Spain's embattled premier calls early elections (AP)

By ALAN CLENDENNING and HAROLD HECKLE, Associated Press Alan Clendenning And Harold Heckle, Associated Press – 2?hrs?57?mins?ago

MADRID – Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Friday announced early general elections in November, scheduling the race four months earlier than anticipated to give his Socialist Party a better chance to stay in power amid growing outrage over the nation's economic woes.

Zapatero set the election date for Nov. 20 even though he was not required to call elections until March and had resisted repeated calls by the conservative opposition for early polling.

"I want a new government to take control of the economy from January 1st next year," said Zapatero, who announced earlier this year he would not seek a third term.

"It is convenient to hold elections this fall so a new government can take charge of the economy in 2012, fresh from the balloting," he said.

The early elections are expected to help the Socialist Party candidate, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Zapatero's former Interior Minister. While the Socialists have trailed Popular Party candidate Mariano Rajoy, a poll released Wednesday suggested they are closing the gap.

The miserable state of the economy is the single largest concern in Spain — hours before Zapatero's announcement, ratings agency Moody's warned it could soon downgrade the country's credit rating.

Investors are asking for higher rates to lend money to Spain, raising fears that it could be next in Europe to require a rescue package.

And a nationwide malaise has set in, with highly educated young Spaniards dumbing down their resumes because they are overqualified for what jobs are available — and increasingly looking to move abroad as unwilling expatriates.

The country's biggest international companies, including telecommunications firm Telefonica SA and Banco Santander SA, are increasingly relying on branches in booming Latin America while their Spain businesses dwindle.

"The only solution is to leave Spain, but that is a shame," said 25-year-old Monica Lopez, a college journalism graduate forced to work in a low level administrative post at a debt collector's office before she was laid off. "I am completely fed up.

The discontent is due not only to unemployment — at a eurozone-record of 20.9 percent — but also the austerity cuts enforced by Zapatero in the hope of reassuring markets that Spain can avoid needing a rescue package like neighboring Portugal.

The government lifted the retirement age to 67, hiked taxes, cut wages for public sector workers like teachers and police and forced mergers of troubled banks holding billions in unpaid mortgages.

Large anti-austerity protests have mushroomed around the country in recent months, mainly from young demonstrators ages 16-29 who face a stunning 35 percent joblessness rate.

There is not doubt the Socialists are under pressure. They hold a minority in Parliament, have just barely managed to rule through alliances with a handful of small parties, and were trounced in nationwide regional and municipal elections in May.

Rajoy claimed the announcement as a victory for himself, insisting Spaniards have had enough of the economic policies of Zapatero and his administration.

"Early elections are what the majority of the electorate wanted, so this is good news," Rajoy said.

Rajoy isn't expected to map out his campaign platform on the economy until September, but has said he favors labor reforms beyond what Zapatero has pushed through to try to help small and medium sized businesses start growing again. He said he has no intention of making further cuts to Spain's social welfare system and would govern from the center, but offered no details.

New polls showed that early elections are "the least bad" moment for Zapatero's party to try to retain control, said Ramon Cotarelo, a political science professor at Spain's Open University.

Adding to Spain's economic woes, Moody's warned Friday it may downgrade Spain's credit rating because of the country's weak economic growth prospects and high debt.

The move was a further sign that last week's bailout of Greece has not ended fears of debt crisis contagion elsewhere in Europe. Spain has the eurozone's fourth largest economy, and many economists say Europe can't afford to bail out the country.

Moody's said funding pressures on Spain are likely to increase following last week's bailout package for Greece, which has set the "precedent" of asking the private sector to take some losses on their investments in government bonds. Banks are being asked to rollover and swap their Greek debt holdings in an effort to relieve the burden on the country.

Moody's said Greece's second bailout package "has signaled a clear shift in risk for bondholders of countries with high debt burdens or large budget deficits."

Spain is struggling with the aftermath of a collapsed real-estate boom, and experts are predicting years of sluggish growth ahead. Though Spain's debt burden is not as high as Greece's, the country has a fairly sizable budget deficit, which requires constant funding in the bond markets.

The cost of borrowing for that funding has increased sharply in recent weeks, and continued to rise after last week's Greek deal, which was also aimed at easing pressure on the larger economies of Spain and Italy.

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Iain Sullivan contributed from Madrid, and Pan Pylas contributed from London.

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L.A.'s "Carmageddon" that never was nears early end (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Construction work along a closed Los Angeles freeway was finished sooner than expected on Sunday and officials said they would reopen the road later in the day, bringing an early end to the city's much-hyped "Carmageddon" traffic crisis.

"Anything that lets us give the freeway back to the motorists is a dream come true," said Judy Gish, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

A 10-mile section of Interstate 405 between two of the nation's busiest freeway interchanges was shut down on Friday night to allow for demolition of a bridge as part of a $1 billion freeway widening project.

The unprecedented closure originally was scheduled to last until about 6 a.m. on Monday, a schedule that likely would have wreaked havoc on much of the city's morning commute.

But Gish said demolition work was completed early and transit crews were cleaning up debris before final inspections of the work were conducted. She said a gradual reopening of the I-405, including its ramps and connector roads, could begin on Sunday as early as 11 a.m., but that time could slip into the afternoon.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa planned a news conference for that hour near the site of construction work in the Sepulveda Pass, the stretch of freeway that has been closed.

The 405 shutdown forced motorists to find alternate routes for one of L.A.'s most heavily traveled north-south corridors. It had been expected to bring gridlock to the surrounding area and backups to nearly a dozen other freeways in a region tightly woven by high-speed traffic.

But motorists largely heeded warnings from public officials and public service announcements from celebrities urging drivers to avoid L.A.'s Westside, averting the anticipated epic traffic jam residents had prospectively dubbed "Carmageddon."

Perhaps the biggest transportation drama on Saturday, the first full day of the closure, was a race between a group of bicyclists and JetBlue Airways, which offered $4 flights between Burbank and Long Beach as a special weekend promotion.

The cyclists made the one-way trip in less than an hour and a half. The JetBlue flight they were racing took just 12 minutes, but one airline passenger who left his home at the same time as the cyclists started their trip, arrived an hour later at the finish line, due to the added time of commuting to the airport, checking in, going through security and getting lost in a cab.

JetBlue called for a rematch.

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Early 'Carmageddon' traffic in LA moving smoothly (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Traffic in the Los Angeles area was flowing freely Saturday morning following the shutdown of a 10-mile stretch of one of the nation's busiest freeways.

But officials warned the real test was likely to begin around midday, after the country's second-largest city fully awakened.

"So far we're still Saturday morning light," said Mike Miles, a California Department of Transportation district director. "We don't know if that's just because it's Saturday morning, or if in fact motorists are listening to the message that has been put out about not driving this weekend."

He said traffic was expected to pick up as the day progressed.

Ramps to the normally clogged Interstate 405 were shut down Friday evening before the entire roadway was closed at midnight, setting the stage for a 53-hour bridge demolition project that will test whether this car-dependent city can change its driving habits for a weekend.

The bridge work attracted onlookers, many of whom cycled to a parking lot that overlooks the 405 about a quarter-mile from the span.

"Everybody's calling this weekend `Carmageddon,' but seeing the freeway empty it feels more post-apocalyptic," said Gail Standish, 47, who peddled from Beverly Hills with her bicycling club.

For weeks, authorities have urged residents to avoid getting in their cars, lest they trigger Carmageddon.

Such an event could back up vehicles from the 405 — locals like to joke that its name is shorthand for "traffic that moves no faster than 4 or 5 miles an hour" — to surface streets and other freeways, causing a domino effect that could paralyze much of Los Angeles.

Saturday morning, light traffic whizzed across the region's others highways, and no major delays were reported.

"The work is progressing, traffic is cooperating, and it's moving freely this morning," Miles said.

With warnings having been broadcast through television, radio, social media and flashing freeway signs as far away as San Francisco, many of the city's nearly 4 million residents appeared ready to stay off the roads.

Crews systematically began closing on- and off-ramps beginning at 7 p.m. Friday then began lane closures at 10 p.m., before the entire 10-mile section that runs through the Sepulveda Pass was closed at midnight.

Evening rush-hour traffic was light in the hours before the shutdown. Motorists took to Twitter to marvel at the rare sight of traffic maps showing a sea of green, indicating that traffic was flowing.

"Carmageddon? More like carmaheaven. No traffic in L.A.," tweeted Chip Dorsh, who said he breezed through a canyon road to get from his job in Culver City to the San Fernando Valley.

"When I left work, it was like a no man's land," Dorsh later told The Associated Press.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he thinks traffic will move smoothly if motorists take advice and stay close to home throughout the weekend.

"We can either say we survived Carmageddon or we survived the Carmageddon hype," he said.

If people listen, there will be no shortage of staycation activities or adventures awaiting them.

They can snag free cotton candy at the Santa Monica Pier or drop in on Michael Jackson's dermatologist for 25-percent-off Botox injections so that frazzled commuters won't look quite so frazzled.

Those who do want that real road warrior look might consider swinging by T-Man's Tattoos (located just off the 405) in the San Fernando Valley.

"If you come on in and mention you're in town because you're stuck from Carmageddon, you can get 15 percent off tattoos and piercings," proprietor Howard Teman said.

A few planned to take discounted helicopter rides over the empty stretch of the 405, several dozen others have $4 to $5 tickets to board special JetBlue flights between Long Beach Airport and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The airline, seizing on the national buzz about Carmageddon, offered the deal this week by calling the short, 20- to 30-minute flights a "planepool" between the San Fernando Valley and the coastal city.

Tickets sold out within three hours.

The flights inspired a group of cyclists to challenge JetBlue to a race. Members of the Wolfpack Hustle planned to peddle on a roughly 40-mile route starting near the Burbank airport to see whether they or a JetBlue passenger will reach Long Beach first.

Cycling advocates said they hope to show that gridlock can be avoided without using a car or plane.

"Everyone's freaking out about car traffic around the 405, bicycling represents a very viable alternative," cyclist Gary Kavanagh said.

Meanwhile, construction crews were working feverishly to take down half of the 50-year-old Mulholland Bridge as part of a $1 billion freeway-widening project.

Extra police, fire and medical personnel were on hand to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Or, if it doesn't, to ensure they are prepared to handle any emergency.

The city fire department put two dozen additional engines, fire companies and ambulances into service, placing them in neighborhoods that firefighters might have a hard time getting to from jammed roadways.

Much of the section of freeway that is being shut down winds through a hillside pass near Beverly Hills and other communities that are susceptible to brushfires.

Wildfire season, however, hasn't reached its peak yet, fire officials said. Besides, this weekend's expected humid weather should further reduce the threat of a fire.

The UCLA Health System, which runs the huge Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center located near the 405, was putting its weekend staff in dorm rooms and hotels to ensure they don't run late to work. Three helicopter companies were on standby to transport patients and human organs in case of emergency procedures.

For those who do have to drive, a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center psychiatrist was offering advice on how to keep calm and stay safe.

Among Dr. Waguih William IsHak's advice: avoid road rage at all costs, apologize profusely to anyone you accidentally cut off in traffic, be sure to leave for your destination with a full tank of gas and a cell phone.

Or, better yet, authorities say, stay at home.

"If everyone heeds our advice, this whole weekend will be in our rear view mirror and everybody will be fine," Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.

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AP writers John Rogers and John Antczak contributed to this report.

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Crack offenders eligible for early release (AP)

WASHINGTON – Thousands of federal prisoners locked up for offenses involving crack cocaine will be eligible for early release after a vote Thursday by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Congress passed a law last year substantially lowering recommended sentences for people convicted of crack cocaine crimes, ranging from possession to trafficking. The idea was to fix a longstanding disparity in punishments for crack and powder cocaine crimes, but the new, lower recommended sentences didn't automatically apply to offenders already in prison. On Thursday the six-member sentencing commission unanimously decided that offenders locked up for crack offenses before the new law took effect should also benefit.

"I believe that the commission has no choice but to make this right," said Ketanji Brown Jackson, a vice chair of the commission. "I say justice demands this result."

The commission's decision is final unless Congress decides to intervene by the end of October, though that is considered unlikely.

According to the commission's own research, approximately 12,000 of the roughly 200,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons nationwide will be eligible to have their sentences reduced because of Thursday's vote. The average sentence reduction is expected to be approximately three years, though a judge will have to approve any lower sentence. Individuals convicted under state law and in state prisons will not be affected. The Bureau of Prisons estimates that over the first five years the change will save $200 million.

In its ruling Thursday the commission took a broad view of who should benefit from lower recommended sentences, though various groups had urged the commission to act more narrowly. A group of 15 Republican lawmakers from the House and Senate wrote to the commission saying the Fair Sentencing Act passed by Congress last year was not intended to benefit any past offenders. And U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder took the position that prisoners who used weapons during their crimes or who have significant criminal histories should not be eligible for reduced sentences. That would have cut in half the number of prisoners eligible for early release from 12,000 to approximately 6,000.

Prisoners eligible for a reduction can begin petitioning judges for a revised sentence beginning in November, assuming Congress does not act.

The reductions would not be automatic. A lawyer, the overwhelming majority of them public defenders, would file paperwork in court for the prisoner seeking a reduction, and the reduction would have to be approved by a judge. Prisoners would not necessarily have to appear in court, but prosecutors would also weigh in.

Courts have had prior experience with the process. In 2007 approximately 16,000 crack offenders had their sentences reduced after another action by the Sentencing Commission.

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