Sentinel Tribune du lieu suivant : Bowling Green, Ohio • 3

SENTINEL TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 4,2011 Page 3 NATION WORLD New governors face grim realities SACRAMENTO, Calif. Democrat Jerry Brown was sworn in Monday as California's 39th governor, returning to the office he left 28 years ago but inheriting a much different and more troubled state than the one he led then. The man who once was California's most famous bachelor took the oath of office after being introduced by his wife of five years, former Gap Inc. executive Anne Gust Brown, inside Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Brown has predicted a grim future for the financially beleaguered state.

Where his predecessor. Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, expressed optimism at every turn, Brown has been realistic since winning the Nov. 2 election. California has faced several years of deep budget deficits and is confronting another estimated at $28 billion through June 2012. Its general fund is $15 billion less than it was just three years ago, reflecting a sharp drop in tax revenue from recession that has battered the economy of the nation's most populous state.

Brown, 72, said the choices facing California's 38.8 million people are painful. Mideast, By JOHN HEILPRIN Associated Press By JULIET WILLIAMS Associated Press darkened over Switzerland this morning, but Romanians were treated to a pinkish ethereal light and Swedes to a beautiful sunrise, as a partial solar? eclipse that began over the Mideast extended across much of Europe. In Switzerland, the pall of clouds and light snow seemed like dusk with lights twinkling in cities time in reverse just as people streamed off trains and buses to arrive at work. The solar occurrence was at its height over Geneva, Bern and other Swiss cities in the midmorning, then the grayness at the lower altitudes began to brighten a bit. As much as two-thirds of the sun slipped from view behind the moon, something that hasn't occurred in Switzerland since August 1999.

A more minor eclipse happened in August 2008. The Swiss federal health office warned people, especially children, to wear special eye protection rather than use homemade gear to see the eclipse. Clear skies over southern Romania offered a chance to glimpse a pale pink, otherworldly glow that spread over Bucharest, the capital. People climbed atop snow -coated highrise buildings to get a better view, or donned sunglasses and huddled outside subway stations in Revolution Square. Some watched it televised live; Romanians won't see their next celipse until March 2015.

morning I saw a strange said Andrei Carlescu, a 21-year-old architecture student who was fascinated by the way GENEVA Wintry skies year ahead will demand courage and sacrifice," he said. California was among 26 states swearing in governors with the new year. Among them were New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who took his oath over the weekend in a similarly scaled event. and South Carolina's Nikki Haley, a Republican who will be the country's first female IndianAmerican governor when she is sworn in next week.

Among the other governors inaugurated Monday were Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, also a Republican, and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, that state's first Democratic governor in two decades. In California, Brown noted how the recession has taken a toll on California and referred to polls showing most voters believing the state is on the wrong track.

He urged lawmakers from both political parties to get out of their comfort zones and rise above ideology for the good of the state, asking them to embrace a "philosophy of loyalty" to California. "We can overcome the sharp divisions that leave our politics in perpetual gridlock, but only if we reach into our hearts and find that loyalty, that devotion to California above and beyond our narrow perspectives." he said. Brown's inauguration was a scaled-down affair, reflecting the austerity of the former Jesuit seminarian and Buddhism student. Brown's speech lasted about 15 minutes, and the only other speaker listed on the onepage program was his wife. Brown's style contrasts with that of past governors, some of whom held inaugural balls after their swearing in ceremony.

Schwarzenegger even threw himself what he called a "wrap party" last month, complete with some of his Hollywood buddies. Even during Brown's first term as governor, he preached an era of limits, saying government cannot deliver everything people expect from it. He lived that philosophy himself, ditching the governor's mansion for a sparsely furnished apartment and driving a Plymouth instead of riding in a limousine. After voters rejected an $18-a-year license fee last year to stabilize state park funding, Brown declared that Californians were "in no mood to add to their Yet his press aides have not quashed speculation that Brown will try to call a special election this spring to extend a set of temporary tax hikes approved in 2009. Brown said he would not raise taxes without voter approval, but will need some Republican help to reach the two thirds legislative vote necessary to place any tax or fee measure on the ballot.

The new governor will release his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year next Monday, when he is expected to deliver voters a series of stark choices. He said his budgets would not contain "smoke and mirrors," an apparent reference to spending plans signed by Schwarzenegger over the past few years that often contained accounting gimmicks and unrealistic revenue assumptions. He promised his version would be painful. a tough budget for tough times," he said. this stage of my life, I've not come here to embrace delay and denial." he said during his speech.

Brown becomes only the second person to serve three terms as California governor. Brown later hosted guests at his Capitol office, briefly stepping outside to grab a hot dog and pose for photographs during a union-sponsored event on the lawn. Adviser Steven Glazer said all inaugural festivities were expected to cost less than $100.000. Europe catch partial eclipse VENEZUELAN TOURISTS watch a partial solar eclipse in front of the Giza Pyramids, Egypt, today. The partial the light dipped.

first I didn't know what was happening. There were children about 9 or 10 who were wearing special glasses and looking at it." The eclipse was first seentoday over Jerusalem, where the sun appeared to have taken a large bit out of its upper right section. A solar eclipse happens when the moon lines up between the sun and the Earth, casting a lunar shadow on the Earth's surface and obscuring the solar disk. During a partial solar eclipse, only part of the sun is blotted out. a Western Europe woke up to a sunrise eclipse.

Astronomers expected the greatest eclipse AP 1 Nabli solar eclipse began in the skies over the Mideast and will extend across much of Europe. over Sweden, where about 85 percent of the sun will be blocked. "It's thanks to the position of the moon and so the shadow is very said Niclas Henricson, head of the Tycho Brahe observatory in southern Sweden. Ten people had gathered at Henricson's observatory ready to check it out with their mobile telescopes should the cloudy weather disperse. He said Swedes only have such an opportunity about once every 45 years; their next full solar eclipse will be in 2126.

Ratherthan miss out, Christian Ander, a 31-year-old IT entrepreneur, went to a park to watch it, though he said that because it occurred so early in the morning, it wasn't as noticeable as it might have been if it had happened later in the day. "It was beautiful," he said. "It was kind of like a sunrise." Polish viewers were treated to live TV coverage of the eclipse from the city of Krakow, where the shadow could be seen gradually blotting out the sun. The golden croissant-like shape was visible in the dark sky in the morning. However, most of Poland was covered by clouds that blotted out the sight.

A sunset eclipse will be visible from central Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwest China. Can Capt. Honors survive raunchy videos? NORFOLK, Va. (AP) A Navy captain's command of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was under scrutiny after raunchy comedy videos he made and showed to his crew surfaced years after they were produced. Capt.

Owen Honors was chief executive officer or second in command of the USS Enterprise when he broadcast the videos that used gay slurs, mimicked masturbation and staged suggestive shower scenes. He now commands the ship. Asked if command was at risk, Cmdr. Chris Sims of U.S. Fleet Forces Command told The Associated Press in an e-mail Monday: "The investigation currently being conducted will provide the necessary information to make that decision in an informed manner." Ward Carroll, an aviator who flew with Honors, called the officer "one of the good guys" but said he doesn't expect him to command the Enterprise when it heads to sea this month.

was disappointed, both Murders rise in New York City NEW YORK (AP) New York City recorded a double-digit increase in murders during 2010, with more than half the victims shot to death by someone they knew, likely related to drugs. As of Dec. 31, there were 532 murders, up 13 percent from 2009. But police officials say the numbers aren't overly alarming when put in the context of dramatic crimefighting gains since 1990. The city had a record 2.245 homicides that year.

The 2010 murder figure is still the fourth lowest since the department began keeping comparable records in 1962. The lowest was last year at 471, followed by 496 in 2007 and 522 in 2008. Among the murder victims, 92 percent were minorities and 83 percent were male. More than half the victims and killers had some type of drug background, and 62 percent were fatal shootings. Facebook gets $500M infusion of new cash NEW YORK (AP): An injection of cash that values Facebook at $50 billion will help it delay going public for at least another year, giving the company breathing room to focus on long-term ambition rather than shortterm profit.

The infusion $500 million from elite investment house Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor, according to a report by The New York Times represents the most emphatic endorsement yet of Facebook's potential to make money in online social networking. It places the company at twice the value of Internet giant Yahoo. Bank of America settles claims for $2.8 billion NEW YORK (AP) Bank of America Corp. reached a $2.8 billion settlement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over claims that one of its businesses sold bad mortgages. The payment is far lower than analysts expected and removes some uncertainty that has hovered over the bank.

Analysts and investors have been waiting to see how hard a line Fannie and Freddie would take with big mortgage lenders such as Citigroup JPMorgan Chase Co. and Wells Fargo Co. Some estimates ran as high as $10 billion for a Bank of America settlement. Bank stocks rallied on the news, with Bank of America up more than 6 percent and Wells Fargo up 2 percent. Other settlements are likely soon.

Stocks begin '11 with a big lift NEW YORK (AP) Stocks started 2011 with a big lift on Monday, and that could be a promising sign for the rest of the year. Investors call it the barometer." According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, a gain in the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index over the first five days of January has led to annual gains nearly 90 percent of the time. The Institute of Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity rose in December for the 17th straight month. Separately, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 0.4 percent in November. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.24 points to close at 11,670.75, its highest close since Aug.

28. 2008. The gained 14.23 to 1,271.87. The Nasdaq rose to 2,691.52. professionally and personally, that he wantonly and with great prejudice walked across the lines that exist," said Carroll, who is now editor of Military.com.

"I don't see there's any way he stays in command." Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, the former supreme commander of NATO, told ABC's "Good Morning America" today that the videos were "incompatible with the climate of command we are trying to establish in the armed forces." Those who serve under Honors now and have in the past, though, hit the social networking sites and contacted The Associated Press, most expressing their support for him. Capt. Honors is a very professional person, but he knew when to have fun," Jessica Zabawa wrote in an e-mail She served on the Enterprise from 2007 to last September. Honors knows when to be serious and when it's time to unwind." Navy higher-ups knew about the videos that were played on the shipwide television system during the weekly movie night that a sailor.

called a event." In a statement to the VirginianPilot, which first showed the videos on its website over the weekend, the Navy said its leadership had put a stop those with content" on the Enterprise about four years ago. The Navy at first downplayed the videos as "humorous skits," but soon called them acceptable" and said they were investigation. "They were probably hoping it would all go away, and it didn't and now they have to say something." said Michael Corgan, career Navy officer who now teaches at Boston University. Corgan said Honors was guilty not only of an error in judgment but of failing to recognize a changing Navy culture. "What he did would have been dumb 30, 40 years ago," Corgan said.

Some sailors who served on the Enterprise say his video skits provided a much-needed morale boost during long deployments at sea. They portrayed Honors as a man who genuinely cared about his sailors and helped them blow off steam with corny and occasionally outrageous videos he concocted every week during six-month tours of duty in the Middle East at the height of the Iraq War. Maintaining morale is typically part of the chief executive officer's job. "He was a caring professional and, yes, he has a sense of humor, but you need that on a boat." said Misty Davis, who served on the Enterprise from 2006 to 2010. The offending video was shown in 2007, and was a compilation of previous videos he had shown, she and others said.

"It's no worse than anything you'd see Night Live' or 'The Family Guy, Davis said Monday. used to watch all of them. They were freaking hilarious.".