The Morning Report -- Thursday March 7 2013

South Korea Pushes Back -- House GOP Averts Shutdown -- Obama Pays For GOP Outreach Dinner -- Rand Paul Holds Senate Floor...For 12+ Hours! -- Menendez Scandal: How? -- Giffords Returns To Shooting Scene -- Arkansas Bans Abortions Past 12 Weeks -- Can President Obama Kill Americans? -- Study: More Gun Laws = Less Crime

SOUTH KOREA PUSHES BACK ON NORTH'S THREATS 

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean military warned on Wednesday that if it was provoked by North Korea, it would strike the North’s “command leadership,” escalating a war of words and hinting at an attack on a North Korean headquarters.

The day before, the North Korean People’s Army threatened to attack the United States and its ally South Korea with “lighter and smaller nukes,” apparently in reaction to the United Nations Security Council’s consideration of new, toughersanctions against the North over the nuclear test it conducted in February.

HOUSE GOP PASSES SHORT-TERM BUDGET DEAL TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Washington — House Republicans approved legislation Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month while creating more flexibility in cutting $85 billion from this year's budget.

The budget bill, passed 267-151 mostly along party lines, would fund the government until the new fiscal year in October at the reduced levels set by the automatic sequester.

"We have won an important battle in the war to wean our nation off of this addiction of debt," said U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford.

GOP OUTREACH DINNER: OBAMA PICKS UP TAB

As part of his effort to improve relations between the White House and Capitol Hill, President Obama dined with a small group of Republican senators this evening and, according to the White House, he paid for the dinner out of his own pocket.

Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; John Hoeven, R-N.D.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Mike Johanns, R-Neb.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Dan Coats, R-Ind., Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; and Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; are among the senators who joined the president for dinner tonight. The group dined at the Jefferson Hotel a few blocks from the White House.

RAND PAUL (R-KY) USES RARE FILIBUSTER TO BLOCK OBAMA CIA NOMINEE

WASHINGTON — A Republican senator and tea party favorite from Kentucky used an old-style filibuster lasting nearly 13 hours to take control of the chamber and block Senate confirmation of John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director.

Sen. Rand Paul ended his filibuster Thursday shortly after midnight, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also a Kentucky Republican, said he would continue to oppose Brennan’s confirmation and resist ending the debate on President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the spy agency.

MENENDEZ PROSTITUTION SCANDAL: HOW IT HAPPENED

New Jersey Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez is demanding an investigation into the political operatives who may have been behind an elaborate plot to embroil him in an international sex scandal.

"I have no idea who is behind these efforts, but I hope that the press will pursue them as vigorously to find out who was behind these efforts as they did in the first place," Menendez said Tuesday. "All I know is obviously there must be interests [who] were trying to defeat me in my election and who obviously did not want to see me in my role as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

GIFFORDS URGES BACKGROUND  CHECKS IN EVENT AT SHOOTING LOCATION

TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to the scene of the horrific shooting that wounded her and killed six people two years ago, urging senators Wednesday to pass background checks for gun purchases in her first public event at the site since the rampage.

Giffords, who is still recovering from her injuries, spoke fewer than 20 words in the parking lot of the Safeway grocery store in her hometown of Tucson in a brief but emotional call for stricter gun control measures.

ARKANSAS ADOPTS RESTRICTIVE BAN ON ABORTIONS AFTER 12 WEEKS

Arkansas adopted what is by far the country’s most restrictive ban onabortion on Wednesday — at 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected by abdominal ultrasound.

The law, the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, was passed by the newly Republican-controlled legislature over the veto of Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, who called it “blatantly unconstitutional.” The State Senate voted Tuesday to override his veto and the House followed suit on Wednesday, with several Democrats joining the Republican majority.

KILLING AMERICANS ON U.S. SOIL: ERIC HOLDER'S EVASIVE, MANIPULATIVE LETTER

On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Six decades later, Al Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Neither President Franklin Roosevelt nor President George W. Bush targeted and killed Americans on U.S. soil in the aftermath of those attacks. Doing so wouldn't have made any sense. 

How strange, then, that Attorney General Eric Holder invoked those very attacks in a letter confirming that President Obama believes there are circumstances in which he could order Americans targeted and killed on U.S. soil. "It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws ... for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States," he wrote. "For example, the President could conceivably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances of a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941 and on September 11, 2001."

STATES WITH MORE GUN LAWS HAVE LESS VIOLENCE

States with more gun laws have fewer gun-related deaths, according to a new study released Wednesday by Boston Children's Hospital.

The leader investigator behind the research hopes the findings will drive legislators to pass gun reform across the country and increase federal funding to research on gun laws and violence. However, at least one critic argues that the study fails to take into account several important factors such as the types of laws, enforcement of laws, and gun ownership rates in states.

The Morning Report -- Tuesday March 5, 2013

Vote Counting Begins In Kenya -- Queen Elizabeth Leaves Hospital -- Cardinals Meet Today, Conclave Due -- U.S. Cardinals Express Concerns -- Venezuela's Chavez Health Worsens -- CA GOP Looks To Rebuild -- House Republicans Propose Shutdown Fix -- Vegas Strip Shooting Fights Extradition -- Menendez Accuser Backs Off Claims -- US Ambassador Asks UN Colleagues To Remain Sober - White House Favors Unlocking Cellphones - Comet Aims For Mars

KENYA ELECTION: VOTE COUNTING BEGINS IN CRUCIAL ELECTION 

Polls were due to close at 17:00 (14:00 GMT) but officials said those in queues at that time would be allowed to vote.

Earlier attacks by machete-wielding gangs around the port city of Mombasa killed at least 15 people.

With more than 10% of votes counted, the two presidential front-runners were well ahead of the other candidates.

The partial preliminary results, from areas where polling ended on time, gave Uhuru Kenyatta a lead over Prime Minister Raila Odinga, although analysts cautioned that these results came from Kenyatta strongholds.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II LEAVES HOSPITAL AFTER STOMACH FLU

Queen Elizabeth II left the London hospital where she'd been treated for the symptoms of a stomach infection Monday, following a brief and rare hospitalization for the 86-year-old head of state.

A smiling Elizabeth walked unassisted out of King Edward VII Hospital Monday afternoon before saying goodbye to staff. She was then driven away in a motorcade.

CARDINALS MEET TODAY, COULD SET CONCLAVE DATE

Cardinals will meet again in secret today at the Vatican, where they may target a date for the formal conclave to select a new pope and hash out the agenda they’d like to see the next pontiff address, including the clergy sex scandals and Vatican management that continue to dominate pre-conclave headlines.

The process is playing out behind closed doors and under an oath of secrecy, though some of the princes of the Church are still making themselves available to the media hordes on hand.

US CARDINALS SEEK ANSWERS ON ABUSE, CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS BEFORE CONCLAVE

VATICAN CITY — Cardinals said Monday they want to talk to Vatican managers about allegations of corruption and cronyism within the top levels of the Catholic Church before they elect the next pope, evidence that a scandal over leaked papal documents is casting a shadow over the conclave and setting up one of the most unpredictable papal elections in recent times.

The Vatican said 107 of the 115 voting-age cardinals attended the first day of pre-conclave meetings, at which cardinals organize the election, discuss the problems of the church and get to know one another before voting.

CHAVEZ'S BREATHING PROBLEMS WORSEN, HAS SEVERE NEW INFECTION

(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's breathing problems have worsened and he is suffering from a "severe" new respiratory infection as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery, the government said in a somber medical update on Monday.

The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public nor heard from in almost three months since undergoing the operation in Cuba. It was his fourth surgery since the disease was detected in mid-2011.

CALIFORNIA GOP TO REBUILD STEP-BY-STEP

Borrowing a theme from Democrat Jerry Brown's first term as governor, California Republicans are embracing a "small is beautiful" philosophy as they seek to rebuild their party from its nadir.

The California GOP has entered an era of diminished expectations.

As the emaciated party wrapped up its three-day statewide convention Sunday, there is little buzz about a 2014 challenge to unseat Brown. There's little hope of picking up more than a seat or two in the Legislature. There's no rush behind a ballot measure.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROPOSE MEASURE TO AVERT SHUTDOWN

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans on Monday introduced a bill that would avoid a government shutdown at the end of March, but that also could mitigate some of the most striking effects of the across-the-board federal spending cuts enacted last week.

Although the proposed shifts would make the sequester slightly less indiscriminate -- particularly for the military -- the measure would leave in place the $85 billion spending reduction, locking in the cuts through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

SUSPECT IN VEGAS STRIP SHOOTING FIGHTS EXTRADITION FROM CALIFORNIA

(Reuters) - A man accused of fatally shooting an aspiring rapper as he drove a Maserati along the Las Vegas Strip, touching off a fiery car crash that killed two other people, challenged his extradition back to Nevada from California on Monday.

The man insisted through his defense lawyer that police or other authorities from Nevada be summoned to Los Angeles to identify him in court as the fugitive they seek in the February 21 shooting, 26-year-old Ammar Harris.

ESCORT SAYS MENENDEZ PROSTITUTION CLAIMS WERE MADE UP

A woman who said on tape that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex is now backing off those claims, telling police in the Dominican Republican that she was paid to make them, according to documents and two people familiar with the case.

The woman, one of two women who claimed Menendez hired them as prostitutes, now says she has never met the senator.

US AMBASSADOR POLITELY ASKS UN COLLEAGUES TO STOP SHOWING UP DRUNK TO MEETINGS

The United Nations is a pretty fun place. The headquarters hosts all kinds of cultural events. Everyone's open-minded about the dress code. Delegates can even show up hammered to budget negotiations. Or at least they used to be able to.

At a General Assembly budget committee meeting on Monday, the United States ambassador for management and reform at the UN stood up to scold his colleagues for always showing up drunk to negotiations. "There has always been a good and responsible tradition of a bit of alcohol improving a negotiation, but we're not talking about a delegate having a nip at the bar," said Joseph "The Fun Police" Torsella. "We make the modest proposal that the negotiating rooms should in future be an inebriation-free zone."

WHITE HOUSE: IT'S TIME TO LEGALIZE CELL PHONE UNLOCKING 

The White House on Monday came out in support of the rights of consumers to unlock their cellphones once they have fulfilled the terms of the contract.

Responding to a petition on WhiteHouse.gov, the executive branch stated, “The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties.”

They went further, saying that the same right should also extend to other mobile devices, namely tablets.

COMET SETS AIM FOR MARS

A PAIR of middle-aged tourists (see previous post) are not the only thing headed for Mars. Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is also on its way. Discovered on January 3rd, some calculations of its orbit, according to Phil Plait, the rather good “Bad Astronomer”, have it passing 37,000km above the surface of the planet in October 2014—roughly the height at which communication satellites orbit Earth, and a remarkably close shave by cosmic standards. An official NASA website puts the most likely “close-approach” distance between the comet and Mars at something more like 100,000km.

But the minimum close-approach distance is zero. Comets do not move smoothly on their tracks like ball bearings or planets. The gases that blow off their surfaces as the sun warms them up push them hither and yon, changing their trajectories. So, though the odds are strongly against it (how strongly no one can yet say) the comet has a real if small chance of actually hitting the planet.