Page 6 - 3-10-15 Tuesday's Edition

Presidential News
President Obama Said He Will ‘Walk Away’ From Deal With Iran
U. S. Adds Robust 295,000 Jobs; Jobless Rate Falls To 5.5%
WASHINGTON — Presi- dent Barack Obama received good news Friday. U. S. employ- ers extended a healthy streak of hiring in February by adding 295,000 jobs, the 12th straight monthly gain above 200,000. It was the latest sign that the U. S. economy is further strengthen- ing and outpacing other major economies around the world.
The U. S. unemployment rate fell to 5.5% from 5.7%, the gov- ernment said Friday. But the rate declined mainly because some people out of work stopped looking for jobs and were no longer counted as un- employed.
February’s robust job gain wasn’t enough to boost wages by much. The average hourly wage rose just 3 cents to $24.78 an hour. Average hourly pay has now risen just 2% over the past 12 months, barely ahead of in- flation.
STEM Jobs Is Launched By President Obama
America is suffering from a lack of tech-savvy workers, and that’s one of the reasons that wages are stagnant. It’s enough of an issue that President Obama is launching TechHire, a program designed to get citi- zens into well-paid jobs in the technology sector. In short, the scheme is a way to increase STEM knowledge, connect workers to opportunities and break down the barriers be- tween giving people a chance.
The first part of TechHire in- volves connecting companies and districts, which will work together to connect skilled workers to jobs they may not have found. In addition, those companies will launch “fast track” programs to help train people whilst on the job. Sec- ond, a new federal fund of $100 million will be put in place to bankroll new training opportu- nities for low-skilled workers. This process will also look to empower people with child care responsibilities, non-English speakers and those with disabil- ities.
The third element of the plan is to get private companies to run “coding bootcamps” to women, veterans and minori- ties. Rather than expecting em- ployees to study for a four-year degree, these bootcamps would be run across a few months and help people get their foot on the ladder of a new job. The pro- gram has already been trialled in communities like Louisville, NYC and Delaware, and now 21 communities are getting in- volved. The plan has support from some big names in the tech world, including Microsoft, Cisco and LinkedIn — helping the President affirm his com- mitment to put science and technology at the heart of his plans.
Pres. Obama Says Selma A Living History Lesson For His Daughters
Pres. Obama speaks during the “Bloody Sunday” March.
Malia Obama, (L), and sister Sasha laugh together as they leave a speech by their father President Barack Obama at the Edmund Pet- tus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sun- day,” a landmark event of the Civil Rights Movement, Saturday, March 7, 2015.
Asserting that “gaps” still exist in negotiations over Iran’s controversial nuclear program, President Barack Obama has said the U. S. is prepared to “walk away” if a deal cannot be made with Tehran to verify that it is not going to obtain an atomic weapon.
“If there’s no deal, then we walk away,” Pres. Obama told CBS News in an inter- view.
“If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, that there’s a breakout period, so that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action, if we don’t have that kind of deal, then we’re not going to take it,” he said.
Responding to questions, Pres. Obama said there is enormous suspicion between the Iranian regime and the world, not just the U. S.
“The Iranians have nego- tiated seriously because we were able to bring them to the table through some of the toughest sanctions that have been ever put in place. We have made progress in nar- rowing the gaps, but those gaps still exist,” he said.
“I would say that over the next month or so, we’re going to be able to determine
PRES. BARACK OBAMA
whether or not their system is able to accept what would be an extraordinarily reason- able deal, if in fact, as they say, they are only interested in peaceful nuclear pro- grams,” Pres. Obama said.
Pres. Obama said it is fair to state that there is ur- gency because the two sides have now been negotiating for well over a year.
“The good news is, is that during this period Iran has abided by the terms of the agreement, we know what is happening on the ground in Iraq. They have not advanced their nuclear program. We have been able to roll back their 20 per cent highly en- riched uranium during this period of time. It’s given us unprecedented access into what they are doing. So we’re not losing anything through these talks,” Pres. Obama said.
SELMA, Ala. — In four minutes, President Barack Obama gave his daughters a living history lesson on the Civil Rights Movement.
Clasping hands with “one of my heroes,” Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Amelia Boynton Robinson, who was badly beaten on Bloody Sunday, Pres. Obama led several dozen people across the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge in his shirtsleeves un- derneath Alabama’s bright sun.
Pres. Obama paid tri- bute Saturday to Civil Rights legends sung and unsung by leading a symbolic march across an Alabama bridge where throngs who protested their lack of voting rights 50 years ago were beaten by po- lice on what is known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Malia and Sasha, his daughters, marched along with First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother, Mar- ian Robinson, and former Pres. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.
Lewis, an original “Bloody Sunday” participant whose head was cracked open by police as he led a group across the bridge, held court when Saturday’s group stopped after about four minutes, just after passing beneath the bridge awning bearing the name of Pettus, a brigadier general in the Con- federate army.
“I want to say what an ex- traordinary honor this has been, especially to have Sasha and Malia,” Pres. Obama said of his 13- and 16-year-old. Pres. Obama had said he was taking his daughters to Selma to “re- mind them of their own obli- gations.”
“There are going to be marches for them to march, and struggles for them to
fight. And if we’ve done our job, then that next genera- tion is going to be picking up the torch, as well,” Pres. Obama said at a Black His- tory Month observance at the White House last month.
Earlier this week, in a radio interview with host Tom Joyner, Pres. Obama said he thinks his daughters appreciate that people made sacrifices so that life would be easier for them. He noted that they live in the White House with their grandmother, who he said remembers what it was like living in a segregated set- ting on the South Side of Chicago.
“Part of what I want Malia and Sasha to under- stand is that this is an unfin- ished project,” he said, referring to simmering racial tensions that flared up fol- lowing the police-involved killings last year of Black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York. Neither of the officers in- volved was charged with committing any crimes.
“There is, you know, work to be done right now. And I say to my daughters the same thing I say to the young people who work for me, and that is it is a glorious task that we are given to continu- ally try to improve this great country of ours,” he said. “And we shouldn’t shy away from that work and we shouldn’t be complacent about it. And everybody’s got to find their own way to do it.”
Asked how he would like to see his daughters accom- plish that, Pres. Obama said he doubted they would do it from a public perch.
“I am very doubtful that they will want to run for pub- lic office ... partly because they’ve been listening to their mother,” he said.
White House Eyeing Executive Action To Hike Corporate Tax Rates
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT And PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
The White House may be inching closer to the idea of raising taxes by executive ac- tion – the same path Presi- dent Obama took to push through his controversial immigration actions.
Press Secretary John Earnest told reporters on Monday that President Obama was “very inter- ested,” when asked about the prospect of changing the tax code via executive action.
It’s an option that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., suggested in a letter to the White House on last Friday. In it, Sanders called on the
Obama administration to curb six specific tax breaks through executive action, which he estimates could raise $100 billion over the next decade.
“If Congress fails to ad- dress these problems, the administration should act on its own to close, at a mini- mum [those tax breaks],” Sanders said.
Three of the tax breaks were created through ad- ministrative actions or regu- lations which Sanders argues would allow President Obama to reverse them through executive powers.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015