Obama to nominate Chuck Hagel for defense secretary



The White House informed the Hagel camp over the weekend that Obama intends to announce the nomination at the White House on Monday.


The two people with knowledge of the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the nomination before Obama does, said key members of Congress were being being notified Sunday afternoon about the decision.

Hagel would add a well-known Republican to the president’s second-term Cabinet at a time when Obama, after a bitter presidential campaign, is looking to better bridge the partisan divide.

But Hagel’s expected nomination has drawn sharp criticism in recent weeks, particularly from Republicans who have questioned his commitment to Israel’s security.

The choice sets up a nomination fight Obama appeared unwilling to have over his preferred pick for secretary of state, Susan Rice, who pulled out of consideration for that job last month amid Republican complaints over her role in explaining the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, last year that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

In an appearance Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Hagel’s selection “an in-your-face nomination.”

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Hagel’s record would be given a fair shake in the Senate if he is nominated. McConnell stopped short of saying whether he was prepared to support or oppose his former colleague.

“He’s certainly been outspoken in foreign policy and defense over the years,” McConnell said on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” “The question we’ll be answering if he’s the nominee is: Do his views make sense for that particular job? I think he ought to be given a fair hearing, like any other nominee. And he will be.”

The Hagel announcement will begin what White House officials have said will probably be a busy week of announcements regarding who will fill out Obama’s second-term Cabinet and senior staff.

The president returned from a curtailed holiday in Hawaii on Sunday and will begin making a series of final personnel decisions delayed by the year-end negotiations with Congress over taxes and spending cuts.

Concerning the opposition that has arisen on the Hill before Hagel’s formal nomination, a senior administration official said Sunday that the White House expects Democrats to support the choice, as well as many Republicans who served with Hagel.

“Having a name floated and having one officially put forward are two different things,” the official said.

Hagel, who twice received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in Vietnam, served in the U.S. Senate for two terms ending in 2009.

He was an outspoken and often-independent voice as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, breaking with many in his party to sharply criticize the management of the Iraq war after he initially supported the invasion.

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Football: Milan call on football powers to act on racism






MILAN: AC Milan have called for football's authorities to take an official stand against racism in the sport as the controversy surrounding Kevin-Prince Boateng's walk-off continued on Sunday.

Boateng hit the headlines last week when he responded to racist chants by a small group of fans during a friendly against fourth division side Pro Patria by storming off the pitch.

He was followed by his team-mates, prompting a global outpouring of applause for the German-born Ghanaian international's decision.

World football's ruling FIFA had yet to make an official statement about the incident but in an interview from the United Arab Emirates on Sunday FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Boateng was "wrong" to have walked off the pitch.

Both FIFA and UEFA have previously warned against players walking off the pitch in protest, and Blatter told The National newspaper: "Walk off? No. I don't think that is the solution.

"I don't think you can run away. This issue is a very touchy subject, but I repeat there is zero tolerance of racism in the stadium; we have to go against that."

Milan reacted quickly, declaring: "AC Milan reiterates its firm stance against racism, in whatever shape or form, and calls on the national and international sports bodies to adopt and implement necessary and effective measures."

In the wake of the Boateng incident some observers, including former AC Milan star Clarence Seedorf, had warned that the decision to leave the pitch threatened to "empower" a racist minority.

At Rome's Olympic stadium on Saturday Seedorf's fears rung true when some sections of Lazio's crowd were heard making monkey noises at Cagliari's Colombian striker Victor Ibarbo.

Although the majority of the home crowd jeered and whistled to drown out the racists, Cagliari's director general Francesco Marroccu was forced eventually to inform the fourth official.

The referee halted play momentarily to speak to both team captains and order a message to be relayed over the tannoy to warn fans the game would be suspended if the chants continued.

Lazio went on to win 2-1, but this latest incident threatens to reinforce the Rome-based side's reputation for harbouring fans with far right sympathies.

Earlier this season Lazio were fined for racist chanting in a Europa League game against Tottenham -- the English club with arguably the biggest Jewish support in the Premier League.

Upon seeing television pictures of Saturday's game, Boateng posted on Twitter: "Sad to see these racist chants 2 days after @KPBofficial leads #ACMilan off pitch after receiving similar abuse. very sad!!!"

Lazio president Claudio Lotito claims he has "worked hard" to prevent such behaviour on the part of fans since taking over at the club, but could not vouch for every individual supporter.

He said: "Lazio is always singled out as a racist club, which is not true: we have several black players in our team.

"However we can't control the actions of individual supporters. I can't put a policeman on every fan when there are 30,000 in the stadium."

- AFP/jc



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Aadhaar must deliver all subsidy perks: Montek

NEW DELHI: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, wants to deliver all welfare and subsidy benefits through Aadhaar-based cash transfer scheme, which is touted as UPA's "game-changer" for 2014 parliamentary polls.

Ahluwalia said that it would be left to the discretion of state governments to implement it as was done for FDI in multi-brand retail.

However, he maintained that the proposal to bring the entire gamut of benefits and subsidies, including those provided through the public distribution system (PDS) on Aadhaar platform, as his personal opinion.

The comment came at a time many Opposition-ruled states, including Chhattisgarh, have refused to bring PDS under Aadhar-based cash transfer scheme. Many social activists have also voiced concern over cash transfer in lieu of commodity subsidy that include food and fertilizer scheme.

Ahluwalia argued that while some CMs are opposed to bring commodity subsidy under the scheme, there are many like Delhi chief ministerSheila Dikshit who wants cash transfer to the beneficiaries instead of commodity.

Adopting a cautious approach, the UPA government launched its ambitious direct cash transfer scheme in 20 districts, instead of 43 as was announced earlier, on January 1.

The programme is covering a select 26 schemes such as educational scholarship for SC/ST and OBC, and widow pension.

It has also kept LPG also out of its ambit for now. The government has also kept out food, fertilizers, diesel and kerosene from the scheme's ambit.

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Hagel to Be Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee


Jan 6, 2013 4:52pm







gty chuck hagel kb 121220 wblog Obama Will Nominate Chuck Hagel as Next Defense Secretary

(Junko Kimura/Getty Images)


WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama will nominate former senator Chuck Hagel to be his next Secretary of Defense tomorrow.


Senior officials within the administration and Capitol Hill confirmed the pick to ABC News today after the Nebraska Republican had emerged as a frontrunner among potential candidates several weeks ago.


Hagel, 66, is a decorated Vietnam veteran and businessman who served in the senate from 1997 to 2009. After having sat on that chamber’s Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees,  he has in recent years gathered praise from current and former diplomats for his work on Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board as well as the policy board of the current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.


But the former lawmaker faces an upscale battle in the coming confirmation hearings in Congress; critics on both sides of the aisle have taken aim at his record toward Israel and what some have called a lack of experience necessary to lead the sprawling Pentagon bureaucracy or its operations.


Progressives have also expressed concern about comments he made in 1998, questioning whether an “openly, aggressively gay” James Hormel could be nominated to an ambassador position by then-President Clinton. Hagel apologized for the comments last month, adding that he also supported gays in the military – a position he once opposed.


Who Is Chuck Hagel? Meet Obama’s Top Pentagon Pick


The friction with his former colleagues has left a degree of uncertainty in the air going into the hearings. Today on ABC’s “This Week,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell demurred when asked whether he would support the man who, in 2008, he had championed for his candidness and stature in foreign policy.


“I’m going to wait and see how the hearings go and see whether Chuck’s views square with the job he would be nominated to do,” he told George Stephanopoulos.


Senator Lindsey Graham was more blunt in his opposition to Hagel on CNN. The Georgia Republican called Hagel an “in your face nomination,” and said he “would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of Israel in our nation’s history.”


If confirmed, Hagel will join a crop of new cabinet members expected to join the president in his second term, including Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was nominated in December to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.


ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield and Devin Dwyer contributed reporting.



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GOP dissension over debt-ceiling strategy



On Friday, a top Senate Republican signaled that members of his party should be prepared to play hardball and be willing to accept the kind of consequences in each previous fight they’ve threatened but managed to avoid.


At the same time, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) likewise insisted that Republicans hold the line, telling his members they must insist that every dollar they raise the debt limit be paired with commensurate spending cuts.

But other Republicans counseled caution, warning that pressure from the business community and the public to raise the $16.4 trillion federal borrowing limit renders untenable any threats not to do so and will weaken the GOP’s hand if their stance is perceived to be a bluff.

In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Friday came out against the strategy of waging a showdown over the debt ceiling, calling the move a “dead loser” for the GOP.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are similarly hesitant to entertain the possibility of using a government shutdown or the debt ceiling as bargaining chips.

Rep. Billy Long, a Missouri Republican who first won election in the 2010 tea party wave, voted in favor of the 2011 debt-limit deal in part because “no one knows the ramifications of not passing a debt ceiling increase and this plan prevents us from finding out,” according to a statement he released at the time.

In an interview Friday, Long lamented that the only way Congress seems to do business is in 11th-hour deals and balked at the notion of shutting down the government.

“When you’re fighting two wars, it’s just not very practical,” he said of a potential shutdown.

Their remarks came on the heels of an op-ed by Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) published Friday in the Houston Chronicle. In it, Cornyn argued that Republicans should be prepared to force a partial government shutdown in order to extract concessions from Democrats on significant spending cuts and entitlement reform.

“It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain,” Cornyn wrote. “President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately.”

Two other prominent GOP conservatives, Sen. Pat Toomey (Pa.) and newly elected Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), have made similar arguments in recent days.

Toomey spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik explained that Toomey’s argument is the same as the one he made in early 2011 — that failing to raise the debt ceiling would not lead to a U.S. default in the short term and that the Treasury Department would rather have to prioritize payments made by the federal government, which could lead to a partial shutdown.

It wasn’t immediately clear from the comments made by Cornyn and Cruz whether they back that argument, which Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has rejected in the past.

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Football: Lazio strike late to down nine-man Cagliari






MILAN, Italy: Lazio closed the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus to five points on Saturday thanks to two late goals in a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Cagliari.

The Biancocelesti were kept on a level footing by the determined visitors from Sardinia in a comparatively incident-free first half.

But Vladimir Petkovic's men made their intentions far clearer in a dominant second half when Abdoulay Konko's 79th minute strike levelled Marco Sau's opener for Cagliari before a late penalty from Antonio Candreva sealed the win.

German veteran Miroslav Klose was a threat throughout the match, but saw several efforts blocked, off target or charged down.

Despite creating more chances, Lazio looked in danger of suffering a shock upset or at least having to settle for a draw.

And that feeling intensified when Sau was allowed to run free on the edge of the area just after the hour mark to beat one defender before sending a delightful angled shot past Federico Marchetti in the Lazio goal.

Petkovic immediately replaced Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez with Candreva, and the Italian tested Michael Agazzi in the 78th minute with a right-foot strike.

A minute later the hosts pulled level thanks to Konko's tap-in from a corner, and came close to taking the lead when Giuseppe Biava tested Agazzi with a header from Hernanes' cross.

In the 83rd minute Cagliari 'keeper Agazzi was yellow carded for time-wasting, a caution that was to prove crucial minutes later.

Lazio continued to press, and were rewarded eight minutes from time when the referee pointed to the spot after Agazzi came off his line and clashed with Klose just after the German had got an off-target lob away.

Agazzi was shown a red card, and Cagliari suffered further ignominy when midfielder Andrea Cossu was sent off for protesting.

Cagliari's second goalkeeper Vlada Avramov came on in place of Agazzi but the Serbian could not stop Candreva's penalty strike, which widened the gap on Fiorentina to four points ahead of La Viola's hosting of Pescara Sunday.

Juventus have the chance to restore their eight-point cushion when they host Sampdoria on Sunday, when Inter, in fourth nine points adrift, visit Udinese.

Fifth-placed Napoli, at 10 points off the pace, host Roma while Siena will look to cause an upset at AC Milan.

- AFP/de



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M Karunanidhi suggests solitary confinement for rapists

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK leader M Karunanidhi are at loggerheads on various issues, including, it seems, on punishment to rapists.

While Jayalalithaa was the first among chief ministers to demand stringent punishment for rapists, including death penalty and chemical castration, the DMK chief, whose stand against capital punishment is well known, has suggested solitary confinement till death for rape convicts.

The DMK chief's reaction came a day after the Tamil Nadu government reiterated its demand for death penalty for sexual offenders during a conference of DGPs and chief secretaries in New Delhi on Friday. On January 1, Jayalalithaa announced a 13-point action plan, strongly advocating death penalty and chemical castration for sexual offenders.

On Saturday, Karunanidhi strongly advocated solitary confinement and recalled a similar request he made in the condolence message for the Delhi rape victim, who died in a Singapore hospital. "Like social thinkers and legal experts, I have never endorsed death penalty. It is only apt to put the offenders in solitary confinement. While the state government did not take my viewpoint, I hope the Centre will take necessary action," he said in a press release.

Jayalalithaa's action plan envisaged efforts to bring cases of sexual harassment under the purview of the Goondas Act and suitable amendments to the law. But the DMK chief said the Goondas Act would be misused. "If the offenders are booked under Goondas Act, they will come out within a year of detention. There is no guarantee that they would not indulge in such heinous acts again," Karunanidhi said.

DMK ally and VCK leader D Ravikumar said, "Solitary confinement shall be awarded in the rarest of rare cases, especially when the victim is a child. Life imprisonment will act as a deterrent." He also opposed death penalty and chemical castration for rapists. In a petition to the Verma commission on Saturday, the party demanded a review of the guidelines issued to censor boards on portrayal of women.

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City Answers Gang-Rape Cover-Up Allegations












As Steubenville, Ohio, prepares for the high-profile rape trial of two high school football players, officials, battling allegations of a cover-up, announced the creation of a new website today to debunk rumors and create what they said would be a transparent resource for the community.


"This site is not designed to be a forum for how the Juvenile Court ought to rule in this matter," the website, called Steubenville Facts, said.


A timeline of the case, beginning with the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a party on Aug. 11-12, 2012, is posted on the site. Summaries of Ohio law relating to the case and facts about the local police force including statistics on how many graduated from Steubenville schools, is included.


The case gained national attention last week when hacking collective Anonymous leaked a video of Steubenville high school athletes mocking the 16-year-old female victim and making crude references to the alleged rape.






Steubenville Herald-Star, Michael D. McElwain/AP Photo







"It's disgusting, and I've had people calling, numerous people call here, upset, they have seen it, one woman, two women were crying, because of what they witnessed," Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said. "It really is disgusting to watch that video."


Anonymous has called for more arrests, however Steubenville Police have said their hands are tied.


"Steubenville Police investigators are caring humans who recoil and are repulsed by many of the things they observe during an investigation," the website said, addressing the video. "Like detectives in every part of America and the world, they are often frustrated when they emotionally want to hold people accountable for certain detestable behavior but realize that there is no statute that allows a criminal charge to be made."


Occupy Steubenville, a grassroots group, estimated 1,300 people attended a rally today outside the Jefferson County Courthouse, where rape victims and their loved ones gathered to share their stories.


The father of a teenage rape victim was met with applause when he shared his outrage.


"I've tried to show my girl that not all men are like this, but only a despicable few," he said. "And their mothers that ignore the truth that they gave birth to a monster."


Authorities investigated the case and charged two Steubenville high school athletes on Aug. 22, 2012.


The teenagers face trial on Feb. 13, 2013 in juvenile court before a visiting judge.


Attorneys for the boys have denied charges in court.



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