Obamas Share the Love, Even for Michelle's Bangs

Jan 20, 2013 10:49pm

(Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)

President Obama used the first public remarks of his second term to address what he called the “most significant” event of this weekend: his wife’s much-talked-about new haircut.

“I love her bangs,” Obama told supporters at an inaugural reception at the National Building Museum. “She looks good. She always looks good.”

First lady Michelle Obama, wearing a black sequined cocktail dress and showcasing her new hairdo, also heaped compliments on her husband.

“Let me tell you, it has just been a true thrill to watch this handsome, charming individual grow into the man and the president that he is,” she said, as she reached out to playfully touch the president’s face, sparking laughter from the crowd.

Praising his compassion and courage, the first lady introduced the president as the “love of her life.”

Obama, who was sworn in for a second term in a small White House ceremony earlier today, kept his remarks short, noting he has another big speech to deliver Monday.

“There are a limited amount of good lines and you don’t want to use them all up tonight,” he joked.

Because the Constitutionally mandated date for the inauguration, Jan. 20, fell on a Sunday this year, the traditional, public ceremony was delayed until Monday.

Saving the best for his official inaugural address, the president instead dedicated the bulk of his remarks to thanking supporters for their hard work and dedication to getting him re-elected.

“You understood this was not just about a candidate; it was not just about Joe Biden or Barack Obama. This was about us, who we are as a nation, what values we cherish, how hard we’re willing to fight to make sure that those values live not just for today but for future generations,” he said.

“All of you here understood and were committed to the basic notion that when we put our shoulders to the wheel of history, it moves… It moves forward. And that’s part of what we celebrate when we come together for inauguration,” he said.

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Turn up the bass to scare birds away from planes

PLANES and birds aren't good at sharing air space - bird strikes worldwide cause over a billion dollars in damage every year, and put passengers and crew at risk. To scare avians away, a new device will fire low-frequency sound waves at flocks as they near busy flight paths.

Noise makers are often used to scare birds away from airports or contaminated waterways. But loud sounds also annoy any humans within earshot.

Now a system developed by Technology International, based in Laplace, Louisiana, aims to deter birds using infrasound, below the range of human hearing.

The trial version of the Avian Infrasound Non-lethal Denial System has a passive infrasound detector that listens for an approaching flock, and activates a series of rotary subwoofers that generate high-intensity, but low-frequency sound. It worked well in tests.

Thunderstorms also emit lots of infrasound, which may be why birds are naturally averse to it, says Abdo Husseiny, the firm's CEO.

Husseiny adds that the system could be used to keep pigeons away from public squares, or divert flocks away from wind turbines. He says that the equipment should be commercially available within two years.

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Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits Singapore

SINGAPORE: Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday.

She was hosted to lunch by PM Lee.

The Princess, who arrived on January 19, also visited the Asian Civilisations Museum on Sunday morning.

She was there to view a special exhibition, entitled, 'Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand'.

- CNA/fa

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5 hurt in 3 gun show shootings

An injured person is taken from the North Carolina State Fairgrounds after being wounded in a gun accident on Saturday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A man shoots business partner with a gun he bought at an Ohio show, police say


• A shotgun goes off as its owner unfastens its case at a N.C. gun show, wounding 3


• 1 man shoots himself with his semi-automatic in Indiana, police say


• All three shootings are deemed accidental by authorities

(CNN) -- At least five people -- three in North Carolina, one in Indiana and one in Ohio -- were injured after weapons went off at gun shows Saturday, officials said, at a time when there's been renewed discussion about private gun sales at such shows.

The most casualties came at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, where attendees bolted -- with at least one woman wiping out in the frenetic scene -- when gunfire rang out around 1 p.m., as seen on video captured by CNN affiliate WRAL.

Police later explained that a a 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina, was unfastening the case of his 12-gauge shotgun on a table near the show entrance when it accidentally discharged. The man planned to sell the shotgun at the show.

The bird shot ended up injuring three people. One was a sheriff's deputy, who suffered a slight injury to his hand and was treated and released at a local hospital before returning immediately to work, said Joel Keith, chief of police of the North Carolina State Fair.

A 54-year-old woman from Benson, North Carolina, was being treated a wound to her right torso at a local hospital, and a 50-year-old man from Durham, North Carolina, was treated for an injured left hand, Keith told reporters.

"I want to emphasize that this is an accident," Keith said.

That said, Wake County sheriff's investigators and the local prosecutor will determine whether to file charges against the gun's owner, authorities said.

Sheriff Donnie Harrison said he was unsure whether it was legal to bring a loaded gun on state fairgrounds. However, when the state fair is held in October, it is illegal to bring a loaded gun to the fairground because of the large crowds, authorities said.

"This is state property. That's something we're looking into," Harrison told reporters. "It's early right now."

The shooting prompted police to ban any private gun sales -- in which visitors bring their firearms to sell at the gun show -- for the remainder of the two-day show, which concludes Sunday, Keith said. He added there wouldn't be any private gun sales on fairgrounds for the indefinite future.

The gun show was closed after the shooting and will reopen Sunday. At that point, show vendors can continue to sell firearms, which are already secured inside the show, Keith said.

"If we thought if it was a problem or a hazard, we wouldn't have this show," Keith said about private gun sales at the show. "I'm sure there isn't anybody who hates this more than the guy who owned this weapon."

Man shoots business partner with semi-automatic handgun

A person is in stable condition at a northern Ohio hospital after being shot by his business partner at a gun show run by Conrad and Dowdell Productions, said Medina police Chief Patrick Berarducci.

The original owner of the Taurus semi-automatic 9 mm handgun used in the shooting brought the firearm into the show fully loaded. This is despite the policy of searches to make sure all guns are not loaded and rendered safe before others can handle them.

The man who bought the gun told police that he took it out, then accidentally fired it, said Berarducci. A single bullet ended up going into the arm and thigh of this man's business partner.

Authorities don't know who brought the loaded firearm into the gun show and sold it, added the police chief. They'll file a request with the federal ATF to track this person down.

The victim, meanwhile, is in good spirits with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Berarducci.

And in Indianapolis, a man walking out of the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show shot himself in the hand as he was loading his .45-caliber semi-automatic firearm, Indiana State Police said in a statement.

The 54-year-old Indianapolis man was sent to Wishard Hospital for treatment after being "slightly" injured.

"The investigation determined the shooting to be accidental, and no charges will be filed," police said.

Shootings occur as gun debate rages

Reforming private gun sales -- at shows or anywhere else -- is among the changes that President Barack Obama is now seeking by requiring background checks.

The president has called for action in the wake of last month's shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 27 people -- 20 of them children age 7 or younger -- dead. Gun control activists have likewise pushed for changes, while gun rights advocates have said restrictions on gun sales are unnecessary and in defiance of their Second Amendment rights.

Currently, federal law requires background checks on gun sales by federally licensed firearms dealers, who are often among the vendors at gun shows.

Saturday's incidents occurred on 'Gun Appreciation Day," an event led by a gun rights group that urged Americans to "go to your local gun store, gun range or gun show with your Constitution, American flags and your 'Hands off my Guns' sign to send a loud and clear message."

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, last Sunday issued a statement predicting this event would drive up sales of things like "assault-style rifles," which have already "skyrocketed" in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting.

Jabari Richards, a gun enthusiast, told WRAL at the Raleigh, North Carolina, show that he thought some reforms were wise.

"I think there should be background checks for everybody," Richards said, "because then you know they ... are capable of having a gun."

But another man at the Raleigh show said it was useless for Washington to step in.

"The gun laws that they have on the books aren't enforced, don't do any good," Al Galbraith said.

CNN's Stefan Simons and Maggie Schneider contributed to this report.

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Failed assassination attempt in Bulgaria - caught on tape

January 19, 2013 12:29 PM

In a failed assassination attempt on the leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party, Ahmed Dogan, a man is seen jumping out of the audience and onto the stage where Dogan is speaking. He then points the gun at Dogan's head and the gun reportedly misfires. The attacker is then tackled and beaten by security guards.

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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.

One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials that they did not survive.

But another American, Mark Cobb of Corpus Christi, Texas is now confirmed as safe. Sources close to his family say Cobb, who is a senior manager of the facility, is safe and reportedly sent a text message " I'm alive."

Inside Algerian Hostage Crisis, One American Dead Watch Video

American Hostages Escape From Algeria Terrorists Watch Video

In a statement, President Obama said, "Today, the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the families of all those who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack in Algeria. The blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who carried it out, and the United States condemns their actions in the strongest possible terms. ... This attack is another reminder of the threat posed by al Qaeda and other violent extremist groups in North Africa."

According to Algerian state media, 32 militants are dead and a total of 23 hostages perished during the four-day siege of the In Amenas facility in the Sahara. The Algerian Interior Ministry also says 107 foreign nationals who worked at the facility for BP and other firms were rescued or escaped from the al Qaeda-linked terrorists who took over the BP joint venture facility on Wednesday.

The Japanese government says it fears "very grave" news, with multiple casualties among the 10 Japanese citizens working at the In Amenas gas plant.

Five British nationals and one U.K. resident are either deceased or unaccounted for in the country, according to British Foreign Minister William Hague. Hague also said that the Algerians have reported that they are still trying to clear boobytraps from the site.

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NASA planet-hunter is injured and resting

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter

(Image: NASA/Kepler mission/Wendy Stenzel)

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has put its search for alien Earths on hold while it rests a stressed reaction wheel.

The injured wheel normally helps to control the telescope's orientation, keeping it pointed continuously at the same patch of sky. Kepler stares at the thousands of stars in its field of view to watch for the telltale blinks that occur when a planet crosses in front of its star. It has found nearly 3000 potential planets outside our solar system since its launch in 2009, transforming the field of exoplanet research and raising hopes of someday finding alien life.

When it launched, Kepler had four reaction wheels: three to control its motion along each axis, and one spare. But last July, one wheel stopped turning. If the spacecraft loses a second wheel, the mission is over.

So when another wheel started showing signs of elevated friction on 7 January, the team decided to play it safe. After rotating the spacecraft failed to fix the problem, NASA announced yesterday that they're placing Kepler in safe mode for 10 days to give the wheel a chance to recover.

The hope is that the lubricating oil that helps the wheel's ball bearings run smoothly around a track will redistribute itself during the rest period.

The telescope can't take any science data while in safe mode. But if the wheel recovers on its own, Kepler's extended mission will run until 2016, leaving it plenty of time to make up for the lost days.

"Kepler is a statistical mission," says Charlie Sobeck, Kepler's deputy project manager at NASA's Ames Research Centre in Mountain View, California. "In the long run, as long as we make the observations, it doesn't matter a lot when we make the observations."

Despite the high stakes, the team doesn't seem too worried.

"Each wheel has its own personality, and this particular wheel has been something of a free spirit," Sobeck says. "It's had elevated torques throughout the mission. This one is typical to what we've seen in the past, and if we had four good wheels we probably wouldn't have taken any action."

"I prefer to picture the spacecraft lounging at the shore of the cosmic ocean sipping a Mai Tai so that she'll be refreshed and rejuvenated for more discoveries," wrote Kepler co-investigator Natalie Batalha in an email.

The team will check up on the wheel on 27 January and return to doing science as soon as possible.

There are two exoplanet missions currently being considered for after Kepler is finished, says Doug Hudgins at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. One, TESS (Terrestrial Exoplanet Survey Satellite), would scan the entire sky for planets transiting the stars nearest to the sun. The other, FINESSE (Fast Infrared Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey Explorer), would take spectra of planets as they passed in front of their stars as a way to probe their atmospheres.

The missions are being evaluated now, and NASA will probably select one this spring, Hudgins says. The winner will launch in 2017.

If Kepler goes down with its reaction wheel, that won't affect which mission wins, he adds. "That's a straight-up competition based on the merits of the two concept study reports."

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Getting the law to work for you

SINGAPORE: The National Trades Union Congress and the Law Society of Singapore have launched a new initiative to educate working people on their legal rights.

The initiative called 'Law Works' will include a series of programmes that will be implemented to reach out to PMEs, working women and freelance professionals.

The year-long campaign will see the publication of a 10-part quick guide and on-site legal clinics.

At the clinics, workers will be able to consult with practising lawyers on specific legal issues.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said this collaboration is very timely with the recent legislative changes.

These include the Retirement and Re-employment Act which was recently passed and the Employment Act which is currently being reviewed.

Chief Justice Menon said: "Amidst these changes to the labour laws, it is critical that workers be made aware of not only the existing legal position, and equally that they are apprised of such changes.

"The focus of the labour laws is firstly to safeguard the interests of workers by conferring rights upon them, and secondly to enable them to understand their obligations and responsibilities in the workplace."

- CNA/fa

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Manti Te'o: 'I wasn't faking it'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Manti Te'o talks to ESPN about his alleged girlfriend hoax


• "I wasn't faking it," he says in an off -camera interview


• Te'o rose to national prominence by leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season

What are your thoughts? Share with us on iReport.

(CNN) -- Manti Te'o -- one of the best defenders this season in college football -- defended himself in an ESPN interview Friday night, saying there was no way he was part of a hoax involving a deceased girlfriend.

"I wasn't faking it," he told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in an off -camera interview highlighted on the network. "I wasn't part of this."

Notre Dame star Manti Te'o

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For the past few days, the former Notre Dame linebacker has been the subject of ridicule after reports surfaced that the girlfriend he'd gushed about and said died this fall of leukemia never existed.

Te'o rose to national prominence by leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season, amassing double-digit tackle games and becoming the face of one of the best defenses in the nation.

As he and his team excelled, Te'o told interviewers in September and October that his grandmother and girlfriend -- whom he described as a 22-year-old Stanford University student -- had died within hours of each other.

The twin losses inspired him to honor them with sterling play on the field, Te'o said. He led his team to a 20-3 routing of Michigan State after he heard the news.

"I miss 'em, but I know that I'll see them again one day," he told ESPN.

He was second in the Heisman race and led his team to the championship game, losing to Alabama.

The fairy tale story ended on Wednesday when sports website Deadspin published a piece dismissing as a hoax the existence of Te'o's girlfriend and suggesting he was complicit.

Te'o released a statement on Wednesday saying he was a victim of a hoax but Friday night was the first time he publicly addressed the issue.

"When (people) hear the facts, they'll know," Te'o told ESPN. "They'll know that there is no way that I could be part of this."

After a two-and-a-half hour interview, veteran sports reporter Schaap said Te'o's story sounded convincing.

"He made a very convincing witness to his defense," Schapp said on ESPN. "He answered all my questions pretty convincingly. If he is making up his side of the story, he is a very convincing actor."

The twisted tale of the Heisman Trophy runner-up and the mystery woman named Lennay Kekua has left many with questions.

Te'o sought to answer many of them Friday night.

Who created the hoax?

Te'o told Schaap that the hoax was created by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo and that Te'o had no role in creating the hoax.

He said Tuiasosopo contacted him Wednesday via Twitter and explained that he created the hoax and he apologized, Schaap said. Tuiasosopo told Te'o he created the hoax along with another man and a woman, ESPN reported. CNN has not seen the tweets Te'o allegedly got from Tuiasosopo.

"Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," Te'o said, according to ESPN.

CNN has been to the California home of Tuiasosopo, but could not get a response to the accusations.

Tuiasosopo was also named in Wednesday's Deadspin article. That article implied that both Te'o and Tuiasosopo perpetuated the hoax.

Why did relatives say they had met her?

In September and October, when the story of Te'o and his girlfriend was getting a lot of press, there were several vivid stories about how they met. There was one written by South Bend Tribune in Indiana, the newspaper of Notre Dame's hometown, that said the couple met at a football game in Palo Alto, California, in 2009.

Te'o's father is quoted in the article that gushed about them shaking hands, exchanging phone numbers and sparking a love affair.

On Friday,Te'o said he lied to his father about meeting Kekua because he was embarrassed to tell his family that he was in love with a woman he never met.

"I knew that -- I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet," he told ESPN. "And that alone, people find out that this girl who died I was so invested in, and I didn't meet her as well."

The lie he told his father led his family to tell reporters that Te'o had met his girlfriend, he told ESPN.

Why continue to talk about her after December 6 phone call?

Te'o received a call from a woman claiming to be his girlfriend on December 6, telling him she was not dead, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said at a news conference this week. Those calls continued, but Te'o did not answer, Swarbrick said.

The Heisman Trophy was awarded two days later, and Te'o continued to make comments about losing his girlfriend.

In the ESPN interview Te'o said he wasn't fully convinced that it was a hoax until Wednesday, Schaap said. That is why he continued to speak about and answer media questions about Kekua.

CNN's Phil Gast and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.

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T'eo to hoax doubters: "I wasn't part of this"

Updated 12:15 AM ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Manti Te'o gave an interview to ESPN in which he denied any involvement in fabricating an online relationship with a woman he considered to be his girlfriend.

"I wasn't faking it," he told ESPN Friday night. "I wasn't part of this."

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Manti Te'o

Te'o also said that he did not make up anything to help his Heisman Trophy candidacy.

"When (people) hear the facts, they'll know," he said. "They'll know that there is no way that I could be part of this."

Te'o spoke at the IMG Training Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he is preparing for the NFL draft. There were no cameras at the 2?-hour interview, which was recorded.

Earlier, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said during the taping of his weekly radio show that Te'o has to explain exactly how he was duped into an online relationship with a fictitious woman whose "death" was then faked by perpetrators of the scheme.

Skeptics have questioned the versions of events laid out by Te'o and Notre Dame, wondering why Te'o never said his relationship was with someone online and why he waited almost three weeks to tell the school about being duped.

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Will scandal affect Manti Te'o's NFL future?

According to Notre Dame, Te'o received a call on Dec. 6 from the girl he had only been in contact with by telephone and online, and who he thought had died in September. After telling his family what happened while he was home in Hawaii for Christmas, he informed Notre Dame coaches on Dec. 26.

Notre Dame said it hired investigators to look into Te'o's claims and their findings showed he was the victim of an elaborate hoax.

Play Video

Notre Dame rallies to Manti Te'o's side

Te'o released a statement on Wednesday, soon after Deadspin.com broke news of the scam with a lengthy story, saying he had been humiliated and hurt by the "sick joke." But he has laid low since.

ESPN officials posted a photo on Twitter late Friday night of reporter Jeremy Schapp with Te'o and his attorney. Te'o has been working out at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., as he prepares for the NFL combine and draft.

Play Video

Notre Dame athletic director: Faith in Te'o hasn't shaken "one iota"

Swarbrick said earlier in the day that he believed Te'o would ultimately speak publicly.

"We are certainly encouraging it to happen," he said. "We think it's important and we'd like to see it happen sooner rather than later."

He said thatmant before the Deadspin story, Te'o and his family had planned to go public with the story Monday.

"Sometimes the best laid plans don't quite work, and this was an example of that. Because the family lost the opportunity in some ways to control the story," he said. "It is in the Te'o family's court. We are very much encouraging them."

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy, who mentored Michael Vick when he returned to the NFL after doing prison time, had similar advice.

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2013 BCS National Championship

"I don't know the whole case but I always advise people to face up to it and just talk to people and say what happened," Dungy said while attending the NCAA convention in Dallas on Friday. "The truth is the best liberator, so that's what I would do. And he's going to get questioned a lot about it."

Te'o led a lightly regarded Fighting Irish team to a 12-0 regular season and the BCS title game, where they were routed 42-14 by Alabama and Te'o played poorly.

Dungy said Te'o could face the toughest questions from NFL teams.

"If I was still coaching and we're thinking about taking this guy in the first round, you want to know not exactly what happened but what is going on with this young man and is it going to be a deterrent to him surviving in the NFL and is it going to stop him from being a star," Dungy said. "So just tell the truth about what happened and this is why, I think, that's the best thing."

Deadspin reported that friends and relatives of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old who lives in California, believe he created Kekua. The website also reported Te'o and Tuiasosopo knew each other — which has led to questions about Te'o's involvement in the hoax.

Swarbrick understands why there are questions.

"They have every right to say that," Swarbrick said "Now I have some more information than they have. But they have every right to say that. ... I just ask those people to apply the same skepticism to everything about this. I have no doubt the perpetrators have a story they will yet spin about what went on here. I hope skepticism also greets that when they're articulating what that is."

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