Is FDI in retail a gimmick? SC asks

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would test the constitutional validity of the Centre's decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and asked the UPA government to spell out the safeguards put in place to protect small traders from possible onslaught of multinationals in future.

Parliament's approval of the policy decision was cited by Attorney General G E Vahanvati to clinch the issue before a bench of Justices R M Lodha and S J Mukhopadhaya, which was hearing a PIL filed by advocate M L Sharma alleging that permitting FDI in retail was in breach of FEMA Regulations.

The bench asked whether the government has received FDI proposals since Parliament approved the policy decision. "It is now six-seven weeks since Parliament approved the decision. Now the policy is in place. What has happened since then? Have you received some investment or was it just a political gimmick," it said.

Taken aback by the terse comments, the AG said receiving FDI in retail would take some time as it was a part of series of reforms that would slowly transform the country's investment scenario to make it lucrative enough for the foreign investors and, more importantly, beneficial for the consumers and small traders.

"FDI in India has already registered a substantial increase. The whole outlook for India as an investment decision has undergone a positive change," Vahanvati said and stuck to his argument that it was a policy decision approved by Parliament after a detailed debate and hence the courts could not go into the necessity of such a move by the executive.

But, the bench said, "it is a policy decision alright but its legal validity is challenged. The government must satisfy the court on this count." It said the petitioner alleged that the decision posed a serious threat to the existence of small traders. "We want to know what steps had been taken by the government to alleviate these fears?" the bench asked.

Vahanvati said these were the concerns Parliament debated before approving the decision permitting FDI in retail. But, the bench was firm to examine the decision to permit FDI in retail not only from the small traders' point of view but from all angles and asked the government to file an affidavit in three weeks giving a detailed response to all apprehensions and legal challenges specified in the PIL.

To explain its mind, the bench gave an illustration on elimination of competition by big players in India where small traders have traditionally played the role of friendly shop next door where one could bargain a good deal on virtually every consumable item.

The bench said, "Once the big players come in, they artificially so bring down the price that the small traders fail to match the price tag and are forced to shut shop. Once the competition is eliminated in this process, the big players jack up the price leaving the consumer no option but to pay."

Vahanvati said there was adequate legal framework to protect small traders from unfair means meant to kill competition and pointed out the setting up of Competition Commission. But, the bench asked, "How many small traders can move the forum?"

On October 16, the court had said the permission to allow FDI in multi-brand retail appeared to be at variance with the FEMA Regulations. Two weeks later, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) amended the regulations and the amendments were approved by Parliament.

Petitioner had said that Regulation 5 read with provisions of FEMA strictly prohibited FDI in retail trading (except in single brand product retailing), atomic energy, lottery, gambling and betting, business of chit funds, Nidhi company, trading in transferable development rights (TDRs) and activities/sectors not opened to private investment.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Read More..

Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws


NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.


A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work.


"It's a balancing act" between physical health and financial well-being, she said.


An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for a third of civilian workers — more than 40 million people — who don't have it.


Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race.


Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists — some in surgical masks — rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point.


The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. "There's people who say, 'OK, I get it — you don't want your server coughing on your food,'" she said.


Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and "living wage" laws, and a public health priority.


But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.


Michael Sinensky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, "we're in survival mode."


"We're at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives," said Sinensky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can't work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn't include tips.


Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.


To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness.


"Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.


Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary.


Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia's mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011.


In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn't include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless.


The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women's groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents, including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote.


Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn't think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season.


While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn't be reached by telephone.


"I needed work," Palaguachi said after Friday's City Hall rally, but "I needed to see the doctor because I'm sick."


___


Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.


___


Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz


Read More..

Live Updates: Inaugural Parade Kicks Off


Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.


Refresh here for updates throughout the day.


Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. EST for all-day live streaming video coverage of Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama. Live coverage will also be available on the ABC News iPad App and mobile devices.


Read Obama’s second Inaugural address here.


All times are in Eastern Standard Time.



4:00 p.m. – Obama, Roberts Sign King Bible


ABC’s Avery Miller reports President Obama and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts signed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Bible today, at the request of the family.


In his life time, it was King’s “traveling Bible,” according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.


“An avid reader who was constantly on the road, Dr. King typically traveled with a selection of books that included this Bible,” the PIC wrote in a statement about the Bible written when they announced Obama would use it in his ceremony. “It was used for inspiration and preparing sermons and speeches, including during Dr. King’s time as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.”


Read more about President Obama’s choice of Bibles here.



3:56 p.m. – Justice Scalia and the Mystery of the Funny Hat


Michelle Obama wasn’t the only one drawing eyes with her fashion choices at the inaugural ceremonies today. Many on Twitter – including Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., – remarked on Associate Justice Antonin Scalia’s choice of headgear during President Obama’s swearing-in.


Some compared it to Aretha Franklin’s extravagant hat at the 2009 inauguration. Others simply wondered where it came from.


To find that answer, ABC’s Sarah Parnass spoke with Scalia’s former clerk, Kevin Walsh.


Walsh, who now teaches at University of Richmond School of Law, said the association of Catholic lawyers to which he belongs, St. Thomas More Society of Richmond Va., presented Scalia with the hat in 2010.


The hat is a replica of one worn by St. Thomas More in his most iconic portrait, done by Hans Holbein, according to Walsh.


When giving Justice Scalia the hat, the members of the St. Thomas More Society thought it would be a nice memento. “If nothing else it would be suitable for university functions,” Scalia said.


Walsh said the significance of Scalia’s wearing the hat likely doesn’t go beyond function. In the past, Scalia has worn a skull cap, much like the one Justice Breyer sported today. But the skull cap doesn’t have earflaps – the More hat does.


“That one’s warmer,” Walsh said, comparing the hat Scalia wore today with the one he wore to the 2009 inauguration. “I’d say it’s more functional.”





3:39 p.m. – Inauguration Day in Pictures


Click the picture below for a slideshow of some of the 2013 inauguration’s most memorable moments so far.


ap 09 inauguration obama wm nt 13021 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Jonathan Ernst-Pool/AP Photo)



3:33 p.m. – Obama Pauses for Final Glimpse of Fans


ABC’s Devin Dwyer reports:


After a bruising campaign, and unusually contentious post-election period, President Obama savored his second and final Inauguration Day as a brief respite from political storms and celebratory moment for his hundreds of thousands of adoring supporters.


As he walked off the inaugural platform on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, Obama turned and paused to look out at the crowd on the National Mall, even as his family and other guests continued ahead without him.


“I want to take a look one more time,” Obama was heard saying. “I’m not going to see this again.”


Read more on that poignant moment with the president here.



3:22 p.m. – Obama Makes History Citing Gay Rights in Inaugural Address


ABC’s Shushannah Walshe reports:


President Obama made history in his inaugural address today mentioning the word “gay” and the issue of gay rights for the first time in a speech at the presidential swearing in.


“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said in his address on the Capitol steps after his swearing in.


Obama also mentioned the word Stonewall when citing milestones of the civil right struggle. It was a reference to a riot and subsequent protests over a police raid in June 1969 of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The president mentioned it along with the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848 and the civil rights march in Selma, Ala., in 1965.


“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,” Obama said.


Brian Ellner who led the successful campaign to make same sex marriage legal in New York state called the speech “historic.”


Read more from Walshe here.


Back to top



3:12 p.m. –  Obama Sticks to His Script in Second Inaugural Address


ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports:


By their very nature, the texts of presidential inaugural addresses become historical documents as soon as they are delivered. Obama’s speech, like all the others before, will be scrutinized for years to come.


So, how closely did President Obama, who is known for his oratorical prowess, hew to the prepared text of his remarks? With the exception of a few minor words,


It turns out he stuck almost exactly to the script.


“We must harness new ideas and technology” became “So we must harness…” and “Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright” ended up as “Let us, each of us, now embrace…” He sprinkled in an extra “and” at the beginning of one paragraph and turned a “that is” into “that’s.”


Otherwise, the president delivered the speech he had in front of him with almost no changes.


Back to top


2:26 p.m. – Tell the President What You Want


Whether you voted for him or not, tell President Obama what you’d most like to see him tackle in his second term and why.


Upload a video or photo, or send your comments telling the president what is most important to you in the next four years.


The best submissions may be featured today on ABCNews.com.


Click the photo below to see how you can participate.


abc tell the president ll 130116 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: ABC News Photo Illustration)


Back to top



2:11 p.m. – Obama Address References Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Immigration


Univision’s Jordan Fabian reports:


Obama, the nation’s first black president, delivered his address on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and drew strong parallels between the civil rights battles of King’s generation to the social issues facing today. Perhaps most notable was Obama’s reference to gay rights, believed to be a first for a presidential inaugural address.


“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he said. “For if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”


The president also made a forceful statement in support of comprehensive immigration reform, a campaign pledge from 2008 that remains unfulfilled. Obama has repeatedly pledged to make it one of his top legislative priorities this year.


“Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country,” he said.


Read more from Fabian here.




Back to top



2:05 p.m. – Obama’s Inaugural Declaration: ‘Our Time’ for Changing Nation


ap over view inauguration obama podium thg 130121 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Win McNamee/AP Photo)


Analysis by ABC’s Rick Klein:


President Obama used a brief pause in the partisan warfare that’s scarred his time in office to return to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, with his own declaration of urgency and a call to action that reflects shared sacrifice and responsibility.


This was no centrist conciliator. It was the speech of a committed, unapologetic progressive, an Obama doctrine for domestic policy that included concrete commitments in areas he made little progress on over his first four years. Above all, he was speaking to a changing America – the nation that propelled him to a second term, and whose voices he will need to channel to be effective over the next four years.


“My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together,” the president declared.


Read more on what Obama meant and what opportunities he sees going forward here.



1:30 p.m. – More on Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco


Univision’s Jordan Fabian reports:


There has not been another inaugural poet like Richard Blanco.


Out of the five people selected to read an original poem at a presidential inauguration, the 44-year-old Blanco is the first Latino, first gay man, and youngest person to serve the role. The presidential inaugural committee officially announced the choice of Blanco, the son of Cuban exiles, last Wednesday.


Read more from Fabian here.


Blanco wrote the poem he read, called “One Today,” in the past 11 days. It included several references to America’s workers, including the following:


One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.


Read the full poem here.


Back to top



1:24 p.m. – Sen. McCaskill Calls Out SCOTUS Hats





1:24 p.m. – Terry Moran: Inauguration Fits ‘Next America’


In response to remarks about Obama’s reference to gay marriage, Nightline’s Terry Moran analyzes the firsts of this inauguration:


Has Spanish been spoken before? Has there ever been a bigger crowd for a second inaugural?


To me, Obama’s speech, this crowd, the whole program, seemed deliberately designed to confirm the “next America”–younger, more diverse, more non-native, socially liberal–as the source of authority, even legitimacy in the nation going forward.


That’s what the election was really about, deep down. And the feeling out here seems more than the usual inaugural victory lap of the party in power. It seems cultural–and historic. It’s their moment. And so is tomorrow–not in a partisan sense. In a factual one.


Back to top



1:14 p.m. – Inaugural Performances


Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor and Beyonce sang during the inaugural ceremonies this year.




Back to top



1:09 p.m. – What’s On the Menu?


President Obama now joins members of Congress and the Supreme Court for the inaugural luncheon.


ABC’s Devin Dwyer reports the inaugural luncheon menu from the JCC:


First Course: Steamed lobster with New England chowder


Wine: Anthony Road Winery, Fox Run Vineyards & Newt Red Cellars, Tierce 2010 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, N.Y.


Second Course: Hickory grilled bison with wild huckleberry reduction and red potato horseradish cake


Wine: Bedell Cellars, 2009 Merlot, North Fork, Long Island, N.Y.


Third Course: Hudson Valley apple pie, sour cream ice cream, aged cheese and honey


Wine: Korbel Natural, Special Inaugural Cuvée Champagne, Calif.


NOTE the New York food/wine: Water in the holding rooms is to be Saratoga Springs (a NY label), per a PIC official. And the wines to be served at the inaugural luncheon are from New York vineyards —- all thanks to NY Sen. Chuck Schumer, who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies


Back to top



12:46 p.m. – Timing Is Everything: Chris Christie Makes Announcements Minutes Before Obama’s Speech


ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports:


During the very same hour of President Obama’s second inauguration, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is often mentioned as a potential 2016 Republican presidential contender, sent out two separate announcements.


The first from his gubernatorial campaign: “Governor Chris Christie will be visiting the Hilton Newark Airport on Tuesday morning to accept the second major endorsement of his campaign.” (The campaign did not provide information about who will be endorsing him). And the second, a statement commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. (Christie, who praised President Obama’s efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated portions of coastal New Jersey, did not mention the president’s inauguration):


“Dr. King was the paradigm of strength in triumphing over adversity and racial injustice to achieve what seemed impossible to so many for so long. His legacy stands as an eternal reminder of his sacrifice and the progress he achieved and which we are obliged to protect for every citizen of our state and nation. I join New Jerseyans in honoring Dr. King’s life and work and his uncompromising commitment to peacefully working toward freedom and equality for all Americans,” Christie said in the statement.


Back to top



12:16 p.m. – Richard Blanco Delivers Inauguration Poem


Back to top



12:09 p.m. – Obama Gives Shout Out to Same-Sex Couples in Inaugural Address


In his inaugural address today, President Obama called for treating same-sex couples equal under the law. ABC News’ Arlette Saenz reports:


Of the group of 215 members in the Lesbian and Gay Band Association marching in the inaugural parade, four couples are legally married.


Leslie Becker and Lindsay Famula of Hackensack, N.J., met when Famula joined the band in 2006, and the two women, who are both percussionists, were married in May.


“It’s validation. The fact that we have been denied this right for so long when really all we want to do is be seen in the government as a couple means a lot,” Becker said. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ was repealed. We’re making big advancements in civil rights for gay couples, and it means a big deal to be one of the few married couples to march in this parade.”


New Jersey has allowed civil unions since 2006, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a same-sex marriage bill in February.


Becker played at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1997, but the LGBA only played on the side of the parade. During President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, the LGBA, including Becker, marched in the actual parade.


Back to top



11:56 a.m. – Hundreds of Thousands Turn Out for Inauguration


gty crowd inauguration day blankets thg 130121 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)


As of 11:00 a.m., Washington Metro Area Transit Authority reported 308,000 people used their rail service this morning. Metro was preparing last week for an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people to come to D.C. for the events.


In 2009, 1.8 million people gathered to welcome in Obama’s first term.


Around 11:30 a.m., the U.S. Park Police released a statement about the crowding: “The National Mall is now full and closed. All visitors not on the Mall should proceed to the overflow area at the Washington Monument.”



11:50 a.m. – Obama Takes Oath for Fourth Time


abc obama arriving podium smiling thg 130121 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: ABC NEWS)


With his hand on two Bibles held by his two daughters, President Barack Obama took the inaugural oath for a fourth time. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath.



11:38 a.m. – Evers-Williams Delivers Invocation





11:33 a.m. – ABC Correspondent Tweets from Pakistan




Back to top



11:30 a.m. – Ryan Congratulates Obama


ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:


No word from Mitt Romney, but his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan sent out a congrats to President Obama.




Ryan posted a longer congratulations on his Facebook page.


I congratulate President Obama on his inauguration, and I join the country in celebrating this American tradition.


The president and I were political opponents. We had strong disagreements over the direction of the country—as we still do now. But today, we put those disagreements aside. Today, we remember what we share in common.


We serve the same country, one that is still in need of repair—and is still the freest on earth. We serve alongside men and women from both parties, who govern in good faith and good will. Finally, we serve the same people, who have honored us with their charge.


We may disagree on matters of policy. But today we remember why we take those matters so seriously—because we seek the public good. It’s our highest duty—one that we share—and one for which we’re grateful.


I’m happy to mark this historic occasion—for the president and for the country. And I look forward to tackling the big challenges ahead.


Back to top



11:20 a.m. – A Look Back at Obama’s First Inaugural Address


ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:


As Obama’s prepares to give his second inaugural address, a look back at the first: Obama’s speech in 2009 ran 2,395 words.


According to a handy word count breakdown from the Wall Street Journal, Obama used the word “people” eight times, the word “God” five times, and the word “government” four times. We can expect that those words will pop up again in today’s speech, as the president is expected to talk about unity and finding common ground among our nation’s leaders.


A word he only uttered once in 2009, that we might expect him to bring up again more this time- “war” – as the president looks back on the drawdown of America’s military presence in Iraq, and ahead to the drawdown in Afghanistan.


Today’s speech is expected to be shorter than his speech four years ago – but by how much will remain to be seen. The high bar of second inauguration speeches is Abraham Lincoln’s address in 1965- where he managed to say a lot, in just a few words- 698 to be exact.


Back to top



11:16 a.m. – Obama Enters Arena


President Obama has entered the Capitol. Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are close behind.


ABC’s Michael Falcone points out President Obama will be getting down to business shortly after he delivers his second inaugural address, officially submitting the names of his nominees for the posts of CIA Director, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, according to a White House official.


Today, at the Capitol the President will be signing:


1. A Proclamation to commemorate the inauguration titled, “National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013.”
2. Four Nominations:
a. John Owen Brennan to be Director of the CIA
b. Charles Timothy Hagel to be Secretary of Defense
c. John Forbes Kerry to be Secretary of State
d. Jacob J. Lew to be Secretary of the Treasury


ABC’s Devin Dwyer notes that four years ago, Obama signed a similar proclamation and nominations to the Senate. This occurs in the President’s Room, just off the Senate chamber, immediately following the address.


Back to top



11:15 a.m. –




Back to top



11:08 a.m. – The Biden Family Bible


ap joe biden inauguration bible ll 130121 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)


A large Bible being carried in is attracting some attention for its size. The Bible belongs to the Biden family, and it’s the one Vice President Joe Biden will use to swear his oath of office, as he did four years ago.


The 120-year-old book has a Celtic cross on the front and has been passed down through the Biden clan. It is 5 inches thick, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.


Biden also used it Sunday in his private swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory.


ap inaugural joe biden jt 130120 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo


Back to top



11:04 a.m. – Powell Slams GOP’s ‘Idiot Presentations’


ABC’s Michael Falcone reports:


In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos during ABC’s special inauguration day coverage this morning, former Secretary of State Colin Powell lashed out at people in the Republican Party who spent the last four years spreading “birther nonsense” and other “things that demonize the president,” calling on GOP leaders to denounce such talk — publicly.


“Republicans have to stop buying into things that demonize the president. I mean, why aren’t Republican leaders shouting out about all this birther nonsense and all these other things? They should speak out. This is the kind of intolerance that I’ve been talking about where these idiot presentations continue to be made and you don’t see the senior leadership of the party say, ‘No, that’s wrong.’ In fact, sometimes by not speaking out, they’re encouraging it. And the base keeps buying the stuff.


“And it’s killing the base of the party. I mean, 26 percent favorability rating for the party right now. It ought to be telling them something. So, instead of attacking me or whoever speaks like I do, look in the mirror and realize, ‘How are we going to win the next election?”


Read more from Falcone here.


Back to top



10:59 a.m. – Former President Carter Enters


Thirty-ninth President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, entered the Capitol to applause from the crowd. The former president shook hands and exchanged greetings with others awaiting President Obama. Carter is 88 years old and one of two former presidents expected at today’s ceremony.


The second, former President Bill Clinton, entered moments later with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton by his side.


Back to top



10:56 a.m. – How to Crash a Party


Not invited to any of the official inaugural shindigs? No sweat.


ABC’s Chris Good got the scoop on how to sneak into the festivities from Fred Karger, former 2012 Republican presidential candidate and self-proclaimed party-crasher extraordinaire.


“Karger says he has crashed an inauguration party before, plus the Oscars and Fashion Week. He has fooled rope-line workers, he says, and even the Secret Service,” Good reports.


“He twice found himself onstage at the Oscars, he says, once singing the final number alongside Liza Minnelli.”


A few of Karger’s tips: call ahead under a fake name, blend in with the entourage and don’t look back. Find all of Karger’s tips and more reporting from Chris Good here.


Back to top



10:52 a.m. – Presidential Limo: Belly of the Beast


President Obama got an upgraded presidential limo when he took office four years ago.


Pierre Thomas got an exclusive look at the unveiling back then. Take a look:


Back to top



10:41 a.m. – POTUS Departs


ht dc vote license plate ll 130115 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: DC Vote)


President Obama has left the White House and entered his motorcade, on the way to the Capitol.


The president’s limo is sporting special plates today, in support of the D.C. statehood movement. Read more about those plates here.


Back to top



10:39 a.m. – First Lady and Vice President on Their Way


First lady Michelle Obama left the White House, followed shortly by Vice President Joe Biden.


Back to top



10:34 a.m. – Obamas Leave White House


President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, left the White House in their pink and purple coats just a moment ago. They’re headed for the Capitol, where they will watch their father take the presidential oath for the fourth time.


They were followed minutes later by a band of Marines, then by Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife.


Back to top



10:31 a.m. – Events Heating Up


Members of Congress can be seen streaming into the Capitol. The inaugural pre-show began at 9:30 a.m., but Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., won’t begin introducing the president for another hour.


Across the National Mall, attendees are waving American flags, in a sea of red, white and blue.


Back to top



10:17 a.m. – Presidential Imperfections


It’s a not-so-secret understanding that even the most well-respected president’s weren’t perfect. Turns out neither were their inaugural ceremonies.


Find the funniest and quirkiest inaugural slip ups here.


Back to top



9:58 a.m. – How Do You Spell the Event of the Day?


js inauguration  spelling wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Joanna Stern / ABC News)


ABC’s Joanna Stern reports:


Nope, it’s not inaugration. Not inaguration either. Inaugiration? Not correct. And it’s definitely not innoguration or anauguration.


Inauguration. That’s the correct spelling of the word for that big event today, at which, you know, the president officially becomes the president again.


But don’t be embarrassed if you spelled it incorrectly. It turns out it’s a pretty popular thing to do.


Over 2,500 people have tweeted about the “inaguration,” according to Topsy, which tracks tweets on Twitter. Topsy says 866 of those tweets have been in the last 30 days. “Inaugration” has been used in over 700 tweets.


Read more from Stern on the many misspellings of this historic event here.


Back to top



9:42 a.m. – Obamas on the Move


The Obama family has left church services at St. John’s Episcopal Church and headed back to the White House.


To see where the president will go next, check out ABC’s interactive map here.


Pastor Andy Stanley from the North Point Community Church in Alpharetta Georgia delivered the sermon, according to pool reports, calling the president “pastor in chief.”




This tweet from the president posted while the Obama family was still in church.




Back to top



9:15 a.m. – Obama’s View


ABC’s Jonathan Karl is on the platform at the West Front of the Capitol Building where Obama will give his inaugural address later today. He’s got the best view of the crowds, which won’t come close to the 1.8 million of four years ago, but which already number hundreds of thousands.




9:11 a.m. – Members of Congress Honor MLK on Twitter


Today America remembers the legacy of another great leader: Martin Luther King, Jr. Members of the House and Senate are taking to Twitter to express their admiration for King this morning.








9:04 a.m. – On the Ground with Good Morning America.




Back to top



9:03 a.m. – Best and Worst Inaugural Addresses


gty Abraham Lincoln nt 120918 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: Getty Images)


ABC’s Chris Good reports on the best and worst inaugural speeches of all time:


Inaugural addresses, it is said, are usually not very good. Most have been long forgotten, and historians themselves point to few as memorable.


It’s not entirely clear why, but the moment might have something to do with it. Book-ending divisive national campaigns, inaugural addresses offer token unity sentiments, hopefulness but not always specific hopes, and even some good ones sound myopic.


“Most inaugural addresses are not remembered,” said Princeton University professor and noted presidential historian Eric Foner. “Grover Cleveland? I have no idea what he said in his.”


“I have actually read every single inaugural, and it was a really boring experience,” said Robert Lehrman, a former speechwriter for vice president Al Gore, who now teaches the craft at American University in Washington. “Most of the speeches are terrible. Even the ones we remember, I don’t think there is any reporter working anywhere that couldn’t write language as crisp or concrete as the majority of them.”


Read the rest of the worst and the best here.


Back to top



8:56 a.m. – Outfits of the Inauguration: Obama Style


ABC’s Mary Bruce reports:


The President, First Lady, in a dark blue jacket, and daughters Malia, in a pink overcoat, and Sasha, in dark purple, arrived just after 8:40 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church for morning services.


The First Lady is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress. The fabric was developed based on the style of a man’s silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her earrings are designed by Cathy Waterman. She is also wearing J.Crew shoes. At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.


Malia Obama is wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.


The Bidens arrived moments later.


Back to top



8:47 a.m. – Tailor to the Presidents: Republicans Dress Better




Back to top


8:45 a.m. – Great American Quotes


Inaugural addresses are an opportunity for presidents on the nation’s front lawn – a place that Americans come to in turns inaugurate their leaders, protest their government and mourn their dead – to place a marker for their legacy.


There have been some weighty and remarkable things said as presidents took the oath of office looking down on the Mall and also, from nearby, as other Americans have looked up and let their voices be heard at gatherings as varied as the March on Washington and the Promise Keepers.


What can Barack Obama say, come Monday, as he begins a second term with lower expectations and less inspiration, to place himself on this list of great American words?


Click below for an interactive look at the competition:


inauguration infographic 640x360 wblog LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013

(Image Credit: ABC News: Ma'ayan Rosenzweig)


Back to top



8:38 a.m. – Aretha Franklin’s Hat Makes a Comeback




Back to top



8:22 a.m. – Martha Raddatz: Women Rule




Back to top


8:08 a.m. – Eva Longoria Wakes Up to with the White House




F schedule of events REV 20130117 update 2 LIVE UPDATES: Inauguration Day 2013


Back to top


Curated by ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf and Sarah Parnass

Read More..

Algeria says 37 foreigners died in siege led by Canadian


ALGIERS (Reuters) - A total of 37 foreigners and an Algerian died at a desert gas plant and five are still missing after a four-day hostage-taking coordinated by a Canadian gunman, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday.


Sellal also told a news conference that 29 Islamists had been killed in the siege, which Algerian forces ended by storming the plant on Saturday, and three were taken alive. Most of the gunmen were from various states of north and west Africa.


With some bodies burned beyond recognition and Algerian forces still combing the sprawling site, some details were still unclear or at odds with figures from other governments.


The siege has shaken confidence in the security of Algeria's vital energy industry and drawn attention to Islamist militancy across the Sahara, where France has sent troops to neighboring Mali to fight rebels who have obtained weaponry from Libya.


Of the 38 dead captives, out of a total workforce of some 800 at the In Amenas gas facility, seven were still unidentified but assumed to be foreigners, Algerian premier Sellal said.


Citizens of nine countries died, he said, among them seven Japanese, six Filipinos, two Romanians, an American, a Frenchman and four Britons. Britain said three Britons were dead and three plus a London-based Colombian were missing and believed dead.


Norway said the fate of five of its citizens was unclear; in addition to seven Japanese dead, Tokyo said three were missing.


An Algerian security source had earlier told Reuters that documents found on the bodies of two militants had identified them as Canadians: "A Canadian was among the militants. He was coordinating the attack," Sellal said, adding that the raiders had threatened to blow up the gas installation.


That Canadian's name was given only as Chedad. Algerian officials have also named other militants in recent days as having leadership roles among the attackers. Veteran Islamist Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda.


In Ottawa, Canada's foreign affairs department said it was seeking information, but referred to the possible involvement of only one Canadian.


The jihadists had planned the attack two months ago in neighboring Mali, Sellal added. During the siege, from which he said they had hoped to take foreign hostages to Mali, the kidnappers had demanded France end its military operation.


Sellal said that initially the raiders in Algeria had tried to hijack a bus carrying foreign workers to a nearby airport and take them hostage. "They started firing at the bus and received a severe response from the soldiers guarding the bus," he said. "They failed to achieve their objective, which was to kidnap foreign workers from the bus."


He said special forces and army units were deployed against the militants, who had planted explosives in the gas plant with a view to blowing up the facility. Normally producing 10 percent of Algeria's natural gas, it was shut down during the incident.


The government now aims to reopen it this week.


One group of militants had tried to escape in some vehicles, each of which also was carrying three or four foreign workers, some of whom had explosives attached to their bodies.


After what he called a "fierce response from the armed forces", the raiders' vehicles crashed or exploded and one of their leaders was among those killed.


LIBYAN NUMBER PLATES


Sellal said the jihadists who staged the attack last Wednesday had crossed into the country from neighboring Libya, after arriving there from Islamist-held northern Mali via Niger.


An Algerian newspaper said they had arrived in cars painted in the colors of state energy company Sonatrach but registered in Libya, a country awash with arms since Western powers backed a revolt to bring down Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.


The raid has exposed the vulnerability of multinational-run oil and gas installations in an important producing region and pushed the growing threat from Islamist militant groups in the Sahara to a prominent position in the West's security agenda.


Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ordered an investigation into how security forces failed to prevent the attack, the daily El Khabar said.


Algerian Tahar Ben Cheneb - leader of a group called the Movement of Islamic Youth in the South who was killed on the first day of the assault - had been based in Libya where he married a local woman two months ago, it said.


ONE-EYED JIHADIST


Belmokhtar - a one-eyed jihadist who fought in Afghanistan and Algeria's civil war of the 1990s when the secular government fought Islamists - tied the desert attack to France's intervention across the Sahara against Islamist rebels in Mali.


"We in al Qaeda announce this blessed operation," he said in a video, according to Sahara Media, a regional website. About 40 attackers participated in the raid, he said, roughly matching the government's figures for fighters killed and captured.


Belmokhtar demanded an end to French air strikes against Islamist fighters in neighboring Mali. These began five days before the fighters swooped before dawn and seized a plant that produces 10 percent of Algeria's natural gas exports.


U.S. and European officials doubt such a complex raid could have been organized quickly enough to have been conceived as a direct response to the French military intervention. However, the French action could have triggered an operation that had already been planned.


The group behind the raid, the Mulathameen Brigade, threatened to carry out more such attacks if Western powers did not end what it called an assault on Muslims in Mali, according to the SITE service, which monitors militant statements.


In a statement published by the Mauritania-based Nouakchott News Agency, the hostage takers said they had offered talks about freeing the captives, but the Algerian authorities had been determined to use military force. Sellal blamed the raiders for the collapse of negotiations.


BLOODY SIEGE


The siege turned bloody on Thursday when the Algerian army opened fire, saying fighters were trying to escape with their prisoners. Survivors said Algerian forces blasted several trucks in a convoy carrying both hostages and their captors.


Nearly 700 Algerian workers and more than 100 foreigners escaped, mainly on Thursday when the fighters were driven from the residential barracks. Some captors remained holed up in the industrial complex until Saturday when they were overrun.


The bloodshed has strained Algeria's relations with its Western allies, some of which have complained about being left in the dark while the decision to storm the compound was being taken.


Nevertheless, Britain and France both defended the military action by Algeria, the strongest military power in the Sahara and an ally the West needs in combating the militants.


"This would have been a most demanding task for security forces anywhere in the world and we should acknowledge the resolve shown by the Algerians in undertaking it," British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament on Monday.


The raid on the plant, which was home to expatriate workers from Britain's BP, Norway's Statoil, Japanese engineering firm BGC Corp and others, exposed the vulnerability of multinational oil operations in the Sahara.


However, Algeria is determined to press on with its energy industry. Oil Minister Youcef Yousfi visited the site and said physical damage was minor, state news service APSE reported. The plant would start up again in two days, he said.


Algeria, scarred by the civil war with Islamist insurgents in the 1990s which claimed 200,000 lives, insisted from the start of the crisis there would be no negotiation in the face of terrorism. France especially needs close cooperation from Algeria to crush Islamist rebels in northern Mali.


In a reference to Western concerns that the Sahara and the dry grasslands of the Sahel to its south may become a haven for its Islamist enemies as Afghanistan was under the Taliban before 2001, Sellal said Algeria would not become "Sahelistan".


Cameron said Islamist threats to Britain from Afghanistan and Pakistan had diminished, compared with four years ago: "But at the same time," he said, "Al Qaeda franchises have grown in Yemen, Somalia and parts of North Africa."


(Additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi in Oslo, William Maclean in Dubai, d Daniel Flynn in Dakar, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Ed Klamann in Tokyo; Writing by David Stamp; Editing by Giles Elgood and Alastair Macdonald)



Read More..

Pakistan suspends PM graft probe after investigator's death






ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog Monday said it had suspended a probe into a graft scandal involving the prime minister pending an inquiry into the death of an officer investigating the case.

Kamran Faisal was found dead on Friday in the government hostel where he lived in Islamabad with colleagues from anti-corruption watchdog the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

According to the initial findings of an autopsy, he committed suicide. He was reportedly found hanging from a ceiling fan, but Faisal's family say he had marks on his wrists and dispute that he killed himself.

"The proceedings in RPPs (Rental Power Plants) case would remain pending till the conclusion of the inquiry in Kamran case," said a statement by the watchdog attributed to its chairman Fasih Bokhari.

The long-running probe involving Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and other officials relates to allegations of kickbacks during Ashraf's tenure as minister for water and power.

"In the event that any inquiry is concluded unsatisfactorily, NAB can, and will, institute its own inquiry/investigation," added the statement.

The Pakistani government earlier appointed a retired judge to probe the death. The retired Supreme Court judge will head the commission and submit a report in two weeks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters late Sunday.

The watchdog said Faisal was a junior investigations officer working on the case against Ashraf, whose arrest was ordered by the Supreme Court last week in a move that sparked panicked rumours of a "soft coup" against the government.

The court has since adjourned the case to January 23 and a further perceived threat to the government, a rally of tens of thousands led by a cleric outside parliament, has dispersed.

The prime minister on Monday withdrew a petition asking the Supreme Court to review its orders from March 30, 2010 for action against all officials involved in the alleged scam, including himself.

According to NAB, Faisal suffered from "mental stress" and "psychological issues". He had asked to be taken off the case, but the Supreme Court refused a written request on January 7 and ordered he be reinstated.

Suicide is frowned upon under Islam and Faisal's father, Abdul Hameed, told AFP on Monday that he believed his son was murdered.

"I have seen marks on his wrist. His hands were apparently tied before his death. He is a martyr," he said by telephone from his home in Punjab province.

The retired civil servant said he wanted justice for his son but was doubtful that a judicial commission would get to the bottom of his death.

"I want a fair investigation so that culprits be exposed," he said.

Employees in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday observed a "pen down" strike -- turning up to work but refusing to work -- demanding an independent and transparent investigation, and compensation for the family, said NAB official Atiqur Rehman.

Doctor Shaukat Kiyani at the Services General Hospital in Islamabad where the autopsy was performed, said the initial conclusion was suicide but that a final verdict was expected in a week or 10 days' time.

- AFP/ac



Read More..

Over 40 lakh pending cheque bouncing cases very serious: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought suggestions from the Centre and state governments to resolve the grave problem of over 40 lakh pending cheque bouncing cases, which slowed down the justice delivery system already over burdened by more than 2.7 crore cases.

Entertaining a PIL filed by Indian Banks' Association (IBA), a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said: "It is a very serious issue, but how to solve it? Just highlighting the problem will not do. Tell us a solution without seeking setting up of special courts." The IBA said amount involved in such cases relating to its member banks exceeded Rs 1,200 crore.

Appearing for IBA, senior advocate Shyam Divan said time has come for the Supreme Court to issue effective guidelines to streamline the procedure for hastening disposal of cases of cheque bouncing instituted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. "This will not only render speedy justice in cheque dishonour cases but improve functioning of the justice delivery system as a whole," he added.

"Despite categorical findings of the Supreme Court to the contrary, magistrates continue to summon complainant's witnesses to depose in examination in chief with respect to matters stated in complainant's affidavit. This is resulting in enormous delays and inconvenience apart from defeating the summary procedure prescribed by Parliament," he said.

Moreover, this also provided an opportunity to the accused to approach the high courts further delaying the trial, the IBA said and drew court's attention to guidelines laid down by the Delhi High Court and few other HCs for speedy adjudication of cheque dishonour cases. "We need a guideline for streamlining adjudication of these cases across the country," Divan said.

In a 2010 judgment, the SC had laid down guidelines for early settlement in cheque dishonour cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act. It had ruled that defaulters going for early settlement before the trial court would have to pay just the principal amount with applicable interest.

But if they approached the district court for settlement after being convicted by the trial court, they would have to pay an additional 10% of the cheque amount to avoid going to jail. So if a cheque amount is for Rs 1 lakh, then to compound the offence before the district court, the defaulter has to pay an additional Rs 10,000 to avoid going to jail.

Similarly, if the defaulter agrees for settlement and compounding of the offence at the HC stage, then he would have to pay 15% of the cheque amount. The amount so collected would be given to Legal Aid Authorities of the respective states which provide free legal assistance to poor litigants in various forums, the SC had said.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Read More..

Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws


NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.


A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work.


"It's a balancing act" between physical health and financial well-being, she said.


An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for a third of civilian workers — more than 40 million people — who don't have it.


Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race.


Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists — some in surgical masks — rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point.


The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. "There's people who say, 'OK, I get it — you don't want your server coughing on your food,'" she said.


Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and "living wage" laws, and a public health priority.


But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.


Michael Sinensky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, "we're in survival mode."


"We're at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives," said Sinensky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can't work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn't include tips.


Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.


To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness.


"Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.


Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary.


Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia's mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011.


In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn't include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless.


The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women's groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents, including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote.


Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn't think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season.


While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn't be reached by telephone.


"I needed work," Palaguachi said after Friday's City Hall rally, but "I needed to see the doctor because I'm sick."


___


Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.


___


Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz


Read More..

President Obama Sworn In for Second Term













President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden today officially embarked on their second term, taking the Constitutionally mandated oath of office in two separate private ceremonies inside their homes.


Shortly before noon in the Blue Room of the White House, Obama raised his right hand, with his left on a family Bible, reciting the oath administrated by Chief Justice John Roberts. He was surrounded by immediate family members, including first lady Michelle Obama and daughters, Malia and Sasha.


As he hugged his wife and daughters, Sasha said, "Good job, Daddy."


"I did it," he said.


"You didn't mess up," she answered.


Biden was sworn in earlier today by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic to administer a presidential oath, in a ceremony at his official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory. He was joined by more than 120 guests, including cabinet members, extended family and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.


Because Jan. 20 -- the official date for a new presidential term -- falls on a Sunday this year, organizers delayed by one day the traditional public inauguration ceremony and parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.






Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images











Vice President Joe Biden Sworn in for 2nd Term Watch Video











President Obama's 2nd Inauguration: Hundreds of Thousands to Attend Watch Video





Obama and Biden will each repeat the oath on Monday on the west front of the Capitol, surrounded by hundreds of dignitaries and members of Congress. An estimated 800,000 people are expected to gather on the National Mall to witness the moment and inaugural parade to follow.


The dual ceremonies in 2013 means Obama will become the second president in U.S. history to take the presidential oath four times. He was sworn in twice in 2008 out of an abundance of caution after Roberts flubbed the oath of office during the public administration. This year Roberts read from a script.


Franklin Roosevelt was also sworn in four times but, unlike Obama, he was elected four times.


This year will mark the seventh time a president has taken the oath on a Sunday and then again on Monday for ceremonial purposes. Reagan last took the oath on a Sunday in 1985.


Both Obama and Biden took the oath using a special family Bible. Obama used a text that belonged to Michelle Obama's grandmother LaVaughn Delores Robinson. Biden placed his hand on a 120-year-old book with a Celtic cross on the cover that has been passed down through Biden clan.


The official inaugural activities today also included moments of prayer and remembrance that marked the solemnity of the day.


Obama and Biden met at Arlington National Cemetery for a brief morning ceremony to place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns, honoring military service members who served and sacrificed. The men stood shoulder to shoulder, bowing their heads as a bugler played "Taps."


Biden, who is Catholic, began the day with a private family mass at his residence. The president and first family attended church services at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically black church and site of two pre-inaugural prayer services for former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore and their families.


The Obamas and Bidens plan to participate in a church service on Monday morning at St. John's Episcopal, across Lafayette Park from the White House. They will also attend a National Prayer Service on Tuesday at the National Cathedral.


Later on Sunday evening, the newly-inaugurated leaders will attend a candlelight reception at the National Building Museum. The president and vice president are expected to deliver brief remarks to their supporters.






Read More..

Veteran jihadist claims bloody Algeria siege for al Qaeda


ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - A veteran Islamist fighter claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda for the Algerian hostage crisis, a regional website reported on Sunday, tying the bloody desert siege to France's intervention across the Sahara in Mali.


Algeria said it expected to raise its preliminary death tolls of 23 hostages and 32 militants killed in the four-day siege at a gas plant deep in the Sahara. It said on Sunday it had captured five militants alive.


Western governments whose citizens died or are missing have held back from criticizing tactics used by their ally in the struggle with Islamists across the vast desert.


"We in al Qaeda announce this blessed operation," one-eyed guerrilla Mokhtar Belmokhtar said in a video, according to the Sahara Media website, which quoted from the recording but did not immediately show it.


"We are ready to negotiate with the West and the Algerian government provided they stop their bombing of Mali's Muslims," said Belmokhtar, a veteran of two decades of war in Afghanistan and the Sahara.


Belmokhtar's fighters launched their attack on the In Amenas gas plant before dawn on Wednesday, just five days after French warplanes unexpectedly began strikes to halt advances by Islamists in neighboring northern Mali.


European and U.S. officials say the raid was almost certainly too elaborate to have been planned since the start of the French campaign, although the military action by Paris could have provided a trigger for an assault prepared in advance.


"We had around 40 jihadists, most of them from Muslim countries and some even from the West," Sahara Media quoted Belmokhtar as saying. Algerian officials say Belmokhtar's group was behind the attack but he was not present himself.


Some Western governments have expressed frustration at not being informed in advance of the Algerian authorities' decision to storm the complex on Thursday.


Survivors have said many hostages were killed when Algerian government forces blasted a convoy of trucks on Thursday morning. Algerian officials said they stormed the compound because the militants were trying to escape with their captives.


Britain and France both defended the Algerian action.


"It's easy to say that this or that should have been done. The Algerian authorities took a decision and the toll is very high but I am a bit bothered ... when the impression is given that the Algerians are open to question. They had to deal with terrorists," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.


British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a televised statement: "Of course people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched this vicious and cowardly attack.


"We should recognize all that the Algerians have done to work with us and to help and coordinate with us. I'd like to thank them for that. We should also recognize that the Algerians too have seen lives lost among their soldiers."


With so much still unknown about the fates of foreigners held at the site, some countries that have faced casualties have yet to issue full counts of their dead.


Scores of foreigners lived alongside the hundreds of Algerians at the plant, which was run by Britain's BP and Norway's Statoil and also housed workers from a Japanese engineering firm and a French catering company.


Cameron said three British nationals were confirmed killed and another three plus a British resident were also feared dead. One American has been confirmed killed. Statoil said it was searching for five missing Norwegians. Japanese and French citizens are also among those missing or presumed dead.


Algeria's Interior Ministry, which gave the figure on Saturday of 23 hostages killed, said 107 foreign hostages and 685 Algerians had been freed.


"I am afraid unfortunately to say that the death toll will go up," Minister of Communication Mohamed Said was quoted as saying on Sunday by the official APS news agency. Private Algerian television station Ennahar said on Sunday 25 bodies had been discovered. Clearing the base would take 48 hours, it said.


Survivors have given harrowing accounts. Alan Wright, now safe at home in Scotland, told Sky News he had escaped with a group of Algerian and foreign workers who hid for a day and a night and then cut their way through a fence to run to freedom.


While hiding inside the compound the first night, he managed briefly to call his wife who was at home with their two daughters desperately waiting for news.


"She asked if I wanted to speak to Imogen and Esme, and I couldn't because I thought, I don't want my last ever words to be in a crackly satellite phone, telling a lie, saying you're OK when you're far from OK," he recalled.


Algeria's oil minister, Youcef Yousfi, visited the site and said the physical damage was minor, state news service APS reported. The plant, which produces 10 percent of Algeria's natural gas, would start back up in two days, he said.


OIL VULNERABILITIES EXPOSED


The Islamists' assault has tested Algeria's relations with the outside world and exposed the vulnerability of multinational oil operations in the Sahara.


Algeria, scarred by the civil war with Islamist insurgents in the 1990s which claimed 200,000 lives, has insisted there would be no negotiation in the face of terrorism.


France especially needs close cooperation from Algeria to have a chance of crushing Islamist rebels in northern Mali. Algiers has promised to shut its porous 1,000-km border with Mali to prevent al Qaeda-linked insurgents simply melting away into its empty desert expanses and rugged mountains.


Algeria's permission for France to use its airspace, confirmed by Fabius last week, also makes it much easier to establish direct supply lines for its troops which are trying to stop the Islamist rebels from taking the whole of Mali.


French troops in Mali advanced slowly on Sunday towards the town of Diably, a militant stronghold the fighters abandoned on Saturday after punishing French attacks.


According to Communications Minister Said, the militants were of six different nationalities. Believed to be among the dead was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a fighter from Niger who is seen as close to Belmokhtar.


The apparent ease with which guerrillas swooped in from the desert to take control of an important energy facility has raised questions over the country's outwardly tough security measures. Yousfi said Algeria would not allow foreign security firms to guard its oil facilities.


Algerian officials said the attackers may have had inside help from among the hundreds of Algerians employed at the site.


Security in the half-dozen countries around the Sahara desert has long been a preoccupation of the West. Smugglers and militants have earned millions in ransom from kidnappings.


The most powerful Islamist groups operating in the Sahara were severely weakened by Algeria's secularist military in the civil war in the 1990s. But in the past two years the regional wing of al Qaeda has gained fighters and arms as a result of the civil war in Libya, when arsenals were looted from Muammar Gaddafi's army.


(Additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi in Oslo, Estelle Shirbon and David Alexander in London, Brian Love in Paris, Daniel Flynn in Dakar; Writing by David Stamp and Peter Graff; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)



Read More..

Cliffhanger result in state test run for German election






BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was in the lead Sunday after the first state poll in a general election year, initial results showed, but the race for a ruling coalition rested on a knife-edge.

Preliminary results from Lower Saxony on public television showed Merkel's Christian Democrats ahead with around 36 percent and their coalition partners for the last decade, the Free Democrats, with about 10 percent.

The Social Democrats had about 32 percent and their favoured allies the Greens nearly 14 percent, leaving the two sides neck and neck with 46 percent.

The cliffhanger was due to develop throughout the night as results trickle in, determining which coalition will come out on top eight months before a national election that will decide if Merkel wins a third four-year term.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) were down from their 42.5 percent score at the last election in 2008 but appeared to capitalise on the popularity of state premier David McAllister, a half-Scot seen as a potential Merkel successor.

"What a heart-stopping night," McAllister told reporters. "We have every reason to hope that we will be able to continue our successful coalition in Hanover," the state capital.

The big winners of the night, however, were the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), who looked set to tally their best result in Lower Saxony in post-war history.

Polls had indicated they risked slipping below the five-percent hurdle required for seats in the state parliament, but they seemed to get a lift from conservative voters splitting their ballots under Germany's two-vote system in a bid to rescue the coalition.

ARD television said around 101,000 voters who cast ballots for the conservatives in 2008 had plumped for the FDP this time.

If the FDP failed to win representation, its embattled leader Philipp Roesler, who is also Merkel's vice-chancellor and who hails from Lower Saxony, was seen as likely to step down -- possibly as soon as Sunday night.

The outcome seemed to give him a reprieve, if perhaps only brief.

"It is a great day for the FDP in Lower Saxony but it is also a great day for the FDP and liberals in Germany as a whole," a beaming Roesler told reporters in Berlin.

Around 6.2 million people were called to the polls in Lower Saxony, home to European auto giant Volkswagen.

If the centre-right coalition holds on to power, analysts say it will give Merkel, who already enjoys a robust lead in national polls due to her fierce defence of German interests in the eurozone crisis, a strong boost heading into the September election.

But if the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens manage to eke out a victory -- still a distinct possibility -- pundits say it could help shore up the battered campaign of Merkel's gaffe-prone challenger Peer Steinbrueck.

Steinbrueck, a former finance minister from Merkel's 2005-09 "grand coalition" government, was anointed by the SPD as its chancellor candidate late last year.

But he has run into trouble of late with revelations that he made around 1.25 million euros ($1.66 million) over the last three years in speaking fees, and with comments that Merkel owed much of her popularity to her gender.

The SPD's candidate in Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, hinted that he had been forced to campaign in the face of headwinds out of Berlin.

"The SPD made gains, which is remarkable considering the not exactly easy conditions under which we fought for voters' support in recent weeks," he said.

The website of news weekly Der Spiegel said the stakes remained high for the opposition.

"A victory in Hanover would be a great relief for the Social Democrats," it wrote.

"It would let the party dream of a turnaround at the national level. If it doesn't make it, there's the threat of resignation in the SPD about its chances this autumn."

After Lower Saxony, only the southern state of Bavaria is expected to vote before the September general election.

-AFP/ac



Read More..