Rangers Hold Off Sabres to Tie Series

NEW YORK - The pressure is back on the Presidents' Trophy winners. Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan scored power-play goals, and Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, tying the Eastern Conference semifinal series after four games.

The best-of-seven matchup now shifts back to Buffalo, where the Sabres - the NHL's best team in the regular season - took what seemed to be a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. Now they will be feeling the heat from a nervous, title-starved town unwilling to accept anything less than the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.

Game 5 is Friday night, with Game 6 back in New York on Sunday.

The Rangers had to survive a video replay on a late save by Lundqvist that the Sabres felt didn't keep the puck out of the net.

Senate passes debt deal, Obama signs: ; Despite compromise, partisanship likely to rise during committee talks

WASHINGTON - With scant time to spare, President Barack Obamasigned legislation Tuesday to avoid an unprecedented nationaldefault that he said would have devastated the U.S. economy. But thetruce with Republicans that defused the crisis seemed to be fadingalready.

Wall Street crumpled, dismayed by reports of new economicweakness and unimpressed by Congress' prescription. The Dow Jonesindustrial average sank by 266 points, its eighth straight losingsession, and biggest.

The compromise deal to persuade GOP lawmakers to raise thefederal debt limit will cut federal spending by $2.1 trillion ormore over the next decade. But Obama immediately challengedRepublicans to accept higher taxes on the wealthy in a second roundof deficit cuts this fall. They adamantly refused to accept thatidea during the past months' dispute.

A stern-faced Obama said at the White House that action to raisethe debt limit had been essential but more - and different - stepswere badly needed.

"We've got to do everything in our power to grow this economy andput America back to work," the president said, arguing forcefullyfor including revenue increases as well as spending cuts in the nextround of efforts to trim huge government deficits.

It was the same call the GOP successfully resisted in the billjust approved, and there was little evidence of a change inposition.

"The American people agreed with us on the nature of the problem.They know the government didn't accumulate $14.3 trillion in debtbecause it didn't tax enough," said the party's leader in theSenate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Obama placed his signature on the bill in the privacy of the OvalOffice less than two hours after a bipartisan 74-26 vote in theSenate. The House approved the measure Monday night on a 269-161roll call that also reached across party lines and was sealed by arap of the gavel by Speaker John Boehner.

The bill allows a quick $900 billion increase in borrowingauthority as well as a first installment on spending cuts amountingto $917 billion over a decade.

Without legislation in place by day's end, the Treasury wouldhave been unable to pay all the nation's bills, leading to apotential default for the first time in history. Administrationofficials warned of disastrous consequences for an economy thatshows fresh signs of weakness on a near-daily basis as it strugglesto recover from the worst recession in decades.

The White House and congressional leaders said legislation wasimportant to reassure investors at home as well as overseas, andalso to preserving the nation's AAA credit rating. Talk of thatrating's precariousness continued nonetheless.

This week's peace pact between the two parties is unlikely to belong-lived.

The bill sets up a powerful 12-member committee of lawmakers withauthority to recommend fresh deficit savings from every corner ofthe federal budget.

Politically sensitive benefit programs such as Social Securityand Medicare will be on the table as the panel of six Republicansand six Democrats works against a Thanksgiving deadline. So, too, anoverhaul of the tax code. Congress will have until Christmas to voteon the recommendations without the ability to make changes.

As an incentive for Congress to act, failure to do so wouldtrigger $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts, affecting thePentagon as well as domestic programs.

Even before the president signed the legislation, he andRepublicans were maneuvering for political position on the nextstage.

"We can't balance the budget on the backs of people who haveborne the biggest brunt of this recession," the president said,renewing his call for higher taxes on the wealthy. "Everyone isgoing to have to chip in. It's only fair."

Senate Republicans say it will not happen.

"I'm comfortable we aren't going to raise taxes coming out ofthis joint committee," McConnell said in an interview with Fox onMonday.

In a speech shortly before the vote, he predicted instead arenewal of the most recent struggle over spending cuts.

The debt limit will have to be raised shortly after the 2012election, he said, predicting that no president of either party willbe "allowed to raise the debt ceiling without ... having to engagein the kind of debate we've just been through."

He conceded that Republicans got only part of what they wanted inthe deal, and he pointed to next year's elections with control ofthe White House and Congress at stake as a chance to gain greaterclout.

"Republicans only control one half of one third of the federalgovernment, but the American people agree with us," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the periodimmediately ahead "is going to be painful," particularly ifRepublicans insist they will not raise any taxes.

Numerous Democrats have complained about the concessions Obamaaccepted in the deal, and Reid and other Democrats soughtimmediately to change the subject.

"We now have the chance to pivot away from budget battles tojobs. We can reset the debate, and that's what we intend to do,"said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Obama spoke in less partisan terms at the White House.

"Both parties share power in Washington, and both parties need totake responsibility for improving this economy," he said.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama delivers a statementin the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington Tuesday beforesigning the debt ceiling agreement passed in the Senate.

Oil war being waged in frenetic trading pit

NEW YORK Far from the armies of the Persian Gulf, an oil war israging on the eighth floor of the World Trade Center.

In skirmishes lasting 5 1/2 hours at a time, brokers at the NewYork Mercantile Exchange are setting oil prices for the world bytrading contracts for future deliveries.

When oil supplies were threatened by Iraq's invasion of Kuwaitlast week, contracts for September delivery of crude oil jumped 31percent to $28.32 from $21.54, before retreating to $26.23 a barrelby Friday's close.

"It's basically news- and rumor-driven at this point," saidbroker Albert H. Helmig Jr.

And physical. Visitors hustled on and off the floor forfive-minute glimpses of the front lines are bounced around likepinballs by traders and clerks charging down the narrow walkways. Acloser look at the crude oil pit? Forget it. Brokers ring the pitfive or six deep, jostling for position.

They strike deals with trading partners yards away through arefined series of hand signals. Palms out, you're selling. Palmsin, you're buying. Once the deal is struck, the seller flips a cardrecording the transaction into a net at the center of the pit. Thecard is time-stamped and submitted for audit purposes.

"It's a definite physical advantage to be 6 feet tall, to beloud. Body language counts," said Helmig, a tall, medium-built man.

Profits, the spoils of this war, are won with intuition thatdetects a market swing before the opposition.

Mistakes can be costly.

"If you miss something, it could be a dollar against you an hourlater," Helmig said. "On a hundred lots, that's $100,000."

Lots, or contracts, cover 1,000 barrels. It's not uncommon totrade hundreds of lots in a single transaction, but in a market asvolatile as this one the contracts get smaller.

Bush makes his musical theater debut at journalists' dinner

President George W. Bush said an early farewell to political Washington, making his first appearance on the stage of the Gridiron Club of Washington journalists.

Bush surprised the white-tie audience Saturday night of more than 600, including Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members and lawmakers, by appearing as the final act of the club's annual revue. To the tune of "Green Green Grass of Home," he sang about looking forward to his return to Texas.

"As I step down from the plane and there to meet me is my mama and my papa, down the lane I look and here comes Barney, heart of gold and breath like honey," the president warbled.

The audience was surprised by Bush's appearance and rose to applaud his attempt at singing.

"Yes, you're gonna miss me, the way you used to quiz me," he sang to the reporters. "It's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."

Bush has spoken at the Gridiron Club dinner before, but this was the first time he sang, donning a cowboy hat and joining the chorus to say farewell. He appeared at the behest of Gridiron president Carl Leubsdorf, Washington bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News.

Founded in 1885, the invitation-only Gridiron Club is the oldest organization for Washington journalists.

___

On the Net:

Gridiron Club: http://www.gridironclub.org

Myanmar accused of forcing cyclone survivors to toil for food; US Navy ships pull out

Myanmar's military regime has forced cyclone survivors to do menial labor in exchange for food and has stepped up a campaign to evict the homeless from aid shelters, an international human rights group said Thursday.

London-based Amnesty International also said authorities in several cyclone-hit areas continue to divert aid despite the junta's pledge to crack down on the problem weeks ago.

"Unless human rights safeguards are observed, tens of thousands of people remain at risk," Amnesty said in a report released Thursday. "Respect for human rights must be at the center of the relief effort."

More than a month after the storm, many people in stricken areas still have not received any aid and the military regime continues to impose constraints on international rescue efforts, human rights groups say.

U.S. Navy ships laden with relief supplies steamed away from Myanmar's coast Thursday, their helicopters barred by the ruling junta even though millions of cyclone survivors need food, shelter or medical care.

The USS Essex group, which includes four ships, 22 helicopters and 5,000 U.S. military personnel, had been off the Myanmar coast for more than three weeks hoping for a green light to deliver aid to the survivors.

"The ruling military junta in Burma have done nothing to convince us that they intend to reverse their deliberate decision to deny much needed aid to the people of Burma," Lt. Denver Applehans said in an e-mail from the flotilla.

"Based on this, the decision was made to continue with previous operational commitments," Applehans said.

Adm. Timothy J. Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. had made "at least 15 attempts" to convince the generals to allow them to deliver aid directly to victims in affected areas.

The government says Cyclone Nargis killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

Amnesty's report cites 40 accounts of Myanmar soldiers or local officials having confiscated, diverted or otherwise misused aid intended for cyclone survivors since the storm hit on May 2-3.

Although the junta has granted greater access to the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta, "recent incidents of corruption and diversion of aid suggest a potentially serious threat to effective distribution of aid," the report said.

Most of the cases that were cited involved authorities confiscating aid from private donors or arresting them for refusing to hand the aid over.

A major U.N. agency on Monday, however, caught junta officials trying to divert their aid after the officials insisted on accompanying the U.N. workers who were delivering it, Amnesty spokesman Benjamin Zawacki told a news conference in Bangkok. He declined to give additional details.

The report also cites several cases of forced labor in exchange for food in the delta.

In mid-May, people near the hard-hit delta township of Bogale were forced to "break rocks and level a field" to construct a helicopter landing pad in exchange for biscuits sent by the U.N.'s World Food Program, the report said.

Others in Bogale were given rice soup and shelter on condition that they cleared debris and built an official camp, the report said, adding that authorities told displaced survivors in nearby Labutta they would not receive food unless they worked.

Meanwhile, a campaign to kick homeless survivors out of temporary shelters in schools, monasteries and public buildings appears to have intensified.

"Movement has been increasingly widespread geographically," Zawacki said. "It violates the human rights of those people to food, to shelter, to health and, perhaps, the right to life."

The junta, which explicitly rejected the use of foreign military helicopters in the relief effort, still has not authorized the entry of nine civilian helicopters flying on behalf of the U.N. World Food Program, though they have been sitting in neighboring Thailand since last week.

Restrictions on visa and travel permission for foreign workers, as well as on entry of some equipment, continue to hamper the aid effort, despite a pledge made almost two weeks ago by junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe to U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon to allow foreign aid workers free access to devastated areas.

"The small number of visas and the short duration of travel permits for access" into the delta area "continue to impose serious constraints on the effectiveness of overall operations," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Out of the 2.4 million people affected, only 1.3 million survivors have so far been reached with assistance by local and international humanitarian groups, the Red Cross and the U.N., said the U.N's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Missouri to control St. Louis schools 3 more years

The Missouri Board of Education has voted to extend its control over St. Louis public schools for another three years.

The action Thursday means Missouri's largest school district will remain under state supervision until June 30, 2011.

The state took over the district a year ago because of academic and financial problems.

The board also voted to suspend operation of a charter school that caters to high school dropouts because of what one official described as a chaotic atmosphere for students and staff. The state approved "The Can! Academies of St. Louis" last year.

Q&A about the Fed's 'Operation Twist'

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve is making its third try at stimulating the economy in less than three years. Since its last attempt ended in June, the economy has been slowing. And stocks have been falling as investors feared that the country was heading for another recession.

Some questions and answers about the Fed's move:

Q. What did the Federal Reserve say it would do?

A. The Fed on Wednesday announced a new effort to drive down long-term interest rates. The plan is to sell $400 billion in Treasurys coming due in the next few years and use the cash to buy Treasurys due between six to 30 years from now. The move is designed to nudge down long-term interest rates, already at record lows, and make it even cheaper for corporations and consumers to borrow.

Fed-watchers had expected the move and had a name ready: "Operation Twist." It's a nod to economic history and Chubby Checker. In 1961, the Kennedy administration cut long-term rates while leaving short-term rates alone. They dubbed the move Operation Twist, after the dance craze.

Q. How did markets react?

A. Stock indexes took a dive. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 2.9 percent, its biggest loss since Aug. 18. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.5 percent. Commodities from crude oil to gold and copper dropped, usually a sign traders are betting on a weaker economy.

But the Fed couldn't have asked for a better response from the bond market. Long-term interest rates hit modern-era lows. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for mortgages and corporate loans, sank to 1.85 percent. The 30-year Treasury dropped to 2.99 percent.

Q. Do investors think the Fed's move will help the economy?

A. Investors and market economists seem split between those who think Operation Twist will give economic growth a slight lift and those who think it will do next to nothing.

"I don't think it's going to help," said Michael Sansoterra, portfolio manager at Silvant Capital Management. "The issue is we need to spur jobs," he said. And encouraging corporations to hire workers is out of the Fed's hands.

What the country needs, many economists say, is government spending. The Fed has already tried two rounds of bond-buying. Each effort raised hopes that Fed would stimulate economic growth. Stock markets jumped in anticipation. Starting last year, the Fed bought $600 billion in Treasurys and helped launch a rally that sent stocks up 28 percent in eight months. But the economy grew a mere 0.7 percent the first half of the year.

The Fed is "running out of bullets," said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager with Federated Investors. "And it's not because they haven't done a good job. But monetary policy only takes you so far. The true solutions no longer lie with the Fed. They lie with Washington."

Q. What's likely to happen now?

A. Investors don't expect much to change, because everybody saw the Fed's move coming. Economists estimated "Operation Twist" would knock roughly 0.2 percentage points off long-term interest rates. But much of that has already been priced into stocks, says Guy LeBas, fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

The Fed's actions may have even less of an impact on other markets, says David Kelly, chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

Q. So investors don't think Operation Twist will do much good. Do they have any better ideas?

A. Kelly said the Fed should threaten to raise rates instead of promising to keep short-term rates near zero until the middle of 2013. Why? It would be an incentive to borrow and spend, he says. People looking to buy a house may rush to lock in current record low mortgage rates before they start rising. "Right now they have zero incentive," Kelly said.

Higher interest rates also drive down bond prices. So the threat of an interest rate hike would likely "kick people out of Treasurys," he said, and coerce them into the stocks or other investments.

"It's like a patient that's been in the sick bay too long," Kelly said. "The Fed really needs to tell the economy to get out of bed and walk around. Unfortunately, they keep giving it more and more doses of morphine."