Obama to announce immigration plan today
Obama to announce immigration plan today
WASHINGTON — Sidestepping Congress, President Barack Obama today will announce steps he will take to shield up to 5 million immigrants illegally in the United States from deportation, defying Republican lawmakers who say such a step would poison relations with the new GOP led legislature.
Obama, in a video released on Facebook, said he would make his announcement from the White House at 3 p.m. Hawaii time, then would travel to Las Vegas to promote the plan Friday.
He said while everyone agrees the immigration system is broken, Washington has allowed the problem “to fester for too long.”
“What I’m going to be laying out is the things that I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system better, even as I continue to work with Congress and encourage them to get a bipartisan, comprehensive bill that can solve the entire problem,” Obama said.
As many as 5 million people in the country illegally would be spared from deportation and made eligible for work permits. But the eligible immigrants would not be entitled to federal benefits — including health care tax credits — under the plan, officials said Wednesday.
Feds, air bag maker headed for showdown
DETROIT (AP) — A showdown is looming between U.S. safety regulators and a Japanese company that makes air bags linked to multiple deaths and injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants Takata Corp. to recall millions of potentially faulty driver’s side air bag inflators across the entire U.S. The air bags can explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
But Takata, in communications early Wednesday from Japan, is holding to its stance that current recalls, issued only in high-humidity areas mainly in the South, are enough. A broader recall isn’t supported by the evidence, the company says.
The polarized positions set up a showdown between NHTSA and Takata with automakers caught in the middle. The agency said that unless Takata and the car companies agree to the national recall quickly, it “will use the full extent of its statutory powers” to get the recall done. But clearly the agency is focused on Takata first.
Obama signs bill to revamp child care aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federally subsidized child care providers will have to conduct criminal background checks on their workers and undergo a yearly inspection under legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
Obama said the first revamping of the government’s chief child care program in nearly two decades will improve safety and the quality of child care, plus give working parents more peace of mind. Lawmakers gave final approval to the legislation Monday in a rare bipartisan agreement for a Congress that’s been dominated by partisan strife.
Buffalo area is buried under 5 feet of snow
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Homeowners opened their front doors to find themselves sealed in by sheer walls of white. Shovelers turned walkways into head-high canyons. A woman gave birth in a firehouse after the snow prevented her from reaching the hospital.
Even for Buffalo, a place that typically shrugs at snow, this was an epic snowfall — the kind of onslaught folks will be telling their grandchildren about.
The Buffalo area found itself buried under as much as 5½ feet of snow Wednesday, with another lake-effect storm expected to bring 2 to 3 more feet by late Thursday.