8A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY,OCTOBER13,2008
NATIONAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A U.S. forest service firefighter battles towering flames burning along Little Tungung Road, in the Angeles National Forest, about 20 miles north of downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson says the blaze has charred up to 750 acres in the nugget area of Little Tuuua Canyon.
Wildfire engulfs more of L.A.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.
Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralison said the blaze charred up to 750 acres and also burned a garage, several sheds and three motor homes.
No one was seriously injured. A firefighter and one resident reported minor breathing problems.
Haralson said firefighters are "getting a really good handle" on the blaze that started early Sunday. But powerful Santa Ana winds are
expected to arrive in the evening, and gusts could spread embers igniting brush, grass and chaparral in the area.
About 450 homes were evacuated early Sunday when the blaze moved southeast toward city limits, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea.
"It burned right down to a couple of neighborhoods," Flora said.
The fire was burning south of the Wildlife Waystation, an animal sanctuary and rehabilitation facility set on 160 acres.
The nonprofit agency houses more than 400 animals, including lions, bears and deer.
Officials were loading up the animals in case the fire switched direction.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Elsewhere in California, firefighters halted the spread of a wildfire that burned about 300 acres of heavy brush, destroyed a home and threatened several wineries in Napa Valley.
More than 1,500 firefighters were called in to work the blaze, which state fire officials said was fully contained by Sunday morning.
Investigators said Saturday a rock struck by a car ignited the wildfire Friday afternoon.
Strong winds in the hills near the wine country town of St. Helena caused the fire to spread quickly.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said all evacuation orders had been lifted, allowing 100 people to return home after the flames forced them to flee.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters the financial crisis "has been a manmade catastrophe. The actions and responses to overcome it lie in our hands."
At a Paris meeting of European leaders Sunday, countries that use the euro agreed to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing to ease the credit crunch. French President Nicolas Sarkozy it would apply in 15 countries through the end of 2009 and was "not a gift to banks."
resources to help these countries.
ECONOMY
Jittery investors awaited the reopening of stock markets — the Dow Jones industrial average just completed its worst week ever, plummeting more than 18 percent — and hoped for bold, coordinated international steps to address the crisis.
Administration doesn't disclose next steps for global financial crisis
President Bush met at the White House with top global financial leaders on Saturday in a display of unity and said afterward that they had agreed to general principles to combat the crisis. Bush, who had spoken about the crisis for 22 of the past 27 days, went biking at a state park in Maryland on Sunday morning and then kept to a private schedule the rest of the day.
The administration has not indicated when it would announce its next steps.
President Bush smiles during the G20 ministerial meeting at the International Monetary Fund Saturday in Washington. From left, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Bush.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"I am hopeful that tomorrow, the Treasury will announce that they're doing it. And they have to do it quickly ... markets are waiting." Schumer, (D-N.Y.), said.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, "is gaining steam."
Democrats also are lining up behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan to bring lawmakers back to Capitol Hill after the Nov. 4 election to work on a second economic relief plan. The idea is "give the middle class and the average citizen the same kind of relief that we try to give the financial sector," said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Top Democrats are suggesting a $150 billion measure that would extend jobless benefits, provide more money for food stamps and finance some construction projects, such as rebuilding bridges and roads. It would also include either a tax rebate or tax cut.
Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking House Republican, said he would help on a plan "that makes sense" but is not laden with huge public works projects or bailouts for states that
"Although we in the United States are taking many extraordinary measures to ease the crisis, we are not pursuing policies that would limit the flow of goods, services or capital, as such measures would only intensify the risks of a prolonged crisis," Paulson said.
In another step aimed at easing the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve on Sunday approved the $12.2 billion acquisition of troubled Wachovia Corp. by Wells Fargo & Co. Wachovia is the latest in a string of major banks and financial institutions that have been felled by the financial crisis. The Fed action was expected.
Meanwhile, the World Bank pledged to protect poor and vulnerable countries and nations with rapidly developing economies. Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, who heads the bank's policy-setting committee, said the bank and the IMF will draw on the full range of their
overspent on social programs.
As the International Monetary Fund and World Bank held their annual meetings over the weekend, Paulson warned the bank's policy-setting committee of the dangers of "inward-looking policies."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN