Across the nation

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg pulled off a stunning victory Thursday in getting New York City’s term-limits law changed so that he can run for a third term, but the billionaire isn’t likely to start campaigning until he mends some frayed relationships.

The former CEO accomplished one of his greatest legislative wins in convincing a divided City Council to back his bill, which gives officeholders the option of running for a third consecutive four-year term.

Bloomberg’s chief argument to do it quickly, and without voter approval, was that his financial background is crucial to leading the city through the fallout from the economic crisis.

New Yorkers can expect this message to be the framework for his re-election bid when the Bloomberg campaign officially gets rolling next year, aides and associates say.

Right now, Bloomberg is focused on repairing relationships with his detractors. He and his deputies have already begun reaching out to city council members, union leaders and other influential New Yorkers.

"We’ve all got to work together, and I think we all will,” he said Friday on his weekly radio show.

This diplomacy effort has two goals: He needs help when he begins making cuts and other unpopular moves to bridge widening budget deficits, such as possibly raising taxes. He also wants to rebuild support for his eventual re-election bid.

Bush welcomes Albania, Croatia into NATO

WASHINGTON — President Bush signed papers Friday to formally declare U.S. support of NATO membership for Albania and Croatia — two countries that he said were once in the "shackles of communism.”

At a White House ceremony, Bush signed accession protocols that moved the two Balkan countries one step closer to membership in the expanding military alliance.

"The citizens of Albania and Croatia have overcome war and hardship, built peaceful relations with their neighbors and helped other young democracies build and strengthen free societies,” he said.

"Once Albania and Croatia formally join NATO, their people can know if any nation threatens their security, every member of our alliance will be at their side.”

Bush said the U.S. looks forward to the day when NATO embraces all the nations of the Balkans, including Macedonia. He also reiterated U.S. support for prospective NATO members Ukraine, Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bush added, "The door to NATO membership also remains open to the people of Serbia should they choose that path.”

The ceremony followed Bush’s meeting in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who noted that with Albania and Croatia, 28 nations will be members of the alliance.

Two greenhouse gases on the rise worry scientists

WASHINGTON — Carbon dioxide isn’t the only greenhouse gas that worries climate scientists. Airborne levels of two other potent gases — one from ancient plants, the other from flat-panel screen technology — are on the rise, too.

And that’s got scientists concerned about accelerated global warming.

The gases are methane and nitrogen trifluoride. Both pale in comparison to the global warming effects of carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. In the past couple of years, however, these other two gases have been on the rise, according to two new studies. The increase is not accounted for in predictions for future global warming and comes as a nasty surprise to climate watchers.

Methane is by far the bigger worry. It is considered the No. 2 greenhouse gas based on the amount of warming it causes and the amount in the atmosphere. The total effect of methane on global warming is about one-third that of man-made carbon dioxide.

Methane comes from landfills, natural gas, coal mining, animal waste, and decaying plants. But it’s the decaying plants that worry scientists most. That’s because thousands of years ago billions of tons of methane were created by decaying Arctic plants.

It lies frozen in permafrost wetlands and trapped in the ocean floor. As the Arctic warms, the concern is this methane will be freed and worsen warming. Scientists have been trying to figure out how they would know if this process is starting.

It’s still early and the data are far from conclusive, but scientists say they are concerned that what they are seeing could be the start of the release of the Arctic methane.