Student loan, roads bill poised for final passage

(AP) ? Hoping to avert the kind of headlines politicians dread, congressional leaders are aiming for final passage by week's end of legislation reshaping federal transportation programs and preventing a doubling of interest rates for millions of new student loans.

Without action by Saturday, federal authority to conduct road, mass transit and other transportation programs would end, along with the government's ability to collect gasoline and diesel taxes that fund most of those programs, costing what Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said would be 3 million jobs. Democrats and Republicans were eager to avoid blame for shuttering transportation projects when voters are focused on the nation's weak employment market.

"The highway bill boils down to one simple thing: jobs," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., a bargainer on the legislation.

House and Senate leaders reached agreement Wednesday on the transportation and student loan measures and decided to wrap them together in hopes of sidestepping parliamentary obstacles and speeding Congress' work. Provisions renewing and revamping federal flood insurance were included as well.

On the highway measure, Republicans dropped demands for one provision forcing federal approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, and another blocking the government from regulating toxic ash produced by coal-fired power plants. In exchange, Republicans won concessions curbing environmental reviews for highway projects and diverting money away from bike paths and pedestrian safety projects.

With each party blocking the other's top legislative initiatives, Democrats and Republicans said the highway bill loomed as Congress' most prolific job-creating measure until the November elections. It would give states more flexibility to spend federal money, impose new safety regulations and expand a federal loan guarantee program to encourage private investments in transportation projects.

Unless lawmakers act this week, interest rates for subsidized Stafford loans issued starting Sunday would double to 6.8 percent. That automatic increase was approved by Congress five years ago to save money, but few lawmakers want to face voters after infuriating millions of college students and their parents by driving up school costs.

The increase, if not avoided, would affect 7.4 million students projected to get the loans during the 12 months starting Sunday. It would cost each an extra $1,000, on average, over the decade or more it typically takes to repay the money.

"At a time when we're trying to get our economy recovering, do you really want to raise the rates on students?" said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a leader of House conservatives.

The student loan measure has been a political battlefield for months, with President Barack Obama touring the country to accuse Republicans of not acting to prevent the rate increase. Though some GOP lawmakers have opposed the rate freeze, Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney and Republican congressional leaders said two months ago that they supported it, and the sole remaining fight has been over how to pay for it.

The student loan measure was projected to cost $6 billion.

Under the compromise, $1.2 billion would be paid for by limiting federal subsidies for undergraduates to a maximum of six years. Currently those subsidies ? a period during which the government does not charge interest ? can last as long as it takes an undergraduate to get a diploma.

Another $5 billion would come from changing how companies calculate the money they must set aside for their pension programs. The changes would make their annual contributions lower and less variable, in effect reducing their tax deductions.

An additional $500 million would come from pegging to inflation the fees companies pay to federally insure their pensions.

Aides said the pension proposals might end up raising more than $18 billion in the final legislation, with the excess helping pay for the transportation measure.

The federal flood insurance program, which protects 5.6 million households and businesses, has gone deeply into the red from claims after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Senate legislation would try to return the program to fiscal soundness by allowing premium increases and reducing subsidies for vacation homes.

Associated Press

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Joan Rivers: I'm finally quitting Botox

There's never a dull moment when Joan Rivers visits. Hoda and Kathie Lee even joked about putting her on a delay Tuesday in case she should say something extra Joan Rivers-y. But she surprised everybody by keeping it clean, and announcing that she'd quit Botox.

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Syria violence escalates as US seeks turning point

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the damaged control room of Al-Ikhbariya TV station is seen after it was attacked by gunmen, in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing three employees, the state media reported. Syrian officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the damaged control room of Al-Ikhbariya TV station is seen after it was attacked by gunmen, in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing three employees, the state media reported. Syrian officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the damaged control room of Ikhbariya TV station is seen after it was attacked by gunmen in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing several employees, the state media reported. Syrian officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the destroyed building of Ikhbariya TV station is seen after it was attacked by gunmen in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing several employees, the state media reported. Officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the damaged Ikhbariya TV compound is seen after it was attacked by gunmen, in in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing three employees, the state media reported. Syrian officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, a Syrian man stands inside a burnt room of al-Ikhbariya TV station which was destroyed after being attacked by gunmen, in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing several employees, the state media reported. Syrian officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press." (AP Photo/SANA)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Gunmen attacked a pro-government TV station Wednesday near the Syrian capital, killing seven employees in the latest barrage of violence as world powers prepared for a high-level meeting that the U.S. hopes will be a turning point in the crisis.

Invitations to Saturday's gathering in Geneva were sent by special envoy Kofi Annan to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council ? including Syrian allies Russia and China ? but not to major regional players Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The absence of those two countries, as well as the lack of any appetite for international military intervention, could make it difficult for the group to find the leverage to end the bloodshed in Syria. An effort by Annan to broker a peace plan failed earlier this year.

Diplomatic hopes have rested on Russia ? Syria's most important ally and protector ? agreeing on a transition plan that would end the Assad family dynasty, which has ruled Syria for more than four decades. But Moscow has rejected efforts by outside forces to end the conflict or any plan to force regime change in Damascus.

The United Nations said Wednesday that the conflict, which began in March 2011 as part of the Arab Spring that swept aside entrenched leaders across the region, is descending into sectarian warfare.

President Bashar Assad has so far appeared largely impervious to world pressure and he has warned the international community from meddling in the crisis, which has seen a sharp escalation in violence in recent months. He said this week that his country is in "a genuine state of war," an increasingly common refrain from the Syrian leader.

Assad denies there is any popular will behind the uprising, which is in its 16th month, saying terrorists are driving a foreign conspiracy to destroy the country. Activists say more than 14,000 people have been killed in the violence.

An Associated Press photographer said the attack on the Al-Ikhbariya TV station in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of the capital Damascus, left bloodstains on the ground and bullet holes in the walls. The attack heavily damaged five portable buildings used for offices and studios.

Al-Ikhbariya is privately owned but strongly supports the regime.

"What happened today is a massacre," Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told reporters. He blamed terrorists ? the same term the government uses for rebels.

The rebels deny they target the media. Activists blamed the attack on elite Syrian troops who defected from the regime Tuesday. The allegation could not be independently confirmed.

Several other staff members of the TV station were wounded in the attack, which happened just before 4 a.m., an employee said. He added that the gunmen kidnapped him along with several station guards. He was released but the guards were not.

The employee, who did not give his name for fear of retribution, said the gunmen drove him about 200 meters (yards) away and he then heard an explosion from the station.

"I was terrified when they blindfolded me and took me away," the man said by telephone.

Hours after the attack, the station was still on the air, broadcasting news of a rally in a Damascus square by people protesting the raid.

Earlier this month, two Al-Ikhbariya employees were shot and seriously wounded by gunmen in the northwestern town of Haffa while covering clashes between government troops and insurgents.

Much of the violence that has gripped Syria in the uprising has been sanctioned by the government to crush dissent. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray.

On Wednesday, the U.N. gave a grim assessment of the crisis, saying the violence has worsened since April, when the cease-fire brokered by Annan was supposed to go into effect. There also were signs the bloodshed is descending into sectarian warfare.

"Where previously victims were targeted on the basis of their being pro- or anti-government, the Commission of Inquiry has recorded a growing number of incidents where victims appear to have been targeted because of their religious affiliation," a panel of U.N.-appointed human rights experts said in a report released in Geneva.

Sectarian warfare is one of the most dire scenarios in Syria, which for decades managed to ward off the kind of bloodshed that has long bedeviled Iraq and Lebanon.

Sunnis make up most of Syria's 22 million people, as well as the backbone of the opposition. But the Assads and the ruling elite belong to the tiny Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, which has bred deep resentments.

Several notorious attacks during the uprising appeared to have sectarian overtones ? including the Houla massacre in May, when more than 100 people were killed in a collection of villages in central Syria.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who heads a U.N. panel conducting an international investigation of allegations of human rights abuses in Syria, called the country a "crime scene."

He said the probe into the Houla massacre concluded that forces loyal to the regime "may have been responsible" for many of the deaths. Investigators have said pro-regime, Alawite gunmen known as shabiha were believed to be responsible for at least some of the killings.

Houla leans toward the opposition, and most of the victims were women and children who were slain in their homes, the report said.

"The manner in which these killings took place resembles those previously and repeatedly documented to have been committed by the government," Pinheiro told the U.N.'s top human rights body in Geneva.

A final position on who was responsible for the massacre would require more work, Pinheiro said. But he said interviews conducted by the commission "indicated that government forces and shabiha have committed acts of sexual violence against men, women and children."

The U.N.'s deputy envoy for Syria, Jean-Marie Guehenno, told the Human Rights Council that the violence has "reached or even surpassed" levels seen before the April 12 cease-fire.

Fayssal al-Hamwi, the Syrian ambassador in Geneva, said the allegations against the government are "quite fantastic." Calling the council meeting blatantly political, he said he no longer wished to participate and strode out in protest.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she has "great hope" that the Geneva meeting can be a turning point in the crisis.

Annan "has developed his own very concrete road map for political transition" from the Assad regime, Clinton said. "We believe it embodies the principles needed for any political transition in Syria that could lead to a peaceful, democratic and representative outcome reflecting the will of the Syrian people."

Annan, who represents the U.N. and the Arab League, said he sent invitations to Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States ? plus Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, and the European Union.

The absence of Iran and Saudi Arabia is significant because they support opposing sides of the conflict. Iran is one of the regime's top allies, and Saudi Arabia backs Syria's opposition. Annan gave no reason for not including the countries, although the U.S. has been adamantly opposed to Iran taking part.

Iran's U.N. ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, said the way to resolve the Syrian crisis is "cooperation among everybody, especially the major players in the region, based on a fair approach on the issue."

Russia, which along with China has twice protected Assad's regime from U.N. sanctions and continued to provide it with weapons, has argued that the West should raise pressure on the Syrian opposition to sit down for talks with the government. Moscow has argued that the Syrians themselves must determine the country's future and warned that it would firmly oppose any document urging Assad to step down.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the Geneva meeting "should be aimed at mobilizing resources that foreign players have to create conditions needed to start an all-Syrian political process, not to predetermine its direction." He warned against using the conference to "justify any future unilateral actions."

The meeting comes also at a time of regional tensions. Syria shot down a Turkish military plane last week, saying it violated Syrian airspace.

Turkey denies that, but both sides have appeared keen to avoid escalating the matter. On Wednesday, al-Zoebi, the Syrian information minister, told Turkish TV that Syrian forces may have mistaken the plane for an Israeli aircraft. Syria and Israel are enemies.

___

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, John Heilprin and Frank Jordans in Geneva, Matthew Lee in Washington, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Greece expected to name new finance minister

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greece's coalition government is expected to name a new finance minister, after the banker appointed to the post resigned for health reasons.

A replacement for Vassilis Rapanos, was expected to be named Tuesday, a day after he said his health would not allow him to fulfill his duties as minister. Rapanos had been named to the post last week but was taken ill and rushed to hospital Friday before being sworn in. Outgoing Finance Minister Giorgos Zanias still holds the title.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, himself recovering at home after a two-day hospital stay for serious eye surgery, was to discuss the issue with the heads of the other parties that comprise the three-party coalition government: the socialist PASOK party leader Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left head Fotis Kouvelis.

Associated Press

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PHOTO: Looking Posh! The Spice Girls Reunite in London

Get ready to feel really, really old. Twelve years after they disbanded (and four years after we last saw them together), the Spice Girls reunited on the steps of the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel (where their "Wannabe" music video was filmed in 1996) to celebrate the launch of Viva Forever, a new West End musical based on their greatest hits.

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30-Year Quest Ends In $15 Million Gold and Silver Coin Treasure [Money]

Thirty years ago, a farmer found a few Iron Age silver coins while working on his land in the island of Jersey, off the coast of Normandy. Now, after combing the soil with metal detectors for three decades, two treasure hunters have found a hoard of silver and gold coins, the biggest of its kind, valued at $15 million. More »


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Vicious wildfires spread to Colo. tourist centers

In this Saturday, June 23, 2012 photo provided by Darrell Spangler, a firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (AP Photo/Darrell Spangler) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this Saturday, June 23, 2012 photo provided by Darrell Spangler, a firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (AP Photo/Darrell Spangler) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this Saturday, June 23, 2012 photo provided by Darrell Spangler, fire consumes a home in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (AP Photo/Darrell Spangler) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this photo provided by Darrell Spangler, rubble smolders Sunday, June 24, 2012, from a home consumed by fire a day earlier, in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (AP Photo/Darrell Spangler) MANDATORY CREDIT

The evening sky glows orange as smoke and flames from the Waldo Canyon Fire has consumed 2500 acres west of Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, June 23, 2012. The fire is zero percent contained. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were taking place across the west side of Colorado Springs. Tankers were dropping fire retardant in front of the advancing flames. ( AP Photo/Bryan Oller)

A giant plume from the Waldo Canyon Fire hovers high above Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, June 23, 2012. The fire is zero percent contained and has consumed 2500 acres. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were taking place across the west side of Colorado Springs. Tankers were dropping fire retardant in front of the advancing flames. ( AP Photo/Bryan Oller)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) ? Wildfires damaged more than a dozen Colorado homes over the weekend and forced evacuations for thousands more while shrouding top state tourist destinations in smoke and emptying hotels and campgrounds ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

Colorado is having its worst wildfire season in a decade, with more than a half dozen forest fires burning across the state's parched terrain. One of the newest fires, a blaze near Colorado Springs, grew to more than 3 square miles Sunday after erupting just a day earlier and prompting evacuation orders for 11,000 residents and an unknown number of tourists.

The fire sent plumes of gray and white smoke over the area that obscured at times Pikes Peak, the most-summited high-elevation mountain in the nation and inspiration for the song "America The Beautiful."

Winds had started to push smoke away from Colorado Springs and evacuations orders were lifted for the 5,000 residents of nearby Manitou Springs, but area residents and tourists still watched nervously as haze wrapped around the peak.

"We're used to flooding and tornadoes, nothing like this," said Amanda Rice, who recently moved to the area from Rock Falls, Ill. Rice, her husband, four children and dog. They left a Manitou Springs hotel late Saturday.

Rice, scared when she saw flames, took her family to the evacuation center before she was told to go.

"It was just this God-awful orange glow. It was surreal. It honestly looked like hell was opening up," Rice said Sunday.

Even while other large fires burn across the West, Colorado's blazes have demanded half the nation's firefighting fleet, according to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. He said C-130 military transport planes from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs would begin assisting Monday.

"People recognize this is going to take a big push" to extinguish, Hickenlooper said Sunday from a Colorado Springs grocery store, where volunteers were passing out burritos, sandwiches and drinks to 350 firefighters working near Pikes Peak.

A statewide ban on open campfires and private fireworks has been in place for more than a week.

While no homes were reported damaged in the Colorado Springs-area fire, a forest fire near Rocky Mountain National Park destroyed structures near the mountain community of Estes Park. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said Sunday that 22 homes and 2 outbuildings had been burned.

The Estes Park destroyed vacation cabins and closed the most commonly used entrance to the park. Clouds of smoke blew toward the 102-year-old Stanley Hotel that inspired Stephen King to write "The Shining."

Also over the weekend, residents of a subdivision near the northern Colorado city of Fort Collins learned that 57 more homes in their neighborhood had been lost to High Park fire, which already had claimed 191 homes, authorities said.

The High Park Fire is the second-largest wildfire and among the most expensive in Colorado's history. It has scorched more than 130 square miles and was just 45 percent contained on Sunday, The Denver Post reported.

With Colorado midway through its worst wildfire season in a decade, travelers have seen some of their favorite sites closed to the public, obscured by smoke and haze. Some travelers were awoken with evacuation orders.

Families planning whitewater rafting trips or visits to the stunning red-rock formations in Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs were instead spending their vacations passing out bottled water and setting up cots in evacuee centers.

They included Mark Stein of Morristown, N.J., whose family arrived after midnight Sunday at their Manitou Springs hotel for a week of whitewater rafting and sightseeing.

"We were sleeping for 15 minutes when they started knocking on the door ? a day from hell," Stein said of the day of travel. With his wife and two sons, Stein spent the first night of his vacation setting up cots for more than 200 evacuees who slept at the school.

"I think it's the best vacation ever. This is what the real world is about. There's a lot of people that need help," Stein said.

Also Sunday, a brushfire that began near Elbert, about 50 miles southwest of Denver, quickly spread to about 60 acres, forcing the evacuation of about 100 residents.

Elsewhere, firefighters contended with windy and heat as they battled wildfires in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

? In Utah, a 15-square-mile blaze around Fountain Green in Sanpete County was threatening more than 359 permanent structures and 213 mobile homes and travel trailers in four rural subdivisions, forcing about 1,000 people to flee. BLM says the human-caused fire erupted Saturday afternoon. Officials report progress on a 9-square-mile wildfire around Saratoga Springs, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

? In Montana, two wildfires were burning in the southwest part of the state, including the fast-moving Antelope Fire, which started Saturday afternoon about 10 miles north of Whitehall and had grown to 462 acres on Sunday. About 100 firefighters were battling that blaze.

? In Arizona, the U.S. Forest Service said Sunday that containment against the Pecos Fire, just outside of Young, is up to 50 percent and remains under 12,000 acres. Officials say many of the firefighting resources are being released to their home units or to other fire assignments.

Associated Press

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Video: Air tankers fight ?extreme? Colorado fire

>>> as we mentioned we've got a dangerous situation in the american west . conditions are bad. red flag fire warnings are posted from kansas all the way west to california and in colorado it's downright urgent. 11,000 people evacuated right now tonight, 12 active fires. this smoke plume was caught by our veteran cameraman ray farmer on approach into denver's airport. it looked more like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion from the air. nbc's miguel almaguer is covering for us tonight in colorado springs . miguel , good evening.

>> reporter: brian , good evening. the fire burning in the hills behind me has been described as relentless, what some feared as a worst case scenario after a prolonged drought here came true. it's a blaze that for now crews cannot stop. fueled by dry brush, fanned by 30-mile-per-hour winds, the waldo canyon fire in colorado springs is a monster that consumed five square miles in just hours.

>> i think it's probably the greatest natural threat we have seen in this community in the last 30, 40 years.

>> reporter: the blaze, closing in on homes, forced 11,000 to evacuate sunday. hundreds of tourists left vacation campgrounds to seek shelter in a high school gym.

>> we're used to the hurricanes and evacuating. now forest fires and it's just like reminding us of being back home with the hurricanes.

>> reporter: tonight popular campgrounds and state parks are shrouded in smoke and closed. across colorado , at least 12 major wildfires are burning tonight. in estes park , a gateway to the rockies, 22 homes were destroyed by a fast-moving blaze. in fort collins the hyde park fire has now claimed 248 homes. 3,000 are still evacuated. marco mendoni is living in a motel.

>> this is my life right now, and right now we're in limbo.

>> reporter: what makes it so difficult to fight?

>> you have extreme fire behavior, large, flaming fronts. we can't get right up on the edge of the fire.

>> reporter: today fema authorized the use of federal funds to fight fires in colorado and the air force brought in four specially equipped heavy air tankers to join the more than 70 aircraft already in the fight.

>> almost half of all the airborne fire equipment in the country is in colorado .

>> reporter: the worst fire season in more than a decade is tonight nowhere near over. brian , you can probably hear and see the big threat tonight. wind, a red flag warning in some 11 states across the west. as for the blaze here it's charred some 3400 acres. it is 5% contained. the mean start to a fire season that is threatening both lives and homes. brian ?

>> a terrible situation out there, colorado springs tonight. miguel almaguer covering for us. miguel , thanks.

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FDA delays decision on Pfizer, Bristol-Myers drug

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? Shares of Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. fell Monday after federal regulators unexpectedly delayed for a second time a decision on whether to approve the companies' highly touted experimental anticlotting drug Eliquis.

Some analysts see Eliquis as better than two new clot-preventing pills that beat it to market, but the latest delay means a U.S. launch of Eliquis likely won't happen until next year.

The Food and Drug Administration said it wants more information on "data management and verification" from a huge international study called ARISTOTLE that examined how well Eliquis prevented strokes in patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, the drugmakers said Monday.

The companies said the FDA did not ask for new studies, and they plan to work quickly to address outstanding questions. Even so, a spokeswoman for New York-based Bristol-Myers said the agency could take up to six months to review their response.

"We are already working with the agency, and we are hopeful that the review of our submission can be completed within a shorter timeframe," said spokeswoman Laura Hortas.

Analyst Erik Gordon, a professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said the FDA requiring more information on data management and verification indicates "someone either flubbed the application by not making the data management process clear or flubbed the actual data process."

"It's a giant botch-up to, at best, lose a year on one of your much-needed blockbusters," Gordon added.

In afternoon trading, Bristol-Myers shares were down $1.42, or 4 percent, at $33.94, and Pfizer shares were down 28 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $22.44.

The news has a bigger impact on Bristol-Myers, because it is much smaller than Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker. Also, the FDA in January delayed a decision on another crucial experimental drug from Bristol, diabetes treatment Forxiga, known chemically as dapagliflozin. The agency said it needed more data, including data from an ongoing study and possibly new studies, to assess Forxiga's benefits and risks.

Eliquis, known chemically as apixaban, is one of a handful of new drugs meant to prevent heart attacks and strokes better than warfarin ? long the standard treatment despite how tricky it is to use. Eliquis, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's Pradaxa and Xarelto from Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare all are expected to grow into much-needed blockbusters for their makers, with annual sales topping $1 billion.

"All of this is surprising given the widespread perception that Eliquis is a best-in-class product relative to already-approved" Pradaxa and Xarelto, BernsteinResearch analyst Dr. Tim Anderson wrote of the new delay.

It could benefit Xarelto and Pradaxa, and possibly a fourth stroke-preventing pill in late-stage testing by Daiichi Sankyo, called edoxaban, Barclays analyst C. Anthony Butler wrote to investors.

"The longer time window is significant in a market that appears to be less open to switches (from warfarin) than previously assumed," Butler wrote.

He added that if Bristol-Myers and Pfizer give the FDA the new information by September, the agency could make a decision next March. That would be a year after the FDA's original target date for a decision on Eliquis. At the end of March, the FDA pushed back its original deadline until June 28, saying it needed more time to review additional information the companies submitted after applying for approval late last year.

Both men noted analysts may revise their sales forecasts for Eliquis, which Anderson had pegged at $2.3 billion in 2015 and $3.5 billion in 2020.

Doctors and millions of patients have long wanted a better alternative to warfarin, an inexpensive generic drug also sold under brand names such as Coumadin. Getting the dose of warfarin correct is so tricky that patients must have frequent blood tests to ensure they're getting enough to prevent clots but not enough to cause internal bleeding. Some foods interact with warfarin, compounding the difficulty.

Bristol-Myers discovered Eliquis and since 2007 has been testing it in partnership with New York-based Pfizer. The European Union approved it in May for preventing blood clots in patients getting hip or knee replacement surgery, and the companies are considering whether to seek approval for that use in the U.S., Hortas said. The drug also is in late-stage testing for treating patients with clots in major blood vessels.

Pradaxa, also known as dabigatran, was first to market, getting approved in October 2010 for patients with atrial fibrillation. Xarelto has since been approved for patients with atrial fibrillation and for preventing blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery. But J&J said last week the FDA denied its request to expand approval of Xarelto to prevent life-threatening blood clots in patients with acute coronary artery disease, and it expects to work with them to address the questions as quickly as possible.

___

AP Business Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this story.

___

Linda A. Johnson can be followed at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma

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Bellevue College graduates 2,600

?

Bellevue College awarded nearly 2,600 bachelor?s and associate degrees, certificates and diplomas June 15 at the school's 45th annual commencement ceremony. Graduates from the Bellevue area numbered 578.

?All of us here at the college are so proud of this year?s graduates and all that they have accomplished,? Interim President Laura Saunders said.

Shiv Batra, a BC Foundation board member, delivered the keynote address. He is co-founder, CEO and president of INCA Engineers (now a subsidiary of Tetra Tech), a successful Bellevue-based firm that has worked on some of the largest engineering projects in the world over the last 10 years, including the expansion of the Panama Canal.

The ceremony also included speeches by graduate Anh Nguyen, an international student from Vietnam and a member of the All-Washington Academic Team, and Pauline Christiansen, an English faculty member of 45 years who is retiring after joining the college in 1967, one year after its founding.

This marks the fourth year in which BC has conferred bachelor?s degrees, in Radiation and Imaging Sciences, and the second class for Interior Design grads.

In all, 66 students received four-year degrees this year. That number is expected to increase in coming years as the college adds bachelor?s degree programs, including one in Healthcare Technology and Management that is now enrolling students for classes that will begin this fall.

More than two-thirds of this year?s class is made up of graduates who are receiving associate degrees designed to prepare them to continue their education at four-year colleges and universities. In recent years, BC has transferred more students to these institutions than any other community college in the state.

Other graduates have earned associate degrees or certificates from programs designed to help them enter the workforce immediately in areas such as health science, business, early childhood education and information technology, among others.

The graduating class includes students as young as 15 and as old as 71. The average age is 27, indicating a large number of older students in addition to the ?traditional? student who goes to college shortly after high school. A total of 450 students are graduating with high distinction (3.75 grade point average or higher) and 421 students with distinction (3.5 to 3.74 GPA). Thirty-six have completed their studies with perfect 4.0 averages.

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