U.S. Digest

Clinton, Obama seek to shrug off differences

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — In yet another twist in their complex and heavily scrutinized relationship, Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Barack Obama did their best to shrug off their differences Wednesday as they gathered on Martha’s Vineyard following a foreign policy split.

Obama’s spokesman said the White House “is looking onwards and upwards,” while Clinton joked she was planning on hugging it off with her former boss at a party on the upscale getaway where the president was vacationing.

“We have disagreements as any partners and friends, as we are, might very well have,” Clinton told reporters crowded into a bookstore signing of her memoir “Hard Choices.” ”But I’m proud that I served with him and for him, and I’m looking forward to seeing him tonight.”

Clinton made her first public comments since a flap emerged over her interview with The Atlantic magazine in which she seemed to try to set herself apart from the unpopular Obama as she heads toward a possible 2016 White House bid.

Police chief won’t be pressured into IDing cop who killed teen

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The police chief of a St. Louis suburb rocked by racial unrest since a white police officer shot an unarmed black teenager to death said Wednesday he won’t be pressured into publicly identifying the officer despite mounting demands from clergy, protesters and even hackers.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, who has been the public face of the city torn by Saturday’s death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, told reporters the St. Louis County investigation of the shooting could take weeks to complete. In the meantime, he said, his department welcomes Justice Department training on racial relations in the suburb, where twothirds of the 21,000 residents are black while all but three of the police force’s 53 officers are white.

“Unfortunately, an undertow (of racial unrest) has bubbled to the sur- face,” said Jackson. “Race relations is the top priority right now.”

The mystery of the officer’s identity has fanned the discord, with Jackson arguing that revealing that detail could bring retribution to the officer whose life since Saturday has been threatened countless times.

Same-sex marriages could begin next week in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Samesex couples could begin marrying as early as next week in Virginia after a federal appeals court refused Wednesday to delay its ruling that struck down the state’s gay marriage ban.

The state would also need to start recognizing gay marriages from out of state next Wednesday, though the U.S. Supreme Court could effectively put same-sex marriages on hold again if opponents of same-sex marriage are able to win an emergency delay.

A county clerk in northern Virginia had asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to stay its decision striking down the ban, issued in late July, while it is appealed to the high court. The appeals court’s order did not explain why it denied that request.

The 4th Circuit decision “shows that there’s no longer a justification to keep same-sex couples from marrying,” said Nancy Leong, a law professor at the University of Denver. “Given how many different judges in so many different parts of the country … have reached the same result, it seems highly likely that the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail on the merits, and I think that, in turn, explains why the 4th Circuit was not willing to grant a stay.”

Additional water headed to Arizona’s troubled Lake Mead

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — One of the main reservoirs in the vast Colorado River water system that is struggling to serve the booming Southwest will get more water this year, but that won’t be enough to pull Lake Mead back from near-record lows.

Water managers, farmers and cities throughout the region have been closely watching the elevation at the reservoir behind Hoover Dam. It is at its lowest level since the dam was complete and the lake first was filled in the 1930s.

A drop to 1,075 would mean cuts in water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday that it will release 10 percent more water from Lake Powell near the Arizona-Utah border into Lake Mead than it did the past year, thanks to near-normal runoff.

Federal officials said they’ll send 8.23 million acre feet to Lake Mead, up from 7.48 million acre feet when Lake Powell was at its lowest level ever. An acre foot is about 325,850 gallons, or enough to cover a football field with a foot of water.

Despite the additional water, Lake Mead is projected to remain near record lows at 1,083 feet in January — three feet higher than it was Wednesday.

Referrals to private doctors on the rise, VA secretary says

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is significantly increasing its referrals of veterans to private doctors following a scandal over lengthy patient waiting times at many VA hospitals and clinics and falsified appointment records, VA Secretary Robert McDonald said Wednesday.

McDonald spoke to a few hundred people at the American Veterans national convention. He is scheduled to visit the city’s VA hospital on Thursday.

The VA has been shaken by reports that some veterans died while waiting for treatment. Some workers have been accused of covering up scheduling problems. The scandal led to the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and last month’s appointment of McDonald, a former West Point graduate, Army Ranger and Procter and Gamble CEO.

In the past two months, the VA has made more than 838,000 referrals for veterans to receive care from private doctors, McDonald told the AMVETS. That’s an increase of 166,000 referrals, or about 25 percent, from the same period last year.

The statement drew applause from veterans in attendance.