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Getting sloshed: It's the way you walk
Labels: WorldS'pore rocked by spate of sex scandals in 2012
Labels: Technology
SINGAPORE: 2012 has been a year of sex scandals in Singapore.
In April, 44 men were charged with having sex with the same underage girl.
The number of men implicated in the online vice ring case swelled to 51 after some time.
The lack of details in the charges drew barbs.
"How is anybody going to know what he is charged for when you don't know who the girl is, you do not know what her age is? We just can't accept the word of the prosecution isn't it?" said lawyer Subhas Anandan.
"Well, we are going to ask the prosecution, the DPP, to give us further particulars. If they do not give us the further particulars, we will take it up in the High Court."
This was resolved later when certain details were disclosed to the defence.
As at mid-Dec 2012, more than 15 men have been dealt with.
The first was former principal of Pei Chun Public School, Lee Lip Hong. He pleaded guilty in April, and was sentenced to nine weeks' jail.
Following him was former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw, who was sentenced in July and aborted his appeal.
The saga is far from over as many have claimed trial, so there will be a spillover to 2013.
Outside of courts, the state of affairs was equally dramatic.
An apology came because of the indiscretion of the former Speaker of Parliament, Michael Palmer.
Mr Palmer's year-long affair with People Association's (PA) Laura Ong led to his resignation.
He said: "I have resigned to take full responsibility for a grave mistake that I have committed. I had a relationship with a member of the PA staff working in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. While the individual did not work with me directly, Punggol East used to be part of the GRC and continues to work with it. My conduct was improper and it was a serious error of judgement. I have resigned in order to avoid further embarrassment to the PAP and Parliament."
Former Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong was also expelled from the opposition Workers' Party in February for alleged extra-marital affairs, nine months after he was elected.
Come January, three heavyweights will be jostling for the spotlight in courts.
Professor Tey Tsun Hang will start the ball rolling with his sex-for-grades trial on 10th January.
Then in January, ex-Civil Defence Force top gun, Peter Lim, be in court for corruption charges. His trial is slated to end in late February.
In late January, the sex-for-contracts case against former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay, will be mentioned again.
In September, Ng's corruption trial took Singapore by storm, as he and key prosecution witness Cecilia Sue, gave graphic accounts of their relationship.
The judiciary looks set to get busier in the new year, when City Harvest Church's six core members return to court, on accusations of misappropriating funds.
- CNA/xq
Opinion: 12 lessons
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Dean Obeidallah: You are smarter today than 365 days ago
- Obeidallah: You probably learned a few Korean words like "Gangnam Style"
- He says we found out poultry can be a political tool and some people talk to chairs
- Obeidallah: The good news is that we'll soon forget the inane lessons of 2012
Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog "The Dean's Report" and co-director of the upcoming documentary, "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy
(CNN) -- You are smarter today than 365 days ago. You know more than you did at the end of 2011.
And here's the kicker, you may not even be aware of how much you learned this past year. It's analogous to how you're affected by the hit songs of boy bands. No matter how much you might try to avoid them, you can't, because these songs are everywhere. Consequently, the words are subtly drilled into your head and the next thing you know, you find yourself unconsciously singing along to the songs when they play on the radio.
So regardless if you were paying attention or not, there's a lot of new information from this past year trapped inside your brain. Here are just some of the things we collectively learned in 2012:
Dean Obeidallah
1. Mitt Romney had binders full of women
During the second presidential debate, Romney shared with us that when he was governor of Massachusetts, he had binders filled with information about women he was considering hiring. (When I was a teenager, I, too, had binders full of women. But mine I hid under my bed so my mom wouldn't find them.)
2. We picked up some Korean
We're not fluent yet, but thanks to the Korean pop singer PSY and his song "Gangnam Style," we all learned a few Korean words. And because of the song's ubiquitous music video -- which broke the record as the first video to get more than 1 billion views on YouTube -- some of us even have a vague idea of how to do his famous "horse dance."
3. Women love to read "porn"
The runaway hit book, "Fifty Shades of Grey," created a sensation across the country as women -- many over 30 years old -- bought this sexually provocative book, thus coining the term "mommy porn." In contrast, most men are waiting for the movie because we are more traditional in our "porn" tastes.
4. Poultry can be a political tool
Fast food chain Chick-fil-A went from just serving chicken to serving a political message as the head of the company announced publicly that he opposed marriage equality. Consequently, ordering a chicken sandwich at this chain came with a side dish of right-wing politics.
5. Some people talk to chairs
Clint Eastwood taught us at this year's Republican National Convention that you can have a full conversation on national television with your furniture. Hey, Clint made it OK for you to have a conversation with your couch or end table.
6. "James Bond" met the "The Real Housewives"
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned from his job because his extramarital affair was discovered. This is especially shocking because Petraeus' job as the nation's top spy chief was to keep secrets.
7. Cliffs are not just in nature
As we get closer to a precipitous "fiscal cliff" -- a term more overexposed than "Gangnam Style," it seems -- we have all learned that Congress has truly earned its low approval rating -- any lower and certain infectious diseases may become more popular than Congress.
8. What's the big deal with silver?
U.S. Olympian McKayla Maroney made it clear at the London Olympics that she was not impressed by winning the silver medal with her famous "I'm not impressed" face.
9. The way to reduce gun violence is more guns
At least this is what we were told by NRA's Vice President Wayne LaPierre in December as he called for armed guards to be placed in each of the roughly 100,000 public schools in the country.
10. Reality stars are not just for dysfunctional adults
Child star Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson proved that children can be just as self-absorbed and horribly demanding as adult reality show stars.
11. Calendars are not always reliable
The fact you're reading this means that the Mayan apocalypse did not come to pass. That's good news. The bad news is that I now have to pay late fees on the credit cards I didn't pay because I thought there was a chance the Mayans were right.
12. America is the best democracy money can buy
This year's presidential election saw roughly $2 billion spent by the two campaigns and their supporters. That's more than the annual GDP of numerous countries.
You probably recalled more of these things than you guessed you would. While old acquaintances should not be forgot, the good news is that we will likely soon forget the details of the more inane lessons of 2012. Of course, the bad news is that they may be replaced by even more ridiculous ones in 2013.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.
Conn. gunman Adam Lanza's remains claimed: report
Labels: HealthHARTFORD, Conn. The body of the man who killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school has been claimed for burial.
Connecticut Medical Examiner Wayne H. Carver II tells the Hartford Courant Adam Lanza's remains were claimed several days ago by someone who wanted to remain anonymous.
Lanza's burial site also is being kept secret, the newspaper reports.
A spokeswoman at Carver's office told The Associated Press she could not release details about the status of Lanza's remains.
The 20-year-old Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six educators at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14. He also killed his mother in their Newtown home before going on the rampage and then committing suicide.
A private funeral was held earlier this month in New Hampshire for his mother, Nancy Lanza.
Newtown, Conn., memorial vigil
Police have not offered a motive for the killings.
Carver has asked geneticists from the University of Connecticut to study Lanza's DNA for any mutations or other abnormalities that could shed light on his motivation for the shootings, the Courant says.
Hillary Clinton Hospitalized With Blood Clot
Labels: Business
(MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)
By DANA HUGHES and DEAN SCHABNER
Secretary Hillary Clinton was hospitalized today after a doctors doing a follow-up exam discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago.
She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours, Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Reines said.
Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion. They will determine if any further action is required, Reines said.
Clinton, 65, originally fell ill from a stomach virus following a whirlwind trip to Europe at the beginning of the month, which caused such severe dehydration that she fainted and fell at home, suffering a concussion. No ambulance was called and she was not hospitalized, according to a state department official.
The stomach virus had caused Clinton to cancel a planned trip to North Africa and the United Arab Emirates, and also her scheduled testimony before Congress at hearings on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
According to a U.S. official, the secretary had two teams of doctors, including specialists, examine her after the fall. They also ran tests to rule out more serious ailments beyond the virus and the concussion. During the course of the week after her concussion, Clinton was on an IV drip and being monitored by a nurse, while also recovering from the pain caused by the fall.
Medical experts consulted by ABC News said that it was impossible to know for sure the true nature or severity of Clinton’s condition, given the sparse information provided by the State Department. However, most noted that the information available could indicate that Clinton had a deep venous thrombosis,which is a clot in the large veins in the legs.
“A concussion (traumatic brain injury) in itself increases risk of this clot. Likely the concussion has increased her bed rest,” said Dr. Brian D. Greenwald, Medical Director JFK Jonson Rehabilitation Center for Head Injuries. “Immobility is also a risk for DVT. Long flights are also a risk factor for DVT but the recent concussion is the most likely cause.
“Anticoagulants are the treatment,” he said. “If DVT goes untreated it can lead to pulmonary embolism (PE). PE is a clot traveling from veins in legs to lungs which is life threatening. Many people die each year from this.
“Now that she is being treated with blood thinners her risks of PE are decreased,” he said. “Blood thinners carry risk of bleeding but are common and can be safely used.”
Dr. Allen Sills, associate professor of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said it was most likely that the clot was not located in Clinton’s brain, since she is being treated with anticoagulants.
“This is certainly not a common occurrence after a concussion, and is most likely related to either inactivity or some other injury suffered in the fall,” he said.
Dr. Neil Martin, the head of Neurovascular Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, said blood thinners are often given for blood clots in the legs, and it is “very unusual” for anticoagulants to be given for blood clots in the head.
But he cautioned about speculating too much about Clinton’s condition before more information is available.
“If we don’t know where it is, there is the possibility of several different indications,” he said. “I don’t know if there is any connection between what she’s got now and the concussion. All I can tell you is, at this point, it’s almost impossible to speculate unless we know what’s going on there.”
Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012
Labels: WorldBest videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy
Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year
Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms
Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK
2012 review: The year in life science
The year's biggest stories in life science, including James Cameron's descent into the Mariana trench and efforts to break into Antarctica's buried lakes
Superstorm lessons for adapting to climate change
As the post-Sandy rebuild gets under way, coastal cities around the world will be watching
Best videos of 2012: First MRI movie of childbirth
Watch a unique view of a baby's birth, at number 2 in our countdown of the year's top science videos
Fleadom or death: Reviving the glorious flea circus
The parasite-based sideshows were almost done for by the domestic vacuum cleaner - but they are bouncing back, finds Graham Lawton
Approval for gene-modified salmon spawns controversy
Apparently months late, US regulators have declared genetically engineered fish safe to farm and eat, but final approval could be some way off
Best videos of 2012: New aircraft flies inside out
Watch a novel flying machine use a unique mechanism to propel itself, at number 3 in our countdown of the top videos of the year
2012 review: The year in technology
The year's biggest stories in technology, including Kinect devices that may spot signs of autism and controlling a robot by the power of thought
Superdoodles: The science of scribbling
Far from being a distraction, doodling has an important purpose - and you can harness it
2013 Smart Guide: Wave goodbye to the mouse
The Leap, a 3D motion control device set to launch next year, will let you control your computer with touch-free hand and finger movements
Japan tunnel closed again after crash
Labels: Technology
TOKYO: A five-car crash closed a highway tunnel in Japan on Sunday, just one day after it was re-opened following a ceiling cave-in which killed nine people four weeks ago, police said.
One person was injured in the crash in the congested Sasago Tunnel, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Tokyo.
Nine people died on December 2 when concrete panels suspended from the roof of the tunnel crashed down and crushed vehicles, setting several ablaze.
Highway authorities had reopened the unaffected westbound passageway of the tunnel to two-way traffic on Saturday, after removing similar ceiling panels.
- AFP/xq
'Fiscal Cliff' countdown: Two more days
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Last minute negotiations are underway in Congress to avoid a ''fiscal cliff''
- Without a deal, an end of the year deadline triggers takes hikes and cuts in spending
- President Barack Obama is calling for a House and Senate vote, if negotiations fail
- "We'll let you know as soon as we have some news to make," the Senate minority leader says
As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNNiReport to share your video.
Washington (CNN) -- The Senate's top Democrat and Republican were working Sunday to forge a last minute compromise to stop the U.S. economy from going over a "fiscal cliff" that would trigger large tax increases and sweeping spending cuts in the new year.
At stake in the negotiations, according to a number of economists, is the fate of a still fragile U.S. economy that could be pushed back into a recession by the broad tax hikes and automatic $110 billion cuts to domestic and military spending spelled out by the "fiscal cliff" legislation.
Aides for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said no details on the negotiations were expected until at least early afternoon when the Senate convenes a session at 1 p.m. ET.
"We've been trading paper all day, and the talks continue into the evening," McConnell told reporters Saturday night. "We've been in discussions all day. We'll let you know as soon as we have some news to make."
Even so, it was unknown if Reid and McConnell could come up with a deal that would be acceptable to House Republicans, who refused just before Christmas to take up a compromise bill because it raised taxes and had no chance of passing the Senate.
President Barack Obama was widely expected during his scheduled appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" to call for an immediate vote by Congress on a scaled back plan that would only extend middle class tax breaks and unemployment benefits, if the congressional negotiations fail.
The president's appearance on a political talk show is his first in three years, and clearly appears timed to put pressure on lawmakers to get a deal done or take a vote.
The principal dispute continues to be over taxes, specifically over Democrats' demand to extend tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush for families making less than $250,000 a year, while raising the rates on those making more than that.
The expectation is Republicans will try to raise that income threshold to $400,000 and push to keep estate taxes low; Democrats have said they might be open to one such scenario, but not both.
Obama and Democrats have leverage, based on the president's re-election last month and Democrats' gains in the House and Senate in the new Congress. In addition, polls consistently show majority support for Obama's position on taxes, and Democrats insist the House would pass the president's plan with Democrats joined by some Republicans if House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, allowed a vote on it.
"We're now at a point where, in just a couple of days, the law says that every American's tax rates are going up. Every American's paycheck will get a lot smaller, and that would be the wrong thing for our economy," the president said in his weekly address broadcast Saturday.
On Friday, following a meeting with congressional leaders and top administration officials, Obama said he was "modestly optimistic" the Senate leaders would reach an agreement. At the same time, he conceded, "Nobody's going to get 100% of what they want."
However, conservative activist Grover Norquist has vowed to back primary challenges against Republicans who violate his widely signed pledge not to raise taxes. Even if a deal is reached, Norquist has predicted yet more budget showdowns every time the government needs additional money to operate.
The House will reconvene Sunday, and the chamber's Republicans will get together sometime early Sunday night, according to a note sent Saturday to legislators and staffers.
Republicans have opposed any increase in tax rates, and Boehner suffered a political setback by offering a compromise -- a $1 million threshold for the higher rates to kick in -- that his GOP House colleagues refused to support.
The saga has fueled disdain for politicians by many Americans. Such contempt is deserved, said Rep. Steven LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, who is retiring from Congress.
"I think America should be embarrassed by its leadership in D.C.," he told CNN on Friday. "The fact that we have been unable to do things, and instead worried about our next elections. ... I think it's sinful."
CNN's Jessica Yellin, Tom Cohen, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Lisa Desjardins and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
Woman charged with murder in NY subway shove
Labels: HealthLast Updated 9:37 p.m. ET
NEW YORK A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.
Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.
Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.
Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said.
In this image provided by the New York City Police Department, a composite sketch showing the woman believed to have pushed a man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 is shown.
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AP Photo/New York City Police Department
"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.
Sen was from India, but police said it was unclear if he was Muslim, Hindu or of some other faith. The 46-year-old lived in Queens and ran a printing shop. He was shoved from an elevated platform on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens. Witnesses said a muttering woman rose from her seat on a platform bench and pushed him on the tracks as a train entered the station and then ran off.
The two had never met before, authorities said, and witnesses told police they hadn't interacted on the platform.
Police released a sketch and security camera video showing a woman running from the station where Sen was killed.
Menendez was arrested by police earlier Saturday after a passer-by on a Brooklyn street spotted her and called 911. Police responded, confirmed her identity and took her into custody, where she made statements implicating herself in the crime, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
The district attorney said such hateful remarks about Muslims and Hindus could not be tolerated.
"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare," he said.
On Dec. 3, another man was pushed to his death in a Times Square subway station. A photo of the man clinging to the edge of the platform a split second before he was struck by a train was published on the front page of the New York Post, causing an uproar about whether the photographer, who was catching a train, or anyone else should have tried to help him.
A homeless man was arrested and charged with murder in that case. He claimed he acted in self-defense and is awaiting trial.
It's unclear whether anyone tried -- or could have tried -- to help Sen on Thursday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday urged residents to keep Sen's death in perspective as he touted new historic lows in the city's annual homicide and shooting totals.
"It's a very tragic case, but what we want to focus on today is the overall safety in New York," Bloomberg told reporters following a police academy graduation.
But commuters still expressed concern over subway safety and shock about the arrest of Menendez on a hate crime charge.
"For someone to do something like that ... that's not the way we are made," said David Green, who was waiting for a train in Manhattan. "She needs help."
Green said he caught himself leaning over the subway platform's edge and realized maybe he shouldn't do that.
"It does make you more conscious," he said of the deaths.
Such subway deaths are rare, but other high-profile cases include the 1999 fatal shoving of aspiring screenwriter Kendra Webdale by a former psychiatric patient. That case led to a state law allowing for more supervision of mentally ill people living outside institutions.
Woman Charged With Murder in NYC Subway Push
Labels: Business
A woman who allegedly told New York City police she pushed a man onto the subway tracks because she hated Hindus and Muslims has been charged with murder as a hate crime.
Erica Menendez, 31, allegedly told police that she "pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up."
Menendez was taken into custody this morning after a two-day search, and when detectives were interviewing her she allegedly made the statements implicating herself in Thursday night's subway-platform death.
"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare -- being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," Queen District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. "The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant's actions can never be tolerated by a civilized society."
Menendez was due to be arraigned this evening. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the second degree murder charge.
On Thursday night, a woman shoved a man from a subway platform at Queens Boulevard, and the man was crushed beneath an oncoming train. Police had searched the area for her after the incident.
New York City Subway Pusher Charged With Murder Watch Video
The victim was Sunando Sen, identified by several media outlets as a graphic designer and Indian immigrant who opened a print shop, Amsterdam Copy, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Sen was struck by the No. 7 train after the unidentified woman allegedly pushed him from the northbound platform at 40th Street and Queens Boulevard at 8:04 p.m. on Thursday.
Witnesses told police they had seen the woman mubling to herself, pacing along the platform. She gave Sen little time to react, witnesses said.
"Witnesses said she was walking back and forth on the platform, talking to herself, before taking a seat alone on a wooden bench near the north end of the platform. When the train pulled into the station, the suspect rose from the bench and pushed the man, who was standing with his back to her, onto the tracks into the path of the train," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said earlier today. "The victim appeared not to notice her, according to witnesses."
READ: What to Do If You Fall on the Subway Tracks
Police released brief surveillance video of the woman fleeing the subway station, and described the suspect as a woman in her 20s, "heavy set, approximately 5'5" with brown or blond hair."
It was New York's second death of this kind in less than a month. On Dec. 3, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han of Queens was shoved onto the tracks at New York's Times Square subway station. Two days later, police took 30-year-old Naeem Davis into custody.
On Friday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked whether the attack might be related to the increase of mentally ill people on the streets following closures of institutions over the past four decades.
"The courts or the law have changed and said, no, you can't do that unless they're a danger to society. Our laws protect you," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show.
Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012
Labels: WorldBest videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy
Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year
Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms
Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK
2012 review: The year in life science
The year's biggest stories in life science, including James Cameron's descent into the Mariana trench and efforts to break into Antarctica's buried lakes
Superstorm lessons for adapting to climate change
As the post-Sandy rebuild gets under way, coastal cities around the world will be watching
Best videos of 2012: First MRI movie of childbirth
Watch a unique view of a baby's birth, at number 2 in our countdown of the year's top science videos
Fleadom or death: Reviving the glorious flea circus
The parasite-based sideshows were almost done for by the domestic vacuum cleaner - but they are bouncing back, finds Graham Lawton
Approval for gene-modified salmon spawns controversy
Apparently months late, US regulators have declared genetically engineered fish safe to farm and eat, but final approval could be some way off
Best videos of 2012: New aircraft flies inside out
Watch a novel flying machine use a unique mechanism to propel itself, at number 3 in our countdown of the top videos of the year
2012 review: The year in technology
The year's biggest stories in technology, including Kinect devices that may spot signs of autism and controlling a robot by the power of thought
Superdoodles: The science of scribbling
Far from being a distraction, doodling has an important purpose - and you can harness it
2013 Smart Guide: Wave goodbye to the mouse
The Leap, a 3D motion control device set to launch next year, will let you control your computer with touch-free hand and finger movements
Cyclone tears roofs off houses in Solomon Islands
Labels: Technology
SUVA: Freshly formed Cyclone Freda whipped roofs off houses and flattened trees in the Solomon Islands as it gathered strength en route to New Caledonia, forecasters said on Saturday.
There was also flooding from rising rivers as winds of up to 130 kilometres an hour (80 mph) blew in, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries, Solomon Islands Meteorological Service officer Manoah Tepa said.
"Cyclone Freda is now a category two cyclone and it is continuing to intensify. It will become category three by midnight tonight having very destructive winds," said Sajay Prakesh of the Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre in Fiji.
Although the cyclone was moving away, parts of the Solomon Islands were being hit by "very strong winds and heavy rain," said Prakesh.
On Friday, the New Zealand-based meteorological service Weatherwatch said the storm was expected to be over New Caledonia on New Year's Day.
Earlier this month Cyclone Evan strengthened to a category four cyclone and left a swathe of devastation in its wake, destroying homes, flooding rivers and stranding thousands of tourists in Fiji.
Before arriving in Fiji, it pummelled neighbouring Samoa, killing at least five.
- AFP/xq
Senate leaders tackle fiscal cliff deal
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Chiefs of staff for the Senate's top Democrat and Republican will lead fiscal cliff talks
- McConnell hopes there will be a plan to present to the Senate "as early as Sunday"
- If there isn't one, Reid says that he'll put an Obama-backed bill up for a vote
- Some congressmen say Americans have a right to be frustrated by the stalemate
As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNNiReport to share your video.
Washington (CNN) -- The Senate's top Democrat and Republican are working this weekend to forge a compromise to prevent the country from going over the fiscal cliff, the combination of sweeping spending cuts and widespread tax increases that will otherwise take effect in days.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, on late Friday afternoon called the next 24 hours "very important" in the grueling effort to avert a crisis that has been two years in the making. House Speaker John Boehner has called on the Senate to go first, and then his chamber -- which reconvenes Sunday -- will act.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Minority Leader, expressed hope that he and Reid will agree on a plan to present to their respective caucuses "as early as Sunday."
Early Friday evening after a meeting involving him, congressional leaders and top administration officials, President Barack Obama said he was "modestly optimistic" the Senate leaders would reach an agreement. At the same time, he conceded, "Nobody's going to get 100% of what they want."
The two senators' chiefs of staff -- David Krone for Reid, and Sharron Soderstrom for McConnell -- will lead the talks, much of which will be carried on over the phone and by e-mail, aides said. Neither of their bosses is expected to be in the Capitol on Saturday, though that could change.
Staffers for Boehner, the top man in Republican-led House of Representatives, won't directly take part in the negotiations, but they'll be kept informed by McConnell's staff, a GOP aide said. The White House will learn what's going on through Reid's staff.
Democrats believe Republicans should make the "first move" -- basically by saying what changes should be made to the president's proposal, which calls for tax rates to stay the same for all annual family income below $250,000. The expectation is that Republicans will try to raise that income threshold to $400,000 and push to keep estate taxes low; Democrats said they might be open to one such scenario, but not both.
If the offer is "laughable," a Democratic aide said it will probably be leaked to the media. If it is reasonable, it should remain private -- which would mean, for Saturday at least, that no news may be good news.
And if the two sides don't agree on a bill over the weekend, Obama said he wants his latest proposal to be put up for a vote in both the Senate and House. He predicted his plan -- which, in addition to his tax rate proposal, would extend unemployment benefits and "lay the groundwork" for deficit reduction -- would pass in both chambers with bipartisan support.
As members of Congress and their staffs talk, Obama will make his case to the public by appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," his first appearance on a Sunday political talk show in three years.
Reid said, at the very least, that he'd prepare legislation that includes elements favored by for a vote by Monday. Still, he insisted he'd first work with his GOP colleagues.
"I look forward to hearing any good-faith proposals Sen. McConnell has for altering this bill," the Nevada Democrat said.
If no legislation passes both chambers and therefore remains unsigned by the president by year's end, the fiscal cliff will go into effect -- something economists warn could trigger a recession.
The lack of political movement thus far, and lack of confidence Washington politicians can get anything done with so little time left, has spurred consumer confidence to sag and stock market values to sink.
Some like Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York expressed cautious optimism Friday that the looming deadline, and the key players renewed engagement, would spur a deal. But others, like Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, derided the process so far as "a total dereliction of duty on every level."
"I've been very surprised that the president has not laid out a very specific plan to deal with this," he said on CBS "This Morning."
"But candidly, Congress should have done the same. And I think the American people should be disgusted."
The principal dispute continues to be over taxes, specifically Democrats' demand to extend most tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush while allowing higher rates of the 1990s to return on top income brackets. During his re-election campaign, Obama said this would protect 98% of Americans and 97% of small businesses from tax hikes.
Republicans have opposed any kind of increase in tax rates, and Boehner suffered the political indignity last week of offering a compromise -- a $1 million threshold for the higher rates to kick in -- that his GOP colleagues refused to support because it raised taxes and had no chance of passing the Senate.
Obama and Democrats have leverage, based on the president's reelection last month and Democrats' gains in the House and Senate in the new Congress. In addition, polls consistently show majority support for Obama's position on taxes, and Democrats insist the House would pass the president's plan with Democrats joined by some Republicans if Boehner allowed a vote on it.
However, influential anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist has vowed to back primary challenges against Republicans who violate his widely signed pledge not to raise taxes. Even if a deal is reached, Norquist has predicted yet more budget showdowns every time the government needs additional money to operate.
The two sides seemingly had made progress early last week on forging a $2 trillion deficit reduction deal that included new revenue sought by Obama and spending cuts and entitlement changes desired by Boehner.
Boehner appeared to move on increased tax revenue, including higher rates on top income brackets and eliminating deductions and loopholes. But his inability to rally all House Republicans behind his plan raised questions about his role and what comes next.
All this has fueled disdain for politicians by many Americans. Such contempt is deserved, said Rep. Steven LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, who is retiring from Congress.
"I think America should be embarrassed by its leadership in D.C.," he told CNN on Friday. "The fact that we have been unable to do things, and instead worried about our next elections. ... I think it's sinful."
What happens to the economy if we go over the cliff?
CNN's Jessica Yellin, Tom Cohen, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Ted Barrett, Greg Botelho and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
Police ID man pushed to death at NY subway station
Labels: HealthUpdated 10:27 PM ET
NEW YORK New York City police have identified a man they say was shoved to his death in front of a subway train by a woman.
Police said Friday that Sunando Sen was pushed from the platform the night before. The 46-year-old Sen was from India and lived alone in Queens.
Investigators identified him through a smartphone and a prescription pill bottle he was carrying when he was struck by a 7 train. His family in India has been notified.
Police are searching homeless shelters and psychiatric units for the woman believed to have pushed him. Witnesses say she was mumbling before she shoved him without warning.
As police sought on Friday to locate the unidentified woman, Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents to keep the second fatal subway shove in the city this month in perspective. The news of the horrific death of Sen came as the mayor touted drops in the city's annual homicide and shooting totals.
"It's a very tragic case, but what we want to focus on today is the overall safety in New York," Bloomberg told reporters following a police academy graduation.
The incident happened around 8 p.m. Thursday on the elevated tracks at the 40th Street Station on Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, CBS Station WCBS reports.
Search on for suspect in 2nd subway push death
Police said witnesses saw the woman pacing and mumbling on the platform before taking a seat alone on a wooden bench. Then, as the train approached the station, witnesses said she suddenly shot forward, shoving the unsuspecting man onto the tracks, directly into the path of an oncoming Number 7 train.
The New York Police Department released surveillance video of the suspect running away from the scene. Police said the woman raced down two flights of stairs after the attack and then disappeared onto the crowded street.
Detectives described her as a heavyset Hispanic woman in her 20s, approximately 5-foot-5, with blonde or brown hair. She was last seen wearing a blue, white and grey ski jacket and grey and red Nike sneakers.
The medical examiner said Friday that an autopsy found that Sen died from head trauma.
Commuters on Friday expressed concern over subway safety.
"It's just a really sad commentary on the world and on human beings, period," said Howard Roth, who takes the subway daily.
He said the deadly push reminded him, "the best thing is what they tell you — don't stand near the edge, and keep your eyes open."
The incident marked the second deadly subway push this month. On December 3, police said 58-year-old Ki Suck Han was pushed to his death by 30-year-old Naeem Davis. The two were seen on cell phone video arguing just moments before Han was pushed to his death.
In the most recent incident, witnesses said the victim never encountered his attacker and never saw what was coming.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers or texting tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Epic Journey: Did Moses' Exodus Really Happen?
Labels: Business
In the Bible, he is called Moses. In the Koran, he is the prophet Musa.
Religious scholars have long questioned whether of the story of a prophet leading God's chosen people in a great exodus out of Egypt and the freedom it brought them afterwards was real, but the similarities between a pharaoh's ancient hymn and a psalm of David might hold the link to his existence.
Tune in to Part 2 of Christiane Amanpour's ABC News special, "Back to the Beginning," which explores the history of the Bible from Genesis to Jesus, on Friday, Dec. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Christian scripture says Moses was content to grow old with his family in the vast deserted wilderness of Midian, and 40 years passed until the Bible says God spoke to him through the Burning Bush and told him to lead his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. According to tradition, that miraculous bush can still be seen today enclosed within the ancient walls of St. Catherine's Monastery, located not far from Moses' hometown.
But there was another figure in the ancient world who gave up everything to answer the call from what he believed was the one and only true God.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of the ancient city of Amarna in the 1800s. Egyptologist Rawya Ismail, who has been studying the ruins for years, believes, as other archaeologists do, that Pharaoh Akhenaten built the city as a tribute to Aten, the sun.
G.Sioen/De Agostini/Getty Images
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She said it was a bold and unusual step for the pharaoh to leave the luxurious trappings of palace life in Luxor for the inhospitable landscape of Amarna, but it might have been his only choice as the priests from the existing religious establishment gained power.
"The very powerful Amun-Ra priests that he couldn't stand against gained control of the whole country," Ismail said. "The idea was to find a place that had never been used by any other gods -- to be virgin is what he called it -- so he chose this place."
All over the walls inside the city's beautiful tombs are examples of Akhanaten's radical message of monotheism. There is the Hymn to the Aten, which translates, in part, to: "The earth comes into being by your hand, as you made it. When you dawn, they live. When you set, they die. You yourself are lifetime, one lives by you."
PHOTOS: Christiane Amanpour's Journey 'Back to the Beginning'
Some attribute the writing of the hymn to Akhanaten himself, but it bears a striking resemblance to a passage that can be found in the Hebrew Bible: Psalm 104.
"If you compare the hymns from A to Z, you'll find mirror images to it in many of the holy books," Ismail said. "And if you compare certain parts of it, you'll find it almost exactly -- a typical translation for some of the [psalms] of David."
Psalm 104, written a few hundred years later, references a Lord that ruled over Israel and a passage compares him to the sun.
"You hide your face, they are troubled," part of it reads. "You take away your breath, they die, And return to dust. You send forth your breath, they are created, And you renew the face of the earth."
Like the psalm, the Hymn to Aten extols the virtues of the one true God.
"A lot of people think that [the Hymn to Aten] was the source of the [psalms] of David," Ismail said. "Putting Egypt on the trade route, a lot of people traveled from Egypt and came back to Egypt, it wasn't like a country living in isolation."
Ismail believes it is possible that the message from the heretic pharaoh has some connection to the story of Moses and the Exodus, as outlined in the Hebrew Bible.
2012 review: The year in technology
Labels: WorldRead more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"
Controlling robots with thought alone could open up a new world for people with locked-in syndrome, while both health and education are heading in exciting new directions thanks to artificial intelligence and the web. And AI that can design video games from scratch might mean we will soon have to rethink what creativity really means. But it hasn't all been good news. Intriguing insights into the way the web works in both Iran and China – as well as demonstrations of how easy it is to disconnect a nation – show that unfettered, unobserved access to the internet should never be taken for granted.
Civilian drones to fill the skies after law shake-up
Law changes mean unmanned aerial vehicles aren't just for the military any more – civilian uses are taking off, too
AI designs its own video game
Video games designed almost entirely by a computer program herald a new wave of AI creativity
Face-reading software to judge the mood of the masses
Systems that can identify emotions in images of faces might soon collate millions of people's reactions to events and could even replace opinion polls
Robot avatar body controlled by thought alone
For the first time, a person lying in an fMRI machine has controlled a robot just by thinking about moving
Watson turns medic: Supercomputer to diagnose disease
More than a year after it won the quiz show Jeopardy!, IBM's supercomputer is learning how to help doctors diagnose patients
Future education: the explosion of online schooling in the US
Traditional schools are being replaced with internet-centric teaching methods that could change education forever
Robots move into the mining business
The dirty, back-breaking work of extracting minerals from the Earth is being taken over by machines
Kinect cameras watch for autism
An automated system that keeps watch over children could spot the telltale signs of autism and lead to earlier diagnoses
First evidence for Iran's parallel halal internet
The country's plan for a nationwide intranet separated from the World Wide Web looks to be approaching fruition – what are the implications?
Florida pet spa mystery link to China's great firewall
China's censors have innovative ways of stopping its citizens accessing banned websites, including poisoning internet servers
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Temasek raises stake in Olam to 19%
Labels: Technology
SINGAPORE: Singapore-listed Olam International said its second-largest shareholder Temasek Holdings has further increased its stake to 19 per cent, from 18 per cent.
This is the third time in a month that the Singapore investment firm had boosted its shareholdings in the commodities group, which has been the target of short-seller Carson Block and his research firm Muddy Waters.
In a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Friday, Olam said Temasek had increased its holdings via two units in open-market purchases.
Earlier this month, Olam said Temasek is backing its rights issue of bonds and warrants to raise as much as US$1.2 billion.
Kewalram Chanrai Group, Olam's largest investor with nearly a 20 per cent stake, has also said it will back the issue.
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Obama, congressional leaders to meet Friday
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: McConnell's spokesman says Obama should give details of his proposal
- Boehner, Reid, Pelosi and McConnell will meet at the White House on Friday
- The Senate returns to work; the House will be back in session Sunday
- Without a deal, taxes go up and spending gets slashed in the new year
Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and congressional leaders will discuss the looming fiscal cliff impasse Friday at the White House, aiming for a last-minute deal to stave off automatic tax increases and spending cuts.
The 3 p.m. meeting -- which will include Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- will come days before the deadline to reach a deal, and after another day of Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for the stalemate.
White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage confirmed the meeting, but did not elaborate. Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck and McConnell spokesman Don Stewart both tried to put the onus on their rival political party -- in the former case urging the Democratic-led Senate to pass a bill approved by the GOP majority in the House, and in the latter asking for a detailed proposal from Obama.
Earlier Thursday, McConnell said his side won't "write a blank check for anything Senate Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."
While a Senate Democratic leadership member said such details would be forthcoming, two White House officials said Obama will not send a fiscal cliff measure to Congress.
Reid, the Nevada Democrat, argued that Republicans undermined a potentially major agreement over the past two years by refusing to compromise on their opposition to higher tax rates for the wealthy. Hours before Friday's meeting was announced, he was doubtful there would be a deal by January 1.
"I don't know, time-wise, how it can happen now," Reid said.
Democrats, GOP challenge each other to act first
The Consumer Confidence Index sank Thursday amid growing fears the sides won't come together. If they don't, economists have warned it could cause another recession.
Fiscal cliff fears jolt consumer confidence
At the least, hopes for an imminent so-called grand bargain that would address chronic federal deficits and debt appeared dashed right now, leaving it to the White House and legislators to work out a less ambitious agreement.
The principal dispute continues to be over taxes, specifically the demand by Obama and Democrats to extend most of the tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush while allowing higher rates of the 1990s to return on top income brackets.
Obama campaigned for re-election on keeping the current lower tax rates on family income up to $250,000, which he argues would protect 98% of Americans and 97% of small businesses from rates that increase on income above that level.
Republicans oppose any kind of increase in tax rates, and Boehner suffered the political indignity last week of offering a compromise -- a $1 million threshold for the higher rates to kick in -- that his GOP colleagues refused to support because it raised taxes and had no chance of passing the Senate.
Fiscal cliff a self-inflicted problem
Last Friday, the president proposed the scaled-back agreement that included his call for extending tax cuts on households with incomes under $250,000, as well as an extension of unemployment insurance.
McConnell told Obama in a telephone conversation Wednesday that he must see details of a proposal before he can figure out how to proceed on a Senate vote.
However, a senior Democratic Senate source said Thursday that McConnell must first work things out with House Speaker John Boehner before Democrats divulge more.
Such squabbling has left many doubtful there will be a deal before the fiscal cliff takes effect. Reid criticized Boehner's insistence the Senate act on House measures, saying Democrats and Republicans have to agree on something together.
"We are in the same situation we've been in for a long time," Reid said. "We can't negotiate with ourselves."
Both sides play the 'blame game'
Reid said Boehner wants to wait until after the new House re-elects him as speaker early next month before proceeding with a compromise -- one that will need support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass.
Boehner is "more concerned about his speakership than putting the country on firm financial footing," Reid claimed.
In response, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said Reid should stop talking and instead take up legislation passed by the House to avert the fiscal cliff. This comes a day after Boehner's leadership team issued a statement saying the Senate must go first -- either by passing or amending the House-passed proposal -- and only then will they act, an assertion Buck repeated Thursday evening.
Reid and Democrats reject the GOP proposals, which would extend all tax cuts passed under former President George W. Bush and revamp the spending cuts of the fiscal cliff. They've called them insufficient, shifting too much deficit reduction burden on the middle class.
Instead, Reid called on Boehner to allow a vote on a Senate-passed measure to implement Obama's plan to extend tax cuts to the $250,000 threshold.
However, McConnell rejected that possibility Thursday, as he sought to focus the debate on revising House-passed measures.
One possibility is the fiscal cliff takes effect and taxes go up in January, then Congress steps in to bring tax rates back down for at least some people -- allowing them to say they're lowering taxes, even if taxes for some wealthy people are higher in 2013 than they were in 2012. But retiring Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette of Ohio calls that scenario little more than a political game.
"Nobody is willing to pull the trigger (because) everybody wants to play the blame game," LaTourette said. "This blame game is about to put us over the edge."
Opinion: Art that calls the fiscal cliff's bluff
Polls show most back Obama
Obama and Democrats have leverage, based on the president's re-election last month and Democratic gains in the House and Senate in the new Congress. In addition, polls consistently show majority support for Obama's position on taxes.
The Gallup daily tracking poll released Wednesday showed 54% of respondents support Obama's handling of the fiscal cliff talks, compared with 26% who approve of Boehner's performance.
"We believe very strongly a reasonable package can get majorities in both (chambers)," a senior White House official said. "The only thing that would prevent it is if Sen. McConnell and Speaker Boehner don't cooperate."
Americans less optimistic of fiscal cliff deal
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist has vowed to back primary challenges against Republicans who violate his widely signed pledge not to raise taxes. Even if a deal is reached, he predicts budget showdowns will continue -- every time the government needs more money to operate.
"There the Republicans have a lot of clout because they can say we'll let you run the government for the next month, but you've got to make these reforms," he said this week.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress the government would reach its borrowing limit at year's end, but could take steps to create what he called "headroom" for two months or so.
However, Geithner said uncertainty about the fiscal cliff and deficit negotiations make it hard to predict precisely how long government measures to address the situation will last.
Crisis two years in the making
The possibility of a fiscal cliff was set in motion over the past two years as a way to force action on mounting government debt.
Now, legislators risk looking politically cynical by seeking to weaken the measures enacted to try to force them to confront tough questions regarding deficit reduction, such as changes to government programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
The two sides seemingly had made progress early last week on forging a $2 trillion deficit reduction deal that included new revenue sought by Obama and spending cuts and entitlement changes desired by Boehner.
Obama's latest offer set $400,000 as the income threshold for a tax rate increase, up from his original plan of $250,000. It also had a new formula for the consumer price index -- called chained CPI -- that wraps in new assumptions on consumer habits in response to rising prices, such as seeking cheaper alternatives, and would result in smaller benefit increases.
Statistics supplied by opponents say the change would mean Social Security recipients would get $6,000 less in benefits over the first 15 years of chained CPI. Liberal groups have openly challenged the plan, calling it a betrayal of senior citizens who contributed all their lives for their benefits.
Boehner appeared to move on increased tax revenue, including higher rates on top income brackets and eliminating deductions and loopholes. But his inability to rally all House Republicans behind his plan last week raised questions about his role and what comes next.
Reid and other Senate Democrats say House Republicans must accept that an agreement will require support from legislators in both parties, rather than the GOP majority in the House pushing through a measure on its own.
Some House Republicans have said they would join Democrats and support the president's plan in hopes of moving past the volatile issue to focus on spending cuts and entitlement reforms they seek.
Will fiscal cliff hurt the economy?
CNNMoney's Jose Pagliery and CNN's Adam Aigner-Treworgy, Brianna Keilar, Jessica Yellin, Deirdre Walsh, Ted Barrett, Greg Botelho and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
Another NYC "subway push" death
Labels: HealthNEW YORK A mumbling woman pushed a man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday night, the second time this month someone has been killed in such nightmarish fashion, police said.
The man was standing on the elevated platform of a 7 train in Queens at about 8 p.m. when he was shoved by the woman, who witnesses said had been following him closely and mumbling to herself, New York Police Department chief spokesman Paul Browne said.
When the train pulled in, the woman got up from a nearby bench and shoved the man down, he said. The man had been standing with his back to her.
Authorities say the woman waited until the last possible second before pushing the man, reports CBS New York station WCBS-TV.
It didn't appear the man noticed her before he was shoved onto the tracks, police said. The condition of the man's body was making it difficult to identify him, police said.
"Oh my God. That ... I've never heard of that. That is really ... a woman pushed a man. ... Oh my God. That is really crazy," area resident Shiek Hossain told WCBS-TV.
The woman fled, and police were searching for her. She was described as Hispanic, in her 20s, heavyset and about 5-foot-5, wearing a blue, white and gray ski jacket and Nike sneakers with gray on top and red on the bottom.
It was unclear if the man and the woman knew each other or if anyone tried to help the man up before he was struck by the train and killed.
There was no video of the incident at the station on Queens Boulevard in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Detectives canvassed the neighborhood for useable video.
On Dec. 3, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han was shoved in front of a train in Times Square. A photograph of him on the tracks a split second before he was killed was published on the front of the New York Post the next day, causing an uproar and debate over whether the photographer, who had been waiting for a train, should have tried to help him and whether the newspaper should have run the image. Apparently no one else tried to help up Han, either.
A homeless man, 30-year-old Naeem Davis, was charged with murder in Han's death and was ordered held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty and has said that Han was the aggressor and had attacked him first. The two men hadn't met before.
Service was suspended Thursday night on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was using buses to shuttle riders while police investigated.
Being pushed onto the train tracks is a silent fear for many of the commuters who ride the city's subway a total of more than 5.2 million times on an average weekday, but deaths are rare.
Among the more high-profile cases was the January 1999 death of aspiring screenwriter Kendra Webdale, who was shoved by a former mental patient. After that, the state Legislature passed Kendra's Law, which lets mental health authorities supervise patients who live outside institutions to make sure they are taking their medications and aren't threats to safety.
White House Says It Has No New Fiscal Cliff Plan
Labels: Business
The White House said today it has no plans to offer new proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff which looms over the country's economy just five days from now, but will meet Friday with Congressional leaders in a last ditch effort to forge a deal.
Republicans and Democrats made no conciliatory gestures in public today, despite the urgency.
The White House said President Obama would meet Friday with Democratic and Republican leaders. But a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said the Republican "will continue to stress that the House has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the Senate must act."
The White House announced the meeting after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the budget situation "a mess" and urged the president to present a fresh proposal.
"I told the president I would be happy to look at whatever he proposes, but the truth is we're coming up against a hard deadline here, and as I said, this is a conversation we should have had months ago," McConnell said of his phone call with Obama Wednesday night.
McConnell added, "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything Senate Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."
"That having been said, we'll see what the president has to propose," the Republican Senate leader said.
But a senior White House official told ABC News, "There is no White House bill."
That statement, however, may have wiggle room. Earlier today White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "I don't have any meetings to announce," but a short time later, Friday's meeting was made public.
It's unclear if the two sides are playing a game of political chicken or whether the administration is braced for the fiscal cliff.
Earlier today, fiscal cliff, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lashed out at Republicans in a scathing speech that targeted House Republicans and particularly Boehner.
Charles Dharapak/AP Photo
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Reid, D-Nev., spoke on the floor of the Senate as the president returned to Washington early from an Hawaiian vacation in what appears to be a dwindling hope for a deal.
The House of Representatives will meet for legislative business Sunday evening, leaving the door cracked open ever so slightly to the possibility of a last-minute agreement.
But on a conference call with Republican House members Thursday afternoon, Boehner kept to the Republican hard line that if the Senate wants a deal it should amend bills already passed by the House.
That was the exact opposite of what Reid said in the morning, that Republicans should accept a bill passed by Democratic led Senate.
Related: What the average American should know about capital gains and the fiscal cliff.
"We are here in Washington working while the members of the House of Representatives are out watching movies and watching their kids play soccer and basketball and doing all kinds of things. They should be here," Reid said. "I can't imagine their consciences."
House Republicans have balked at a White House deal to raise taxes on couples earning more than $250,000 and even rejected Boehner's proposal that would limit the tax increases to people earning more than $1 million.
"It's obvious what's going on," Reid said while referring to Boehner. "He's waiting until Jan. 3 to get reelected to speaker because he has so many people over there that won't follow what he wants. John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing."
Related: Starbucks enters fiscal cliff fray.
Reid said the House is "being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker" and suggested today that the Republicans should agree to accept the original Senate bill pass in July. Reid's comments, however, made it clear he did not expect that to happen.
"It looks like" the nation will go over the fiscal cliff in just five days, he declared.
"It's not too late for the speaker to take up the Senate-passed bill, but that time is even winding down," Reid said. "So I say to the speaker, take the escape hatch that we've left you. Put the economic fate of the nation ahead of your own fate as Speaker of the House."
Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel reacted to Reid's tirade in an email, writing, "Senator Reid should talk less and legislate more. The House has already passed legislation to avoid the entire fiscal cliff. Senate Democrats have not."
Boehner has said it is now up to the Senate to come up with a deal.
Obama, who landed in Washington late this morning, made a round of calls over the last 24 hours to Reid, Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Related: Obama pushes fiscal cliff resolution.
Shiver me timbers: the coolest warship ever made
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Duke-NUS governing board chairman to step down
Labels: Technology
SINGAPORE: Mr Tony Chew Leong-Chee is to step down as Chairman of the Duke-NUS' governing board on Monday.
The business leader has been at the helm for seven years.
He remains on the Duke-NUS Board till the end of February 2013.
Ex-banker Mr Kai Nargolwala, who joined the Duke-NUS Board in January this year, will assume the appointment of Chairman from 1 January 2013.
Mr Nargolwala is the Chairman of Clifford Capital, a company supported by the Singapore Government to facilitate the financing of long-term cross border projects by Singapore-based companies.
National University of Singapore (NUS) president Tan Chorh Chuan said the university is grateful to Mr Chew for his outstanding leadership and immense contributions.
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, President, National University of Singapore (NUS) said: "It has really been a great pleasure and privilege to work closely with Mr Tony Chew. His vision, passion, extraordinary commitment and meticulous attention to details created among the stakeholders, the strong sense of common purpose that has underpinned the remarkable progress that the school has made in a very short time.
"We are all very proud of the many achievements which Duke-NUS has made in Singapore and internationally. We are indeed grateful to Tony for his outstanding leadership and immense contributions."
Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, Dr Victor Dzau said Mr Chew's visionary leadership and remarkable commitment has been absolutely critical and has made an incredible difference to the school.
Dr Dzau said: "The success of Duke-NUS has been integral to the success of Duke Medicine's mission of transforming medicine and health to improve peoples' lives around the world through service, research and education.
"Mr Tony Chew's visionary leadership and remarkable commitment as the inaugural Chairman of Duke-NUS has been absolutely critical and has made an incredible difference to the School. We are deeply indebted to him for his support and contributions."
Established in 2005, Duke-NUS is a landmark collaboration between Duke University in the United States and NUS.
It is Singapore's first American-styled, research-oriented, graduate entry medical school.
The School's governing board provides strategic direction and oversight on the development and management of the School to advance its objectives in education and research.
There are 16 members on the Board, who each serve a renewable three-year term.
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Decluttering before the New Year
Labels: LifestyleTime off work during the holidays is a perfect time to tidy up your home and work spaces to start the New Year right.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Do your New Year's resolutions include a push to clean up? Here are some tips to start
- Being organized is about being in control, says professional organizer Susan Fleischman
- Cleaning clutter can eliminate the need to buy what you simply can't find
(CNN) -- Whatever other resolutions we make leading up to the New Year -- to call Mom more often, lay off the late-night snacks -- getting ourselves organized is likely near the top of the list. And that often means clearing out the clutter that keeps us from functioning efficiently, whether we're at work or at home.
Many employees -- whether they go to actual offices or do their jobs from home -- find the last week of the calendar year is ideal for sorting through e-mails, clearing their desks, and reorganizing their work spaces. Sorting through stuff is rarely fun, but those who tackle it now will find themselves a step ahead when their now-vacationing colleagues and clients come staggering back after the holidays.
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, which sponsors the annual "Get Organized Month" each January to help folks take control of their time, tasks and possessions, 83% of members polled say that "paper organization" ranks highest on their individual and corporate clients' to-do lists. For people taking time off between Christmas and New Year's, this week offers a chance to get things in order before 2013 arrives.
Devoting time to both physically and mentally clearing out the "old" and embracing the "new" is about more than just getting rid of stuff. Being organized is really about being in control, says Susan Fleischman, a Chicago-based professional organizer, home stager and founder of clutterfree.
"As joyous as the holidays can be, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's is probably one of the most stressful of the year for people," she says. That's why spending the week after Christmas decluttering "really helps you recover and detox from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
"It's very symbolic -- we're ramping up to the ultimate do-over. We all get to turn the calendar page and make a fresh start."
For those at work, says Fleischman, "the phone stops ringing, there are fewer meetings. Real work probably comes to a screeching halt. There are far fewer reasons to keep letting getting organized fall to the bottom of the to-do list." And these days, when employees often feel compelled to work harder and longer, being organized can be a real competitive advantage.
NAPO Industry Member Director Mary Dykstra says that on average, Americans waste time amounting to between six and 12 weeks a year searching for things in their offices and homes. "Just imagine if you could get out from under that clutter and spend that time helping your company build their business and ultimately, your career," says Fleischman, who was a public relations and marketing executive before launching her professional organizing business.
"Every minute counts when it comes to impressing the boss, your colleagues and clients. At work, we strive to project that we're knowledgeable, in control and experts. We're constantly accessing, sharing, reacting to information. Being able to put your hands on the information or generate some information means the better you'll be able to rise to the top and have clarity of thought and creativity and maximize productivity."
But what about moving from work to the home front? Cynthia Ewer, the Washington state-based editor of OrganizedHome.com and the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track," suggests we use this in-between-holidays week to step back and reflect on our habits and how well they're working for us at home.
It's important to remember, says Ewer, that "there are different personality types. "Organized" is what works for you. There are filers -- people who love folders. They want the serenity of knowing where things are. Pilers like to keep their eyes on their stuff. Deniers have bags of paperwork shoved into closets. Instead of using a "What-does-it-look-like?" yardstick, it's a "How-will-it-work?" question. Know yourself, and come up with solutions that reflect who you are, she says.
After all, she says, " 'It's here somewhere' is the most frustrating phrase in the English language."
Cutting clutter also can boost the bottom line. "How many times do you go to the store and buy the things you couldn't find?" asks Fleischman. But cleaning up and cleaning out also can generate money, says Ewer.
"It can be a real fun process to turn your clutter into cash."
Nab tax deductions by donating cleared-out items to nonprofit organizations. Declutterers can send usable books, DVDs, video games and music to third-party merchants in exchange for gift cards through the Amazon Trade-In Program. Even computer manufacturers like Apple offer gift cards to customers who send in an old iPhone, iPad or computer for reuse or recycling, if those devices still have monetary value.
"Leading an orderly life is about saving time, saving money, reducing stress," says Fleischman, who also blogs about organizing tips and clutter makeovers. "And that's energy you can spend on leisure pursuits, which is very important to emotional well-being."
Some tips for cutting through the workplace and home clutter this holiday week:
• Stockpile your supplies. Fleischman advises making sure you've got the right trash bins, shredders, file folders and markers at your fingertips before you start sorting and tossing.
• Take it a zone at a time. Your office, home and car didn't become a mess overnight, so declutter in increments. Fleischman suggests starting with desktops, then floors, then moving on to file cabinets and bookcases.
• Go from horizontal to vertical piles. If you're purging papers, clear those piles from your desk and the floor by placing newly sorted files in a cabinet or an upright vertical file. This way, your eyes can quickly scan and identify what you need at a glance.
• Free up the fridge. "Get the ghosts of Christmas past out of there -- all those little cans of this and that, the beef sticks from the gift basket no one can bear to throw out," says Ewer. Besides, this clean-up also will save you some calories.
• Be realistic. If you really write out bills at the kitchen table and not in the home office, says Ewer, get yourself a wheeled cart you can roll where the work gets done. If your kids' toys actually live in the family room -- not in the bedroom toy box -- create a storage solution there.
"Look at your patterns of living and organize yourself accordingly."
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