Senate’s pragmatic ranks depleted by one with Chambliss’s departure

The trio of Southern gentlemen came to the Senate together in 2003, the leading edge of a renegade Republican class set on shaking up the chamber’s staid ways and aggressively promoting the Bush White House’s conservative agenda.

Ten years later, Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) are now establishment dealmakers and elder statesmen — roles that earn them respect in Washington but could lead to tough challenges from fellow Republicans when they run for re-election next year.

On Friday, Chambliss announced that there would be no re-election for him, opting for retirement over another run that was certain to include a heated primary challenge, possibly from several candidates. Chambliss took pains to say that he would have won and instead cited Washington “gridlock” as his reason for retiring.

Regardless, Chambliss’s departure is another blow to the pragmatic wing of the Senate, with a lineup of potential successors all hailing from the staunchly conservative camp of the Georgia GOP.

Chambliss’s successor is likely to contribute to a rightward movement over the past four years that has made the ranks of Senate Republicans more conservative, but also led to repeated political disappointment. A handful of 2010 and 2012 Republican primaries produced nominees who bungled their way to general election defeat, when victory once appeared certain.

What happens with the other two Southerners could go a long way to determining the ideological makeup of the Senate Republican caucus.

Alexander and Graham are both running, raising money and appearing throughout their states. Alexander, a former two-term governor and U.S. education secretary, has the stronger footing for the moment, having locked up the endorsements of his state’s GOP congressional delegation and every prominent Republican state official. Graham has no prominent challenger yet, but Palmetto State Republicans are sizing up the race trying to decide if he’s ripe for a challenge.

That Alexander, Chambliss and Graham have found themselves in this situation, a decade after debuting as rabble rousers who helped return the chamber to GOP control, is the latest demonstration of how much the Republican Party has changed. Its voters more than ever demand a confrontational tone and in-your-face tactics, the sort of behavior that they have shied away from.

“The big change is in terms of strategy and tactics,” said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, noting that the three incumbents are all fairly conservative in their policy positions. “The war has changed. Republican voters want every fight to be hand-to-hand combat. They don’t want to give any ground.”

Alexander rejected the idea that the trio had “gone Washington” as they each became more powerful. “I know my way around here. We’re each finding our niche, and that’s pretty normal after 10 years,” he said in a recent interview.

Before his Friday announcement, Chambliss had been viewed as the most vulnerable Republican incumbent to a challenge from within. His apostasies to the new Republican posture were numerous in recent years, most prominently being his close partnership with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in an effort to craft a bipartisan package of tax hikes and entitlement cuts to rein in the federal government’s $16.4 trillion debt.

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Latin America, Europe back free trade

SANTIAGO: European and Latin American leaders pledged here Saturday to shun protectionism and boost their strategic partnership to foster free trade.

Some 60 countries are represented at the summit between the 27-member European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Set up in Caracas in December 2011 at the behest of Venezuela, CELAC groups all nations from across the Americas except the United States and Canada and aims to boost regional trade and integration.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, the two-day summit's host, opened the session with a call for a new "strategic alliance to achieve sustainable development."

And indeed participants unanimously adopted a summit statement extolling their "strategic partnership to achieve sustainable development."

They also reiterated their commitment "to avoid protectionism in all its forms" and to "favour an open and non-discriminatory, ruled-based multilateral trade system."

"We firmly reject all coercive measures of unilateral character with extra-territorial effect that are contrary to international law and the commonly accepted rules of free trade," the statement said.

The leaders also pledged to continue working together "toward a new international financial architecture."

And they backed concrete actions to bolster law enforcement cooperation "to dismantle criminal organizations, all within the full respect of human rights and international law."

There was also support for the convening of a special UN General Assembly session on the global drug problem.

The leaders also gave a nod to "the universality and indivisibility of human rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

It was the seventh summit between the two blocs but the first since the creation of CELAC. The two sides agreed to hold the next EU-CELAC summit in Brussels in 2015.

The EU is the biggest outside investor in Latin America, accounting for three percent of direct foreign investment in CELAC or $385 billion in 2010.

EU officials noted that the figure exceeds the combined investment in China, Russia and India.

"We need a strong political commitment to rein in protectionism and promote liberalization," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a meeting of business chiefs leaders shortly before the political summit's opening.

Powerful German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom the Chilean press has dubbed "Europe's boss," called for "cooperation without barriers to trade."

"The dynamic development of this entire region shows that we, within the EU, must strive to ensure we are not left behind, to improve our competitiveness, reduce our debt. We cannot live on the backs of future generations," she added.

The Europeans are particularly keen on securing the speedy conclusion of a free trade pact between the EU and the South American trading bloc Mercosur.

Negotiations have so far stumbled over differences on agriculture -- notably Europe's subsidies to its farmers, which undermine Latin America's efforts to sell its own products.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, who has taken some protectionist measures, said that the EU-Mercosur negotiations, launched in 2004, must restart on a "new basis" that can clear the way for a deal.

"The negotiations with the EU cannot be based on decisions made in 2004. We need new premises, first among all Mercosur members, not just between Brazil and Argentina," she said after a bilateral session with Rousseff.

Kirchner suggested establishing an ad hoc Mercosur panel to come up with new proposals and make a new offer to the EU later this year.

Meanwhile, a Venezuelan minister said here that President Hugo Chavez has beaten a severe respiratory infection that occurred after his latest cancer surgery in Cuba.

"The respiratory infection has been overcome, although there still is some degree of breathing difficulty that is being treated appropriately," Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas said on the sidelines of a EU-CELAC summit.

Chavez, who had surgery on December 12, has not been seen in public since he left Caracas for surgery at a hospital in Cuba.

Monday, the 33 CELAC leaders will hold their own summit here, with Cuba taking over chairmanship from Chile for one year. They are hoping to overcome ideological and economic differences to foster greater regional integration.

The meeting will seal Cuba's full regional reintegration and mark a major diplomatic coup for 81-year-old President Raul Castro. Cuba, the only non-democratic Communist-ruled country in the Americas, has been under a US economic embargo since 1962.

- AFP/fa

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Freedom of expression finds voices at literature festival

JAIPUR: To the Kashmiri, the British, the Scot and the Indian, freedom of speech and expression mean different things. Yet, on Saturday, their contexts coalesced at the Jaipur Literature Festival, where the debate circled around the ways in which governments and private interests reacted to free expression, especially on the World Wide Web. In a well-debated session panelists and the audience also agreed there was a need to rewrite many existing laws.

Author Basharat Peer spoke about the insidious ways in which censorship works in Kashmir; from the sound of tapped phones and policemen in civilian clothes keeping tabs on press conferences to government, systematically, cutting off the economic lifeline of an information dissemination agency by stopping government advertisements. "Last year, for instance, the government jailed an author for downloading a Pakistani paper. It was a conscious attempt to create a threat perception; a censor of sorts," he said.

Journalist Shoma Chaudhary agreed, adding that freedom of expression was in "serious jeopardy" in India. Calling herself an "Absolutist" Chaudhary defended the right to offend sensibilities, adding there was an urgent need to ensure absolute freedom of expression in art. "If you disagree with the songs Yo Yo Honey Singh sings, the answer is not to ban him. Instead, don't allow him the commercial success he has today. Don't endorse the product, but allow every artist to express themselves the way they want to."

Having examined the history and culture of censorship in Russia, Orlando Figes, the British historian of Russia, said free expression was also in danger, especially under authoritarian governments. Referring to Russia, Figes quoted a government research in 2010 that suggested that the Russians were happy with the quasi-government bodies controlling the process of information dissemination. "In my opinion, free expression is only relevant when it is combined with the right to protest and indulge in activism."

The perils of censorship, Scottish environmental activist John Burnside said, are not limited to some parts of the world alone. Speaking of Britain and Scotland, Burnside talked of private vested interests that ran governments in less visible ways. "Typically, when you begin investigating certain companies, they send out specious legal threats in an attempt to threaten you into silence. In a more overt manner, all the data on my laptop was melted after it was hacked." In less obvious and more insidious way, Burnside also spoke about how libraries were controlled. He said: "What books are available and the ones that are left out also make a significant study in censorship."

With the audience entering the debate demanding self-regulation and an end to anonymity on the Internet, Chaudhary said there was a need to throw open to debate Article 19 (2) of the Indian Constitution, which imposes "reasonable restrictions" on the freedom of speech and expression.

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Newtown Families March for Gun Control in DC

Jan 26, 2013 4:59pm

(YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Near-freezing temperatures didn’t stop several thousand gun-control activists from bearing their pickets today, carrying signs emblazoned with “Ban Assault Weapons Now” and the names of gun violence victims in a demonstration organized as a response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. last month.

Walking in silence, the demonstrators trudged between Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument over a thin layer of melting snow. They were joined by politicians and some families of the Newtown victims.

March organizer Shannon Watts said the event was for the “families who lost the lights of their lives in Newtown, daughters and sons, wives and mothers, grandchildren, sisters and brothers gone in an unfathomable instant.”

“Let’s stand together and use our voices, use our votes to let legislators know that we won’t stand down until they enact common sense gun control laws that will keep our children out of the line of fire,” she told demonstrators.

Watts founded One Million Moms for Gun Control after the killing of 20 first graders and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in December. In a profile with the New York Times, Watts said her 12-year-old son had suffered panic attacks after learning of last summer’s Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, leaving her at an impasse over how to talk to him about the latest tragedy.

Also among the speakers was a survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, Collin Goddard.

“We need to challenge any politician who thinks it’s easier to ask an elementary school teacher to stand up to a gunman with an AR-15 than it is to ask them to stand up to a gun lobbyist with a checkbook,” he said.

The demonstration comes amid a push by progressive lawmakers to enact stricter gun control measures as a response to the trend of recent mass killings, although any hypothetical bill would likely face strong opposition in Congress.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., was among the demonstrators today.

“The idea that people need high-capacity magazines that can fire 30, 50, 100 rounds has no place in a civilized society,” he said. “Between the time we’re gathered here right now and this time of day tomorrow, across America, 282 Americans will have been shot.”

The congressman was quoting statistics compiled by the Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence.

INFOGRAPHIC: Guns by the Numbers

Last week President Obama proposed a sweeping overhaul of federal measures regulating gun ownership, including a universal background check system for sales, banning assault weapons,  and curbing the amount of ammunition available in weapon clips.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Thursday found 53 percent of Americans viewed Obama’s gun control plan favorably, 41 percent unfavorably. The division was visible today, as a handful of gun-rights advocates also turned out on the National Mall to protest what they believe would be infringements on their Second Amendment liberties.

ABC’s Joanne Fuchs contributed to this report.

SHOWS: Good Morning America World News

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Senators nearing agreement on broad immigration reform proposal

A working group of senators from both parties is nearing agreement on broad principles for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws, representing the most substantive bipartisan effort toward major legislation in years.

The three Democrats and three Republicans, who have been meeting quietly in recent months, plan to announce a final agreement as early as next Friday.

The move would amount to the first tentative step toward comprehensive immigration reform after long-standing gridlock on the issue. The new effort was spurred in large part by the growing influence of Latino voters who strongly backed President Obama and other Democrats in November.

Obama has also called immigration reform one of his top legislative priorities and is launching his own public campaign on the issue next week in Nevada. But a significant number of Americans, particularly within the Republican Party, remain opposed to laws that would make it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the country or obtain legal status.

The senators are expected to call for normalizing the status of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, including allowing those with otherwise clean criminal records to obtain legal work permits, officials said. The group is also likely to endorse stricter border controls and a better system for employers to verify the immigration status of workers.

It was not clear, however, whether the final agreement will offer guidance on perhaps the thorniest issue in the immigration debate: what mechanism illegal immigrants could use to pursue full citizenship.

“We have basic agreement on many of the core principles,” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the group, said this week. “Now we have to draft it. It takes time.”

Other senators involved in the talks are Democrats Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Republicans Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), John McCain (Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.).

Two others, Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), have also been involved in some of the discussions.

Congressional aides stress that a final agreement has not yet been reached. But the negotiations mark the most in-depth immigration talks involving members of both parties since a similar attempt broke down in 2010 without producing a bill.

McCain, who spearheaded an earlier failed effort in 2007, said Republican attitudes have dramatically shifted since the party’s losses at the polls in November. Obama won more than 70 percent of the vote among Latinos and Asians, and a growing number of GOP leaders believe that action on immigration is necessary to expand the party’s appeal to minority groups.

“Obviously, it’s had a very distinct impression,” said McCain, who lost his own bid for the White House in 2008. “It’s time to move forward on this.”

But, he added, “I don’t claim that it’s going to be easy.”

The accelerated pace signals that immigration reform is expected to be one of Congress’s highest priorities, and it comes as the White House prepares to launch its own public campaign on the issue.

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Obama, Hollande hold phone talks on Mali offensive

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama voiced support Friday for France's military intervention in Mali and vowed to work with French counterpart Francois Hollande to tackle extremism across North Africa.

The two presidents discussed other "shared security concerns," including Algeria, Libya and Syria, during telephone talks, the White House said in a statement.

"The president expressed his support for France's leadership of the international community's efforts to deny terrorists a safe haven in Mali," it added.

In condemning a deadly hostage-taking operation by militants in Algeria last week, the two leaders "affirmed their mutual commitment to countering terrorism more broadly in North Africa," according to the statement.

Preliminary estimates from the Algerian authorities say 37 foreign hostages and 29 kidnappers died in an attack at the In Amenas gas field and in the military operation that followed.

Hollande also thanked Obama for his "significant support" of the effort in Mali, the White House said.

The US Air Force has deployed C-17 cargo planes to carry French troops and equipment to northern Mali, where they are trying to help flush out radical extremist fighters.

The United States also was providing intelligence to France, drawing on its network of satellites and surveillance drones.

Paris has asked Washington to help with refueling its warplanes taking part in the fight against militant fighters in Mali, but Obama's administration has yet to approve the request.

Obama and Hollande also "emphasized the need to rapidly establish" both an African-led military force in Mali and a "political roadmap that will lead to elections and restoration of democratic governance," the White House said.

The pair "condemned last week's terrorist act in Algeria," and "affirmed their mutual commitment to countering terrorism more broadly in North Africa."

Turning to Libya, in the wake of an uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the two presidents "noted the importance of sustained assistance to Libya as it works to build effective security sector institutions," the statement added.

Hollande and Obama also spoke about Syria, "expressing their strong concern about the humanitarian crisis affecting not just Syria but also neighboring countries and reiterating their commitment to assisting the Syrian people achieve political transition to a post-Assad Syria," the statement said.

Syria's civil war has already claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people since March 2011, according to the United Nations, which has predicted that the number of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries will double to 1.1 million by June if the conflict does not end.

- AFP/fa

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Bihar 'imports' babus as IAS shortfall hits work

PATNA: Bihar's IAS cadre strength is 326, but only 198 IAS officials are there in the state of over 100 million people as 95 posts are vacant while 30 officials are on central deputation and three on interstate deputation. To overcome the crisis, the state government through ads a few years ago invited officials of other cadres to work in Bihar. Quite a few came, and some of these "outsiders" ended up causing huge embarrassment to the "sushasan" that has of late earned global appreciation for Bihar.

The story of "imported" babus assumes significance in view of the recent episode involving J&K cadre IPS officer, Alok Kumar, who had to be unceremoniously removed from the post of Saran range DIG after he was accused of demanding Rs 10 crore from a liquor firm's representative. "The state government should do something about these outsiders who are bringing a bad name to the 'sushasan'," wrote a netizen on a social networking site.

Almost all these "imported" officials happen to hail from Bihar. They are on deputation for a tenure of five or three years. Besides IAS and IPS officials, all-India services officials like D K Srivastava, J K P Singh, P K Rai, Sanjeevan Sinha and Awadhesh Kumar are also working with the Bihar government. Indian Railway Service's Srivastava, Singh and Rai are posted as director (tourism), Bihar State Text-book Corporation MD and Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited CMD respectively while Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service's Sinha and Kumar are Bihar State Infrastructural Development Agency MD and Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation MD respectively.

Bihar State Warehousing Corporation and Beltron have also one "imported" official each. Five Indian Forest Service officials - M K Sharma, Satyendra, Ashutosh Kumar, P K Gupta and Arvinder Singh - are also serving on key positions in the state.

Among five IAS officials on interstate deputation to Bihar, Pankaj K Pal, Manish K Verma and Abhijit Sinha are currently DMs of Bhojpur, Purnia and East Champaran. Odisha cadre's Sanjay Kumar Singh has been made special secretary to CM after two stints as DM - in Gaya and Patna.

A 2002-batch IAS official, Pal was Gopalganj DM when a woman college principal allegedly slapped him. He was shunted out of Gopalganj and posted in the agriculture department after the killing of a jail doctor inside the Gopalganj jail by the prisoners in 2011. Eighteen months on, he is back in the saddle as the Bhojpur DM.

Yet another MT-cadre IAS official J K Sinha, who once got the coveted post of Patna DM, had to be relieved from his post in the CM secretariat and repatriated to his parent cadre almost overnight after the government received some adverse reports about his conduct. Officially, however, his hasty repatriation was never explained.

Explaining the state government's position, a senior official said states did not have a decisive say in deciding interstate deputations. The Centre's DoPT (department of personnel and training) clears such applications, he said and added not all such officers were bad and that most of them had delivered during their field postings.

Also, the state government will not come to the rescue of any official doing any wrong. "The then Saran DIG Alok Kumar's is a case in point in which the law is taking its own course," the official said and pointed out Bihar was the only state to come up with a law in 2010 to confiscate properties of corrupt babus.

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty Images

If you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders.

Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns of snow wider at the base than at the tip and can range in height from 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 meters). The picture above shows the phenomenon in central Chile. (See pictures of the patterns in snow and ice.)

Nieve penitente tend to form in shallow valleys where the snow is deep and the sun doesn't shine at too steep an angle, said Kenneth Libbrecht, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena who studies ice crystal formation.

As the snow melts, dirt gets mixed in with the runoff and collects in little pools here and there, he said. Since the dirt is darker in color than the surrounding snow, the dirty areas melt faster "and you end up digging these pits," explained Libbrecht.

"They tend to form at high altitude," he said. But other than that, no one really knows the exact conditions that are needed to form penitent snow.

"They're fairly strong," Libbrecht said. "People have found [the spires] difficult to hike through."

—Jane J. Lee

Published January 25, 2013

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'Hot' Guns Fueling Crime, US Study Says

Christmas is the one day of the year that Wal-Mart is closed, but for a group of four New Mexico burglars, it was the perfect time to stop in for some firearms.

Video surveillance cameras caught the masked burglars red-handed, stealing rifle after rifle. Police arrested the four men, and were able to recover the guns. But all too often, stolen weapons end up in the hands of criminals.

The New Mexico caper is part of a flood of gun thefts nationwide. And it's not only commercial gun dealers vulnerable to theft.

Guns are a top target for home burglars looking for something they can easily sell on the street.

An estimated 230,000 guns per year are stolen in home burglaries and property crimes, according to a study by the Department of Justice.

"Any burglar that goes in a house and finds guns, their eyes are going to light up," says former ATF Assistant Director Mike Bouchard. "That's the first thing they're going to take."

The statistics for commercial thefts show that nearly 25,000 guns per year are lost or stolen from gun dealers.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), more than 4,000 gun stores and retailers have been targeted in the last three years, with 74,000 guns reported stolen or lost. And criminals will use any method possible to get their hands on some weapons, either for their own use, or to sell on the black market.

Minnesota Public Radio, Jeffrey Thompson/AP Photo

Washington Teen Allegedly Helped Steal Father's Guns Watch Video

Obama on Gun Violence Measures: 'This Is Common Sense' Watch Video

Recently, thieves have taken to using a stolen vehicle to ram down the front doors of a gun store. In North Charleston, S.C., for example, burglars smashed a stolen truck right through Guns and Gold Trading Post, stealing $4,500 worth of guns before making a quick getaway.

"Gun stores are like candy stores for criminals," says Mike Bouchard.

2012 was a record year for gun sales, with more than 19.5 million background checks run for gun purchases, up almost 20% from the previous year. But while legitimate sales skyrocket, huge numbers of illegal guns are hitting the streets.

According to the Justice Department, more than 1.4 million guns were stolen or lost between 2005 and 2010.

Former ATF Assistant Director Bouchard says crooks have easy access to cheap stolen guns on the street.

"If you talk to any criminal, they can find a gun within an hour or two. Cheaper guns that were stolen can be sold for $50. On the street, a typical good handgun will run you $200 to $300," Bouchard said.

Some thieves have even targeted gun shipments, stealing the weapons before they get to market.

Last November, for example, a rogue truck driver allegedly stole a shipment of 111 guns he was supposed to deliver from the Smith and Wesson factory in Springfield, Mass.

When police caught him, they recovered 28 of the stolen guns, but some had already been used in crimes.

When police arrested the alleged stick-up robber known as the Black Jacket Bandit, they found one of the stolen guns was allegedly used by him in a convenience store robbery within weeks of the delivery heist.

In November, more than 100 powerful AK-47s were stolen from a rail yard in Atlanta. The guns were in a box car containing more than 1,000 guns being shipped from an overseas manufacturer to a major U.S. distributor, authorities say.

A few of the weapons have been recovered, but police are deeply concerned about having scores of new assault rifles falling into the wrong hands.

Given all the gun thefts, police say it is critical for gun owners to secure their weapons in gun safes or locked cases. And authorities are urging gun retailers to fortify their buildings, to try to prevent "smash and grab" type robberies.

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Australians warned to leave Benghazi immediately

SYDNEY: Australia on Friday joined three European nations in urging its citizens to leave the Libyan city of Benghazi due to a "specific, imminent threat to Westerners" linked to French action in Mali.

The advice followed similar warnings from governments in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, which sparked an angry response from Libya's government. Tripoli said there was "no new intelligence" to justify such concerns.

But Australia's department of foreign affairs said: "We are aware of a specific, imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi. All Australians in Benghazi should leave immediately.

"There is a risk of retaliatory attacks against Western targets in Libya following the French intervention in the conflict in Mali in January 2013," it said in an updated travel advice.

"A number of militant groups are known to operate in Libya and some may seek to target Western interests."

Only two Australians are registered as being in Benghazi and just 22 in Libya, said the department.

The alert came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified to Congress this week about the September attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya.

It also comes as French troops battle Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali, amid rising concern about Islamist extremism across north Africa after last week's bloody attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria.

- AFP/fa

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NRI initiative raises millions for educating India’s children

NEW DELHI: A group of Indian-Americans in New York attended an unusual black-tie dinner gala one November evening last year. Over a video link they chatted with students of a Pune slum school. This was one of many fundraisers hosted by voluntary organization Pratham USA. Its mission: Mobilize Indians in the US to get involved in its work.

The dinner was a success. More than 400, mostly those of Indian origin, pledged support to Pratham USA. On a single night, they donated $1.4million to educate tiny tots in India's impoverished pockets.

Pratham USA is an overseas arm of Pratham (India), working to ensure that "every child is in school and learning well". It's created a circle of giving where NRIs chip in with funds and expertise to strengthen the parent body's educational initiatives. One of the best-known names in education, NGO Pratham has been working with the government in 21 states to improve pre-school education, provide additional learning support to in-school and out-of-school children, mainstream school dropouts, provide vocational training and computer literacy to those from vulnerable backgrounds. It touches the lives of over 2 million students annually.

For many like Atul Varadhachary (50), one of Pratham USA's founders, the visible impact of Pratham's work and its dedicated staffers are motivating factors. "Many of us have family in India. It's satisfying when you go back and see the difference your support is making," Varadhachary, who moved to the US in 1987, said.

He brought his daughters, aged 15 and 11, from Houston to visit a Pratham school in Mumbai last year. Like him, many initial members such as Vijay Goradia, founder of Vinmar International, a $ 3billion global distributor of chemicals and polymer are involved in Pratham programmes. "We often network Pratham board members with educationists in the US. There are many commonalities in terms of challenges faced by students and principals and dialogue helps," says Varadhachary.

What started out as an informal network with a few hands in 2000 has now grown into a formal initiative involving 10,000 people across 14 US cities. They collectively generate over $11mn annually towards Pratham's work.

They have also roped in GenNext. Second-generation Indian migrants intern in Pratham balwadis and schools, volunteer ideas or money. Sharing his experience on the organization's website, 16-year-old Dhruv Kothari admits that a brush with the project made him realize how much he took for granted his education in a US school. He has been raising funds every time family and friends drop by at home and collected over $420 in a week. He followed it up with a fundraiser in his father's office which raked $550.

Madhav Chavan, co-founder of Pratham says the US body, has been a constant support. "When you interact with them you realize they are genuinely interested in the concrete impact of their work."

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Deformed Dolphin Accepted Into New Family

In 2011, behavioral ecologists Alexander Wilson and Jens Krause of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Germany were surprised to discover that a group of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)—animals not usually known for forging bonds with other species—had taken in an adult bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

The researchers observed the group in the ocean surrounding the Azores (map)—about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal—for eight days as the dolphin traveled, foraged, and played with both the adult whales and their calves. When the dolphin rubbed its body against the whales, they would sometimes return the gesture.

Among terrestrial animals, cross-species interactions are not uncommon. These mostly temporary alliances are forged for foraging benefits and protection against predators, said Wilson.

They could also be satisfying a desire for the company of other animals, added marine biologist John Francis, vice president for research, conservation, and exploration at the National Geographic Society (the Society owns National Geographic News).

Photographs of dogs nursing tiger cubs, stories of a signing gorilla adopting a pet cat, and videos of a leopard caring for a baby baboon have long circulated the Web and caught national attention.

A Rare Alliance

And although dolphins are known for being sociable animals, Wilson called the alliance between sperm whale and bottlenose dolphin rare, as it has never, to his knowledge, been witnessed before.

This association may have started with something called bow riding, a common behavior among dolphins during which they ride the pressure waves generated by the bow of a ship or, in this case, whales, suggested Francis.

"Hanging around slower creatures to catch a ride might have been the first advantage [of such behavior]," he said, adding that this may have also started out as simply a playful encounter.

Wilson suggested that the dolphin's peculiar spinal shape made it more likely to initiate an interaction with the large and slow-moving whales. "Perhaps it could not keep up with or was picked on by other members of its dolphin group," he said in an email.

Default

But the "million-dollar question," as Wilson puts it, is why the whales accepted the lone dolphin. Among several theories presented in an upcoming paper in Aquatic Mammals describing the scientists' observations, they propose that the dolphin may have been regarded as nonthreatening and that it was accepted by default because of the way adult sperm whales "babysit" their calves.

Sperm whales alternate their dives between group members, always leaving one adult near the surface to watch the juveniles. "What is likely is that the presence of the calves—which cannot dive very deep or for very long—allowed the dolphin to maintain contact with the group," Wilson said.

Wilson doesn't believe the dolphin approached the sperm whales for help in protecting itself from predators, since there aren't many dolphin predators in the waters surrounding the Azores.

But Francis was not so quick to discount the idea. "I don't buy that there is no predator in the lifelong experience of the whales and dolphins frequenting the Azores," he said.

He suggested that it could be just as possible that the sperm whales accepted the dolphin for added protection against their own predators, like the killer whale (Orcinus orca), while traveling. "They see killer whales off the Azores, and while they may not be around regularly, it does not take a lot of encounters to make [other] whales defensive," he said.

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Feds Bust Man in Alleged Bombs-for-Drugs Sting

Jan 24, 2013 7:07pm

Ryan Budnick/KMGH

A Colorado man who claimed to be a former demolition expert in the U.S. Marines was arrested Thursday after he allegedly tried to trade guns and homemade bombs with a 20-meter “kill zone” for cocaine.

Richard Lawrence Sandberg, 35, was taken into custody Thursday at his Morrison, Colo. home, ATF spokesman Bradley Beyersdorf told ABC News. Sandberg is facing one count of unlawful possession of a firearm or explosive device.

According to court documents, police became aware of Sandberg on January 18, when a confidential informant told a Denver police detective that Sandberg wanted to trade “numerous firearms and grenades” for drugs. The Denver police detective then contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On Tuesday, the documents say, an undercover ATF agent met with Sandberg at his home.

Sandberg allegedly told the undercover agent that he was in possession of 18 M67 military grenades that he offered to sell for $200 to $300 a piece, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint did not say where Sandberg may have gotten the grenades, but said “Sandberg claimed to have been active in war zones in Iraq, Somalia, Africa, and Pakistan.”

“Sandberg also stated that he was in possession of several thousand rounds of ammunition and also in possession of uranium-tipped armor-piercing ammunition,” the complaint said.

In addition to the grenades, Sandberg allegedly claimed to have about a dozen homemade bombs, called “frags,” designed to create a “kill zone” within 20 meters and a “hurt zone” within 60 meters if they went off. The complaint says Sandberg also claimed to have access to C4 plastic explosives and napalm.

In one conversation, Sandberg “made disparaging remarks about the current administration and them wanting to take away his guns,” according to the complaint.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

If any law enforcement officers tried to take his guns, the complaint says Sandberg told the agent that “it would be a bad day for them and lots of them would die. Sandberg stated that he was ready and willing to die.”

At one point, the undercover ATF agent offered to pay for pipe bombs and a small explosive called a “cricket.” Sandberg refused, the complaint says, instead insisting that “they could set up a trade for cocaine.”

During the Thursday operation, the street in front of Sandberg’s home was blocked for several hours while ATF agents and three local bomb squads made sure the house was safe. Multiple improvised explosive devices were taken from the house and rendered safe at a remote location,according to U.S. Attorney’s spokesman Jeffrey Dorchner.

One house next door to Sandberg’s had to be temporarily evacuated, Beyersdorf said.

Sandberg appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon and was advised of the charges against him. He has not entered a plea. Sandberg is being held without bond until a detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 29, Dorchner said.

SHOWS: World News

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More covered linkways, elderly friendly bridges for commuters

SINGAPORE: The government will spend close to S$700 million to make transport nodes more accessible, elderly friendly and conducive for commuters.

The plans, mapped out in the new Land Transport Master Plan, were announced by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on Wednesday.

One of the new initiatives -- Walk2Ride -- will make it easier for more commuters to walk to MRT stations.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will build sheltered linkways within a 400-metre radius from all existing MRT stations, compared to the current radius of 200 metres.

LTA will also link up developments within a 200-metre radius of all bus interchanges, LRT stations and high-usage bus shelters.

In all, some 200 kilometres of linkways will be added islandwide by 2018, more than four times the existing 46 kilometres today.

The project is expected to cost some S$330 million and will begin from 2014.

Currently, sheltered linkways are built to link only to schools, healthcare institutions and other transport nodes like bus stops and taxi stands.

But under Walk2Ride, shopping, leisure, commercial and residential areas will also be linked.

LTA intends to leverage on existing linkways and work with the different town councils before deciding on which areas will be given priority.

The Walk2Ride initiative is being rolled out, following a successful trial at Lakeside MRT.

More pedestrian overhead bridges will also become more elderly and wheel-chair friendly.

LTA has reviewed the provision criteria to build more lifts at such bridges. These include those located within 200 metres of MRT stations and 100 metres of LRT stations.

Some 40 bridges have been identified for further feasibility studies.

A budget of about S$60 million has been set aside to install the lifts from 2014. Half of them will be completed by 2016 and the remaining by 2018.

Another S$300 million will be spent on installing some 20 kilometres of noise barriers along elevated MRT tracks.

Since September, LTA has been measuring noise levels at 455 residential flats located close to such tracks.

In some locations, the noise levels were found to have exceeded the National Environment Agency's guideline of 67 decibels.

Mr Lui said residents living close to MRT viaducts, such as those in Simei, Marsiling and Dover, can expect noise levels to be reduced by about five to 10 decibels.

LTA intends to start installing the barriers from end of this year and complete them by 2020.

- CNA/al

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Is Akbaruddin Owaisi in a bad way?

HYDERABAD: In a development which could give the government sleepless nights, doctors attending on Akbaruddin Owaisi, the jailed MIM legislator, said his health was failing and the 41-year-old leader should be moved, at least, to a prison facility which is close to a multi-speciality hospital.

Owaisi junior is being treated at the Adilabad district hospital, which doctors said did not have modern medical facilities. "According to the last ultrasound done a few months ago, several abdominal adhesions, which are basically fibrous bands between tissues and organs were found and if this is not checked, it can quickly turn into sub-acute obstruction, which would need surgery," said Dr Verghese Muthai, a colorectal surgeon at Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda.

"If left untreated for a long time, this can lead to full intestinal obstruction which is fatal," he added. Owaisi, who has been arrested for a hate speech delivered in Nirmal town last month, has been made to travel for hundreds of kilometres across three districts to appear before different courts after doctors in Adilabad said he was fit for travel.

Off late, his lawyers are moving bail petition on health grounds, which some observers say is quite common and the fact that he had happily attended party meetings regularly before he was jailed could be a further testimony to his fitness. "His health is not bad. He is okay. The stories of his bad health are being spread to get a quick bail," said a doctor who did not want to be named.

But what is perhaps making the government nervous is the absence of quality healthcare facilities in Adilabad and sources said that perhaps prompted authorities to move him to a guest house from the subjail where he was initially lodged.

Owaisi's case-sheet

Akbar suffering from abdominal adhesions.

Is due for three surgeries: For adhesions and hernia, tendon replacement in left arm and removal of bullet in thigh

Both kidneys working at sub-optimal levels

Also suffers from uticaria, a skin infection

Prone to drug allergies

Doc says should be shifted to a prison facility which is close to a multi-speciality hospital

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Deformed Dolphin Accepted Into New Family

In 2011, behavioral ecologists Alexander Wilson and Jens Krause of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Germany were surprised to discover that a group of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)—animals not usually known for forging bonds with other species—had taken in an adult bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

The researchers observed the group in the ocean surrounding the Azores (map)—about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal—for eight days as the dolphin traveled, foraged, and played with both the adult whales and their calves. When the dolphin rubbed its body against the whales, they would sometimes return the gesture.

Among terrestrial animals, cross-species interactions are not uncommon. These mostly temporary alliances are forged for foraging benefits and protection against predators, said Wilson.

They could also be satisfying a desire for the company of other animals, added marine biologist John Francis, vice president for research, conservation, and exploration at the National Geographic Society (the Society owns National Geographic news).

Photographs of dogs nursing tiger cubs, stories of a signing gorilla adopting a pet cat, and videos of a leopard caring for a baby baboon have long circulated the web and caught national attention.

A Rare Alliance

And although dolphins are known for being sociable animals, Wilson called the alliance between sperm whale and bottlenose dolphin rare, as it has never, to his knowledge, been witnessed before.

This association may have started with something called bow riding, a common behavior among dolphins during which they ride the pressure waves generated by the bow of a ship or, in this case, whales, suggested Francis.

"Hanging around slower creatures to catch a ride might have been the first advantage [of such behavior]," he said, adding that this may have also started out as simply a playful encounter.

Wilson suggested that the dolphin's peculiar spinal shape made it more likely to initiate an interaction with the large and slow-moving whales. "Perhaps it could not keep up with or was picked on by other members of its dolphin group," he said in an email.

Default

But the "million-dollar question," as Wilson puts it, is why the whales accepted the lone dolphin. Among several theories presented in an upcoming paper in Aquatic Mammals describing the scientists' observations, they propose that the dolphin may have been regarded as nonthreatening and that it was accepted by default because of the way adult sperm whales "babysit" their calves.

Sperm whales alternate their dives between group members, always leaving one adult near the surface to watch the juveniles. "What is likely is that the presence of the calves—which cannot dive very deep or for very long—allowed the dolphin to maintain contact with the group," Wilson said.

Wilson doesn't believe the dolphin approached the sperm whales for help in protecting itself from predators, since there aren't many dolphin predators in the waters surrounding the Azores.

But Francis was not so quick to discount the idea. "I don't buy that there is no predator in the lifelong experience of the whales and dolphins frequenting the Azores," he said.

He suggested that it could be just as possible that the sperm whales accepted the dolphin for added protection against their own predators, like the killer whale (Orcinus orca), while traveling. "They see killer whales off the Azores, and while they may not be around regularly, it does not take a lot of encounters to make [other] whales defensive," he said.

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Clinton on Benghazi: Afghanistan Diverted Resources

House Republicans slammed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today for her lack of awareness of State Department cables warning of security threats in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the Sept. 11 attack that killed four Americans, including Amb. Chris Stevens.

In the second congressional hearing of the day reviewing a report by the Accountability Review Board on the State Department's security failures, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, asked Clinton this afternoon why her office had not responded to a notification from Stevens about potential dangers in Libya.

"Congressman, that cable did not come to my attention," Clinton calmly told the House Foreign Affairs Committee hours after her Senate testimony this morning. "I'm not aware of anyone within my office, within the secretary's office having seen that cable."

She added that "1.43 million cables come to my office. They're all addressed to me."

Hillary Clinton's Fiery Moment at Benghazi Hearing

Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., asked Clinton whether she thought that signaled the need for a shifting of priorities to make sure she is notified about these kinds of threats in the future.

"That's exactly what I'm intent on doing," Clinton said. "We have work to do. We have work to do inside the department. We have work to do with our partners in DOD and the intelligence community."

Such answers failed to appease members like Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., who accused Clinton of letting "the consulate become a death trap."

Clinton also told the House committee that an emphasis on security in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade diverted resources from other outposts around the world.

She told Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., that legislation he championed reorganizing the State Department in the 19990s had "been very important in protecting our people around the world," but that the need for funding was ongoing and unmet.

Clinton reprised her role as defender of the State Department this afternoon in the second half of congressional testimony on the security failures that led to the deaths of Stevens and the other Americans.

Stevens understood the significance of the mission, she told the committee several hours after a morning Senate appearance.

"That's why Chris Stevens went to Benghazi in the first place," she said. "Nobody knew the dangers better than Chris, first during the revolution and then during the transition. A weak Libyan government, marauding militias, even terrorist groups … a bomb exploded in the parking lot of his hotel. He never wavered. He never asked to come home. He never said let's shut it down, quit, go somewhere else."

Representatives repeatedly asked about U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's assertion on Sunday morning talk shows in September that the attack was fueled by outrage over a video attacking Islam.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton Cites Lack of Funding in Global Outposts Watch Video

Clinton: Security Request Not Brought to My Attention Watch Video

Hillary Clinton Gets Choked Up at Benghazi Hearing Watch Video

Clinton's response was to refer to the ARB report, which said the motivations behind the attack were complicated and still not all known. She maintained that Rice was speaking based upon talking points given to her by the intelligence community.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., asked why the secretary of state herself did not appear in Rice's place to give those televised explanations to the country.

"Well, I have to confess here in public [that] going on the Sunday shows is not my favorite thing to do. There are other things that I prefer to do on Sunday mornings," Clinton replied. "And I did feel strongly that we had a lot that we had to manage, that I had to respond to. And I thought that should be my priority."

The afternoon appearance followed morning testimony from an energized Clinton, who stood her ground and told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she has overseen plans to secure diplomatic outposts around the world while cuts in State Department funding undermine those efforts.

Citing a report by the department's Accountability Review Board on the security failures that led to the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, during an attack last year, Clinton said the board is pushing for an increase in funding to facilities of more than $2 billion per year.

"Consistent shortfalls have required the department to prioritize available funding out of security accounts," Clinton told the Senate this morning, while again taking responsibility for the Benghazi attack. "And I will be the first to say that the prioritization process was at times imperfect, but as the ARB said, the funds provided were inadequate. So we need to work together to overcome that."

Clinton, showing little effect from her recent illnesses, choked up earlier in discussing the Benghazi attack.

"I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews," Clinton said this morning, her voice growing hoarse with emotion. "I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters."

The outgoing secretary of state was the only witness to giving long-awaited testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee this morning, and appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 2 p.m.

The secretary, who postponed her testimony in December, started today by giving context to the terrorist attack.

"Any clear-eyed examination of this matter must begin with this sobering fact," Clinton began. "Since 1988, there have been 19 Accountability Review Boards investigating attacks on American diplomats and their facilities."

But the secretary did not deny her role in the failures, saying that as secretary of state, she has "no higher priority and no greater responsibility" than protecting American diplomats abroad like those killed in Benghazi.

"As I have said many times, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right," Clinton said. "I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure."

Among the steps Clinton has taken, she said, is to "elevate the discussion and the decision-making to make sure there's not any" suggestions that get missed, as there were in this case.

Clinton testified that the United States needs to be able to "chew gum and walk at the same time," working to shore up its fiscal situation while also strengthening security, and she refuted the idea that across-the-board cuts slated to take place in March, commonly referred to as sequestration, were the way to do that.

"Now sequestration will be very damaging to the State Department and USAID if it does come to pass, because it throws the baby out with the bath," Clinton said, referring to the United States Agency for International Development, which administers civilian foreign aid.

While the State Department does need to make cuts in certain areas, "there are also a lot of very essential programs … that we can't afford to cut more of," she added.

More than four months have passed since the attack killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya. These meetings, during which Clinton discussed the report on State Department security failures by the Accountability Review Board, were postponed because of her recent illness.

Clinton told the Senate that the State Department is on track to have 85 percent of action items based on the recommendations in the ARB report accomplished by March, with some already implemented.

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In inaugural address, Obama makes a moral case for action on climate change

President Obama had mentioned climate change in prominent speeches before Monday.

In his November victory speech, he spoke of protecting America’s children from “the destructive power of a warming planet.” At his first inauguration, he promised to “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

But in his remarks Monday after taking the oath of office, Obama chose to make a moral case — rather than an economic or national security one — for taking action. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” he said.

The decision to frame global warming as a defining aspect of his legacy encouraged his environmental allies and reignited concerns among congressional Republicans and industry opponents. And it signaled that the issue continues to weigh on Obama, even as he and his aides have placed budget negotiations, immigration and gun control higher on their agenda.

“Those two paragraphs didn’t get into the speech because he wrote them in the middle of the night, when no one was watching,” said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. Obama himself made a point of highlighting how much emphasis he gave the issue after Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) thanked him for mentioning climate change in his speech.

“I didn’t just mention it, I talked about it,” Obama parried, according to Waxman.

In interviews this week, both administration officials and those who lobby on both sides of the issue said Obama and his aides were examining the same regulatory options they had been considering before the election. Those include a possible cap on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants; federal policies to promote energy efficiency in both the public and private sectors; promoting combined heat and power generation at industrial facilities, and expanding biofuel use and other forms of renewable energy supplies in the Pentagon.

“I think he has a lot of tools, and they’re evaluating how to use them,” said Carol Browner, who served as assistant to the president on energy and climate change during Obama’s first two years and is now a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

The White House is likely to build a public campaign for support of these initiatives through the group Organizing for Action, the offshoot of Obama’s reelection campaign. Its executive director, Jon Carson, served as the White House’s liaison to environmental groups during the president’s first term.

“Having Jon over there gives me confidence,” said Margie Alt, Environment America’s executive director, in an interview. “They will need to do a lot of work to set themselves--and the administration and the country--up to do this. It’s not going to be easy.”

Still, several experts questioned whether the Environmental Protection Agency--which oversees the effort to impose carbon limits on existing coal and gas-fired utilities--would be able to assemble the rules before the end of the year.

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British PM to offer "in-or-out" referendum on EU

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron will on Wednesday propose holding a referendum after 2015 giving British people the choice of staying in or leaving the European Union.

Cameron will say in a long-awaited speech in London that he wants to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership because "public disillusionment with the EU is at an all-time high", and then put the new terms to the people.

According to pre-released excerpts, Cameron will say his Conservative party will make the pledge in its campaign for the general election scheduled to take place in two years' time.

"The next Conservative manifesto in 2015 will ask for a mandate from the British people for a Conservative government to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners in the next parliament," the speech says.

"And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in-or-out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms, or come out altogether. It will be an in-out referendum."

If a Conservative government wins outright victory, a referendum would be held in the first half of the next parliament, he adds.

Cameron will say he believes a referendum on British membership of the 27-nation bloc is necessary because in its current form the EU is intruding into British life.

"People feel the EU is heading in a direction they never signed up to. They resent the interference in our national life by what they see as unnecessary rules and regulation. And they wonder what the point of it all is," he will say.

Cameron had been due to give the speech in Amsterdam last Friday but postponed it because of the Algeria gas plant hostage crisis.

In the re-scheduled speech, Cameron says he understands the "impatience" of those who want to hold a referendum immediately, but insists the time is not right.

"I don't believe that to make a decision at this moment is the right way forward, either for Britain or for Europe as a whole," it says.

"A vote today between the status quo and leaving would be an entirely false choice."

Explaining why he wants to wait, Cameron will say the eurozone crisis will leave the EU transformed "perhaps beyond recognition" and that Britain wants to help shape the future of the bloc that emerges from it.

Cameron has faced pressure from the eurosceptic rightwing of the Conservative Party to take a stand on Europe, an issue that has long divided the party.

But his insistence on holding a referendum with a stark in-or-out choice will anger many of Britain's fellow EU member states, as well as his coalition government partners, the pro-Europe Liberal Democrats.

It will also dismay many business leaders and the opposition Labour party, who have warned Cameron that to offer the possibility of a referendum risks creating uncertainty and will lead Britain to the edge of an "economic cliff".

Cameron has also faced warnings from Britain's close ally the United States against isolating the country from the EU.

The speech has been delayed a number of times.

Plans to give it first emerged six months ago, and there was talk that Cameron might deliver it at the Conservative party's annual conference in October, followed by reports that he would give it at Christmas.

The speech was then widely expected on January 22, but Cameron moved it forward when it emerged that it clashed with commemorations for the 50th anniversary of Franco-German reconciliation following World War II.

Then the Algeria crisis intervened to force another change of plans.

- AFP/al

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Log on for clean governance

GWALIOR: Amarjeet Singh Rathore, 60, didn't think he'd see a day when he could walk into a sarkari office and get his work done without having to grease palms. "Tracking a patwari or getting a land records copy took several days and money," says the farmer from Simiria Taka village, Gwalior.

The Janmitra Samadhan Kendra (JSK) has changed that experience. "I just file an application and things get done," says Rathore, who was at the local JSK centre to apply for renewal of his BPL card. The JSK is the showpiece e-governance project of the Gwalior Administration . Started in September 2009 by then collector Akash Tripathi, the IT-driven initiative based on a biometric attendance system has today brought effective grassroots governance to 600 villages. For the aam aadmi, it offers single-window access to 74 public services, saving them the bother and expense of travelling to the district HQ. Delivery — whether it's a request for a hand pump or for a vet to attend to a sick cow — is time-bound.

By 2012-end, the 73 JSKs had got more than seven lakh applications and disposed of 95.5%. Several state and central schemes, such as NREGS, are being executed through this project. Recently, it's been linked to the Centre's e-panchayat scheme. The biometric system has compelled babus to be more regular. Bahadur Singh Gurjar, a Congress worker at Naugaon village, says sarkari buildings like schools and health centres have come to life. "Now you can see babus at work," says Rathore of Simiria Taka village.

District collector P Narhari — who carried forward his predecessor's task — says action against absenteeism has improved "on-field availability" of functionaries. Attendance and work delays, highlighted by the system, are reviewed weekly. Around 60 babus have been served notices on complaints from JSKs; 22 penalized and one sacked. About 400 have suffered salary cuts. This has made some unhappy. Randhawa Khatri, district president of MP Patwari Sangh, wants patwaris to be exempted from daily attendance. "It should be reduced to three days. It's difficult for them to move around with files," he says.

Applicants aren't complaining, though. Dinesh Jatav, 22, from Hastinapur village is physically challenged. His trips to the city 35km away for a disability certificate stopped after a JSK came up at the panchayat bhavan. "I got the certificate immediately. Then I went to collect a new tricycle," he says. Given the response, local netas of all hues want the project extended across the state. It's not a question of politics, says BSP MLA Madan Kushwah. "This project helps my people and I support it."

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The Promise and Perils of Mining Asteroids

Encouraged by new space technologies, a growing fleet of commercial rockets and the vast potential to generate riches, a group of entrepreneurs announced Tuesday that they planned to mine the thousands of near-Earth asteroids in the coming decades.

The new company, Deep Space Industries (DSI), is not the first in the field, nor is it the most well-financed. But with their ambition to become the first asteroid prospectors, and ultimately miners and manufacturers, they are aggressively going after what Mark Sonter, a member of DSI's board of directors, called "the main resource opportunity of the 21st century." (Related: "Asteroid Hunter to Be First Private Deep-Space Mission?")

Prospecting using miniaturized "cubesat" probes the size of a laptop will begin by 2015, company executives announced. They plan to return collections of asteroid samples to Earth not long after.

"Using low cost technologies, and combining the legacy of [the United States'] space program with the innovation of today's young high tech geniuses, we will do things that would have been impossible just a few years ago," said Rick Tumlinson, company chairman and a longtime visionary and organizer in the world of commercial space [not sure what commercial space means].

"We sit in a sea of resources so infinite they're impossible to describe," Tumlinson said.

Added Value

There are some 9,000 asteroids described as "near-Earth," and they contain several classes of resources that entrepreneurs are now eyeing as economically valuable.

Elements such as gold and platinum can be found on some asteroids. But water, silicon, nickel, and iron are the elements expected to become central to a space "economy" should it ever develop.

Water can be "mined" for its hydrogen (a fuel) and oxygen (needed for humans in space), while silicon can be used for solar power systems, and the ubiquitous nickel and iron for potential space manufacturing. (See an interactive on asteroid mining.)

Sonter, an Australian mining consultant and asteroid specialist, said that 700 to 800 near-Earth asteroids are easier to reach and land on than the moon.

DSI's prospecting spacecraft will be called "FireFlies," a reference to the popular science fiction television series of the same name. The FireFlies will hitchhike on rockets carrying up communication satellites or scientific instruments, but they will be designed so that they also have their own propulsion systems. The larger mining spacecraft to follow have been named "DragonFlies."

Efficiencies

It all sounds like science fiction, but CEO David Gump said that the technology is evolving so quickly that a space economy can soon become a reality. Providing resources from beyond Earth to power spacecraft and keep space travelers alive is the logical way to go.

That's because the most expensive and resource-intensive aspect of space travel is pushing through the Earth's atmosphere. Some 90 percent of the weight lifted by a rocket sending a capsule to Mars is fuel. Speaking during a press conference at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying in California, Gump said that Mars exploration would be much cheaper, and more efficient, if some of the fuel could be picked up en route. (Related: "7 Ways You Could Blast Off by 2023.")

Although there is little competition in the asteroid mining field so far, DSI has some large hurdles ahead of it. The first company to announce plans for asteroid mining was Planetary Resources, Inc. in spring 2012—the group is backed by big-name investors such as Google's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, filmmaker James Cameron, and early Google investor Ram Shriram. DSI is still looking for funding.

Owning Asteroids

While these potential space entrepreneurs are confident they can physically lay claim to resources beyond Earth, there remain untested legal issues.

The United Nations Space Treaty of 1967 expressly forbids ownership of other celestial bodies by governments on Earth. But American administrations have long argued that the same is not true of private companies and potential mining rights.

While an American court has ruled that an individual cannot own an asteroid—as in the case of Gregory Nemitz, who laid claim to 433 Eros as a NASA spacecraft was approaching it in 2001—the question of extraction rights has not been tested.

Moon rocks brought back to Earth during the Apollo program are considered to belong to the United States, and the Russian space agency has sold some moon samples it has returned to Earth-sales seen by some as setting a precedent.

Despite the potential for future legal issues, DSI's Gump said his group recently met with top NASA officials to discuss issues regarding technology and capital, and came away optimistic. "There's a great hunger for the idea of getting space missions done with smaller, cheaper 'cubesat' technology and for increased private sector involvement."

Everyone involved acknowledged the vast challenges and risks ahead, but they see an equally vast potential—both financial and societal.

"Over the decades, we believe these efforts will help expand the civilization of Earth into the cosmos, and change what it means to be a citizen of this planet," Tumlinson said.

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Teen Planned to Attack Walmart After Killing Family

The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."

Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.

According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an Albuquerque pastor, had plans to kill his family, his girlfriend's family, and local Walmart shoppers for weeks before he acted on the impulse on Sunday.

"Nehemiah said after killing five of his family members he reloaded the weapons so that he could drive to a populated area to murder more people," a police report from the incident stated.

"Nehemiah stated he wanted to shoot people at random and eventually be killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement," the report said.

The shooting spree began shortly around 1 a.m. on Sunday, when Griego snuck into his parents' bedroom while his mother, Sara Griego, was asleep. There he raided the closet where the family kept their guns, and immediately used a .22 rifle to kill her, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.

Griego's 9-year-old brother was sleeping with his mother at the time and woke up. When Griego told the boy his mother was dead, the youngster didn't believe him, according to a police report.

"So Nehemiah picked up his mother's head to show his brother her bloody face," the report states. "Nehemiah stated his brother became so upset so he shot his brother in the head."

Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo

15-Year-Old Son Suspected in Family Shooting Watch Video

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He then went into his sisters' bedroom. "Nehemiah stated when he entered he noticed that his sisters were crying and he shot them in the head," the police report states. The girls were 5 and 2 years old.

The teenager waited for his father to come from his overnight shift working at a nearby rescue mission. When his father, Greg Griego, walked into the home around 5 a.m., unaware of what had taken place, Griego shot him multiple times with the AR-15 rifle, Sheriff Dan Houston said today.

Greg Griego was a former church pastor at Calvary Church in Albuquerque, and worked as a chaplain at a local jail where he counseled convicts. The family was very involved in the church, according to its website.

The complaint said Griego took a photo of his dead mother and "sent it to his girlfriend."

Griego then packed up the guns, including two shotguns, as well as ammunition for the rifles, and planned to drive to a Walmart to shoot additional people.

Houston said today that Griego called his 12-year-old girlfriend Sunday and ended up spending the entire day with her rather than going to the Walmart. Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the pair drove to Calvary Church, and Griego said his family had died in a car crash. Someone on the church's staff then called 911, Houston said.

"At this time, Nehemiah had been contemplating this for some time. The information that Nehemiah had contemplated going to the local Walmart and participating in a shooting in there is accurate," Houston said. "There is no information at all that he went to church to cause anyone bodily harm there. The suspect also contemplated killing his girlfriend's parents."

The girlfriend's name was not released, but police are investigating whether to press any charges against her, Houston said. Houston said she had some knowledge about the deaths during the day Sunday.

Griego told cops he sent a picture of his dead mother to his girlfriend after the murder.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the Griego home around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday and arrived 10 minutes later, where they found the five bodies.

Griego lied to investigators about the attack, telling them he came home around 5 a.m. that morning and found his family dead. He said he then took the guns to protect himself.

Griego quickly admitted to the crime when pressed by police, telling investigators he was "frustrated" with his mother. Deputies said he was "unemotional" and "very stern" during the confession.

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At second inauguration, Obama relishes the rituals, as well as the smaller moments

The second time seemed to charm him.

The choreography of President Obama’s ceremonial inauguration Monday was nearly identical to that of his swearing-in four years ago: church, motorcade to the Capitol, invocation, oath, address, luncheon, parade, dancing. But this time, the president seemed determined to relish the rituals.

Obama spoke forcefully of building a more perfect union, but he found joy in the smaller moments. He blew kisses as he walked the parade route with his jubilant wife, Michelle, beside him. He bobbed his head and grooved watching a drill group from Iowa pass by and waved the shaka sign to the marching band from his Hawaiian high school alma mater.

There was a majesty and gravity to Monday’s proceedings, but this time, unlike four years ago, Obama knows what his office demands, as well as the limits on its power. His life is not in transition like it was then. He is settled.

He seemed to recognize that the next time the country pauses to inaugurate a president, the Obamas will be moving out of the White House, departing the city by helicopter and heading home. After the ceremony on the Capitol steps, as the president headed inside, he turned back and stopped.

“I want to take a look, one more time,” Obama said. “I’m not going to see this again.”

He stood still and looked out at the panorama of flags waving and people, hundreds of thousands of them, cramming the Mall and chanting his name.

It was as if he wanted to engrave the picture on his mind.

And that’s how Obama spent his day — savoring every moment.

Moments such as when the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and he turned and broadly winked at his daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11.

And when Myrlie Evers-Williams, a civil rights activist whose husband, Medgar Evers, was assassinated in 1963 in his Mississippi driveway, delivered the invocation. Evers-Williams spoke of being challenged by adversity — “For every mountain, you gave us the strength to climb,” she said — and Obama, his eyes closed in prayer, lifted his shoulders and took a deep breath.

“Amen,” he said at the end of her prayer.

A man behind the president shouted, “Hallelujah!”

When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered the president’s oath at 11:50 a.m., Obama flubbed a word, “the office of president of the United Sta—.” But it didn’t matter. He had recited the official oath correctly a day earlier, on Jan. 20, as mandated by the Constitution. (His daughter Sasha already had congratulated him, too: “You didn’t mess up,” she told him in the Blue Room. )

Then, once Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced him as “the 44th president of the United States,” Obama looked down and smiled. He gathered himself and pushed his chin up, understanding his role in addressing the nation far more clearly than he could have the first time around.

The president paid tribute to his forebears “who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone, to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”

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New Medifund Junior scheme set up

SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry will pump in an additional S$10 million over the next five years to help needy children with healthcare costs under a new scheme called Medifund Junior.

Children below 18 will be able to tap into this fund to help defray their healthcare costs.

With this new fund, there will now be a dedicated source of financial assistance for bills incurred by sick children from needy families.

The fund will also help defray costs for needy children diagnosed with congenital or neonatal conditions before 1 March 2013.

The government will also set up a Medisave account and deposit a one-off Medisave grant of S$3,000 over two tranches for all Singapore citizens born on or after 26 August 2012.

The move is to support Singaporean families in retaining continuous MediShield protection for their newborns.

- CNA/al

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Tasar spins new work for tribals

PATNA: From soil to silk, tribals engaged in tasar sericulture now tread the full spectrum towards building sustainable livelihoods in Bihar's Banka and Jamui districts, hotbeds of naxal activity. The Central Silk Board (CSB) has been working with marginalized communities in these regions to draw women and young people into silk production, helping them make a better life for themselves.

Non-profit Pradhan was the agency that rolled out the programme, Swaranajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). CSB, set up in 1948, promotes tasar silk and works through micro-entrepreneurial models. Tasar silk is produced in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra and Maharashtra, and supports 2.5 lakh families in rural and semi-urban areas.

CSB's idea was to increase tribals' income, improve their lives and thereby help check migration to urban areas. CSB mooted the use of private wastelands to raise the plants that host silkworms. The project covered all stages of making silk: pre-cocoon, seed and post-cocoon. Kisan nurseries were set up to raise the host plants. Then block plantations of host plants were raised on 987 ha of private wastelands.

Rearer groups within Tasar Vikas Samitis then formed district-level cooperatives. Women reeler-spinners were grouped into Masuta Producers Company, an all-women tasar-yarn producers' collective. In the process, 3,526 people formed 57 activity groups, 24 producer organizations, one cooperative with 2,000 stakeholders and a producer company. Today, CSB's project has supported 11,000 beneficiaries since it began in 2003-04.

CSB also pitched in with technology to boost production. Traditionally, women used earthen pots (matka yarn) and wooden charkha to spin cocoons, a tedious process. Motored reeling-cum-twisting and spinning machines were distributed. But there was a problem. The CSB's machine ran on a 75-watt motor and most of the villages in Bihar's Banka district are power-starved. So, a 'modified' charkha was used to spin the tasar yarn and solar-powered reeling machines were developed.

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")

As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and other companies evacuated personnel from Algeria, it was not immediately clear how widely the peril would spread in the wake of the hostage-taking at the sprawling In Amenas gas complex near the Libyan border.

Map by National Geographic

Algeria, the fourth-largest crude oil producer on the continent and a major exporter of natural gas and refined fuels, may not have been viewed as the most hospitable climate for foreign energy companies, but that was due to unfavorable financial terms, bureaucracy, and corruption. The energy facilities themselves appeared to be safe, with multiple layers of security provided both by the companies and by government forces, several experts said. (See related photos: "Oil States: Are They Stable? Why It Matters.")

"It is particularly striking not only because it hasn't happened before, but because it happened in Algeria, one of the stronger states in the region," says Hanan Amin-Salem, a senior manager at the industry consulting firm PFC Energy, who specializes in country risk. She noted that in the long civil war that gripped the country throughout the 1990s, there had never been an attack on Algeria's energy complex. But now, hazard has spread from weak surrounding states, as the assault on In Amenas was carried out in an apparent retaliation for a move by French forces against the Islamists who had taken over Timbuktu and other towns in neighboring Mali. (See related story: "Timbuktu Falls.")

"What you're really seeing is an intensification of the fundamental problem of weak states, and empowerment of heavily armed groups that are really well motivated and want to pursue a set of aims," said Amin-Salem. In PFC Energy's view, she says, risk has increased in Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—indeed, throughout Sahel, the belt that bisects North Africa, separating the Sahara in the north from the tropical forests further south.

On Thursday, the London-based corporate consulting firm Exclusive Analysis, which was recently acquired by the global consultancy IHS, sent an alert to clients warning that oil and gas facilities near the Libyan and Mauritanian borders and in Mauritania's Hodh Ech Chargui province were at "high risk" of attack by jihadis.

"A Hot Place to Drill"

The attack at In Amenas comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the oil industry in Africa. (See related gallery: "Pictures: The Year's Most Overlooked Energy Stories.") Forecasters expect that oil output throughout Africa will double by 2025, says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of the energy and sustainability program at the University of California, Davis, who has counted 20 rounds of bidding for new exploration at sites in Africa's six largest oil-producing states.

Oil and natural gas are a large part of the Algerian economy, accounting for 60 percent of government budget revenues, more than a third of GDP and more than 97 percent of its export earnings. But the nation's resources are seen as largely undeveloped, and Algeria has tried to attract new investment. Over the past year, the government has sought to reform the law to boost foreign companies' interests in their investments, although those efforts have foundered.

Technology has been one of the factors driving the opening up of Africa to deeper energy exploration. Offshore and deepwater drilling success in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil led to prospecting now under way offshore in Ghana, Mozambique, and elsewhere. (See related story: "New Oil—And a Huge Challenge—for Ghana.") Jaffe says the Houston-based company Anadarko Petroleum has sought to transfer its success in "subsalt seismic" exploration technology, surveying reserves hidden beneath the hard salt layer at the bottom of the sea, to the equally challenging seismic exploration beneath the sands of the Sahara in Algeria, where it now has three oil and gas operations.

Africa also is seen as one of the few remaining oil-rich regions of the world where foreign oil companies can obtain production-sharing agreements with governments, contracts that allow them a share of the revenue from the barrels they produce, instead of more limited service contracts for work performed.

"You now have the technology to tap the resources more effectively, and the fiscal terms are going to be more attractive than elsewhere—you put these things together and it's been a hot place to drill," says Jaffe, who doesn't see the energy industry's interest in Africa waning, despite the increased terrorism risk. "What I think will happen in some of these countries is that the companies are going to reveal new securities systems and procedures they have to keep workers safe," she says. "I don't think they will abandon these countries."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Live Blog: First Dance of Second Term

Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.

Refresh here for updates throughout the day.

Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. EST for all-day live streaming video coverage of Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama. Live coverage will also be available on the ABC News iPad App and mobile devices.

Read Obama’s second Inaugural address here.

All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

9:22 p.m. – Photo: Obama and Michelle’s First (Second Inaugural) Dance 

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance together at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, DC. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

9:06 p.m. – Michelle’s Dress

ABC’s Mary Bruce reports:

The First Lady is wearing a custom Jason Wu ruby colored chiffon and velvet gown with a handmade diamond embellished ring by jewelry designer Kimberly McDonald. She is wearing shoes designed by Jimmy Choo. At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

The President and First Lady are dancing to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” performed by Jennifer Hudson.

The Vice President and Dr. Biden will dance to Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” performed by Jamie Foxx.

Hudson and Foxx will perform the first dance song at each of the first and second families’ stops – in the Ballroom for the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball and on both floors of The Inaugural Ball.

9:00 p.m – Obama Thanks Soldiers at Commander in Chief’s Ball

The president and Michelle Obama made their first stop of the night at the Commander in Chief’s ball, where President Obama thanked military servicemembers in the audience as he spoke.

“I have no greater honor than being your commander in chief. It’s because of you that with honor we were able to end the war in Iraq, because of you that we delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, because of you that it’s even possible to give Afghans a chance to determine their own destiny,” Obama said.

A TV screen to Obama’s right showed soldiers stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Privates and master sergeants congratulated him on his inauguration.

“Every single day we are thinking of you,” Obama told them in response. “When you get back home, you’re gonna be greeted by a grateful nation, and you’re gonna be on our minds tonight and every single night until our mission in Afghanistan is complete.”

8:32 p.m. – The Balls are Underway – Get the live stream at abcn.ws/live

6:35 p.m. – Welcome to Twitter, Michelle’s Bangs

We knew it was coming. Someone created a Twitter account called @FirstLadysBangs.

Withing hours of its entry into the world, the Twitter character had considered and shot down a run against Donald Trump’s hair in 2016.

Sound a little crazy? Blame it on super long parade fatigue.

5:42 p.m. – The Cheese Stands Alone

The ladies of the Obama clan have left the Presidential Reviewing Stand. The president remains there to watch the rest of the parade, including a group of uni-cyclists from Maine called the “Gym Dandies.”

5:28 p.m. – Obama Inauguration: Who’s Who?

Who were those people sitting behind the president this morning anyway? Click the photo below to see an infographic with a guide to Obama’s family, colleagues and dignitaries.

(Image Credit: Scott Andrews/AP Photo)

5:22 p.m. – Biden 2016?

Vice President Joe Biden got very friendly with members of the crowd watching the inaugural parade, prompting some to wonder if this isn’t a prelude to his own presidential run.

4:55 p.m. – POTUS on His Blackberry Before the Parade

(Image Credit: Obtained by ABC News)

It may be a day-long celebration for President Obama, but that doesn’t mean he has left work at the office.

Just before members of the military began streaming by the Presidential Reviewing Stand as part of the inaugural parade, Obama could be seen working on what looks like his specially-secured Blackberry.

Beside him, Sasha and Malia whipped out their iPhones, taking photos of their mother and interrupting their father to make him pose with the first lady. The first family had removed their coats, thanks to heat inside the reviewing stand.

And it was also clear President Obama was chewing gum as he head-bobbed along to the marching bands. Today more than ever he looked like Obama: the gum-chewing, Blackberry-checking president of the people.

What’s not clear – who emails the president on inauguration day? And was it Nicorette gum?

4:30 p.m. – Wrapping Up the Route

(Image Credit: Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)

ABC’s Devin Dwyer reports the President, the first lady, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will soon make their way to the reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Ave. where they will be joined by Congressional leaders, Supreme Court Justices, governors, the Joint Chiefs and White House staff as well as area elementary school students and some of the Tuskegee Airmen and their families, according to the White House.

4:00 p.m. – Obama, Roberts Sign King Bible

ABC’s Avery Miller reports President Obama and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts signed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Bible today, at the request of the family.

In his life time, it was King’s “traveling Bible,” according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

“An avid reader who was constantly on the road, Dr. King typically traveled with a selection of books that included this Bible,” the PIC wrote in a statement about the Bible written when they announced Obama would use it in his ceremony. “It was used for inspiration and preparing sermons and speeches, including during Dr. King’s time as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.”

Read more about President Obama’s choice of Bibles here.

3:56 p.m. – Justice Scalia and the Mystery of the Funny Hat

Michelle Obama wasn’t the only one drawing eyes with her fashion choices at the inaugural ceremonies today. Many on Twitter – including Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., – remarked on Associate Justice Antonin Scalia’s choice of headgear during President Obama’s swearing-in.

Some compared it to Aretha Franklin’s extravagant hat at the 2009 inauguration. Others simply wondered where it came from.

To find that answer, ABC’s Sarah Parnass spoke with Scalia’s former clerk, Kevin Walsh.

Walsh, who now teaches at University of Richmond School of Law, said the association of Catholic lawyers to which he belongs, St. Thomas More Society of Richmond Va., presented Scalia with the hat in 2010.

The hat is a replica of one worn by St. Thomas More in his most iconic portrait, done by Hans Holbein, according to Walsh.

When giving Justice Scalia the hat, the members of the St. Thomas More Society thought it would be a nice memento. “If nothing else it would be suitable for university functions,” Scalia said.

Walsh said the significance of Scalia’s wearing the hat likely doesn’t go beyond function. In the past, Scalia has worn a skull cap, much like the one Justice Breyer sported today. But the skull cap doesn’t have earflaps – the More hat does.

“That one’s warmer,” Walsh said, comparing the hat Scalia wore today with the one he wore to the 2009 inauguration. “I’d say it’s more functional.”

ABC’s Bob Murphy adds this historical background:

Thomas More was the Lord Chancellor or Chief Legal Officer of England when Henry VIII was King. He famously lost his head (the one the hat was made for) rather than reinterpret the laws of divorce and allow the King to dispatch his Queen. He is a hero to the Catholic legal community for his commitment to moral and legal authority over the whim of the chief temporal power.

The ultraconservative Catholic jurist may or may not be making a statement but the significance is interesting.

3:39 p.m. – Inauguration Day in Pictures

Click the picture below for a slideshow of some of the 2013 inauguration’s most memorable moments so far.

(Image Credit: Jonathan Ernst-Pool/AP Photo)

3:33 p.m. – Obama Pauses for Final Glimpse of Fans

ABC’s Devin Dwyer reports:

After a bruising campaign, and unusually contentious post-election period, President Obama savored his second and final Inauguration Day as a brief respite from political storms and celebratory moment for his hundreds of thousands of adoring supporters.

As he walked off the inaugural platform on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, Obama turned and paused to look out at the crowd on the National Mall, even as his family and other guests continued ahead without him.

“I want to take a look one more time,” Obama was heard saying. “I’m not going to see this again.”

Read more on that poignant moment with the president here.

3:22 p.m. – Obama Makes History Citing Gay Rights in Inaugural Address

ABC’s Shushannah Walshe reports:

President Obama made history in his inaugural address today mentioning the word “gay” and the issue of gay rights for the first time in a speech at the presidential swearing in.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said in his address on the Capitol steps after his swearing in.

Obama also mentioned the word Stonewall when citing milestones of the civil right struggle. It was a reference to a riot and subsequent protests over a police raid in June 1969 of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The president mentioned it along with the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848 and the civil rights march in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,” Obama said.

Brian Ellner who led the successful campaign to make same sex marriage legal in New York state called the speech “historic.”

Read more from Walshe here.

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3:12 p.m. –  Obama Sticks to His Script in Second Inaugural Address

ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports:

By their very nature, the texts of presidential inaugural addresses become historical documents as soon as they are delivered. Obama’s speech, like all the others before, will be scrutinized for years to come.

So, how closely did President Obama, who is known for his oratorical prowess, hew to the prepared text of his remarks? With the exception of a few minor words,

It turns out he stuck almost exactly to the script.

“We must harness new ideas and technology” became “So we must harness…” and “Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright” ended up as “Let us, each of us, now embrace…” He sprinkled in an extra “and” at the beginning of one paragraph and turned a “that is” into “that’s.”

Otherwise, the president delivered the speech he had in front of him with almost no changes.

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2:26 p.m. – Tell the President What You Want

Whether you voted for him or not, tell President Obama what you’d most like to see him tackle in his second term and why.

Upload a video or photo, or send your comments telling the president what is most important to you in the next four years.

The best submissions may be featured today on ABCNews.com.

Click the photo below to see how you can participate.

(Image Credit: ABC News Photo Illustration)

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2:11 p.m. – Obama Address References Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Immigration

Univision’s Jordan Fabian reports:

Obama, the nation’s first black president, delivered his address on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and drew strong parallels between the civil rights battles of King’s generation to the social issues facing today. Perhaps most notable was Obama’s reference to gay rights, believed to be a first for a presidential inaugural address.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he said. “For if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

The president also made a forceful statement in support of comprehensive immigration reform, a campaign pledge from 2008 that remains unfulfilled. Obama has repeatedly pledged to make it one of his top legislative priorities this year.

“Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country,” he said.

Read more from Fabian here.

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2:05 p.m. – Obama’s Inaugural Declaration: ‘Our Time’ for Changing Nation

(Image Credit: Win McNamee/AP Photo)

Analysis by ABC’s Rick Klein:

President Obama used a brief pause in the partisan warfare that’s scarred his time in office to return to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, with his own declaration of urgency and a call to action that reflects shared sacrifice and responsibility.

This was no centrist conciliator. It was the speech of a committed, unapologetic progressive, an Obama doctrine for domestic policy that included concrete commitments in areas he made little progress on over his first four years. Above all, he was speaking to a changing America – the nation that propelled him to a second term, and whose voices he will need to channel to be effective over the next four years.

“My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together,” the president declared.

Read more on what Obama meant and what opportunities he sees going forward here.

1:30 p.m. – More on Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco

Univision’s Jordan Fabian reports:

There has not been another inaugural poet like Richard Blanco.

Out of the five people selected to read an original poem at a presidential inauguration, the 44-year-old Blanco is the first Latino, first gay man, and youngest person to serve the role. The presidential inaugural committee officially announced the choice of Blanco, the son of Cuban exiles, last Wednesday.

Read more from Fabian here.

Blanco wrote the poem he read, called “One Today,” in the past 11 days. It included several references to America’s workers, including the following:

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

Read the full poem here.

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1:24 p.m. – Sen. McCaskill Calls Out SCOTUS Hats

1:24 p.m. – Terry Moran: Inauguration Fits ‘Next America’

In response to remarks about Obama’s reference to gay marriage, Nightline’s Terry Moran analyzes the firsts of this inauguration:

Has Spanish been spoken before? Has there ever been a bigger crowd for a second inaugural?

To me, Obama’s speech, this crowd, the whole program, seemed deliberately designed to confirm the “next America”–younger, more diverse, more non-native, socially liberal–as the source of authority, even legitimacy in the nation going forward.

That’s what the election was really about, deep down. And the feeling out here seems more than the usual inaugural victory lap of the party in power. It seems cultural–and historic. It’s their moment. And so is tomorrow–not in a partisan sense. In a factual one.

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1:14 p.m. – Inaugural Performances

Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor and Beyonce sang during the inaugural ceremonies this year.

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1:09 p.m. – What’s On the Menu?

President Obama now joins members of Congress and the Supreme Court for the inaugural luncheon.

ABC’s Devin Dwyer reports the inaugural luncheon menu from the JCC:

First Course: Steamed lobster with New England chowder

Wine: Anthony Road Winery, Fox Run Vineyards & Newt Red Cellars, Tierce 2010 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, N.Y.

Second Course: Hickory grilled bison with wild huckleberry reduction and red potato horseradish cake

Wine: Bedell Cellars, 2009 Merlot, North Fork, Long Island, N.Y.

Third Course: Hudson Valley apple pie, sour cream ice cream, aged cheese and honey

Wine: Korbel Natural, Special Inaugural Cuvée Champagne, Calif.

NOTE the New York food/wine: Water in the holding rooms is to be Saratoga Springs (a NY label), per a PIC official. And the wines to be served at the inaugural luncheon are from New York vineyards —- all thanks to NY Sen. Chuck Schumer, who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies

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12:46 p.m. – Timing Is Everything: Chris Christie Makes Announcements Minutes Before Obama’s Speech

ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports:

During the very same hour of President Obama’s second inauguration, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is often mentioned as a potential 2016 Republican presidential contender, sent out two separate announcements.

The first from his gubernatorial campaign: “Governor Chris Christie will be visiting the Hilton Newark Airport on Tuesday morning to accept the second major endorsement of his campaign.” (The campaign did not provide information about who will be endorsing him). And the second, a statement commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. (Christie, who praised President Obama’s efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated portions of coastal New Jersey, did not mention the president’s inauguration):

“Dr. King was the paradigm of strength in triumphing over adversity and racial injustice to achieve what seemed impossible to so many for so long. His legacy stands as an eternal reminder of his sacrifice and the progress he achieved and which we are obliged to protect for every citizen of our state and nation. I join New Jerseyans in honoring Dr. King’s life and work and his uncompromising commitment to peacefully working toward freedom and equality for all Americans,” Christie said in the statement.

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12:16 p.m. – Richard Blanco Delivers Inauguration Poem

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12:09 p.m. – Obama Gives Shout Out to Same-Sex Couples in Inaugural Address

In his inaugural address today, President Obama called for treating same-sex couples equal under the law. ABC News’ Arlette Saenz reports:

Of the group of 215 members in the Lesbian and Gay Band Association marching in the inaugural parade, four couples are legally married.

Leslie Becker and Lindsay Famula of Hackensack, N.J., met when Famula joined the band in 2006, and the two women, who are both percussionists, were married in May.

“It’s validation. The fact that we have been denied this right for so long when really all we want to do is be seen in the government as a couple means a lot,” Becker said. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ was repealed. We’re making big advancements in civil rights for gay couples, and it means a big deal to be one of the few married couples to march in this parade.”

New Jersey has allowed civil unions since 2006, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a same-sex marriage bill in February.

Becker played at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1997, but the LGBA only played on the side of the parade. During President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, the LGBA, including Becker, marched in the actual parade.

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11:56 a.m. – Hundreds of Thousands Turn Out for Inauguration

(Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As of 11:00 a.m., Washington Metro Area Transit Authority reported 308,000 people used their rail service this morning. Metro was preparing last week for an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people to come to D.C. for the events.

In 2009, 1.8 million people gathered to welcome in Obama’s first term.

Around 11:30 a.m., the U.S. Park Police released a statement about the crowding: “The National Mall is now full and closed. All visitors not on the Mall should proceed to the overflow area at the Washington Monument.”

11:50 a.m. – Obama Takes Oath for Fourth Time

(Image Credit: ABC NEWS)

With his hand on two Bibles held by his two daughters, President Barack Obama took the inaugural oath for a fourth time. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath.

11:38 a.m. – Evers-Williams Delivers Invocation

11:33 a.m. – ABC Correspondent Tweets from Pakistan

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11:30 a.m. – Ryan Congratulates Obama

ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:

No word from Mitt Romney, but his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan sent out a congrats to President Obama.

Ryan posted a longer congratulations on his Facebook page.

I congratulate President Obama on his inauguration, and I join the country in celebrating this American tradition.

The president and I were political opponents. We had strong disagreements over the direction of the country—as we still do now. But today, we put those disagreements aside. Today, we remember what we share in common.

We serve the same country, one that is still in need of repair—and is still the freest on earth. We serve alongside men and women from both parties, who govern in good faith and good will. Finally, we serve the same people, who have honored us with their charge.

We may disagree on matters of policy. But today we remember why we take those matters so seriously—because we seek the public good. It’s our highest duty—one that we share—and one for which we’re grateful.

I’m happy to mark this historic occasion—for the president and for the country. And I look forward to tackling the big challenges ahead.

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11:20 a.m. – A Look Back at Obama’s First Inaugural Address

ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:

As Obama’s prepares to give his second inaugural address, a look back at the first: Obama’s speech in 2009 ran 2,395 words.

According to a handy word count breakdown from the Wall Street Journal, Obama used the word “people” eight times, the word “God” five times, and the word “government” four times. We can expect that those words will pop up again in today’s speech, as the president is expected to talk about unity and finding common ground among our nation’s leaders.

A word he only uttered once in 2009, that we might expect him to bring up again more this time- “war” – as the president looks back on the drawdown of America’s military presence in Iraq, and ahead to the drawdown in Afghanistan.

Today’s speech is expected to be shorter than his speech four years ago – but by how much will remain to be seen. The high bar of second inauguration speeches is Abraham Lincoln’s address in 1965- where he managed to say a lot, in just a few words- 698 to be exact.

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11:16 a.m. – Obama Enters Arena

President Obama has entered the Capitol. Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are close behind.

ABC’s Michael Falcone points out President Obama will be getting down to business shortly after he delivers his second inaugural address, officially submitting the names of his nominees for the posts of CIA Director, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, according to a White House official.

Today, at the Capitol the President will be signing:

1. A Proclamation to commemorate the inauguration titled, “National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013.”
2. Four Nominations:
a. John Owen Brennan to be Director of the CIA
b. Charles Timothy Hagel to be Secretary of Defense
c. John Forbes Kerry to be Secretary of State
d. Jacob J. Lew to be Secretary of the Treasury

ABC’s Devin Dwyer notes that four years ago, Obama signed a similar proclamation and nominations to the Senate. This occurs in the President’s Room, just off the Senate chamber, immediately following the address.

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11:15 a.m. –

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11:08 a.m. – The Biden Family Bible

(Image Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

A large Bible being carried in is attracting some attention for its size. The Bible belongs to the Biden family, and it’s the one Vice President Joe Biden will use to swear his oath of office, as he did four years ago.

The 120-year-old book has a Celtic cross on the front and has been passed down through the Biden clan. It is 5 inches thick, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Biden also used it Sunday in his private swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

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11:04 a.m. – Powell Slams GOP’s ‘Idiot Presentations’

ABC’s Michael Falcone reports:

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos during ABC’s special inauguration day coverage this morning, former Secretary of State Colin Powell lashed out at people in the Republican Party who spent the last four years spreading “birther nonsense” and other “things that demonize the president,” calling on GOP leaders to denounce such talk — publicly.

“Republicans have to stop buying into things that demonize the president. I mean, why aren’t Republican leaders shouting out about all this birther nonsense and all these other things? They should speak out. This is the kind of intolerance that I’ve been talking about where these idiot presentations continue to be made and you don’t see the senior leadership of the party say, ‘No, that’s wrong.’ In fact, sometimes by not speaking out, they’re encouraging it. And the base keeps buying the stuff.

“And it’s killing the base of the party. I mean, 26 percent favorability rating for the party right now. It ought to be telling them something. So, instead of attacking me or whoever speaks like I do, look in the mirror and realize, ‘How are we going to win the next election?”

Read more from Falcone here.

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10:59 a.m. – Former President Carter Enters

Thirty-ninth President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, entered the Capitol to applause from the crowd. The former president shook hands and exchanged greetings with others awaiting President Obama. Carter is 88 years old and one of two former presidents expected at today’s ceremony.

The second, former President Bill Clinton, entered moments later with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton by his side.

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10:56 a.m. – How to Crash a Party

Not invited to any of the official inaugural shindigs? No sweat.

ABC’s Chris Good got the scoop on how to sneak into the festivities from Fred Karger, former 2012 Republican presidential candidate and self-proclaimed party-crasher extraordinaire.

“Karger says he has crashed an inauguration party before, plus the Oscars and Fashion Week. He has fooled rope-line workers, he says, and even the Secret Service,” Good reports.

“He twice found himself onstage at the Oscars, he says, once singing the final number alongside Liza Minnelli.”

A few of Karger’s tips: call ahead under a fake name, blend in with the entourage and don’t look back. Find all of Karger’s tips and more reporting from Chris Good here.

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10:52 a.m. – Presidential Limo: Belly of the Beast

President Obama got an upgraded presidential limo when he took office four years ago.

Pierre Thomas got an exclusive look at the unveiling back then. Take a look:

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10:41 a.m. – POTUS Departs

(Image Credit: DC Vote)

President Obama has left the White House and entered his motorcade, on the way to the Capitol.

The president’s limo is sporting special plates today, in support of the D.C. statehood movement. Read more about those plates here.

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10:39 a.m. – First Lady and Vice President on Their Way

First lady Michelle Obama left the White House, followed shortly by Vice President Joe Biden.

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10:34 a.m. – Obamas Leave White House

President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, left the White House in their pink and purple coats just a moment ago. They’re headed for the Capitol, where they will watch their father take the presidential oath for the fourth time.

They were followed minutes later by a band of Marines, then by Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife.

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10:31 a.m. – Events Heating Up

Members of Congress can be seen streaming into the Capitol. The inaugural pre-show began at 9:30 a.m., but Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., won’t begin introducing the president for another hour.

Across the National Mall, attendees are waving American flags, in a sea of red, white and blue.

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10:17 a.m. – Presidential Imperfections

It’s a not-so-secret understanding that even the most well-respected president’s weren’t perfect. Turns out neither were their inaugural ceremonies.

Find the funniest and quirkiest inaugural slip ups here.

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9:58 a.m. – How Do You Spell the Event of the Day?

(Image Credit: Joanna Stern / ABC News)

ABC’s Joanna Stern reports:

Nope, it’s not inaugration. Not inaguration either. Inaugiration? Not correct. And it’s definitely not innoguration or anauguration.

Inauguration. That’s the correct spelling of the word for that big event today, at which, you know, the president officially becomes the president again.

But don’t be embarrassed if you spelled it incorrectly. It turns out it’s a pretty popular thing to do.

Over 2,500 people have tweeted about the “inaguration,” according to Topsy, which tracks tweets on Twitter. Topsy says 866 of those tweets have been in the last 30 days. “Inaugration” has been used in over 700 tweets.

Read more from Stern on the many misspellings of this historic event here.

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9:42 a.m. – Obamas on the Move

The Obama family has left church services at St. John’s Episcopal Church and headed back to the White House.

To see where the president will go next, check out ABC’s interactive map here.

Pastor Andy Stanley from the North Point Community Church in Alpharetta Georgia delivered the sermon, according to pool reports, calling the president “pastor in chief.”

This tweet from the president posted while the Obama family was still in church.

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9:15 a.m. – Obama’s View

ABC’s Jonathan Karl is on the platform at the West Front of the Capitol Building where Obama will give his inaugural address later today. He’s got the best view of the crowds, which won’t come close to the 1.8 million of four years ago, but which already number hundreds of thousands.

9:11 a.m. – Members of Congress Honor MLK on Twitter

Today America remembers the legacy of another great leader: Martin Luther King, Jr. Members of the House and Senate are taking to Twitter to express their admiration for King this morning.

9:04 a.m. – On the Ground with Good Morning America.

  Back to top 9:03 a.m. – Best and Worst Inaugural Addresses

(Image Credit: Getty Images)

ABC’s Chris Good reports on the best and worst inaugural speeches of all time: Inaugural addresses, it is said, are usually not very good. Most have been long forgotten, and historians themselves point to few as memorable. It’s not entirely clear why, but the moment might have something to do with it. Book-ending divisive national campaigns, inaugural addresses offer token unity sentiments, hopefulness but not always specific hopes, and even some good ones sound myopic. “Most inaugural addresses are not remembered,” said Princeton University professor and noted presidential historian Eric Foner. “Grover Cleveland? I have no idea what he said in his.” “I have actually read every single inaugural, and it was a really boring experience,” said Robert Lehrman, a former speechwriter for vice president Al Gore, who now teaches the craft at American University in Washington. “Most of the speeches are terrible. Even the ones we remember, I don’t think there is any reporter working anywhere that couldn’t write language as crisp or concrete as the majority of them.” Read the rest of the worst and the best here. Back to top 8:56 a.m. – Outfits of the Inauguration: Obama Style ABC’s Mary Bruce reports: The President, First Lady, in a dark blue jacket, and daughters Malia, in a pink overcoat, and Sasha, in dark purple, arrived just after 8:40 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church for morning services. The First Lady is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress. The fabric was developed based on the style of a man’s silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her earrings are designed by Cathy Waterman. She is also wearing J.Crew shoes. At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives. Malia Obama is wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress. The Bidens arrived moments later. Back to top 8:47 a.m. – Tailor to the Presidents: Republicans Dress Better

Back to top 8:45 a.m. – Great American QuotesInaugural addresses are an opportunity for presidents on the nation’s front lawn – a place that Americans come to in turns inaugurate their leaders, protest their government and mourn their dead – to place a marker for their legacy. There have been some weighty and remarkable things said as presidents took the oath of office looking down on the Mall and also, from nearby, as other Americans have looked up and let their voices be heard at gatherings as varied as the March on Washington and the Promise Keepers. What can Barack Obama say, come Monday, as he begins a second term with lower expectations and less inspiration, to place himself on this list of great American words? Click below for an interactive look at the competition:

(Image Credit: ABC News: Ma'ayan Rosenzweig)

Back to top 8:38 a.m. – Aretha Franklin’s Hat Makes a Comeback

  Back to top 8:22 a.m. – Martha Raddatz: Women Rule

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8:08 a.m. – Eva Longoria Wakes Up to with the White House

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Curated by ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf and Sarah Parnass

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