U.S. destroying chemical-weapons cache · If you miss delivery of the Sunday print edition, a...

Almanac

PAGE A4 || THURSDAY, MARCH 19 , 2015 | | THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC

“As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.” VIRGINIA WOOLF, English author (1882-1941)

Lord, help us to live this day with hope in our hearts, asmile on our faces, and outstretched hands to those whoneed us. Amen.

PRAYER

In 1918, Congress approveddaylight-saving time.

In 1931, Nevada Gov. FredB. Balzar signed a measurelegalizing casino gambling.

In 1945, Adolf Hitler or-dered the destruction ofGerman facilities that couldfall into Allied hands in hisso-called “Nero Decree,”which was largely disre-garded.

In 1979, the U.S. House ofRepresentatives begantelevising its floor proceed-

ings; the live feed wascarried by C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public AffairsNetwork), which was mak-ing its debut.

In 1993, Supreme CourtJustice Byron White an-nounced plans to retire.(White’s departure pavedthe way for Ruth BaderGinsburg to become thecourt’s second female jus-tice.)

In 2003, President GeorgeW. Bush ordered the startof war against Iraq.

TODAY IN HISTORY

» Look for coverage of Arizona history on Saturdays inValley & State In-Depth.

My mother gave me my driving instructions. I’m not such agreat driver, but I can change all my clothes at a stoplight.

CRAIG SHOEMAKER

Provided in partnership with Stand Up Live Phoenix and Tempe IMPROV. For upcomingshows, visit standuplive.com and tempeimprov.com.

LAUGHING SPOT

The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com endeavor to correct errors fullyand promptly. We encourage readers to bring mistakes to our attention.To report an error, call The Republic and azcentral.com at 602-444-NEWS(6397). To report an error on the Opinions pages, phone Editor of theEditorial Pages Phil Boas at 602-444-8499. Or send a message tocorrection@arizonarepublic.com.

Full report, Section B

1. Obama, Netanyahu’srelationship still at riskWASHINGTON — President Obama’sbiggest problem with Israeli relationsisn’t that Benjamin Netanyahu appearsto have won another term as prime min-ister. The problem for Obama is howNetanyahu won. B2

2. License plates presentlesson in free speechWASHINGTON — When it came to add-ing a 93rd celebratory license plate —one commemorating Confederate sol-diers — Texas balked. Its refusal, fol-

lowing objections raised by residentswho equate the Confederate flag withslavery and oppression, will be taken upnext week by the Supreme Court. B3

3. Accomplices sought in Tunisia terror attackTUNIS, Tunisia — A massive manhunt wasunderway for two or three accomplicesafter terrorists stormed a museumWednesday, took hostages and killed 19people. Two gunmen died when authori-ties swept in and freed the hostages.Prime Minister Habib Essid said 17 for-eign tourists were among those killed bythe two Tunisian gunmen. B1

TODAY’S NEWS BRIEFING

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

POWERBALLWednesday’s drawing:14 25 30 33 47; Powerball: 08. Power Play: 2. Estimated jackpot:$40 million.

THE PICKWednesday’s drawing:02 05 14 15 30 35. Estimated jackpot:$1 million.

FANTASY 5Tuesday’s drawing:05 07 08 09 14.Wednesday’s drawing:16 20 23 32 35. Estimated jackpot:$97,000.

PICK 3Tuesday’s drawing:4 1 9.Wednesday’s drawing:8 0 3.

WEEKLY WINNINGSTuesday’s drawing:15 33 36 46.Friday’s drawing; 11 24 31 33.

ALL OR NOTHINGWednesday’s drawing:Morning: 01 02 03 07 0809 11 16 17 20.Evening: 02 04 05 06 1112 14 18 19 20.

MEGA MILLIONSTuesday’s drawing:11 27 44 45 58;Mega Ball: 03; Megaplier: 5.Friday’s estimated jackpot:$51 million.

LOTTERY RESULTS

Lottery information is avail-able at arizonalottery.comor 480-829-PICK (7425).

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THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC | | VOL. 125, NO. 305 || THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

HOW TO REACH CIRCULATION

Bill would dodge administrative fees, March 18, Busi-ness, A22: An attempt to change state law would allow aninvestor to pay $500 in administrative fees to Pinal Countyinstead of $146,100 in fees. The fees were mischaracterizedas taxes in the headline and in the story.

“Over the years the program has be-come a government-assisted way foremployers to bring in cheaper foreign la-bor, and now it appears these foreignworkers take over, rather than comple-ment, the U.S. workforce,” said the com-mittee’s chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley,R-Iowa.

Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Ala-bama said American schools are gradu-ating twice as many students specializ-ing in science, technology, engineeringand math than there are jobs to fill inthose specialties.

“It has nothing to do with trying tofind the best and brightest,” Sessionssaid of the H-1B visa program’s proposedexpansion.

WASHINGTON — The executive chair-man at Google urged Congress onWednesday to increase the number ofhigh-skilled work visas made availableto foreigners and to deal with other im-migration issues later on.

Eric Schmidt spoke Wednesday at theAmerican Enterprise Institute, a conser-vative think tank. Schmidt said he be-lieves the United States is better off hav-ing more immigrants, not fewer, but heparticularly is focused on allowing moreimmigrants into the U.S. with special-ized technical skills.

“In the long list of stupid policies of

the U.S. government, I think our attitudetoward immigration has got to be nearthe top,” Schmidt said in answering aquestion about the biggest policy changehe would like to see the federal govern-ment make.

“We take very, very smart people,bring them into the country, give them adiploma and kick them out where they goon to create companies that competewith us,” Schmidt said. “Brilliant strate-gy.”

Schmidt said that increasing the num-ber of H-1B visas, a program that’s sep-arate from the student visa program,would grow the economy because manyimmigrants will go on to start their ownbusinesses and hire workers. He also

said he believes a majority of lawmakersfrom both parties agree on this point,which is why they should deal with otheraspects of immigration reform separate-ly.

A bill sponsored by Republican Sen.Orrin Hatch of Utah would expand thecurrent annual cap on H-1B visas from65,000 to between 115,000 and 195,000 vi-sas depending upon market conditionand demand. But a Senate JudiciaryCommittee hearing on Tuesday rein-forced that some top lawmakers arestrongly opposed to expanding the pro-gram. They argued that the U.S. hasplenty of high-skilled workers, but com-panies would rather look elsewhere be-cause it’s cheaper.

Google exec says immigration changes would help economyKEVIN FREKINGASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER — The U.S. Army began de-stroying the nation’s largest remainingstockpile of chemical weapons Wednes-day, using explosives to rip open a con-tainer of mustard agent inside a sealedchamber and then flooding it with anoth-er chemical to neutralize it.

It was the first few pounds of 2,600tons of mustard agent that will be de-stroyed at Pueblo Chemical Depot insouthern Colorado, most of it containedin about 780,000 shells.

“Everybody’s really excited, butwe’re being cautious, making sure all theprocedures are followed exactly,” saidBruce Huenefeld, manager of the firstdestruction process to get under way atthe depot.

Mustard agent can maim or kill bydamaging skin, the eyes and airways. It’sbeing destroyed under a 1997 interna-tional treaty banning all chemical weap-ons. It will take four years to destroy thePueblo stockpile.

Another 523 tons of mustard anddeadly nerve agents are stored at BlueGrass Army Depot in Kentucky. BlueGrass isn’t expected to start destroyingits weapons until 2016 or 2017, finishingin 2023.

The destruction process is safe, offi-cials said.

Most of Pueblo’s stockpile will be dis-mantled and neutralized in a highly auto-mated $4.5 billion plant built at the depot.

About 1,400 damaged shells and a doz-

en metal bottles of mustard agent areconsidered unsuitable for that plant.They’ll be opened with explosives andneutralized in the sealed chamber, whichsits inside an airtight structure near thelarger automated plant.

The metal bottles contain mustardthat was extracted from the shells fortesting.

A single bottle was the first containerto be opened and neutralized Wednesday.Crews were waiting for the neutraliza-

tion to finish before draining the cham-ber, rinsing it and then removing the re-mains of the bottle.

Once all the bottles are destroyed,crews will start work on the damagedshells, depot spokesman Thomas Schultzsaid.

The automated plant isn’t expected tobegin work until December or January.Design and construction have takenyears, and final testing and training areunder way.

Mustard agent is a thick liquid, not agas as commonly believed. It has no col-or and almost no odor, but it got its namebecause impurities made early versionssmell like mustard.

The U.S. acquired 30,600 tons of mus-tard and nerve agents, but it never usedthem in war.

Nearly 90 percent of its originalstockpile has already been destroyed,mostly by incineration.

U.S. destroying chemical-weapons cache

AP PHOTOS

Ordnance technicians use machines to process inert simulated chemical munitions used fortraining at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, east of Pueblo, in southern Colorado.

DAN ELLIOTTASSOCIATED PRESS

Project manager Steve Bird holds an inert105mm shell as he demonstrates the use ofthe explosive destruction system used forchemical munitions.