The Morning Report -- Thursday February 14, 2013

Kerry Says 'Strong World' Will Work -- Christopher Dorner's Downfall -- Hagel Vote Coming -- New Cyber Bill -- Carnival Cancels 12 Cruises -- Republicans: 'Old Liberal Ideas' -- USPS Could Need More Money -- America/US Airways Merge -- Activists Protest Keystone XL Pipeline -- Apple's Latest Venture

KERRY SAYS 'STRONG WORLD'  WILL SEND MESSAGE TO IRAN, NORTH KOREA

Fox News Video

WASHINGTON –  The world must show its resolve in the face of North Korea's nuclear provocations or risk emboldening Iran, which is under scrutiny over its uranium enrichment program, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry said nations must agree on a "swift, clear, strong and credible response" to Pyongyang's third nuclear test and the authoritarian regime's "continued flaunting of its obligations."

CHRISTOPHER DORNER: SPARING HOUSEKEEPERS LED TO UNDOING 

Associated Press

There was no question. The man standing before Rick Heltebrake on a rural mountain road was Christopher Dorner.

Clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a bulletproof vest packed with ammunition, the most wanted man in America over the last week was just a few feet away, having emerged from a grove of trees holding a large, assault-style rifle.

As teams of officers who had sought the fugitive ex-Los Angeles police officer since last week were closing in, Dorner pointed the gun at Heltebrake and ordered him to get out of his truck.

SENATE DEMOCRATS TRY TO FORCE HAGEL VOTE

New York Times

WASHINGTON — Accusing Republicans of a new level of obstruction, Senate Democrats moved on Wednesday to force a vote on President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense.

Mr. Hagel’s nomination was endorsed by the Senate Armed Services Committee along party lines on Tuesday. But with Republicans demanding more information before allowing a vote on Mr. Hagel by the full Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, took procedural steps to limit floor debate on his nomination and bring the partisan clash to a head by Saturday.

A NEW FIGHT AGAINST US CYBER BILL

WASHINGTON — U.S. privacy and technology activists are preparing for a new round of fighting against an information-sharing bill they say will let private companies help the government spy on the American public.

 

They’re troubled by the Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act (CISPA), which passed the House of Representatives last year but failed to get through the Senate. House members Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberg are hoping to have more success passing it this year. They re-introduced the legislation at a cyber security talk in Washington Wednesday.

CARNIVAL CANCELS 12 CRUISES ABOARD SHIP PLAGUED BY MECHANICAL FAILURES

Associated Press

HOUSTON — Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before it was left powerless in the Gulf of Mexico by an engine-room fire.

The company’s announcement on Wednesday came as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom have complained to relatives that conditions on the ship are dismal and that they have limited access to food and bathrooms.

BOEHNER SHOWS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR OBAMA'S IDEAS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner expressed doubts Wednesday that the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate could reach agreement on a budget and avoid automatic spending cuts that could jeopardize economic growth.

In a post-State of the Union interview with The Associated Press, Boehner was also skeptical about President Barack Obama’s new proposal for federally supported universal pre-school. And he showed little support for Obama’s core proposals on immigration reform and gun control, including universal background checks.

USPS COULD NEED $45 BILLION BY 2017

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said his agency is on a path to need a $45 billion taxpayer bailout within five years if Congress fails to take action to reverse growing financial losses for the Postal Service.

The Postal Service recorded a nearly $16 billion loss during its last fiscal year. Mr. Donahoe said Wednesday the shortfall is likely to grow worse without the ability to make significant cost cuts, including ending Saturday delivery and placing postal workers on a private health-care plan.

AMERICAN AND US AIRWAYS MERGER APPROVED BY BOARDS

Reuters

Ending a yearlong courtship by US Airways, American Airlines agreed on Wednesday to merge with the smaller carrier, paving the way for the creation of the nation’s largest airline.

The boards of the companies met separately to approve the combination, according to two people with knowledge of the vote. A merger would bolster American’s domestic footprint, strengthen its presence in the Northeast and give it a bigger network to attract business travelers and corporate accounts.

ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT WHITE HOUSE PROTESTING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

European Press Photo Agency

When President Obama spoke about climate change in the State of the Union address Tuesday night, he failed to mention the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which aims to transport heavy crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and which needs his approval for a construction permit.

But that controversial project — which ranks as one of the top climate decisions the president will have to make this year — took center stage Wednesday as 48 activists engaged in civil disobedience at the gates of the White House.

APPLE'S ENTRY INTO WEARABLE TECH

(CNN) -- In the last week, the Apple iWatch has made the jump from unlikely rumor to a real product that's probably in development, thanks to well-placed leaks that have been showing up in various publications.

The latest is a report from Bloomberg that says Apple already has a team of 100 employees working on a wearable device.

The clues, and resulting flurry of speculation, are planting the seeds of an Apple watch in consumers' minds. The general public has not been crying out for a better watch. Apple dream-product rumors have mostly focused on an elusive Apple TV over the past year.

The Morning Report -- Wednesday February 13, 2013

Obama Lays Out Vision -- Pope To Appear -- Dorner Manhunt Results In Standoff -- Senate Panel Approves Hagel -- Shooting Suspects Come Clean -- Senate Reauthorizes VAWA -- Asteroid To Miss Earth

OBAMA URGES ACTION ON EXPANSIVE AGENDA

Getty Images

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama outlined an ambitious agenda in his State of the Union address Tuesday that included raising the minimum wage, increasing spending on infrastructure, attacking climate change and passing gun-control legislation.

Mr. Obama repeated his earlier calls for reducing the budget deficit through a mix of tax increases and spending cuts. He also said he would support "modest reforms" in programs including Medicare, as long as wealthy Americans contribute as well. And he said he would reduce troop levels in Afghanistan by half over the next year, an acceleration of the U.S. departure and an effort to wind down America's longest war.

POPE TO APPEAR FOR FIRST TIME SINCE BOMBSHELL ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESIGNATION

Getty Images

VATICAN CITY –  Pope Benedict XVI is making his first public appearance since his bombshell announcement of his resignation, presiding over his weekly general audience and Ash Wednesday services.

Thousands of people are expected to fill the Vatican audience hall on Wednesday morning for the audience, which will be his second to last public audience before stepping down Feb. 28.

EX-LAPD OFFICER BELIEVED TO BE DEAD

KABC-TV PHOTO

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — The manhunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected of going on a killing spree converged Tuesday on a mountain cabin where authorities believe he barricaded himself inside, engaged in a shootout that killed a deputy and then never emerged as the home went up in flames.

A single gunshot was heard from within, and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press Tuesday evening that officials had found a charred body. Later, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said that the remains had been found inside the burned-out cabin.

SENATE PANEL APPROVES HAGEL NOMINATION

WASHINGTON — After a combative two-hour debate, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary Tuesday, sending it to the full Senate.

But the 14-11 vote, which broke down along partisan lines, was just the beginning of a process this week that seemed certain to further expose a deep rift between Republicans and Democrats over President Barack Obama's foreign policy prerogatives.

At times, the hearing slipped into an accusatory and bitter back-and-forth, with Republicans such as Ted Cruz of Texas going as far as to suggest that Hagel had accepted money from enemy nations such as North Korea, while Democrats like Bill Nelson of Florida said Republicans had undermined the integrity of both Hagel and the committee.

CHICAGO SUSPECTS IN MURDER CONFESS TO SLAYING TEEN

Chicago Police Department

The two men charged in the January shooting death of Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton were gang members who were looking for revenge when they opened fire on the 15-year-old and a group of her friends in a South Side park, according to a statement one of them has given to Chicago police.

Michael Ward, 18 and Kenneth Williams, 20 were both charged with first degree murder Monday in the Jan. 29 homicide, which took the life of the honors student who had just days before performed as a majorette in the presidential inauguration parade with her school. Additional charges include attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. At a Tuesday hearing, both were ordered held without bail.

SENATE VOTES TO REAUTHORIZE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

Associated Press

The Senate has agreed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, showing bipartisan support for a measure that would revamp domestic violence programs and extend the law’s protections to gays and lesbians and women on tribal reservations.

The 78-to-22 vote puts pressure on the GOP-held House to also act to renew the 19-year-old measure, which Congress has twice reauthorized but which lapsed in 2011 amid partisan disputes over key provisions.

ASTEROID TO MISS EARTH BY "15 MINUTES"

This coming Friday, Feb. 15, asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass within 17,200 miles—or 15 minutes—of Earth, according to scientist Bill Nye.

While the asteroid, which Nye said is comparable in size to the one responsible for the 1908 Tunguska event, is expected to pass harmlessly by, Nye said it is a very close shave relatively speaking.

"This one will miss us by about 15 minutes," Nye explained. "Fifteen minutes difference and that's it."

If it were not for those 15 minutes, life for millions of people could end.

"If such a meteor were to hit Atlanta or New York City or Boston, that would be it for those municipalities," Nye said.

As much as 1,200 square miles would be destroyed, Nye added.

According to Nye, there are approximately 100,000 "Earth-crossing" asteroids and, for the first time in human history, the possibility exists that something could be done should one threaten Earth.

"It is something that we as humans all over the world ought to get involved in," he said.

The Morning Report -- Friday February 1st, 2013

Hackers Infiltrate The Times -- Beyonce Lip-Syncs -- Sen. Hagel Hearings -- Hackers Take Down Amazon -- 3D Printers and Gun Control -- Hispanic Population > White Population --  Ron Jeremy In Hospital -- Alabama Child Hostage -- Texas DA Shot, Killed -- Have It Your Way: BK & Horse Meat -- Mexican Oil Company Explosion

CHINESE HACKERS ATTACK THE NEW YORK TIMES

AP Images

 SAN FRANCISCO — For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees.

fter surreptitiously tracking the intruders to study their movements and help erect better defenses to block them, The Times and computer security experts have expelled the attackers and kept them from breaking back in.

The timing of the attacks coincided with the reporting for a Times investigation, published online on Oct. 25, that found that the relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, had accumulated a fortune worth several billion dollars through business dealings. 

BEYONCE SAYS SHE LIP-SYNCED NATIONAL ANTHEM

Getty Images

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) –Beyonce stepped in front of the media Thursday to preview her halftime performance at theSuper Bowl.

After a brief greeting, the superstar asked the audience to stand and immediately belted out an unaccompanied rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” which was received with hoots and applause.

She was promptly asked about her much-discussed rendition of the national anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration last week. Her critically praised performance came under scrutiny less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine Band said she wasn’t singing live and the band’s accompanying performance was taped.

CNN: SENATORS 'SHOCKED' AT HOW ILL-PREPARED HAGEL WAS

AMAZON DOWN: ONLINE RETAILER BRIEFLY WENT DARK

Getty Images

First Twitter, now Amazon. Major website have been falling left and right on Thursday.

At about 2:40 p.m. ET, the homepage for Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, went down for approximately a half an hour. Shoppers looking for clothes or books were redirected to a blank page that said "Service Unavailable."

The website "Down For Everyone Or Just Me," not to mention an outpouring of tweets, confirms it, though Amazon URLs besides Amazon.com appeared to be working. As of publication, the site is working again.

3D PRINTERS INSERTED INTO GUN DEBATE

Pictured: FormLabs 3D Printer

A 24-year-old law-school student is bringing a new weapon to the fight over gun control: three-dimensional printers.

The notion may sound far-fetched, but Cody Wilson and a small team of Second Amendment defenders are working to develop ways for people to circumvent some gun-control proposals by furnishing the know-how to make weapons parts at home using 3D printers.

Mr. Wilson has already proved it is possible to make plastic versions of the high-capacity ammunition magazines that President Barack Obama and other mostly Democratic lawmakers are looking to ban. Four days before Mr. Obama unveiled his gun-control agenda, which includes a proposal to ban the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, Mr. Wilson appeared in a YouTube video firing a Colt M-16—the rifle long favored by the U.S. Army—with a 30-round plastic magazine made by a 3D printer.

CALIFORNIA HISPANIC POPULATION OUTNUMBER WHITE POPULATION BY 2014

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's Hispanic population will equal that of whites this year before becoming the state's largest demographic group in 2014 for the first time since statehood in 1850, a government report showed on Thursday.

That change in the most populous U.S. state will make it the third where whites do not comprise a plurality of the population, after New Mexico and Hawaii.

The shift is occurring alongside nationwide growth in the Hispanic population, which grew to 16.7 percent of the total in 2011 from 12.5 percent in 2000, according to U.S. Census figures.

It also comes amid a national debate on immigration that Democratic President Barack Obama waded into this week when he outlined his goals for immigration reform in a speech in Las Vegas.

PORN STAR RON JEREMY HAS HEART ANEURYSM

Filmmagic

Porn icon Ron Jeremy will remain on a respirator the next few days as doctors assess his recovery from heart-related surgery, a family member told the Daily News Thursday.

"Right now everything is in a holding pattern," Jeremy's 94-year-old dad Arnold Hyatt said. "He's heavily sedated and intubated. The doctors are waiting to see what develops. They anticipate it will be two or three days before they take him off the respirator."

The legendary lothario, 59, drove himself to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday after experiencing chest pain, his manager previously told The News.

ALABAMA BOY STILL HELD IN BUNKER

CNN

Midland City, Alabama (CNN) -- Somewhere underneath this red southeastern Alabama dirt is a little boy.

A kindergartner, snatched from the safety of his school bus by a gunman and stashed in an underground bunker;

A boy who needs daily medication;

A child that this Bible Belt community of 2,300 is praying for.

Many details have been released about the man suspected to be the boy's abductor:

How he was supposed to have been in court to face charges that he'd shot at his neighbors over a minor property dispute;

TEXAS DISTRICT ATTORNEY SHOT, KILLED IN FRONT OF COURT HOUSE

A

An assistant district attorney in North Texas was shot and killed as he arrived at the courthouse where he worked on Thursday.

The Associated Press reports:

"Mark Hasse, 57, had exited his vehicle in the parking lot behind the Kaufman County Courthouse annex and was walking toward the building when he was shot multiple times just before 9 a.m., said Kaufman County spokeswoman Pat Laney. Hasse was taken away in an ambulance, but Laney did not know if he died at the hospital or en route.

"Investigators were searching for two suspects believed to have fled in an older model Ford Taurus either brown or silver in color. Officials didn't immediately indicate any motive for the shooting in Kaufman, located about 33 miles southeast of Dallas."

BURGER KING FINDS HORSE MEAT AT EUROPEAN SUPPLIER

 Burger King announced Thursday that it had terminated its relationship with European supplier Silvercrest Foods after finding traces of horse meat in beef patties at a Silvercrest facility.

Silvercrest provided beef for Burger King restaurants in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark. Burger King said that while samples of beef from restaurants in these countries showed no evidence of contamination, four samples from a Silvercrest plant in Ireland showed "very small trace levels of equine DNA."

Burger King (BKW) said the tainted product was never sold in restaurants, and appeared to have originated from a sub-contracted supplier in Poland.

BLAST KILLS 25 AT MEXICAN OIL PLANT BLAST

AP

MEXICO CITY — An explosion rocked the headquarters of Mexico's state-run oil monopoly Pemex, killing 25 people, injuring 101, and damaging three floors of Mexico's second tallest building before sending plumes of smoke into the Mexico City skyline.

The blast ripped through the lower level of a building adjacent to the Pemex tower in central Mexico City at about 3:45 p.m. local time (4:45 p.m. ET) Thursday, forcing the evacuation of 3,500 employees, company officials said.

The cause of the blast has not been confirmed. Local media reported that machinery exploded in the basement of an administrative center next to thePemex tower in Mexico City, which has more than 50 floors.

McCain Rips Hagel For Opposing Iraq Troop Surge