Briefs

WORLD

SANTIAGO, Chile – A major earthquake
rocked a large area of northern
Chile on Wednesday, toppling power
lines and closing roads.

There were no immediate reports
of injuries from the quake, which
was felt hundreds of miles away in
the capital, as well as in neighboring
Peru and Bolivia.

The U.S. Geological Survey calculated
the quake’s magnitude at 7.7.

The earthquake, which struck at
12:40 p.m., was centered 780 miles
north of Santiago, or 25 miles eastsoutheast
of Tocopilla, the USGS
said.

The USGS said it occurred about
37.3 miles beneath the surface.
Presidential spokesman Ricardo
Lagos Weber said it was centered in
the Andean village of Quillahua, near
Calama, site of the large Chuquicamata
copper mine.

Initial reports “indicate that there
have been no injuries, but some
damage has occurred, apparently not
serious,” he said.

“I was very frightened. It was very
strong,” added Paola Barrie, administrator
at the Agua del Desierto Hotel,
three miles from Calama. “I’ve never
felt one that strong.”

She said the hotel felt “like a floating
island” during the quake, which
downed power lines and cracked
windows on nearby houses.

A reporter for Radio Cooperativa
who had just landed in Antofagasta,
about 105 miles south of the epicenter,
told the station she saw cracks in the
airport tarmac.

NATION

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Hillary Rodham
Clinton’s doubts about big foreign
trade deals came only in the heat of
the presidential campaign, Democratic
rival Barack Obama said Tuesday,
addressing labor leaders who strongly
oppose many of the agreements.

He focused in particular on the
North American Free Trade Agreement,
which many U.S. unions
contend has sent American jobs
outside the nation’s borders and held
down wages here.

“So, when a candidate rails against
NAFTA today, it’s fair to ask her where
she was with NAFTA 20 years ago,”
said Obama. “You don’t just suddenly
wake up and say NAFTA is a terrible
thing when you were for it before.”

Obama made his case at a regional
convention of the United Auto Workers
just a day after Clinton used the
same forum to call for a “time out”
on new trade deals while their impact
on American jobs is assessed.

In her speech, Clinton said she
would be cautious on new trade
agreements, but she carries the baggage
of her husband’s presidency during
which NAFTA was negotiated and
approved.

In Obama’s speech, he focused
heavily on trade, a key issue for
unions where leaders argue that
trade agreements often end up pitting
American workers against low-wage
workers overseas. He drew a standing
ovation when he vowed to fight any
deal that doesn’t protect workers and
the environment.

On a personal level, Obama sought
to compare his life with those of working
Americans, back to his beginning
as an organizer in Chicago.

Obama served up some of the hottest
populist rhetoric to an audience
that’s getting heavy attention from
presidential candidates, with five
speaking to the group on Monday
and Edwards scheduled on
Wednesday.

LOCAL

WILLIAMSBURG – Comedy Central
TV show host Stephen Colbert
may have abandoned his brief bid for
the White House, but he ended up
in a three-way tie for a seat on the
Colonial Soil and Water Conservation
District Board.

His electoral success will be fleeting,
however.

When the Williamsburg Electoral
Board draws a name from a hat to
decide the winner, Colbert’s name
won’t be among the three: He’s not a
registered voter in the former colonial
capital of Virginia.

Colbert and two students from the
College of William and Mary each
received three write-in votes in the
Nov. 6 election for a seat on the board
that oversees natural resources.

Matt Beato, 20, a government
major who chairs the college’s student
assembly senate, expressed concern
over the write-in process.

“I’m not crazy, but any nut case
could win with three votes,” Beato
said. “Somebody should make sure
that doesn’t happen.”

Earlier this month, Colbert abandoned
his bid for the presidency
after the South Carolina Democratic
Executive Council voted to keep the
host of “The Colbert Report” off the
state’s primary ballot.

Colbert poses as a conservative
talk-show host.