Democrats turning back Republican attempts to change the bill. But Committee Chairman Henry Waxman's bigger difficulties were with his own party, particularly a bloc of fiscally conservative Democrats who oppose the legislation in its current form over costs and other issues.

Waxman and his aides have been deep in talks with these conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats, and as the panel wrapped up its work in the wee hours Waxman announced he was canceling a drafting session planned for Tuesday so negotiations could continue.

"We're having conversations with different members to work out some of the issues so we can make this thing move forward," Waxman, D-Calif., told reporters. He declined to elaborate.

Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., who chairs the Blue Dog health care task force, said earlier in the evening that there was still plenty of work to be done. "If you're wondering if we've reached some agreement, the answer is no," said Ross.

It remained to be seen whether the president's involvement would change that.

The House bill would, for the first time, require all individuals to have health insurance and all employers to provide it. The poor would get subsidies to buy insurance and insurers would be barred from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Prior to his meeting with the Energy and Commerce Democrats on Tuesday, Obama planned brief remarks on health care, something that's become a near-daily occurrence as the president has moved swiftly from hands-off to deeply engaged on his top domestic priority.

Obama's increased personal involvement comes with Republican criticism sharpening, outside groups growing more strident and sticker shock reverberating around Capitol Hill in the wake of a bleak prognosis from the Congressional Budget Office last week saying lawmakers' health proposals wouldn't hold down costs.

Obama has repeatedly cited lowering costs as a top goal of any health overhaul plan, alongside extending coverage to the 50 million uninsured.

Meanwhile the president's own poll numbers are slipping. And while he's continuing to say he wants health care legislation to pass this year, he's grown less insistent about the House and Senate passing bills before leaving Washington for their August recess.

"I want this done now. Now, if there are no deadlines, nothing gets done in this town," Obama told PBS's "The NewsHour" on Monday. "If somebody comes to me and says, 'It's basically done, it's going to spill over by a few days or a week,' you know, that's different."

Obama planned a prime-time news conference Wednesday and a town hall in Ohio on Thursday.

On Capitol Hill, the legislation moved forward fitfully after concrete advances last week, when three committees 鈥?one in the Senate and two in the House 鈥?passed sweeping health overhaul bills. But the bills attracted no GOP support, and in each House committee several Democrats defected and opposed the legislation.

The toughest lift was in Energy and Commerce but there were indications Monday some concerns were being soothed. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who with other anti-abortion Democrats had threatened to oppose the bill over concerns it would fund abortions, said a compromise was being worked out that would protect state laws on abortion. Stupak didn't give details and aides said there was no final deal.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is floating an idea that could make proposed tax increases more palatable to the Blue Dogs. She would like to limit income tax increases to couples making more than $1 million a year and individuals making more than $500,000, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said Monday. The bill passed by the House Ways and Means Committee last week would increase taxes on couples making as little as $350,000 a year and individuals annually making as little as $280,000.

In the Senate, negotiators seeking a bipartisan compromise reported progress Monday. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said there's tentative agreement on four big policy issues out of a list of about one dozen. He would not elaborate.

(Agencies)

Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions

Henry Louis Gates, an acclaimed black US scholar has accused a Massachusetts police officer of racism after he was arrested while trying to enter his own home, police records have shown. (AFP Photo)

This booking photo released by the Cambridge, Mass., Police Dept., shows Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who was arrested while trying to force open the locked front door of his home near Harvard University Thursday, July 16, 2009. (AP Photo)

Supporters of a prominent Harvard University black scholar who was arrested at his own home by police responding to a report of a break-in say he is the victim of racial profiling.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. had forced his way through the front door of his home because it was jammed, his lawyer said Monday.

Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home near campus after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."

By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.

"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley. The Cambridge police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.

Gates 鈥?the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 鈥?initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police.

"Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote.

Gates said he turned over his driver's license and Harvard ID 鈥?both with his photos 鈥?and repeatedly asked for the name and badge number of the officer, who refused. He said he then followed the officer as he left his house onto his front porch, where he was handcuffed in front of other officers, Gates said in a statement released by his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, on a Web site Gates oversees, TheRoot.com

He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior." He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26.

Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to Ogletree.

"He was shocked to find himself being questioned and shocked that the conversation continued after he showed his identification," Ogletree said.

Ogletree declined to say whether he believed the incident was racially motivated, saying "I think the incident speaks for itself."

Some of Gates' African-American colleagues say the arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge.

Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years, said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

"We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white," Counter said. "It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened."

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he will attend Gates' arraignment.

"This arrest is indicative of at best police abuse of power or at worst the highest example of racial profiling I have seen," Sharpton said. "I have heard of driving while black and even shopping while black but now even going to your own home while black is a new low in police community affairs."

Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home 鈥?which he leases from Harvard 鈥?shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property's management company when police first arrived.

Ogletree also disputed the claim that Gates, who was wearing slacks and a polo shirt and carrying a cane, was yelling at the officer.

"He has an infection that has impacted his breathing since he came back from China, so he's been in a very delicate physical state," Ogletree said.

Lawrence D. Bobo, the W.E.B Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard, said he met with Gates at the police station and described his colleague as feeling humiliated and "emotionally devastated."

"It's just deeply disappointing but also a pointed reminder that there are serious problems that we have to wrestle with," he said.

Bobo said he hoped Cambridge police would drop the charges and called on the department to use the incident to review training and screening procedures it has in place.

The Middlesex district attorney's office said it could not do so until after Gates' arraignment. The woman who reported the apparent break-in did not return a message Monday.

Gates joined the Harvard faculty in 1991 and holds one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at the school. He also was host of "African American Lives," a PBS show about the family histories of prominent U.S. blacks, and was named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.

"I was obviously very concerned when I learned on Thursday about the incident," Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust said in a statement. "He and I spoke directly and I have asked him to keep me apprised."

(Agencies)

Crime continues to drop in Canada

OTTAWA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of crimes continued to decline in 2008 in Canada and the severity of crimes also dropped, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

Both the traditional crime rate and its Crime Severity Index fell 5 percent last year, meaning both the volume of police-reported crime and its severity decreased, the agency said.

It said there were about 77,000 fewer reported crimes in 2008, including 28,000 fewer thefts of 5,000 Canadian dollars (4,500 U.S. dollars), 22,000 fewer break-ins and 20,000 fewer motor-vehicle thefts.

Violent crime also dropped, but to a lesser extent.

About one in five crimes reported to police is violent. There were 3,500 fewer reported violent incidents in 2008, including 2,000 fewer robberies.

But homicides, which make up less than 1 percent of violent crime, were one of the few violent crimes to increase in 2008.

The police-reported crime rate for youth aged 12 to 17 fell 5 percent in 2008. The youth violent crime rate, which declined 3 percent, has been relatively stable since 2000.