The ACN Morning Report -- Sunday April 14, 2013

Kerry, Japan and North Korea -- Kerry, China and North Korea -- 6-year-old shot in N.J. -- Trayvon Martin Shooting Targets? -- Warming World = Starvation -- China, U.S. and Cyberspying -- Clash At Guantanamo -- The Gangnam Style Sequel -- Russia Bans 18 Americans

KERRY IN JAPAN FOR TALKS ON NORTH KOREAN TENSIONS

BBC NEWS

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Japan, the last stop of his four-day Asian tour which has focused on tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has recently threatened attacks against South Korea and the US, sparking alarm in the region.

After meeting China's top leaders on Saturday Mr Kerry said China was "very serious" in its pledge to help resolve tensions with North Korea, its ally.

KERRY HAILS CHINESE PLEDGE ON NORTH KOREA

US Secretary of State John Kerry says China is "very serious" about a pledge to help resolve tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

Reuters

The US and China earlier said they were committed to the "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula and would hold further meetings on how to do so.

Mr Kerry is now continuing his Asian tour in Tokyo.

N.J. 6-year-old shooting victim mourned

N.J. Press

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- As they gathered outside St. Joseph's Church on Saturday with tears in their eyes, family, friends and neighbors remembered Brandon Holt as a little boy who was full of life.

Six-year-old Brandon was shot in the head Monday night, police said, by a 4-year-old playmate who had taken a .22-caliber rifle from his house. The 4-year-old fired the rifle accidentally while the two were playing outside. Brandon, the son of Ronald and Christine Holt, was pronounced dead Tuesday.

OFFICER ACCUSED OF HAVING TRAYVON MARTIN TARGETS

AFP/Family Photo

A police officer accused of bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range has been fired, according to several reports.

Port Canaveral, Fla. Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh told WFTV on Saturday that Sgt. Ron King was leading a target practice with two other officers and a civilian when he pulled out the targets April 4. Walsh says King asked the group if they wanted to use the targets, and they said no.

MILLIONS FACE STARVATION AS WORLD WARMS

LIBRARY/ALAMY

Millions of people could become destitute in Africa and Asia as staple foods more than double in price by 2050 as a result of extreme temperatures, floods and droughts that will transform the way the world farms.

As food experts gather at two major conferences to discuss how to feed the nine billion people expected to be alive in 2050, leading scientists have told the Observer that food insecurity risks turning parts of Africa into permanent disaster areas. Rising temperatures will also have a drastic effect on access to basic foodstuffs, with potentially dire consequences for the poor.

CHINA, U.S. TO FORM WORKING GROUP ON CYBERSPYING

The U.S. and China have agreed to form a working group on cybersecurity, after a recent volley of cyberspying accusations from both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced from Beijing that the two countries will ramp up action on cybersecurity, Reuters reported.

GUARDS AND DETAINEES CLASH AT GUANTANAMO BAY

CNN

(CNN) -- Guantanamo Bay detainees wielding "improvised weapons" clashed Saturday with guards, an episode that occurred amid simmering tensions at the U.S. military base.

The U.S. guards responded by firing "four less-than-lethal rounds," the military's Joint Task Force Guantanamo said in a statement. No guards or detainees suffered "serious injuries" at the facility in Cuba.

PSY'S GANGNAM STYLE SEQUEL

RUSSIA BANS 18 AMERICAN FROM ENTERING COUNTRY

REUTERS

Moscow listed 18 Americans who are banned from entering Russia in an announcement Saturday – a tit-for-tat measure that comes a day after Washington imposed similar sanctions. The list, which was released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, includes staffers in the Bush administration and two former commanders of Guantanamo Bay.

On Friday, the US Treasury announced financial sanctions and visa bans on 18 Russian officials, the majority of whom were implicated over the arrest and death of the corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky died in a Russian prison in 2009, after being arrested by the same officers he was investigating over a $230m fraud. He was reportedly beaten and denied medical treatment while behind bars.

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 -- Monday February 4, 2013

Ravens Hold 49ers -- Netflix's House of Cards -- O'Reilly Lied -- Sniper Chris Kyle Killed -- Kerry Gets To Work -- Democrats Demand Additional 'Revenue' -- Obama: Tax Loopholes Next -- S. Korea/US Begin Naval Exercises

BALTIMORE STOPS 49ERS 3RD QUARTER COMEBACK

Image: Bleacher Report

NEW ORLEANS -- From blowout to blackout to shootout, Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens had just enough power to survive one of the most electric Super Bowls ever.

The outage flipped the momentum to the San Francisco 49ers, but the Ravens used a last-gasp defensive stand to hold on Sunday night, 34-31.

America's biggest sporting event came to a half-hour standstill in the third quarter when most of the Superdome lights and the scoreboards went dark. By then, the Ravens had a 22-point lead.

Everything changed after that, though, and the 49ers staged a sensational rally before Ray Lewis and Co. shut it down. But there were plenty of white-knuckle moments and the Ravens (14-6) had to make four stops inside their 7 at the end.

NETFLIX'S HOUSE OF CARDS OFFERS BRIGHT FUTURE

Netflix

It’s hard to imagine the happiness at Netflix when they realized that House of Cards — the company’s much-heralded premiere of self-produced original programming – would debut its complete 13-episode run on the same week that the U.S. Senate held a hearing to confirm John Kerry as Secretary of State. After all, the updated American version of the 1990s BBC political drama launches with Kevin Spacey’s character, Congressman Frank Underwood, learning he won’t be nominated for that very position, a devastating insult that inspires his secret campaign to undermine the newly elected administration he pretends to serve. The show, it seemed, couldn’t be any more topical.

The problem for this new House of Cards is that despite this timely coincidence, the content of the show often feels curiously old-fashioned, especially in the context of its innovative format. That’s squarely the fault of the writing; for every smart move that writer Beau Willimon (The Ides of March)makes in updating the basic setup and plot of the BBC original for a modern American audience, he undermines his good work with clumsy dialogue and scenes that are too on-the-nose and out-of-step with the kind of sophisticated, layered writing we’ve come to expect from shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad or even Game of Thrones.

O'REILLY'S JFK ASSASSINATION FIB

USA Today

Bill O’Reilly’s bestselling book on the JFK assassination, “Killing Kennedy,” partly follows the travails of O’Reilly himself as a young reporter trying to uncover the truth behind the president’s death. As author and former Salon politics editor Jefferson Morley highlighted this week, however, O’Reilly’s firsthand accounts appear lacking in the truth department.

In an incident detailed in the book (and flagged by media outlets including USA Today) O’Reilly claims he was tracking down an interview with George de Mohrenschildt, a Russian expat with possible CIA connections who was friends with Lee Harvey Oswald. Investigators looking into the JFK assassination were seeking information for de Mohnrenschildt when he reportedly committed suicide in 1977. According to “Killing Kennedy,” O’Reilly was on the Russian’s doorstep when he heard “the shotgun blast that marked the suicide.”

SEMIAUTOMATIC HANDGUN USED TO KILL 'AMERICAN SNIPER' NAVY SEAL CHRIS KYLE

Associated Press

The former Navy SEAL was found shot dead with a second man, Chad Littlefield, after a gunman opened 

fire and was later taken into custody. Kyle wrote a best-selling autobiography detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. The gunman was identified as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, who may have been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, according to local media.

He lived by the gun, and he died by the gun.

The military’s most famous sniper — Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who claimed to have killed more than 150 insurgents from long distances in the Iraq war — was gunned down point-blank by a mentally unstable vet at a Texas shooting range Saturday.

Kyle, 38, was visiting the Rough Creek Lodge range outside Fort Worth with friend Chad Littlefield when deranged vet Eddie Ray Routh, 25, fatally shot both men, police said.

Routh, a former Marine, fled and was later arrested at his home outside Dallas, where cops retrieved the semiautomatic handgun used to kill both men.

Kyle, a highly decorated Iraq veteran, wrote the best-selling book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/american-sniper-author-chris-kyle-fatally-shot-article-1.1254181#ixzz2JuYTxg2M

SECRETARY KERRY HAS BUSY FIRST WEEKEND

Associated Press

It's possible that John Kerry might be too excited about his new job. Rather than kicking back and letting everyone enjoy their weekend, Kerry got right to work, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss his commitment to peace in the Middle East, as well as other issues in the region. He also talked with officials from Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, and Turkey, then spent his lunch break chatting with George Shultz, secretary of state under President Reagan. 

REID SAYS NEW REVENUE VITAL IN A BUDGET DEAL

ABC News

WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid drew a red line in the budget showdown with Republicans, saying Democrats will demand additional revenue as part of any deal to alter the mandatory spending cuts set to hit at the beginning of next month.

The comments, made in an interview Sunday with ABC's "This Week," come as Senate Democrats weigh options for averting at least some of the March 1 cuts, known in Washington as the sequester. One Democratic proposal would seek to offset some of the roughly $85 billion in cuts this year with a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

"There are a lot of tax loopholes that should be closed," the Senate's top Democrat said in the interview aired Sunday. He cited tax provisions for oil companies and for companies with operations overseas. The White House has called for similar steps as part of any deal to avert some of the March 1 cuts.

OBAMA SAYS LOOPHOLES MAY BE NEXT

Reuters

WASHINGTON — President Obama said in a televised interview on Sunday that he could foresee a budget deal in Congress that did not include further increases in tax rates but instead focused on eliminating loopholes and deductions.

Mr. Obama has generally insisted that all revenue options, including higher rates, should be considered to slow the rise of federal budgetdeficits. But in the interview with Scott Pelley of CBS News, he said, “I don’t think the issue right now is raising rates.”

Having just raised rates on people earning more than $450,000 a year, Mr. Obama said the focus now should be on targeted spending cuts and changes to the tax code, which he said favored the wealthy.

SOUTH KOREA, US BEGIN NAVAL DRILLS AMID NUCLEAR TENSIONS

The scheduled drills, involving a US nuclear submarine, come after North Korea said it was planning to carry out its third test of a nuclear device.

Associated Press

The US and South Korea have promised "significant consequences" if it goes ahead with the underground explosion.

The North has criticised the naval drills as "war-mongering".

The exercises, taking place off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, involve live fire, naval manoeuvres and submarine detection drills.

Officials have stressed they were planned before the latest rise in tensions.

But South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Jung Seung-Jo said the presence of the nuclear-powered submarine USS San Francisco in the region "would itself serve as a message to North Korea".

John Kerry Chokes Up In Farewell Senate Speech

The Morning Report -- Wednesday January 30, 2013

Twinkies Saved? -- Home Prices Surge -- Consumer Confidence Collapses -- No More NFL? -- LaHood Leaves Obama Cabinet -- Senate Confirms Kerry  -- Should The Queen Retire? -- Fox News Crashes -- Man Kidnaps Child, AL 

HOSTESS PICKS APOLLO, METROPOULOS AS LEAD CAKES BID

AP

(Bloomberg) -- Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies, picked the team of Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. as the lead bidder for its cake brands, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

The assets include some facilities, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. The offer becomes the so-called stalking horse for an auction of the cakes business, meaning it sets the standard that other suitors have to beat. Hostess’s cake products include CupCakes, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos.

HOME PRICES SURGE MORE THAN 5%, MOST SINCE 2006

Home prices rose in November, climbing more than 5 percent from a year ago, in the biggest increase since August 2006, when the housing market was just starting to collapse.

s

A separate economic report issued Tuesday, on consumer confidence in the United States, held less encouraging data, with moods falling to their lowest level in more than a year as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economic outlook and their financial prospects. In the latest sign that the housing sector is on the mend, the Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.6 percent in November, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with economists’ forecasts.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE COLLAPSES

BERNARD POLLARD: NFL WON'T LAST

NEW ORLEANS - Bernard Pollard is known for hard hits (just ask the New England Patriots), and he leveled one at the NFL this week when he predicted the league wouldn't be around in 30 years, because the crackdown on ferocious hits will turn off fans.

On Tuesday, at Super Bowl XLVII media day, the Baltimore Ravens safety didn't back down.

"There's a car crash every play," he said. "Those helmets are popping, those pads are hitting. This is a grown man's game.

"I stand by what I said. I'm entitled to my own opinion. I play this game. I understand this game. For me, growing up, to see where the game has gone from then to now, it's a very special game, but it's changing."

LAHOOD: IT'S TIME FOR ME TO MOVE ON

AP

Washington — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood — who championed funding for Detroit's M-1 light rail project and oversaw key auto regulations — is stepping down after four years.

"I love this job. It's the best job I've ever had in government, in public service," LaHood said in a Detroit News interview Tuesday, noting he made the tough decision after talking to his wife of 45 years.

"It's time for me to move on," said LaHood, 67. "I do it with some reluctance and a great deal of satisfaction."

SENATE CONFIRMS KERRY

AP

The Senate confirmed President Barack Obama’s nomination of Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass, to be secretary of state Tuesday. The vote was 94 to 3, with three Republicans – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. – voting against him.

“Sen. Kerry has a long history of liberal positions that are not consistent with a majority of Texans,” said Cornyn spokesman Drew Brandewie.

Kerry stood on the Senate floor as his colleagues voted on his confirmation. Kerry himself voted "present."

SHOULD THE QUEEN RETIRE AND GIVE THE CROWN TO CHARLES?

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced Monday that she would be stepping down in April to allow her son to take the throne, but don't expect Queen Elizabeth do to the same, experts say. 

Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, took to Dutch television to announce her abdication in favour of her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 45. 

FOX NEWS RATINGS HIT 12 YEAR LOWS

At the end of each month, cable news ratings are released to the public. And, like clockwork, Fox News dominates the top 13 or so programs, far outstripping its competitors.

January was ... a little different. To be sure, everything is relative in cable news: Fox News still had nine out of the top 10 programs. It has spent 11 consecutive years as the top-rated cable news channel. Its 6 a.m. show drew almost double the ratings of CNN's top-ranking prime time show.

MAN FATALLY SHOOTS SCHOOL BUS DRIVER, KIDNAPS SON IN ALABAMA

AP

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. –  Authorities in southeastern Alabama say a man boarded a school bus, fatally shot the driver, then removed a 6-year-old passenger and ran.

The Dale County Sheriff told WBMA-TV that the suspect shot the driver in Midland City several times after he refused to let the child off the bus Tuesday afternoon. The driver later died of his wounds.

It is unclear how many other students were aboard the bus at the time, though WSFA.com reports that several children on the bus witnessed the man shoot the driver take the young boy away.