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News in Brief: Koch Brothers-Funded Group to Launch Campaign Blaming Obama for Gas Prices, and More

Koch Brothers-Funded Group to Launch Campaign Blaming Obama for Gas Prices

Koch Brothers-Funded Group to Launch Campaign Blaming Obama for Gas Prices

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (APF) will launch a campaign this week blaming the White House for rising gas prices, Politico reports. The conservative group, chaired by David Koch, will introduce rallies and media movements in a number of states to promote the idea that the Obama administration's energy regulation is causing the increasing numbers at the pump. “We want the public to know there's a reason these prices are going through the roof: It's because of the environment produced by the regulatory practices of this administration,” APF President Tim Phillips told Politico. Most analysts blame the recovery from the global recession and the unrest in the Middle East for the prices, but many Republicans and high-profile figures from the oil industry disagree.

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More than 42 Million Worldwide Displaced by Natural Disasters in 2010

A study by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center of the Norwegian Refugee Council found that more than 42 million people around the world were relocated or left homeless after a sudden natural disaster in 2010, writes Voice of America (VOA). The Geneva-based organization has been observing conflict and internal displacement since 1998, but only began looking at displacement caused by natural disasters for the past three years; leader Kate Halff told VOA that “other organizations or institutions are reporting that the number [of] climate-related disasters has increased significantly over the last 20 years.” The most recent figure of 42 million is a massive jump from 2009, when 17 million were displaced by sudden onset disasters.

Anti-War GOP Representative Finding Support in His Party

According to The New York Times, Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-North Carolina), who has long criticized the US invasions in the Middle East, is slowly gaining support among Republicans for his efforts to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. Jones already had backing from many Democrats in Congress, such as Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts), who co-sponsored Jones' amendment last month to accelerate the troops' departure – and the bill came close to passing after 26 Republicans broke party lines to vote in its favor. Jones has made the cost of the war the focus of his efforts to withdraw US forces, telling voters in his district that spending $8 billion a month to support what he considers a corrupt government is a waste. “If we're going to cut programs for children who need milk in the morning, if we're going to cut programs for seniors who need a sandwich at lunch, if we're going to cut veterans benefits, then, for God's sake, let's bring back our troops from Afghanistan,” Jones recently said in Beaufort.

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