NATION IN BRIEF: The End of Iraq Combat, Cahill’s Tax Problems and Hurricane Earl

IRAQ COMBAT ENDS:

After more than seven years of war and over 4,000 U.S. casualties, America ended its combat operations in Iraq on Tuesday.

"This milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment," President Barack Obama said in an Oval Office address Tuesday night. "It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century."

Iraq's security now lies in the hands of its people, Obama said, as the U.S. moves from Operation Iraqi Freedom to the transition phase of Operation New Dawn.

Obama warned that the U.S. exit does not mean that violence in Iraq is over.

"Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians, and try to spark sectarian strife," he said. "But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals."

Only 50,000 noncombatant troops remain in Iraq in what Obama called an "advising and assisting" position. These troops are due to leave by the end of 2011.

Obama said he called former President George W. Bush before giving the speech, in a nod to Obama's lengthy opposition to the war that often defined his predecessor's presidency.

"It's well-known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," he said. "Yet no one can doubt President Bush's support for our troops or his love of country and commitment to our security. As I've said, there were patriots who supported this war and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women and our hopes for Iraqis' future."

CAHILL DIDN'T PAY TAXES:

Independent gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill didn't pay $15,000 in state taxes that his campaign owed over the past eight years, The Boston Globe found on Wednesday.

Though the Cahill campaign had paid federal taxes on interest earned from funds held in certificates of deposits, the campaign said, they had not paid the 5.3 percent state taxes on that same interest since 2002, internal campaign audits found with assistance from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

"As of today the campaign has filed amended returns to the state of Massachusetts and a good faith estimate on taxes owed to the state relating to interest earned from our investments," a statement from Adam Meldrum, Cahill's campaign manager, said. "We will be working with all necessary parties over the next few days to ensure the exact amount is paid in full."

Cahill, the state treasurer and a man who has run on a campaign of fiscal responsibility, "is extremely adamant that we get to the bottom of the situation," the statement said. In an interview with WRKO Wednesday, Cahill called the unpaid taxes an "oversight" and took responsibility for it.

"I am mad at myself," Cahill said to the station. "This is a mistake, and I'm responsible. Obviously, I didn't know about it because there's no way we would not pay taxes if we thought we owed them."

Still, the apparent oversight has garnered criticism from Cahill's opposition.

"People are tired of politicians like Tim Cahill and Charlie Rangel who raise taxes while refusing to pay their own," said Mike Schrimpf, a spokesman for the Republican Governor's Association, in a statement, noting that Cahill had previously criticized Sen. John Kerry for dodging $500,000 in taxes by docking his yacht in Rhode Island.

HURRICANE TO HIT COAST:

Boston University students may want to pack an umbrella for their second day of classes &- Hurricane Earl has the potential to make a "glancing blow" to eastern Massachusetts on Friday, the director of the National Hurricane Center told reporters on Wednesday.

A hurricane watch was issued at 5 p.m. on Wednesday from Woods Hole up to Sagamore Beach in Massachusetts. The watch includes the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible in the area within 48 hours.

The "eastern third" of Massachusetts may experience tropical storm conditions, NHC director Bill Read said, as the Category 4 hurricane reaches Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Read said forecasters are still unsure how much of the state would be seriously affected by the storm, which is expected to gradually weaken after Thursday after landfall in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service are predicting that Earl will cause dangerous rip currents all along the east coast. On Tuesday, a man drowned in a rip current on a beach in Gloucester, possibly as a lingering effect from Hurricane Danielle.

Hurricane Earl has already led to evacuations in parts of North Carolina. The governors of North Carolina, Virgina and Maryland have declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the hurricane's landfall.