Obama meets with CEOs, middle-income earners on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted during a "Twitter Town Hall" …Looking for leverage in "fiscal cliff" talks with Republicans, President Barack Obama on Wednesday was to host middle-class Americans whose taxes risk going up Jan. 1 and then retreat behind closed doors for talks with top corporate executives. The White House also worked to enlist support on Twitter, highlighting a hashtag, #My2K, for tweets about the standoff.

Obama planned to deliver a speech at 11:35 a.m. to press Congress to extend Bush-era tax cuts only for individuals with income up to $200,000 and families up to $250,000. He'll be surrounded by Americans who stand to be affected if those tax cuts are allowed to expire on Jan. 1.

Obama wants to end the tax cuts for higher earners while preserving them for for the middle class. The White House says that "a typical middle-class family of four" would pay Uncle Sam an additional $2,200 unless tax cuts are extended for them.

Obama campaigned for re-election arguing that tax cuts that chiefly benefit the richest Americans must expire in order to save popular government programs that face the ax. Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for higher earners, insisting that a tax hike on that group will reduce investments that generate jobs at a time when the economy is still sputtering and unemployment remains high. The GOP has signaled it would be willing to consider boosting tax revenue as long as Democrats agree to overhaul popular entitlement programs like Medicare or Medicaid.

That $2,200 figure is the inspiration for #My2K, part of what the White House describes as an "online push" behind the president's approach. Obama has highlighted Twitter hashtags in past disputes with Republicans: #40dollars in the fight over the payroll tax holiday and #dontdoublemyrate in a feud over student loans.

The president, who spoke to top Republican and Democratic leaders over the weekend, was to make brief public remarks at the top of a meeting with his Cabinet at 3 p.m. before huddling with senior executives from major American corporations.

Here is the list of attendees, as provided by the White House:

• Frank Blake, Chairman and CEO, the Home Depot


• Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group


• Joe Echeverria, CEO, Deloitte LLP


• Ken Frazier, President and CEO, Merck and Co.


• Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola


• Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO, Macy's Inc.


• Marissa Mayer, CEO and President, Yahoo!


• Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar


• Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer


• Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast


• Ed Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Co.


• Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott


• Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T


• Patricia Woertz, President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

The fiscal cliff refers to an economically painful set of tax hikes and deep spending cuts that come into effect Jan. 1 unless Congress and the president reach a deal.

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China's party paper falls for Onion joke about Kim

BEIJING (AP) — The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive" — not realizing it is satire.

The People's Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012."

Quoting The Onion's spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote, "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true."

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile," the People's Daily cited The Onion as saying.

The photos the People's Daily selected include Kim on horseback squinting into the light and Kim waving toward a military parade. In other photos, he is wearing sunglasses and smiling, or touring a facility with his wife.

People's Daily could not immediately be reached for comment. A man who answered the phone at the newspaper's duty office said he did not know anything about the report and requested queries be directed to their newsroom on Wednesday morning.

It is not the first time a state-run Chinese newspaper has fallen for a fictional report by the just-for-laughs The Onion.

In 2002, the Beijing Evening News, one of the capital city's biggest tabloids at the time, published as news the fictional account that the U.S. Congress wanted a new building and that it might leave Washington. The Onion article was a spoof of the way sports teams threaten to leave cities in order to get new stadiums.

Two months ago, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency reprinted a story from The Onion about a supposed survey showing that most rural white Americans would rather vote for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than President Barack Obama. It included a quote from a fictional West Virginia resident saying he'd rather go to a baseball game with Ahmadinejad because "he takes national defense seriously."

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Fla. man sues ex-Elmo puppeteer, claims NY abuse

NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida man has sued the ex-Elmo puppeteer who resigned amid a sex scandal, saying the voice actor met him in New York after trolling gay telephone chat lines seeking underage boys for sex.

The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday by a man who remains anonymous.

The man says he met Kevin Clash on a chat line when he was 16 years old in 2000 and exploring modeling opportunities in New York.

The lawsuit says Clash had numerous Elmo dolls in his apartment when he met the teen for sex. The man, now 29, is the third to make claims against Clash, who resigned from "Sesame Street" last week after 28 years.

A spokeswoman says Clash "believes this lawsuit has no merit."

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

___

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Consumer confidence hits four-year high

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level in almost five years, helped by a better outlook for hiring over the next six months.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. Both are the best readings since February 2008.

The index is still below the level of 90 that is consistent with a healthy economy. It last reached that point in December 2007, the first month of the Great Recession. But the index has increased from the all-time low of 25.3 touched in February 2009.

Higher consumer confidence could translate into a more robust holiday shopping season and stronger economic growth. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

The report also supported the findings of a separate survey from the University of Michigan released last week, which showed consumer sentiment at a five-year high. Still, both surveys increased at slower rates than the previous month.

Americans are growing more optimistic because they see the job market improving, the Conference Board said. Employers added 171,000 jobs in October and more jobs were created in August and September than first thought.

The Conference Board surveyed approximately 2,500 households in the first two weeks of the month. Those surveyed were asked how they felt about the economy and job market now, as well as where they see both going in six months. They were also asked if they planned to make a major purchase or take a vacation in the next six months.

The survey found that most people viewed current conditions the same as in October. But the percentage of Americans who expect more jobs to be available in the next six months rose to 20.3 percent, from 19.7 percent in October.

And the percentage of Americans who say jobs are "plentiful" rose to 11.2 percent from 10.4 percent in the previous month. That's the highest level in four years and a good sign for hiring this month.

More Americans said they plan to buy a home, an appliance or take a vacation, the survey found. About 6.9 percent said they planned to buy a home, the highest on record. But the percentage expecting to buy a car fell.

Confidence among households earning $50,000 and higher slipped to 88 from 91.7 in October. But among the poorest households, those earning less than $15,000, confidence jumped to 56.2 from 50.2.

Many of the participants in the Michigan survey said they expect the unemployment rate to drop over the next six months. Still, some expressed concerns about the "fiscal cliff," a package of sharp tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect next year unless Congress and the White House can replace them. The tax increases would leave consumers with much less money to spend.

A better housing market may also be contributing to consumers' better mood.

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller reported Tuesday that its 20-city index of home prices rose 3 percent in September compared with the same month last year. Prices also gained 3.6 percent in the July-September quarter compared with the same quarter in 2011.

Across the nation, prices increased in 18 of 20 cities over the 12-month period.

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16 die in Pakistan after drinking cough syrup

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Sixteen people have died in Pakistan after drinking cough syrup suspected of being toxic, police said Monday after three additional victims expired in hospital.

All those affected by the syrup were drug addicts who apparently drank it to get high, said police officer Multan Khan.

Khan said they died at various hospitals in the eastern city of Lahore over the past three days. Two people are still being treated at the city's main hospital.

Police arrested the owners of three drug stores where the cough syrup was sold and sent a sample for analysis to determine whether it was toxic, Khan added.

Elsewhere in the country, a bomb hidden in a cement construction block exploded in the southern city of Karachi, killing one person, said senior police officer Farooq Awan. Four other people were wounded, he said.

The bomb contained about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives and was detonated by a mobile phone, said Awan.

Pakistan suspended mobile phone service throughout most of the country on Saturday and Sunday to prevent attacks against Shiite Muslims during a major religious commemoration.

Despite the ban, a pair of bombings over the weekend killed at least 13 people.

Awan, the police officer, said he suspected the bomb in Karachi was meant to target Shiites over the weekend, but militants were not able to detonate it at the time because of the mobile phone ban.

Shiites are currently observing the holy month of Muharram. Pakistani Shiites on Sunday marked Ashoura, the most important day of the month.

Pakistan has a long history of Sunni Muslim extremists targeting Shiites, who they consider heretics.

Also Monday, police in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, found and defused a bomb planted underneath the car of one of Pakistan's most prominent TV anchors, Hamid Mir of Geo Television.

The bomb was made up of half a kilogram (1 pound) of explosives stuffed in a tin can, said Islamabad police chief Bani Amin. It was placed in a bag and attached to the bottom of Mir's car, said Amin.

One of Mir's neighbors noticed the bomb underneath the car after the TV anchor returned from a local market, and the police were notified, said Rana Jawad, a senior official at Geo TV.

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Associated Press writers Adil Jawad in Karachi, Pakistan, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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Danish theater cancels Amy Winehouse play

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Amy Winehouse's father has stopped the performance in Denmark of a play about the late British singer, declining permission for the use of her music and photos in the production, officials said Monday.

The play "Amy," which was to have opened on Jan. 30 in a 220-seat theater in central Copenhagen, was based on interviews, concerts, Winehouse's letters and newspaper articles. Denmark's Royal Theater had earlier been granted a permit to perform the play by the Danish copyright agency Koda.

"We acted in good faith when we gave them the permission for the performance. We believed that the format — a theater play — was OK," Koda spokesman Nicolaj Hylten-Cavallius said. "We were told by her father and the lawyers around him that we can forget all about the rights for the music, the photos, branding and everything."

Koda said that Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, objected to the use of any of her music, photos or belongings but gave no reason why, Hylten-Cavallus said.

"Amy," written by a group of 11 Danish playwrights, depicted her life and relationship with drugs and alcohol.

The Grammy-winning British soul singer, known for her beehive hairdo, died from alcohol poisoning in July last year at the age of 27.

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

___

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Jobless benefits at risk of going over cliff

In recent months, consumer confidence has risen as the unemployment rate has come down and the housing recovery builds momentum. This weekend's strong start to the holiday shopping season is another sign of an economy that's doing much better than feared.

Related: Black Friday Weekend by the Numbers

But the recession never ended for millions of Americans and many of them now face a frightening prospect: the loss of unemployment benefits.

"More than 40% of the nearly five million Americans who receive unemployment insurance are set to lose those benefits if federal programs expire as scheduled at year-end," The WSJ reports. "Already this year, hundreds of thousands of people have exhausted their jobless benefits. Now, virtually everyone left in the federal programs would lose their benefits if the programs expire as scheduled at year-end."

The roughly 2.1 million Americans at risk are currently receiving benefits through federally backed programs that Congress approved starting in 2008. Those programs, designed to extend benefits beyond the six-month time frame typically offered by states, are now set to expire.

Addressing this issue raises many complex issues, as Henry and I discuss in the accompanying clip. Anecdotal evidence suggests that long-term unemployment benefits have proven to be a disincentive for some Americans to find work, which obviously isn't a desired outcome. On the other hand, eliminating those benefits would put millions of Americans at risk of falling into the depths of poverty, which isn't good for society at large.

One potential solution: requiring people receiving unemployment benefits to do something to earn it, depending on their skills and physical capabilities. Whether collecting garbage on highways or visiting nursing homes or working on infrastructure projects, there are plenty of things people can do to make a positive contribution in exchange for maintaining their unemployment benefits.

At this point, there seems to be very little discussion about this issue — or the broader issue of infrastructure spending — in the ongoing debate about the fiscal cliff.

In a separate but related development, the temporary 2% payroll tax cut is also set to expire on Dec. 31. As of now, it appears the payroll tax cut will be allowed to expire, raising taxes by $1,040 a year for an average family of four earning $50,000.

Related: Here's Why Your Taxes Are Going Up 2% Next Year: Just Explain It

As with unemployment benefits, this issue appears to have been lost in the fiscal cliff discussions, which seems to have become fixated on individual tax rates.

Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker and Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

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Indian gay rights parade demands greater tolerance

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of gay rights activists marched through New Delhi on Sunday to demand that they be allowed to lead lives of dignity in India's deeply conservative society.

Dozens of demonstrators carried a nearly 15-meter (50-foot) -long, rainbow-colored banner and waved placards demanding that the government extend the scope of anti-discrimination laws to schools, workplaces and public and private spaces.

Activists said that three years after the Delhi High Court made changes in India's colonial-era law that made gay sex a crime, homosexuals are still not socially accepted in India.

In 2009, the court decriminalized gay sex, which until then had been punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Conservative groups have asked India's top court to overturn the lower court's order, and Supreme Court judges are currently hearing opinions from a range of people, including conservative groups and gay rights activists. It's unclear when the court will make a ruling.

"If only the Supreme Court comes out on our side, and if gay marriage became legal, what could be better," said Zorian Cross, a New Delhi-based theater actor and playwright at the parade.

"Queer and loving it" and "Give us your support" read some of the placards carried by the activists as they marched to the beat of traditional drums and music. Other supporters distributed badges and rainbow-colored flags and scarves.

The march ended in a public meeting at Jantar Mantar, the main area for protests in the heart of the capital. Many gay rights group members and their families danced and sang as drummers and musicians performed.

Vimal Kumar, an activist with the National Alliance of People's Movements, said the government had to ensure that all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders are ended.

"The government has to listen. Our struggle has gone on for very long, and we are hopeful the government will listen and act on our demands," Kumar said.

Gay rights activists are demanding that the government allow people to record the gender of their choice in the national census, voter identity cards and all other government documents.

"We are demanding that all people be allowed to exercise their right to live their lives with dignity and freedom, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation," said a statement issued by rights groups at the parade.

Kumar said people's attitudes were gradually beginning to change and there was greater understanding among families in urban areas as television campaigns and gay parade marches caught on. But the pace of change is slow, he said.

In some big cities, homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance, and a few high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues.

Still, many marchers Sunday covered their faces with scarves or wore masks because they have not told their friends and families about their sexuality.

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