Egypt crisis: Assembly rushes to finish constitution

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President Mursi's decree has sparked huge protests across Egypt

The assembly writing a new Egyptian constitution says it hopes to vote on a draft version as early as Thursday.

The news came as the constitutional court indicated it would rule on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly.

Egypt's judiciary is in a stand-off with President Mohammed Mursi and his Islamist supporters, after Mr Mursi last week issued a decree granting himself sweeping new powers.

The decree has sparked huge protests across the country.

As those protests continued on Wednesday, officials at the constituent assembly said it was finishing its draft constitution, even though Mr Mursi had recently extended its deadline to complete the work until February.

A vote was expected on Thursday, state media reported.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says issuing a constitution in these circumstances would be a deeply inflammatory move.

Opposition figure and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told Reuters news agency: "This is nonsensical and one of the steps that shouldn't be taken, given the background of anger and resentment to the current constitutional assembly."

'Sacred mission'

The constituent assembly is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, who back Mr Mursi.

Liberal, left-wing and Christian members have boycotted the body, accusing the Islamists of trying to impose their vision.

22 November declaration

•       Reopen investigations into killings of protesters; retrials of those accused

•       No appeals against constitutional decrees made since Mursi came to power

•       President to appoint the public prosecutor (must be aged at least 40)

•       Constituent assembly to get two months extra to draft new constitution

•       No judicial authority can dissolve the constituent assembly or the upper house of parliament (Shura Council)

•       President authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution or safeguard national security

Its latest move appeared to be aimed at dodging a ruling by the constitutional court on Sunday on whether the assembly should be dissolved.

The constitutional court's deputy chairman, Maher Sami, said in a televised speech that the ruling would go ahead.

"The court is determined to rise above its pain and continue its sacred mission until the end, wherever that takes us," he said.

The court has already dissolved the lower house of Egypt's parliament, which was led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The declaration that sparked protests gave Mr Mursi powers to take any measures to protect the revolution, and stated that no court could overturn his decisions.

It is valid until a new constitution is in place.

Critics accuse Mr Mursi of trying to seize absolute powers.

Supporters say the decrees were needed to protect the gains of the revolution against a judiciary with deep ties to overthrown President Hosni Mubarak.

On Monday, Mr Mursi sought to defuse the crisis by telling senior judges that the decrees would be restricted to "sovereign matters" designed to protect institutions.

But judges who attended the meeting said they were not satisfied and wanted the measure completely withdrawn.

On Wednesday, judges called a strike, saying appeals courts and the court of cassation would halt work until the decree was revoked.

The president was expected to make a televised address to the nation about the decree late on Thursday.

There have been running protests since the decree was issued, often spilling over into violent clashes between protesters and riot police.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the more radical al-Nour party have called for a counter-protest in Cairo on Saturday.

If approved by the constituent assembly, the draft constitution would then be put to a national referendum.

Firsthand view of deadly car bombing in Syria

DAMASCUS - In Syria's civil war, at least 34 people were killed Wednesday when two car bombs ripped through a suburb of Damascus. The Assad dictatorship has been trying to crush a rebellion that broke out more than a year-and-a half ago.

Wednesday's bombing spilled the blood of neighbors and friends.

Jaramana is a tight-knit community of Christians and Druze religious minority groups, who are traditional supporters of President Bashar al-Assad.

After the huge explosions, people immediately pitched in to repair damage to shops and homes, and to comfort the families of the victims.

One woman's 21-year-old son -- a medical student -- went to investigate when the first bomb blew up, and was killed minutes later by the second.

Syrians stand near a burning truck that was destroyed by two car bombs in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus, Syria, Nov. 28, 2012, in this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA.

Outside, local businessman Walid helped carry the wounded to safety. "It's blood of all the people, it's blood," he said when pointed out what was on his jacket.

But he can't -- or won't -- say who he thinks is responsible. "I don't know, I don't know," he replied when asked who did it.

It's a loaded question in Syria, where people of many faiths -- Christian and Muslim -- have generally gotten along. But the war has put that at risk. Attacks like these bombings could ignite vicious rounds of revenge and reprisals.

Ali Haydar -- whose own son was killed in May -- is Syria's minister for national reconciliation. There have been hundreds of incidents, he admitted, designed to spark religious conflict. But so far it's been limited. Most people want the violence to stop, so they can resume their normal lives.

But that prospect looks increasingly remote.

Boehner’s Anti-Tax Caucus Leaves Little Room on Cliff

House Speaker John Boehner says he’s open to a budget deal with President Barack Obama. He may need Democratic help to push any agreement through his chamber.

Pressure from at least 60 small-government House Republicans, most backed by the anti-tax Tea Party, means Boehner must construct a plan for averting the so-called fiscal cliff that can win some Democratic votes. Congress is trying to head off more than $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to begin in January.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, foreground left, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speak to the media at the White House on Nov. 16, 2012 in Washington, where they met with President Barack Obama. Photographer: Roger Wollenberg/Getty Images

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, stands during the pledge of allegiance at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

“Everybody’s for fixing the problem until you get into the weeds,” said Ron Bonjean, who was an aide to Republican former Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois. “Serious divisions are going to likely slow this process down.”

Boehner, 63, of Ohio and other Republicans have called on Obama to propose a way to trim entitlement programs in exchange for more tax revenue. All sides are trying to craft an agreement that would satisfy the president, congressional leaders of both parties and, for Boehner, enough Republican lawmakers for the math to work in the 435-member House.

The speaker was in a similar position in negotiating the 2011 budget deal that set up the automatic spending cuts as a condition of raising the debt ceiling, following a standoff that took the U.S. near a default. With 218 votes needed, the plan was passed with support from 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats. Opposing it were 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats.

‘Very Difficult’

“I know this is a very difficult time for our speaker and our leadership. So, I have great sympathy for John Boehner,” Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, said in an interview this week. “Obama is in the driver seat.”

Boehner and other Republicans insist on overhauling entitlement programs -- such as Medicare and Medicaid -- and changing the U.S. tax code in exchange for new revenue sought by Democrats. Yesterday, the speaker pressed Obama and congressional Democrats to get “serious” about spending cuts.

He also maintained his opposition to Democrats’ proposal to let the George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire Dec. 31 for top earners. Boehner rejected a suggestion by Republican House member Tom Cole of Oklahoma that party members accede to the president’s demand that Congress extend the tax cuts for families with incomes of less than $250,000 a year.

Still, the speaker told reporters yesterday he’s “optimistic that we can continue to work together to avert this crisis, and sooner rather than later.”

Standard & Poor’s

Stocks rose after Boehner spoke. The Standard & Poor’s (SPX) 500 Index climbed 0.8 percent to 1,409.93 in New York, after erasing a decline of as much as 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 106.98 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,985.11.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to meet separately today with each of the four top leaders in Congress, including Boehner. That will mark the first face-to-face meetings between high-ranking administration officials and top lawmakers since Nov. 16.

The number of Republican votes for any deal this time may fluctuate, said Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who won a Senate seat in November. He will vote in the House in the current lame-duck session.

“It depends on the agreement, it really does,” Flake said in an interview.

Geithner Meetings

Representative Allyson Schwartz, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said that regardless of what agreement may be reached, Boehner probably will lose at least 50 to 60 votes among Republicans who earlier opposed bipartisan measures to raise the debt ceiling and stopgap spending bills to keep the government operating.

“It really is a question the Republicans will have to decide, if they’re going to work with us,” she said in an interview. “That’s how we’ve gotten all the big stuff before.”

Republicans now hold the House majority with 241 seats to the Democrats’ 192, with two vacancies. In January, Democrats will gain eight seats.

“We don’t discuss votes but we’re pleased with the support for the framework offered by the leaders to avert the fiscal cliff without raising tax rates,” Kevin Smith, a Boehner spokesman, said in a statement.

At least 51 of the 55 Tea Party-backed House members were re-elected Nov. 6, cementing their influence in budget negotiations. In addition, the principles of the Republican Study Committee, a group of 165 lawmakers that promotes small government, align with those of the Tea Party on fiscal issues.

Diverse House

“It’s a very diverse body and rightly so. We have a first responsibility to represent our district back home, not the speaker’s opinion,” Representative James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said in an interview, while emphasizing his support for Boehner as a negotiator.

Anti-tax, small government Republicans say a deal between Obama and congressional leaders can’t raise tax rates and must include an overhaul of entitlement programs such as Medicare. Spending cuts of about $109 billion to discretionary programs slated for 2013 must be part of a deal, according to Representative Tim Huelskamp, a Kansas Republican.

Putting off those cuts is “unacceptable,” and concessions on increasing tax rates for any income level “would be political suicide” for the party, said Huelskamp, a Tea Party caucus member re-elected for a second term.

Tax Breaks

Even the most strident anti-tax Republicans -- including Huelskamp, Raul Labrador of Idaho, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom McClintock of California -- have said they would be open to increasing tax revenue in a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, mostly by ending or limiting some tax breaks. They continue to oppose increasing tax rates.

“Every conservative is OK with closing loopholes,” Labrador said during a “conversation with conservatives” event in Washington Nov. 14. “What we want to make sure is that we don’t have marginal rates go up and that the overall tax burden remains the same.”

Representative Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, said Boehner would have a “hard time selling an increase in marginal tax rates to the conference.”

“We will be probably willing to support raising revenue through closing loopholes and deductions,” Coffman, a member of the Tea Party caucus, said in an interview. “The line would be drawn that we don’t want marginal rates to go up and that we want the Bush tax cuts extended and permanent.”

Medicare, Medicaid

Without an agreement from Democrats to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid, Boehner may risk the support of many Republicans. Democrats have said Social Security is off the table.

Dissent from fellow Republicans in 2011 posed the biggest test to Boehner’s first year as speaker. Amid Republican opposition to tax increases, talks between Boehner and Obama on a long-term deficit-cutting plan to be tied to the debt-limit increase collapsed.

At the time, Boehner likened negotiating with the White House to “dealing with a bowl of Jell-O.” Obama said that at one point Boehner didn’t return his phone call, and the president complained of being “left at the altar.”

Jordan, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, voted against raising the debt ceiling last year. The ticking clock on the fiscal cliff is “a crisis that we created with legislation that was passed here,” he said.

Pacers beat Lakers on Hill's last-second layup

The Indiana Pacers have gone from not being able to win in the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers to now not being able to lose in the building.

George Hill made a layup with 0.1 seconds left to give the Pacers a 79-77 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

The Pacers have won three straight against the Lakers at Staples Center after never winning in the building before.

Hill led the Pacers with 19 points, and David West added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

With the score tied at 77, Hill turned the corner, got a step on Pau Gasol and with Dwight Howard coming, Hill laid it up over the big man's outstretched arms to give the Pacers a 79-77 lead with 0.1 seconds left.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant didn't play like he was a game-time decision because of the flu.

The All-star guard scored a game-high 40 points on 12-of-28 shooting.

The rest of Bryant's teammates were 12-of-48 from the field.

The Pacers went up 77-74 with 35 seconds remaining when Hill made a teardrop over the out-stretched arms of Howard.

Rather than call a timeout, the Lakers gave the ball to Bryant and got out of the way.

The decision worked.

The Lakers tied the score on Bryant's 3-pointer over Paul George and Ian Mahinmi with 24.5 seconds left.

In a game that was far from a thing of beauty, the Pacers withstood Bryant's performance to go up by 13 points with 4:31 left in the third quarter.

But unlike games against Atlanta and San Antonio, the Pacers didn't lose this one.