Obama discusses Yemen, Iran in call with Turkey's Erdogan

(GNN) - President Barack Obama spoke with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday about pressing issues in the Middle East, including the crisis in Yemen, the White House said.

The hour-long call was initiated by Turkey, sources in the Turkish president's office said. It came on a day when Erdogan later complained at a news conference that "Iran is trying to dominate the region" and must withdraw forces from Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Turkey and the United States support the Saudi-led military operation against Houthi forces in Yemen, who have taken over much of the country in an effort to oust President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Iran supports the Houthis.

The leaders also discussed U.S.-led negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the White House said in a statement. Erdogan is scheduled to visit Tehran in April.

Obama and Erdogan discussed their cooperation fighting Islamic State militants and "common efforts to bring security and stability to Iraq and Syria," the White House said in a statement about the call.

"The two leaders reviewed the train-and-equip program for vetted members of the moderate Syrian opposition. They discussed efforts to deepen cooperation to stem the flow of foreign fighters," the White House said.

Obama "expressed appreciation for Turkey's continuing support to nearly two million refugees from Iraq and Syria," the White House said, noting they also discussed the crisis in Ukraine.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason in Washington and Humerya Pamuk in Istanbul; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)

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New Jersey lawmakers send post-Exxon pollution bill to governor

(GNN) - New Jersey lawmakers sent a bill to Governor Chris Christie on Thursday that calls for more money from environmental settlements to fund cleanups.

The legislation came after the Christie administration announced a controversial $225 million deal with Exxon Mobil Corp on March 5 over environmental contamination from two of its former New Jersey refineries.

Environmentalists consider the sites, known as Bayway and Bayonne, the most polluted in a state infamous for its industrial contamination.

Christie, a likely Republican contender in the 2016 U.S. presidential election who faces a budget crunch at home, has called the accord a "really good deal" because the money comes on top of what Exxon would have to pay to clean up the sites.

His administration has said money from the settlement would not be available until at least fiscal 2016.

The state's Democrat-led legislature is asking for documents and questioning why the administration would settle a case worth potentially $8.9 billion for so little. The judge overseeing the state's 2004 lawsuit against Exxon must still approve the settlement after a public comment period.

Currently, the first $50 million of environmental settlements, like the one struck with Exxon, is used for restoration. Any remaining money can go into the state's general fund.

The bill that now heads to the governor calls for the use of 50 percent of that remaining money for environmental purposes as well.

"Residents have been terribly shortchanged by this settlement. Using these funds as a short-term budget fix adds insult to injury," said John McKeon, one of the bill's sponsors, in a statement.

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said the office does not comment on pending legislation.

"However, as a budgetary matter, this is something we expect will be resolved through budget negotiations," he said.(Reuters)(GNNet)

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McCain to Obama: get over your temper tantrum

(GNN) - U.S. Senator John McCain accused President Barack Obama of throwing a "temper tantrum" over comments by Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu, adding to the conflict between the White House and the Republican-dominated Congress over Israel.

McCain, asked on CNN's "State of the Union" show if U.S.-Israel relations were at a dangerous point, said, "I think that's up to the president of the United States."

Obama's sensitive relationship with Netanyahu was strained further by comments Netanyahu made in the closing moments of his successful campaign for re-election last week.

"The president should get over it," McCain said on CNN. "Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President.

"The least of your problems is what Bibi Netanyahu said during an election campaign. If every politician were held to everything they say in a political campaign, obviously that would be a topic of long discussion."

McCain, a leading voice in Congress on foreign relations, urged Obama to focus on the growing Islamic State threat in the Middle East and curbing Iran's nuclear program.

Netanyahu has become an issue in Democrat Obama's rocky relationship with Congress, where Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate.

Netanyahu told the U.S. Congress earlier this month that the United States should do more to stop Iran's nuclear program, speaking at the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner, who did not consult the White House in advance.

A group of 47 senators also bypassed Obama this month by sending a letter to Iran that the White House said undermined negotiations with Tehran on nuclear weapons.

Netanyahu drew a further rebuke from the White House last week when he abandoned a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state, even though he later backed off from his comments. Media reports said the United States was reviewing its position on a U.N. Security Council resolution on Palestinian state.

In the past Israel has relied on U.S. veto power on the Security Council to support its interests.

(Reuters)(Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China's South China Sea reclamation

(GNN) - Leading U.S. senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Republican Senators John McCain and Bob Corker and Democrats Jack Reed and Bob Menendez said that without a comprehensive strategy "long-standing interests of the United States, as well as our allies and partners, stand at considerable risk."

They said China's land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea's Spratly archipelago gave it the potential to expand its military reach and was "a direct challenge, not only to the interests of the United States and the region, but to the entire international community." 


The letter said Gaven Reef had grown about 28 acres (114,000 square meters) in the past year and previously submerged Johnson Reef was now a 25-acre (100,000-square-meter) "island." Fiery Cross reef increased in size more than 11-fold since August.

"While other states have built on existing land masses, China is changing the size, structure and physical attributes of land features themselves," the letter said. "This is a qualitative change that appears designed to alter the status quo in the South China Sea."

It said any attempt by China to militarize the artificial islands could have "serious consequences" and could embolden Beijing to declare a new air defense zone in the South China Sea like it announced in 2013 in an area contested with Japan.

The senators, who head the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the strategy should lay out "specific actions the United States can take to slow down or stop China's reclamation activities... ."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about the letter, said China's activities in the South China Sea were "fair, reasonable and legal".

"We have a right to do this," Hong added, without elaborating.

China claims about 90 percent of the potentially energy rich South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Chinese reclamation work is well advanced on six Spratly reefs and workers are building ports and fuel storage depots and possibly two airstrips. Experts say this will not overturn U.S. regional military superiority but could allow Beijing to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

(Reuters)(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by David Storey and Cynthia Osterman)

Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China's South China Sea reclamation

(GNN) - Leading U.S. senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Republican Senators John McCain and Bob Corker and Democrats Jack Reed and Bob Menendez said that without a comprehensive strategy "long-standing interests of the United States, as well as our allies and partners, stand at considerable risk."

They said China’s land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea's Spratly archipelago gave it the potential to expand its military reach and was "a direct challenge, not only to the interests of the United States and the region, but to the entire international community." 

The letter said Gaven Reef had grown about 28 acres (114,000 square meters) in the past year and previously submerged Johnson Reef was now a 25-acre (100,000-square-meter) “island.” Fiery Cross reef increased in size more than 11-fold since August.


"While other states have built on existing land masses, China is changing the size, structure and physical attributes of land features themselves," the letter said. "This is a qualitative change that appears designed to alter the status quo in the South China Sea."

It said any attempt by China to militarize the artificial islands could have "serious consequences" and could embolden Beijing to declare a new air defense zone in the South China Sea like it announced in 2013 in an area contested with Japan.

The senators, who head the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the strategy should lay out "specific actions the United States can take to slow down or stop China’s reclamation activities... ."

China claims about 90 percent of the potentially energy rich South China Sea. It has defended its reclamation work there, saying it is not seeking to overturn the international order. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Chinese reclamation work is well advanced on six Spratly reefs and workers are building ports and fuel storage depots and possibly two airstrips. Experts say this will not overturn U.S. regional military superiority but could allow Beijing to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

(Reuters)(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by David Storey and Cynthia Osterman)

Obama to sign order cutting U.S. government greenhouse gas emissions

(GNN) - U.S. President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Thursday that sets a goal for the U.S. government to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2025, the White House said.

Although the federal government accounts for only 0.7 percent of net U.S. emissions, it is the single largest energy consumer in the United States, according to the White House.

Meeting the goal would cut 21 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 levels, it said.


Several large private-sector partners, including IBM, General Electric and Honeywell, also committed to cutting a combined 5 million metric tons.

Obama has made fighting climate change a top priority in his final two years in office. The White House sees it as critical to his legacy.

In November, Obama reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that set a goal of reducing overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. China agreed to begin lowering its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, with the intention of trying to do so earlier.

White House senior adviser Brian Deese said the federal government's share of greenhouse gas emissions in the overall U.S. economy is "modest," but said the announcement is significant.

"The potential from this announcement, however, is significant both because we can drive substantial reductions across the entire federal footprint and because our efforts to do that leverage both innovation and investment in the private sector," Deese said on a call with reporters.

The Environmental Protection Agency last year offered a Clean Power Plan that set deadlines for states to submit proposals to meet power plant carbon emission reduction goals.

A dozen states, including Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Wyoming, sued the EPA last August, soon after the plan was unveiled, saying its use of a certain section of the Clean Air Act was illegal. The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case on April 16.

Obama's budget proposal for fiscal 2015, released last month, called for a 7 percent boost in funding for clean energy and a $4 billion fund to encourage U.S. states to make faster and deeper cuts to emissions from power plants. It also called for the permanent extension of tax credits used by the wind and solar power industries.

(Reuters)(Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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New Jersey environmental bills move ahead with Exxon deal pending

(GNN) - A New Jersey bill that calls for more money from environmental settlements to fund cleanups moved to the full state Assembly on Thursday in the wake of a controversial $225 million deal with Exxon Mobil Corp.

A state Assembly committee released the bill, which was already approved by the New Jersey Senate. The committee also pushed forward a bill that would extend the public comment period on environmental settlements to 60 days from the current 30.

Critics have questioned the timing, motivation and size of the Exxon agreement, which was announced earlier this month after more than a decade of litigation. The state had once calculated damages at $8.9 billion.

The accord must undergo a public comment period and be approved by the judge overseeing the state's 2004 lawsuit against Exxon.

Governor Chris Christie, a likely Republican contender in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, is facing a budget crunch at home. His administration said money from the settlement would not be available until at least fiscal 2016.

The first $50 million of environmental settlements, like the one struck with Exxon, is used for restoration. Any remaining money can go into the state's general fund.

The bill that moved forward on Thursday calls instead for 50 percent of that remaining money to be used for environmental purposes as well.

Over several decades, an estimated 7 million gallons of petroleum products and chemicals were spilled or spread into the soil and groundwater at Exxon's two former refineries, in Linden and Bayonne.

"What's happened here in Linden, it's a travesty," Linden Mayor Derek Armstead testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Thursday. "I just don't trust the large corporations to be responsible enough to clean up."

In certain areas, "the smell is horrific," he said. "We do have some wildlife and some fish in our streams, but I would never think of trying to bring one home for dinner."

New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman and Environmental Commissioner Bob Martin did not testify.

Both declined invitations to appear because they felt it "wasn't appropriate," according to committee Chair John McKeon.

He said at the hearing that the two officials told him that if they testify in support of the settlement but the judge rejects the deal, "then they would find themselves in a compromised position and would have to go back to the drawing board."

(Reuters)(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)