Obama campaign conducts damage control after debate, as jobs report looms

President Obama launched into damage-control mode Thursday, as he tried to smooth over his rocky debate performance from the night before while bracing for the next potential game-changer – the monthly unemployment report.

The Labor Department on Friday is set to release the September jobs numbers, which include an update to the unemployment rate. The rate has slowly edged down to 8.1 percent, but the reports all summer have reflected weak hiring month after month.

Obama, trying to back up his onstage claim Wednesday night that the economy is on the rebound, needs to show some positive stats on the board, and Friday’s report is the last of two monthly snapshots before the November election.

Mitt Romney, at their first debate in Denver, had hammered the president over the state of the economy and declared: “The status quo is not going to cut it."

Coming out of the debate, the Obama campaign said it would "make adjustments" going forward and tried to get back on the offensive.

At a Denver rally Thursday afternoon complete with teleprompters, Obama ripped into Romney as he tried to brush himself off and reassure supporters.

"When I got onto the stage I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. "But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that." 

The president ticked off a string of complaints about Romney's on-stage claims before adding: "The man on stage last night, he does not want to be held accountable to the real Mitt Romney's decisions." 

Obama's campaign complemented the rally with a conference call in which adviser David Axelrod said Romney was "completely untethered from the truth." 

But the Romney campaign quickly fired back, accusing Obama of doubling down on "false attacks." 

"In full damage-control mode, President Obama today offered no defense of his record and no vision for the future," spokesman Ryan Williams said. "Rather than a plan to fix our economy, President Obama simply offered more false attacks and renewed his call for job-killing tax hikes." 

The explanations from the Obama campaign about what went wrong came as observers from both sides of the political spectrum roundly judged Romney the winner. 

The Republican nominee was quick on his feet, polished and feisty as he repeatedly cut off the moderator and challenged his opponent on the facts. 

Axelrod suggested on the conference call that Obama wasn't doing enough fact-checking on Romney's statements. 

"Obviously moving forward, we're going to take a hard look at this and we're going to have to make some judgments as to where to draw the lines in these debates and how to use our time," he said, claiming Obama did not view the debate as a performance as Romney did. 

Romney was heading next to the battleground of Virginia on Thursday, while Obama headed to Wisconsin following his rally in Colorado. It's unclear whether Romney's performance will move the polls, but he was clearly looking for a race-shaking performance having slipped in recent weeks in several swing-state surveys. The race could be given a jolt again on Friday with the release of the Labor Department's monthly unemployment numbers. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that factory orders dropped in August by the most in three years. 

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing "trickle-down government," Obama accused Romney of wanting to "double down on the top-down policies" that led to the financial crisis. 

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney's first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president. 

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a consistently more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks. 

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position -- but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth. 

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not "where we've been" but "where we're going." 

"We've begun to fight our way back," Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains. 

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that "the status quo is not going to cut it." 

"We know that the path we're taking is not working. It's time for a new path," Romney said. 

He said Obama's push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery. 

"You raise taxes and you kill jobs," Romney said. "I don't want to kill jobs in this environment." 

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years -- of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who's looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan. 

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. 

To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class. 

"It's math, it's arithmetic," Obama said 

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he's pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes. 

"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class. 

"There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that -- no tax cut that adds to the deficit," Romney said. He added: "I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families." 

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 -- and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign's claims that he has not been specific. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Solar power company banks on loan, but skeptics question government investment in industry

The federal government is making another big bet on solar panel manufacturing with taxpayer money, hoping the third time will be the charm.

SoloPower held its grand opening Thursday in Portland, Ore., with speeches from local politicians and a ribbon-cutting. "It really revolutionizes rooftop applications, and it makes solar both easy and cost effective for nearly any commercial and industrial building worldwide," CEO Tim Harris said.

SoloPower closed on a guaranteed government loan of $197 million last August, about the time another solar panel manufacturer, Solyndra, filed for bankruptcy. The failure of Solyndra cost U.S. taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars.

The second solar panel maker that received a loan from the Department of Energy, Abound, is also now in bankruptcy. Based in Longmont, Colo., Abound spent $70 million of its green energy loan and next week will auction off its equipment in hopes of paying some of that back.

Industry analysts are not optimistic about SoloPower's prospects.

"It's questionable at this point," says Andrew Soare of Lux Research, "It's uncertain if solar power will be able to produce efficiently and economically at scale. It's something that has not been done yet, and it's still risky."

Soare points to the price advantage enjoyed by Chinese manufacturers which has helped them grab a majority of the U.S. market share. Chinese solar panels are about 30 percent cheaper than ones made in America. The Commerce Department is urging President Obama to slap a tariff on Chines imports.

But SoloPower doesn't view China as competitors because they make far different products. SoloPower manufacturers "thin film," flexible and lightweight panels that can be installed on large commercial and industrial rooftops.

Environmental groups continue to support the federal green power loan program.

"We're just on the cusp of a whole revolution," says Ross Macfarlane of Climate Solutions. "Many (companies) will fail, but the key ones will succeed and they're going to lead us."

But William Yeatman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says the Energy Department's green loan program created with federal stimulus money has been a failure by any measure. Congress appropriated $4.5 billion for it. Solar panel bankruptcies alone have cost taxpayers $600 million and if SoloPower stumbles, the losses will go even higher. A fourth company, 1366 Technologies, received a $150 million loan but has not even built its manufacturing plant yet.

Yeatman has little faith in SoloPower: "It looks like it will fail for the same reasons as Solyndra."

Much of the debate following Solyndra's collapse has centered on government's role in emerging technologies. Green groups say government has supported the oil industry through tax breaks, so it's essential to help alternative fuels to wean us off carbon.

But John Charles of the Cascade Policy Institute said government just gets in the way.

"It's a terrible risk," Charles said. "This is a program that should not even exist, even if the risk was low. It is not a proper function of government to be a venture capital fund."

SoloPower expects to start spending the taxpayer money late this year.

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Early voting in Iowa, other states kicks off presidential election

Let the voting begin. 

More than five weeks before Election Day, voters in the Iowa battleground began to cast their ballots Thursday as early voting opened. 

The opening helped mark the start of a process that both campaigns have tried to take advantage of -- though it also challenged President Obama and Mitt Romney to quickly make their closing arguments to this group with considerable time, and three presidential debates, still left on the calendar. Iowa is the first swing state to open in-person early voting, though a few other states including South Dakota and Idaho have already started. 

In Iowa, experts predict four in 10 will likely end up voting before Election Day. A total of 32 states and the District of Columbia allow early voting, with relatively few restrictions -- many states launch the process next month. 

For some, Iowa's early-voting window was a chance to get their civic duty out of the way after a tiring campaign season. 

"I'm just so sick and tired of the process, and maybe it will cut down the calls," said Jane Ommen, 70, a retired University of Iowa clerical worker who voted for President Obama at the Johnson County Auditor's Office. 

The Obama campaign worked for weeks to promote early voting, which it sees as a key advantage in the race for Iowa's six electoral votes, and was quick out of the gate. Its theme to supporters was "Be the First," drawing a parallel between the state's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses that launched Obama to the White House and its status as one of the earliest voting swing states. The start of voting comes as polls show Obama pulling into a lead in Iowa. 

To be sure, Republicans are also urging voters to fill out absentee ballot requests, The Quad-City Times reported. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, was leading a rally to support GOP nominee Mitt Romney, the report said. 

The Democrats have built a nearly 5-1 advantage statewide in the number of absentee ballots requested as of Wednesday, with 119,318 compared to 24,909 for Republicans, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office. Another 41,000 independent voters have also requested ballots. Both campaigns say they believe the gap will narrow as Republicans increase their early voting efforts, but it also reflects differences in the parties' get-out-the-vote operations. 

Democrats have been casting a wide net looking for early votes, from party activists to college students to voters who usually favor the party but do not always turn out. They are putting a greater emphasis on voting in-person at county auditor's offices and at satellite locations in places like libraries and grocery stores than the Republicans. 

Voters lined up as county auditor's offices opened from Des Moines to Dubuque to be among the first to record their preferences in the battleground state, one of the first states where the election process is now in full swing. Some said they were excited to vote, while others were simply eager to put the bitter election behind them. 

By contrast, Republicans are sending out mass mailings with absentee ballot request forms targeting swing voters, allowing them to request their ballots and vote by mail, said Tom Szold, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee in Iowa. He said the Democrats' intense efforts toward early voting shows the party is worried about turning out its base, while Republicans are confident their voters will show up in greater numbers on the Nov. 6 election, as they typically do in Iowa. 

Obama campaign spokeswoman Erin Seidler said that after years of organizing in the Hawkeye State, the campaign has a wide network of supporters who are eager to vote. The campaign is far ahead of where it was 4 years ago for early voting, with tens of thousands of additional ballots having been requested, she said. 

Statewide, more than a third of the 1.54 million votes cast in 2008 were cast early, which was slightly above the national average. Elections officials expect another increase this cycle, with perhaps 40 percent of votes coming in the 40-day window before Election Day. 

While Democrats organized walks to early voting sites, Republicans planned a rally Thursday with Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in Cedar Rapids to promote early voting. Szold said similar events in coming days will promote voting in-person and by mail. 

The Democrats also were bringing in prominent Obama backers to shine a spotlight on voting. Actor Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld," was to be in Des Moines to promote the effort Thursday. First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to hold a rally Friday at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls to encourage early voting. 

Mrs. Obama recorded a web video asking Iowa supporters to vote early and to bring at least one other relative, neighbor or coworker to the polls with them. 

"We know that early votes provided the difference between winning and losing in key battleground states in 2008," she says on the video, "and we all know that this year's election is going to be even closer." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NFL reaches tentative agreement with referees to end lockout

NEW YORK –  So long, replacement refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back on the field starting Thursday night.

After two days of marathon negotiations -- and mounting frustration among coaches, players and fans -- the NFL and the referees' union announced at midnight Thursday that a tentative agreement had been reached to end a lockout that began in June.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was at the bargaining table Tuesday and Wednesday, said the regular officials would work the Browns-Ravens game at Baltimore.

The tentative eight-year deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. They plan to vote Friday and Saturday in Dallas.

"Welcome back REFS," Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller tweeted shortly after the news broke.

The replacements worked the first three weeks of games, triggering a wave of outrage that threatened to disrupt the rest of the season. After a missed call cost the Green Bay Packers a win on a chaotic final play at Seattle on Monday night, the two sides really got serious.

"We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games," referees' union president Scott Green said.

The agreement hinged on working out pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are part-time employees of the league. The tentative pact calls for their salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.

Under the proposed deal, the current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service. The defined benefit plan will then be frozen.

Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution arrangement. The annual league contribution made on behalf of each game official will begin with an average of more than $18,000 per official and increase to more than $23,000 per official in 2019.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option of hiring a number of officials on a full-time basis to work year round, including on the field. The NFL will have the option to retain additional officials for training and development purposes, and may assign those additional officials to work NFL games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the NFL.

"As you know, this has to be ratified and we know very little about it, but we're excited to be back. And ready," referee Ed Hochuli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. " And I think that's the most important message -- that we're ready."

Replacement refs aren't new to the NFL. They worked the first week of games in 2001 before a deal was reached. But those officials came from the highest level of college football; the current replacements do not. Their ability to call fast-moving NFL games drew mounting criticism through Week 3, climaxing last weekend, when ESPN analyst Jon Gruden called their work "tragic and comical."

Those comments came during "Monday Night Football," with Seattle beating Green Bay 14-12 on a desperation pass into the end zone on the final play. Packers safety M.D. Jennings had both hands on the ball in the end zone, and when he fell to the ground in a scrum, both Jennings and Seahawks receiver Golden Tate had their arms on the ball.

The closest official to the play, at the back of the end zone, signaled for the clock to stop, while another official at the sideline ran in and then signaled touchdown.

The NFL said in a statement Tuesday that the touchdown pass should not have been overturned -- but acknowledged Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch. The league also said there was no indisputable evidence to reverse the call made on the field.

That drew even louder howls of disbelief. Some coaches, including Miami's Joe Philbin and Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, tried to restore some calm by instructing players not to speak publicly on the issue.

Fines against two coaches for incidents involving the replacements were handed out Wednesday.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was docked $50,000 for trying to grab an official's arm Sunday to ask for an explanation of a call after his team lost at Baltimore. And Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was tagged for $25,000 for what the league called "abuse of officials" in the Redskins' loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Two other coaches, Denver's John Fox and assistant Jack Del Rio, were fined Monday for incidents involving the replacements the previous week.

"I accept the discipline and I apologize for the incident," Belichick said.

Players were in no mood for apologies from anyone.

"I'll probably get in trouble for this, but you have to have competent people," Carolina receiver Steve Smith said. "And if you're incompetent, get them out of there."

Added Rams quarterback Sam Bradford: "I just don't think it's fair to the fans, I don't think it's fair to us as players to go out there and have to deal with that week in and week out. I really hope that they're as close as they say they are."

They were. Finally.

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Obama, Romney campaigns ease off Libya debate as administration's story changes

As the Obama administration's initial explanation of last week's deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya appears to unravel, both presidential campaigns were curiously quiet Thursday -- with the Obama campaign deferring to testimony from a day earlier and the Romney campaign declining to criticize the president. 

The White House on Thursday called the assault a terrorist attack, after officials initially declined to use that term for more than a week. And the administration's claim that the strike was not pre-planned continued to be called into serious question as new evidence emerged of possible Al Qaeda ties. 

But Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt, in an interview with Fox News, gave no indication that President Obama would address the American public anytime soon about the issue and deferred to remarks a day earlier by a top counterterrorism official. 

And Mitt Romney's campaign has said little about this other than to stress the importance of bringing the killers to justice. 

Asked Thursday about the evolving version of events in Libya, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said: "Governor Romney believes our immediate priority in Libya is to track down and bring to justice those terrorists who brutally murdered our diplomats. The attack is a clear reminder that terrorists, particularly those linked to Al Qaeda, remain a grave threat and one that is growing in North Africa."

The Romney campaign appears to have dialed back on Libya since the candidate first criticized the U.S. Embassy in Cairo last Tuesday for a statement that allegedly sympathized with those protesting over an anti-Islam film. 

"I think they're gun shy," Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said. 

Bonjean was referring to the wall of criticism the Romney campaign faced -- from the media and the Obama campaign -- after the initial statement criticizing the embassy in Cairo. Romney defended those comments and went on to criticize Obama's foreign policy strategy in the aftermath of the Libya attack. 

But Romney and Obama on the campaign trail have since turned almost exclusively back to the economy. 

The latest back and forth pertains to two online videos. In one, Romney seems to dismiss the "47 percent" of people who don't pay federal income taxes, saying they see themselves as "victims" and will only support Obama. The other online clip features audio of a young Obama appearing to embrace "redistribution." 

The Twitter pages for both Romney and his campaign show little to no activity on Libya since last week. 

Bonjean said he thinks Romney is "letting the situation develop" before he speaks in any definitive terms on it again. That's not necessarily a bad move, he suggested. 

"I think what they're doing is not taking the shovel away from the Obama administration on the Middle East while they're still digging a hole," he said.

Bonjean said Romney might eventually make hay out of the changing story -- particularly at next month's presidential debate on foreign policy -- but until then, he said it would be best for surrogates to do the attacking. Still, he said it might be appropriate for Romney to say something on Libya in the near future about the importance of the American public knowing the facts about what happened. 

Republicans on the Hill are far less "gun shy" about criticizing the administration. 

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News it was "irresponsible" for the administration to send U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice for a round of Sunday show interviews in which she called the attack "spontaneous."

"They had to know at that time that there was terrorist elements involved," King said. "The Obama administration wants us to think that the war against terrorism is over, that the president's policies have worked, that we have nothing to worry about from Al Qaeda. That is dangerous, irresponsible and it was wrong." 

And the Republican National Committee has been flagging the administration's changing statements. In an email Thursday, the RNC asked whether the administration was "deliberately lying" about the facts of the attack.

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Guatemala Tourist Hub Rocked by Volcano Eruption

ESCUINTLA, Guatemala –  One of Guatemala's most famous tourist attractions was hit Thursday by a series of eruptions from a long-simmering volcano that sent thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (three kilometers) high, spewed rivers of lava down its flanks and prompted evacuation orders for more than 33,000 people from surrounding communities.

Guatemala's head of emergency evacuations, Sergio Cabanas, said the evacuees were ordered to leave some 17 villages around the Volcán del Fuego, which sits about six miles southwest (16 kilometers) from the colonial city of Antigua, home to 45,000 people. The ash was blowing south-southeast and authorities said the tourist center of the country was not currently in danger, although they expected the eruption to last for at least 12 more hours.

The agency said the volcano spewed lava nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) down slopes billowing with ash around Acatenango, a 12,346-foot-high (3,763-meter-high) volcano whose name translates as "Volcano of Fire."

SUMMARY

Many of those living around the volcano are indigenous Kakchikeles people who live in relatively poor and isolated communities, and authorities said they expected to encounter difficulties in evacuating all the affected people from the area.

"A paroxysm of an eruption is taking place, a great volcanic eruption, with strong explosions and columns of ash," said Gustavo Chicna, a volcanologist with the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. He said cinders spewing from the volcano were settling a half-inch thick in some places.

He said extremely hot gases were also rolling down the sides of the volcano, which was almost entirely wreathed in ash and smoke. The emergency agency warned that flights through the area could be affected.

There was a red alert, the highest level, south and southeast of the mountain, where, Chicna said, "it's almost in total darkness."

He said ash was landing as far as 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the volcano.

Teresa Marroquin, disaster coordinator for the Guatemalan Red Cross, said the organization had set up 10 emergency shelters and was sending hygiene kits and water.

"There are lots of respiratory problems and eye problems," she said.

Many of those living around the volcano are indigenous Kakchikeles people who live in relatively poor and isolated communities, and authorities said they expected to encounter difficulties in evacuating all the affected people from the area.

Officials in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, said they were monitoring the situation in case winds drove ash toward Mexico.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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Consulate attack planned as 2-part militant assault, Libyan official says

A Libyan official said Thursday that the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was a planned, two-part operation that included a raid on a supposedly secret safe house -- an account that comports with what a top U.S. lawmaker told Fox News a day earlier. 

On Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told Fox News that the strike was a "coordinated, military-style" operation. 

Wanis al-Sharef, eastern Libya's deputy interior minister, then said on Thursday the attacks were suspected to have been timed to mark the 9/11 anniversary and that the militants used civilians protesting an anti-Islam film as cover for their action. 

He said U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and another official were killed in the consulate, but that the attackers timed a second wave on the safe house just as Libyan and U.S. security forces were arriving to rescue evacuated consulate staff. 

He said that second wave killed two more Americans and wounded nearly 30 Libyans and Americans. 

The comments continued to contradict initial reports that the attack was a product of angry and violent protests over an anti-Islam film. 

Rogers told Fox News he has "no doubt" it was a planned attack and had nothing to do with the film. 

"It was a coordinated, military-style, commando-type raid," Rogers said. Based on his own briefings, Rogers said "military movements" were involved. 

"This was a well- planned, well-targeted event. No doubt about it," Rogers said. He said the Al Qaeda-linked Imprisoned Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades is one group being looked at by officials. 

Senior Obama administrations who discussed the attack late Wednesday could not say whether it was coordinated or spontaneous. 

But they, too, described a two-phase assault. 

They said the attack started at about 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, when the main consulate building started taking fire. Shortly before midnight, everybody in that building was evacuated to a nearby annex. 

However, at midnight the annex came under fire as well. During the two-hour attack, officials said, two more Americans were killed. 

Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Lawmakers push for Obama administration to get tough over embassy attacks

Lawmakers and other officials stepped up calls Thursday for the United States to put heavy pressure on the governments whose people are storming U.S. diplomatic posts across the Middle East and North Africa -- even if it means freezing aid and expelling diplomats from Washington. 

The calls increased as anti-American demonstrations and attacks spread to Yemen, and as protests entered their third day near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. The clashes continued, after four Americans including the U.S. ambassador were killed Tuesday night during attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The attack came roughly a year after the U.S. and its allies helped Libyans overthrow dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that President Obama should be putting particular pressure on Egypt and its president, Mohammed Morsi, over the sustained demonstrations there. King said the U.S. should suspend aid to Egypt until Morsi makes "absolutely clear" he is condemning the demonstrations and taking "forceful action" to protect the U.S. Embassy. 

Obama, in an interview with Spanish-language network Telemundo, pushed back on the idea of suspending aid, saying the U.S. "doesn't have an option of withdrawing from the world." 

On Egypt, he said pointedly: "I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we do not consider them an enemy." 

King countered: "If he's not an ally, why do we continue to give him billions of dollars in aid?" 

Egypt was slated to receive $1.6 billion this year in U.S. aid. Protesters earlier in the week stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and tore down the U.S. flag. 

Other officials said the U.S. needs to make clear to these countries that they are accountable for what happens at the U.S. embassies. 

"When you attack an embassy, you're attacking America," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., told Fox News. 

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the George W. Bush administration, said Obama should communicate privately to Egypt and Libya that if this happens again, "we're cutting off all assistance." 

"That message has to go all across the Middle East," he said. 

Some lawmakers are trying to carve out U.S. aid to Libya in the stopgap funding bill hitting Capitol Hill this week. 

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, went further, saying Wednesday that the U.S. should send a signal that "this barbaric behavior will not be tolerated" by suspending aid, closing U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya and expelling their diplomats from the U.S. 

King, though, said the fledgling government in Libya should be treated a little differently. 

He said the U.S. might "reconsider" aid, but stressed that the government is fragile there -- and still forming after the downfall of Qaddafi -- and that Libyan security personnel did try to protect Americans during the Benghazi attack Tuesday night. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that the U.S. should distinguish the government and people of Libya from the "small and savage" group that launched the attack on the consulate. A number of officials stressed that the relationship with a new Libya must endure despite the attack. 

Obama called the presidents of both Libya and Egypt on Wednesday about the demonstrations and attacks. 

According to the White House, Morsi "expressed his condolences for the tragic loss of American life in Libya and emphasized that Egypt would honor its obligation to ensure the safety of American personnel."

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First Look at the Trailer for Spielberg's Lincoln

Check out this preview of the new trailer for director Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. The trailer will debut during a Google+ Hangout on Thursday, September 13, 2012, at 4 p.m. PT, followed by a live chat with Spielberg and Lincoln cast member Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

Lincoln stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie opens in limited release November 9 and then expands into theaters November 16.

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