Arizona wildfire threatens hundreds of homes, California blaze wanes

An Erickson Air-Crane drops water over the Doce Fire in Yavapai County, Arizona June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott

Charred trees burnt during the Doce Fire stand along a mountain side in Yavapai County, Arizona June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott

By Tim Gaynor and Alex Dobuzinskis

PHOENIX/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by strong winds threatened hundreds of homes on Wednesday, even as firefighters were gaining an edge on a California blaze raging near a pristine wilderness, authorities said.

More than 500 firefighters were battling the Doce Fire, which has burned through 7,000 acres of chaparral, pine and juniper since Tuesday morning near Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix, the Prescott National Forest said in a statement.

Fanned by gusting winds, the fire has led to evacuation orders for about 200 homes in five residential areas northwest of Prescott near the Granite Mountain Wilderness area, although no structures had been burned or injuries reported.

"All of the current evacuations are still in place," said Noel Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the Prescott National Forest, who expected the fire to grow. "It's hot, dry and very windy ... and we have zero percent containment at this time."

The blaze is among dozens of active fires that have claimed at least two lives, charred hundreds of square miles of land and torched hundreds of homes across the Western United States and even inAlaska, which is baking in a heatwave.

The recent string of fires have underscored concerns that prolonged drought conditions in the West could intensify this year's fire season.

In Northern California, firefighters have made advances in combating a 1,600-acre (647-hectare)wildfire that broke out on Sunday near a highway that serves as a main route to Yosemite National Park. The blaze is 40 percent contained, said fire information officer Brenda Diaz.

Some 500 homes remain threatened by the blaze and under evacuation orders, but none have been damaged or destroyed by the so-called Carstens Fire, she said.

In Alaska, where temperatures in some areas have topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) in recent days, wildfires have burned more than 225 square miles (583 square km) by early on Wednesday, according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.

Two people and two dogs had to be rescued by helicopter from a lightning-sparked fire near a mining camp in the Alaskan interior that had burned about 70 square miles (181 square kms), fire management officials said.

Authorities in Colorado said the so-called Black Forest Fire, which has burned in the rolling hills outside Colorado Springs since last week and killed at least two people, was 85 percent contained by Wednesday.

The blaze, the most destructive in Colorado's history, has charred more than 22 square miles (57 square km) and destroyed 509 homes.

(Additional reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver and Yereth Rosen in Alaska, editing by Cynthia Johnston)

FBI uses drones on US soil: Senators want assurances on privacy protections

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the FBI is using drones to conduct secret surveillance on US citizens. Many lawmakers seemed surprised.

Even as President Obama was calling for prudence in the use of drones Wednesday to an audience in Berlin, over on Capitol Hill came new revelations that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been using drones to conduct secret surveillance on US citizens.

The disclosure came during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which FBI Director Robert Mueller was asked whether his agency is considering buying drones – and if so, how it’s planning on using them.

The FBI already uses drones to conduct surveillance, Mr. Muellertold lawmakers, many of whom seemed surprised to hear this.

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Striking an optimistic note, Sen. Charles Grassley (R) of Iowa offered, “I think I can assume since you do use drones that the FBI has developed a set of policies and procedures and operational limits on the use of drones and whether or not [they have] any privacy impact on American citizens.”

“We are in the initial stages of doing that,” Mueller replied.

Absorbing this information, Senator Grassley wanted to know whether the FBI uses drones “for surveillance on US soil.”

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“Yes,” was Mueller’s reply.

Mueller then endeavored to provide context, stressing that drones are used “in a very, very minimal way – and very seldom.”

At the moment, the “footprint” for the drones is “very small,” he added. “We have very few and [they are] of limited use, and we’re exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use.”

What, precisely, are those guidelines?, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California wanted to know.

On this point, Mueller didn’t appear to have many specifics.

“It’s generally used in a particular incident, were you to need that capability,” he said. “I will have to go back and check in terms of what we keep in terms of images and the like.”

In one of the only known public cases, the FBI used surveillance drones round-the-clock this past February to monitor the scene of a kidnapping standoff in Alabama before hostage rescue teams moved in.

With most Americans unaware that the FBI is using drones for surveillance on US soil, and with the top FBI official unclear on the privacy parameters of their use, privacy advocates fear that the technology is quickly outpacing what are still vague policy guidelines.

“This is the first I’ve heard that the FBI is using drones: I was a little surprised,” says Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“We think it’s problematic that the FBI seems to be going forward with the use of drones without the appropriate statutory framework,” he adds, noting that Mueller “didn’t seem to be at all familiar with what that framework is.”

Last year, Mr. Obama signed a bill directing the Federal Aviation Administration to further open US airspace to drones for both public and private use. Even before then, the number of permits that the FAA issued to organizations to fly drones more than doubled, from 146 in 2009 to 313 in 2011. The bulk of permits have gone to the US military.

In terms of drones used by law enforcement agencies, most of them are not permitted by fly above 400 feet. The FAA also generally mandates that the aircraft are not allowed to fly more than 15 minutes and cannot fly in greater than 15-knot winds.

Furthermore, these drones cannot be equipped with any weapons, and law-enforcement groups must maintain visual contact with the aircraft at all times.

Nevertheless, some states are taking action. Last week, Texas passed a law, the Texas Privacy Act, to severely restrict the use of drones for surveillance.

It prohibits the use of a drone to capture an image “without the express consent of the person who owns” it. The legislation also prevents drones from collecting sounds and smells without permission.

“Two to four years from now, it’ll be impossible to get legislation passed because every law enforcement agency will want drones,” state Rep. Lance Gooden (R), who proposed the legislation, told the Monitor in February, adding that he fears the drone lobby is growing increasingly powerful.

This was a concern echoed Wednesday by Senator Feinstein, as she cited “the booming industry of commercial drones.”

“I think the greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone and the use of the drone and the very few regulations on it today,” she said.

“It is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized needs,” Mueller attempted to reassure her. “That is the principal privacy limitations we have.”

“I would like to get that information,” Feinstein said. “It would be helpful to us legislatively.”

“I would be happy to do that,” Mueller told her.

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Virus sickens 200 at Yellowstone, Grand Teton parks

By Laura Zuckerman

(Reuters) - Two of America's premier national parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, warned visitors on Wednesday about a gastrointestinal illness that has sickened at least 200 people at the start of the summer tourist season.

The rare health advisory, tied to a suspected outbreak of the highly contagious norovirus, comes in the early weeks of a season that drew about 6 million people to the parks last year.

The warning advises visitors to the parks in northwestern Wyoming to wash their hands to stem the spread of the virus, which causes a flu-like ailment whose symptoms include stomach pain and vomiting, park officials said.

They have required businesses such as restaurants and lodging facilities to increase cleaning and disinfection of all public areas and have asked potentially infected park workers to isolate themselves until they have been symptom-free for at least 72 hours.

A tour group visiting Yellowstone, home to the Old Faithful geyser, first complained June 7 of symptoms linked to norovirus, the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The illness has since affected 100 Yellowstone employees, 50 Grand Teton workers and at least 50 visitors, park officials said.

The warning comes a year after Yosemite National Park last September warned 230,000 visitors of a hantavirus outbreak that had infected nine overnight visitors and killed three.

Niger's worst power cuts in years threaten economy

By Abdoulaye Massalatchi

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's worst power cuts in years have crippled businesses and government offices in the capital Niamey for more than three weeks, raising fears they could harm the fragile economy of one of the world's poorest nations.

Niamey and Niger's southwestern provinces of Dosso and Tillaberi have been largely without electricity since May 25 when a storm knocked out power lines to the Kainji hydroelectric dam in western Nigeria.

The three regions are home to more than a third of Niger's 17 million inhabitants, and the bulk of the output from the landlocked country's $11 billion economy, which grew 11 percent last year thanks to good harvests and the start of oil output.

Small businesses, which employ most of the population, have been the hardest hit as they can seldom afford generators. Most of the population in Niger, which ranked bottom of the U.N. human development index, survives on around 1 dollar a day.

With summer temperatures soaring, water has been cut off in parts of the capital and surrounding towns. Niger's state radio has transmitted only intermittently in recent days after its standby generator burnt out.

"Our production capacity is one third our needs so blackouts are inevitable," Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said.

The connection with Nigeria provided half the 103 megawatt needs of Niamey and Tillaberi, and all of Dosso's.

Two power turbines supplying Niamey and Tillaberi have since burnt out under the strain of round the clock production, further cutting the region's generating capacity from 56 megawatts to 39.

Of the 39 megawatt of generation capacity still serving the capital, half is reserved for the armed forces, the SEEE water company and hospitals, leaving the private sector and other government departments even more short of power.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

Ousmane Souley, a tailor with five apprentices, said his company had ground to a halt as he received only half an hour of electricity a day to run his sewing machines.

"My family is only surviving thanks to my savings," he said.

Boubacar Mariama pointed to her empty freezer in despair, saying she could no longer sell cold sodas and milk products, normally a profitable business in Niamey's scorching 40 degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) heat.

"No one wants to risk getting poisoned," she said.

The power outages add to Niger's economic challenges after a suicide attack in May halted production at Areva's Somair mine in Arlit - the country's largest uranium mine.

Uranium accounts for 61 percent of Niger's exports, and Somair made up two-third of the 4,500 tonnes produced last year.

"This energy crisis is going to have an impact on economic growth," said Cherif Chako, an economist at Niamey university. "All sectors are affected: production, trade and consumption."

Nigelec director general Halid Alhassane said hopes of restoring electricity using a temporary connection to Nigeria fell apart last weekend when an electricity pylon collapsed. He declined to set a new date for restoring power.

Niger's state fuel company Sonidep agreed to supply Nigelec with 400 million CFA francs of diesel a day to keep its handful of diesel generators running. It is heavy blow to Niger, which is struggling to pay public sector salaries.

Like many civil servants in Niamey, Mahamadou Sidikou only goes to the office to check in before heading to the park.

"The office is like an oven as there is no air conditioning," he said with a shrug. "He cannot help any clients anyway, as we need to look up their files on the computer."

Boehner dances between GOP, Dems on immigration

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Vice President Joe Biden talk during ceremony to dedicate the statue of Frederick Douglass, Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in the Emancipation Hall of the United States Visitor Center on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The immigration protesters advanced on the news conference, poking signs that read "Do Not Reward Criminals" and "No Amnesty!" over the heads of Republicans who had just finished speaking about finding a civilized tone in the year's most difficult debate.

As the politicians ducked out of camera range, one Hispanic pastor who had appeared with them, Becky Keenan, instead turned toward the protesters and took a photo. They began to yell at her. Keenan ignored them, quietly explaining why House Speaker John Boehneris bothering to pursue agreement on the headache that isimmigration reform.

"If the Republican Party wants to regain the Hispanic vote, which they so miserably lost in the last election, they're going to have to let Latinos know they are wanted," Keenan, pastor of Gulf Meadows Church in Houston, said after the hubbub Wednesday had subsided. "They are going to have to deal with immigration reform."

Six months after Hispanics overwhelmingly helped return President Barack Obama to office and control of the Senate to Democrats, Boehner is helping lead the GOP effort to bite into that base of support — or at least stop alienating a demographic that accounts for 17 percent of the nation. That means getting a new policy on immigration, perhaps the most delicate political dance of Boehner's career.

Immigration separates Republicans from one another as much if not more than it separates them from Democrats. They don't trust Boehner to hew to the so-called Hastert Rule, named after former GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert, though it was more a goal than a set rule. During the eight years he ran the House, he had a policy of allowing votes only on those bills that were supported by a majority of Republican members.

Boehner has already disregarded his predecessor's policy three times this year — on the Violence Against Women Act, the "fiscal cliff" and aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy — letting Democrats drive the outcome of legislation in the GOP-controlled House. One Republican, California Rep. Dana Roherbacher, said he'd pursue Boehner's ouster were the speaker to break the majority rule on immigration.

The speaker reassured his caucus on Tuesday that he won't bring an immigration bill to the floor for a vote unless it has support from a majority of House Republicans, or allow a bill that lacks the border security provisions conservatives are demanding.

Twenty-four hours later, Boehner pirouetted to what participants said was his first-ever meeting with the liberal-leaning Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where he belabored the obvious: Any such bill that passes the House is not likely to be the last word on immigration reform. The Senate was working through its own bill, and any finished product was likely to be written by a bipartisan committee of House members and senators.

Boehner won raves and caucus members emerged predicting the bill would win a majority of both parties and become law by the end of the year.

"The meeting was wonderful," exclaimed Democratic Rep. Luis Guiterrez of Illinois.

"We are ready," said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. "The speaker made it very clear that he'd like the House to be ready as well."

"It was a meeting that gives us a lot of hope," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, the Hispanic Caucus chairman.

Boehner's hand-holding reflects the serious political stakes for his party after it failed to regain the presidency last fall and suffered net losses in both the Senate and House. More than a year out from yet another election with all 435 House seats on the ballot, the dilemma that faces him on immigration reform reflects a party-wide conundrum: how to draw in new voters, especially Hispanics and women, without alienating conservatives who make up the GOP's base?

The answer, according to a report the Republican National Committee commissioned in the wake of the 2012 election, rests in large part on the GOP agreeing to an overhaul of immigration law that provides some mechanism for providing legal status to millions of immigrants who either crossed into the country illegally or overstayed their visas.

"We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform," the report said. "If we do not, our party's appeal will continue to shrink."

Whatever the final legislation looks like remains the question tying up Congress. Obama has placed the issue at the top of his domestic agenda but has maintained a low profile so as not to become a lightning rod for opponents. Polling suggests most Hispanic registered voters have a more negative impression of the GOP than of the Democratic Party.

Illustrating the divide within Boehner's House majority, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an immigration hard-liner, convened a six-hour news conference outside the Capitol to highlight opposition to an Obama-endorsed Senate bill that could come to a final vote next week. People in the crowd held signs opposing "illegal aliens" and criticizing Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a conservative author of the Senate bill, as "Obama's Idiot."

Keenan, who had attended the Republican news conference just across a driveway from the King event, shook her head at the protesters but didn't engage them.

"A lot if it is fear-based," she said.