Obama Unveils $3.83T Budget With Massive DeficitsPresident Obama sent the U.S. Congress a $3.83 trillion budget on Monday that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment, boost taxes on the wealthy and freeze spending for a wide swath of government programs.
The deficit for this year would surge to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion, topping last year's then unprecedented $1.41 trillion gap. The deficit would remain above $1 trillion in 2011, although the president proposed to institute a three-year budget freeze on a variety of programs outside of the military and homeland security as well as increasing taxes on energy producers and families making more than $250,000.
Echoing the pledge in his State of the Union address to make job creation his top priority, Obama put forward a budget that included a $100 billion jobs measure that would provide tax breaks to encourage businesses to boost hiring as well as increased government spending on infrastructure and energy projects. He called for fast congressional action to speed relief to millions left unemployed in the worst recession since the 1930s.
After a protracted battle on health care dominated his first year in office and led to a string of Democratic election defeats, the administration hopes its new budget will convince Americans the president is focused on fixing the economy.
Storms Expected In West, North
Snowy weather was forecast to return to the Northern Plains on Monday, while the West Coast could get hit with another Pacific Storm.
A low pressure system that tracked over the Northern Rockies was expected to continue pushing east into the Plains. The system brought light snow to the Cascades and Northern Rockies over the weekend and could trigger up to three new inches of snow Monday over the Northern and Central Plains.
Flow around the system could bring warmer air in from the South and allow for more comfortable temperatures, with the Northern Plains expected to return to the 30s. The Southern Plains were expected to remain near 50. The brutal weekend storm that left several people dead in the Southeast has moved out to sea, giving residents a chance to dig out from a thick layer of snow.
North Korean Weapons Mystery Continues
Thailand said Monday that an aircraft loaded with North Korean weapons was flying to Iran when it was intercepted in December but the ultimate destination of the arms is still not known.
Thai authorities seized the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane and its five-man crew as it landed to refuel on a flight from Pyongyang Dec. 12. Found on board were 35 tons of weapons.
A Thai government report to the U.N. Security Council, leaked to reporters in New York over the weekend, said the aircraft, which had violated U.N. sanctions against North Korea, was bound for Tehran's Mahrabad Airport.
But Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayarkorn said Monday that "to say that the weapons are going to Iran, that might be inexact."
US Military To Resume Haiti Medical Flights
The U.S. military is scheduled to resume airlifts that brought hundreds of Haitian earthquake victims to hospitals in the United States before the flights were suspended last week.
The White House said military planes were on track to resume ferrying critically injured patients by early Monday, five days after the flights were halted. Since then, at least a handful of patients have arrived from Haiti on civilian aircraft, which aid groups say can be expensive.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement late Sunday that the White House received assurances that additional medical capacity exists in the U.S. and among its international partners for the patients.
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