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

Read More..

'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.



Read More..

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



Read More..

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."

Read More..

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.


Read More..

Feds Bust Man in Alleged Bombs-for-Drugs Sting


Jan 24, 2013 7:07pm







ht explosives in jeff co house tk 130124 wblog Federal Agents Bust Colorado Man in Alleged Bombs for Drugs Sting

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.


ht drugbust tk 130124 wblog Federal Agents Bust Colorado Man in Alleged Bombs for Drugs Sting

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






Read More..

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



Read More..

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

Read More..

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.


Read More..

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.






Read More..