Weekly Jobless Claims Rise; Durable Goods Slump

Abstract: WASHINGTON (Reuters) — New claims for jobless benefits surged last week as snowstorms in some parts of the United States kept workers at home, but the underlying trend pointed to an only gradual labor market improvement. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped 51,000 to a seasonally adjusted 454,000, the highest weekly total since late October, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the largest weekly increase since September 2005. The rise exceeded economists’ expectations for a slight gain to 405,000. A Labor Department official said four states had reported an increase in claims that was due to snow. In addition, he said, seasonal volatility also affected the data. Still, the four-week moving average of unemployment claims — a better measure of underlying trends — rose 15,750 to 428,750 last week, implying a gradual labor market recovery that could compel the Federal Reserve to complete its $600 billion bond-buying program aimed at bolstering the economy. “I’ll buy that it can be blamed on the weather. But it does show that the recovery is growing in fits and starts,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Va. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed a nearly 100 percent drop in civilian aircraft orders led to orders for long-lasting manufactured goods dropping 2.5 percent in December. Economists had expected orders to rise 1.5 percent. However, orders excluding transportation rose 0.5 percent and a proxy for business spending increased 1.4 percent, indicating that the economic recovery was still gaining some momentum, though not sufficient to help the labor market. Wall Street stock index futures turned negative after the data, while Treasury bond prices trimmed losses. Dollar pared gains versus the yen. The labor market recovery remains painfully slow, despite signs elsewhere of a pickup in economic activity, keeping the unemployment rate at an elevated 9.4 percent. Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday acknowledged the improvement in the economic picture, but said the pace of the recovery remained “insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions.” The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid increased 94,000 to 3.99 million in the week ended Jan 15. The numbers were above market expectations for a dip to 3.85 million and included the week for the household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived. The prior week’s number for the so-called continuing claims was revised up to 3.90 million from 3.86 million. The number of people on emergency unemployment benefits rose 63,886 to 3.78 million in the week ended Jan. 8, the latest week for which data is available. A total of 9.4 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs.

Unemployment Insurance
Factories and Manufacturing
United States Economy


Colorado: Ammunition Limits Sent to Governor

Abstract: Fiercely debated ammunition limits cleared the state’s Democratic-led legislature on Wednesday and were on their way to Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, who has said he will sign them. The 15-round magazine limit would make Colorado the first state outside the East Coast to place restrictions on guns after last year’s mass shootings. Pending in the legislature is the Democrats’ other signature gun-control bill, which would require background checks for private and online gun sales. Mr. Hickenlooper has more enthusiastically backed that measure.

Colorado
Guns
Gun Control
Legislation
John W Hickenlooper
Aurora Shooting


Fox Announces Return for ‘24’ and Start of an Updated ‘Cosmos’

Abstract: PASADENA, Calif. — The Fox network made a series of program announcements Monday, including the starting dates for two of its most anticipated projects: the return of the former hit “24” and an update of the famed “Cosmos” series. At the winter press tour here for journalists covering the television business, the network announced that “24” will begin its comeback season on May 5 at 8 p.m. with a two-hour premiere as part of a summer run in the cable model with 12 episodes instead of 24 as in the past. “Live Another Day,” as the sequel is being called, will move to 9 p.m. a week later. Kiefer Sutherland will return as agent Jack Bauer joined by former castmates Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane. The new version of “Cosmos,” subtitled “A Spacetime Odyssey,” will begin on March 9 at 9 p.m. It is meant to be a companion to Carl Sagan’s much honored series, “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” which was first shown on PBS in 1980. The new series will use Mr. Sagan’s former producers and writers, Ann Druyan and the astronomer Steven Soter, who will work with the “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane. The host of the 13-part series is the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Fox also described the special episodes of two of its comedies that will follow the Super Bowl on Feb. 2. The comedy “New Girl” will follow immediately after the postgame show with an episode that takes the cast regulars (along with a returning cast member, Damon Wayans) to a party hosted by the music superstar Prince, who will appear as a guest star. The hour will be filled out by the new Fox comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” fresh off its double wins at the Golden Globes, with a special episode that will somehow work in as guest stars Fred Armisen (who had a funny cameo in the show’s pilot) and the former Super Bowl quarterback Joe Theismann. In another announcement, related to the star of “Nine-Nine,” Andy Samberg, Fox has made a deal with his comedy company, Lonely Island. He and his partners, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, will develop projects for websites like Hulu and Roku with an eye toward expanding those that succeed into series for either the Fox network or its sister cable networks, FX and FXX.


In Afghanistan, Suicide Blast and Angry Crowd Target American Soldiers

Abstract: KABUL, Afghanistan — A convoy of American troops survived a huge suicide bomb attack in Kabul on Tuesday afternoon, only to find themselves struggling against a gathering crowd of Afghans who were trying to tend to civilians wounded in the bombing. The confusing scene left one American soldier wounded, possibly by a knife, as Afghans shouted, “Death to Americans,” and accused the soldiers of opening fire on them in the frightening seconds after the suicide attack, witnesses said. The episode hinted at a lingering wellspring of anger against American troops even as the United States’ military presence in Afghanistan is receding. Convoys of heavily armored troop carriers are still spotted routinely in Kabul making shuttle runs between bases and embassies and the airport. Around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, in the hot midday hours, a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb amid one such convoy, on Airport Road. The blast did not kill or seriously injure any of the soldiers, but it wounded at least 22 Afghans, including passing motorists and roadside shopkeepers, and killed at least one, officials said. Image Afghan police officers at the site of a suicide bombing in Kabul on Tuesday. Credit Ahmad Masood/Reuters What happened next is still being pieced together. But at some point, a member of the crowd attacked and most likely stabbed an American soldier who had exited one of the vehicles to form a cordon, witnesses said. A soldier opened fire, although it was unclear whether the shots came before or after the crowd member’s attack. Some witnesses said the American soldiers, along with Afghan security officials who were nearby, had fired only warning shots. “The Americans and N.D.S. were shooting in the air, and nobody was killed by the shooting,” said Salim, 23, a butcher who said he witnessed the scene. The N.D.S. is the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence service. Another witness, Ghulam Haider, 47, said, “The Americans were firing in the air to disperse the people.” But other witnesses claimed that the bullets ripped through Afghans who had come to treat the wounded. It was this narrative that quickly spread through a gathering crowd of several hundred. “Right afterward, the Americans began shouting at the Afghans to leave, but many of the shopkeepers ran to help the wounded,” said Assadullah Khan, a nearby resident who said he witnessed the events. “An American gunner opened fire at the civilians that killed two and wounded another civilian, angering the entire crowd.” Some members of the crowd described the stabbing of the soldier as revenge for the American gunfire. Mr. Khan said the brother of an Afghan man killed on Tuesday was part of a group that attacked the nearest American soldier. Image A wounded soldier after the suicide attack. No troops were killed by the attack Tuesday in Kabul, but after the blast they were faced with an angry crowd. Credit Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The brother, a butcher by trade, and two other Afghans “attacked the American soldiers who had dismounted from their armored trucks to rescue their fellow soldiers,” said Nangyalai, a 28-year-old man in the crowd. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which could be heard across Kabul and blew out windows hundreds of feet away. But by late afternoon, much of the anger was directed against Americans. Some members of the crowd threw rocks. Others spoke of jihad. “Killing innocents permit Muslims to take weapons and stand against enemies of Islam,” said Khalid, 30, who said he witnessed the scene. “You opened fire, killing and wounded our men while they were rushing in to help their family members. This permits jihad. Get out of our country.” The N.D.S. arrested a number of men in the crowd, including the butcher believed to have stabbed the soldier, said Mr. Khan and other witnesses. That seemed to provoke further anger, with the crowd demanding that Afghan security forces on the scene release their countrymen who had stood up against the foreign soldiers. A spokesman for the American-led coalition, Col. Brian Tribus, said the episode was under investigation. He added that two service members in the convoy had minor injuries. The suicide bombing wounded at least 22 people and killed one, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sediq Sediqqi. But witnesses said the death toll was probably higher.

Afghanistan
Bombs
Civil Unrest
Kabul
Terrorism
US Military


Suspension Gets Goodell’s Point Across to N.F.L. Rookies

Abstract: Commissioner Roger Goodell met with a group of incoming rookies this week in New York for the annual N.F.L. draft. His message, not surprisingly, was about conduct, comportment, behavior. He told the young men that the N.F.L. wanted players to understand the importance of responsibility and good judgment. In other years, Goodell’s words might have gone in one ear and out the other. But not this year, not in the wake of Goodell’s suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Wednesday for six games without pay for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. As warning shots go, this was an attention-getter. The goody bag of privilege and entitlement just got a little smaller. Until last week, Roethlisberger had been under investigation, accused of sexual assault after an encounter with a 20-year-old college student at a Georgia bar in March. In a letter to Roethlisberger, Goodell said that his decision had nothing to do with whether he had been charged with a crime or not. (He wasn’t.) He wrote that Roethlisberger, as an employee of the N.F.L., must be held to higher standards and that “there is nothing about your conduct in Milledgeville that can remotely be described as admirable, responsible, or consistent with either the values of the league or the expectations of our fans.” David Cornwell, a lawyer who represents Roethlisberger, said in a phone interview that Roethlisberger accepted the commissioner’s decision. “We were looking for something different, so, obviously, we’re not pleased, but we understand the commissioner’s perspective,” he said. Roethlisberger’s legal team was expecting a four-game suspension that could have been reduced to two games with corrective behavior from Roethlisberger. There were initial indications that the N.F.L. was looking at an eight-game suspension that could have been reduced to six. “We were pleased that we were able to knock it down as much as we have,” Cornwell said. He said the notoriety of the case may have contributed to the harshness of the sentence. “The same kind of popularity that the N.F.L. enjoys to the benefit of all affiliated with it,” he said, “is the same measurement the commissioner uses in assessing the impact of player conduct under the conduct policy.” As recently as a year ago, Roethlisberger, a 28-year-old quarterback, appeared to be virtually untouchable as a two-time Super Bowl winner with the wealth, celebrity and entitlement sports stars have come to expect. For a number of years, there has been a false perception in the N.F.L. that the only athletes who get into trouble are African-Americans. This is not the reality, but in private conversations a number of black players said they were keenly interested in seeing how the N.F.L. would handle Roethlisberger. Goodell’s treatment of Roethlisberger goes a long way toward leveling the playing field. It also should grab the attention of athletes who may still think conventional rules do not apply to them. The punishment was rough, and necessary. Enforcing conduct as a morality issue is a hazardous journey and an uphill climb. By the time athletes reach any of the professional leagues, many have been conditioned by years of coddling. Everyone wants a piece of them, agents, friends, business interests, family. Yes, family. While their good deeds are heralded, misdeeds are often rationalized, or worse, covered up. Whatever poor behavior and judgment Roethlisberger exhibited did not, in all likelihood, begin the day he was drafted. What N.F.L. players, young and old, must understand is that good conduct is a business issue. Goodell certainly wants young players to do the right thing, but as the commissioner, his job is to protect the interests of a multibillion-dollar business and the owners who employ him. Reckless behavior by a player, especially one as highly visible as Ben Roethlisberger, must be dealt with swiftly and harshly. In this one action, Goodell made it very clear to the rookies: absolutely no one is larger than the game.

Goodell Roger
Roethlisberger Ben
Football
Draft and Recruitment (Sports)
National Football League


Knicks, Undaunted by LeBron James’s Return, Beat Cavaliers for First Win

Abstract: CLEVELAND — It was not an understated affair. The rapper Kendrick Lamar performed outside Quicken Loans Arena before the game. Thousands of residents skipped work. Usher sang the national anthem. Fans tossed confetti in the air. Justin Bieber, courtside in a fedora, was booed. And then there was LeBron James, who appeared on the Humongotron — no kidding, that is what the Cavaliers call their new scoreboard — before the tipoff in a recorded clip. “There’s no place like home,” James said as the Humongotron spewed flames that licked the rafters. Cleveland was the center of the basketball universe on Thursday, and the city could retain that title for the foreseeable future. It almost felt like a coronation before the new-look Cavaliers had played a single game. The Knicks had other ideas. They rummaged through the confetti for putbacks. They went to their bench to defend James. And they spoiled the party with a 95-90 victory. “Everybody gave us something,” Coach Derek Fisher said. The Cavaliers had celebrities and star power. The Knicks had a one-game losing streak and Quincy Acy, who followed up an errant jumper from J. R. Smith early in the fourth quarter by tipping the ball high off the backboard before slamming the rebound through the hoop. The only sound in the arena came from the Knicks’ bench, which delighted in the play. “That’s my role,” Acy said, “to bring energy and change the game any way I can.” Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points to lead the Knicks (1-1), who shot 53.6 percent from the field. Iman Shumpert and Jason Smith added 12 points apiece, and Smith — amid his well-publicized struggles coming to grips with the triangle offense — had 11 points and 7 assists. Image Cleveland's Kevin Love, top, battles for a loose ball with the Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire, left, and Shane Larkin in the first quarter Thursday. Love had 19 in his debut with the Cavaliers. Credit Tony Dejak/Associated Press In his celebrated return to the Cavaliers (0-1), James labored for everything he got, which did not turn out to be much. He finished with 17 points and 8 turnovers while shooting 5 of 15 from the field. Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, and Kevin Love had 19 in his debut with the Cavaliers. “I think this team, the Cavaliers, they’re still trying to find out who they are and how they’re going to play the game,” Fisher said. James was defended for long stretches by Travis Wear, an undrafted forward who had barely made the Knicks’ roster. It required that kind of effort from the Knicks — unexpected bordering on improbable — to ruin the Cavaliers’ season opener. Fisher, who went with smaller lineups to counter the Cavaliers’ quickness, watched his players hold their composure late. After Irving sliced to the hoop to cut the Knicks’ lead to 88-85, Smith connected on a runner. And seconds after James got loose for a layup, Anthony calmly drilled a baseline jumper. At the team’s morning shootaround, James told reporters that the game would be “one of the biggest sporting events” ever. It was assumed that the Knicks, who happened to be in town, would have little to do with it. And for a while, the game had everything to do with James, who was back with the Cavaliers after spending the past four seasons with the Miami Heat. Fans received packets of talcum powder, a homage to James’s pregame ritual of forming a white cloud of the stuff by clapping his hands near midcourt. Given the hysteria and their problems in a lopsided loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, many expected the Knicks to be treated like piñatas. Before the game, Fisher noted that the game would still be five on five. “We’re not playing against everybody in Northeast Ohio,” he said, even if it felt that way. A tie score at halftime, 42-42, came fraught with symbolism when a large chunk of the Humongotron malfunctioned and went dark. It remained that way as the Knicks found some separation behind Anthony and Pablo Prigioni, who made back-to-back 3-pointers for a 59-55 lead. Image Returning to a pregame ritual, LeBron James tossed talcum powder before the Cavaliers opened with a 95-90 loss to the Knicks. Credit David Richard/USA TODAY Sports, via Reuters The Knicks’ effort was especially impressive given that they were again without Jose Calderon, who is, in theory, their starting point guard. After Calderon missed Wednesday’s game, the Knicks announced Thursday that he had a strained right calf that would keep him out of the lineup for two to three weeks. “We would love to have him,” Fisher said. In Calderon’s absence, Shane Larkin got his second start. He looked comfortable on the big stage, finishing with 9 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. As much as James’s life has changed in recent months — his address, his employer, his teammates, his popularity (which has somehow only grown) — he will still feel the same pressures. He is the best player in the world. The Cavaliers will be expected to vie for titles, and to win them. Early in the game, the Cavaliers looked almost too unselfish. A series of passes led to a turnover and an uncontested layup for Anthony. David Blatt, the team’s first-year coach and something of a basketball icon in Europe, was aware that chemistry would take some time to build with this team. “Honestly, I would have liked more practice time,” he said before the game. Like Blatt, James has predicted that the Cavaliers will have their share of struggles this season. It was inevitable, he said, and he knew it from experience, citing his first year with the Heat in 2010, when the Heat lost eight of its first 17 games. Against the Knicks, the Cavaliers searched with only spurts of consistency. Dion Waiters and Love sank consecutive 3-pointers early in the game. Irving leaked out for a dunk. And then James got involved, his first field goal coming on a layup after absorbing a foul from Anthony. Yet the Knicks, against all odds, were undaunted. The Cavaliers led by 25-18 after the first quarter, but they began to struggle in the second. James went 1 of 9 from the field in the first half, collecting as many turnovers (4) as points (4). The party already felt as if it were dying. “We could have easily come here and paid attention to all the hoopla and whatnot,” Smith said. “I’m glad we didn’t.”

Basketball
LeBron James
Carmelo Anthony
Kyrie Irving
Kevin Love
Shane Larkin
Cavaliers
Knicks


CARE to Offer Virtual Packages

Abstract: Marta Edie has no trouble remembering the first package stamped with the letters “CARE” that arrived at her family’s home in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany, shortly after World War II. Among the marvels it contained were canned bacon, margarine, flour, sugar, Maxwell House coffee and peanut butter. “We didn’t know what peanut butter was for,” Mrs. Edie, 85, now living in Kentucky, recalled. “We had never seen it, and it became something of a delicacy for us.” The packages spawned a nonprofit group, the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, now known as CARE . The organization later dispensed with the packages, instead focusing on large development projects and disaster relief operations, and the term “care package” entered the vernacular. CARE is staking a claim to it again, this time with a 21st-century twist. On Wednesday, the charity is officially offering the packages via a Web site, CAREPackage.org . “I came to understand that this was a part of our history that we weren’t making optimum use of,” said Helene D. Gayle, chief executive of CARE. “They meant so much to the people who received them after the war, and we hope the new CARE package will have the same impact on the people we help today.” The new version allows donors to pick a recipient whose needs are described and then fill a “virtual box” with projects that will be financed through their contributions. A donor could elect to cover the cost of, for example, emergency transportation for a woman in a rural area to a health clinic or hospital or to pay for training of a local health care worker in obstetrics. Donors also have the option of making a partial gift for a service and inviting family members, friends and colleagues to add to the virtual box. Mrs. Edie, who owns a number of Apple products, including an iPad , a MacBook Pro and an iBook, approves of the new CARE package. “You can’t imagine how much these packages meant to us,” Mrs. Edie, who has donated to CARE in the past, said. “The idea that people over here would be so generous and send us, who had been the enemy, these packages — now that is diplomacy.” The first CARE package her family received came from a young American soldier she met while working as a telephone operator for the United States Army. “I spoke English, British English, and they needed people to help because they couldn’t speak German,” Mrs. Edie said. A young officer named Dayton Edie was her boss. “My mother kept asking me and asking me to invite him over, which wasn’t allowed, but he put his you know what on the line one evening and came to visit,” Mrs. Edie said. “He brought coffee and doughnuts from the Red Cross, and the coffee kept us awake all night because we hadn’t had coffee in so long.” After the war, he returned to Kentucky, where he happened to read a small ad in a newspaper asking for $10 donations to underwrite packages of food for Europeans. He sent one to Mrs. Edie — at that time Fräulein Dietrich. Mr. Edie ended up re-enlisting and was posted to Italy and then Frankfurt. “Then, somehow, we were married,” Mrs. Edie said. “I remember walking through rubble to get to the church, where we were married with a canvas over us.” She then moved to the United States, where she taught German and German literature at the University of Louisville. “All because of this CARE package,” she said.


Europe Tells Airlines to Pay for Emissions

Abstract: BRUSSELS — The European Union reached a landmark agreement Thursday to cap emissions from aircraft, raising the stakes in an increasingly ferocious battle with the United States over how to regulate global greenhouse gases. In the first requirement of its kind, all airlines arriving or leaving from airports in the European Union would be required to buy pollution credits beginning in 2012, joining other industrial polluters that trade in the European emissions market. That includes non-European carriers like American Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Including airlines in the system is the boldest move yet by Europe to stamp its environmental policies on the rest of the world. For consumers, such rules could mean further fare increases in the wake of a steady rise in fuel surcharges imposed by airlines — a trend that looks set to continue. “At the end of the day it’s the people who fly” who will pay more under the new system, warned Anthony Concil, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, the industry’s biggest lobbying group. American officials warned that the requirements probably would be illegal under the convention governing international civil aviation. “The mandatory application of the European Emissions Trading System to U.S. airlines and airlines of other non-European countries is, we think, both contrary to international law and ultimately unworkable,” said Robert Gianfranceschi, a spokesman at the United States Mission to the European Union in Brussels. The compromise was reached Thursday by representatives of the European Parliament and by European governments represented by Slovenia, which currently holds the revolving presidency. It states that Europe “should continue to seek an agreement on global measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation,” according to a copy of the text seen by The International Herald Tribune. The proposal still needs the approval of the European Parliament and individual countries. But people involved in the negotiations said those steps were likely to be a formality, given the political agreement. Including airlines is also a victory for European regulators, who are seeking to include more polluters in the system. That could help blunt criticism by those who see the European Union as unfairly targeting heavy industry. The carbon trading market, which was started in 2005, caps the overall amount of pollution emitted by industries like electric utilities and steel makers. The transport association spokesman, Mr. Concil, said the costs to the airline industry of buying permits to comply with European emissions regulations would be more than $4 billion. Imposing new, costly rules on airlines was “incredible” at a time when the industry is expected to lose more than $6.1 billion this year, he said. Opponents argued that the plan would be an ineffective regional effort tackle a problem that requires a global solution. European airlines and charter companies also have said they would be at disadvantage to overseas competitors that operate fewer European routes. Giovanni Bisignani, the director general of transport association, took out full-page advertisements in newspapers this week calling the plans “crazy” and saying that support for the proposals by governments meant that they had “lost the plot.” Mr. Bisignani said that the aviation industry was already doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint by investing in new technology and using less fuel. He said negotiations on the creation of an emissions trading program for the world’s airlines should be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations body. The European Commission, Europe’s executive arm, which first proposed the rules, has said a global deal would take too long. European officials are determined to put forward their own plans, which would cover the emissions from aircraft flying both legs of journeys to and from major destinations like London, Paris and Frankfurt. Even so, the agreement reached Thursday reduced the chances of international disagreement, said one person closely involved in the negotiations. He would not be identified in order to allow European governments to make an official announcement about the accord. He said that if other countries introduced approximately similar measures, Europe would drop its jurisdiction covering emissions on flights leaving countries like the United States, to avoid double regulation. Most of the initial permits would be allocated to airlines by the European authorities, but airlines would be obliged to buy 15 percent in auctions. A decision on whether airlines would be obliged to buy more permits in later years could be made in coming months, he said.

European Union
Air Pollution
Airlines and Airplanes


The Zen of the Rock

Abstract: YUKIHIKO IKUMORI, who is 60 years old, with a spindly beard and graying hair, will not teach you how to climb the immense rock in Central Park. He may, however, squat nearby and watch your efforts with a contemplative expression, his shirt off to reveal a concave chest and thin, fibrous muscles. If you are receptive, he may offer advice, as he did to Paul Gennaro on a recent Sunday afternoon. “Should I heel-hook my foot in here?” asked Mr. Gennaro, a well-built 27-year-old filmmaker who lives in Hell’s Kitchen. He fell repeatedly from an attempted hold on the rock. “No,” replied Mr. Ikumori. “You should hook the other side, so you can squeeze.” To demonstrate, he leapt gracefully onto the rock face and clung there like a mantis, his left leg extended, his left toe lodged in a small groove, and his fingers gripping a small overhang. Mr. Ikumori is considered the spiritual godfather of the giant rippled mound near the park’s southwest corner. Officially called Umpire Rock because it is close to the Heckscher Ballfields, and commonly known as Rat Rock because it used to swarm with rats at night, it is the city’s center of bouldering, which is climbing that involves traversing large, low rocks. The boulder, which is roughly circular, is about 150 feet wide and 25 feet at its tallest point. Mr. Ikumori started climbing in 1986, three years after moving to New York from Japan, and only after watching a friend climb Rat Rock for six months before he dared try. At times, he has visited the rock every day; these days, he comes about three days a week. Some climbers say that Mr. Ikumori knows every inch of the rock and has helped thousands of people climb across it, sometimes along routes he discovered himself. “Five years ago, I came here and the most encouraging person was this man, who showed me I was doing everything wrong,” said Ari Malul, a 27-year-old climber who had covered his hands with chalk to help his grip. Mr. Ikumori, who works as a gardener and lives in the West Village, speaks with care about his theories of climbing. “You should reach slowly, with subtle shifts,” he said. “You want to have balance to reach the next hold.” He has not climbed anywhere else, except for three days in the Shawangunk Mountains in upstate New York. Those three days were enough. “I have no ambition to find more rocks,” he said, gazing reverently at Rat Rock’s familiar outcroppings and folds. “I find something new here each year.”

Rock and Stone
Central Park (NYC)
Parks and Other Recreation Areas


Peter Mangs Trial in Sweden Has Echoes of Breivik Case

Abstract: MALMO, Sweden — With echoes of the massacre reverberating from neighboring Norway, a trial has started here of a man charged with killing three people and the attempted murder of 12 others in a string of shootings that mostly targeted people with immigrant backgrounds. Prosecutors say the defendant, Peter Mangs, 40, appears to have been motivated in part by a dislike of immigrants. Mr. Mangs pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial on Monday. And although the scale of the accusations are nothing like the charges against Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian on trial in Oslo for the systematic killings of 77 people last year in a crusade against multiculturalism, the parallels have not been lost on residents here in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city and one of its most diverse. The first two killings in the Mangs case occurred in the summer of 2003, when two men were shot on the same street — one in his apartment, the other as he was leaving for work — within seven weeks. Six years passed before the next killing in October 2009. The victim in that case, Trez West Persson, 20, was sitting in the front of a parked car with a young man, Xhafer Dani, when prosecutors say Mr. Mangs fired several shots at them, killing Ms. West Persson and seriously wounding Mr. Dani, who took the stand on Tuesday. There were seven more shootings between New Year’s Eve 2009, when an Islamic center was fired on, and August 2010, when Younes Cheikhi, the owner of a fast-food kiosk, was shot at. Mr. Cheikhi, an immigrant from Syria, was preparing to close for the night when a bullet entered through the back of the kiosk and broke the window next to where orders were placed before hitting a car on the opposite side of the street. “I thought it was a rock or an air gun at first,” Mr. Cheikhi said the day before the trial, sitting at a restaurant across from the kiosk, which he has since sold. “I lost customers immediately. The shootings got worse and everyone was afraid.” Three more shootings were reported in October 2010. All together, there were four shootings in 2009 and eight in 2010. In October of that year, the police asked the public for tips that would help them find a gunman who was attacking immigrants. The announcement sent a shiver of fear through residents of Malmo, where 40 percent of the residents were either born outside of Sweden or have parents who were born elsewhere. “People didn’t want to be out at night,” said Amir Burhani, a cabdriver who noticed an increase in business. One tip led the police to Mr. Mangs. After following him for weeks and eavesdropping on his telephone conversations, officers stormed Mr. Mangs’s apartment on Nov. 6, 2010, and arrested him. The police found evidence tying Mr. Mangs to the crimes inside what was otherwise an “orderly” home, prosecutors said, including ammunition, a Glock pistol and silencer, and a combat vest that carried a gun barrel, a homemade mask, bullets and a large knife. The police also found a book about John Ausonius, a gunman who is widely known in Sweden as “the laser man” because he used a laser-equipped sight in his crimes. He is serving a life sentence for killing one person and wounding many others in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, in 1991 and 1992. Most of Mr. Ausonius’s victims were immigrants, and Mr. Mangs spoke admiringly of him to at least one person, prosecutors say. Solveig Wollstad, the lead prosecutor in Mr. Mangs’s case, has presented a picture of him as a troubled and lonely man who fancied himself as somehow superior to others but who had trouble coping in social settings. She said he sought psychiatric help at least twice before the shootings in 2003 and expressed an “interest in death” and a fear that he was going to hurt someone. In court, dressed in a white shirt and gray pants, Mr. Mangs was sometimes impassive but at times seemed bemused or surprised. Sometimes he simply gazed into space. As Ms. Wollstad listed the crimes he is accused of committing, he polished his glasses. Prosecutors said Mr. Mangs had posted comments on anti-immigrant Web sites and had expressed racist views to co-workers. But he also showed a strong dislike of people convicted of crimes. “It’s a bit different for each crime. Sometimes it’s to silent a witness,” Ms. Wollstad said in an interview on Sunday. “He doesn’t like people from different countries, but you can’t say he’s a classic racist. He calls himself ‘a chameleon,’ ” She said that he had a conspiratorial worldview and subscribed to the notion that Jews were responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The trial is expected to continue through mid-July. If he is found guilty, and is not found to be suffering from a mental illness, Mr. Mangs could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Sweden
Murders and Attempted Murders
Mangs Peter
Immigration and Emigration


Russia Aside, Georgia’s Chief Is Pressed at Home

Abstract: GOMARDULI, Georgia — On Dec. 20, the eve of his 41st birthday, President Mikheil Saakashvili was racing around western Georgia shaking hands. He told miners that his “heart hurt” when he saw their city suffer, and promised to build a ski resort in the village of Gomarduli, posing with a gold-toothed grandmother who giggled in his embrace like a naughty schoolgirl. The day felt curiously like a presidential campaign, and Mr. Saakashvili was relaxed and happy. “I never said anything about Russia, and they never asked about it,” he said later. He reeled off grandiose plans, like a two-year campaign to teach English to “every Georgian in every remote village.” This was the old Misha, as he is known — the dazzler, the wunderkind. It has become harder to spot that man in Tbilisi, the capital city. As winter bears down on Georgia, Mr. Saakashvili has found himself on the defensive. In August, he ordered an attack on separatists in South Ossetia, one of two territories — Abkhazia is the other — where Georgia and Russia had been locked in a 15-year standoff. Georgian forces were quickly routed, and Russia seized both territories. Mr. Saakashvili has cast the attack as a necessary response to a Russian invasion, but no evidence has emerged to verify the claim, and political opponents have said he acted rashly. Russian leaders have made it brutally clear that they want him out; at home, political challengers are demanding early elections that they believe could topple Mr. Saakashvili. His term is scheduled to end in 2013. And Georgians, who swelled with loyalty after the war, are facing an economic downturn that could upend the political order. “What is the future for Saakashvili?” said Sozar Subari, Georgia’s ombudsman for human rights and a longtime critic of the president. “He started the war, he lost the war, he lost the territories. There is a crisis. There is no investment in Georgia. The situation is getting worse and worse. If there is no change, he will leave Georgia as the president who lost everything.” Mr. Saakashvili has spent months disputing such appraisals, and says he is confident that he enjoys the support of the Georgian people. For all his political adroitness, Mr. Saakashvili generally reacts to criticism with visceral anger. He compares skeptics about his account of the war to apologists for Nazi Germany, “the same people who thought Poland started the Second World War,” as he put it. “There was preparation of war, they wanted war, they invaded us, then they occupied our territories,” he said. “If people just prefer not to see it, not to hear it, it’s their choice.” Just 36 when he became president in 2004, Mr. Saakashvili set out to become a historic figure: a model he has often cited is David the Builder, a 12th-century king who drove the Turks out of Georgia and is worshiped as a saint. Mr. Saakashvili won his first election with 97 percent of the vote and, buoyed by passion and adrenaline, pressed to amend Georgia’s Constitution, granting himself extraordinary power. His advocates say this was the only way to wrench a corrupt post-Soviet state into the modern age; critics say he created an autocracy, surrounding himself with a clique of loyalists. Either way, no comparable figure has yet emerged from Georgia’s fractured opposition. Mr. Saakashvili called this “very sad.” “If I had been in the opposition, I would have destroyed this government in three months,” especially given the economic crisis, he said. Asked how, his answer was almost teasing: “I know how to do it,” he said, “but I don’t want to teach them how to do it.” Mr. Saakashvili thinks, talks and moves at a high rate of speed. When he decides that an event has ended, his aides often break into a full run, lest they be stranded, panting, in his wake. His appetite is legend: on a 45-minute flight, he ordered three cups of tea, a glass of wine and a cognac, and gave a flight attendant a genial hard time for not stocking up on cheese. He is easily bored. For reading material on the same flight, he had a glossy magazine, a biography of Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, the disgraced French general; architectural plans for a cargo airport that he had sketched himself when 20 submissions fell short (“I hate to confess it,” he said); and a Georgian newspaper, which he glanced through and put aside. “Every Georgian newspaper hates me; what’s the difference?” he said. “If you can find me one that likes me, I’ll read it all the time.” From the beginning, Mr. Saakashvili’s presidency has been marked by audacious gestures. Months after his swearing-in, he dismissed all 13,000 of Georgia’s GAI — the Soviet-era traffic police notorious for low-level corruption — replacing them with 1,600 officers modeled on American state troopers. He also promised to reclaim South Ossetia and Abkhazia, stoking Georgian nationalism and inflaming tensions with Moscow. Western observers were impressed by the reforms and charmed by Tbilisi’s new political elite, who had infused a failing state with hope and glamour. “It felt as if ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ had been given custody of the republic,” Mark Leonard, a British foreign policy expert, wrote in The New Statesman. “A cabal of beautiful young people dashing around changing the country from top to bottom.” The Western allies’ faith was shaken in November of 2007, when opposition leaders rallied tens of thousands of protesters against Mr. Saakashvili’s government. Riot police officers attacked protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets, and the government declared a state of emergency, forcing two opposition television stations off the air. Under criticism from his Western allies, Mr. Saakashvili said he had acted to stop a Russian plot. He survived the crisis by calling for early presidential elections to “renew his mandate,” as he put it, and won with 53 percent of the vote. The August war has brought Mr. Saakashvili back into damage-control mode. The West rallied around him when columns of Russian tanks poured into South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But increasingly, analysts blame Mr. Saakashvili for escalating the low-level conflict that preceded the attack, while acknowledging that in the days before it began, Georgian villages had come under fire from separatist positions. Mr. Saakashvili has vigorously disputed these reports — in particular, an article in The New York Times on Nov. 7 that quoted independent observers in the war zone questioning Georgia’s account of the conflict’s origins. In an interview, he said Russia was so well prepared that its forces immediately took control of Abkhazia, hundreds of miles away from South Ossetia. He recalled a conversation he had with Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, after Georgia released intercepted telephone messages that showed Russian armor moving into Georgia early on Aug. 7. “I said, ‘This proves we didn’t start the war,’ ” Mr. Saakashvili said. “He said, ‘You know, I’m military. I know tanks don’t fly, especially Russian ones. I don’t need proof.’ ” The change in American administrations injects further uncertainty for Mr. Saakashvili, who enjoys warm personal friendships with President Bush and Senator McCain. Mr. Saakashvili said he had no worries about continued support from the United States, which has pledged $1 billion in aid and will sign a strategic cooperation treaty with Georgia this week. But key questions remain, among them: Will the United States re-equip Georgia’s battered military, at a cost its defense minister estimated at $8 billion to $9 billion? And as he copes with sporadic violence and internal dissent, Mr. Saakashvili is also under close scrutiny from European capitals. Early this month, several NATO members balked at granting Georgia and Ukraine a formal process for joining the alliance, in part over fears that Mr. Saakashvili could be drawn into renewed conflict with Russia. “Georgia has a lot of problems, and one of them is how people perceive Saakashvili,” said Sarah E. Mendelson, a Russia specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “He’s the elected president, and ultimately this is all up to Georgians. But I hear some people say, ‘You need to get rid of him, or get him under wraps.’ ” Ronald D. Asmus, executive director of the Transatlantic Center at the German Marshall Fund, said Mr. Saakashvili must commit to institution-building, and swallow the presence of Russian troops in Georgia. “The advice of people like me is: To whatever degree possible, forget about the Russians,” he said. “Accelerate reform and regain the moral high ground you had, and lost.” In the past, he said, Mr. Saakashvili’s team committed to that path, “but it’s hard for them to stick to it.” The advice is not casual. In his response to the state of emergency in November 2007 and the war, Mr. Asmus said, Mr. Saakashvili has “arguably made two big mistakes,” even as the Russians were searching for a way to bring him down. “Most politicians don’t get to make two big mistakes and survive,” he said. “I don’t know how many political lives he has left.” And so, at the age of 41, Mr. Saakashvili is faced with the strange task of downsizing himself: scaling down his passion, impatience and even his power. Answering questions in the airy white interior of his presidential retreat, he seemed keenly aware of this. If there is a flaw with his government, he said, it is that “it’s based on personality, more or less, and it should be based on institutions.” He said he had tormented himself over whether he had made a mistake ordering the attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, asking himself the question “a thousand times” in the early days. “Every night when I am not angry with myself is lost,” he said. Last week, he announced a constitutional amendment that would lessen the president’s power over Parliament. Lately, he said, he is less attracted to the model of David the Builder and more to George Washington, who, he said, “could have been a king, but instead chose to give up power, and become a democracy.” “It’s something I’m thinking about more and more,” he said. “George Washington.”

Saakashvili Mikheil
Georgia (Georgian Republic)
Politics and Government


Obama Is Considering Removing N.S.A. Leader

Abstract: WASHINGTON — President Obama is considering removing Adm. Michael S. Rogers from his posts as leader of the National Security Agency and United States Cyber Command after top officials expressed frustration over the speed at which Admiral Rogers had moved to combat the Islamic State and over the agency’s repeated loss of closely guarded secrets, administration and intelligence officials said Saturday. President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering Admiral Rogers, who is responsible for surveillance and the growing arsenal of cyberweapons, for a top post in his administration, including director of national intelligence overseeing all 16 intelligence agencies. Admiral Rogers met with Mr. Trump on Thursday, apparently without the White House’s knowledge. The recommendation to remove Admiral Rogers, a career intelligence officer who was promoted to his posts by the Obama administration two years ago, came last month from Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and the current director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr. Administration and intelligence officials, who insisted on anonymity to detail the private discussions, said the recommendation that Admiral Rogers be removed was not related to Mr. Trump’s interest in hiring him. Instead, they argued, it was driven by breaches during Admiral Rogers’s tenure at the N.S.A. and his leadership of the agency. The White House and the Pentagon declined to comment on Admiral Rogers’s fate. Reached by phone on Saturday afternoon, Admiral Rogers declined to comment. The effort to force out Admiral Rogers, which was first reported by The Washington Post, puts Mr. Trump in the position of considering whether to name, as the man who would brief him on intelligence matters each morning, a four-star admiral whom the White House is considering relieving of his posts. It also raises the question of why Mr. Obama would consider firing one of the nation’s top intelligence officers in the last days of his administration. Admiral Rogers’s replacement would not be confirmed until after Mr. Trump takes over. One senior intelligence official argued that letting word of the effort leak seemed more about politics or vengeance than about effecting any real change. Representative Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of Mr. Trump’s transition team, strongly defended Admiral Rogers. In a letter to Mr. Carter and Mr. Clapper, Mr. Nunes asked them to testify before his committee to explain why they want to push Mr. Rogers out. “It’s not by accident that Admiral Rogers meets with the president-elect and two days later this story, which is completely built on lies, appears,” Mr. Nunes said in a short interview. Mr. Carter and Mr. Clapper had submitted a formal recommendation to the White House to split the N.S.A., which conducts foreign surveillance and secures military networks, from the still-new Cyber Command. But there are questions inside the giant complex at Fort Meade, Md., where the N.S.A. and Cyber Command are housed, about whether the military cyberunit is ready to survive on its own. It relies heavily on the talent of the N.S.A., which dates back to the early 1950s. Mr. Trump, who has begun filling the top echelons of his national security team with hard-liners, met with Admiral Rogers on Thursday at Trump Tower in New York. Senior Defense Department and intelligence officials were surprised that Admiral Rogers, while on personal leave, had paid a visit to Mr. Trump. Mr. Carter’s first major disagreement with Admiral Rogers dates to the fall of 2015, when he expressed mounting frustration that Cyber Command, which is responsible for offensive action against adversaries, was not acting aggressively enough to disrupt the Islamic State’s networks in Iraq and Syria. In the spring, Mr. Carter said for the first time that the United States was using its cyberarsenal against the Islamic State. But the effort was moving too slowly for the Pentagon leadership, and Mr. Carter went to Fort Meade several weeks ago to give Admiral Rogers and his team “a kick in the pants,” one official said. Top national security officials had also come to see Admiral Rogers as lacking leadership at a moment of wrenching change for the N.S.A. He took command after the disclosures of widespread surveillance by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor, and the efforts he directed to seal up the agency proved insufficient, they said. That perception was underlined by the disclosure in October that the F.B.I. had secretly arrested a former N.S.A. contractor, Harold T. Martin III , and was investigating whether he had stolen and disclosed highly classified computer code developed by the agency to hack into the networks of foreign governments. Mr. Martin was charged with theft of government property and the unauthorized removal or retention of classified documents. Administration officials had planned to relieve Admiral Rogers of his duties after the election and announce a plan to create separate chains of command for the N.S.A. and Cyber Command. But the plan, supported by Mr. Carter and Mr. Clapper, stalled in part because of opposition from Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who heads the Armed Services Committee. Under the plan, Cyber Command would remain under the Armed Services Committee’s jurisdiction, but oversight of the N.S.A. would shift to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mr. Trump’s victory complicated the planning. On one major issue, Mr. Trump and Admiral Rogers disagree — quite publicly. While Mr. Trump has insisted that no one knows whether Russia was responsible for the hacking of email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and a range of prominent formal officials, Admiral Rogers has said he has no doubt. He recently said that “this was not something that was done casually, this was not something that was done by chance, this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily.” He added, “This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect.” Coming into the job, Admiral Rogers said one of his top goals was to make sure that cyberattacks on the United States had consequences for the attackers. In August, he proposed a series of possible options to respond to the attacks, which American intelligence officials, in a public statement, said the Kremlin’s leadership had to have been aware of. But the White House rejected the proposals, fearing that they could start an escalating cyberconflict that the United States might not be able to win decisively.

Michael S Rogers
Cyberwarfare
James R Clapper Jr
Ashton Carter
Fort Meade MD
Harold T. Martin III
NSA
ISIS,ISIL,Islamic State


Way Cleared for Shell to Start Drilling in Arctic Ocean

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration cleared the way on Wednesday for Shell to start drilling in the Arctic Ocean this summer, but the safety restrictions it is imposing could slow the pace at which rigs strike oil . The authorization was widely expected, after the Interior Department gave conditional approval in May for the company’s long-delayed application to drill in the untouched waters of the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. The permit would allow Shell to start drilling at the top of the seabed but would not allow the drill to penetrate into the oil reserves until the company has quick access to equipment called a capping stack, which is used to shut down wells in case of emergency spills. Shell’s nearest capping stack is on a vessel that is en route to Portland, Ore., for repairs. If the vessel can eventually be deployed in the Chukchi Sea, Interior Department officials said, the company may submit an application to drill into the oil reserves. “Without question, activities conducted offshore Alaska must be held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards,” said Brian Salerno, the director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. “Without the required well-control system in place, Shell will not be allowed to drill into oil-bearing zones. As Shell conducts exploratory activities, we will be monitoring their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship.” Shell has sought for years to drill in the icy waters of the Chukchi Sea, a region that federal scientists believe could hold up to 15 billion barrels of oil. But the approval of the permit enraged environmentalists, who fear that a drilling accident in the treacherous Arctic Ocean could be far more devastating than the Gulf of Mexico BP spill of 2010. That accident killed 11 men and sent millions of barrels of oil into the gulf. The Obama administration initially granted Shell a permit to begin offshore Arctic drilling in the summer of 2012. But the company’s first efforts were plagued by safety and operational problems. One of its oil rigs, the Kulluk, ran aground and had to be towed to safety. In 2013, the Interior Department said the company could not resume drilling until all safety issues were addressed. “Neither Shell nor the oil industry as a whole has learned the lessons of 2010 or 2012,” said Andrew Sharpless, the chief executive of Oceana , an environmental group. “As its ongoing missteps show, Shell is not prepared to operate safely in the Arctic Ocean, where bad weather, darkness and floating ice increase the risks of an accident, and there is no proven way to clean up spilled oil. The government’s approvals for Shell’s drilling fly in the face of common sense.” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who is the chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called the approval of the permit “good news for Alaska and our country.” “However, it is not the final regulatory hurdle Shell faces,” she added, “and it is important that the agencies continue to work in good faith and in a timely fashion to complete the remaining regulatory requirements.”

Arctic Ocean
Offshore drilling
Royal Dutch Shell
Oil and Gasoline
Chukchi
Alaska


Not Exactly the Jetsons, but Getting Closer

Abstract: Robots are still far from being the chatty companions seen in science-fiction movies. But some toy robots are becoming more than just conversation pieces. According to the NPD Group, a market research firm, sales of robotic and interactive playmates in the United States were $284 million in the 12 months ended in October, up from $213 million in the previous 12 months. One recent entry is the i-Sobot from Tomy of Japan. Only 6.5 inches tall, the i-Sobot has a list price of $299, making it less expensive than other advanced robots on the market, which often cost more than $1,000. The i-Sobot has 17 motors to move its limbs, making it surprisingly fluid. According to James Kuffner, an assistant professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, robots that have 20 or more motors can replicate most human movement. Like many other toy robots, the i-Sobot has a humanoid shape, which is not accidental, Professor Kuffner said. “A human shape has an appeal,” he said. “A dishwasher will only wash dishes, but a humanoid robot can do more.” Among the things they do is fight. Professor Kuffner said that in Japan and South Korea, the centers of innovation in toy robots, people often have toy robot battles. By 2026, he estimates, consumer robots should be able to perform many chores people find hazardous or distasteful. Honda, the carmaker and a leader in robot design and research, has estimated that a robot the size of a typical 12-year-old can do most household tasks, he said. The obstacles to building a robot of that size have to do with weight and cost. As robots get larger, they need more gears to move, making them heavier and more expensive. Robots may also start to look more human, adding facial features and delicate hands, but that poses a psychological problem known as the uncanny valley syndrome. That idea, which was introduced in 1970 by Masahiro Mori, a Japanese roboticist, refers to the disquieting effect that objects, particularly robots, have on people if they look too human. “As you get closer to something human, but it is not a human, it is frightening,” Professor Kuffner said. “I have this theory that it goes all the way back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — that you should not play God.” Professor Kuffner said that despite depictions of malevolent robots in movies like the “Terminator” series, there was nothing to fear. If a robot goes haywire, he said, “we can just take out the batteries.” DYLAN McCLAIN


Manning Enjoys Highlights

Abstract: Eli Manning said he had trouble sleeping Sunday night, so he sat up in bed and watched various cable-sports television shows. “It was fun just watching all the highlights and getting to see it happen again,” Manning said. “I just sat there and took it all in.” Manning also said he talked with his brother, Peyton. “He told me we were past the point of him giving me advice and that it might be the other way around,” Manning said. “I don’t know if I believe that, but it was good to hear him say that. He congratulated me and said he was proud of me.” Michael Strahan , one of the few Giants to have played in a Super Bowl , briefly addressed the team Monday to give his teammates some of his perspective on the experience. His central point? Don’t squander the opportunity, because losing a Super Bowl haunts you for years. Coach Tom Coughlin said that guard Rich Seubert was having an magnetic resonance imaging test performed on an injured knee that caused Seubert to leave Sunday’s game with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Coughlin said he did not know anything more about the injury, but he added that Seubert had told him that he expected to be able to play in the Super Bowl. Coughlin said the Giants would be off Tuesday and Wednesday and would resume practicing Thursday at Giants Stadium. They will practice for three successive days and are expected to fly to Arizona on Sunday. Coughlin and Manning were also asked if they planned to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during their two days off this week, a reference to Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who took a trip there during the Cowboys’ bye week in the first round of the playoffs. Manning snickered at the question, cracked a smile and did not answer. Coughlin said: “Cabo? Where the heck is that?”

New York Giants
Manning Eli
Football
Strahan Michael
Coughlin Tom


Man Is Arrested in Killing of Brooklyn Girl, 16

Abstract: Two days after a 16-year-old Brooklyn girl was chased down and fatally shot on a street near her home, investigators have arrested an 18-year-old man in the killing, the police said on Saturday. The suspect, Kendale Robinson, approached the victim, Al-Taya Conyers, in Boerum Hill about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and shot her with a .40-caliber pistol, according to the police. Investigators said they believed that Al-Taya ran after she was shot, but then fell, and as she lay on the ground, the gunman shot her again in the head. Investigators recovered video from a nearby surveillance camera, and it proved useful in solving the case, the police said. Officials said Mr. Robinson, of 772 Henry Street, in Red Hook, was an acquaintance of both Al-Taya’s and a former boyfriend of hers who had been arrested at least twice on claims he had abused her. A motive for the killing, however, was not immediately clear. Once Mr. Robinson was identified as a suspect, his photograph was distributed to police officers in Brooklyn. Uniformed officers from the police Housing Bureau spotted him about 3 p.m. on Friday on Warren Street, near where the shooting occurred, and took him into custody. Mr. Robinson was to be arraigned on Saturday in Brooklyn Criminal Court. On Saturday afternoon, Sheila Robinson, 50, an aunt of Mr. Robinson’s, said that when he got word that the police were looking for him in relation to the shooting, he told her, “Auntie, that’s not true. I did not do that.” The police said he had been arrested at least 16 times dating to January 2008. He was charged with second-degree assault over a shooting on July 5, 2009. On Wednesday, Al-Taya was walking outside the Cuyler-Warren Street United Methodist Church, on Warren Street, between Bond and Nevins Streets, when she was killed. She was hit by four bullets. The gun had not been recovered on Saturday afternoon. After the shooting, investigators began poring over a series of clues from Al-Taya’s tumultuous life. According to officials, she had been a victim in a series of domestic violence cases involving the former boyfriend, Walter Glover, 20, whom she had dated for about a year and a half. Officials said Mr. Glover was not the gunman. Investigators on Saturday, however, were trying to determine whether he “had anything to do with this guy causing her demise,” a law enforcement official said. Detectives said they did not believe that Al-Taya had ever dated Mr. Robinson. Al-Taya had faced charges herself, just a day before she died, for messages she had posted on Twitter and other social media sites, officials said. Those posts involved a dispute with another girl and a man, they said. It appeared, however, that the arguments behind those online messages were not a factor in the case, the police said. Outside of court on Saturday, Roberta Perez, 28, said that after the killing, her sister Cristina Rodriguez, 18, was arrested on harassment and other charges over Twitter exchanges involving Al-Taya. But Ms. Perez said her sister had not sent threatening messages to Al-Taya. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said on Friday that mining the social media sites “was an aspect” of the investigation and noted that detectives in general had become more proficient in analyzing those forums. “It’s something that we look at on a regular basis; we have to,” Mr. Kelly added. “That’s the way young people communicate these days.”

Conyers Al-Taya
Murders and Attempted Murders
Social Networking (Internet)
Domestic Violence
Boerum Hill (NYC)
Brooklyn (NYC)


How Party of Budget Restraint Shifted to ‘No New Taxes,’ Ever

Abstract: WASHINGTON — On a Saturday afternoon in October 1990, Senator Pete V. Domenici turned from a conversation on the Senate floor, caught the eye of a clerk by raising his right hand and voted in favor of a huge and contentious bill to reduce federal deficits . Then he put his hand back into his pocket and returned to the conversation. It was the end of an era, although no one knew it then. It was the last time any Congressional Republican has voted for higher income taxes . The conservative revolt against that 1990 legislation — and against President George Bush, who violated his own “Read my lips” vow not to increase taxes — was a seminal moment for Republicans. The party of balanced budgets became the party that opposed tax increases. When conservatives sank Speaker John A. Boehner ’s plan last week to acquiesce on tax increases for the most affluent Americans as part of a potential broader deal with the Obama administration to avert tax increases for everyone else, several said that 1990 accord was a reason. They regard Mr. Bush’s broken promise as a major reason he was not re-elected, and they say the budget agreement proved that such compromises do not restrain the growth of government. But the 1990 legislation also highlights a basic challenge now facing the party, which the chaos within the House caucus helped bring into public view on Thursday night. Republicans continue to embrace the no-new-taxes stand as a centerpiece of the party’s identity, even in the face of public opinion that strongly supports tax increases on high incomes. And some Republicans fear that the party’s commitment to prevent tax increases more and more is coming at the expense of those other, older kinds of fiscal responsibility. “Republicans used to be interested in not running continual rivers of red ink,” said former Representative William Frenzel, a Minnesota Republican who as the ranking member of the House Budget Committee in 1990 helped to negotiate the deficit deal. “If that meant raising taxes a little bit, we always raised taxes a little bit. But nowadays taxes are like leprosy and they can’t be used for anything, and so Republicans have denied themselves any bargaining power.” The resulting debate has created perhaps the greatest test of the tax stand in the last two decades. Republicans who are willing to accept tax increases as part of a broader deal are pitted against a conservative wing, restocked by the Tea Party wave of 2010, that insists that opposition to tax increases is particularly important at times like these, when the temptation is greatest to avoid spending cuts by asking Americans for just a little more. Many in the antitax camp come from deeply conservative districts and were re-elected by wide margins. They were not even swayed by Grover Norquist , the activist and arbiter of antitax orthodoxy, who has pushed politicians for the last 25 years to promise that they will not vote to raise taxes, a pledge a vast majority of Congressional Republicans have signed. Mr. Norquist said Mr. Boehner’s proposal was not a tax increase , but he could not convince the generation of politicians he helped create. “We know that our big problem is too much spending,” Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas , said on Fox News last week, explaining his opposition to Mr. Boehner’s plan. “We know that President Reagan fell into the trap and President George H.W. Bush fell in the trap of ‘Here, just raise taxes on somebody, and we’ll come along with the cuts later.’” The Republican Party ’s embrace of tax cuts is often traced to the 1970s, when conservative thinkers began to argue that cuts were not just politically advantageous but also fiscally responsible. The economist Arthur Laffer advanced the theory that cuts could even be self-financing , because they could generate enough economic activity to increase revenue. Others said that cutting taxes would force the government to cut spending too, an idea colorfully described as “starving the beast.” But the movement did not truly take hold until the early 1990s. Some Congressional scholars argue that opposition to tax increases offered a new kind of ideological glue after the cold war. Others cite changes in the political landscape, including the rise of advocacy groups like Mr. Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, and the purification of Congressional districts through gerrymandering, which led House members to fear primaries more than general elections. And the electoral success of the political strategy — many voters are swayed by promises of a lower tax bill — became its own justification. In the early 1980s, majorities of Congressional Republicans voted for a pair of deficit deals orchestrated by President Ronald Reagan, even though tax increases accounted for more than 80 percent of the projected reductions. But by 1987, a majority of Republicans opposed a third deal, even though only 37 percent of the reductions came from tax increases. The 1990 battle echoed the present situation. The economy was struggling. Deficits were growing. Congress had enacted automatic spending cuts that it was racing to avoid. Republicans did not want to raise taxes. Democrats did not want to cut spending. Mr. Bush, convinced that the government needed to balance its books, reluctantly agreed to break his no-new-taxes pledge. Once again, less than 40 percent of the money came from tax increases. Once again, a majority of Republicans voted no. By 1993, not a single Republican would vote for a deficit package drafted by the Clinton administration and Congressional Democrats that laid the groundwork for the first balanced budget since the late 1960s. Instead, in 2001 and 2003, Republicans passed tax cuts that more than reversed the increases during the Clinton administration. “When I entered politics, the frame of reference was a balanced budget as the principal conservative precept,” said former Representative James Leach, an Iowa Republican who served from 1977 to 2007. “Today, it’s the level of taxes.” In order to maintain that commitment, Republicans need to develop a similar consensus about how to reduce federal spending. The federal budget , particularly spending on health care programs, is projected to grow rapidly as the country ages and as medical costs continue to rise, leaving Washington in need of more revenue. The party’s conservative wing wants to circumscribe those benefit programs, despite their popularity among voters. The goal of balancing the federal budget has all but vanished, replaced by the idea that deficits should be reduced to sustainable levels. The 1990 deal still won the support of 47 Republicans in the House and 19 Republicans in the Senate . Only 4 of those 66 are still in Congress, and Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Representative Jerry Lewis of California both will be gone at the end of the current session, leaving just two: Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Representative Frank R. Wolf of Virginia . Mr. Domenici, the New Mexico Republican who played a significant role in negotiating the 1990 deal, which he regarded as necessary to reduce federal deficits, left the Senate in 2009. But he has continued to advocate a similar approach as a co-chairman of a commission organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center that called for a mix of revenue increases and spending cuts to stabilize the federal debt. He said he was frustrated by the reflexive opposition of conservatives to any kind of tax increase, but he added that Democrats had also shown little willingness to negotiate necessary cuts in spending on federal entitlement programs. “There has been a hardening in the Democratic line, too,” he said. “There isn’t any Democrat in here that is going to help with these cuts.”

Republicans
Federal Taxes
Federal Budget
US Politics
Senate
House of Representatives
Income tax


Jack LaLanne, Father of Fitness Movement, Dies at 96

Abstract: Jack LaLanne, whose obsession with grueling workouts and good nutrition , complemented by a salesman’s gift, brought him recognition as the founder of the modern physical fitness movement, died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, Calif. He was 96. The cause was respiratory failure resulting from pneumonia , his family said. A self-described emotional and physical wreck while growing up in the San Francisco area, Mr. LaLanne began turning his life around, as he often told it, after hearing a talk on proper diet when he was 15. He started working out with weights when they were an oddity, and in 1936 he opened the prototype for the fitness spas to come — a gym, juice bar and health food store — in an old office building in Oakland . “People thought I was a charlatan and a nut,” he remembered. “The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.” But Mr. LaLanne persevered, and he found a national pulpit in the age of television. “The Jack LaLanne Show” made its debut in 1951 as a local program in the San Francisco area, then went nationwide on daytime television in 1959. His short-sleeved jumpsuit showing off his impressive biceps, his props often limited to a broomstick, a chair and a rubber cord, Mr. LaLanne pranced through his exercise routines, most notably his fingertip push-ups. He built an audience by first drawing in children who saw his white German shepherd, Happy, perform tricks. “My show was so personal, I made it feel like you and I were the only ones there,” he told Knight-Ridder Newspapers in 1995. “And I’d say: ‘Boys and girls, come here. Uncle Jack wants to tell you something. You go get Mother or Daddy, Grandmother, Grandfather, whoever is in the house. You go get them, and you make sure they exercise with me.’ ” His show continued into the mid-1980s. “He was perfect for the intimacy of television,” Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University , told The San Jose Mercury News in 2004. “This guy had some of the same stuff that Oprah has and Johnny Carson had — the ability to insinuate themselves in the domestic space of people’s lives.” Long before Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda and the Atkins diet, Mr. LaLanne was a national celebrity, preaching regular exercise and proper diet. Expanding on his television popularity, he opened dozens of fitness studios under his name, later licensing them to Bally. He invented the forerunners of modern exercise machines like leg-extension and pulley devices. He marketed a Power Juicer to blend raw vegetables and fruits and a Glamour Stretcher cord, and he sold exercise videos and fitness books. He invited women to join his health clubs and told the elderly and the disabled that they could exercise despite their limitations. At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor. He ate two meals a day and shunned snacks. Breakfast, following his morning workout, usually included several hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with soy milk and seasonal fruit. For dinner he took his wife, Elaine, to restaurants that knew what he wanted: a salad with raw vegetables and egg whites along with fish — often salmon — and a mixture of red and white wine. He sometimes allowed himself a roast turkey sandwich, but never a cup of coffee. Mr. LaLanne said he performed his exercises until he experienced “muscle fatigue,” lifting weights until it was impossible for him to continue. It produced results and, as he put it, “the ego in me” made the effort worthwhile. The son of French immigrants, Jack LaLanne was born in San Francisco on Sept. 26, 1914, and spent his early years on his parents’ sheep farm in Bakersfield, Calif. By the time he was 15, the family having moved to the Bay Area, he was pimply and nearsighted, craved junk food and had dropped out of high school. That is when his mother took him to a women’s club for a talk by Paul C. Bragg, a well-known speaker on health and nutrition. That talk, Mr. LaLanne often said, turned his life around. He began experimenting with weights at the Berkeley Y.M.C.A. , tossed aside cakes and cookies and studied Gray’s Anatomy to learn about the body’s muscles. He graduated from a chiropractic school, but instead of practicing that profession he became a pitchman for good health. He opened his first health studio when he was 21, and a decade and a half later he turned to television. He was first sponsored by the creator of a longevity pill, a 90-year-old man, but it sold poorly and he obtained Yami Yogurt as his new sponsor. “It tasted terrible, so I mixed it with prune juice and fruits,” he told The New York Times in 2004. “Nobody thought about it until then. We made the guy a millionaire.” Mr. LaLanne, 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds or so with a 30-inch waist, maintained that he disliked working out. He said he kept at it strictly to feel fit and stay healthy. He built two gyms and a pool at his home in Morro Bay, and began each day, into his 90s, with two hours of workouts: weight lifting followed by a swim against an artificial current or in place, tied to a belt. “The Jack LaLanne Show” may have run its course in the mid-1980s, but it had a second life in reruns on ESPN Classic. “We have over 3,000 shows,” Mr. LaLanne said in 2004. “I own everything.” In September 2007, “Jack LaLanne Live!” made its debut on the online VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Radio Network. He appeared on it with his wife and his nephew Chris LaLanne, a personal trainer. In addition to his wife, Elaine, Mr. LaLanne is survived by their son, Jon, of Hawaii; his daughter, Yvonne LaLanne, of Walnut Creek, Calif., from his previous marriage, and a stepson, Dan Doyle, of Los Angeles, from Elaine LaLanne’s previous marriage. Mr. LaLanne promoted himself and his calling into his final years , often accompanied at events by his wife, a physical fitness convert but hardly a fanatic. He brimmed with optimism and restated a host of aphorisms for an active and fit life. “I can’t die,” he most famously liked to say. “It would ruin my image.”

Jack LaLanne
Longevity
Exercise,Fitness
Obituary
Nutrition


Lagardère Sells EADS Stake for $3 Billion

Abstract: PARIS — Lagardère, the French media conglomerate, said Tuesday it has sold its 7.4 percent stake in European Aeronautic Defense & Space, beginning the long-anticipated overhaul in the ownership structure of EADS, the parent of Airbus. Lagardère said it raised €2.3 billion, or $3 billion, through the sale, with EADS spending €500 million to buy 1.6 percent of its own shares — a purchase that fell short of some analysts’ expectations. Société Générale and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which managed the sale, said 61.1 million EADS shares were placed at €37.35 each. That was a 3.5 percent discount to Monday’s closing price of €38.71. “Many investors we spoke to believed EADS would acquire €1 billion to €1.5 billion of the stock being placed by Lagardère,” JPMorgan Cazenove analysts said in a research note. “It is unclear why EADS is not taking a bigger share of this placing but it is possible that EADS is prioritizing increasing its free float over the accretion of a buyback,” the analysts said. EADS may also want to “retain buyback firepower’ to support its share price over the next 18 months,” the analysts added. Lagardère, whose holdings include the book publisher Hachette and magazines like Elle and Paris Match, has said it plans to use the proceeds mostly to pay down debt and return cash to shareholders, likely via a special dividend. Lagardère’s exit from EADS will be followed by the withdrawal of Daimler, the German automaker, paving the way for the aerospace group to have a larger free-market float with combined government stakes capped at 28 percent. Since EADS was created in 2000, the French and German governments had an effective veto over the company’s strategic management decisions. Under the new ownership structure, France and Germany will each hold a 12 percent stake and Spain will have 4 percent.

EADS
Airlines,airplanes
Mergers and Acquisitions


2 Guantánamo Detainees Transferred to Algeria

Abstract: The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it had transferred two Algerian detainees from the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to their native country. The two men, Nabil Said Hadjarab and Mutia Sadiq Ahmad Sayyab, who have spent more than a decade incarcerated without charges, were the first detainees to leave the prison since President Obama renewed his pledge to close it in May.

Detainees
US Military
Barack Obama
Guantanamo Bay


Beginning of a New Era for India?

Abstract: NEW DELHI — On Monday, the swearing-in of the new Indian prime minister began like a mishap. The ceremonial head of state, President Pranab Mukherjee, who administered the oath, said, “I” and looked sideways as though he were about to say, “I really wanted to be prime minister.” For that was once considered his destiny, and it was almost within his grasp as a powerful leader of the Indian National Congress. But the party chose Manmohan Singh and eventually got rid of Mr. Mukherjee honorably by nominating him as president, which is a bit like the British monarch but without the estate. Mr. Mukherjee, of course, stopped after “I” and looked at Narendra Modi, who then read the oath and assumed office as the head of government. In an unsung coincidence, the man who administered the oath had contributed in an immeasurable way to the rise of Mr. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. For Mr. Mukherjee was a disaster as finance minister from 2009 to 2012. The relationship between Indian business and the government deteriorated as he presided over a slowing economy, and the Congress party never recovered. As Mr. Modi and his ministers were sworn in, the news media covered the event with enthusiastic optimism, with television commentators showering compliments on the newborn government, which they said looked a lot like its single parent, Mr. Modi. Yet, the new cabinet is not a major departure from the old. Thirteen of Mr. Modi’s ministers are facing criminal charges in courts, including serious ones like attempted murder and kidnapping. And, although Mr. Modi has portrayed himself as a friend of youth, most of his ministers are over 60 and looked older as they climbed up a short flight of stairs to take the oath. Image Narendra Modi took the oath of office as India's new Prime Minister in New Delhi on Monday. Credit Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images What appeared to impress political observers most was the presence of leaders of neighboring nations who had accepted Mr. Modi’s unusual invitation to witness his installation. Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was on hand, but minutes after Mr. Modi was sworn in, as though in tribute, Pakistan’s paramilitary forces opened fire on the Indian border. Political analysts hoped that the two leaders would get along. From Mr. Modi’s tweets after a banquet on Monday, it appeared that one thing the two men share is a love for their mothers. Mr. Modi and his party had received only 31 percent of the vote, but within this fraction there was a rare political treaty between the elite and the poor. In recent times the two segments have often despised each other’s political choices, though in December they appeared to have found a consensus in backing Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party as chief minister of Delhi. But that accommodation was transformed in a matter of weeks as Mr. Kejriwal’s incurable appetite for street demonstrations even once he became chief minister ensured that the middle class and the poor joined in losing faith in him. The day Mr. Modi was sworn in as prime minister in Delhi, Mr. Kejriwal was in prison not far away, swatting mosquitoes of which there were many in his cell. He was jailed following a charge of defamation brought by the former president of Mr. Modi’s party, Nitin Gadkari, whom Mr. Kejriwal had accused of corruption. The core of Mr. Modi’s cabinet includes Rajnath Singh, the new home affairs minister and a former physics lecturer who believes that ancient Hindu scriptures and a conversation with the poet Rabindranath Tagore helped Werner Heisenberg formulate quantum mechanics; Arun Jaitley, finance and defense minister and an articulate lawyer who was too suave to win a seat for his party when he contested the general elections; and Sushma Swaraj, external affairs minister and once a prime ministerial aspirant who has a tense relationship with Mr. Modi. Across the nation, people watched on television the first light of the new government whose urgent mission is to infuse life into the economy. Among them, a 6-year-old girl, after being told that Mr. Modi was the new prime minister, asked, “Is he a nice man?” This election season, as the nation voted for a better material life, it was somehow the least relevant question.

India
Narendra Modi
Bharatiya Janata Party
Politics


Ariel Sharon Brain Scan Shows Response to Stimuli

Abstract: JERUSALEM — A brain scan performed on Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who had a devastating stroke seven years ago and is presumed to be in a vegetative state, revealed significant brain activity in response to external stimuli, raising the chances that he is able to hear and understand, a scientist involved in the test said Sunday. Scientists showed Mr. Sharon, 84, pictures of his family, had him listen to a recording of the voice of one of his sons and used tactile stimulation to assess the extent of his brain’s response. “We were surprised that there was activity in the proper parts of the brain,” said Prof. Alon Friedman, a neuroscientist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the team that carried out the test. “It raises the chances that he hears and understands, but we cannot be sure. The test did not prove that.” The activity in specific regions of the brain indicated appropriate processing of the stimulations, according to a statement from Ben-Gurion University, but additional tests to assess Mr. Sharon’s level of consciousness were less conclusive. “While there were some encouraging signs, these were subtle and not as strong,” the statement added. The test was carried out last week at the Soroka University Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba using a state-of-the-art M.R.I. machine and methods recently developed by Prof. Martin M. Monti of the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Monti took part in the test, which lasted approximately two hours. Mr. Sharon’s son Gilad said in October 2011 that he believed that his father responded to some requests. “When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to,” he said at the time, adding, “I am sure he hears me.” Professor Friedman said in a telephone interview that the test results “say nothing about the future” but may be of some help to the family and the regular medical staff caring for Mr. Sharon at a hospital outside Tel Aviv. “There is a small chance that he is conscious but has no way of expressing it,” Professor Friedman said, but he added, “We do not know to what extent he is conscious.”


Palestinian Killed by Israeli Forces

Abstract: JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces fatally shot a 19-year-old Palestinian during clashes early Tuesday in the southern West Bank town of Dura, according to Palestinian officials, raising tensions in the volatile area. The dead man was identified as Muataz Idris Sharawneh, a student at a Palestinian Authority security academy in Jericho. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said the Israeli forces were carrying out a routine overnight operation in Dura, southwest of Hebron, when clashes broke out. She said that a group of Palestinians hurled rocks at the soldiers and that, according to initial evidence, a few of them began to climb on one of the military vehicles. After the Palestinians ignored warnings to retreat and were undeterred by riot dispersal means, she said, soldiers fired at one of them. The spokeswoman was speaking on the condition of anonymity under army rules. Dr. Walid Zuloum, the director of the Palestinian government hospital in Hebron, where Mr. Sharawneh was taken, told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa that he had been shot with a bullet that entered his back and lodged in his chest and that he was then run over. The Palestinian Authority governor of the Hebron district, Kamel Hmeid, told Voice of Palestine radio that the Israeli military had carried out 200 raids in the area over the past six months, accusing the military of provocation. The military refused to describe the purpose of its overnight operation in Dura, but military officials have spoken generally of a rise in tensions in the West Bank since late last year, with an increase in stone-throwing and firebombing attacks against Israeli vehicles on West Bank roads. At least nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank this year, mostly in clashes with Israeli soldiers. In April, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli settler to death in the West Bank, the first such killing in the area in more than a year. Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, the commander of the Israeli forces in the West Bank, said last month that Secretary of State John Kerry’s intensive efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks had some positive influence on the ground in recent weeks. But he warned that a failure to resume the talks could lead to an escalation in violence. Mr. Kerry left the region on Sunday after four days of intense meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders failed to secure an announcement that the two sides had agreed on terms to return to the negotiating table. But Mr. Kerry said that “real progress” had been made and that talks “could be within reach.” Unusually, that optimism was echoed by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday. At a joint news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Prime Minister Enrico Letta of Italy, Mr. Abbas told reporters that Mr. Kerry had presented “useful and constructive suggestions,” although some clarifications were needed. “We hope the time will come very soon to sit at the negotiating table to discuss all of the essential issues,” Mr. Abbas added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has said he is ready to negotiate without preconditions.

Murders
West Bank
Palestinian Authority
Nitzan Alon


Microwave Popcorn to Omit a Risky Chemical

Abstract: OMAHA, Neb. Sept. 5 (AP) — Four of the nation’s biggest microwave popcorn makers are working to remove a flavoring chemical from their products linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers while reassuring consumers about the safety of the snack. Several of the companies discussed their plans Wednesday, a day after a leading lung research hospital warned that consumers also might be in danger from the buttery flavoring diacetyl. The three companies that sell Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret and Jolly Time microwave popcorn said they planned to change the recipes for their butter-flavored microwave popcorn to remove diacetyl. Diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung. ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills and the American Pop Corn Company all promised to make the change because of safety concerns. Together those companies accounted for more than 80 percent of the market for microwave popcorn over the last 12 months, according to the research firm Information Resources Inc. Last week, another popcorn manufacturer, the Weaver Popcorn Company of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern. A pulmonary specialist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver had written to federal agencies to say doctors there believed they had the first case of a consumer who had developed lung disease from the fumes of making microwave popcorn several times a day for years, according to reports Tuesday. Dr. Cecile Rose sent the letter to federal health officials in July. ConAgra, which makes Orville Redenbacher and Act II popcorn, said it would make the change over the next year. General Mills, which sells but does not make Pop Secret popcorn, said it planned to phase out diacetyl soon, but a company spokesman, Tom Forsythe, said he was not sure how quickly that could be done. A spokeswoman for American Pop Corn, which makes Jolly Time, said the company had been working on a new recipe without diacetyl for several months. The first government study of fumes produced by microwave popcorn at home is to be published as soon as this month, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

Medicine and Health
Lungs
ConAgra Foods Incorporated
General Mills Incorporated


U.N. Program Says Sochi Plannersignored Effect On Local Wildlife

Abstract: The United Nations has criticized Russia, saying it ignored the ecological effect of construction projects for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. In a report that was obtained Monday by The Associated Press and will be published Tuesday, the United Nations Environment Program said government assessments did not take into account the effects of the Olympic projects on the region’s wildlife. The Olympic sites in Sochi, a Black Sea resort, are being built from scratch. Environmental activists say that construction has irreversibly damaged the ecosystems. The U.N. group recommended a broader review of the impact of other projects. The government said it was aware of the concerns and that the activists were trying to sabotage the Games as a public relations stunt.

Olympic Games (2014)
International Relations
Environment
United Nations