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NATION/WORLD Tuesday, April 26, 2016 East Oregonian Page 7A Obama boosts Islamic State fight, asks European allies to do the same AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File In this March 10 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich, right, speaks as Re- publican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex- as, listens, during a Republican presidential debate at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. After deal with Cruz, Kasich coming to Oregon to campaign By KRISTENA HANSEN Associated Press PORTLAND — Presiden tial contender John Kasich is coming to Oregon this week, wasting no time in courting voters here after he and rival Ted Cruz announced they were teaming up in three states to try and torpedo frontrunner Donald Trump’s drive to seal the GOP nomi nation before the Republican convention. Kasich has scheduled a town hall in Portland on Thursday and later in the day travels to Medford, a Republican stronghold. He and Cruz Cruz and Kasich are essentially doing a trade, with Cruz stepping away from campaigning in Oregon and New Mexico in exchange for Kasich doing the same in Indiana. That puts Oregon’s May 17 primary in the national spotlight. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to win the nomina tion ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer in Cleveland. With Trump ahead in the delegate count, Cruz and Kasich are trying to ensure that the national convention is open, or brokered, and beat Trump after the ¿rst round of voting. That’s where Oregon and New Mexico come in. Cruz and Trump are neck andneck in Indiana, so with Kasich taking a back seat, Cruz has a better chance of walking away with all 57 delegates up for grabs on May 3, said Ben Gaskins, an assistant professor of political science at Portlandbased Lewis & Clark College. Gaskins said Oregon and New Mexico were likely handed to Kasich because, unlike the other 13 remaining GOP primaries, both states have small delegate counts — 2 and 24, respectively — that are bound proportionally to however Republicans vote and the primaries are closed. “In Oregon, Republicans tend to be more moderate, so it’s unlikely Cruz would’ve done really that well in Oregon anyway,” Gaskins said. “So this does allow Kasich to really consolidate the antiTrump vote and perhaps come off with a victory ... which gets him a better point in the convention as another viable alternative to Trump.” The Cruz campaign is trying to rack up as many delegates as possible that are likely to sway in his favor should their votes become unbound after the ¿rst round of voting at the convention, “so I can imagine that he would have that assumption about Oregon and New Mexico, that those Kasich delegates would prefer Cruz to Trump,” Gaskins said. But Trump’s Oregon oper ation is con¿dent the move won’t hurt their candidate. “I’m not totally sure what they’re up to, but I’m very con¿dent their plan won’t work, however, in Oregon and in general, just because I think the voters will see this for what it is — it’s trying to undermine the will of the voters and turn this into inside baseball delegatetype selection, instead of how we normally do it,” said Jacob Daniels, Trump’s Oregon campaign manager. Bill Currier, chair of the Oregon Republican Party, said the CruzKasich collabo ration could end up bene¿ting Trump. “I think this will actually strengthen (Trump’s) base because he’s always been the ‘outsider,’ and so this will strengthen his base and they will feel like Cruz and Trump are ganging up on him, so I think it’ll actually energize them,” Currier said. HANNOVER, Germany (AP) — Evoking history and appealing for solidarity, President Barack Obama on Monday cast his decision to send 250 more troops to Syria as a bid to keep up “momentum” in the campaign to dislodge Islamic State extremists. He pressed European allies to match the 8.S. with new contributions of their own. Obama’s announcement of the American troops, which capped a sixday tour to the Middle East and Europe, reÀected a steady deepening of 8.S. military engagement, despite the president’s professed reluctance to dive further into another Middle East conÀict. As Obama gave notice of the move, he said he wanted the 8.S. to share the increasing burden. Obama discussed the IS ¿ght with British Prime Minster David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi. The president formally announced the new troop deployment in a speech about European unity and transAtlantic cooperation — a running theme of his trip. Speaking in Germany, he evoked the continent’s history of banding together to defeat prejudice and emerge from the “ruins of the Second World War.” “Make no mistake,” Obama said. “These terrorists will learn the same lessons as others before them have, which is, your hatred is no match for our nations united in the defense of our way of life.” The rhetoric belied an underlying frustration in his administration about allies’ contributions to the 8.S.led ¿ght in Syria and neighboring Iraq. Although the coalition includes some 66 nations, the 8.S. has conducted the vast majority of the air strikes, and there has been little appetite by other nations to send in ground troops of their own. The president recently rattled leaders in Europe and the Middle East by describing allies as “free riders.” He made a passing reference to that complaint on Monday, as he noted that not all European allies contribute Michael Kappeler/pool photo via AP British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and taly’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, clockwise from left, start their G-5 meeting in Herrenhaus Palace in Hannover, Germany, Monday. their expected share to NATO: “I’ll be honest: Sometimes Europe has been complacent about its own defense.” On stops in Riyadh, London and Hannover this week, Obama repeatedly pushed allies for more ¿repower, training for local forces and economic aid to help reconstruct regions in Iraq that have been retaken from Islamic State control but are still vulnerable. Obama appeared to come up short in Riyadh, when he met with Arab allies. He made the pitch again in Hannover, where he attended a massive industrial technology trade show on what was likely his last presidential visit to Germany. “These terrorists are doing every thing in their power to strike our cities and kill our citizens, so we need to do everything in our power to stop them,” Obama said. The new deployment brings the number of 8.S. military personnel in Syria from roughly 50 to roughly 300. It follows a similar rampup in Iraq, announced last week. The new Syria forces will include special operation troops assisting local forces, as well as maintenance and logistics personnel. Obama, in an interview with CBS News, declined to say whether the forces might be dispatched on searchandkill missions. He did say, “As a general rule, the rule is not to engage directly with the enemy but rather to work with local forces.” Obama’s troop announcement was called “a good step” by Salem Al Meslet, spokesman of the High Negotiations Committee, the main Syrian opposition group. Sen. John McCain, RAriz., said it was “a welcome development, but one that is long overdue and ultimately insuf¿cient.” Obama’s call for European solidarity extended beyond the antiIslamic State campaign. Amid what he described as “unset tling times,” Obama revived the argu ment he made in London days earlier that Britain and the European 8nion are strongest if Briton votes in an upcoming referendum to remain in the 2member nation block. And Obama mounted a forceful defense of his host in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is facing criticism for her willingness to take in refugees from Syria. Feds issue new standards for Medicaid insurance plans WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration Monday set new standards for Medicaid private insur ance plans, which in recent years have become the main source of coverage for lowincome people. The rules apply to insurers operating as Medicaid middlemen in 39 states and Washington, DC. Each state runs its own program, although the federal government pays most of the cost. Private insurers now provide coverage to about twothirds of the more than 70 million Medicaid recipients, and the rules had not been updated for more than 10 years. Among other require ments, the rules specify that insurance companies must guarantee access to certain types of service providers, and that at least 5 percent of what insurers get paid must be spent on medical care. They also envision a quality rating system to help Medicaid recipients pick a plan. The regulation issued Monday is more than 1,400 pages long, and it will take time for states, consumer advocates, and insurers to assess all its implications. The changes start to take effect next Jan. 1, and will take years to fully put into place. Medicaid costs about $500 billion a year, making it a major component of state budgets. The program has grown dramatically under President Barack Obama’s health care law, which expanded eligibility to lowincome adults with no children living at home. Thirtyone states and Wash ington, DC, have accepted the health care law’s Medicaid expansion. Medicaid pays doctors considerably less than jobbased health insurance or Medicare, creating long standing concerns about access. But hospitals accept Medicaid, as do community health centers. Private insurers set up networks of primary care doctors and specialists who agree to see Medicaid bene¿ciaries for a ¿xed rate. Insurers offer states predictability on costs, while guaranteeing a basic level of access for patients. Medicaid coverage is usually free, although some states charge bene¿ciaries a token amount. Studies have shown that having Medicaid improves ¿nancial stability for lowincome people, and that appears to have a positive impact on mental health. BRIEFLY More than 50 arrested protesting new North Carolina law RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 50 opponents of North Carolina’s new law curtailing protections for LGBT people and limiting public bathroom access for transgender people were arrested at the statehouse Monday night. It wrapped up a feverish day that brought several thousand of impassioned demonstrators for and against the law to the capital city for the opening of the legislature’s annual work session. Several hundred vocal critics of the legislation, approved in a special session last month, rallied outside the Legislative Building in the afternoon, then in waves of several dozen people each went inside and parked outside the of¿ces of top legislative leaders for symbolic sitins. A ¿nal wave entered House Speaker Tim Moore’s outer of¿ce but refused to leave, leading to 1 arrests. Most were led off quietly, but one woman chanted: “Forward together, not one step back!” Another 6 sitting on the Àoor or in chairs outside Moore’s closed of¿ce were arrested after they failed to leave the Legislative Building after it closed for the night. All 5 would be charged with seconddegree trespassing and for either violating building rules or the ¿re code, Acting General Assembly Police Chief Martin Brock said. One also faces a resisting arrest charge, he said. Cleveland settles lawsuit over Tamir Rice shooting for $6 million 5K RUN, 5K WALK, 10K RUN, KID'S BUTTE SCOOT CLEVELAND (AP) — The city on Monday reached a $6 million settlement in a lawsuit over the death of Tamir Rice, a 12yearold black boy shot by a white police of¿cer while playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center. An order ¿led in 8.S. District Court in Cleveland said the city will pay out $3 million this year and $3 million the next. There was no admission of wrongdoing in the settlement. Family attorney Subodh Chandra called the settlement historic but added: “The resolution is nothing to celebrate because a 12yearold child needlessly lost his life.” The wrongful death suit ¿led by his family and estate against the city and of¿cers and dispatchers who were involved alleged police acted recklessly when they confronted the boy on Nov. 22, 2014. Video of the encounter shows a cruiser skidding to a stop and rookie patrolman Timothy Loehmann ¿ring within two seconds of opening the car door. Tamir wasn’t given ¿rst aid until about four minutes later, when an FBI agent trained as a paramedic arrived. The boy died the next day. All races begin & end at Hermiston's Butte Park DRAWINGS • FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY p U n Sig Now! Online registration & race information at WWW.BUTTECHALLENGE.COM All proceeds benefit THE HERMISTON CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM Thank you for your support!
