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Michael Rogers nominated to take over spy agency at a time its under harsh ... - TIME

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 31 Januari 2014 | 16.14

This Oct. 5, 2011, photo, provided by the U.S. Navy, shows Vice Adm. Michael Rogers. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is announcing that Rogers, the head of the Navy's Cyber Command, has been chosen to be the next chief of the NSA.

U.S. Navy / AP

The Obama administration announced Thursday its nomination of a navy vice admiral to lead the National Security Agency, tapping a new chief at a time when the spy agency is under a microscope after revelations of its massive domestic surveillance programs.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that Vice Admiral Michael Rogers would replace General Keith Alexander in the agency's top position when Alexander retires. If confirmed by the senate, he'll also head the U.S. Cyber Command. Rogers' nomination comes as NSA is under fire for its bulk collection of phone and Internet data and snooping on world leaders, revelations leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Rogers is "uniquely qualified" to lead the agency.

"Mike's Navy career spans more than 30 years of distinguished service to the nation, and he is highly respected throughout the Intelligence Community," Clapper said in a statement. "He served in numerous leadership and cryptological roles… [and] deeply understands signals intelligence and cyber operations."

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Poll: Forty percent would steer kids away from football - NBCNews.com

Lm Otero / AP file

A young football player lines up on defense during a 6th grade youth football game in Richardson, Texas, in 2010. Some of the players were using a new type of football helmet designed to reduce the risk of concussions.

Forty percent of Americans say they would encourage their children to play a different sport than football due to concerns about concussions, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

This comes just days before the Super Bowl and in the midst of a major ongoing lawsuit which questions whether the National Football League did enough to prevent concussions or provide care for players suffering from brain injuries.

There is a striking split when it comes to how those at different income levels see the issue. Forty seven percent of respondents making the highest incomes (more than $75,000 per year) say don't want their children playing football due to these concerns while just 28 percent of those with the lowest incomes (less than $30,000) say the same.

Legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview about a possible connection between his memory loss and many years playing football. He also gives his take on the Miami Dolphins flap, saying bullying in the NFL is "part of the locker room."

Still, 57 percent of Americans in the survey say they would have no problem if their child wanted to play organized football.

"I think it's important for parents, especially parents of youngsters under 14, to have this discussion," said Dr. Robert Cantu, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery and co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. "If the youngster doesn't have a passion for a sport with a high risk of head injury than he is probably better off with some other sport."

Last year, the National Football League reached a $765 million settlement with thousands of retired former players – including some suffering from concussion-related injuries – who had filed a lawsuit alleging that the league failed to disclose the dangers of head trauma. But a federal judge denied the settlement's early approval, arguing that the sum might not be enough to cover all concussion-related claims.

A series of high-profile suicides in recent years have shed light on the long-term damage that violent blows to the head can have on players long after they step off the field. Retired all-pro linebacker Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease when he was found dead in 2012 with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Seau's death followed the suicides of former NFL players Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling, both of whom complained that their years of the gridiron led to a deteriorating mental state.

More and more former NFL players are speaking out about the impact that football has had on them later in life. Rayfield Wright, a star offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s, revealed for the first time on Sunday that he suffers from dementia. "These young players, they have no idea what's in store for them," he told the New York Times. "They don't know."

Star quarterback Brett Favre told NBC's TODAY show in November that he has experienced warning signs of the toll football has taken on him, including glaring memory lapses like not being able to recall that his youngest daughter played soccer.

"I don't remember her playing soccer … that was probably where my first inclination that something ain't right," he said.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent head injuries and educate players about the potential long-term impact of head trauma. But the NFL points to a series of recent rules changes as proof the league is addressing the issue. New rules like moving up the kickoff line, stricter penalties for hits to the head and diagnosing concussions on the sidelines are all policies the league has implemented in an effort to lower the amount of concussions.

Lawyers on both sides are finalizing details of a settlement which compensates former players and funds medical research. Players who developed debilitating brain injuries after spending a short time in the NFL may not receive as much as those who were injured after playing for a longer period of time. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

The NFL said on Thursday that in the last year, there was a 13 percent drop in game and practice concussions.

Forty one percent of Americans in the poll – including 59 percent who say they follow professional football closely – say they believe the NFL has taken meaningful action to reduce and prevent concessions. Another 20 percent think the NFL hasn't taken meaningful action, and 38 percent say they don't know enough to have an opinion.

Last week, Goodell said he would be open to allowing players to use medical marijuana if experts could show it helped treat concussions.

President Barack Obama has even weighed in on the issue. "I would not let my son play pro football," he recently told The New Yorker magazine.

Even recent NFL greats like Troy Aikman and Kurt Warner have said they would hesitate to allow their children to play football.

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Jan. 22-25 of 800 adults (including 240 cell phone-only respondents), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points.

NBC News contributor Linda Carroll and NBC's Andrew Rafferty contributed to this report.

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Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito guilty of Kercher Italy murder - BBC News

30 January 2014 Last updated at 22:05 ET

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito (file images)

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The verdict is the third in the case - and may yet be appealed

A court in Italy has reinstated the guilty verdicts against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher in 2007.

American Knox - who is in the US - and her Italian ex-boyfriend Sollecito had pleaded not guilty.

She was sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail, while Sollecito received 25 years.

Miss Kercher was stabbed to death in the flat she shared in Perugia with Knox.

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Speaking before the verdicts emerged, Knox said she was "a marked person"

After nearly 12 hours of deliberations on Thursday, the court in Florence reinstated the verdicts first handed down in 2009 but overturned in 2011, when the pair were freed after four years in jail.

The verdicts were delivered by presiding judge Alessando Nencini, who ordered that the passport of 29-year-old Sollecito - who was in the courtroom earlier on Thursday but left before the verdicts were delivered - should be revoked.

But he made no requests for limits on 26-year-old Knox's movements, saying she was "justifiably abroad''.

He ordered that damages should be paid by the pair to the family of Miss Kercher, whose brother Lyle and sister Stephanie were present when the verdict was read out.

Speaking soon after, Lyle Kercher said: "No matter what the verdict, it was never going to be a case of celebrating anything. That's probably the best we could have hoped for."

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

This re-running of the appeal process was ordered by Italy's highest court.

In the ruling, its judges had demolished the grounds for Knox and Sollecito's acquittals.

And so there was a sense that the momentum was with the prosecution as this latest appeal began.

Now that it has secured a conviction, an eventual attempt to extradite Knox is a possibility.

But her legal team would fight it with everything it had.

Most people in Italy would find it very difficult indeed to imagine the US authorities one day putting Amanda Knox on a plane and sending her back here to spend much of the rest of her life in jail.

Extradition proceedings against Knox, who refused to return to Italy for the case, may now begin.

Both she and Sollecito can lodge appeals with the supreme court, which will have the final say. But it could take a year to make a ruling, experts say.

Sollecito was "struck dumb" after hearing the verdict on TV, his lawyer said.

Luca Maori said Sollecito looked "annihilated" by the sentence.

In a statement issued after the verdict, Knox said she was "frightened and saddened by this unjust" verdict.

She added: "Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system... There has always been a marked lack of evidence. My family and I have suffered greatly from this wrongful persecution. This has gotten out of hand."

She condemned what she described as "overzealous and intransigent prosecution, prejudiced and narrow-minded investigation, unwillingness to admit mistake, reliance on unreliable testimony and evidence, character assassination, inconsistent and unfounded accusatory theory, and counterproductive and coercive interrogation techniques that produce false confessions and inaccurate statements".

Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at American University in Washington, said that if Italy made a extradition request, the US would have to decide whether it fell under their extradition treaty.

While there was "no reason to think the US has a specific interest" in blocking her extradition, Mr Vladeck said, countries could effectively stand in the way with a variety of "creative" interpretations of extradition treaties.

He added that if the US did grant Italy's request, Knox could fight her extradition in a US court, citing among other things international human rights law.

'Sex game'

The court heard from Knox's defence team in the morning, before the two judges and eight jurors retired to deliberate on a verdict.

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Amanda Knox's friend Tom Wright: "Those around her, and Amanda herself, will not rest until she is exonerated"

Continue reading the main story

Will US extradite Amanda Knox?

Taylor Brown BBC News, Washington

After Thursday's guilty verdict, Italy will probably file an extradition request to bring Amanda Knox back. Knox has said "common sense" tells her to not return to Italy on her own accord, despite her professed innocence.

Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at American University in Washington DC, says that whether or not Ms Knox is extradited to Italy is a question of the request's legal basis and America's political interest in the case.

Once Italy makes a request, the US will have to decide whether it falls under their extradition treaty.

While there is "no reason to think the US has a specific interest" in blocking her extradition, Mr Vladeck says, countries can effectively stand in the way with a variety of "creative" interpretations of extradition treaties.

If the US does grant Italy's request, Knox can fight her extradition in a US court, citing among other things international human rights law.

But Mr Vladeck thinks the US protection against being tried twice for the same crime - known as double jeopardy - doesn't apply in this case.

"There's nothing in the treaty that requires Italy to uphold the US legal system."

Summing up, Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, told the court her innocence was "rock-solid and it allows us to await the verdict with serenity".

Sollecito, 29, told the court in November that it made "no real sense" for him to have committed "such an atrocious act".

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon in south London and 21 at the time, was found with her throat cut in a flat she shared with Knox in the college city of Perugia, in the central region of Umbria.

Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast was convicted of her murder at an earlier trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Prosecutors sought to prove Miss Kercher had died in a sex game involving Knox and Sollecito that went wrong.

They have since alleged that the murder resulted from a heated argument over cleanliness in the Perugia apartment.

Arrested days after the murder and detained in prison, Knox and Sollecito were tried and convicted in November 2009. In 2011, an eight-member jury cleared both defendants of Miss Kercher's murder after doubts were raised over procedures used to gather DNA evidence.

Ordering a retrial last year after an appeal by prosecutors, who argued that important DNA evidence had been disregarded, the supreme court in Rome moved proceedings from Umbria to Florence, in the northern region of Tuscany.

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Federal prosecutors to seek death penalty against Marathon terror bomb suspect ... - Boston.com

US Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has authorized federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the young man accused in the Boston Marathon terror bombings in April that killed three people, injured more than 260 others, and sent a wave of shock and fear through the region.

"After consideration of the relevant facts, the applicable regulations and the submissions made by the defendant's counsel, I have determined that the United States will seek the death penalty in this matter. The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision," Holder said in a statement.

Prosecutors notified a federal judge in Boston today of the decision.

"We support this decision and the trial team is prepared to move forward with the prosecution," Boston US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said in a statement.

Miriam Conrad, who is leading Tsarnaev's defense team, had no comment.

US District Court George A. O'Toole Jr. had given prosecutors until Friday to make the decision. With the authorization, the US attorney's office can move forward in requesting a trial date. The death penalty can also now be a factor in any plea negotiations.

Tsarnaev, 20, faces 30 federal charges for setting off the April 15 bombs that plunged the region into terror for five days, until his arrest in Watertown. His older brother and alleged accomplice, Tamerlan, 26, was killed in a firefight with police.

Krystle Campbell, 29, Lingzi Lu, 23, and Martin Richard, 8, were killed in the blasts. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also faces state charges in the fatal shooting of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, whom authorities say the brothers murdered as they tried to flee the area.

Prosecutors said in today's filing with the court they would seek the death penalty for 17 of the charges Tsarnaev faces, and they would prove the following factors, as required by law: that the killings and injuries were intentional, that Tsarnaev willingly took part in the acts that resulted in death, and that he knew they could end in death.

The prosecutors also cited other factors that would allow for the death penalty: that death occurred during the commission of another crime, that the crime itself created a grave risk of death, that there was planning involved, that there were multiple killings and vulnerable victims, and that there was a "heinous, cruel and depraved manner of committing the offense."

Prosecutors also cited several arguments that they weren't required to make by law, including "betrayal of the United States," and the selection of the Marathon as the site of the bombings.

Tsarnaev "enjoyed the freedoms of a United States citizen [then] betrayed his allegiance to the United States by killing and maiming people in the United States," prosecutors said, adding that Tsarnaev had "demonstrated a lack of remorse."

Prosecutors in federal cases where the death penalty is a possibility are required to decide at the outset whether to seek it. As attorney general, Holder held the ultimate authority to make the decision.

Prosecutors from Ortiz's office and defense lawyers were allowed to file confidential recommendations to Holder in recent months, stating their arguments for and against the death penalty. Ortiz has not said what her recommendation was.

Ortiz said in her statement today that "the process by which this decision was made is confidential, and I will not comment further about that process other than to say that it entailed a careful and detailed consideration of the particular facts and circumstances of this case."

Judge O'Toole has appointed four defense attorneys to represent Tsarnaev, including Judy Clarke, who specializes in death penalty cases.

If Tsarnaev is convicted, prosecutors would still have to present their arguments for the death penalty to a jury in a separate sentencing trial. Assistant US Attorney William D. Weinreb has said in previous court hearings that a trial could last three months, and that the separate sentencing trial could last an additional two months.

Jarrod Clowery, a 36-year-old carpenter from Milville whose legs were badly burned and struck by shrapnel during the bombings, said Holder's decision had no emotional effect on him.

He never talks about the Tsarnaev brothers, something that happened naturally as he recovered from his injuries — not out of a conscious choice to avoid the subject.

"I'm moving on with my life," he said. "It has no bearing on my life whatsoever ... I don't even think about the trial or anything like that. [The attackers] were tried and convicted by a power higher than us the moment they did what they did."Continued...

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Mayor de Blasio announces New York's stop-and-frisk appeal is on hold - New York Daily News

Mayor de Blasio, who campaigned on a promise to "end the era of stop-and-frisk policing," moved Thursday to do just that.

He announced a deal to drop the city's appeal of a court ruling that found the NYPD's use of stop-and-frisk violated the constitutional rights of minorities.

Under the proposed settlement, the city would accept the remedies ordered by federal Judge Shira Scheindlin in her sweeping Aug.12 decision, including the appointment of an outside a monitor to oversee reforms.

RELATED: END OF AN ERROR

The deal calls for the oversight by the monitor, Peter Zimroth, to last three years; Scheindlin's decision had contained no end date.

The agreement, negotiated with the lawyers who had sued the city, represents a dramatic U-turn from the policies of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had denounced and appealed Scheindlin's ruling, saying it would put the safety of New Yorkers at risk.

Standing alongside his police commissioner, William Bratton, inside a recreation center in Brownsville, Brooklyn — the community that has had more stop-and-frisks than any other — de Blasio argued just the opposite.

RELATED: HAMILL: RETURNING TOP COP BRATTON HAS NEW PLAN FOR STOP-FRISK

He said the reforms "will make everyone safer."

"We're here . . . to turn the page on one of the most divisive problems in our city," the mayor said.

"We believe in ending the overuse of stop-and-frisk that has unfairly targeted young African-American and Latino men."

RELATED: STOP-FRISK RULING WITHSTANDS NYC'S CHALLENGE FOR NOW

The deal — if it is accepted by the courts — would end one of the most racially polarizing legal battles in modern city history.

The NYPD's use of stop-and-frisk has rankled minorities and civil rights activists for years, dating to the days of Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

But the practice soared under Bloomberg and his top cop, Ray Kelly, to more than 5 million stops in the past decade, mostly of black and Hispanic men. About 10% resulted in arrests or summonses; weapons were found 2% of the time.

RELATED: JUDGES, LEGAL PROS BACK TRIAL JUDGE IN STOP, FRISK RULING

The issue became a flash point in the mayoral race, with de Blasio pledging to scale back and reform the police use of the tactic.

In her ruling, Scheindlin said the NYPD's application of stop-and-frisk policing amounted to a "policy of indirect racial profiling," saying cops routinely stopped "blacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white."

The deal announced Thursday is not final.

RELATED: GIULIANI WANTS 'FRIEND OF COURT' STATUS IN STOP-FRISK

City police unions have until Feb. 7 to file any objections, and the city has until Feb. 14 to reply.

Giuliani, who filed a legal brief supporting Bloomberg's appeal, said it was a mistake to halt the appeals process.

"Everybody is entitled to have the court system play this out to the very end," he said. "Otherwise the question remains forever, 'Was (Scheindlin's decision) political?'"

RELATED: DE BLASIO'S STOP-FRISK OPPOSITION HAS COP UNIONS WEIGHING LAWSUIT INTERVENTION

The president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, had a more cautious response, saying only that "we continue to have serious concerns about how these remedies will impact our members and the ability to do their jobs."

A police union spokesman, Al O'Leary, added, "This is a proposal. It's not a solution yet. We've been given until Feb. 7 to tell the courts what we think about it. We're in the process of putting that together now."

Bratton, an architect of stop-and-frisk when he worked under Giuliani, said Thursday the reforms were essential to improving police-community relations.

"They are necessary to ensure the fabric of society . . . is in fact rewoven," he said.

In a statement, he added, "We will not break the law to eforce the law. That's my solemn promise to every New Yorker, regardless of where they were born, where they live, or what they look like. Those values aren't at odds with keeping New Yorkers safe — they are essential to long-term public safety."

With News Wire Services

dbeekman@nydailynews.com

gotis@nydailynews.com

The long road to a legal settlement over challenges to stop-and-frisk policing:

March 8, 1999: Lawsuit Daniels v. NYC filed after Amadou Diallo was killed by police in the Bronx. It challenges stop-and-frisk practices by the NYPD's Street Crimes Uunit.

January 20, 2004: Daniels v. NYC dismissed in settlement when NYPD agrees to disband Street Crimes Unit and adopt written policy against racial profiling.

2003-2008: Number of stop and frisk encounters increase dramatically over time under Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Jan. 31, 2008: Lawsuit Floyd v. NYC filed accusing NYPD of unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices and racial profiling.

May 2013: Trial held over nine weeks in Floyd v. NYC. The trial is head as the mayoral race gains steam, with stop-and-frisk policing a major issue.

Aug. 12, 2013: Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin finds NYPD liable for unconstitutional and racially discriminatory stop-and-frisk practices. Scheindlin appoints a monitor to oversee reforms in a process with NYPD and community input.

Aug-Oct. 2013: Bloomberg administration appeals Scheindlin's ruling and police unions seek to intervene in the case.

Oct. 31, 2013: U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel halts reform process and removes Scheindlin from the case, accusing her of appearance of impropriety.

Nov. 5, 2013: Bill de Blasio is elected mayor after making improper stop-and-frisk practices a pillar of his campaign. He promises to drop the appeal of Scheindlin's ruling.

Dec. 10, 2013: Bloomberg administration submits court filing in support of its appeal.

Jan. 1, 2014: De Blasio inaugurated as mayor.

Jan. 30, 2014: De Blasio announces agreement with plaintiffs. His administration asks 2nd Circuit panel to put appeal on hold and send case back to Manhattan Federal Court for settlement

Source: Center for Constitutional Rights

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Air Force brass: Culture of fear led to cheating - Northwest Cable News

WASHINGTON (AP) — A worrisome culture of fear that made launch officers believe they had to get perfect test scores to be promoted fueled a widening cheating scandal within the military's nuclear missile corps, according to Air Force officials.

Half of the 183 launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana have been implicated in the cheating investigation and suspended, signaling deeper morale and personnel problems in a force critical to America's nuclear security.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said the scandal hasn't affected the safety or reliability of the military's nuclear mission. Speaking to Pentagon reporters Thursday, James and Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, who heads the Global Strike Command, said that so far it appears the cheating was confined to the Montana base, even while a climate of frustration, low morale and other failures permeates the nuclear force, which numbers about 550.

The cheating scandal is the latest in an array of troubles that now have the attention of senior defense officials, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The Associated Press began reporting on the issue nine months ago and revealed serious security lapses, low morale, burnout and other problems in the nuclear force. The Air Force recently announced the cheating scandal, which grew out of a drug investigation.

"These tests have taken on, in their eyes, such high importance, that they feel that anything less than 100 could well put their entire career in jeopardy" even though they only need a score of 90 to pass, said James, who recently took over as secretary. "They have come to believe that these tests are make-it-or-break-it."

The launch officers didn't cheat to pass the test, "they cheated because they felt driven to get 100 percent," she said.

Of the 92 officers implicated so far, as many as 40 were involved directly in the cheating, Wilson said. Others may have known about it but did not report it.

Separately, James said that an investigation into drug possession by officers at several Air Force bases now involves 13 airmen, two more than initially announced. The drug probe led to the discovery of the cheating problem, when investigators found that launch officers were texting answers to each other.

All 92 officers — nearly 17 percent of the force — have been decertified and taken off the job while the scandal is being investigated. That means other launch officers and staff must fill in, performing 10 24-hour shifts per month, instead of the usual eight, Wilson said. Staff members from the 20th Air Force, which oversees all of the nuclear missile force, are also being tapped to do the shifts.

The Air Force has 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, on alert at all times. Each day, 90 officers work in pairs inside 45 underground launch control centers, with each center monitoring and controlling a group of 10 ICBMs. They work 24-hour shifts in the missile field and then return to their base.

The latest scandal set off a top-level search for solutions, including a round of visits by James to all the nuclear bases, where she met privately with small groups of airmen to get their insights into the problems.

James and Wilson said that the problems underscore the need to develop new testing and training procedures, provide more incentives and rewards for those who perform well, and set up a system that looks at more than test scores when evaluating officers.

Officials have yet to discipline any commanders or officers beyond those who actually took the tests. But the ongoing reviews look at leadership and accountability within the force. That includes a culture of poor integrity that may encourage officers to share test answers as a way of looking out for each other.

"I do believe there are climate issues, and part of that will be assessing commanders — how did this happen?" said James.

Wilson said all missile launch officers have now been retested, and the average score was about 95 percent. He said 22 failed. Additional nuclear testing and crew evaluations are also being done.

Malmstrom Air Force Base is responsible for 150 Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles, or one-third of the entire Minuteman 3 force. The other two bases are F.E. Warren in Wyoming and Minot in North Dakota.

The tests in question are designed to ensure proficiency by launch officers in handling "emergency war orders," which involve the classified processing of orders received through their chain of command to launch a missile. These written tests are in addition to two other types of monthly testing on the missile system and on launch codes.

According to James and Wilson, the monthly tests all cover the same course material, but until now each base developed its own individual questions. As a result of the scandal, Wilson said the tests will now be developed by 20th Air Force.

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Amanda Knox retrial verdict: Six things to know - CNN International

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 30 Januari 2014 | 16.14

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Knox and Raffaele Sollecito await another verdict in the Meredith Kercher murder case
Kercher was found stabbed in 2007 in a villa she rented with Knox in Perugia, Italy
Knox and Sollecito's 2009 murder convictions were overturned on appeal in 2011
An expert tells CNN that it is unlikely the U.S. would allow Knox to be extradited to Italy

(CNN) -- U.S. student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are waiting -- once again -- for a verdict from an Italian court in the murder case of British student Meredith Kercher.

Why are Knox and Sollecito back on trial?

In 2009, they were convicted of killing Kercher, 21, who was found stabbed in November 2007 in the villa that she and Knox rented in the central Italian university town of Perugia.

Prosecutors say she was held down and stabbed after she rejected attempts by Knox, Sollecito and another man, Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, to involve her in a sex game. Guede is the only person still in jail for the murder, and many aspects still remain unexplained.

The convictions of Knox, from Seattle, and Sollecito were overturned in 2011 for "lack of evidence." But Italy's Supreme Court decided in March 2013 to retry the case, saying the jury that acquitted them didn't consider all the evidence and discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered.

What is different about this trial?

Despite the ruling of the Supreme Court, there is little difference in the evidence or details of the case, and it is unclear how presiding judge Alessandra Nencini will rule Thursday.

The retrial in Florence has renewed questions about the effectiveness of Italy's justice system, given doubts about the handling of the investigation and key pieces of evidence. When Knox was first convicted of murder, there was outcry in the U.S. that she was wrongfully convicted, based on shoddy evidence. When she was acquitted, there was nearly as much of an outcry in Italy that the courts had succumbed to American pressure.

Have the defendants attended the retrial?

The retrial began on September 30 without either of them in court. Sollecito was in the Dominican Republic at the start of the retrial but returned to Italy. He took the stand in November, defending himself.

"I would like to make you understand that these charges against me are absurd," he said. "There was not a basis to charge me, to put me in jail. ... I don't wish anybody on Earth to go through what I went through."

He said that evidence against him -- including a knife that was a key part of the prosecution's case -- was "an illusion."

Knox returned to Seattle after her 2011 acquittal and has been living there since. She says she is afraid to return to Italy, where she spent four years behind bars.

She again maintained her innocence in a written statement to the Florence court. "I must repeat to you. I'm innocent. I did not rape, I did not steal ... I did not kill Meredith," Knox said a lengthy e-mail, written in Italian, which was presented to the court by her lawyer.

What will happen to Knox if she is convicted?

Whatever is decided Thursday may not mean the case is closed. Either side can appeal a verdict they are unhappy with, under Italy's three-strike trial system. This could also mean the case would continue with no immediate outcome.

Even if Knox is convicted this time around, it is unlikely she will ever return to Italy. One legal expert told CNN that since U.S. law dictates that a person cannot be tried twice on the same charge, she will not be extradited. "Under U.S. law, she was once put in jeopardy and later acquitted," said Sean Casey, a former prosecutor who is now a partner at Kobre & Kim in New York. "Under the treaty, extradition should not be granted."

Speaking before the retrial, Casey added that the many flaws in the original verdict would also give Knox protection.

There is a valid extradition agreement between the two nations, but the U.S. has not set much of a precedence in returning suspects for such matters. Italians point to a number of high-profile cases over the years in which they say American suspects have been accused of wrongdoing and criminal acts, but have been let off lightly.

In 1998, an American military jet clipped a ski lift cable, sending a gondola of 20 passengers to their deaths in the Italian Dolomite Mountains.

Italian prosecutors wanted the crew of the jet tried in Italy, but an Italian court ruled they should face courts-martial in the U.S., in accordance with NATO treaties. The aircraft's pilot and navigator were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter, even though the military admitted the plane had been flying lower and faster than authorized.

When it emerged that a video that captured the accident from inside the plane had been destroyed, they were dismissed from the Marine Corps. Italians were outraged, referring to the incident as the "massacre of Cermis."

In another incident that raised tensions, Egyptian cleric Abu Omar was seized off the streets of Milan in 2003 and smuggled to Egypt, where he says he was tortured and released four years later.

Although Italy did not request the extradition of any of the suspects, 22 CIA agents were convicted in absentia of the kidnapping and sentenced to prison time for their role in the abduction, but none ever served time in Italy.

What will happen to Sollecito if he is found guilty a second time around?

Because Sollecito is an Italian citizen, he will not have to face extradition if reconvicted. Police can simply pick him up and put him in jail.

What has been the reaction of Kercher's family?

A lawyer for the Kercher family said the victim's brother and sister, Lyle and Stephanie, would attend court to hear the decision.

The case has dragged on for six years, frustrating attempts by Kercher's family to discover the truth about her death. Three trials have done little to clear up mysteries about the details of the murder.

"No one remembers Meredith, while the two defendants write books, speak to the media and earn money," family lawyer Francesco Maresca told the court in closing remarks last month.

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Study: Kids' obesity risk starts before school age - Boston.com

Those efforts to fight obesity in schools? Think younger. A new study finds that much of a child's ''weight fate'' is set by age 5, and that nearly half of kids who became obese by the eighth grade were already overweight when they started kindergarten.

The prevalence of weight problems has long been known — about a third of U.S. kids are overweight or obese. But surprisingly little is known about which kids will develop obesity, and at what age.

Researchers think there may be a window of opportunity to prevent it, and ''we keep pushing our critical window earlier and earlier on,'' said Solveig Cunningham, a scientist at Emory University. ''A lot of the risk of obesity seems to be set, to some extent, really early in life.''

She led the new study, which was published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine and paid for by the federal government.

It tracked a nationwide sample of more than 7,700 children through grade school. When they started kindergarten, 12 percent were obese and 15 percent were overweight. By eighth grade, 21 percent were obese and 17 percent were overweight.

Besides how common obesity was at various ages, researchers focused on the 6,807 children who were not obese when the study started, at kindergarten entry. Here are some things they found:

WHO BECAME OBESE: Between ages 5 and 14, nearly 12 percent of children developed obesity — 10 percent of girls and nearly 14 percent of boys.

Nearly half of kids who started kindergarten overweight became obese teens. Overweight 5-year-olds were four times as likely as normal-weight children to become obese (32 percent versus 8 percent).

GRADE LEVELS: Most of the shift occurred in the younger grades. During the kindergarten year, about 5 percent of kids who had not been obese at the start became that way by the end. The greatest increase in the prevalence of obesity was between first and third grades; it changed little from ages 11 to 14.

RACE: From kindergarten through eighth grade, the prevalence of obesity increased by 65 percent among whites, 50 percent among Hispanics, almost 120 percent among blacks and more than 40 percent among others — Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans and mixed-race children.

By eighth grade, 17 percent of black children had become obese, compared to 14 percent of Hispanics and 10 percent of whites and children of other races.

INCOME: Obesity was least common among children from the wealthiest families and most prevalent among kids in the next-to-lowest income category. The highest rate of children developing obesity during the study years was among middle-income families.

BIRTHWEIGHT: At all ages, obesity was more common among children who weighed a lot at birth — roughly 9 pounds or more. About 36 percent of kids who became obese during grade school had been large at birth.

The study's findings do not mean that it's too late for schools to act, but their best tactic may be to focus on kids who are overweight and try to encourage exercise and healthy eating, Cunningham said.

The work also shows the need for parents, doctors, preschools and even day care centers to be involved, said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a University of Colorado pediatrician and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

Parents who are concerned about a child's weight should talk with their child's doctor, because it may be hard to tell what is normal at various ages and appearances can be misleading. In children, obesity and overweight are defined by how a child ranks on growth charts that compare them to other kids the same age and gender. Kids at or above the 85th percentile are considered overweight, and obese at the 95th percentile or above.

No child should be placed on a diet without a doctor's advice, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises. To help keep kids healthy, balance the calories a child gets from food and beverages with how much exercise he or she gets to allow enough for normal growth — some weight gain is normal, the CDC says.

''You can change your fate by things that you do early in life,'' with more exercise and eating a healthy diet, Daniels said. ''Once it occurs, obesity is really hard to treat. So the idea is we should really work hard to prevent it.''

___

Online:

CDC advice: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html

Tips for parents: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/index.html

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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Lenovo-Google Deal Adds to Samsung's Smartphone Worries - Wall Street Journal

SEOUL—Lenovo Group Ltd.'s purchase of Google Inc.'s phone business will create a formidable player in a market already fiercely competitive and under pressure from cheap makers.

World-wide, smartphones are dominated by Samsung Electronics Co., which has parlayed a partnership with Google on its popular Android operating system into a 30% share of global smartphone shipments last year.

While Lenovo isn't likely to immediately...

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Obama's 2014 State of the Union wish list - CBS News

A president's annual address to Congress offers the opportunity to write a wish list for the year ahead. In the weeks leading up to his 2014 State of the Union, President Obama emphasized a plan to work around Congress to accomplish his goals when they would not act.

Mr. Obama can take small steps by using executive orders, presidential memorandums, and convening like-minded leaders on some of his agenda items. For big policy changes like immigration reform or raising the minimum wage, there's little he can do without Congress. Here's a breakdown of what the president wants to do in 2014, and whether he'll need Congress to do it:

Obama's planned executive orders

Minimum wage: Obama announced the morning of the State of the Union that he was increasing the minimum wage for federal contractor workers to $10.10 per hour. Addressing rising inequality and limited social mobility was a major theme of the president's speech, but raising the minimum wage for the majority of Americans is one area where he has few options on his own.
Retirement savings: Through executive actions, Mr. Obama plans to push the idea of "myRA" accounts for millions of Americans – a new starter retirement savings account that will allow people to begin saving money through their employers through an account like a Roth IRA or savings bonds backed by the U.S. government. The president will hold an event in West Mifflin, Pa., Wednesday where he will sign a presidential memorandum directing the Treasury Department to create the savings account.
Family policies: President Obama has plans to host a summit on working families to highlight policies that can help families, showcasing companies who have excelled in that arena and recommend laws and policies that advance the administration's goals on flexibility, paid leave and reducing discrimination.
Job training: Mr. Obama is directing vice president Biden to conduct a review of the federal job-training system.
Unemployment: Later this week the administration will convene a group of CEOs and other leaders to talk about the best ways to incorporate unemployed Americans back into the workforce. President Obama has asked CEOs to do a better job of making sure they are considered for open positions.
Environment: Mr. Obama has pledged to streamline permitting and cut red tape to encourage the construction of factories that rely on natural gas.
Universal pre-K: On this perennial goal, the president can do little more than bring together a coalition of elected officials, business leaders and philanthropists who want to make commitments to expand early childhood education.

Where he'll need Congress' help

Immigration: "It is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, law enforcement -- and fix our broken immigration system," Mr. Obama said. He'll need House Republicans to get on board and offer some policies, since they won't take up a bill passed by the Senate.
Extending emergency unemployment benefits: "This Congress needs to restore the unemployment insurance you just let expire for 1.6 million people," Mr. Obama said in the speech, highlighting guest Misty DeMars, a wife and mother who lost her job to budget cuts just a week after buying a house. "Give these hardworking, responsible Americans that chance. They need our help, but more important, this country needs them in the game." An extension of the benefits, which expired at the end of December, is currently stalled in Congress.
Earned Income Tax Credit: The president wants to expand this tax break to cover single Americans who don't have children, because he argues it will help reduce inequality and allow people to climb the economic ladder.
Tax reform: "Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with wasteful, complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here and reward companies that keep profits abroad. Let's flip that equation. Let's work together to close those loopholes, end those incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lower tax rates for businesses that create jobs right here at home," Mr. Obama said in his address. Republicans want to reform the tax code as well, but they are more interested in ways to lower rates for individuals and businesses.
Minimum wage: In addition to his plan to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers, Mr. Obama wants to see a higher minimum wage for all Americans. He'll kick off his post-State of the Union travel with a trip to a Costco in Lanham, Md., Wednesday to talk about the issue. In his speech, he praised companies like the wholesaler for embracing higher wages as a way to increase productivity and reduce turnover. "This will help families. It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It does not involve any new bureaucratic program," he said. Unfortunately, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, believes it's bad policy that will hurt the people Mr. Obama is trying to help.
Manufacturing: Mr. Obama has pledged to expand a network of hubs for high-tech manufacturing, but said he could create more – and therefore spur more job growth – if Congress backed the program.
Trade: The president is seeking what is known as, "trade promotion authority," which would allow him to get a faster, up-or-down vote to finalize trade deals being negotiated in Europe and Asia.
Environment: In his speech, Mr. Obama called on Congress to authorize funds to build fuel stations that rely on natural gas, and change tax priorities to reduce tax breaks for fossil fuel industries.
Investment in universal pre-K: Here's another area where further federal investment will require Congress to use its power of the purse.
Guantanamo Bay: Congress eased restrictions on transferring detainees out of the military prison in the most recent defense authorization bill, but the president would like them to go further and remove all remaining restrictions so he can close the prison..
Iran: Here's something President Obama doesn't want Congress to do: pass new sanctions against Iran. He argues that fresh sanctions will undermine a six-month deal with Iran to halt its nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief and end the possibility of striking a longer-term deal with the Middle Eastern Nation. "The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible. But let me be clear: If this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it," Mr. Obama said. "For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed."

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Missouri executes man after appeals denied - Washington Post

BONNE TERRE, Mo. — In 1991, Herbert Smulls called jeweler Stephen Honickman and set up an appointment to meet at his store in suburban St. Louis. He said he wanted to buy a diamond for his fiancee.

It was a set up. Smulls wanted to rob the store and took along a 15-year-old friend to help commit what became a far worse crime: Honickman was shot to death. Honickman's wife, Florence, was also shot, but survived by faking death in a pool of her own blood until the assailants left.

Late Wednesday night, Smulls was put to death with a lethal dose of pentobarbital, Missouri's third execution since November and the third since switching to the new drug that's made by a compounding pharmacy the state refuses to name.

Smulls, 56, did not have any final words. The process was brief, Smulls mouthed a few words to his two witnesses, who were not identified, then breathed heavily twice and shut his eyes for good. He was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.

Florence Honickman spoke to the media after the execution, flanked by her adult son and daughter. She questioned why it took 22 years of appeals before Smulls was put to death.

"Make no mistake, the long, winding and painful road leading up to this day has been a travesty of justice," she said.

His attorneys spent the days leading up to the execution filing appeals that questioned the secretive nature of how Missouri obtains the lethal drug, saying that if the drug was inadequate, the inmate could suffer during the execution process. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay late Tuesday before clearing numerous appeals Wednesday — including the final one that was filed less than 30 minutes before Smulls was pronounced dead, though the denial came about 30 minutes after his death.

When asked about the time between the appeal and the execution, Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell said, "I'm not familiar with that."

Like Joseph Paul Franklin in November and Allen Nicklasson in December, Smulls showed no outward signs of distress in an execution process that took about nine minutes.

Missouri had used a three-drug protocol for executions since 1989, but makers stopped selling those drugs for executions. Missouri ultimately switched late last year to a form of pentobarbital made by a compounding pharmacy. The state claims that since the compounding pharmacy is part of the execution team, it is not required to disclose its name.

Smulls had a troubled life from the start. Born in St. Louis to an unwed 15-year-old, he was passed along to two other caregivers while still a toddler. As a young man he turned to crime and spent time in prison for robbery.

In the summer of 1991, he decided to rob again.

Honickman's F&M Crown Jewels in the tony St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield was open by appointment only. Honickman agreed to meet with Smulls on the pretense that Smulls was buying a gift for his fiancee.

The encounter quickly turned violent. Honickman, shot and dying on the floor, pleaded with Smulls to stop.

"Enough already, take what you want," Honickman said according to his wife's testimony. The robbers took rings and watches, including the ones Florence Honickman was wearing. They apparently thought she was dead, as she'd been shot in the side and the arm, lying motionless in her own blood.

"I felt pain and terror while I lay on the floor playing dead while the murderers ransacked our office," Florence Honickman said Wednesday night.

When police stopped Smulls 15 minutes later, they found stolen jewelry and weapons in his car, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said. Florence Honickman identified the assailants.

Smulls' legal case was protracted over several appeals and over several years, finally ending in 2009 with the death sentence. His accomplice, Norman Brown, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

"It was a horrific crime," McCulloch said. "With all the other arguments that the opponents of the death penalty are making, it's simply to try to divert the attention from what this guy did, and why he deserves to be executed."

Compounding pharmacies custom-mix drugs for individual clients and are not subject to oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, though they are regulated by states.

Smulls' attorney, Cheryl Pilate, contended the state's secrecy regarding where the pentobarbital is made makes it impossible to know whether the drug could cause pain and suffering during the execution process.

Pilate also said she and her defense team used information obtained through open records requests and publicly available documents to determine that the compounding pharmacy is The Apothecary Shoppe, based in Tulsa, Okla. In a statement, The Apothecary Shoppe would neither confirm nor deny that it makes the Missouri drug.

Pilate said the possibility that something could go wrong persists, citing recent trouble with execution drugs in Ohio and Oklahoma. She also said that previous testimony from a prison official indicates Missouri stores the drug at room temperatures, which experts believe could taint the drug, Pilate said, and potentially cause it to lose effectiveness.

Some Missouri lawmakers have expressed reservations about the state's execution procedure. On Tuesday, Missouri Senate Democratic Leader Jolie Justus introduced legislation that would create an 11-member commission responsible for setting the state's execution procedure. She said ongoing lawsuits and secrecy about the state's current lethal injection method should drive a change in protocol.

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Ugly remnants, signs of recovery after winter storm clobbers Deep South - CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Baby born in car stuck in crippled Atlanta traffic is doing well
Abandoned cars, black ice and other road hazards remain
Most of the ice has melted, and warmer weather is on its way to finish the job
Report: 11,375 students had been trapped in Alabama schools; only 1,600 remain

Atlanta (CNN) -- The otherworldly, icy nightmare that paralyzed Atlanta is slipping into the rear view mirror. Abandoned cars still litter the road, but not for long.

Georgia will help motorists retrieve abandoned cars Thursday morning by ferrying them in four-wheel-drive vehicles to spots where they left them standing.

They will also receive up to five gallons of gas, emergency management spokesman Ken Davis said.

And a jump start, if their batteries are dead.

Freezing temperatures sweep U.S.

HIDE CAPTION

About 50 teams comprising 75 officers will be there to help.

The state has no official tally of how many abandoned cars still litter the roads, but will count them Thursday.

Tow, tow, tow

Throughout the South, tow trucks have been swarming over the ice, and they still have work to do.

A-Tow, which runs more than 40 trucks in metro Atlanta, reeled in 200 abandoned and wrecked vehicles from the storm Wednesday. It said 120 of the shlepps were requested by state transportation officials.

In Alabama's hardest hit county, hundreds of vehicles still stand silent and abandoned on country roads. The streets were still impassable and closed Wednesday in Shelby County, just south of Birmingham, the Sheriff's Department said.

Only emergency vehicles were allowed on them.

In North Carolina, at least 600 motorists called police to say they had crashed their vehicles or abandoned them.

The ice is losing

Here and in other nearby hard-hit regions, temperatures dropped into the teens one last time early Thursday. It meant one last night of black ice from Louisiana to North Carolina.

But the ice is losing the battle. At least in Atlanta, where much of it has vanished from salted roads.

More of it will melt away as the sun rises into the sky Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

Highs will climb well above freezing, and it gets even better on the weekend, when it will feel like spring again, like it often does across the South.

The snow-sleet-freezing-rain fiasco is on its way to becoming a bad memory.

Good memory

Atlanta's snowy traffic will be a good memory for one little girl and her parents, especially when her birthday rolls around every year.

She was born in their stranded car as a police officer looked on. She is healthy and doing fine, Nick and Amy Anderson told CNN's Piers Morgan on Wednesday.

They are convinced that more than just luck was in play for the happy outcome, and it seems to have influenced the name they chose for her.

"It was a pure blessing that everything went well, that we were both healthy and doing great. When we gave her the name Grace, it just fully explained the whole situation. Just by the grace of God that we all came out healthy," Amy Anderson said.

Mighty loose ends

There are signs that things have markedly improved in a day.

In Alabama, 11,375 students and hundreds of teachers were trapped at their schools Tuesday night, AL.com reported.

Not anymore.

Most of the students are home now, but more than 1,600 pupils remain under school roofs.

There are other loose ends to tie up, ugly ones that may have some motorists remembering the 2014 southern snow storm for some time to come.

Body shops will be full of cars with dents, dings and smashes to straighten out after more than 1,200 ice-related traffic accidents in Georgia, around 600 in Mississippi and likely a similar number in Alabama.

In that state, there will be five victims of weather-related accidents to bury. North Carolina and Mississippi had fatalities, too.

The Southern winter storm took a total of 10 lives.

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Owner of skydiving company denies parachute problems led to teen's injuries - MyFox Philadelphia

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 29 Januari 2014 | 16.14

A 16-year-old Joshua, TX girl's desire to skydive nearly killed her, and despite what her family says, the owner of the skydiving company involved denies there were any malfunctions with the teen's parachute.

Mackenzie Wethington's first jump on Jan. 25 landed her in the hospital with several broken bones and major internal injuries after her family members say her primary parachute didn't open properly.

The Oklahoma skydiving company required Mackenzie and her father to sign a release and sit through six hours of training before jumping. They were not required to do a tandem jump because a static line attached to the airplane was supposed to deploy their parachutes automatically.

Meagan, Mackenzie's older sister, says Mackenzie's parachute somehow got tangled or didn't open properly. She was wearing an emergency chute and instructors on a radio tried to talk her through opening it, but she stopped responding and may have blacked out.

Bob Swainson, who is the owner of the skydiving company as well as an instructor, says that Mackenzie's chute opened fully, and that the scenario that led to her injuries was something that the training covered.

Swainson did not explain specifically what Mackenzie should have done, but he did say, "The corrective action was not taken."

"Parachutes sometime have minor irregularities with them, and that's what the training is about," said Swainson. "We go over a whole series of scenarios and we go through some drills."

Swainson went on to tell FOX4, "I am absolutely confident there was nothing wrong with the parachute."

Mackenzie was all smiles Saturday, just minutes before her birthday skydiving dream.

"In Texas you have to be 18," said Meagan. "You have to jump four times tandem – with another person. In Oklahoma you only have to be 16."

Mackenzie posed for photos with her dad just before boarding a private plane, moments before her dream at 3,500 feet in the air became a nightmare.

"She honestly keeps saying is, she just thinks it was her fault, because she couldn't reach up and pull the chute," said Meagan.

Mackenzie's father jumped first, and she jumped next. Meagan says another man was supposed to jump with them, but he was too afraid, so Swainson never jumped.

Mackenzie's father, Joe, landed safely, but he told an Oklahoma TV station that the parachute opened "halfway" before he had to watch his daughter's struggle and spiraling freefall to the ground.

"Her vertebrae broke in half," said Meagan. "Her pelvic bone completely split in half. She has more broken bones in her back. She has two broken ribs … her teeth."

Mackenzie is being hospitalized at OU Medical Center, where she's making progress. She is now breathing on her own and talking.

"Even the nurses and doctors who heard about the story, they were like, 'How? How is she still here? She obviously, she hit the ground, but she did not hit the ground. God's hand caught her. Had to have been," said Meagan.

Meagan says her sister is expected to make a full recovery, but will wear a neck and back brace for a while.

Friends are now selling T-shirts to help the family with medical bills.

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Ukraine MPs repeal anti-protest laws after Prime Minister quits - The Times (subscription)

Ukrainian MPs today voted to annul a package of repressive laws that provoked the worst peacetime violence in the country's history when they were pushed through parliament 12 days ago.

The U-turn by the ruling bloc in today's emergency session of parliament is not in itself enough to placate protesters who have spent two months on the streets, but it is the first clear proof that President Yanukovych is serious about trying to find a way out of the crisis.

The vote to repeal nine of the 11 laws passed by an overwhelming show of hands on January 16, which

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Wounded war hero is State of Union high point - Kansas City Star

WASHINGTON — Wounded veteran Cory Remsburg had met President Barack Obama three times before Tuesday night— once in France and twice since a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on his 10th deployment. Number four was at Obama's State of the Union address, when the Army Ranger inspired the emotional high point of the evening.

Toward the end of Obama's policy-heavy address, the president gestured toward the uniformed man from Phoenix seated next to first lady Michelle Obama and described the difference between the Remsburg he'd met the first time— "sharp as a tack"— and the wounded warrior his fellow soldiers found face-down in a canal, underwater, with shrapnel in his brain.

"The next time I met him, in the hospital, he couldn't speak; he could barely move," Obama said to the now-silent crowd in the House chamber. "Over the years, he's endured dozens of surgeries and procedures, and hours of grueling rehab every day."

As Obama spoke, the heads of lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and Cabinet members swiveled to their right and upward toward Remsburg, who had been clapping all evening by patting his right hand on his chest. His left hand lay curled in a brace.

Remsburg, seated beside his father, Craig, is still blind in one eye and struggles on his left side, Obama said. But he's slowly learned to speak, stand and walk again. He's been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

"Like the Army he loves, like the America he serves, Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg never gives up and he does not quit," Obama said.

Everyone in the chamber stood and applauded Remsburg for a minute and 44 seconds, the most sustained applause of the evening.

Wearing a bow tie under his uniform, Remsburg stood, waved and gave a thumbs-up. Obama returned it.

As Obama made his way out of the House chamber, Remsburg was helped up the steps of the gallery by his father. What was left of the crowd turned toward him again and applauded.

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NY congressman threatens reporter after SOTU - CBS News

A congressman took great exception Tuesday night to being questioned by a New York cable news reporter about allegations surrounding his campaign finances and was heard on-camera threatening to throw the reporter off a balcony if the reporter brought up the topic again.

Following President Obama's State of the Union address, Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican from the New York City borough of Staten Island, was asked for his thoughts by New York 1's Michael Scotto.

According to NY1, Grimm called the address "divisive."

After Grimm finished answering what he thought was the last question of the interview, which was conducted on a balcony of the U.S. Capitol building, Scotto added, "And just finally before we let you go, since we have you here: We haven't had a chance to kind of talk about some of the..."

"I'm not speaking about anything that's off-topic," Grimm interrupted. "This is only about the president's speech tonight. Thank you."

He then walked away, and Scotto said, "So Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances. We wanted to get him on camera on that but he, as you saw, refused to talk about that. Back to you."

With the camera still rolling, Scotto suddenly looks up, clearly startled.

"What?" Scotto asks.

And Grimm, again on-camera, though off-mike, can be heard speaking to Scotto in a low voice.

Grimm says, "Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony."

"Why?" Scotto says. "I just wanted to ask you..."

In muffled cross-talk, Grimm is heard again saying, "If you ever do that to me again..."

"Why? Why?" Scotto asks. "It's a valid question."

After more cross-talk, Grimm says, "No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."

Grimm then walks away.

NY1 says Grimm released a statement following the incident, saying, "I was extremely annoyed because I was doing NY1 a favor by rushing to do their interview first in lieu of several other requests. The reporter knew that I was in a hurry and was only there to comment on the State of the Union, but insisted on taking a disrespectful and cheap shot at the end of the interview, because I did not have time to speak off-topic. I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor. I doubt that I am the first Member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won't be the last."

NY1 Political Director Bob Hardt also released a statement, saying, "It is extremely disturbing when anyone threatens one of our reporters – let alone a U.S. Congressman. The NY1 family is certainly alarmed and disappointed by the behavior of Representative Grimm and demands a full apology from him. This behavior is unacceptable."

According to NY1, "The FBI earlier this month charged 47-year-old Diana Durand with using straw donors to exceed the maximum allowable contribution to Grimm's campaign committee. After contributing $4,800, the maximum amount allowed under federal law, Durand allegedly offered to reimburse four friends if they contributed to the campaign. Grimm is not charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the probe."

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Deep South Deep Freeze: Buses sent to pick up stranded motorists - CNN

Freezing temperatures sweep U.S.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: 4,500 students will spend the night in Hoover, Alabama, schools
NEW: Atlanta's mayor urges drivers to stay off streets for 24 hours
NEW: More than 3,200 flights have been canceled, FlightAware says
At least 5 were killed in weather-related traffic accidents in Alabama

Are you affected by the frigid weather? Send CNN iReport your photos and video of ice, snow and sleet if you can do so safely.

Atlanta (CNN) -- [Breaking news update 2:23 a.m. ET Wednesday]

(CNN) -- Officials in Hoover, Alabama, were sending buses early Wednesday morning to pick up stranded motorists.

In the first run, two school buses were sent to transport as many as 100 people to local shelters, said Rusty Lowe of the Hoover fire department.

The buses will make several runs.

[Breaking news update 1:08 a.m. ET Wednesday]

About 50 Atlanta school children were still stuck on buses early Wednesday morning.

The students had gotten on buses to get home shortly after noon Tuesday, but treacherous road conditions coupled with gridlocked traffic has made it impossible.

Kimberly Willis Green, spokeswoman for Atlanta Public Schools, said she did not have an estimate on the number of children stuck in Atlanta schools overnight.

Atlanta-based Home Depot opened up 26 stores in Alabama and Georgia for stranded travelers.

Spokesman Stephen Holmes said some of those who sought shelter spent time watching movies in store break rooms.

"At one store, they even opened up an indoor garden area to be a quiet area to open for reading," he said.

[Last update 10:37 p.m. ET Tuesday]

Ice and snow bring chaotic commutes to much of South

(CNN) -- Cars stuck in ditches beside icy roads. Thousands of children stranded at schools that parents can't reach. Drivers camped out at gas stations with no way to get home.

As a winter storm slammed into a broad swath of the South on Tuesday, authorities warned drivers to stay off the streets.

"This is a very dangerous situation," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said. "People need to stay at home. They need to stay there until conditions improve."

Motorists in major metropolitan areas including Atlanta sat trapped in gridlock as schools and offices shut down, unleashing hordes of vehicles onto slushy roadways.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed urged residents to stop driving for at least a day to give crews a chance to clean up.

"The next 24 hours, I really need folks to stay home," he told CNN affiliate WSB. "Go home, give us some time."

While Northerners may laugh at their Southern friends' panic over a dusting of snow, the threat is real: With relatively few resources to battle snow and ice, public works crews may have a difficult time keeping up with any significant accumulation.

Add to that the fact that millions of Southern drivers aren't used to driving on snow or ice, and things got messy -- fast.

Snowflakes like you've never seen them before

Students stuck at schools

In Alabama, where freezing rain made driving perilous, at least five people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents Tuesday, state Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Steve Jarrett said.

Bentley declared a state of emergency and said he had activated 350 National Guard troops to help respond to the storm. Emergency officials warned drivers to stay off the roads and urged people stuck in their cars to stay inside.

"The weather right now, the temperatures and the wind chill, if you step out of your car, are very dangerous," said Art Faulkner, the state's director of emergency management.

In Birmingham, Melanie Wilson tried to drive after she got a message that her children's school was closing Tuesday morning.

"Immediately, I almost had an accident," she said. "The school buses were at the bottom of our hill and you could tell the drivers were not sure they should try to make it up the hill. We're not sure where the ball was dropped. We heard it was going to be a light dusting with little accumulation."

She ditched her car after it spun out on a steep hill, and trudged through the snow to pick up her children and make it home safely.

"The children enjoyed it," she said. "It was beautiful, a winter wonderland. It was lovely except for worrying about everybody else who can't get home to their families."

Governor: Teachers will take care of kids

The severe weather has forced 4,500 students to spend the night in various school buildings in Hoover, Alabama. And there were 800 students stuck in schools in Birmingham, Alabama, officials said.

"Staff is staying with them, feeding them," Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said. "High schools are showing movies."

Bentley urged parents who are unable to reach their children to remain calm.

"I know the anxiety there," he said. "I want to reassure all the parents that if you trust your teacher to take care of your child during the day, they will be taken care of tonight."

At the Alabama Waldorf School, about 20 students were spending the night at a nearby home late Tuesday after state officials urged parents not to drive in the snow.

"They're doing really well," Administrator Lisa Grupe said. "They're just having an extended play date. ... We all looked like ducks walking in the snow together."

On Twitter, a second-grade teacher said there were still about 150 students and 50 staff members stranded at Greystone Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, because of "horrible" road conditions there.

Not that they were all complaining.

"Very exciting day," teacher Carol McLaughlin tweeted late Tuesday afternoon. "... The kids are being real troopers. : ) I think they think it's an adventure." McLaughlin, even posted a picture of some kids out playing in the snow.

Traffic gridlock traps motorists

In the Atlanta suburbs, school buses were stuck in traffic for hours. Hundreds of students were stranded at schools waiting for their parents to pick them up.

Commutes that normally take minutes became nightmarish treks that lasted for hours.

CNN affiliate WSB captured dramatic footage of parents reuniting with children after being stuck on a school bus for hours.

In downtown Atlanta, streets were clogged as cars became trapped in gridlock after at least an inch of snow had fallen.

"Government, schools, and business closing at the same time and releasing everybody out into the city was a mistake that we all were a part of," Reed told WSB.

For one stranded motorist -- it really was a situation of life and death.

Police in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs said an officer helped a woman give birth on the side of Interstate 285.

Traffic jams on snow-covered roads had stopped the woman from making it to the hospital and blocked paramedics from reaching her.

That's when a police officer stepped in, helping deliver the baby girl Tuesday evening, Capt. Steve Rose said.

As snow, sleet and freezing rain pelted much of the state, authorities warned of dangerous driving conditions and said the roads would likely get worse. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency as the storm hit.

"I'm about to lose my mind, literally," one woman trapped in traffic told WSB. "It's horrible."

Mhari Patterson tried to make the 10-mile commute to her home outside Atlanta, but gave up after six hours, when she arrived at a RaceTrac gas station parking lot. There were about 80 other cars waiting out the storm there, she said.

"All of the area roads are frozen," she said. "There is no way to get home."

Until things clear up, Patterson said she planned to spend the night at the gas station.

Airlines cancel flights

The storms also snarled air travel across the country.

Airlines on Tuesday canceled more than 3,100 flights within, into or out of the United States, with hundreds each at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Houston's George Bush International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks cancellations due to both weather and mechanical problems.

It wasn't just the South shuddering. Midwesterners and others more accustomed to bitter weather are, too.

All told, about 140 million people in 34 states were under some sort of winter weather warning or advisory, from snow and ice to bitterly cold wind chills, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.

Sleet and freezing rain began falling early Tuesday in East Texas, which along with Louisiana, was the first area to be affected by the winter storm.

"This town is shutting down," New Orleans cab driver August Delaney said.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency and warned residents to stay off the roads.

Robert Latham, the state's emergency management director, warned residents to expect power outages as well.

"We're looking at a part of the state that has a large number of pine trees," Latham said. "I can tell you that as ice accumulates on pine trees, limbs will break. Trees will fall. Power will be out."

A rough commute

It usually takes Krystle Venuti Moore 10 minutes to drive home from her job at a mall in Kennesaw, Georgia. On Tuesday, it took her five hours, even though there wasn't much snow.

It's quite a change from how storms were handled in her native New Hampshire, where she lived until she was 15.

"My family thinks it's hilarious," she said.

There was one perk in the lengthy commute: "watching the community and people helping each other out."

She saw high school students on ATVs offering rides to stranded motorists. And someone pushed her car when it got stuck.

But it wasn't all positive. She saw drivers foul up traffic as they spun out after driving too fast, and even when she got close to home, she had to park a mile away and walk.

The worst part?

Normally in five hours, "I could have driven to Florida," she said, "someplace warm."

CNN's Ray Sanchez, Steve Almasy, Devon Sayers, Michael Pearson, Holly Yan, Greg Botelho, Kevin Conlon, Dave Alsup, Janet DiGiacomo, Alanne Orjoux, Victor Blackwell, Tom Watkins, Chad Myers, Sean Morris, Dave Hennen, Joe Sutton, Martin Savidge and Jareen Imam contributed to this report.

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Six things we learned from the State of the Union - NBCNews.com

By Carrie Dann, NBC News

President Barack Obama may have made sweeping statements about his unfinished agenda on Tuesday night, but, when it came to specifics, the president used a scalpel rather than an axe when delivering his State of the Union message.

The president put forward a series of relatively modest policy proposals that offered plenty for Democrats, but suggested little in the way of legacy-making ambitions. And he pulled some punches when it came to big ticket items like immigration and voting rights.

Here are six takeaways from the big night:

A panel of NBC News political experts weigh in on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

Carrots and sticks : It's no secret that the president is frustrated with Republicans in Congress, whose resistance has foiled his plans for everything from immigration reform to the extension of long-term unemployment insurance. That exasperation was more than apparent in some parts of Obama's speech, but he also urged cooperation and an optimistic outlook for solving the gridlock. Opponents likely heard his tone as patronizing and pained; fans probably heard patience and maturity. He sternly chided Republicans for the government shutdown and poked fun at Obamacare repeal efforts, but he also gave congressional Republicans wide berth on the issue of immigration and lauded conservative for backing voting rights reforms. He devoted time to issues like patent reform and new trade proposals, things that many Republicans might be willing to play ball on.

Looking to 2014 : As his party prepares for tough midterm elections, Obama offered plenty of items -- outside of Obamacare -- that Democrats can run on in 2014. He promoted access to education and improvements to international trade (without the controversial specifics that some in his party dislike). With lines like "Give America a raise" and "It's time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a 'Mad Men' episode," he created instant, stump-ready sound bites to plug a minimum wage hike and wage fairness for women. And he mentioned "opportunity" 12 times, underscoring Democrats' message of economic fairness. Aside from ongoing discomfort over proposed Iran sanctions that Obama says he will veto, there wasn't much in this speech for Democrats to dislike.

But, mostly small ball : While Obama did make sweeping statements about issues like climate change and gun violence -- hardly fertile areas for bipartisan compromise in an election year -- most of Obama's "concrete, practical proposals" to help the economy were small in scope. Projects to improve access to broadband, create retirement savings bonds and reform federal training programs aren't exactly sexy, even if they could positively impact many Americans' lives. He repeated earlier declarations that he will use executive actions to bypass Congress -- including on guns, saying "America does not stand still -- and neither will I." But the most specific executive proposals he laid out just weren't the stuff of which headlines are made.

Advertising, not apologizing, on Obamacare: After the disastrous launch of the HealthCare.Gov site last year, Obama held a lengthy and almost agonized press conference to apologize for the rollout. But that conciliatory tone was gone Tuesday night, with the president instead taking the opportunity of the big television audience to push Americans -- particularly young people -- to sign up for Obamacare. "Moms, get on your kids to sign up. Kids, call your mom and walk her through the application," he said. "It will give her some peace of mind – plus, she'll appreciate hearing from you." He didn't exactly treat GOP opponents of Obamacare with kid gloves either, urging them against more votes to outright repeal his signature domestic achievement. "The first forty were plenty. We got it. We all owe it to the American people to say what we're for, not just what we're against," he said.

President Barack Obama pushes Congress to pass immigration reform in 2014 while giving his State of the Union address.

A gentle approach on immigration : As House Republicans prepare to consider a set of "principles" on the issue this week, Obama devoted only a paragraph of his 20-page speech to the issue of comprehensive immigration reform, his top second-term domestic agenda item. The brief mention -- devoid of any specifics about his priorities on how to treat undocumented immigrants inside the country's borders -- may disappoint some pro-immigration activists. But Obama was also careful not to complicate the efforts of House GOP leaders to find a solution -- if there is one -- that can appease most Republicans and still make it to the president's desk.

A transcendent moment for an American hero : The most memorable moment of the State of the Union, by far, was Obama's callout to Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, a wounded veteran who was a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama. The lengthy and emotional standing ovation from every person in the chamber provided one powerful data point to back up Obama's message that unity is still sometimes possible. But it also made the annual pomp and circumstance around what was a very modest State of the Union feel awfully small.

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Ousted Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsy in court to face charges - CNN International

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 28 Januari 2014 | 16.14

By Holly Yan and Schams Elwazer, CNN

updated 3:34 AM EST, Tue January 28, 2014

(CNN) -- Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and his co-defendants arrived at a Cairo court Tuesday to face charges related to a 2011 jailbreak, state media reported.

Morsy will be tried along with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian Hamas, the al-Ahram newspaper reported last month.

The trial is one of four that the ousted leader is facing. He also faces charges of incitement to murder in connection with protests against his rule in 2012.

CNN's Schams Elwazer contributed to this report.

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US and British spies 'get personal data from Angry Birds' - BBC News

27 January 2014 Last updated at 18:37 ET

US and British spy agencies routinely try to gain access to personal data from Angry Birds and other mobile applications, a report says.

A National Security Agency (NSA) document shows location, websites visited and contacts are among the data targeted from mobile applications.

It is the latest revelation from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

In a statement, the NSA said it was not interested in data beyond "valid foreign intelligence targets".

"Any implication that NSA's foreign intelligence collection is focused on the smartphone or social media communications of everyday Americans is not true," the statement said.

'Golden nugget'

The report, published by the New York Times, ProPublica and the Guardian, says the NSA and Britain's GCHQ have worked together since 2007 to develop ways to gain access to information from applications for mobile phones and tablets.

The scale of data gathering is unclear.

But the reports suggest data is gained from a variety of mapping, gaming and social networking applications, using techniques similar to the ones used to intercept mobile internet traffic and text message data.

The documents also reveal the two agencies are increasingly convinced of the importance of mobile applications data.

The joint spying programme "effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system" one 2008 document from the British intelligence agency is quoted as saying.

Another GCHQ report, in 2012, laid out how to extract information from Angry Birds user information from phones on the Android operating system. The game has been download 1.7 billion times across the world.

The British spy agency said it would not comment on intelligence matters, but insisted that all of its activities were "authorised, necessary and proportionate".

Another NSA document described a "golden nugget" - a perfect scenario where NSA analysts could get broad selections of information from the applications, including networks the phone had connected to, documents downloaded, websites visited and "buddy lists".

Other applications mentioned by the documents include the photo-sharing site Flickr, movie-based social network Flixster and applications that connect to Facebook.

Developers are responsible for the information generated from each application, but there was no suggestion firms were actively agreeing to give the spy agencies data.

On Monday, the justice department announced it had reached agreement with five major internet firms over their request to share information about how they responded to orders from the NSA and other agencies.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn had previously sued the US government over being able to disclose to the public more information on what they have released to intelligence agencies.

Under the compromise announced, the firms will be able to release:

the number of criminal-related orders from the government
the number of secret national security-related orders from government investigators, rounded to the nearest thousand
how many national security-related orders came from the foreign service intelligence and the number of customers those orders affected
whether those orders were for just email addresses or covered additional information

As part of the deal, the firms will delay releases of the number of national security orders by six months and promise they cannot reveal government surveillance of new technology or forms of communications they create for two years.

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This year's State of the Union is a defining test for Obama - CNN

Quotes from State of the Union speeches

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Obama failed to get any of his 2013 State of the Union priorities through Congress
Many see this year's speech as potentially his last chance for significant action
Early election data shows GOP keeping House majorities, with good chance to win Senate

Program note: CNN's live, comprehensive coverage of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address starts at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday. Go to CNN.com for complete coverage or take it with you on your iPhone, iPad or Android.

Washington (CNN) -- Three numbers to keep in mind Tuesday night as President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address: six, 30 and 44.

Six as in the number of seats Republicans need to gain this November to take control of the Senate.

30: The historical average of House seats gained by the other party -- in this case the Republicans -- in a two-term president's "six-year itch" midterm election.

And 44%, of course, is Obama's job approval rating -- a reminder that his political standing is weak, though up slightly from its recent low point, as he stands before a closely divided Congress -- and country -- to lay out his agenda for year six of his presidency.

"One of the greatest powers a president has is the power to set the agenda," said veteran Democratic strategist and wordsmith Paul Begala, a close adviser to former President Bill Clinton. "He (Obama) will use that power to great effect in the State of the Union address."

Here's how we see the state of the Union

Another Clinton White House veteran disagreed, arguing this president is too weakened and the 2014 campaign landscape too troublesome to seize the initiative.

"State of the Union means nothing," this Democrat said, speaking only on condition of anonymity. "Re-read last year's address. How relevant was it last year in terms of how 2013 turned out?"

In fact, Obama failed to get any of his top 2013 State of the Union priorities through Congress. Congress ignored his calls for a new jobs program, for new gun controls and for sweeping immigration reform.

Because of that, the 2014 speech is viewed by strategists in both parties as part of a defining test: Can Obama rebuild his standing enough to force action on some of his priorities, or will 2014 instead be remembered as another frustrating year of gridlock and the gateway to "lame duck" status? To that end, many see this speech -- this wish list -- as potentially his last chance for significant action.

8 memorable State of the Union moments

"At this stage of a presidency, a State of the Union address cannot be expected to have much, if any, consequence in terms of public opinion," said leading Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

Despite all the attention, McInturff called the speech "an ephemeral event that is perhaps a short-term focus of the ultimate D.C. policy insiders."

As always, the State of the Union is a policy address, a chance for the President to lay out his wish list to the Congress and the American people. But it is always a political stage as well, a dramatic nationally televised theater for the President to frame his argument.

This year, even as he asks Congress to act on economic and other initiatives, President Obama will distance himself from an unpopular Congress and promise to use executive powers to implement some of his priorities.

The stakes are enormous: As the President delivers his speech, the odds -- and the early election year data -- suggest Republicans will not only keep their House majority but also have a good chance to capture control of the Senate.

How would complete Republican control of Congress alter the final two years of the Obama presidency? It is a debate worth having, yet one that can wait a bit, as we first test whether the President has better luck with Congress in 2014 than he did in 2013, and whether he can bend the political climate back more in his favor.

Gingrich: Obama playing a weak hand at State of the Union

Which is where those numbers come in.

The White House says its No. 1 political goal this year is protecting the Democratic majority in the Senate. Yet that goal -- blocking Republicans from a net six-seat gain -- could significantly complicate the President's policy agenda.

Several of the most vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbents are from states Obama lost badly in 2012: Arkansas, Alaska and Louisiana to name three. Those and other Democrats are opposed to some things the President wants -- like new gun controls -- and in favor of ideas the White House is against, including modifications to the President's health care law.

Zelizer: Six ways to fight inequality

Begala acknowledges the tough political environment facing the President. But he says he can navigate it with a smartly crafted 2014 State of the Union wish list.

"How can he help red-state Democrats running in places where he lost badly?" Begala said. "By raising issues that play well in places he doesn't. So you will hear a lot about middle-class economics: raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, pay equity and workplace fairness for working women, greater access to child care for working moms, pre-K for young kids and college aid for young adults. "

The House Republican majority opposes most of the President's ideas, though there have been some discussions testing whether compromises can be reached on the minimum wage, unemployment insurance and, from time to time, even immigration policy.

The historical average for a two-term president's party in this sixth year midterm is a loss of 30 House seats. Even the most optimistic Republicans view that as unlikely, given the shrinking number of competitive House districts.

But Republican flexibility in policy discussions could depend on their own November midterm calculations, and at the moment top party strategists predict GOP gains in the high single digits on the House side.

Republicans say Obama has a lot of explaining to do

"They will oppose his popular economic agenda at their own political peril," Begala said, holding out hope the President would have an opportunity either to score policy successes or bend the political momentum back in his favor.

The 44% number is the one worth watching as the year unfolds -- midterm elections are shaped most by the President's standing.

If Obama can climb closer to 50%, Democratic chances improve significantly. If he slips closer to 40% or below, then a GOP takeover of the Senate becomes more and more likely.

A little history:

In 2006, President George W. Bush had a similar 43% job approval rating at the time of his State of the Union address.

There was little fear of the President in Congress then, in either party, and as a result little of his agenda was enacted -- immigration and Social Security changes were among the goals Bush laid out. Come November 2006, Republicans lost 30 House seats, and their majority.

Bill Clinton, on the other hand, had a 59% approval rating to begin his sixth year in office, and Ronald Reagan was at 64% around his 1986 State of the Union.

Democrats defied the historical averages in the Clinton "six-year itch" election; Republicans actually lost five House seats, and the Senate balance of power was unchanged.

In 1986, then-majority Democrats made only modest gains in the House (plus five seats), but did pick up eight Senate seats to take control of that chamber.

Outside of Washington, observers like New Hampshire GOP activist Thomas Rath see an opportunity if the President "acknowledge(d) at the outset that overwhelmingly Americans share a common belief -- Washington does not work. He should acknowledge that both parties share that blame; both are responsible."

Rath's advice?

"He needs to listen to the mood of this country and understand that folks do not want to hear a partisan harangue but rather want a strong message of leadership and cooperation from the man they elected to do just that."

And Rath's election-year State of the Union prediction: "He will do nothing of this sort."

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