Panel works till wee hours on bill

Panel works till wee hours on bill

COLUMBUS

An Ohio House panel considering a bill to restrict the collective-bargaining rights of public workers heard about 14 hours of testimony on the proposal before adjourning early Friday morning.

Committee Chairman Joseph Uecker tells The Associated Press that the lawmakers heard from 49 witnesses by the hearing’s conclusion at 3 a.m. Friday. He says lawmakers stayed until the last person who wanted to speak had done so.

The labor committee has three additional hearings scheduled for next week on the bill. Uecker says so far, 30 people have signed up to speak Monday.

Obama, McConnell agree, disagree

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama and the Senate’s top Republican both declared Friday they want to take on the huge entitlement programs driving America’s long-term deficits — but their lines of attack differed sharply, and that could lead to a showdown over government borrowing.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned that GOP senators would not vote to increase the federal debt limit unless Obama agreed to significant long-term budget savings that could include cost curbs for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, laying down a high-stakes marker just weeks before the limit is reached.

Obama said he also wants to tackle military spending and tax loopholes — issues on which he can expect Republican opposition.

Army: Palestinian kills 5 in West Bank

ITAMAR, West Bank

A Palestinian infiltrated a Jewish West Bank settlement early today and killed five people, the Israeli military said.

Israeli media is reporting that the dead are all members of the same family — parents and three children. The family members — including an 11-year-old, a 3-year-old and an infant — were all stabbed in their sleep, the YNet website reported.

The military says it is sweeping the area in search of the perpetrator and has set up checkpoints throughout the West Bank. It has instructed all residents to stay in their homes during the extensive sweeps.

Twitter must give user info in probe

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

A federal magistrate ruled Friday that prosecutors can demand Twitter account information of certain users in their criminal probe into the disclosure of classified documents on WikiLeaks.

The prosecutors’ reasons for seeking the records remain secret, and it’s unknown how important they are to the investigation of the largest leak ever of classified American documents.

Rivers flood in East

WOODLAND PARK, N.J.

Rivers rose from Maryland to Maine on Friday after days of rain, filling basements with water and forcing hundreds of people from their homes but so far not fulfilling fears of widespread catastrophe.

Some of the hardest-hit areas were just outside New York City, which is emerging from a snow-filled winter. Flood-prone parts of northern New Jersey were under water not expected to recede for a few days in spots.

Walker: Support for bill will grow

MADISON, Wis.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed into law the proposal that eliminates most union rights for public employees, saying he had “no doubt” that support for the measure would grow over time. The governor’s signature on the bill quietly concluded a debate over collective bargaining that provoked three weeks of loud, relentless protests at the Capitol.

Associated Press