Nation & World Digest

House panel votes to add restraints to Wall Street

WASHINGTON — House Democrats cleared a crucial hurdle Wednesday in their drive to expand the government’s power over Wall Street even as black lawmakers warned that they would use their votes as leverage to secure more economic aid to African-American communities.

The House Financial Services Committee voted to slap new restraints on big Wall Street institutions and to demand greater openness from the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, setting the stage for final passage next week on a broader and sweeping piece of regulatory legislation.

The committee approved the measure 31-27 along party lines. The 10 members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the panel, all Democrats, boycotted the vote. Had they voted with Republicans, the bill would have failed.

Iraq election faces possible postponement

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s scheduled January elections may be postponed by more than a month because of a dispute over an election law, officials said Wednesday, a delay that could threaten the planned U.S. withdrawal of combat troops.

Iraqi lawmakers have been working for months to pass a law needed to reform the election process, seeking to make it more representative of Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups. It is unclear what a long delay would mean for the United States, which is scheduled to end combat missions in August.

Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who heads a small bloc in parliament, said a preliminary proposal from various political factions calls for moving the election to Feb. 27, but it also could be further pushed to March 1.

Shooting suspect charged with 32 more counts

FORT WORTH, Texas — An Army psychiatrist who may face the death penalty after the mass shooting at Fort Hood was charged Wednesday with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder relating to the scores of soldiers and two civilian police officers injured in the attack, military officials said.

Maj. Nidal Hasan has already been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder after the Nov. 5 shooting in a building at the Texas Army post where soldiers must go before being deployed.

The additional charges come less than 24 hours after Hasan’s civilian attorney was notified that the Army plans to evaluate Hasan to test his competency to stand trial as well as his mental state at the time of the shooting.

Study: Obesity negates effects of smoking decline

A new study predicts that as smoking rates decline and life expectancy increases, obesity figures will rise, ultimately contributing to a poorer quality of life.

The New England Journal of Medicine study released Wednesday looked at previous health trends culled from national health surveys to forecast life expectancy and quality of life for a typical 18-year-old from 2005 through 2020.

Past declines in smoking over the last 15 years would give that 18-year-old an increased life expectancy of 0.31 years. However, growing body mass index rates would also mean that the teenager would have a reduced life expectancy of 1.02 years, giving a net life expectancy reduction of 0.71 years.

Pulitzers to be opened to online-only publications

NEW YORK — The Pulitzer Prize board announced Wednesday that it will open its doors wider to journalism entries from online-only news publications.

The Pulitzer board changed its entry requirements a year ago to allow entries from Internet-only publications in all 14 journalism categories if the Web site was “primarily dedicated” to original news reporting.

The board said Wednesday it will drop that requirement. The board also will allow entries from Web sites that primarily publish commentary and links to other sites.

The Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in journalism and are presented each year by Columbia University.

NY lawmakers reject bill allowing gay marriage

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York lawmakers rejected a bill Wednesday that would have made their state the sixth to allow gay marriage, stunning advocates who weathered a similar decision by Maine voters just last month.

The New York measure needed 32 votes to pass and failed by a wider-than-expected margin, falling eight votes short in a 24-38 decision by the state Senate. The Assembly had earlier approved the bill, and Gov. David Paterson, perhaps the bill’s strongest advocate, had pledged to sign it.

Combined dispatches