usatoday_20170111_USA_Today

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2017 NEWS 3A

IN BRIEF

SCORES KILLED AS TERROR
ATTACKS ROCK AFGHANISTAN

Twin suicide blasts near the
Afghan parliament during Tues-
day’s afternoon rush killed doz-
ens of people and wounded
dozens more as a wave of violence
rocked the country.
Two other attacks elsewhere in
the country killed 12 people and
wounded several more, including
the United Arab Emirates ambas-
sador to Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokes-
man for the militant Afghan Tali-
ban movement, said on social
media that his group orchestrat-
ed the Kabul attack, targeting a
busload of security officials.
Mohibullah Zeer, an official in
the Public Health Ministry, told
the Associated Press that at least
38 people were killed and an ad-
ditional 72 were wounded.
— John Bacon

POLL: TRUMP APPROVAL
RATING AT 37%, OBAMA 55%

At this point at least, many vot-
ers don’t have much confidence
in Donald Trump’s presidential
abilities, a new poll says.
Trump “will be a worse presi-

dent than Barack Obama, 45% of

voters say, while 34% he will be a

better president and 15% say he

will be about the same, according

to the Quinnipiac University Poll

released Tuesday.

Trump enters office on Jan. 20

with a favorable rating of 37%,

the poll said; Obama exits the

White House with an approval

rating of 55%. — David Jackson

11.5M SIGNED UP ON

OBAMACARE AMID HILL FIGHT

More than 11.5 million people

were signed up for Affordable

Care Act plans on the federal and

state insurance exchanges as of

Dec. 24, federal officials said

Tuesday.

“Nationwide demand for

health coverage is higher than

ever, as Americans prove again

that marketplace coverage is vital

to them and their families,”

Health and Human Services Sec-

retary Sylvia Burwell said in a

statement.

The numbers, up nearly

300,000 from the same point last

year, come despite what HHS

senior counselor Aviva Aron-

Dine called “significant head-

winds” on Capitol Hill.

Congressional efforts to repeal

the ACA without a replacement

plan sets policymaking on a “dan-

gerous path” that jeopardizes the

health of up to 30 million people,

she said. — Jayne O’Donnell

$60,000 OFFERED IN SEARCH

FOR SUSPECTED COP KILLER

With a manhunt underway, the

Orlando police department has

offered a $60,000 reward for any

information leading to the loca-

tion of 41-year-old Markeith

Loyd, who is wanted in connec-

tion with the shooting death of

Master Sgt. Debra Clayton as she

tried to stop him at a Walmart in

Orlando.

He also is a suspect in last

month’s shooting death of his 24-

year-old pregnant ex-girlfriend.

Clayton’s slaying also drew

comments from the nation’s top

prosecutor, U.S. Attorney General

Loretta Lynch. Lynch said in a

speech late Monday that a num-

ber of federal resources — includ-

ing the FBI, the Bureau of

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and

Explosives and the U.S. Marshals

Service — have been committed

to help Orlando police to locate

Loyd.

DARKO VOJINOVIC, AP
Migrants endure freezing temperatures Tuesday as they wait in line for food in front of an
abandoned warehouse in Belgrade, Serbia. According to the latest figures, about 7,000 migrants
are stranded in Serbia.

BRAVING THE COLD FOR FOOD

DETROIT Volkswagen Group ex-

pects to reach a multibillion-dol-

lar criminal and civil settlement

with the U.S. Justice Department

and U.S. Customs and Border

Protection over its emissions

scandal, the company confirmed

Tuesday.

The German automaker said it

expects to plead guilty to criminal

charges and pay $4.3 billion to

settle accusations that it rigged

more than half a million U.S. die-

sel vehicles with software to

cheat emissions standards.

It was not immediately clear

whether any additional VW exec-

utives would be charged.

One executive, General Man-

ager Oliver Schmidt, was charged

Monday in Florida for allegedly

conspiring to cheat regulations.

The FBI’s probe centered on

two unidentified cooperating wit-

nesses and a third VW worker,

James Liang, who pleaded guilty

in September to conspiracy, ac-

cording to a criminal complaint

unsealed Monday. A U.S. Justice

Department spokesman was not

immediately available for

comment.

VW faces a criminal investiga-

tion in Germany, as well.

The company recently agreed

to separate civil settlements

worth about $17 billion for U.S.

consumers and dealers who own

diesel vehicles affected by the

scandal, authorizing buybacks

and free fixes.

The company said that as a

part of the criminal settlement, it

would accept an independent

monitor responsible for oversee-

ing its regulatory actions for

three years.

The company said it negotiated

a “concrete draft” of the deal. Its

board must authorize the

settlement.

The penalties would top Volks-

wagen’s previously set-aside pro-

visions of more than $19 billion

to cover the costs of the scandal,

the company acknowledged.

The likely outcome brings its

total scandal costs to nearly

$22 billion.

Evercore ISI analyst Arndt El-

linghorst had estimated the crim-

inal settlement would total

$3 billion.

“This is good news,” Elling-

horst said Tuesday in a note to in-

vestors. “But in the broader

scheme of things, we believe the

most important news is that VW

managed to come to an agree-

ment that allows the company to

move on from here.

“It’s a major relief that this

doesn’t get dragged into the new

U.S. administration.”

Volkswagen expects

$4.3B criminal, civil

settlement with feds

Automaker to plead

guilty on emissions

Nathan Bomey

@NathanBomey

USA TODAY

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE, EPA

The Volkswagen Touran has a 2.0l

TDI type diesel engine. A settlement

is near over rigged emissions in

more than half a million diesel

vehicles.

“The most important

news is that VW

managed to come to

an agreement that

allows the company

to move on from

here.”

Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst

President-elect Donald
Trump’s nominee for secretary of
State expressed interest in a 2016
interview as CEO of ExxonMobil
about doing business with Iran if
sanctions were lifted, a view that
could put him at odds with Re-
publicans weighing his
confirmation.
Rex Tillerson is scheduled to
testify Wednesday at his confir-
mation hearing before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee,
which includes members op-
posed to deals between U.S. com-
panies and Iran. Such business
ties are possible following the lift-
ing of sanctions under the nucle-
ar deal negotiated by Iran, the
Obama administration and five
other world powers.
Last March, Tillerson told
CNBC that his company would
consider doing business in oil-
rich Iran if the opportunity arose.
While U.S. companies are still
unable to
conduct business there, a lot of
European competitors can, Til-
lerson told the business cable
channel. Investment opportuni-
ties with Iran opened up after
some sanctions were lifted as part
of the nuclear deal, which went
into effect a year ago.
“I also learned a long time ago
that sometimes being the first in
is not necessarily best,” Tillerson
said. “We’ll wait and see if things
open up for U.S. companies. We
would certainly take a look be-
cause it’s a huge resource-owning
country.”
Republicans in Congress op-
pose the nuclear deal, saying it
puts billions of dollars in the
hands of an anti-U.S. regime that
sponsors terrorism around the
world. Last year, they moved to

block financing for a large sale of

Boeing commercial aircraft to

Iran. Trump also has assailed the

nuclear pact and vowed to scrap it.

ExxonMobil spokesman Alan

Jeffers told USA TODAY on

Tuesday that Tillerson, who re-

signed from the company to join

Trump’s Cabinet, was answering

a hypothetical question in the

CNBC interview. “Anywhere we

can work legally, we would do so,

but the current situation in Iran

now is not one that allows us to

do that,” Jeffers said.

According to correspondence

between ExxonMobil and the U.S.

Securities and Exchange Com-

mission, the company did busi-

ness with Iran through a

European joint venture, Infi-

neum, from 2003 to 2005, when

U.S. companies were barred from

doing business with Tehran.

The oil giant said the transac-

tions were legal because they

were conducted and managed by

a European company co-owned

with Shell whose management

was independent and involved no

U.S. personnel.

Tillerson was a senior vice

president at ExxonMobil from

August 2001 until he became

president and director in March

2004. He became chairman and
      chief executive on Jan. 1, 2006.
      In a letter to USA TODAY on
      Tuesday, Suzanne McCarron, Ex-
      xonMobil’s vice president for pub-

lic and government affairs, said:

“The transactions in question

complied fully with all laws and

regulations and no federal agency

took action following the compa-

ny’s responses to the SEC’s routine

inquiry more than a decade ago.”

“The company had limited

business in the countries during

the 2003-2005 period asked

about by the SEC, which strictly

complied with all applicable regu-

lations,” McCarron said.

Jeffers said no such joint ven-

tures are currently in place with

foreign companies doing business

in Iran.

Tillerson’s career at ExxonMo-

bil involved finding, exploring

and producing petroleum, and he

was unlikely to have been in-

volved in the joint venture before

he became president of the com-

pany in 2004, Jeffers said. “Prior

to his time as president, he never

would have been responsible for

Infineum operations.”

Secretary of State pick had

interest in Iran deals in 2016

View could clash

with GOP senators

SERGEI ILNITSKY SERGEI ILNITSKY, EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Tillerson speaks during the 21st World Petroleum Congress in Moscow on June 16, 2014.

Oren Dorell
@orendorell
USA TODAY

“Anywhere we

can work legally,

we would do so,

but the current

situation in Iran

now is not one

that allows us to

do that.”

Alan Jeffers , ExxonMobil spokesman

WASHINGTON Building a wall

won’t be enough to secure the

U.S. border with Mexico, retired

Marine general John Kelly, Presi-

dent-elect Donald Trump’s pick

to head the Department of

Homeland Security, told senators

during a confirmation hearing

Tuesday.

“A physical barrier in and of it-

self will not do the job,” Kelly

said. “It has to be really a layered

defense.”

He told the

Senate Home-

land Security

and Govern-

mental Affairs

Committee that

would require

patrols, sen-

sors, and “ob-

servation

devices,” and

also working

with other

countries to stem illegal travel to-

ward the U.S. border.

“We could have better partner-

ships,” Kelly said.

If confirmed, he would be

responsible for spearheading

the implementation of Trump’s

pledges to build a wall, track

foreigners who overstay their vi-

sas, and ramp up deportations of

immigrants in the country

illegally.

“I love my country, and I will

do everything within my power to

preserve our liberty, enforce our

laws, and protect our citizens,”

Kelly said.

He said he has “never had a

problem speaking truth to power,

and I firmly believe that those in

power deserve full candor and

my honest assessment and

recommendations.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D -Mo.,

and said she would count on him

to speak truth to Trump.

Homeland

pick: More

than a wall

is needed

Donovan Slack

@donovanslack

USA TODAY

USA TODAY

John F. Kelly