Argentina challenges U.S. court with bond plan

By Nate Raymond and Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina challenged a U.S. court over the weekend by proposing that "holdout" bond investors be repaid only about one sixth the money federal judges hearing the case say they are owed, setting the stage for a legal showdown in New York.

The terms offered by Argentina are the same as those accepted by bondholders who chose to participate in the country's 2010 sovereign bond restructuring. The holdouts rejected that restructuring and are holding out for full repayment.

Aside from the implications the case has for Argentina's finances, it could also have wide ramifications for the way future sovereign restructurings are carried around the world.

Argentina defaulted on $100 billion in sovereign debt in 2002 at the height of a financial crisis in Latin America's third largest economy. The bonds now under dispute were issued in New York, which is why the case is being heard in U.S. court.

Elliott Management affiliate NML Capital Ltd, one of the lead plaintiffs, has said that it will not accept 2010 terms They and other holdouts are sure to argue that Argentina's proposal does not respond to the court's request.

"The court said 'You owe the holdouts $1.3 billion. Tell us how you are going to pay that to them,'" said Josh Rosner, managing director at research firm Graham Fisher & Co in New York.

"Instead of answering how they will pay the full amount, Argentina responded with a plan for paying a much smaller amount," he said. "Argentina is flirting with technical default, which would take a serious toll its economy."

The specter of technical defaults comes from the fact that a U.S. District Court in New York has said that until the holdouts start getting paid, Argentina cannot make payments to holders of the restructured bonds.

Elliott stands currently to receive $720 million from Argentina following a New York judge's order in November, according to Argentina.

But the bonds NML could take had a market value of just $186.8 million before a major decision in the case last October favoring the holdouts, or $120.6 million as of March 1, the filing said. Argentina estimates NML paid about $48.7 million in 2008 for its stake in the bonds.

"The Republic is prepared to fulfill the terms of this proposal promptly upon Order by the Court by submitting a bill to Congress that ensures its timely implementation," Jonathan Blackman, Argentina's U.S. lawyer, wrote.

Around 92 percent of Argentina's defaulted bonds were restructured in 2005 and 2010, with bondholders receiving 25 cents to 29 cents on the dollar.

But holdouts led by NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management have fought for years for full payment. Argentina calls these funds "vultures."

In October, the 2nd Circuit upheld a trial judge's ruling by finding Argentina had violated a so-called pari passu clause in its bond documents requiring it to treat creditors equally.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan subsequently ordered Argentina in November to pay the $1.33 billion owed to the bondholders into an escrow account by the time of its next interest payment to holders of the exchanged debt.

The 2nd Circuit heard an appeal of that order on February 27. Two days later, it directed Argentina to provide details of "the precise terms of any alternative payment formula and schedule to which it is prepared to commit."

BOND OPTIONS

In its 22-page submission late on Friday, Argentina said that under a so-called par bond option, the bondholders would receive new bonds due in 2038 with the same nominal face value of their current bonds. They would pay 2.5 percent to 5.25 percent a year, Argentina said.

Bondholders would also receive an immediate cash payment similar to what it provided under the 2010 debt swap, Argentina said. And they would receive derivative instruments that provide payments when the country's gross domestic product exceeds 3 percent a year.

The par option is restricted to small investors, unlike the discount option, the more applicable fit for big investors like NML and Aurelius.

Under the discount proposal, holdouts could receive new discount bonds due in 2033 that pay 8.28 percent annually. Argentina said the holdouts would also receive past due interest since 2003 in the form of bonds due in 2017 paying 8.75 percent a year, and GDP-linked derivative units.

Blackman, Argentina's lawyer, wrote that the proposal, unlike what he called the "100 cents on the dollar immediately" formula Griesa adopted, "is consistent with the pari passu clause, longstanding principles of equity, and the Republic's capacity to pay."

It was unclear on Saturday how the court might view Argentina's proposals. The same three-judge panel had said in October, though, that the holdouts "were completely within their rights" to reject prior debt swap offers.

Euginio Bruno, a lawyer and bond restructuring expert with the law firm Estudio Garrido Abogados in Buenos Aires, said the government's Friday proposal "was within expectations, considering the legal constraints on offering anything better than the terms of the 2010 restructuring."

Argentina has a "lock law" that keeps new governments from improving the terms of previous restructurings.

Earlier in the week, the holdouts scored a victory over Argentina when the 2nd Circuit denied a full court review of its October ruling on the equal treatment provision.

The United States had backed Argentina in seeking the review, contending the 2nd Circuit's decision ran "counter to longstanding U.S. efforts to promote orderly restructuring of sovereign debt.

Argentina and holders of its restructured bonds say granting the holdouts 100 cents on the dollar could complicate future sovereign restructurings around the world.

Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou repeated on Saturday that Argentina would continue repaying investors who participated in the restructuring no matter how the U.S. court case is resolved.

"One way or another, Argentina will pay," he said.

The case is NML Capital Ltd et al v. Republic of Argentina, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-105.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Additional reporting by Helen Popper, Alejandro Lifschitz and Guido Nejamkis in Buenos Aires; Editing by Todd Eastham, Will Dunham and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-challenges-u-court-bond-plan-011959470--sector.html

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Most Say Illegal Immigrants Should Be Allowed to Stay, But ...

Released: March 28, 2013

A new survey finds that seven-in-ten Americans (71%) say there should be a way for people in the United States illegally to remain in this country if they meet certain requirements, while 27% say they should not be allowed to stay legally. Most who favor providing illegal immigrants with some form of legal status ?43% of the public ? say they should be allowed to apply for citizenship, but 24% of the public says they should only be allowed to apply for legal residency.

Majorities across all demographic and political groups say there should be a way for illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements to stay in the U.S. legally. Among those who favor providing legal status, the balance of opinion is in favor of allowing those here illegally who meet the requirements to apply for citizenship. However, no more than about half in any demographic group supports permitting illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship.

In 2011, there were about 40 million immigrants in the United States. Of that total, 11.1 million, or 28%, were in this country illegally. (For more see ?Recent Trends in Naturalization, 2000-2011? Feb. 4, 2013.)

The national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted March 13-17 among 1,501 adults, finds that overall attitudes about immigrants in the United States are more positive than negative, despite the nation?s struggling economy.

Thinking about immigrants generally, 49% of Americans say they strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents, while 41% say they are a burden because they take jobs, health care and housing. In a June 2010 poll, 39% said immigrants strengthened the country while 50% said they were a burden.

In addition, more Americans think that the growing number of newcomers in the United States strengthens society than believe that they threaten traditional American customs and values. About half (52%) say the growing number of newcomers in the U.S. strengthens society, while 43% say the influx of newcomers threatens traditional American values and customs.

Broad Support for Legal Status for Illegal Immigrants

Support for granting legal status to illegal immigrants is wide ranging. Eight-in-ten non-Hispanic blacks (82%) and Hispanics (80%) say those in the United States illegally should be allowed to stay if they meet certain requirements; about half of blacks (52%) and Hispanics (49%) say illegal immigrants should be able to apply for citizenship.

Two-thirds of non-Hispanic whites (67%) say illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country legally, while 31% say they should not. Four-in-ten whites say people in the United States illegally should have the chance to apply for citizenship if they meet certain requirements.

Among whites with no college degree, 61% favor allowing those in the U.S. illegally to stay legally, while 37% disagree. There is more support among white college graduates for permitting illegal immigrants to stay in the country legally (81% say they should, while just 17% say they should not).

The partisan differences over providing some form of legal status for illegal immigrants are modest: 76% of Democrats, 70% of independents and 64% of Republicans say illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States if they meet certain requirements.

Whites in both parties are divided along educational lines over how to deal with illegal immigrants in the United States: Among white Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 92% of college graduates favor allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. legally if they meet certain requirements; support falls to 68% among white Democrats and Democratic leaners who have not completed college. Similarly, there is a 20-point education gap among white Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (75% of college graduates vs. 55% of non-college grads).

Opinions about Immigrants? Impact on the Country

Currently, 49% agree with the statement ?immigrants today strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents.? Somewhat fewer (41%) agree with an opposing statement: ?immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care.?

The balance of opinion on these questions has fluctuated over the years. Two years ago, opinions were evenly divided and in June 2010, more said that immigrants were a burden than a strength for the United States (50% vs. 39%).

Nearly two decades ago, in July 1994, 63% viewed immigrants as a burden, but the percentage expressing this view declined substantially by the end of the 1990s (to 38% in September 2000).

In recent years, there has been little change in opinions about the impact of newcomers from other countries on traditional values. About half (52%) say the growing number of newcomers from to the United States strengthens American society, while 43% say they threaten traditional American customs and values.

Racial, Ethnic, Partisan Differences in Views of Immigrants

While majorities across all groups support legal status for illegal immigrants, there are sharp differences in opinions about the impact of immigrants on the country. Opinions about immigrants have become somewhat more positive among most groups since 2010.

Fully 74% of Hispanics say that immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents. About half of blacks (52%) also say that immigrants strengthen the country, compared with just 41% of whites.

While most Democrats (58%) say that immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents, most Republicans (55%) say they are a burden because they take jobs and health care.

College graduates express far more positive opinions about the impact of immigrants than do those with less education. Fully 67% say immigrants strengthen the country, compared with 41% of those with no more than a high school education.

By a wide margin (59% to 33%), more 18-to-29 year-olds say that immigrants strengthen the country than say they are burden. Among those 65 and older, more say immigrants are a burden (49%) than a strength (37%).

Opinions about whether the growing number of newcomers to the United States strengthens society or threatens American values break down along similar lines. Whites are divided (45% vs. 49%). Majorities of Hispanics (67%) and blacks (62%) say the growing number of newcomers strengthens American society.

Majorities of Democrats (61%) and independents (55%) say that the increasing number of newcomers strengthens society; just 34% of Republicans agree.

Religion and Views of Immigrants

Majorities of all major religious groups say there should be a way for immigrants who are currently in the U.S. illegally and who meet certain requirements to stay in the country.

For the most part, those who favor legal status for illegal immigrants say they should be allowed to apply for citizenship.

Opinions among major religious groups are more divided when it comes to the impact of immigrants on the country.

A majority of white evangelical Protestants (55%) say that immigrants are burden because they take jobs, housing and health care, while about as many (58%) say they threaten traditional American customs and values.

Other religious groups have less negative views of the impact of immigrants. These differences in opinions, however, are largely the result of underlying differences between religious groups in race, political ideology, party identification and other factors; after controlling for these factors, the independent impact of religion is minimal.

Source: http://www.people-press.org/2013/03/28/most-say-illegal-immigrants-should-be-allowed-to-stay-but-citizenship-is-more-divisive/

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Why the Obama Administration?s Novel Medicaid Idea Might Not Catch On

A few weeks ago, the Obama administration set out to entice Republican governors and state legislators to expand their Medicaid programs under the federal health reform law by floating a novel approach.

The option to use private health plans instead of the government program for low-income residents was very appealing in theory, intriguing politicians in Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and other states.

But on Friday, the administration dampened that enthusiasm by laying out strict rules for the program that will interest only a few states.

?This does not make it look very appealing to states,? said Dennis Smith, a managing director at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, and a former George W. Bush administration Medicaid director and Health and Human Services secretary in Wisconsin. ?I?m disappointed that they passed up the opportunity.?

The details will reassure many Medicaid advocates, who were worried that the current administration would weaken long-standing protections of the entitlement program in exchange for Republican buy-in. But the rules also could discourage some on-the-fence states from pursuing a Medicaid expansion at all, leaving more Americans without health insurance after the health law?s biggest provisions kick in next year.

?There?s a multisided dynamic here,? said Matt Salo, the executive director of the Association of Medicaid Directors, who had anticipated that the new initiative could bring 10 or more additional states into the expansion. Now, he says, it will likely appeal to only a few.

Eight Republican governors have already said they will seek to expand their existing Medicaid programs, but many politicians who had ruled out such an option have been expressing interest in the private alternative.

The tension for the administration?between its desire to cover more people and its commitment to ensuring robust coverage for vulnerable populations?has been clear since Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, first announced that he had reached an agreement over a private Medicaid option in late February. HHS still has?not acknowledged any agreement, but Beebe told reporters that Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had agreed that the federal government would pay for Medicaid beneficiaries to buy the same private insurance plans that will be offered to higher-income residents.

For Republicans in the Arkansas Legislature?and politicians in many other states?the idea of offering private coverage instead of Medicaid was exciting. But there were many uncertainties in the plan. The private plans would have covered fewer benefits than Medicaid, and exposed beneficiaries to more out-of-pocket costs. Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office suggest that, on average, the private plans would cost 50 percent more than Medicaid plans, meaning a 10-year price tag in the tens of billions if enough states signed on.

With the document released Friday, HHS explained that it would only approve such a plan if it also included funding for the extra benefits, kept the usual, low Medicaid copayments, and could be shown to be cost-effective for the federal government, when compared to a traditional program. It also said that if states want to require private plans, instead of just offering them as an option, it will have to apply for a special waiver. That sets a high bar for the states to clear.

But Arkansas thinks it can still move forward. ?It is what we expected, and we?re glad to see it,? said Amy Webb, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-obama-administration-novel-medicaid-idea-might-not-170918182--politics.html

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Sharing Experiences: Why I Don't Cover Baseball Any More ...

Carter Gaddis had?his (and every baseball fan?s) dream job as the beat reporter for the Tampa Bay Rays. He gave it up to be a more present father. Here?s his story.

Guest Blogger and former Rays beat reporter, Carter Gaddis, with his boys at the Trop

?Sharing Experiences? is a series of posts in which a variety of dads, all in different work-family situations, share their experiences. I hope this series can forward the important conversations we have here, and spark ideas we can apply to our own lives.

Opening Day of Baseball Season (which should be a national holiday) is just four days away, so here?s a guest post that fits the happiest day of the year! Enjoy- SB

Why I Don?t Cover Baseball Any More

A guest post by Carter Gaddis. This article originally appeared on Feb 6th, 2013?at his great blog DadScribe

Pitchers and catchers report next week for spring training. On that day, I?ll pick up my sons at daycare, take them home, make their supper, beg them to eat their green beans, help them with their homework, maybe play with them for a while, help them get ready for bed, read them a book, yell at them to get back into bed, ask them don?t they know how late it is, chase them up the stairs and back into their bedrooms, threaten to withhold tomorrow?s dessert if they don?t go to sleep, and check on them on my way to bed, amazed, as always, at how achingly beautiful they are in repose.

It wasn?t so long ago I would not have been able to do any of those things. And not merely because I didn?t have kids back then. I wouldn?t have been able to do those things on the day pitchers and catchers report for spring training because I would have reported, too.

I might have mentioned once or twice that I used to cover baseball for a newspaper. I wrote about the Tampa Bay Rays for a newspaper here in Tampa. That job went away for good in July 2008. The layoff ended a 16-year run for me at the paper. The last decade of that was spent writing about baseball.

And so, on the day pitchers and catchers report, I?ll pick up my kids after work. I?ll do the things they need me to do. I?ll do them gladly, skillfully, and gratefully.

I asked off the Rays beat after the 2005 season. Why? Why would I leave what many people (myself included) would consider the career of a lifetime, the dream job? It couldn?t be more simple: My wife and I were expecting our first child in December of that year. There was no way I wanted to put my family through the rigors of a baseball season year after year after year.

As a baseball beat writer for a newspaper, you are on the road for more than 100 days a year. Even when you?re home, the job?s hours keep you away from the house from early afternoon until the wee, small hours of the morning. Essentially, except for mornings before school and rare days off, a baseball beat writer with kids is an absentee parent. Days off are few and sporadic. And even those days off generally include at least one or two phone calls, either with an editor or a source. The job never stops, not even during the off-season. That all-too-brief respite, while not punctuated by 162 regular-season games and 30-plus spring training games, is when the news happens. The cell phone is always on. There are road trips to the general managers? meetings and the winter meetings. Sometimes, an enterprise assignment calls for a few more days on the road, either to visit a ballplayer or chase down something else interesting about the club.

It is not a father-friendly or mother-friendly profession.

So, I asked off the beat.

I needed to be off the beat in order to be the parent, the father, that I want to be. That my sons need me to be.

I suppose I?ll never really know whether I would?ve kept my job in 2008 if I had not asked off the Rays beat in 2005. I do know that general assignment sportswriting positions, the kind I moved into in 2006, were deemed a luxury at most major newspapers when the bust came in 2007. It doesn?t matter, though.

I needed to be off the beat in order to be the parent, the father, that I want to be. That my sons need me to be.

I knew two fathers who shared the Rays beat with me for many years. There were long stretches of my life when I saw them more often than I saw my family.

Yet, I was able to witness examples of loving fatherhood first-hand because they took place in front of me, more often than not, in major-league press boxes all over the country. By phone.

I don?t have to imagine how difficult it was for them to be away from their kids and their wives. I saw it. I heard it from my seat right next to them in ballparks like Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and the Ballpark at Arlington. In airports in Cleveland, Detroit, Anaheim, Seattle.

I bring it up now only to emphasize the lessons I learned from two amazing, loving dads who taught me so much about fatherhood. They helped me become the dad I am, and to both I am forever grateful. Witnessing their occasional anguish as they fought through the pain of separation helped convince me to ask off the beat when fatherhood became imminent. There was no way I had the strength to put myself through that.

Some parents can do it. They are to be applauded whole-heartedly. People like Tyler Kepner, a former compatriot who is now the national baseball writer for the New York Times and once covered the Mets and the Yankees for that esteemed paper. Tyler is the father of four kids, aged 5-11. He began his baseball writing career in earnest as the paper?s Mets beat writer in 2000, the year before his first child was born. He used to bring his family down for vacation in Florida during spring training, but because he was gone most of the day, he rarely saw them even then.

Part of Tyler?s success has been an extraordinarily understanding and supportive partner.

It?s addictive, that experience of being there, in the clubhouse, on the field, in the press box. That?s why I still miss the life sometimes?

?I will say it continually amazes me how my wife is able to juggle everything while I?m gone,? he wrote in a Facebook direct message. ?But I try to use the down time on the road to do things I don?t have time to do at home ? pay bills, file expenses, etc. Compartmentalizing is very important; if there?s something that can wait ?til a road trip, I?ll put it off ?til then so I can focus on the family while I?m home.?

Tyler added that he never considered asking off the beat.

?It wouldn?t have worked without a very understanding wife,? he wrote, ?but from my standpoint, I enjoyed the job and the ability to get really, really close to the game by going through the daily grind of a 162-game season plus spring training.?

Oh, yes. I get that completely. It?s addictive, that experience of being there, in the clubhouse, on the field, in the press box. That?s why I still miss the life sometimes. Not enough to want to go back to it, but still.

Another baseball writer buddy, Marlins beat writer Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, got divorced from his daughter?s mother two years before he started to cover baseball. His daughter is in her late teens now, and she spent her entire childhood living three hours away from her father in a different town. Joe would take long weekends during the season to visit her when she was little. Now, though, she?s at an age when she would rather spend time with her friends than with dear, old dad.

?I was the same way when I was a teenager,? Joe wrote to me on Facebook. ?But I often think back about missing her grow up. I?ve been able to live my dream by getting paid to write about something I love, baseball. But it has come with a cost ? not seeing enough of my daughter as I would like. At the same time, I certainly am NOT a stranger to her. We text and call every week, every other day texting. But weeks go by when I don?t see her. In the off-season I try to spend as many weekends with her as I can.?

I could not, would not, have risked missing all the firsts: smile, step, word, etc. It makes my heart sink just to think of that.

It?s tough for them. It?s always been tough. Joe admitted he has considered changing beats over the years, but ?

?I never did,? he said, ?because I don?t think it would change the logistical difficulties of her being so far from me.?

Don?t feel bad for baseball writers. They (we) chose that life for a reason. I can?t speak for the whole tribe of scribes, but I suspect the reasons were simple: We love baseball, and we love to write.

I still love those things. I love my family more, and so do the writers who choose to soldier on game after game, year after year. I still don?t really know how they do it.

I could not, would not, have risked missing all the firsts: smile, step, word, etc. It makes my heart sink just to think of that.

It?s almost time for spring training again. Time to renew the clubhouse acquaintances. Time to gear up for the long, hard season ahead.

It makes me a little sad to think of all the kids of all those baseball writers all over the country who dread those four words: Pitchers and catchers report. What those words mean to those kids is, Mom or Dad are about to be gone again. The writers will do it, though, and the families will support them, and the fans of all the teams these writers cover will be indulged. It is important. It?s baseball.

I could not have done it. I would not have done it.

And as important as the firsts are, they are fleeting. What means even more to me is to understand that there would have been no way for me to build the relationships, to teach, to love, to discipline, to engage the way I want to, the way I have to, with my young sons. For me, the modern technology, the miracles of Skype and Facetime, would not suffice. That works for some. It wouldn?t for me. Not over the long haul of month after month of absenteeism.

And so, on the day pitchers and catchers report, I?ll pick up my kids after work. I?ll do the things they need me to do. I?ll do them gladly, skillfully, and gratefully.

And after I put them to bed, I?ll flip on SportsCenter and watch the spring training roundup and think about those baseball writers who are missing their kids like crazy, and I?ll be so glad that I?m no longer among them.

Thank you so much Carter, what a great story!

What do you think about sacrificing career for fatherhood? Do you travel for work- if so, how do you manage? let?s discuss in the comments section.

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Source: http://fathersworkandfamily.com/2013/03/28/sharing-experiences-why-i-dont-cover-baseball-any-more/

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OK to cut returning veteran's job if decision wasn't based on military ...

Generally, members of the military released from active duty service are entitled to return to their former jobs.

The ?Uni?formed Ser??vices Employ-ment and Re??em??ploy??ment Rights Act (USERRA) states that the returning service members shall be re-employed ?in the position of em??ployment in which the person would have been employed if the continuous em??ployment of such person with the employer had not been interrupted by such service.?

But what happens if bad economic times force a layoff before the em??ployee returns to work? Is he exempt from the cuts? Not according to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Recent case: Douglas worked as a maintenance technician before being called to active military duty. He left the service early after he had an ad?verse reaction to a vaccine. He wanted to report back to his job. But while Douglas had been deployed, the employer underwent two reductions in force after failing to make a profit.

The second round of layoffs affected Douglas? department and was based on job duties, skills and other factors. On the day he returned to work, Douglas was informed that his job had been cut.

He sued, alleging he was entitled to return to his job even in the face of a reduction in force.

The court disagreed. It pointed out that USERRA?s language indicates that service members don?t get to keep their jobs if a position was eliminated for nondiscriminatory reasons while they were on active duty. (Millhauser v. Minco, No. 12-1756, 8th Cir., 2012)

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Pat Houston Hospitalized; Family Denies Suicide Scare

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/pat-houston-hospitalized-family-denies-suicide-scare/

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UK house prices show first annual rise in a year - Nationwide

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices were 0.8 percent higher this month than a year ago, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Thursday, the first time prices have risen in annual terms since February 2012.

Over the month house prices were flat.

Although housing turnover remains little more than half its peak level of 2007, prices appear to have stabilised. Rival lender Halifax turned more upbeat on the market earlier this month and is forecasting "low single digit" gains for 2013 as a whole.

Nationwide said property prices were being supported by robust employment growth, more attractive mortgage rates and a lack of new homes coming on the market.

London remained the best performing regional market with prices at a new record high. The worst performing region was Scotland.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-house-prices-show-first-annual-rise-nationwide-070559737--business.html

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GOP moves to catch up with Democrats on technology (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295122563?client_source=feed&format=rss

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The Two-Minute Haggadah

On Monday night at sundown, Jews everywhere will begin celebrating the first night of Passover. Before they can eat their unleavened meal, though, they'll have to complete the Seder, a religious service conducted on the first and sometimes second nights of the eight-day holiday that can often seem interminable. In 2006, Michael Rubiner drafted a plan for a shorter, sweeter Seder. His proposal is printed below.

Thanks, God, for creating wine. (Drink wine.)

Thanks for creating produce. (Eat parsley.)

Overview: Once we were slaves in Egypt. Now we're free. That's why we're doing this.

Four questions:
1. What's up with the matzoh?
2. What's the deal with horseradish?
3. What's with the dipping of the herbs?
4. What's this whole slouching at the table business?

Answers:
1. When we left Egypt, we were in a hurry. There was no time for making decent bread.
2. Life was bitter, like horseradish.
3. It's called symbolism.
4. Free people get to slouch.

A funny story: Once, these five rabbis talked all night, then it was morning. (Heat soup now.)

The four kinds of children and how to deal with them:
Wise child?explain Passover.
Simple child?explain Passover slowly.
Silent child?explain Passover loudly.
Wicked child?browbeat in front of the relatives.

Speaking of children: We hid some matzoh. Whoever finds it gets five bucks.

The story of Passover: It's a long time ago. We're slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh is a nightmare. We cry out for help. God brings plagues upon the Egyptians. We escape, bake some matzoh. God parts the Red Sea. We make it through; the Egyptians aren't so lucky. We wander 40 years in the desert, eat manna, get the Torah, wind up in Israel, get a new temple, enjoy several years without being persecuted again. (Let brisket cool now.)

The 10 Plagues: Blood, Frogs, Lice?you name it.

The singing of "Dayenu":
If God had gotten us out of Egypt and not punished our enemies, it would've been enough. If he'd punished our enemies and not parted the Red Sea, it would've been enough.

If he'd parted the Red Sea?(Remove gefilte fish from refrigerator now.)

Eat matzoh. Drink more wine. Slouch.

Thanks again, God, for everything.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=1bd880de182a6c4c9d6382942ca503b7

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Jabra's Revo, Revo Wireless and Vox headphones get priced, now shipping

Jabra's fresh batch of stereo headphones were first trotted out at CES, and now they've just been graced with price tags and are up for grabs. The Revo Wireless over-ear headphone rings up at $249, while the wired flavor will set folks back $199. Jabra's in-ear Vox hardware hits wallets with a little less force thanks to a $99 asking price. If you're in need a refresher, the gear was designed with durability in mind, sports Dolby Digital Plus tech and works with its manufacturer's Sound App for iOS and Android, which promises souped-up audio quality. Pining for a set of the cans? You'll have to head over to Amazon or Dell's online storefront to pick one up.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tItJ5X-XcMA/

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Bloomberg, mayor group tout big gun control push

NEW YORK (AP) ? A new $12 million television ad campaign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns will push senators in key states to back gun control efforts, including comprehensive background checks.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the ad buy Saturday ? just days after Senate Democrats touted stronger background checks while acknowledging insufficient support to restore a ban on assault-style weapons to federal gun control legislation.

"These ads bring the voices of Americans ? who overwhelmingly support comprehensive and enforceable background checks ? into the discussion to move senators to immediately take action to prevent gun violence," Bloomberg said in a statement issued by the group he co-founded in 2006.

The two ads posted on the group's website, called "Responsible" and "Family," show a gun owner holding a rifle while sitting on the back of a pickup truck.

In one ad, the man says he'll defend the Second Amendment but adds "with rights come responsibilities." The ad then urges viewers to tell Congress to support background checks.

In the other ad, the man, a hunter, says "background checks have nothing to do with taking guns away from anyone." The man then says closing loopholes will stop criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining weapons.

The Senate is scheduled to debate federal gun control legislation next month. On March 28, the group plans for more than 100 events nationwide in support of passing gun control legislation that includes background checks.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other gun-control advocates frequently cite a mid-1990s study that suggests about 40 percent of U.S. gun transfers were conducted by private sellers not subject to federal background checks. Based on 2011 FBI data, the group estimates 6.6 million firearms transfers are made without a background check for the receiver.

A spokesman for Bloomberg could not immediately say if the $12 million was coming from Bloomberg or the mayor's political action committee, Independence USA. The New York Times, which first reported the ad campaign Saturday night, said Bloomberg was bankrolling the ad buy.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association blasted Bloomberg and the new ads, saying NRA members and supporters would be calling senators directly and urging them to vote against proposed gun control legislation.

"What Michael Bloomberg is trying to do is ... intimidate senators into not listening to constituents and instead pledge their allegiance to him and his money," said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.

Bloomberg has long supported efforts to curb gun violence, including sending New York City undercover investigators into other states to conduct straw purchases from dealers. Last month, Bloomberg's PAC poured more than $2 million into ads supporting Illinois state Rep. Robin Kelly, who won a special primary and ran partly on a platform of supporting tougher gun restrictions.

The new ads will air in 13 states the group believes are divided on gun control: Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bloomberg-mayor-group-tout-big-gun-control-push-004838083--politics.html

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Joe Weider, Fitness Mentor To Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dies At 93

LOS ANGELES ? Joe Weider, a legendary figure in bodybuilding who helped popularize the sport worldwide and played a key role in introducing a charismatic young weightlifter named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, died Saturday. He was 93.

Weider's publicist, Charlotte Parker, told The Associated Press that the bodybuilder, publisher and promoter died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

"I knew about Joe Weider long before I met him," Schwarzenegger, who tweeted the news of his old friend's death, said in a lengthy statement posted on his website. "He was the godfather of fitness who told all of us to be somebody with a body. He taught us that through hard work and training we could all be champions."

A bodybuilder with an impressive physique himself, Weider became better known in later years as a behind-the-scenes guru to the sport.

He popularized bodybuilding and spread the message of health and fitness worldwide with such publications as Muscle & Fitness, Flex and Shape. Schwarzenegger himself is the executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex.

He created one of bodybuilding's pre-eminent events, the Mr. Olympia competition, in 1965, adding to it the Ms. Olympia contest in 1980, the Fitness Olympia in 1995 and the Figure Olympia in 2003.

He also relentlessly promoted Schwarzenegger, who won the Mr. Olympia title a then-record seven times, including in 1980 and every year from 1970 through 1975.

"Every sport needs a hero, and I knew that Arnold was the right man," he said.

Weider brought Schwarzenegger to the United States early in his career, where he helped train the future governor of California as well as aided him in getting into business. Schwarzenegger also said Weider helped land him his first movie role, in the forgettable film "Hercules in New York," by passing off the Austrian-born weightlifter to the producers as a German Shakespearean actor.

"Joe didn't just inspire my earliest dreams; he made them come true the day he invited me to move to America to pursue my bodybuilding career," the actor said in his statement. "I will never forget his generosity. One of Joe's greatest qualities is that he wasn't just generous with his money; he freely gave of his time and expertise and became a father figure for me."

Weider also mentored numerous other bodybuilders.

Born in Canada in 1919, Weider recalled growing up in a tough section of Montreal.

Just like the apocryphal tale of the skinny kid who starts working out after a bully kicks sand in his face, Weider said he was indeed a small, skinny teenager picked on by bullies when he came across the magazine Strength.

He had tried to join a local wrestling team, he said, but was turned down by the coach who feared he was so small he'd be hurt.

Inspired by the magazine, he built his own weights from scrap parts found in a railroad yard and pumped them relentlessly.

Word of his efforts got around and he was invited to join a weightlifting club.

"When I saw the gym, saw the guys working out, supporting one another, I was mesmerized," he recalled.

He won his first bodybuilding ranking at age 17, and soon after began to publish his first magazine, Your Physique.

Later he started a mail-order barbell business, and in 1946 he and his younger brother staged the first Mr. Canada contest in at Montreal's Monument National Theater. At the same time, they formed the International Federation of Bodybuilders.

In recent years, Weider donated much of his bodybuilding memorabilia to the University of Texas at Austin, which opened the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture in 2011.

He is survived by his wife.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/joe-weider-dies_n_2941586.html

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Before dinosaurs' era, volcanic eruptions triggered mass extinction

Public release date: 22-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
703-292-7734
National Science Foundation

Increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming and ocean acidification killed 76 percent of species on Earth

More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic.

The event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species.

It's not clear what caused the end-Triassic extinction, although most scientists agree on a likely scenario.

Over a relatively short time period, massive volcanic eruptions from a large region known as the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) spewed forth huge amounts of lava and gas, including carbon dioxide, sulfur and methane.

This sudden release of gases into the atmosphere may have created intense global warming, and acidification of the oceans, which ultimately killed off thousands of plant and animal species.

Now, researchers at MIT, Columbia University and other institutions have determined that these eruptions occurred precisely when the extinction began, providing strong evidence that volcanic activity did indeed trigger the end-Triassic extinction.

Results of the research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), are published this week in the journal Science.

"These scientists have come close to confirming something we had only guessed at: that the mass extinction of this ancient time was indeed related to a series of volcanic eruptions," says Lisa Boush, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

"The effort is also the result of the EARTHTIME initiative, an NSF-sponsored project that's developing an improved geologic time scale for scientists to interpret Earth's history."

The scientists determined the age of basaltic lavas and other features found along the East Coast of the United States, as well as in Morocco--now-disparate regions that, 200 million years ago, were part of the supercontinent Pangaea.

The rift that ultimately separated these landmasses was also the site of CAMP's volcanic activity.

Today, the geology of both regions includes igneous rocks from the CAMP eruptions as well as sedimentary rocks that accumulated in an enormous lake. The researchers used a combination of techniques to date the rocks and to pinpoint CAMP's beginning and duration.

From its measurements, they reconstructed the region's volcanic activity 201 million years ago, discovering that the eruption of magma--along with carbon dioxide, sulfur and methane--occurred in repeated bursts over a period of 40,000 years, a short span in geologic time.

"This extinction happened at a geological instant in time," says Sam Bowring, a geologist at MIT. "There's no question the extinction occurred at the same time as the first eruption."

In addition to Bowring, the paper's co-authors are Terrence Blackburn and Noah McLean of MIT; Paul Olsen and Dennis Kent of Columbia; John Puffer of Rutgers University; Greg McHone, an independent researcher from New Brunswick, N.J.; E. Troy Rasbury of Stony Brook University; and Mohammed Et-Touhami of the Universit Mohammed Premier (Mohammed Premier University) Oujda, Morocco.

Blackburn is the paper's lead author.

More than a coincidence

The end-Triassic extinction is one of five major mass extinctions in the last 540 million years of Earth's history.

For several of these events, scientists have noted that large igneous provinces, which provide evidence of widespread volcanic activity, arose at about the same time.

But, as Bowring points out, "just because they happen to approximately coincide doesn't mean there's cause and effect."

For example, while massive lava flows overlapped with the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, scientists have linked that extinction to an asteroid collision.

"If you want to make the case that an eruption caused an extinction, you have to be able to show at the highest possible precision that the eruption and the extinction occurred at exactly the same time," Bowring says.

For the time of the end-Triassic, Bowring says that researchers have dated volcanic activity to right around the time fossils disappear from the geologic record, providing evidence that CAMP may have triggered the extinction.

But these estimates have a margin of error of one to two million years. "A million years is forever when you're trying to make that link," Bowring says.

For example, it's thought that CAMP emitted a total of more than two million cubic kilometers of lava.

If that amount of lava were spewed over a period of one to two million years, it wouldn't have the same effect as if it were emitted over tens of thousands of years.

"The timescale over which the eruption occurred has a big effect," Bowring says.

Tilting toward extinction

To determine how long the volcanic eruptions lasted, the group combined two dating techniques: astrochronology and geochronology.

The former is a technique that links sedimentary layers in rocks to changes in the tilt of the Earth.

For decades, scientists have observed that the Earth's orientation changes in regular cycles as a result of gravitational forces exerted by neighboring planets.

The Earth's axis tilts at regular cycles, returning to its original tilt every 26,000 years. Such orbital variations change the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface, which in turn has an effect on the planet's climate, known as Milankovich cycles.

This cyclical change in climate can be seen in the types of sediments deposited in the Earth's crust.

Scientists can determine a rock's age by first identifying cyclical variations in deposition of sediments in quiet bodies of water, such as deep oceans or large lakes.

A cycle of sediment corresponds with a cycle of the Earth's tilt, established as a known period of years.

By seeing where a rock lies in those sedimentary layers, scientists can get a good idea of how old it is. To obtain precise estimates, researchers have developed mathematical models to determine the Earth's tilt over millions of years.

Bowring says the technique is good for directly dating rocks up to 35 million years old, but beyond that, it's unclear how reliable the technique is.

He and colleagues used astrochronology to estimate the age of the sedimentary rocks, then tested those estimates against high-precision dates from 200-million-year-old rocks in North America and Morocco.

The geologists broke apart rock samples to isolate tiny crystals known as zircons, which they analyzed to determine the ratio of uranium to lead.

The technique enabled the team to date the rocks to within approximately 30,000 years--a precise measurement in geologic terms.

Taken together, the geochronology and astrochronology techniques gave the geologists precise estimates for the onset of volcanism 200 million years ago.

The techniques revealed three bursts of magmatic activity over 40,000 years--a short period of time during which massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other gas emissions may have drastically altered Earth's climate.

While the evidence is the strongest thus far for linking volcanic activity with the end-Triassic extinction, Bowring says that more work can be done.

"The CAMP province extends from Nova Scotia all the way to Brazil and West Africa," he says. "I'm dying to know whether those are exactly the same age."

###

-NSF-

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
703-292-7734
National Science Foundation

Increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming and ocean acidification killed 76 percent of species on Earth

More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic.

The event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species.

It's not clear what caused the end-Triassic extinction, although most scientists agree on a likely scenario.

Over a relatively short time period, massive volcanic eruptions from a large region known as the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) spewed forth huge amounts of lava and gas, including carbon dioxide, sulfur and methane.

This sudden release of gases into the atmosphere may have created intense global warming, and acidification of the oceans, which ultimately killed off thousands of plant and animal species.

Now, researchers at MIT, Columbia University and other institutions have determined that these eruptions occurred precisely when the extinction began, providing strong evidence that volcanic activity did indeed trigger the end-Triassic extinction.

Results of the research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), are published this week in the journal Science.

"These scientists have come close to confirming something we had only guessed at: that the mass extinction of this ancient time was indeed related to a series of volcanic eruptions," says Lisa Boush, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

"The effort is also the result of the EARTHTIME initiative, an NSF-sponsored project that's developing an improved geologic time scale for scientists to interpret Earth's history."

The scientists determined the age of basaltic lavas and other features found along the East Coast of the United States, as well as in Morocco--now-disparate regions that, 200 million years ago, were part of the supercontinent Pangaea.

The rift that ultimately separated these landmasses was also the site of CAMP's volcanic activity.

Today, the geology of both regions includes igneous rocks from the CAMP eruptions as well as sedimentary rocks that accumulated in an enormous lake. The researchers used a combination of techniques to date the rocks and to pinpoint CAMP's beginning and duration.

From its measurements, they reconstructed the region's volcanic activity 201 million years ago, discovering that the eruption of magma--along with carbon dioxide, sulfur and methane--occurred in repeated bursts over a period of 40,000 years, a short span in geologic time.

"This extinction happened at a geological instant in time," says Sam Bowring, a geologist at MIT. "There's no question the extinction occurred at the same time as the first eruption."

In addition to Bowring, the paper's co-authors are Terrence Blackburn and Noah McLean of MIT; Paul Olsen and Dennis Kent of Columbia; John Puffer of Rutgers University; Greg McHone, an independent researcher from New Brunswick, N.J.; E. Troy Rasbury of Stony Brook University; and Mohammed Et-Touhami of the Universit Mohammed Premier (Mohammed Premier University) Oujda, Morocco.

Blackburn is the paper's lead author.

More than a coincidence

The end-Triassic extinction is one of five major mass extinctions in the last 540 million years of Earth's history.

For several of these events, scientists have noted that large igneous provinces, which provide evidence of widespread volcanic activity, arose at about the same time.

But, as Bowring points out, "just because they happen to approximately coincide doesn't mean there's cause and effect."

For example, while massive lava flows overlapped with the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, scientists have linked that extinction to an asteroid collision.

"If you want to make the case that an eruption caused an extinction, you have to be able to show at the highest possible precision that the eruption and the extinction occurred at exactly the same time," Bowring says.

For the time of the end-Triassic, Bowring says that researchers have dated volcanic activity to right around the time fossils disappear from the geologic record, providing evidence that CAMP may have triggered the extinction.

But these estimates have a margin of error of one to two million years. "A million years is forever when you're trying to make that link," Bowring says.

For example, it's thought that CAMP emitted a total of more than two million cubic kilometers of lava.

If that amount of lava were spewed over a period of one to two million years, it wouldn't have the same effect as if it were emitted over tens of thousands of years.

"The timescale over which the eruption occurred has a big effect," Bowring says.

Tilting toward extinction

To determine how long the volcanic eruptions lasted, the group combined two dating techniques: astrochronology and geochronology.

The former is a technique that links sedimentary layers in rocks to changes in the tilt of the Earth.

For decades, scientists have observed that the Earth's orientation changes in regular cycles as a result of gravitational forces exerted by neighboring planets.

The Earth's axis tilts at regular cycles, returning to its original tilt every 26,000 years. Such orbital variations change the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface, which in turn has an effect on the planet's climate, known as Milankovich cycles.

This cyclical change in climate can be seen in the types of sediments deposited in the Earth's crust.

Scientists can determine a rock's age by first identifying cyclical variations in deposition of sediments in quiet bodies of water, such as deep oceans or large lakes.

A cycle of sediment corresponds with a cycle of the Earth's tilt, established as a known period of years.

By seeing where a rock lies in those sedimentary layers, scientists can get a good idea of how old it is. To obtain precise estimates, researchers have developed mathematical models to determine the Earth's tilt over millions of years.

Bowring says the technique is good for directly dating rocks up to 35 million years old, but beyond that, it's unclear how reliable the technique is.

He and colleagues used astrochronology to estimate the age of the sedimentary rocks, then tested those estimates against high-precision dates from 200-million-year-old rocks in North America and Morocco.

The geologists broke apart rock samples to isolate tiny crystals known as zircons, which they analyzed to determine the ratio of uranium to lead.

The technique enabled the team to date the rocks to within approximately 30,000 years--a precise measurement in geologic terms.

Taken together, the geochronology and astrochronology techniques gave the geologists precise estimates for the onset of volcanism 200 million years ago.

The techniques revealed three bursts of magmatic activity over 40,000 years--a short period of time during which massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other gas emissions may have drastically altered Earth's climate.

While the evidence is the strongest thus far for linking volcanic activity with the end-Triassic extinction, Bowring says that more work can be done.

"The CAMP province extends from Nova Scotia all the way to Brazil and West Africa," he says. "I'm dying to know whether those are exactly the same age."

###

-NSF-

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/nsf-bde032213.php

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1 dead in shooting at Marine Base Quantico

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) ? One person was dead after a shooting at Marine Base Quantico and authorities were in a standoff early Friday with the suspect, who had barricaded himself in barracks, a base spokesman said.

The shooting happened around 11 p.m. Thursday and the base was put on lockdown, Lt. Agustin Solivan said.

"It's still a standoff situation," Solivan said shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.

Solivan said they believe the suspect, whose name wasn't released, is a staff member at the officer candidate school at the base. No information on the victim was immediately released.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/1-dead-shooting-marine-quantico-064026124.html

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Manhunt on for killer of Colorado prison chief

Tom Clements, the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections, was shot as he answered the door and authorities say there still isn't a sign of a suspect or a motive. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.

By Andrew Rafferty and Matthew DeLuca, NBC News

Authorities are asking the public for help finding an unknown gunman who shot dead the?executive director of Colorado?s department of corrections at his home Tuesday night.

Police believe the director, Tom Clements, was shot when he answered the door of his Monument, Colo. home. Why and by whom remain a mystery.

"Because of the fact that Mr. Clements served in the the position that he did as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, we're sensitive to the fact that there could be any number of people who could have a motive for wanting to target him,"?El Paso County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. ??

There was one other person in the house at the time who the shooting, who was not injured, according to police.

The?El Paso County sheriff's office is now turning to the public for any information from those who may have been in the area at the time of the shooting or may have seen the car the suspect is believe to have used to flee the scene.

A Colorado law enforcement spokesperson says police are appealing to the public for more information on a car seen near the house where Dept. of Corrections chief Tom Clements was shot.

The sheriff's department announced they are currently searching for a white female between the ages of 35 and 50 who may have been speed walking in the neighborhood at the time of the shooting. The woman is not a person of interest, but may have made "some observations that could be valuable to us," Kramer said.

Police have a vague description of a vehicle that may be connected with the shooting.?Kramer said a witness saw a dark colored boxy, two-door car that was unoccupied and in the area of the shooting around 8:30 p.m local time. The car was left running at an intersection about 200 yards away, according to authorities.

The vehicle was seen again after the shooting with one?occupant?but no description of that person.

---

The wooded area where the shooting took place is largely rural, but Kramer said police will also be checking?surveillance video of nearby shopping centers to see if they can find a license plate number or any additional helpful information.?

The governor addressed Clements' shooting in a letter sent to all Department of Corrections employees early on Wednesday, Hickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown told NBC News in an email.

?Last night, Tom Clements was killed at his home in Monument,? Hickenlooper wrote in the message. ?I can hardly believe it, let alone write words to describe it.?

Related:?Colorado governor sign landmark gun-control bills

Hickenlooper praised Clements as a man who was ?unfailingly kind and thoughtful.? The governor ordered all flags lowered to half-staff in the state on Wednesday.

?He was a great friend to me and I think all of us. In many ways he helped define who a public servant is,? said Hickenlooper, who appeared to hold back tears at a press conference. ?He is going to be deeply, deeply missed.?

News of Clements' death came as Hickenlooper was expected on Wednesday to sign new gun bills limiting ammunition magazine capacity and expanding background checks on firearm purchases in the state, eight months after the Aurora movie theater shooting.

Whether or not Clements? position as director of the Department of Corrections played a role in his death remains under investigation.

Colorado Department of Corrections via Reuters

Tom Clements, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections

?We?re sensitive to the fact that serving in that type of position could in fact make him a target of folks that would have motive to target him for a crime such as this,? Kramer said at a press conference Wednesday morning. ?However we?re making sure that we remain open-minded to a number of other theories as well.?

One such theory is that the shooting could be connected with?a 2006 case in Colorado involving Homaidan al-Turki, who was convicted of repeatedly raping an Indonesian maid that he kept as a virtual slave in his basement in Aurora for four years.?

Last week, Clements turned down the transfer of Al-Turki back to Saudi Arabia.??

Kramer?acknowledged?authorities are aware of the information and were taking it into consideration. "We also remain open minded to all of the other possibilities as well because we don't want to follow one particular trail and find ourselves perhaps missing something along the way," he said.

A federal official told NBC News that no federal agents have been involved in the?investigation. The FBI offered assistance but so far state authorities have declined the help, saying they have the resources they need.

Clements wrote about the challenges faced by corrections officers in a message posted on the Departments of Corrections website ? including the violent death of one officer in September.

?Together we are ?building a safer Colorado for today and tomorrow,?? Clements wrote in the message.

?He was an inspirational leader,? Alison Morgan, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, said on Wednesday. ?He had a vision for the department and was exceptional at sharing that vision with staff and inspiring the 6,000 employees of the department.?

He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and daughters Rachel and Sara.

Clements was confirmed as the head of the state?s department of corrections in February 2011 in a unanimous vote of the state senate. He had previously worked as director of operations for adult correctional facilities in Missouri, and had over three decades of experience working in corrections, according to a 2011 press release from Hickenlooper?s office.

The Department of Corrections had a budget of $737 million in 2012, and monitored a total inmate population of more than 20,000.

NBC's Pete Williams contributed to this report?

This story was originally published on Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:30 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29cd292b/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C20A0C173846660Emanhunt0Eon0Efor0Ekiller0Eof0Ecolorado0Eprison0Echief0Dlite/story01.htm

"Hot in Cleveland" gets season five order from TV Land

By Tim Kenneally

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Things won't be cooling down in Cleveland anytime soon.

TV Land has ordered a fifth season of its hit comedy "Hot in Cleveland," starring Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeve and Wendie Malick.

The 24-episode season will bring the total of episodes for the series - TV Land's maiden foray into original scripted comedy - to 104 episodes.

The new season will begin filming this fall.

Earlier this year, CBS Television Distribution announced that it had sold "Hot in Cleveland" for syndication to 92 percent of the country for a September 2014 launch.

"This is an incredible milestone for the show and for TV Land," network president Larry W. Jones said Wednesday. "To have our first scripted sitcom make it to the syndication level is a huge accomplishment. We have a brilliant creative team both in front of and behind the camera. We are so proud to be on this exciting ride with them."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hot-cleveland-gets-season-five-order-tv-land-002044243.html