News of the day from across the nation, Dec. 10
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has proposed instituting a personal income tax for the first time in 35 years as the oil-dependent state looks to plug a multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid chronically low prices.
In laying out his budget plan Wednesday, Walker also proposed using the fund that provides annual checks to most Alaskans to generate a stream of cash to help finance state government.
Gun rights groups that wanted to stage a mock mass shooting at the University of Texas agreed to move their event off-campus after getting a warning from the school that they could be arrested.
The groups Come and Take It Texas and Dontcomply.com announced plans for the Saturday event that would include cardboard guns and fake blood.
Sniper Charles Whitman killed 16 people in 1966, shooting dozens of victims from atop the central clock tower.
The university issued a statement Wednesday warning that the Austin campus isn’t open to outside groups staging demonstrations.
Two Afghan men who were training with the U.S. military are missing from a base in south Georgia, but officials say that they were screened before entering the country and that there’s no indication they pose a threat.
“There’s zero evidence that these guys are terrorists,” said Brian Childress, police chief in Valdosta, which is near Moody Air Force Base.
The men didn’t report Monday to training with the 81st Fighter Squadron, base officials said late Tuesday.
Both men were being trained in aircraft maintenance and were scheduled to graduate from the program Dec. 18, an Air Force spokesman said.
The Republican Party is adding a presidential debate to its 2016 calendar.
Fox Business Network has announced plans to host a Jan. 14 debate in North Charleston, S.C. The Republican National Committee originally sanctioned just one debate for January in Iowa, but has decided to add a second faceoff.
In an interview with People magazine released Wednesday, Obama also shared his favorite book and movie of the year.