Diversity and the Obama White House

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Sometimes photos tell the story, sometimes not. But our colleague Karen Tumulty noted a contrast in these two images that might raise eyebrows.


The first is a picture on Sept. 11, 2001, of Vice President Dick Cheney on the phone in the White House Situation Room — perhaps talking with President George W. Bush — with several top aides standing by, including three women: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush senior adviser Karen Hughes and senior Cheney adviser Mary Matalin. There are also two African Americans in the small group.


Then there’s the iconic photo of Obama in the Situation Room on the night SEAL Team 6 dispatched Osama bin Laden. There’s one woman at the table, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another woman in the doorway, Audrey Tomason, director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. There’s only one African American.


Waiting and seeing

Speaking of diversity, President Obama may have been a bit defensive at his news conference Monday when he was asked about his first Cabinet picks.

His first term had “as diverse, if not more diverse, a White House and a Cabinet than any in history,” he said, adding that he “would just suggest that everybody kind of wait until they’ve seen all my appointments . . . before they rush to judgment.”

The White House confirmed Monday that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was staying on in her job. (Ah, we’ve been writing that for some time.)

On the other hand, another very senior woman, Nancy-Ann DeParle, White House deputy chief of staff and a major player in Obama’s health-care program, is leaving next week to join the Brookings Institution as a guest scholar in economic studies and will also lecture at Harvard Law School.

Another official said to be leaving is Mike Strautmanis, now counselor to White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and before that deputy chief of staff in Obama’s Senate office. He’s probably headed to the private sector.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Department said Monday that Obama asked Secretary Tom Vilsack to stay in his post and the former Iowan accepted. (This long-expected announcement may also mean his wife, Christie Vilsack, who lost a bid in Iowa for a House seat, has landed an administration job here.)


Miles to go






John Kerry
, assuming he becomes secretary of state, will have a difficult, if not impossible, task to best his immediate predecessors’ travel feats.

After all, in terms of miles traveled, Condoleezza Rice set a high bar with a record 1,059,247 miles logged, edging out the current secretary, Hillary Clinton, by about 100,000 miles. And Clinton set a formidable mark of visiting 112 countries during her tenure.

Kerry may decide first to visit those few countries Clinton didn’t get to or perhaps didn’t get to often.

She did leave Kerry a few unvisited places, such as war-torn Mali and Sudan, but those aren’t places one goes to frequently.

She also left him some fine spots.

First, he he can visit Austria. Clinton practically encircled Vienna (though she didn’t go to Slovenia and Slovakia), but, according to the State Department’s list, she never stopped for the Sacher torte, the famous chocolate cake at the Sacher Hotel in Vienna.

On that trip or another, Kerry can also stop in unvisited Luxembourg, Romania and Cyprus.

He could find some reason to go to Italy, which it appears Clinton only visited once in four years, and stop in Rome to see Ambassador David Thorne, a close pal and the twin brother of Kerry’s first wife.

While in Rome he could go to the Vatican, which it appears Clinton skipped, making her only the second holder of the job (Warren Christopher was the other) since Richard Nixon’s first secretary of state, William Rogers, to bypass the Holy See.

Kerry also might want to check in with the Israelis. Clinton visited, but only five times in all, the fewest number of visits since Rogers. (When George Shultz was secretary of state, he practically lived there during a lengthy peace effort.)


Loving Labor lost



The prospect of of post-Cabinet life is looking pretty sweet for Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. We spotted her last week, just a day after she announced her resignation, doing things we can only imagine were tough to manage in the days when her schedule was packed with wall-to-wall meetings.

A woman we’d swear was Solis was standing outside her Capitol Hill rowhouse wearing workout gear (Hitting the gym? On a weeknight? Now, that’s a luxury!) and chatting with two gal pals, also in athletic clothes . The crew appeared to be having a good time while checking out the exterior of the home and contemplating Solis’s putting it on the market. (Solis’s office thought we must have been mistaken, but we’d know our neighbor when we saw her.)

Solis told Labor Department employees last week in a letter that she planned to “return to the people and places” she loves, which most likely means she’s heading back to her native California, where many expect her to run for the powerful Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Sounds as if she had better enjoy that downtime while she can.



With Emily Heil

The blog: washingtonpost.com/
intheloop. Twitter: @InTheLoopWP.

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Euro gains against US dollar in positive market

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NEW YORK: The euro gained ground against the US dollar Monday as positive market sentiment spurred buying of riskier assets, such as the European currency.

The euro fetched US$1.3376 around 2200 GMT, up from US$1.3341 at the same time last Friday. Earlier, the unit brushed US$1.3404, its highest level in almost 11 months.

The euro continued to rise against the Japanese currency, to 119.65 yen from 119.00 yen late Friday, while the US dollar rose to 89.45 yen from 89.18 yen.

The market showed little reaction to a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the challenges facing the US economy, analysts said.

"I saw nothing very different from what has already been announced by the Fed," whether it be in the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in December or the FOMC statement, Charles St-Arnaud, a Nomura economist, said.

Wading into the Washington political fray over the federal budget and the borrowing limit, Bernanke called on Congress to lift the debt limit to avoid putting the country into default.

Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management said the market was waiting for Tuesday's US retail sales data for December, which covers the important holiday-shopping season.

"Consumer spending is the backbone of the US economy, and the only reason why investors obsess over the labour market is because they hope that stronger job growth will translate into stronger spending," Lien said.

The euro rise was buoyed by last week's upbeat comments by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.

The yen, meanwhile, remained under selling pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday unveiled a US$226.5 billion stimulus plan in the latest bid to boost the world's fragile number-three economy.

The US dollar rose against the Swiss currency, buying 0.9216 francs compared with 0.9135 francs late Friday.

The pound fell to US$1.6074 from US$1.6129.

- AFP/jc



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Kerala drug dealers home deliver banned aphrodisiac

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KOCHI: Illegal drug dealers have found a 'safe' method to carry out their business.

With authorities cracking down on the illegal sale of medicines containing sildenafil citrate — an ingredient in aphrodisiacs, black marketers have started door delivery of such drugs, especially in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts.

"Sildenafil citrate is schedule H medicine, which should be given only under prescription. But over-the-counter sales of the drug have been very high, especially in Malappuram district and interior areas of Kozhikode," said G Ashok Kumar, assistant drug controller, Kozhikode.

He said there was dip in over-the-counter sales after the state drugs control department formed a special team. "But there are reports that the offenders now deliver these medicines at home. Unless there is proper and timely tip off, we will not be able to catch the offenders," Kumar said.

Sources said suppliers in Karnataka have been sending these drugs to the state using their network. "They would lure the salesmen in medical stores with perks. These salesmen would direct the customer to the network. Once the deal is struck, they would give the 'customers' these medicine at their place," an official in Malappuram said.

Most customers were NRIs working in the Middle East, the official said. The drugs bought in the state were taken to Gulf countries, where the medicine has been banned.

Officials, recently, had seized a huge quantity of medicines containing sildenafil citrate from Manjeri. A year ago, such drugs were seized from a shop on TD Road in Kochi, officials said. "On questioning, the shop owners said that the transaction is being carried out through home delivery," the official said.

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Space Pictures: 7 Ways You Could Blast Off by 2023

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Arias Denied Guilt Despite Sex Photos, DNA

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A defiant Jodi Arias insisted she was innocent of killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander even after a detective told her that he had nude photos of them together on the day he died.


"Are you sure it's me? Because I was not there," Arias is heard saying in the police interrogation tape played for the Arizona jury today.


When Detective Esteban Flores tells Arias she is seen in pigtails in the photos, she asks with a tone of incredulity, "Pigtails?"


As Flores laid out more incriminating evidence, including that investigators found DNA of their blood mixed together, her hair stuck with blood and her palm print in blood, Arias was insistent.


"I would not hurt Travis. I would not hurt Travis. I would not do that to him," she told Flores.


At another point Arias said, "If I hurt Travis I would beg for the death penalty."


"Jodi, this is over. … you have to tell me the truth," Flores says. The detective suggests a motive for the killing to be jealousy, and cites the opinion of Alexander's friends.


"They don't just say you were jealous. You were absolutely obsessed… a fatal attraction," Flores in heard on the tape.


Arias, now 32, has since admitted to killing Alexanderfollowing their tryst in 2008, but has claimed it was self-defense. She is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times in the chest, back, and head, slashing his throat from ear to ear, and shooting him the head with a .25 caliber handgun.


Arias is charged with murdering her ex-boyfriend in a "heinous and depraved" way and could face the death penalty if convicted.


The interrogation tape was played after the jury was shown sexually graphic photos that police recovered from Alexander's digital camera. Among the pictures were shots of Arias and Alexander posing naked on Alexander's bed, as well as pictures of Alexander in the shower.


Those photos were the last pictures of Alexander while he was alive.










Jodi Arias Trial: Jurors See Photos of Bloody Handprint Watch Video









Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Who Is the Alleged Killer? Watch Video





The final photos in the series show a body partly covered in blood on the bathroom floor.


See Full Coverage of Jodi Arias Trial


Watch the Jodi Arias Trial Live


See Jodi Arias Trial Videos


Arias looked away from the screen in the courtroom where the sexual photos were shown, as her mother watched from the gallery. Alexander's sisters, also seated in the gallery, looked away from the photos of their brother.


Computer analysts for the city of Mesa, Ariz., where Alexander lived, went over the photos in detail during the sixth day of testimony in the trial. The photos were time stamped June 4, 2008, beginning around 1:45 p.m.


Prosecutors have said that Arias drove from her California home to Alexander's house, arriving early in the morning on June 4. The pair had sex in the afternoon, took photos of one another, and then Arias killed Alexander, age 30, around 5:30 p.m., they said.


The photos on the bed occurred around 1:45 p.m., according to the data on the camera. The shower photos and the pictures of a bloody body part occurred around 5:30 p.m.


In earlier testimony today, the jury watched video taped interrogations of Arias as she repeatedly denied to police stealing and using the handgun that killed Alexander.


Arias told police that she had never seen a .25 caliber handgun and had no idea her grandparents owned one until they reported it stolen a week before Alexander's killing, according to the police interrogation tapes played in court today.


Police from Yreka, Calif., where Arias lived with her grandparents, described the scene of the home when Arias's grandparents reported a break-in. The door was pushed in, breaking the door jamb, and many drawers were opened in Arias' bedroom and her grandparents' room.


The only things reported taken were the handgun, a DVD player, and $30, while other valuable items, including a large pile of quarters and three other guns, were left untouched. Arias told police that her laptop computer was not taken because she had hidden it in a laundry basket covered with clothes.


Officer Kevin Friedman of the Yreka police department told the court today that burglary struck him as odd.


"I believed it was unusual that small items worth money or money, for instance, that the change was not taken," said Officer Kevin Friedman, of the Yreka police department, who investigated the alleged robbery. "I also thought it was strange that only one of the firearms was stolen from the cabinet."


In the police videos, Arias is seen calmly denying stealing the gun from her grandparents' home and using it when she killed Alexander in June 2008, a week after the burglary.






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Lines harden in debate over guns

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Opposing forces in the debate over the nation’s gun laws staked out starkly different positions Sunday, with the head of the largest gun rights group declaring confidence that a ban on assault weapons would not win passage from lawmakers, while advocates of tightening restrictions on guns said such measures can be approved.


“I would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress,” National Rifle Association President David Keene said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”


Keene’s comments came two days before a self-imposed deadline for an Obama administration task force led by Vice President Biden to offer concrete policy recommendations on curbing gun violence.

Obama has already said he supports renewing an expired ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, while gun control advocates on Capitol Hill have promised to lead a charge to pass such a measure. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will soon introduce such a ban in the Senate.

But the staunchest gun rights advocates, led by the NRA, have shown no willingness to endorse tightened restrictions on guns. After Biden’s working group met with the NRA last week, the gun rights group said it was “disappointed” with how little the meeting “had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment.”

The direction of the national gun debate will grow clearer after Biden’s group delivers its recommendations to the president. The vice president said last week that he was beginning to see an emerging consensus from gun control advocates and law enforcement officials he had met with around “universal background checks” for all gun buyers and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Others have cautioned that any new restrictions on guns must be part of a comprehensive attempt to curb mass violence, including a closer look at security, the entertainment industry and mental health issues.

“An assault weapons stand-alone ban on just guns alone, in the political reality we have, will not go anywhere. It has to be comprehensive,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said on “State of the Union.” Manchin, a conservative, is the recipient of an “A” rating from the NRA.

Speaking from Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adults were fatally shot in an elementary school on Dec. 14, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on the same program that he disagreed with Keene about the prospects of new gun control legislation winning passage in Congress.

“Newtown fundamentally changed things. And the NRA just fundamentally doesn’t get this,” Murphy said.

Groups on both sides of the debate are gearing up for what could be a tense legislative battle. Neera Tanden, president of the liberal think tank Center For American Progress, vowed a grass-roots effort among gun control advocates for new restrictions.

“I expect the president to play a strong leadership role, but progressive organizations will be working to — working with the states to show that we have the voice and really have the American people,” said Tanden on “Fox News Sunday.”

For their part, gun rights advocates continued to argue in favor of arming qualified citizens in an attempt to curb mass violence.

“We have got to face the reality that we have got to empower average people, including teachers and other people in schools, to be able to defend themselves,” said Gun Owners of America Executive Director Larry Pratt.

Former secretary of state Colin Powell offered optimism that lawmakers can reach an accord on at least incremental measures to curb gun violence.

“I think we’re at a very important point in our national dialogue on this,” Powell said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” “The NRA feels very, very strongly, gun owners feel very, very strongly, and at the same time the American people are concerned about the kinds of things that are happening in our society. Surely if we can’t get the whole ball of wax, I hope that there will be a way to find something in this continuum of things we can do that we’re able to do to demonstrate to the American people that this problem’s being taken seriously.”

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US played 'limited' role in botched French rescue bid

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WASHINGTON: The United States said Sunday it played a limited support role in France's botched bid to rescue a kidnapped secret agent in Somalia.

"United States forces provided limited technical support to the French forces in that operation, but took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage," President Barack Obama said in a letter to Congress.

Saturday's failed attempt to free the French hostage from the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab group killed at least eight civilians, as well as 17 guerrillas. One French soldier died while another went missing.

"United States combat aircraft briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed," Obama wrote, adding that "these aircraft did not employ weapons during the operation."

"I directed U.S. forces to support this rescue operation in furtherance of U.S. national security interests," he wrote.

- AFP/jc



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Sangam ready for confluence of faith, 1.1 crore pilgrims may take Kumbh dip today

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ALLAHABAD: Even as you read this, a sea of humanity would have already taken — or would be taking — a dip into Sangam's lapping waters along with a mass of saints rushing to take their first shahi snaan (royal bath) on Makar Sankranti on Monday. More than 1.1 crore pilgrims are expected to bathe on the first day of Mahakumbh, the festival that visits the banks of this confluence of the country's civilizational rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical as well as invisible Saraswati, every 12 years.

In fact, many of the akharas or groups of saints complete their splash into a majestically flowing Sangam well before sunrise, with others soon immersing themselves in the river with prayers on their quivering lips.

The mela administration said it has made elaborate arrangements for devotees who would be flocking to the city over the next 55 days. In fact, around 10-15 lakh pilgrims are already living in Sangam city's sprawling quarters, day and night. Most of them are in tents, make-shift shelters or with sectoral groups called akharas that are administered by sadhus and mahants.

There are people from virtually every state, with those from rural areas of UP, MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra accounting for the largest numbers. The administration has received applications from more than 100 organizations seeking land to pitch more tents, and their numbers are growing.

Wide-eyed tourists as well as professionals from abroad could not stop gushing at the sights. "This is huge," said Nick Oza, a photo-journalist from Arizona. "I don't know from where to begin and where to end!"

A young student from Bangalore, Laxman Sitapathy, said this was his first visit to a Kumbh and the experience is yet to sink in. "I had only seen Kumbh pictures. This far exceeds my expectations."

Joginder from Ludhiana, Punjab, said signboards in the Sangam city should be in other languages as well. "When people from across the world are coming for this mega event, there should be signages in more languages. Just a handful of cops or guides are not enough."

The mela administration has divided the Sangam area spread over around 40 sq km into seven zones or including Parade, Sangam, Akhara, Eyeject bridge, North Jhunsi, South Jhunsi and Arail. A zonal police officer along with magistrate has been appointed in-charge of each zone.

However, a number of organizations which were allotted land in different sectors have complained to Mela officials that their tents were too far away from the Sangam ghats and they had to walk up to 3-4 km for a dip. The mela administration said it's helpless, claiming the entire land on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna has been allocated.

ADM, Kumbh Mela, Ashutosh Kumar Dwivedi told TOI, "The main Sangam ghat is spread across 3,500 feet, while other ghats like sector 13 (2,600 feet), sector 12 (2,000 feet), sector 10 (800 feet), sector 9 (600 feet) and sector 8 (450 feet) have been prepared for the convenience of pilgrims and devotees.

None of this, however, is dampening people's fervor. Narendra Nath from Junagarh, Gujarat, said, "I am here with my family and 14 neighbours for a dip. We got a temporary shelter near Triveni Road and we are happy to share this blissful experience with others."

Work in considerable patches is yet unfinished. Basic civic amenities like water pipe connection, electricity are yet to reach out to every part of the make-shift town. Officials say they expect things to be much smoother by the date of the next Shahi snaan.

IG, Allahabad zone, Alok Sharma said, "Elaborate arrangements are in place with police teams carrying out frisking at different points and streets leading to Sangam area. Traffic police authorities have been asked to divert traffic and implement restrictions at certain points to ease flow of pilgrims."

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

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Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

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Dreamliner Nightmare: Another 787 Fuel Leak

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Japan Airlines said a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet leaked fuel while undergoing tests today at the airport near Tokyo, marking the latest in a string of highly-publicized problems for the jetliner as it undergoes a safety review by the U.S. government.


The Dreamliner being examined leaked around 25 gallons of fuel from a nozzle in the left wing, according to a spokesperson for Japan Airlines. It was reportedly the same aircraft that spilled fuel onto the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston earlier this week, The Associated Press reported.


On Monday, firefighters battled an electrical fire on a grounded Japan Airlines 787, also at Logan.


"We are aware of the event and are working with our customer," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in an email to the Los Angeles Times.


The jetliner, which was unveiled as a luxurious and fuel-efficient way to travel, has recently been beset by problems.










Boeing Dreamliner Breaks Out in Flames in Boston Watch Video









Dreamliner Set to Change the Face of Flight Watch Video





Japan's All Nippon Airways has reported a fuel leak, a 3-foot-long crack in a cockpit window and a malfunctioning computer in its fleet of 787s.


The Federal Aviation Administration announced a comprehensive review of the carbon-fiber plane to ensure it is safe to fly, however officials did not waver in their support of the aircraft.


"I would fly on one today," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a joint news conference with Boeing on Friday.


The plane will not be grounded by the FAA, and will continue to fly during the review, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said.


"Nothing suggests the airplane is not safe," Huerta said. "We believe this is a safe aircraft. To validate the work during the certification process, we'll work with Boeing to check on systems design and production.


"We want to make sure that the approved quality-control process is in place. We want to see the entire picture and not focus on individual events, to determine the root causes of these events," he said.


Huerta said the review will focus on the Dreamliner's electrical system, including the battery and the power distribution panels, and how electrical and mechanical systems interact with one another.


Aviation experts say that, except for the fire, the issues have all been minor.


"If there was something seriously wrong with this plane there is no question they would ground it," ABC News aviation consultant John Nance said. "That's not the problem here, there's nothing seriously wrong with the 787."



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