The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We have the potential of getting a deal done.We’re going to have to see the rates on the top 2 percent go up, and we’re not going to be able to get a deal without it.”

President Barack Obama,

sketching out a potential deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” Article, 1A

Port strike drags on into eighth day

LOS ANGELES - Negotiators prepared Tuesday to return to the bargaining table with a federal mediator to try to end a costly, eight-day strike that has all but shut down the nation’s busiest port complex.

About 44 percent of all cargo arriving in the U.S. by sea passes through the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, accounting for an estimated $1 billion a day in merchandise.

However, since hundreds of clerical workers went on strike, and thousands of dockworkers refused to cross their picket lines, most of that cargo has languished on docks, rail cars or ships.

Derailment still causing evacuations

CLARKSBORO, N.J. - More New Jersey residents were ordered Tuesday to leave their homes because of air contamination from a train derailment last week that leaked a hazardous gas.

The evacuation order imposed by officials at 4 p.m. added 100 more homes to the area of Paulsboro where people were not being allowed to stay, increasing the number of evacuated residences to more than 200.

The evacuation is expected to last until Sunday, a day longer than previously expected. Also, schools in Paulsboro are to remain closed until next week.

Coast Guard Capt. Kathy Moore, a spokesman for the group of federal, state and local agencies managing the disaster response, said at a news conference in neighboring Clarksboro that the expanded evacuation means that others in Paulsboro will no longer have to stay inside.

On Friday, seven train cars derailed at an old railroad bridge over Mantua Creek; one tanker car ruptured, releasing thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride into the atmosphere. No serious injuries or illnesses have been attributed to the leak.

4 who opposed Boehner reassigned

WASHINGTON - Four Republicans who opposed House Speaker John Boehner on spending and budget issues won’t return to the Budget or Financial Services committees when the next session of Congress begins in January.

Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Justin Amash of Michigan will lose their seats on the House Budget Committee, and Reps. Walter Jones of North Carolina and David Schweikert of Arizona are losing their seats on the House Financial Services Committee.

Amash, Schweikert and Huelskamp were elected in 2010 with support of the Tea Party movement. Their reassignments drew a protest from FreedomWorks, an umbrella group for the Tea Party movement.

“This is a clear attempt on the part of Republican leadership to punish those in Washington who vote the way they promised their constituents they would - on principle - instead of mindlessly rubber-stamping trillion-dollar deficits and the bankrupting of America,” Matt Kibbe, the group’s president, said in a statement.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, would only say Tuesday that the party’s steering committee chaired by the speaker made the decision “based on a range of factors.”

All four lawmakers had voted against the summer 2011 deal negotiated between Republican leaders and President Barack Obama for extending the government’s ability to borrow money in exchange for $1 trillion in spending cuts and the promise of another $1 trillion in reduced deficits.

Charges possible if ill girl not returned

PHOENIX - Authorities in Arizona said Tuesday that they are considering criminal charges if the mother of an 11-year-old girl with leukemia doesn’t return her to a medical facility.

The girl, Emily, had been receiving chemotherapy at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for about a month, Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos said Monday.

An infection forced doctors to amputate her right arm.

The girl’s mother removed a tube that delivered medication to the girl’s heart, changed her clothes, and walked her out of the hospital the night of Nov. 28.

“If she contracts an infection, it really could just be a matter of days that could result in the young girl’s death,” Martos said. “It’s pretty serious.”

Police are seeking information on the whereabouts of the mother - Norma Bracamontes, 35. Martos said criminal negligence charges could be sought against her, but their first priority is getting the child back to the hospital.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 12/05/2012

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