The Latest: Greece’s Tsipras says bailout referendum is about living ’in Europe with dignity’
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The latest news on Greece’s financial woes and its upcoming referendum on Sunday (all times local):
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10:50 p.m.
Greece’s prime minister is urging citizens to vote “no” in Sunday’s austerity referendum and shun those who threaten the country with economic ultimatums.
Alexis Tsipras told throngs of demonstrators at the main “no” rally in Athens’ central Syntagma Square Friday that the referendum is not a choice about whether or not to stay in Europe, but a decision about living “in Europe with dignity.”
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Greek villagers facing deeper bank crisis have secret weapon: Grow your own food
KARITAINA, Greece (AP) - Ilias Mathes has protection against bank closures, capital controls and the slashing of his pension: 10 goats, some hens and a vegetable patch.
If Greece’s financial crisis deepens, as many believe it must, he can feed his children and grandchildren with the bounty of the land in this proud village high in the mountains of the Arcadia Peloponnese.
“I have my lettuce, my onions, I have my hens, my birds, I will manage,” he said, even though he can no longer access his full pension payment because of government controls imposed six days ago. “We will manage for a period of time, I don’t know, two months, maybe three months, because I also want to give to our relatives. If they are suffering, I cannot leave them like this, isn’t that so?”
The production of food and milk gives villagers in many parts of Greece a small measure of confidence - and a valuable buffer. But that doesn’t mean the financial cut-off doesn’t cause headaches. Some in Karitaina have to pay 40 euros in taxi fares to get to and from the nearest banks just to withdraw 60 euros, the maximum daily amount for those with bank cards.
The bus to Megalopoli, the town with the bank, was shut down - a victim of austerity. Many of those who used to drive are now too unwell to do so. The majority who live here are retirees, shrouding the town in eerie quiet broken only by the constant birdsong and the sporadic shouting of people arguing about the financial crisis at a vine-shaded café in the town square.
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Iranian foreign minister to US: Good nuclear deal could lead to some common causes
VIENNA (AP) - In a message to Washington, Iran’s foreign minister on Friday called for an end to “coercion and pressure” at the nuclear talks, suggesting a deal acceptable to his country will open the door to cooperation on fighting the upsurge of Middle East extremism threatening both nations’ interests.
Mohammad Javad Zarif did not mention the United States by name in his video message. But with the Iran six-power talks having devolved essentially into bilateral U.S.-Iran negotiations over the past year, his comments were clearly directed at the Americans, who have been the primary drivers of the crippling economic sanctions imposed on his country over its nuclear program.
Any deal would result in an end to the sanctions. But negotiations remain bogged down ahead of the extended July 7 target date for an agreement.
The West fears Iran could develop its nuclear program to make weapons while Iran insists it is only meant to generate power and for other peaceful uses. Suggesting that Islamic extremism is a far greater threat to the world than his country’s atomic activities, Zarif called for an end to “unjust economic sanctions” and for the West to join Iran in common cause against “the growing menace of violent extremism and outright barbarism.”
“The menace we’re facing - and I say we, because no one is spared - is embodied by the hooded men who are ravaging the cradle of civilization,” Zarif said. He called for realignment from Iran’s nuclear activities, saying it was time to “open new horizons to address important, common challenges.”
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Solar-powered airplane lands in Hawaii after record-breaking 5-day flight from Japan
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) - A plane powered by the sun’s rays landed in Hawaii Friday after a record-breaking five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.
Pilot Andre Borschberg and his single-seat aircraft landed at Kalaeloa, a small airport outside Honolulu. His nearly 118-hour voyage from Nagoya broke the record for the world’s longest nonstop solo flight, his team said. The late U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett set the previous record of 76 hours when he flew a specially-designed jet around the globe in 2006.
But Borschberg flew the Solar Impulse 2 without fuel. Instead, its wings were equipped with 17,000 solar cells that powered propellers and charged batteries. The plane ran on stored energy at night.
The trans-Pacific leg was the riskiest of the plane’s global travels as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency.
The engineless aircraft landed in silence, the only sound the hum of a nearby helicopter. About 200 people, including the media, witnessed the touch-down shortly before 6 a.m.
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For July 4th, scholars urge new look at forgotten US founder John Jay, justice, diplomat, spy
KATONAH, N.Y. (AP) - The inner circle of founders has been set for as long as anyone can remember - Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton and Madison.
Almost never mentioned is John Jay.
“Most people know something about him. … But very few know the full breadth of his accomplishments. Most are very surprised by what they learn,” explains Heather Iannucci, director of the John Jay Homestead in this Hudson River town, where the July Fourth celebration will include a reading of the Declaration of Independence, music and tours of the stately, shingled house where the country’s first chief justice lived his final years.
As more of his papers have become available in the past decade, Jay’s admirers, ranging from specialists to such popular historians as Joseph Ellis and Walter Isaacson, have been arguing that a founder they believe underrated deserves a closer look - for achievements that extend to virtually every branch of government, on the state, federal and international level.
Jay was one of three contributors to the Federalist Papers, which helped define American government. He was president of the wartime Continental Congress, then served as secretary of foreign affairs, precursor to secretary of state, after the Revolutionary War ended. He was an essential diplomat whose peace negotiations with England, leading to the Treaty of Paris, vastly expanded U.S. territory.
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Hispanic leaders want GOP field to condemn Trump’s ’idiocy’ and warn of peril if they don’t
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hispanic leaders are bristling at the largely tepid response by Republican presidential candidates to Donald Trump’s characterization of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.
Several 2016 contenders have brushed off Trump’s comments while others have ignored them. Marco Rubio, a Florida senator who is Hispanic, denounced them as “not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive,” after declining for two weeks to address the matter directly. Another Hispanic in the race, Ted Cruz, said Trump is “terrific,” ’’brash” and “speaks the truth.”
It’s an uncomfortable moment for Republicans, who want more votes from the surging Latino population.
And it could be a costly moment if more candidates don’t go beyond their Donald-will-be-Donald response and condemn him directly, said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who leads the American Principles Project’s Latino Partnership.
“The time has come for the candidates to distance themselves from Trump and call his comments what they are: ludicrous, baseless and insulting,” Aguilar said. “Sadly, it hurts the party with Hispanic voters. It’s a level of idiocy I haven’t seen in a long time.”
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Aetna-Humana deal part of rush to consolidate in industry changing from health care overhaul
Aetna aims to spend about $35 billion to buy rival Humana and become the latest health insurer bulking up on government business as the industry adjusts to the federal health care overhaul.
The proposed cash-and-stock deal, announced early Friday, would make Aetna a sizeable player in the rapidly growing Medicare Advantage business, which offers privately run versions of the federally funded health care program for the elderly and some people with disabilities.
The combination also would bolster Aetna’s presence in the state- and federally funded Medicaid program and Tricare coverage for military personnel and their families.
Health insurers are eager to do more business with government payers due in part to a Medicaid expansion fostered by the health care overhaul and Medicare Advantage’s surging enrollment. The overhaul is expanding Medicaid coverage in several states as it seeks to provide health coverage for millions of uninsured people.
Meanwhile, total enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has tripled over the past decade to about 16.8 million people and is expected to keep growing as more baby boomers become eligible for the plans. Aetna’s acquisition of Humana would make it the largest provider of Medicare Advantage coverage, with 4.4 million members, a figure that could change depending on regulatory review.
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NASCAR distances itself from Donald Trump following inflammatory immigration remarks
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - NASCAR is the latest corporation to distance itself from Donald Trump.
On the same day one of its top sponsors called on NASCAR to take a stance against Trump, the motorsports series said it will not hold its season-ending awards ceremony at the Trump National Doral Miami.
“We looked at everything we saw coming down and what we heard from our sponsors and our partners and what we feel we should be doing, and that’s what led us to the decision today,” NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
A message seeking comment from Trump left by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.
Higdon was responding to a letter released by Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, whose company is the title sponsor of NASCAR’s Truck Series. Lemonis made it clear he would not attend or participate in the awards ceremony if it’s held at a Trump property. The ceremony was held at Doral last year.
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Big diabetes study tests whether insulin in pills could prevent the disease
CHICAGO (AP) - For nearly a century, insulin has been a life-saving diabetes treatment. Now scientists are testing a tantalizing question: What if pills containing the same medicine patients inject every day could also prevent the disease?
Thirteen-year-old Hayden Murphy of Plainfield, Illinois, is helping researchers determine if the strategy works for Type 1 diabetes, the kind that is usually diagnosed in childhood. If it does, he might be able to avoid the lifetime burdens facing his 5-year-old brother, Weston. They includes countless finger pricks and blood sugar checks, and avoiding playing too hard or eating too little, which both can cause dangerous blood sugar fluctuations.
Hayden Murphy is among more than 400 children and adults participating in U.S. government-funded international research investigating whether experimental insulin capsules can prevent or at least delay Type 1 diabetes. Hospitals in the United States and eight other countries are involved and recruitment is ongoing. To enroll, participants must first get bad news: results of a blood test showing their chances for developing the disease are high.
“When I got the news, I was devastated,” Hayden said. He knows it means his life could change in an instant.
“He has the daily reminders. He sees what his brother goes through,” said the boys’ mom, Myra Murphy.
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Egypt mourns soldiers, top prosecutor on 2nd anniversary of Islamist president’s overthrow
CAIRO (AP) - Two years to the day after the army overthrew Egypt’s Islamist president, the sounds coming from the mosque at Cairo’s Tahrir Square were sadly telling. At the focal point of Egypt’s upheavals, where authorities had hoped to stage celebrations, there was instead a prayer for the week’s dead, including soldiers cut down by militants in Sinai and the country’s chief prosecutor, assassinated by car bomb in the capital.
A sense of foreboding fills the air, with officials and media speaking of a state of war and urging national unity. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has promised swift justice, which critics fear will mean a further step away from democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood, banned but unbowed, has upped the ante by calling for revolt against his rule. There is fear of even worse attacks of the kind that have become sadly familiar around the region.
It all presents a major challenge for el-Sissi, who as army chief led the takeover against Morsi two years ago, when millions filled the streets outraged over Muslim Brotherhood misrule. He was later elected president, and the deal he has offered Egyptians - a curtailing of freedoms in exchange for stability and security - was one many seemed eagerly willing to embrace after several years of upheaval, in which the wider region has gone up in flames.
The first part of that equation has been carried out: the once-ruling Muslim Brotherhood has been largely crushed, thousands of its members and scores of leaders in jail and hundreds - including Morsi - handed the death penalty; public protests are restricted, as is political activity; the media has been cowed amid an atmosphere that seems to equate criticism with disloyalty; and even many liberal activists are in jail. The result has been quieter streets, without protests that often turned to riots the past three years, and violence against Christians and Shiites has lessened, though not stopped.
But stability, which for a time seemed attainable, seems to be in danger of unraveling. Militants affiliated with the regional Islamic State group have turned the northern part of the Sinai peninsula into a war zone, this week staging a brazen multi-pronged attack on army positions; last month a key tourist site at Luxor was attacked; on Tuesday chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated while leaving his Cairo home for work.
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