Election over but campaign continues

Election over but campaign continues

WASHINGTON

The election may be over, but a new campaign is being waged in the nation’s capital as lobbyists, advocates and trade groups fight to shape the government’s response to the looming fiscal cliff.

This time around, the TV commercials, newspaper ads and letter-writing campaigns are directed at politicians rather than voters.

What do they want?

In this climate, many lobbyists and advocates are simply trying to limit the damage as Congress and the White House look to higher taxes and spending cuts to slow the government’s mushrooming debt.

In other words: Don’t raise my taxes; don’t cut my funding.

On the other side, members of President Barack Obama’s own deficit commission are lobbying him and Congress to reduce government borrowing by $4 trillion over the next decade.

Pileup in dense fog kills two in Texas

BEAUMONT, Texas

Two people died, and dozens were hurt Thursday when at least 100 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a pileup that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage.

The collision occurred in extremely foggy conditions at about 8 a.m. Thanksgiving Day on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.

A man and a woman were killed in a Chevy Suburban SUV crushed by a tractor trailer, the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV.

Officials at Acadian Ambulance service said at least 51 people have been taken to area hospitals and at least eight are critically hurt.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the pileup began, but Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rod Carroll told The Associated Press the fog was so thick that deputies didn’t immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.

One dead, 4 injured in helicopter crash

NASSAU, Bahamas

A helicopter crashed early Thursday in an upscale Bahamas resort community, killing one U.S. citizen and injuring four others, police reported.

Abaco Police Superintendent Noel Curry said all five passengers were Americans, but he could not confirm the identities or genders of the dead person or the four survivors. He also said he could not immediately comment on the extent of the survivors’ injuries.

Associated Press