|
(Continued from page 33)
• That deduction allows many to buy homes they otherwise couldn't afford and is strenuously defended by the housing industry. But critics say it does little to help lower-income people while it encourages others to go into debt for costlier homes than they need -- an activity they say taxpayers should not subsidize.
• ___
APNewsBreak: Bangladesh factory lost fire safety clearance months before 112 killed in blaze
• DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- A Bangladeshi garment factory that was producing clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other major Western companies had lost its fire safety certification in June, five months before a blaze in the facility killed 112 workers, a fire official told The Associated Press.
• Separately, the owner of the Tazreen factory told AP that he had only received permission to build a three-story facility but had expanded it illegally to eight stories and was adding a ninth at the time of the blaze.
• The revelations about the deadliest garment fire in Bangladeshi history provide insight into the chaotic nature of safety enforcement at the country's more than 4,000 garment factories. The powerful garment industry is responsible for 80 percent of the South Asian nation's exports.
• A Dhaka fire official said the Tazreen factory's fire safety certification had expired on June 30, and fire officials refused to renew it because the building did not have the proper safety arrangements. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, wouldn't provide details of the violations.
• "I can't explain more because the case is very sensitive and this is under investigation," the official said.
• ___
AP-GfK Poll: Obama approval rises postelection, most expect 2nd term economic improvement
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- A month after the bitterly fought election, President Barack Obama has his highest approval ratings since the killing of Osama bin Laden, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, and more Americans say the nation is heading in the right direction now than at any time since the start of his first term.
• Obama's approval rating stands at 57 percent, the highest since May 2011, when U.S. Navy SEALs killed the terror leader, and up 5 percentage points from before (Continued on page 35)
|
|
