BY ADAM SCHRECKAssociated Press

BAGHDAD — An apparently co-ordinated wave of bombings tar-geting Shiite Muslims killed at least78 people in Iraq on Thursday, thesecond large-scale assault by mili-tants since U.S. forces pulled outlast month.

The attacks, which bore thehallmarks of Sunni insurgents,come ahead of a Shiite holy daythat draws hundreds of thousandsof pilgrims from across Iraq, rais-ing fears of a deepening of sectar-ian bloodshed. Rifts along thecountry’s Sunni-Shiite faultline justa few years ago pushed Iraq to thebrink of civil war.

The bombings in Baghdad andoutside the southern city ofNasiriyah appeared to be the dead-liest in Iraq in more than a year.

Thursday’s blasts occurred at aparticularly unstable time forIraq’s fledgling democracy. Abroad-based unity government de-signed to include the country’smain factions is mired in a politicalcrisis pitting politicians from theShiite majority now in power

against the Sunni minority, whichreigned supreme under the dicta-torship of Saddam Hussein.

Some Iraqis blame that politicaldiscord for the lethal strikes.

“We hold the government re-sponsible for these attacks. They(the politicians) are bickering overtheir seats and these poor peopleare killed in these blasts,” saidBaghdad resident Ali Qassim notlong after the first bomb went off.

The attacks began during Bagh-dad’s morning rush hour when ex-plosions struck the capital’slargest Shiite neighborhood ofSadr City and another district thatcontains a Shiite shrine, killing atleast 30 people, according topolice.

Several hours later, a suicide at-tack hit pilgrims heading to theShiite holy city of Karbala, killing48, police said. The explosionstook place near Nasiriyah, about200 miles (320 kilometers) south-east of Baghdad.

Hospital officials confirmed thecausalities. Authorities spoke oncondition of anonymity becausethey weren’t authorized to releasefigures of the dead and wounded,

who numbered more than 100.The blasts occurred in the run-

up to Arbaeen, a holy day thatmarks the end of 40 days ofmourning following the anniver-sary of the death of Imam Hussein,a revered Shiite figure. During thistime, Shiite pilgrims — many onfoot — make their way across Iraqto Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Baghdad military spokesmanMaj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi saidthe aim of the attacks is “to createturmoil among the Iraqi people.”He said it was too early to say whowas behind the bombings.

Coordinated attacks aimed atShiites are a tactic frequently usedby Sunni insurgents.

The last U.S. combat troops leftIraq on Dec. 18, ending a nearlynine-year war. Many Iraqis worry

that a resurgence of Sunni and Shi-ite militancy could follow theAmericans’ withdrawal. In 2006, aSunni attack on a Shiite shrine trig-gered a wave of sectarian violencethat pushed the country to thebrink of civil war.

“People have real fears that thecycle of violence might be revivedin this country,” said Tariq Annad,a 52-year-old government em-ployee in Sadr City, after Thurs-day’s bombings.

Attacks on Wednesday targetedthe homes of police officers and amember of a government-alliedmilitia. Those strikes, in the citiesof Baqouba and Abu Ghraib out-side Baghdad, killed four people,including two children, officialssaid.

BY ROBERT BURNSAP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON — Looking be-yond the wars he inherited, Presi-dent Barack Obama on Thursdaylaunched a reshaping and shrinkingof the military. He vowed to pre-serve U.S. pre-eminence even as theArmy and Marine Corps shedtroops and the administration con-siders reducing its arsenal of nu-clear weapons.

The changes won’t come with-out risk, Defense Secretary LeonPanetta said. But he called it accept-able and, because of budget re-straints, inevitable.

In a presentation at the Penta-gon, Obama said the U.S. is “turninga page” after having killed Osamabin Laden, withdrawn troops fromIraq and begun to wind down thewar in Afghanistan. He outlined a vi-sion for the future that some Repub-lican lawmakers quickly dubbedwrong-headed.

“Our military will be leaner, butthe world must know the UnitedStates is going to maintain our mili-tary superiority,” Obama said withPanetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staffchairman, Gen. Martin Dempsey, athis side.

In a presidential election yearthe strategy gives Obama a rhetori-cal tool to defend his Pentagonbudget-cutting choices. Republican

contenders for the White House al-ready have attacked him on na-tional security issues includingmissile defense, Iran and plannedreductions in ground forces.

Obama unveiled the results of aneight-month defense strategy re-view that is intended to guide deci-sions on cutting hundreds ofbillions from planned Pentagonspending over the coming decade.The eight-page document containedno details about how broad con-cepts for reshaping the military —such as focusing more on Asia andless on Europe — will translate into

troop or weapons cuts.Those details will be included in

the 2013 defense budget to be sub-mitted to Congress next month.

In about every major war or de-fense speech Obama hits themes in-tended to resonate with Americanvoters — mainly, that the UnitedStates is turning a page from twowars, and that any nation-buildingwill focus on improving the UnitedStates, not strategic allies abroad.

The economy is more likely todetermine Obama’s re-election fatethan national security. To keep hispromises to shrink the deficit and to

prove he is serious about fiscalmanagement to voters wary ofenormous government spending,Obama must show the oft-protectedPentagon is not exempt.

The political danger, though, isthat his opponents will use anyslashing of spending to paint thepresident as weak on security.

Both Panetta and Dempsey saidthey anticipate heavy criticism oftheir new strategy, which wasbegun last spring by then-DefenseSecretary Robert Gates after Obamacalled for defense spending cuts.The Pentagon now faces at least$487 billion in cuts in planned de-fense spending over 10 years.

The criticism from Republicanscame quickly.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House ArmedServices Committee, issued a state-ment saying, “This is a lead-from-be-hind strategy for a left-behindAmerica.” He called it a “retreatfrom the world in the guise of a newstrategy.”

Panetta said that smaller mili-tary budgets will mean some trade-offs and that the U.S. will take on“some level of additional but ac-ceptable risk.” But in a changingworld the Pentagon would havebeen forced to make a strategy shiftanyway, he said. The money crisismerely forced the government’shand.

5APRESS DAKOTANthe worldFriday, 1.6.12

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IRS: Millionares More Likely To Be AuditedWASHINGTON (AP) — One in eight people earning at least $1

million annually were audited by the Internal Revenue Service lastyear, making them far likelier to be examined than those makingbelow $200,000, according to IRS data released Thursday.

Just 1 in 100 individuals earning less than $200,000 had their in-come tax returns examined, the IRS said.

The 12 percent of millionaire earners audited in 2010 was appre-ciably higher than the 8 percent who were audited in 2009. IRS offi-cials said the high ratio was part of an effort to demonstrate thattax laws are applied fairly.

“That has been something we’ve concentrated on to assure thatthere’s equity in the system, to assure that those at the lower endof the spectrum know that those at the higher end of the spectrumare subject to the same rules and enforcement as everyone else,”Steven Miller, deputy IRS commissioner for services and enforce-ment, said in an interview.

The IRS said its overall effort to collect all taxes owed netted$55 billion. That is nearly $3 billion less than the previous year,which Miller attributed to a falloff in estate taxes and corporationswriting off their losses.

Police Use Cadaver Dog In Search For ToddlerCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Cadaver dogs looking for a South Car-

olina boy searched his mother’s car and home as she sat in jail oncharges of lying to police about what she did with her son, thoughauthorities were not saying whether they found any evidence thetoddler was dead.

Despite the grim search, authorities tried to stay optimisticabout finding Amir Jennings alive, but the case was getting harderto solve as time goes by. Amir’s grandmother said she hasn’t seenhim since Thanksgiving.

The boy’s mother has told police conflicting stories about herson, saying he was with friends and family in the Carolinas and alsoGeorgia, authorities said.

“I’m really just focused on making sure that Amir is OK, or hassome harm come to him?” Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said.“That’s what we don’t know. That’s what we cannot find out.”

Amir’s grandmother contacted police in early December, sayingshe was worried about the boy and her daughter, a formerWinthrop University student who struggled with depression andhad begun acting erratically since her son’s birth.

Unemployment Drops, Service Sector GrowsWASHINGTON (AP) — The job market is looking a little brighter

at the start of the new year.Weekly unemployment benefit applications have fallen to levels

last seen more than three years ago. Holiday sales were solid. Serv-ice companies grew a little faster in December. And many smallbusinesses say they plan to add jobs over the next three months.

The mix of private and government data released Thursdaysketched a picture of an economy that is slowly strengthening,stoking optimism one day ahead of the government’s importantread on December job growth.

“Businesses have increased hiring to meet the underlying pick-up in (consumer) demand,” said Neil Dutta, an economist at Bankof America Merrill Lynch.

The encouraging reports on the U.S. economy gave Wall Street alate-day lift, offsetting renewed concerns over Europe’s debt crisis.The Dow Jones industrial average, which had fallen by as much as134 points at one point in the day, closed down just 3 points.Broader indexes posted modest gains.

Dog Feared Caught In Avalanche Found AliveBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A dog that was feared dead after he

was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed his ownershowed up four days later at the Montana motel where his ownershad stayed the night before going backcountry skiing.

Search and rescue team member Bill Whittle said he was “posi-tive” that the Welsh corgi — named Ole — had been buried in Sat-urday’s avalanche.

“The avalanche guys were up there on Monday investigatingand they were looking for the dog too and never seen any signs,”he said.

But on Wednesday, Ole showed up exhausted and hungry backat the motel, four miles from where the slide occurred, the BillingsGazette reported.

“When I first saw the dog, it was sitting in front of their roomstaring at the door,” Cooke City Alpine Motel owner Robert Wein-stein said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Police Seek Motive For Attack On PaintingDENVER (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine why a

woman caused $10,000 worth of damage to a large expressionistpainting at the Clyfford Still Museum by punching and scratching it,then removing her pants and sliding down the artwork.

Carmen Tisch, 36, faces charges of criminal mischief in the Dec.29 attack on the painting, said district attorney spokeswoman LynnKimbrough.

The painting, referred to as 1957-J-No. 2, is valued at more than$30 million. The large montage of black, white and burnt orangeswaths with a sliver of yellow is from Still’s middle period.

Museum officials said they believe security is adequate for thefacility and that they regularly evaluate security to protect the col-lection and visitors. Museum spokeswoman Regan Petersen said ina statement that its guards “acted swiftly and appropriately; thepolice were summoned immediately and the offender was takeninto custody.”

Denver acquired the collection in stiff competition by promisingto build a facility for the paintings and sculptures.

Still, who died in 1980, specified in his will that his estate had togo to an American city willing to establish a permanent museumfor his work. He was one of the first abstract expressionist artistsfollowing World War II.

Police Warning Calif. Homeless Of Serial KillerANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Police and advocates are warning

homeless people in Orange County to be careful if they sleep onthe streets because a serial killer who is hunting the homeless hasalready killed three men.

Orange County Rescue Mission President Jim Palmer says hisgroup is handing out flashlights and whistles to the homeless, in aneffort to help them protect themselves.

Homeless people also are being encouraged to sleep in sheltersor in groups.

The body of the first victim, 53-year-old James McGillivray, wasfound Dec. 21 near a Placentia shopping mall. The second victim,42-year-old Lloyd Middaugh, was found on a riverbed trail in Ana-heim a week later.

The third victim, 57-year-old Paulus Cornelius Smit, was discov-ered with fatal stab wounds outside a Yorba Linda library, where aphoto of him stood at a small candlelit memorial this week.

BY DAVID ESPO AND STEVE PEOPLESAssociated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mitt Romney’s Re-publican presidential rivals repeatedly at-tacked him as a candidate of the status quoand a timid, less-than-reliable conservativeThursday as they simultaneously sought toslow his campaign momentum and personallyaudition for the role of conservative rival-in-chief.

“Don’t settle for less than America needs,”said Rick Santorum, eager to capitalize on hissecond-place finish behind the former Massa-chusetts governor in this week’s Iowa cau-cuses, a scant eight votes off the pace.

A heavy favorite to win New Hampshire’sprimary next Tuesday, Romney all but ignoredhis Republican rivals as he campaigned in twostates. Instead, he criticized President BarackObama as a “crony capitalist. He’s a job killer.”

Without saying so, the rest of the field ap-peared to share a common campaign objective— hold down Romney’s vote totals in NewHampshire, then knock him off stride 11 dayslater in South Carolina, the first Southern pri-mary of the year.

Romney benefited handsomely from havingseveral rivals split the vote in Iowa, where hiswinner’s share was roughly 25 percent.

“Gradually you are going to see we have adifference of opinion about which will be thelast conservative standing,” former HouseSpeaker Newt Gingrich told reporters as hecampaigned in New Hampshire. “But I thinkyou’ll eventually come down to one conserva-tive and Gov. Romney and he’ll continue to get25 percent.”

Also vying to emerge as Romney’s chiefrival were Texas Rep. Ron Paul and formerUtah Gov. Jon Huntsman, while Texas Gov.Rick Perry awaited South Carolina.

“We can’t afford to have a status quo presi-dent,” Huntsman said in Durham, N.H. “We

can’t afford to have a coronation forpresident.”

Gingrich unveiled a new television commer-cial aimed at voters in New Hampshire andSouth Carolina that cited one review of Rom-ney’s jobs program as timid and nearly identi-cal in part to the president’s.

“Timid won’t create jobs. And timid cer-tainly won’t defeat Barack Obama,” the adsaid.

Ironically, in a year in which polls show theeconomy is overwhelmingly the top issue forvoters, the first two contests are in states withlow joblessness — 5.7 percent in Iowa and 5.4percent in New Hampshire.

That all changes a week later.South Carolina’s unemployment was 9.9

percent in November, according to the Bureauof Labor Statistics, worse than 41 other statesand more than a full percentage point higherthan the national average.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator,managed to criticize Romney and most of theother Republicans in the race in the space of afew sentences.

“I’ve never been for government-run healthcare,” he said in a swipe at both Romney andGingrich. “I’m not for no regulation, I’m not alibertarian,” he added, a jab at Paul.

GOP Rivals Go Hard After Romney

TIM DOMINICK/THE STATE/MCTRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets Bella of the Ball, a Pomeranian, who dressedfor the rally at Charles Towne Landing in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, January 5, 2012.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCTSecretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaks about defense budget cutsduring a briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia January 5, 2012.

Obama Launches Reshaping Of U.S. Military

Bombings Targeting Shiites In Iraq Kill 78