Israel divided on deporting immigrant children (AP)

TEL AVIV, Israel � Israel will begin deporting families of illegal migrants in coming weeks, officials say, as an emotional debate rages over the ballooning numbers of foreign workers that some fear could threaten the country's Jewish identity.

A decade ago, Israel began bringing in foreign workers in an effort to reduce its dependence on cheap Palestinian laborers. Now tens of thousands of migrants from Asia and Africa who entered the country legally but have since overstayed their visas have developed strong ties to Israel and have no intention of returning home.

How to deal with the migrants hits on two of the most charged issues in Israel. On one hand the fear is that their growing numbers will dilute Israel's Jewish majority, while others warn that deporting them from a country born partly as a refuge for Jewish victims of the Holocaust is immoral.

But it is the fate of the migrants' children that has really ignited the national debate: Their advocates point out that they are educated in Jewish schools and speak flawless Hebrew � they just aren't citizens or Jews.

"What about the Jewish heart and Jewish compassion and Jewish morality?" pleaded Elie Wiesel, the Nobel winning Holocaust survivor, speaking out against the deportations.

Wiesel, who is not Israeli, said he found the issue so outrageous that he felt compelled to speak out on local affairs.

Others fear that scenes of Israeli forces deporting children will do no good to the country's already tarnished image following last year's war in Gaza and the deadly attack on a Turkish aid flotilla in May.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who oversees immigration policy, dismissed migrant sympathizers as "bleeding hearts" in a recent television interview. "Nobody is worrying about ... the Jewish identity of the state of Israel."

Israel grants automatic citizenship to Jews but doesn't have an immigration policy for non-Jews.

To control the influx, the government said in August it would issue permanent residency visas to children of migrants, but the criteria are so tough that most may still be deported. The children must have parents who entered Israel legally, be in school, speak Hebrew and have resided in Israel for at least five years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time his government wanted to "take into our hearts children who grew up here and were educated here as Israelis," but he warned against creating an incentive for illegal migrants "to flood the country."

So far, some 600 families have registered with the Interior Ministry. Another 90 families were rejected, while the families of another 1,000 children didn't even apply, because they didn't meet the criteria, said Sigal Rosen, a migrant activist.

Those families may be deported, he added.

Interior Ministry official Roi Lachmanovich said deportations would begin by the end of September, after a series of Jewish holidays and would proceed on an individual basis � there would be no mass deportations.

Since the government announcement, anxious immigrant parents have been rushing to government offices to apply for residency.

Sounding very much like an Israeli, 15-year-old Demet, who is Turkish, said at an advocacy office for migrants that she hoped to join an Israeli army combat unit when she turns 18.

Meanwhile, other children nagged their parents in Hebrew, some wearing necklaces with the Star of David.

"They cannot evict my daughter," said Florence, a 39-year-old from Nigeria who overstayed her tourist visa to work in Israel 10 years ago. "She was born here."

Florence, who whispered to her six-year-old in Hebrew, declined to give her full name for fear that it would endanger her pending application.

Like many living in Israel illegally, Florence had believed an Israeli-born child would allow her to stay � precisely the fear of many Israelis.

But the migrants have gained some powerful allies, including Cabinet ministers on the left and right of Israeli politics and a group of Holocaust survivors. The prime minister's wife has spoken out against the policy, and Israel's kibbutz movement has vowed to hide the children in the country's 280 kibbutzim to thwart their deportation.

"This is not the Jewish state I know if it deports children," Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer shouted during a Cabinet debate.

Israel was founded as an agricultural society but as it has industrialized and abandoned its one-time commitment to "Jewish labor," it has increasingly relied on workers from outside.

Originally, Palestinians from the territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war filled that need, but with the uprising of 2000, Israel turned to foreign labor.

Fearing attacks, Israel tightly restricted work permits for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, shrinking their numbers from 200,000 in the late 1990s to about 32,000 today, and replacing them with Chinese construction workers, Thai farm hands, Philippine caregivers and others.

The visas were meant to last for just five years, but nearly 120,000 foreign workers stayed on, according to government statistics, lured by steady work, good money, and in many cases, needing to pay off the steep fees from the employment agencies, which could run up to $13,000.

Several thousand tourists are also believed to have overstayed their visas and are working illegally. Israel also has around 17,000 African asylum-seekers who fled violence and economic hardship.

Between the migrant influx and the much higher birthrate of Israel's Arab population, some here fear Israel's Jewish majority will gradually be eroded. Currently Jews make up roughly 80 percent of a population of 7 million.

The government is now cutting back on foreigners entering the country. Last year, about 27,000 came to work in Israel � the lowest number since 2004, according to government statistics.

Migrant activists say the government should shrink that number even more dramatically if they don't want to grapple with the burgeoning problem of foreigners and their Israeli-born children.

"If the government doesn't want anymore children, then they should stop bringing in their parents," said Rosen. "It's as simple as that."

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Lawyer awaiting word on bail for detained American (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran � The lawyer of an American woman cleared for release from an Iranian prison says he is still waiting for word that the $500,000 bail has been paid.

Masoud Shafiei told The Associated Press on Monday that he has been in contact with the family of Sarah Shourd and the Swiss Embassy, which handles U.S. affairs in Iran because there are no diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran.

He says there has been no change in the case since Sunday when Iran's judiciary said the 32-year-old woman could be released on health grounds after more than a year in custody.

Shourd and two U.S. companions were arrested in July 2009 along the border with Iraq. Iranian prosecutors say they have issued indictments on spy-related charges.

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Global banking rules aim to balance safety, growth (AP)

BASEL, Switzerland � Banks will have to significantly increase their capital reserves under rules endorsed Sunday by the world's major central banks, which are trying to prevent another financial collapse without impeding the fragile economic recovery.

The new banking rules are designed to strengthen bank finances and rein in excessive risk-taking, but some banks have protested that they may dampen the recovery by forcing them to reduce the lending that fuels economic growth.

Forcing banks to keep more capital on hand will restrict the amount of loans they can make, but it will make them better able to withstand the blow if many of those loans go sour. The rules also are intended to boost confidence that the banking system won't repeat past mistakes.

Under current rules, banks must hold back at least 4 percent of their balance sheet to cover their risks. This mandatory reserve � known as tier 1 capital � would rise to 4.5 percent by 2013 under the new rules and reach 6 percent in 2019.

In addition, banks would be required to keep an emergency reserve known as a "conservation buffer" of 2.5 percent. In total, the amount of rock-solid reserves each bank is expected to have by the end of the decade will be 8.5 percent of its balance sheet.

U.S. officials including Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke issued a joint statement calling the new standards a "significant step forward in reducing the incidence and severity of future financial crises."

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, chairman of the committee of central bankers and bank supervisors that worked on the new rules, called the agreement "a fundamental strengthening of global capital standards" that will encourage both growth and stability.

Representatives of the Fed, the ECB and other major central banks agreed to the deal Sunday at a meeting in Basel, Switzerland. It still has to be presented to leaders of the Group of 20 forum of rich and developing countries at a meeting in November and ratified by national governments before it comes into force.

The agreement, known as Basel III, is seen as a cornerstone of the global financial reforms proposed by governments stung by the experience of having to bail out some ailing banks to avoid wider economic collapse.

Fred Cannon, a banking analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said the rules probably will reduce bank profit margins and lending from the heights they reached in 2007. But he added that before 2000 or so, many U.S. banks were already operating with enough capital reserves to meet the new minimums.

Cannon said the new standards certainly will not keep the banks from lending more than they did last year, when lending shrank mainly because businesses and consumers decided to save instead of borrow. But he expressed doubts on whether the new rules will avert another crisis.

The trouble last time, he said, was that banks were hiding the full extent of the risks they had taken. And there is no guarantee they won't find new ways to appear more conservative than they are under the new regime, he said.

"Government regulations tend to fix the last crisis," he said. "Whether it will prevent the next one is the question."

Earlier this year, the Brussels-based European Banking Federation warned that the rules could keep the 16 nations that use the euro in or close to recession through 2014.

The federation, which represents more than 5,000 banks, said its analysis of proposed new Basel III banking standards shows that it would limit banks' credit growth and profits, hurt the economy and prevent the creation of up to 5 million jobs in the eurozone.

U.S. agencies have the authority to institute tougher capital standards under the sweeping financial overhaul legislation that Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law in July. The new global rules are expected to be endorsed by Obama and other leaders of the Group of 20 major economies when they meet in November in Seoul, South Korea.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been leading the effort among G-20 finance ministers to get international backing for the new capital standards. He has argued that the rules must be implemented in a coordinated manner so countries don't try to obtain unfair advantages by allowing their banks to operate under less stringent standards.

Regulators on Sunday also agreed to a number of other measures to shore up the stability of financial institutions:

� Countries will be able to demand that banks build up a further reserve during good times amounting to up to 2.5 percent of their common equity. This "countercyclical buffer" is to help avoid excessive lending during periods of economic boom.

� Another measure aimed at preventing banks from overstretching themselves is the introduction of a leverage ratio of 3 percent. Leverage, or borrowing to invest elsewhere, boosts returns but can backfire catastrophically if an investment declines. Some European banks had objected to this, arguing that the measure unfairly penalizes small lenders with relatively safe credit portfolios.

� Regulators also agreed to continue working on additional safeguards for "systemically important banks" � those that could bring down entire economies if they collapse.

Already one bank has cited the new rules as a reason to tap the market for billions of euros in new capital.

Earlier Sunday, Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank AG, announced plans to raise at least 9.8 billion euro ($12.4 billion) in a capital increase.

The planned issue of 308.6 million new common shares is meant primarily to cover the consolidation of Postbank, "but will also support the existing capital base to accommodate regulatory changes and business growth," Deutsche Bank said. It did not elaborate.

____

Associated Press writers Andrew Vanacore in New York, Martin Crutsinger in Washington, Frank Jordans in Geneva and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

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SKorea announces aid plans for flood-hit NKorea (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea � South Korea announced plans Monday to send 5,000 tons of rice and other aid to flood-stricken North Korea in a sign of easing tension between the divided countries.

The aid would mark South Korea's first major aid shipment to North Korea since March's deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, which was blamed on Pyongyang. That incident spiked tensions, but the two Koreas have exchanged conciliatory gestures in recent weeks.

A senior U.S. envoy, meanwhile, huddled Monday with officials in Seoul during a trip focused on restarting the deadlocked negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program.

South Korea is planning 10 billion won ($8.5 million) in aid to help the North recover from heavy flooding that swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in its northwest last month, the South's Red Cross said Monday.

The aid would include 5,000 tons of rice, 10,000 tons of cement, medicine and other items to be financed by the government, Red Cross chief Yoo Chong-ha told a nationally televised news conference.

The impoverished North has relied on outside food aid to feed much of its 24 million people since the mid-1990s and experts fear the latest flooding worsened the North's chronic food shortage.

An estimated 80,000-90,000 people were affected by the flooding and the 50,000 tons of rice can feed about 100,000 people for 100 days, Yoo said. The aid was expected to be delivered within a month, he said.

After South Korea first offered flood aid last month, North Korea said it wanted rice, cement and heavy equipment. South Korean officials said heavy equipment was excluded from the plans over concerns it could be used for military purposes.

South Korea sent the North a message on detailed aid plans later Monday but there was no immediate response from the North, according to the Unification Ministry, which handles relations with Pyongyang.

Yoo also offered to hold working-level talks with officials from the North on Friday at the North Korean border village of Kaesong to discuss a resumption in a program to hold reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The North had proposed such talks over the weekend.

More than 20,800 separated families have been briefly reunited through face-to-face meetings or by video following a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000. However, the program stalled a year ago as ties between the countries deteriorated.

The reunion program is highly emotional for Koreans, as most applying are elderly and eager to see loved ones before they die. "As you know, the issue of separated families is an urgent matter because they are old," Yoo said.

In other conciliatory gestures toward Seoul and Washington, the North has already freed a seven-crew of a South Korean fishing boat and an imprisoned American during a visit by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

The aid announcement came as President Barack Obama's special envoy on North Korea held talks Monday with Seoul officials, including Unification Minster Hyun In-taek, on inter-Korean ties and other North Korea-related matters, according to Hyun's office. The ministry gave no further details on the meeting.

Stephen Bosworth flew to South Korea on Sunday for a three-day trip focusing on restarting six-nation nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea.

North Korea pulled out of the talks last year to protest international criticism of its long-range rocket launch. Prospect for restarting the talks were further undermined following the warship sinking, which killed 46 sailors. North Korea flatly denies attacking the vessel and has warned any punishment would trigger war.

Bosworth was scheduled to meet senior South Korean foreign ministry and presidential officials later Monday. He is to travel on to Japan and China later this week.

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Japan leadership duel nears vote amid China spat (AP)

TOKYO � Japan braced for yet another new leader ahead of Tuesday's ruling party vote that pits the prime minister against a veteran lawmaker known as a backroom powerbroker. The race comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat with China and a surging yen that is battering the country's vital exporters.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan appeared to have a slight edge over party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa ahead of the internal Democratic Party of Japan election. If Ozawa wins, he would become the country's third prime minister in a year and sixth new leader in four years, perpetuating Japan's leadership merry-go-round.

Both men have stressed the need to revive Japan's sluggish economy, which has fallen behind China's and is now the world's third-biggest. Ozawa favors more stimulus spending and has suggested that Japan needs to intervene in the currency market to reverse the yen's recent spike to 15-year highs.

Kan, in office just three months, has stressed the need to create more jobs while cutting wasteful programs and maintaining fiscal discipline.

Whoever wins also must deal with an increasingly assertive China, who has blasted Japan for arresting the captain of Japanese fishing boat that collided with two Japanese patrol boats near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Opinion surveys show that Kan is preferred by the public by a 4-to-1 margin over Ozawa, a gruff "shadow shogun" who wields a great deal of power behind the scenes. Ozawa has championed various reforms, such as deregulation and reining in Japan's powerful bureaucrats.

The leadership decision will be made by party members, not the public. Tuesday's vote by 411 Democratic members of parliament will account for about two-thirds of the tally. Rank-and-file party members around the country, which account for the remaining third, cast their ballots Saturday.

Because of the Democrats' clout in parliament, their leader will automatically become the prime minister.

Ozawa, a fixture in Japanese politics for 40 years, was widely considered a potential prime minister until a scandal forced him to resign from party leadership positions.

But now the 68-year-old is back, saying he stakes his political career on the vote, although he still could be indicted as early as next month on charges of political funding irregularities � which has hardly helped his image.

Author of the 1993 best-seller "Blueprint for a New Japan," Ozawa argues that Japan should be able to stand up for its own interests. He's widely seen as wanting Japan to be more assertive in its ties with the U.S. while also strengthening its relationship with neighbor and rising power China.

He's also suggested re-opening talks with Washington over a plan to move a controversial Marine base to another part of Okinawa, citing vehement opposition of local residents.

"For Japan to be just following the American line without hedging its bets and without investing more in its relationship with Asian neighbors, beginning with China, Ozawa thinks is silly," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

But if Ozawa wins, "he is going to have to become more diplomatic and reassure the Americans that trying to build a better relationship with China is not at the expense of U.S.-Japan relations," Nakano added.

Kan, 63, who gained prominence in the 1990s for exposing a government cover-up of HIV-tainted blood, has a cleaner image than Ozawa and enjoys stronger support among regular party members and local lawmakers.

But Kan is also seen as a less forceful and influential politician than Ozawa, and party members blame Kan for the Democrats' loss in July's upper house elections because he proposed before the vote that Japan raise its sales tax.

Ozawa, has deep support in parliament, where many are beholden to him for helping start their political careers. He is widely credited with orchestrating the Democrats' landslide victory last year, which overthrew the long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party.

Still, scandal has dogged him, and he could be indicted next month by a citizen's panel on politcal funding irregularities. He says he has done no wrong. If he is prime minister, Ozawa would have constitutional immunity, but he has said he would not "run away" from any allegations.

A bit of a loose cannon, Ozawa also recently called Americans "simple-minded," and late last year said Christianity is an "exclusive" religion that is weighing down Western society.

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Japan frees 14 crew members of Chinese ship (AP)

TOKYO � Japan freed 14 crew members of a Chinese ship Monday nearly a week after their vessel collided with two Japanese patrol boats near disputed southern islets, but kept the captain in custody in a case that has angered China.

After authorities had questioned them, the 14 men left on a Chinese chartered plane that was sent to pick them up from where they were on a nearby Japanese island, said the Foreign Ministry, which arranged the flight back.

Japan is also releasing the Chinese ship, which will be operated by a set of crew members who were flown in on the Chinese plane, the ministry said.

China has demanded that Japan release the entire crew, including the captain, Zhan Qixiong, who was arrested for allegedly obstructing official duties during the collision last Tuesday. A Japanese court has granted permission to prosecutors to keep him in custody until Sept. 19 to decide whether to formally indict him.

China has said the confrontation could damage its relations with Japan, underlining the sensitivity of the territorial dispute in the area. Beijing said Friday that it was postponing talks scheduled earlier with Japan on contested undersea deposits in the East China Sea, in a sign of its anger. The talks would have been the second meeting over the gas exploration related to the territorial dispute.

China's State Councilor Dai Bingguo called in Japanese Ambassador Uichiro Niwa early Sunday � the fourth time that he has been summoned over the incident. It is highly unusual for an official of Dai's rank to intercede.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku expressed displeasure over Dai's midnight protest.

"It was regrettable that Ambassador Niwa was summoned at such late hours," Sengoku said, adding that Japan would not release the captain despite the protest.

Sengoku also criticized China for linking the gas exploration talks with the collisions: "They are totally separate issues. We will ask China to reschedule the talks in the near future in order to establish forward-looking Japan-China relations."

The incident occurred on Sept. 7, when the Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese patrol vessels after ignoring warnings to leave the area near the disputed islands called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, and refusing to stop for an inspection, Japan's coast guard said.

The crew members were not arrested, but Japanese investigators were questioning them on a voluntary basis regarding the allegations of obstructing public duties as well as their suspected illegal fishing in the area, coast guard officials said.

A group of about 20 Chinese activists, meanwhile, planned to sail from the eastern coastal city of Xiamen to waters near the disputed islands.

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Newborn baby found alive in Manila airport garbage (AP)

MANILA, Philippines � Authorities in the Philippines on Monday tried to trace the mother who gave birth then abandoned her newborn baby on a flight from the Middle East.

The baby boy, covered in blood and wrapped in tissue paper, was found by an airport security officer in a garbage bag unloaded from the plane that arrived from Bahrain on Sunday. He was brought to an airport clinic, where doctors and nurses examined him and cleaned him, wrapped him in cloth and gave him a bottle of milk, airport officials said.

"When we initially saw the baby, his color was not right. His color should be pinkish," airport doctor Maria Teresa Agores told reporters. But after the baby was cleaned, "he regained his natural color."

He also let off a soft cry, nurse Kate Calvo said.

"He was healthy, his vital signs were OK according to our doctors," she added.

A security officer noticed something moving in a garbage bag that was reportedly unloaded from a Gulf Air plane that arrived from Bahrain and found the baby inside, an airport statement said. The baby, given the name George Francis after Gulf Air's code name GF, was later turned over to social workers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Gulf Air officials were not immediately available for comment.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman she was angered by what happened, adding that police had been ordered to search for the infant's mother, who could be criminally charged.

"I was simply outraged, no infant should be treated that way," Soliman said.

She said the baby will be turned over to the mother's relatives � if they can be identified and located � or put up for adoption.

About one in 10 Filipino works abroad, many as maids and laborers in the Middle East, to escape crushing poverty and unemployment at home.

Doctors who attended to the baby said he looked Filipino, fueling speculation in local media that the boy's mother could be a domestic worker in the Middle East.

But Manila Airport Manager Jose Angel Honrado said it was too early to make that conclusion since a joint investigation of airport police and Gulf Air had not yet traced the mother.

"Although the plane came from Bahrain, we cannot come up with that conclusion because we don't even know the mother," he told The Associated Press.

He said he was hoping investigators may be able to identify her within a day or so.

___

Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.

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Boehner says he'd support a middle-class tax cut (AP)

WASHINGTON � House Minority Leader John Boehner says he would vote for President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts only for middle-class earners, not the wealthy, if that were the only option available to House Republicans.

Boehner, R-Ohio, said it is "bad policy" to exclude the highest-earning Americans from tax relief during the recession, and later Sunday he accused the White House of "class warfare." But he said he wouldn't block the breaks for middle-income individuals and families if Democrats won't support the full package.

Income tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush will expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts and Obama signs the bill. Obama said he would support continuing the lower tax rates for couples earning up to $250,000 or single taxpayers making up to $200,000. But he and the Democratic leadership in Congress refused to back continued lower rates for the fewer than 3 percent of Americans who make more than that.

The cost of extending the tax cuts for everyone for the next 10 years would approach $4 trillion, according to congressional estimates. Eliminating the breaks for the top earners would reduce that bill by about $700 billion.

Boehner's comments signaled a possible break in the logjam that has prevented passage of a tax bill, although Republicans would still force Democrats to vote on their bigger tax-cut package in the final weeks before the November congressional elections.

"I want to do something for all Americans who pay taxes," Boehner said in an interview taped Saturday for "Face the Nation" on CBS. "If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I'll vote for it. ... If that's what we can get done, but I think that's bad policy. I don't think that's going to help our economy."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement Sunday saying, "We welcome John Boehner's change in position and support for the middle class tax cuts, but time will tell if his actions will be anything but continued support for the failed policies that got us into this mess."

Boehner responded to that press release with one of his own. "Instead of resorting to tired old class warfare rhetoric, pitting one working American against another, the president and the Democratic leadership should start working with us this week to ensure a fair and open debate to pass legislation to cut spending and freeze tax rates without any further delay," he said.

Austan Goolsbee, new chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said on ABC's "This Week" that he hopes that Democratic lawmakers who also want an across-the-board extension will join Obama and others in the party in supporting legislation aimed at the middle class before the November elections.

In response to Boehner's initial comments, Goolsbee said, "If he's for that, I would be happy."

With congressional elections less than two months away, both parties have been working to score points with voters generally unhappy with Congress. Democrats are bearing the brunt of voter anger over a stubborn recession, a weak job market and a high-spending government, giving the GOP an opening for taking back control of the House and possibly the Senate.

Democratic leaders would relish putting up a bill that extends only the middle-class tax cuts and then daring Republicans to oppose it. In response, GOP lawmakers probably would try to force votes on amendments to extend all the tax cuts, arguing that it would be a boost to the economy, and then point to those who rejected them.

A compromise over the tax-cut extensions had been suggested by some senior Democrats. In a speech last week in Cleveland, Obama rejected the idea of temporarily extending all the tax cuts for one to two years.

The tax-cut argument between Obama and Republican lawmakers focuses on whether the debt-ridden country can afford to continue Bush's tax breaks, which were designed to expire next year. Republicans contend that cutting back on government spending ought to be the focus of efforts aimed at beginning to balance the federal budget.

If Republicans regain control of the House, they would remove Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California as speaker, a position that is second in line to the presidency after the vice president. Boehner would be the most likely successor, and he already is the focus of criticism from the Democrats' re-election campaign.

Obama himself has been leading the charge against Boehner, traveling last week to the Republican minority leader's home state to accuse him of offering little but stale ideas that led to the economic meltdown.

In keeping with that tactic, the Democratic National Committee said Sunday it plans to begin airing an ad Tuesday in Washington and on national cable that portrays Boehner as a supporter of tax cuts for the wealthy and a foe of spending for teachers, police officers and firefighters.

"Boehner has a different plan," the ad states. "Tax cuts for businesses and those that shift jobs and profits overseas. Saving multinational corporations 10 billion."

At a White House news conference Friday, Obama described the Republican proposal for a tax extension for the highest of earners as an effort "to give an average of $100,000 to millionaires." Instead, he said, both parties should move forward on their areas of agreement.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

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Second Colo fire erupts, destroys at least 1 home (AP)

BOULDER, Colo. � A fast-moving wildfire has erupted in northern Colorado, destroying at least one home and threatening other as residents in the Boulder foothills about 35 miles away return to their homes after one of the most destructive fires in state history.

Four helicopters and four air tankers are helping about 80 firefighters trying to contain the blaze in Loveland, Colo. So fire, that fire has burned about 600 acres, or just under a square mile. The new wildfire pulled some of the resources trying to finish containment at the fire outside Boulder.

The Boulder fire destroyed 166 homes and was at 73 percent containment Sunday.

The Denver Post reports that investigators at the Boulder fire were looking at the possibility that the blaze was sparked by a resident's fire pit.

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Mexican marines arrest presumed drug kingpin (AP)

MEXICO CITY � Mexican marines captured Sergio Villarreal Barragan, a presumed leader of the embattled Beltran Leyva cartel who appears on a list of the country's most-wanted fugitives, in a raid Sunday in the central state of Puebla, officials said.

The presumed capo known as "El Grande" did not put up any resistance when he was arrested along with two alleged accomplices, a Navy official told The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy, said federal officials would announce the capture shortly.

Villarreal appears on a 2009 Attorney General's Office list of Mexico's most-wanted drug traffickers and has a reward of just over $2 million for his capture.

He is listed as one of the remaining leaders of the Beltran Leyva cartel, whose top capo, Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed in December in a raid by marines outside Mexico City.

Villarreal's capture comes about two weeks after the arrest of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, or "The Barbie," another alleged capo linked to the Beltran Leyvas.

The once-powerful Beltran Leyva cartel split following the death of Arturo � known as the "Boss of Bosses" � which launched a brutal war for control of the gang involving mass execution and beheadings in once-peaceful parts of central Mexico. The fight pitted brother Hector Beltran Leyva and Villarreal against a faction led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal. Hector Beltran Leyva remains at large.

Villarreal's capture is the fourth major blow delivered to drug cartels by Mexico's government in the past year. First came the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva on Dec. 16, 2009, then soldiers killed the Sinaloa cartel's No. 3 capo, Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, on July 29. And on Aug. 30 federal police announced the capture of "The Barbie."

More than 28,000 people have been killed in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against the cartels soon after taking office.

In the central state of Morelos, police discovered nine bodies in clandestine graves Saturday in the same area where four more were recently found.

The Public Safety Department said in a separate statement that all 13 victims were believed to have been killed on the orders of "The Barbie" in his battle for control of the cartel.

Also Sunday, the military announced that it filed charges against four troops for the Sept. 5 shooting deaths of a man and his 15-year-old son along the highway linking the northern city of Monterrey to Laredo, Texas.

Authorities have said soldiers opened fire on the family vehicle when it failed to stop at a checkpoint, though relatives who were also in the car say they were shot at after they passed a military convoy.

The mother and wife of the two victims was also wounded in the shooting.

A captain, a corporal and two infantrymen are in custody in military prison and have been charged with homicide, the Defense Department said in a statement.

Mexico's military was already under scrutiny for this year's killings of two brothers, ages 5 and 9, on a highway in Tamaulipas, a state bordering Nuevo Leon.

The National Human Rights Commission has accused soldiers of shooting the children and altering the scene to try to pin the deaths on drug cartel gunmen.

The army denies the allegations and says the boys were killed in the crossfire of a shootout between soldiers and suspected traffickers.

The scandal renewed demands from activists that civilian authorities, not the army, investigate human rights cases involving the military.

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