Nation Briefs
BY Wire Reports
Monday, February 18, 2013
2/18/13 at 2:47 AM
Woods joins vacationing Obama on golf course
PALM CITY, Fla. - President Barack Obama played golf Sunday with Tiger Woods, the White House said Sunday.
Once the sport's dominant player before his career was sidetracked by scandal, Woods joined Obama at the Floridian, a secluded and exclusive yacht and golf club on Florida's Treasure Coast where Obama is spending the long Presidents Day weekend. The two had met before, but Sunday was the first time they played together.
The White House has prohibited media coverage of Obama's weekend golf outing.
The foursome also included Jim Crane, a Houston businessman who owns the Floridian and baseball's Houston Astros, and outgoing U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. Crane and Kirk also were part of Obama's foursome on Saturday, the White House said.
Thousands march in climate-change protest
WASHINGTON - Climate activists descended on the nation's capital Sunday in what organizers boasted was the largest climate-change rally in American history, claiming more than 35,000 participants.
The Forward on Climate rally, as it was billed by environmental groups Sierra Club and 350.org, called for President Barack Obama to take immediate action on climate change, with many urging the government to block construction of the oil pipeline known as Keystone XL.
Protesters marched through the streets bearing placards and massed on the National Mall, where speakers addressed the crowd. Washington police declined to provide a crowd estimate.
Keystone XL has been a signature issue for climate activists. They caught policymakers and the pipeline industry off guard with protests in 2011 against the proposed pipeline, which would bring so-called tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, into the U.S. Opponents believe the process to produce and refine tar sands oil would be more carbon intensive than typical oil production.
Maker's Mark backs down on lower alcohol
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After backlash from customers, the producer of Maker's Mark bourbon is reversing a decision to cut the amount of alcohol in bottles of its famous whiskey.
Rob Samuels, Maker's Mark's chief operating officer, said Sunday that it is restoring the alcohol volume of its product to its historic level of 45 percent, or 90 proof. Last week, it said it was lowering the amount to 42 percent, or 84 proof, because of a supply shortage.
The brand known for its square bottles sealed in red wax has struggled to keep up with demand. Distribution has been squeezed, and the brand had to curtail shipments to some overseas markets.
In a tweet Sunday, the company said to its followers: "You spoke. We listened."
RI fire victims honored in 10th anniversary event
WEST WARWICK, R.I. - Survivors of a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people and relatives of the victims huddled together in bitter cold Sunday at the site of the fire to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.
The anniversary of the blaze is Wednesday. The fire broke out when pyrotechnics for the rock band Great White ignited flammable packing foam that had been installed in the club as soundproofing. Last month, a fire at a nightclub in Brazil killed more than 230 people under circumstances that were eerily similar: A band's pyrotechnic display set fire to soundproofing foam.
