Israel Denies It Offered South Africa Warheads

Abstract: JERUSALEM — The office of Israel ’s president, Shimon Peres , strongly denied Monday that Mr. Peres, as Israel’s defense minister, offered to sell nuclear warheads to South Africa in 1975, as reported by The Guardian . Dan Meridor, Israel’s deputy prime minister and minister of intelligence and atomic energy, told reporters on Monday that he had no particular knowledge of what went on in the 1970s, as he was “not in business” then, but that he believed Mr. Peres. Yossi Beilin, a former leftist minister, also dismissed the newspaper article and the book on which it was based, “The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship With Apartheid South Africa,” by Sasha Polakow-Suransky. “The article does not concretely say that Israel wanted to sell nuclear warheads. It is a conclusion,” Mr. Beilin told Israel Radio. “The book itself does not say this explicitly, and I think that the president’s denial puts an end to the subject.” Israel has a longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying that it has nuclear weapons , though it is widely believed to have developed a large arsenal. The president’s denial was unequivocal, stating that “there exists no basis in reality for the claims” that “Israel negotiated with South Africa the exchange of nuclear weapons.” The Guardian article, the president’s office added, was “based on the selective interpretation of South African documents and not on concrete facts.” The Guardian said its reporting was based on the “top secret” minutes of meetings between senior officials from the two countries in 1975. The documents, it said, were uncovered by Mr. Polakow-Suransky in research for the book, and showed that South Africa’s defense minister, P. W. Botha, had asked for nuclear-capable Jericho missiles with the “correct payload,” Mr. Polakow-Suransky said in an interview with Al Jazeera, and that Mr. Peres had responded by offering them “in three sizes.” The “three sizes,” The Guardian stated, “are believed to refer to the conventional, chemical and nuclear weapons.” That, however, was not detailed in any of the documents shown, though Mr. Polakow-Suransky said the documents made clear that the South Africans had interest in Jericho missiles, “only if they carried a nuclear warhead.” “Sure, there was some kind of cooperation, and there was talk about weapons,” said Ephraim Asculai, who worked at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission for over 40 years, and who retired in 2001. But to conclude that the “three sizes” necessarily referred to weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads, was a long stretch, he said. In an interview with the South African Press Association, Pik Botha, who served as South Africa’s foreign minister in the waning years of apartheid, also questioned the article’s claims. “I doubt it very much,” said Mr. Botha, who is not related to P. W. Botha. “I doubt whether such an offer was ever made. I think I would have known about it.” Mr. Peres, an elder statesman, was responsible for establishing Israel’s nuclear program with help from France in the 1950s. Israelis acknowledge that there was cooperation with South Africa — what Mr. Beilin, the former minister, called “an unholy alliance that Israel, in its isolation, forged with the apartheid regime.” Shlomo Brom, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said it was well known that there had been cooperation between Israel and South Africa on ballistic missiles. “They paid, we developed them, then they bought,” said Mr. Brom, who served as defense attaché at Israel’s embassy in South Africa from 1988 to 1990. Mr. Brom said that Israel had also “probably” received uranium from South Africa. But he said he had a hard time believing that Mr. Peres was trying to sell nuclear warheads to the South Africans in 1975.

Israel
South Africa
Nuclear Weapons
Peres Shimon


U.S. Cites Rise in Health Plan Signups as Sebelius Testifies

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The number of people selecting health insurance plans in the federal and state marketplaces increased last month at a brisk pace, bringing the overall figure to nearly 365,000, the Obama administration said on Wednesday. The November number was more than double the one for October, but still well below the administration’s goal. The new enrollment data became available as Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, clashed again with Republicans at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Ms. Sebelius acknowledged that flaws in the federal website had “dampened enthusiasm” for the health care law and had deterred many people from enrolling. But she said that “evidence of the technical improvements to HealthCare.gov can be seen in the enrollment numbers,” which she described as “very positive.” More than a quarter-million people picked health plans last month, and more than half of them were in state-run exchanges, the administration said in a report issued Wednesday. In the federal exchange, 110,400 people chose health plans last month, four times as many as in October, when many consumers were unable to see details of health plans because of problems with the federal website. Ms. Sebelius also announced that she had ordered an internal investigation of the botched rollout of the site. “I have asked our inspector general, Dan Levinson, to review the development of HealthCare.gov,” Ms. Sebelius said. “We need a thorough review of the contractor performance and program management structure that resulted in the flawed launch of the website.” It is unclear whether the inspector general will investigate the role of Ms. Sebelius or White House officials who supervised the development of the website over the last two years. In addition, Ms. Sebelius said that the Obama administration was creating a position of chief risk officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that runs the health care website. The first job for the new official is to assess risks in information technology contracts, on which the agency spends more than $5 billion a year. At the hearing, Ms. Sebelius said the federal government had made contractual commitments to spend $677 million on information technology for HealthCare.gov and had paid out $319 million through October. However, she said that the financial management system for the federal marketplace — needed to pay insurance companies — was “in the process of being put together.” It will be ready by mid-January, she said. The enrollment report showed that 137,200 people chose health plans through the federal exchange in October and November, the first two months of a six-month open enrollment period. The federal exchange is still lagging behind marketplaces run by 14 states, which had signed up 227,500 people through November. Technical problems thwarted people trying to use the federal exchange in October, when 26,800 people chose a plan there. The pace picked up in November as federal officials and contractors raced to repair the website. About 148,000 people chose health plans in the state-run exchanges last month, up from 79,400 in October, the administration said. Officials did not provide data on the ages or other characteristics of people signing up. The new numbers do not reflect reports of a surge in sign-ups since the end of November, when the administration said the website was working well for most users. In the first week of this month, about 112,000 people selected plans through the federal marketplace, according to people familiar with the project. That means that enrollments for this month may already exceed those in November. If sign-ups continue at the current rate, more than a million people may have selected health plans by Jan. 1, when major provisions of the new law take effect. The Obama administration was counting on having seven million by the end of the initial enrollment period on March 31. The numbers are running behind enrollment targets developed by the administration for its own use. Federal officials were projecting that 1.2 million people would have enrolled by now through the federal and state exchanges, according to a memo prepared by the Health and Human Services Department in early September. Even as the law provides new hope to many Americans, it is disrupting coverage for others. In recent weeks, many people have received notices saying that their private health insurance will be canceled or discontinued because it does not comply with coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act. “Come Jan. 1, 2014, millions more people will have lost coverage than signed up because of the health care law,” said Representative Fred Upton, Republican of Michigan and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Many people who are eligible to participate in the federal and state exchanges have not selected health plans. Of those found eligible, 41 percent also qualified for financial assistance to help pay their premiums. That is about half of the proportion predicted by the Congressional Budget Office. The reasons for the gap are not clear. In states using the federal exchange, the largest numbers of people signing up and selecting health plans through November were in Florida (17,900), Texas (14,000) and Pennsylvania (11,800). Among states running their own exchanges, those with the largest numbers were California (107,100) and New York (45,500), followed by Washington (17,800), Kentucky (13,100) and Connecticut (11,600). In addition to people who have signed up for private plans through the exchanges, Ms. Sebelius said, 803,000 people have been found eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Health Insurance
Kathleen Sebelius
Health and Human Services
HealthCare.gov
Obamacare,Affordable Care Act
House Committee on Energy and Commerce


Q. and A. With Stuart Elliott

Abstract: Stuart Elliott, the advertising columnist, answers questions from readers each week. Questions can be sent to stuarte@nytimes.com . Q. I have a question about a commercial for Glad ForceFlex trash bags that shows a woman cleaning up her kitchen and putting a cardboard pizza box into a Glad bag that she takes out to be picked up as garbage. Why isn’t she recycling the pizza box? A. Thanks for your comment, dear reader, and it turns out you are not the only one who has been asking that question. As a result, it is likely that the commercial is going to be changed. The commercial, by DDB San Francisco, part of the DDB Worldwide division of the Omnicom Group, is part of a green-minded campaign introduced last year by the Glad Products Company, a joint venture of the Clorox Company and Procter & Gamble that is managed by Clorox. A request to Clorox for a comment was returned by Bridget Starkey, a spokeswoman for Clorox who works at the San Francisco office of the Current public relations agency. She provided a statement from Glad, which follows. “Glad has heard from consumers about this issue and we are working quickly to respond,” the statement begins. “Pizza box recycling is a complex issue. Most municipal recycling programs can only accept clean cardboard, not a standard used pizza box once it’s been ‘soiled’ by grease, cheese and sauce. In fact, a soiled pizza box put into a recycling bin could actually contaminate the entire batch of recycling and result in the whole lot having to be thrown out.” “We’ve been encouraging people to check with their local waste management facility for specific services in their area to determine how best to dispose of waste, such as a pizza box,” the statement continues. “That being said, we’re now hearing from our consumers that they’re finding it confusing and we’re going to make a change.” “The complexity around pizza box recycling is too difficult to communicate in a 30-second TV ad,” the statement concludes. “Our marketing team has been looking at how to update the TV ad with an alternative product demonstration. Glad values this type of consumer feedback that keeps us true to our mission around waste reduction.” Q. As we wandered around in the dark in Oceanside after the hurricane, my wife was walking through the room with a lit candle and the phrase “Greetings, pilgrim, your search has ended” came to mind. Where, oh, where does that come from? A coffee spot? A. Thanks, dear reader, for the question, but I have to admit you have stumped me. A good deal of searching on Google yielded several comments that it is indeed comes from coffee advertising, but none of them identified the coffee brand or suggested when the spots may have run. The phrase was also rendered as “Greetings, pilgrim, your search is over” and “Welcome, pilgrim, your search has ended.” If any readers seeing this have any information about the mysterious phrase, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Pizza
Advertising and Marketing
Recycling of Waste Materials


No Super Tuesday Knockout Punch

Abstract: Mitt Romney won the delegates, but not necessarily the argument. His quest to win the Republican presidential nomination has always resembled a detailed, methodical business plan. Mr. Romney, who spent much of his life fixing troubled corporations, must now decide whether steps are necessary to repair his lethargic candidacy. Mr. Romney had hoped that a string of Super Tuesday victories in contests from Vermont to Alaska would effectively bring the Republican race to a close. But he found himself winning over Rick Santorum by only the slimmest of margins with almost all the votes counted in Ohio, the most coveted primary of the night, while losing other contests across the South. The Republican race was always destined to plod on, considering that none of the candidates have reached even half of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination. But the campaign is suddenly bracing for new questions about Mr. Romney’s ability to piece together a coalition needed to move closer to a general election fight with President Obama. Mr. Romney had hoped a commanding victory over Mr. Santorum in Ohio would add another Midwestern battleground state to his tally and provide new latitude to begin directly engaging Mr. Obama. The heart of his case to his fellow Republicans has always been that he is not only the most electable candidate in the field, but also the best prepared and most suited for what is sure to be a brutal general election. But the outcome of the contests on Tuesday, while allowing him to amass more delegates than any of his rivals, did little to resolve the questions about his ability to connect with voters, especially conservatives. With the general election exactly eight months away, Republican leaders have increasingly argued that the time had come to move beyond the party’s messy intramural fight. They assumed that Mr. Romney’s strong financial advantages and muscular campaign organization would make that happen on Tuesday night. Even the president anticipated a shift in the campaign. He staged his first White House news conference of the year hours before the votes started coming in to assail the Republican field for what he called irresponsible talk about war with Iran. He declined to answer questions about specific candidates, but flashed a smile when asked directly about Mr. Romney. “Good luck tonight,” Mr. Obama said. “Really.” It was an air of bravado from a man who endured his own long nominating fight four years ago. The story of Mr. Obama’s winding path to the White House is frequently offered as a testimonial by the Romney campaign when faced with questions about potential damage from a protracted and bitter primary season. Supporters of Mr. Romney worry that he has been politically bruised by the right-leaning shift of the Republican contests, but it is far from certain that any damage will be lasting. Republicans may be deeply divided now, but defeating Mr. Obama is a powerful unifying force in the party. “I’d love for this to be over sooner rather later so we can focus on the president’s record,” Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, a Romney supporter, said in an interview on Tuesday night. “But however long it takes, the desire to replace President Obama will motivate conservatives and libertarians in such a significant way.” For Mr. Romney, the Super Tuesday scorecard was decidedly mixed. He seized upon his wins in Idaho, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia — two of which are reliably Democratic states in presidential elections. But Mr. Santorum pointed to victories in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee as evidence that many Republicans were still looking for a conservative alternative. And Newt Gingrich held up a sweep of his home state of Georgia as proof of his own revival. Mr. Romney built his victories Tuesday among a coalition of voters who say electability is their chief concern, as well as among older, better-educated and higher-income voters. The critical set of white, working-class voters divided their loyalties between Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum. But when voters in Ohio and Tennessee were asked which candidate best understood the problems of average Americans, according to exit polls, Mr. Romney fell short of Mr. Santorum. The lineup of Super Tuesday states never looked particularly friendly to Mr. Romney. He campaigned in Georgia, North Dakota and Tennessee, hoping to win at least a share of the delegates, but he fought hard to earn a convincing win in Ohio. He fared poorly with very conservative voters and evangelical Christians, according to interviews with voters as they left the polls, and also struggled among voters who said it mattered a great deal that a candidate shared their religious beliefs. Mr. Romney, whose candidacy has largely been built around a strategy of letting his Republican rivals fade away, is again facing the challenge of trying to improve his ability to connect with voters and excite them. The next string of contests, including Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas and Missouri, may also be challenging states in which to build momentum. “I’m not going to let you down,” Mr. Romney told supporters gathered in a half-filled hotel ballroom in Boston. “I’m going to get this nomination.” A significant share of advantages in the Republican nominating fight remains on Mr. Romney’s side. He has more money at his disposal than any of his rivals, particularly if he decides to invest his own money into the campaign, as he did during his first presidential run four years ago. Even with a narrow win in Ohio, the scoreboard for Mr. Romney already includes victories in a succession of general election battlegrounds: New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada and Michigan. His successes have been more tactical than triumphant, but the delegates are worth the same. And Mr. Romney emerged from Super Tuesday with a strong mathematical advantage that cannot be overlooked. But one of the best opportunities for Mr. Romney to accelerate his march to the nomination was to convincingly defeat Mr. Santorum in Ohio. The outcome was not clear by the time Mr. Romney took the stage to deliver his speech late Tuesday night. “This is a process of gathering enough delegates to become the nominee,” Mr. Romney said. “I think we’re on the track to have that happen.” He offered no predictions of when.

Ohio
Presidential Election of 2012
Romney Mitt
Santorum Rick
Primaries and Caucuses
Republican Party
Gingrich Newt


Utah: Judge Says State Can Block Funding for Planned Parenthood

Abstract: A judge ruled Tuesday that Utah can cut off federal funds to Planned Parenthood, a move that Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican, ordered after the release of secretly recorded videos by an anti-abortion group. The ruling, by Judge Clark Waddoups of Federal District Court in Salt Lake City, reversed a temporary order that the money keep flowing while the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah pursues its lawsuit against the state. Mr. Herbert stopped about $275,000 in federal funds for sex education and for tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Judge Waddoups said that even though the Utah group had not engaged in wrongdoing, it was affiliated with other Planned Parenthood entities “that have allegedly engaged in illegal conduct.”

Utah
Planned Parenthood
Gary R Herbert
Abortion
Federal Aid


Naomi Oreskes Imagines the Future History of Climate Change

Abstract: Naomi Oreskes is a historian of science at Harvard, but she is attracting wide notice these days for a work of science fiction. “The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View From the Future,” written with Erik M. Conway, takes the point of view of a historian in 2393 explaining how “the Great Collapse of 2093” occurred. “Without spoiling the story,” she told me, “I can tell you that a lot of what happens — floods, droughts, mass migrations, the end of humanity in Africa and Australia — is the result of inaction to very clear warnings” about climate change caused by humans. The 104-page book was listed last week as the No. 1 environmental best-seller on Amazon. Dr. Oreskes, 55, spoke with me for two hours at her home in Concord, Mass., and later again by telephone. Here is an edited and condensed version of the conversations. Q. YOU ARE A GEOLOGIST AND HISTORIAN BY TRADE. HOW DID CLIMATE CHANGE BECOME THE CENTER OF YOUR RESEARCH? A. Like many people, I used to think the scientific community was divided about climate change. Then in 2004, as part of a book I was doing on oceanography, I did a search of 1,000 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific literature in the previous 10 years. I asked how many showed evidence that disagreed with the statement made in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report : “Most of the observed warming over the past 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations.” I found that none did. Zero. That was astonishing, because if someone like myself had believed that the science was unsettled, what did the ordinary citizen think? I published my finding in Science. The article was called “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change.” It ignited a firestorm. I started getting hate mail. Letters arrived at my university demanding I be fired. At the same time, Al Gore talked about my paper in “ An Inconvenient Truth .” Suddenly, I was a hero to the left because of Al Gore and a demon to the right because I was now part of the conspiracy to bring down capitalism. I thought I’d entered a parallel universe WHAT ACTUALLY WAS HAPPENING? I didn’t know it, but when I’d used the word “consensus,” I’d hit a land mine. For those who claim that climate change is a myth, the term “consensus” will — boom! — trigger a backlash. That’s because their strategy is based on spreading the idea that the science is still unsettled. Why? Because if you don’t know for sure there’s a problem, you can’t justify doing anything about it. As an ad from the coal industry had it, “How much are you willing to pay to solve a problem that may not exist?” Around the time this was happening, I met the Caltech historian Erik Conway. He’d come across material about the campaign to stop ozone depletion by curbing chlorofluorocarbons use. Erik said one of the people attacking me had done the same to Sherwood Rowland , a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for his work on ozone depletion. Image The Collapse of Western Civilization Naomi Oreskes talks about her new book that attempts to imagine how historians of the future might view our actions — or lack thereof — to combat climate change. I did some digging of my own. I learned that my critic was among an informal group of physicists who’d risen to prominence in weapons and rocketry during the Cold War. Though none were climatologists, they became key figures in climate change denial. On the various issues where members of the group had been active — acid rain, ozone depletion and climate change — there appeared to be a playbook drawn from the tobacco wars: Insist that the science is unsettled, attack the researchers whose findings they disliked, demand media coverage for a “balanced” view. As a historian, I knew I’d stumbled upon something important. I put my oceanography project aside. “We’ve got to write a book about this.” I told Erik. It took us five years. [Their book is “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues From Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.”] WHAT DID YOU DISCOVER? That the battle wasn’t about science, but economics. From reading their papers, you could see that these physicists were very strong believers in the unfettered free market. They believed that without free markets, you couldn’t have democracy. When we began, we wondered about the common thread linking smoking, acid rain and global warming — what was it? Well, each was a serious problem that the unregulated free market didn’t respond to. How does the free market prevent acid rain or climate change? It doesn’t. How do we know about the potential harm to individuals or the environment? Because of science. And how does one prevent harm? With regulation. To prevent regulation, we’ve had this campaign of doubt-mongering about science and scientists. WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, SHOULD THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY DO? Erik and I had a hard time ending our book because it’s not clear what the remedy is. I don’t think the scientist community alone can solve it. In fact, I think the I.P.C.C. should declare victory and close down Working Group I [which assesses the science of climate change]. They’ve laid down the science. Now it’s time to hand this over to our political, economic and social institutions. Interestingly, the public is ready. Recent polls show that 70 to 80 percent of the American public accept that climate change is real and the majority is willing to spend money to act. So now we’re in the larger realm of why American politics have become so dysfunctional. There are lots of areas where the American people want the government to act, but it doesn’t. A few months ago, after Henry Paulson and colleagues issued their “ Risky Business ” report, which showed the economic cost of climate inaction, you had Republicans on the Hill saying that climate change was a hoax. And just a few weeks ago, 400,000 people came to New York to have their voices heard about the need for action on climate change. WHY IS YOUR NEW BOOK WRITTEN IN THE SCIENCE FICTION GENRE? Erik is a big science fiction fan. As historians, both of us have spent a lot of time looking back. That made us wonder how a historian of the future might view the decisions being made today. Writing in this genre gave us the freedom to extrapolate and show what’s at stake. Our narrator concludes that in the 21st century, the forces of climate denial prevailed. DO YOU THINK THAT’S LIKELY? It depends on what day of the week we’re talking about. Five years ago, I thought that most of us would get it. But fossil fuel use is increasing, not decreasing. We should be cutting it down. Also, I get from the scientific community a feeling that things are going from bad to worse. I hear people in private saying gloomy things they never used to say. You now get the sense that many scientists feel we’re approaching a point of no return. It’s depressing. On the slightly more hopeful side, my daughter recently noticed that my TED Talk about climate was getting a lot of attention. “Mom, my friends are telling me what an inspiration you are,” she said. That’s empowering.

Naomi Oreskes
Climate Change
Erik M. Conway
Books
Greenhouse gas
Global Warming


Sending Alerts Instead, G.M. Delayed Car Recalls

Abstract: The first word from General Motors that the Chevrolet Cobalt had a dangerous safety problem came nine years ago, in a letter to dealers warning them that the cars could suddenly stall because of faulty ignition switches. But it was not until February that G.M. recalled millions of the Cobalts and other small cars for an ignition defect that it has now linked to 13 deaths. G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, has called the company’s slow response an “extraordinary” situation. But an analysis by The New York Times of the automaker’s recalls since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 shows its handling of the ignition problem was not an isolated event: G.M. has repeatedly used letters, called technical service bulletins, to dealers and sometimes to car owners as stopgap safety measures instead of ordering timely recalls, The Times found. In the past 15 months alone, G.M. has announced seven recalls for serious safety problems involving defects in electrical systems, air bags and power steering, among others, that were preceded by numerous bulletins identifying the problems months or years in advance without ordering repairs, according to recall records, regulatory filings and company documents. In one case, G.M. issued at least three separate service bulletins beginning in 2005 for power-steering problems in the Saturn Ion, but the company did not issue a recall for the car until last month. During that period, more than 40 percent of the consumer complaints to federal safety officials about the Ion were about steering problems, including instances of drivers losing control of their cars or being unable to maneuver them to the side of the road. “There’s no question that service bulletins have been used where recalls should have been,” said Joan Claybrook, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that regulates auto safety, speaking of the auto industry as a whole. “It’s highly inappropriate.” When told of the findings by The Times about G.M., Ms. Claybrook said, “I’m shocked. I can see it happening occasionally, but not as a routine. Seven is a lot.” Companies send out thousands of technical service bulletins each year. They allow an automaker to tell dealers, and sometimes car owners, about low-level problems like a faulty interior light or air conditioner. They can also act as alerts about issues the automaker does not fully understand and continues to research. But the service bulletins, which are typically directed at dealerships’ service departments, are not intended to address serious safety issues, which by law must be handled by recalls monitored by the safety agency. “A manufacturer must address a safety defect by conducting a safety recall, which requires the manufacturer to notify consumers and remedy the defect,” said Nathan Naylor, a spokesman for the highway safety agency. An Attempt to Be Discreet Service bulletins can be an inexpensive substitute for a recall. In January 2013, for example, G.M. engineers estimated that it would cost $41.3 million to change the ignition switches in more than 778,000 vehicles, including Cobalts and Pontiac G5s. While there is no data available on the cost of repairs that resulted from the letter to dealers and owners, experts say the financial costs and the hit to the company’s reputation were likely to be softer with the relatively discreet bulletins. The Times analysis of service bulletins was limited to General Motors. The safety agency declined to comment on how G.M. compared with other automakers, but its top defects investigator, Frank Borris, last year scolded G.M. over its lack of responsiveness on safety issues, in contrast to its peers. “The general perception is that G.M. is slow to communicate, slow to act, and, at times, requires additional effort,” Mr. Borris wrote to Carmen Benavides, director of product investigations at G.M., in a July 2013 email. The company, he added, required effort from the agency “that we do not feel is necessary with some of your peers.” In one case, he reprimanded G.M. for issuing a service bulletin in July 2012 for a “fairly obvious” safety concern over a defective air bag in the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Cruze and Sonic. G.M. recalled some of the cars in October 2012, expanded the recall in January 2013 and eventually recalled even more in November. Mr. Borris also cited four other instances in which the agency questioned G.M.’s use of technical bulletins to deal with safety issues and pressed for recalls, including the case of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which was recalled in May 2012 for an air bag defect. The automaker’s top product executive, Mark Reuss, declined to say whether G.M. had a pattern of issuing service bulletins for safety problems before eventually ordering recalls. “I don’t have any data on that,” he said last week when asked by The Times at an industry event in New York. “We are definitely working on being responsive.” He added that the company works closely with the safety agency, “but there’s always some tension there.” Greg Martin, a G.M. spokesman, said in a written statement, “We issue technical service bulletins to our dealers to help ensure specific product issues are diagnosed and repaired properly.” A spokeswoman for Ford Motor, the second largest American automaker after G.M., also said that the bulletins “are used to help dealers diagnose and repair customers’ vehicles.” The spokeswoman, Kelli Felker, added: “A safety recall addresses production vehicle or component conditions that may present an unreasonable risk to safety.” Image Mary T. Barra, chief of General Motors, speaks at the 2014 Automotive Forum at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in midtown. Credit Benjamin Norman for The New York Times Ms. Barra has repeatedly asserted that safety is a core value for the company. At a Senate hearing this month, when asked if the failure to fix the ignition switch in the Cobalts was a one-time event, she said, “I see it as a very extraordinary situation,” then adding, “There have been many, many cases where we’ve been quick to act from a safety recall process.” Series of Service Bulletins The review by The Times found multiple instances in which the company used service bulletins instead of immediately recalling cars, with the gap between a bulletin and a recall ranging from six months to nine years. In the case of the Saturn Ion, which had a power steering system that could suddenly turn off, there were at least three service bulletins issued over a period of nine years before G.M. finally issued a recall last month. Just last August, Sharon Luers said, she was driving to a friend’s house in Shrewsbury, Pa., in her 2004 Ion when she heard a chime and saw a warning light flash for the power steering. Almost immediately, she lost control of her car. “It took all my strength to pull over,” she said. A few days later, it happened again. Beginning in 2005, General Motors issued service bulletins alerting technicians at dealerships that “some customers may comment that the steering wheel is hard to turn and that a message of ‘PWR STR’ is displayed,” as one 2009 bulletin read. In March 2010, G.M. recalled nearly 1.1 million Cobalts and Pontiac G5s for faulty power steering systems, but the Ion was not recalled, even though it used the same steering system. By September 2011, G.M. had informed the auto safety agency — which had begun to investigate problems with the Ion — of 3,489 customer reports claiming a sudden loss of power steering in 2004-7 Ions, as well as two crash claims indicating that drivers had been injured, according to regulatory filings. It is not known if any deaths resulted from the problem. The following month, Ms. Barra, who was then vice president for global product development, received an email from a senior G.M. engineer, telling her that the Ion might have the same power steering problems that led to the recall of the Cobalt and G5. “Mary,” the email said, “during the initial Cobalt case, the Ion data did not justify being included. The situation has been evolving. We will meet and understand the latest data.” In May 2012, the company sent out two more bulletins, one for dealers and one for owners. In bold, the letter to owners stated, “Do not take your vehicle to your G.M. dealer as a result of this letter unless you believe that your vehicle has the condition as described above.” Ms. Luers, too, received this letter, but it was not until later that her car showed these symptoms. Almost two years later, on March 28, G.M. recalled all 2004-7 Ions for the power steering problems, along with six other models. By that time, more than 1,200 complaints about steering — 42 percent of all complaints about the car — had been filed with regulators. Additionally, a number of Ion owners had taken to online chat forums to discuss the cars, with some expressing confusion about the service bulletins. In 2010, one Ion owner on SaturnFan.com wrote, “Finally there is something, though not a recall.” Thousands of Complaints N.H.T.S.A., which closed its investigation into the Ion last Tuesday, cited almost 4,800 complaints about the power steering problem that had been filed with both the safety agency and G.M., as well as more than 30,000 warranty claims at G.M. The regulator also pointed to 12 crashes with evidence linking the incidents to the defect. The Ion is not the only car that G.M. did not promptly recall when a safety issue became apparent. In August 2013, G.M. recalled some models of the Chevrolet Cruze because of a defect that could result in a loss of braking assistance. The company had issued a related technical service bulletin in June 2011. And in May 2013, G.M. recalled certain models of the Buick LaCrosse, Buick Regal and Chevrolet Malibu Eco because of a condition that could lead to stalling and trunk fires. The automaker had issued related technical service bulletins as early as October 2012, for unsold vehicles only, which raised suspicions among regulators, according to Mr. Borris’s email to G.M. The most glaring example is the defective ignition in the Cobalt, Saturn Ion and other small cars. As far back as 2001, the automaker had known that if the switch was jostled, it could turn off, shutting off the engine and disabling the air bags. In 2005, instead of recalling the cars, G.M. sent dealers a service bulletin suggesting that they tell drivers to remove objects attached to ignition keys. Only this year did the company order a recall of the cars. Although it is G.M.’s responsibility to report safety problems, Ms. Claybrook, the former N.H.T.S.A. official, said the agency was somewhat culpable for not detecting abuses in service bulletins. “Part of the problem is that N.H.T.S.A. is so grossly underfunded that it doesn’t have time to read them as they come in,” she said. The safety agency said that it looks at every technical service bulletin it receives and may open an investigation when appropriate. The Times analysis found that car companies issue thousands of the notices each year and that safety-related bulletins may be lumped in among notices for less serious issues. Still, automakers are required to act on serious safety problems with a recall. And when they do, it hurts them financially, and more important, in their reputation, said Daniel G. Hill, a crisis expert at Ervin Hill Strategy, a communications firm in Washington, who is familiar with the technical notices. “But you hope that calculus hasn’t been factored into the decision-making process,” he said.


Robert Franks, Former New Jersey Congressman, Dies

Abstract: Robert D. Franks, a former United States representative and fiscal conservative who used the tax revolt of the early 1990s to reinvigorate the Republican Party in New Jersey, and who came surprisingly close to defeating Jon S. Corzine for the United States Senate in 2000, died late Friday. He was 58. His death, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, was caused by an aggressive sarcoma, which was diagnosed in February, according to a family spokesman and former aide, Mike DuHaime. Mr. Franks, who bore a resemblance to Bob Newhart and could alternate between boyish enthusiasm and shrill partisan bickering, was living in Warren Township, N.J., at the time of his death, but was born in Hackensack, N.J., according to The Associated Press. He became involved in politics early, leading the New Jersey Teenage Republicans and going door to door as a 13-year-old in 1964 in suburban Chicago, where he lived for a time, for Charles H. Percy’s failed campaign for governor. Mr. Franks graduated from DePauw University in Indiana in 1973. After getting a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he directed campaigns for Senate and Congress before he became a state assemblyman in 1979, representing Union County for 14 years. He counted Robert F. Kennedy among his political heroes, but rose to prominence in 1991 fighting Gov. James J. Florio, a Democrat, whose budget included an enormous state tax increase, saying at the time that “the ship of state is out of control.” As chairman of the state’s Republican Party, Mr. Franks engineered an overwhelming victory over the Democrats the next year, urging candidates to run on the single theme of opposition to what he referred to as “the Florio-Democrat taxes.” After that strategy proved successful, he was encouraged to run for governor, but undertook a successful bid for Congress instead. He was elected to four terms representing the Seventh District, gaining a reputation for his advocacy of mass transit and other transportation issues, before running for the United States Senate against Mr. Corzine. Although he lost the race, he came within a few points of Mr. Corzine, who spent a record $63 million of his own money against Mr. Franks, who spent $6 million, Mr. DuHaime said. Mr. Franks had tried to turn Mr. Corzine’s spending into the main issue in the race, saying, “I think it’s raised serious questions about what role our democracy is going through right now, about whether or not these seats might only be available to the superwealthy, to the elite in our society.” After a failed primary bid for the governor’s office in 2001, Mr. Franks became president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, a trade group for the pharmaceutical research and medical technology industry. He is survived by his wife, Fran; three daughters, Sara, Abigail and Kelly; his mother, June; and his sister, Judy; brother-in-law, Jeremy; and niece, Mary Hannah.

New Jersey
Republican Party
Elections
Franks Robert D
Deaths (Obituaries)
Corzine Jon S


K. H. Bacon, an Advocate for Refugees, Is Dead at 64

Abstract: Kenneth H. Bacon , a former journalist and Pentagon spokesman who devoted his last years to highlighting refugees’ problems and urging policymakers to find solutions, died Saturday morning at his summer home on Block Island, R.I. He was 64 and a resident of Washington. The cause was complications of melanoma, his daughter Sarah said Mr. Bacon, as an assistant secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, was the spokesman for the Defense Department during NATO’s campaign to end the violence in Kosovo in 1999. He then visited his first refugee camp during a trip to the Balkans with William S. Cohen, then the defense secretary. “I had never seen refugees before, never fully appreciated the sheer magnitude of one million people leaving their homes and needing food, shelter and medical care and then one million people going back home after the war,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 2001. “This fascinated me,” he continued. “I knew it was rare for the world to help refugees so completely, and I wondered if somebody could help give the same attention to the refugees in the Congo, Afghanistan and Sudan.” Mr. Bacon became president of Refugees International, which advocates for assistance to save the lives of the world’s 41.9 million people who flee their homes to escape violence, either in their own countries or across borders. The organization also aids the 12 million stateless people living in limbo without citizenship rights. Refugees International helps abandoned refugees receive food, medicine and education; helps displaced families to return home and helps stateless families obtain legal status. It also urges policymakers at the national and international levels to send peacekeepers to protect displaced people. In a biography he wrote for the organization’s Web site, Mr. Bacon said the most important thing Refugees International does is push governments and the United Nations to overcome what he called the “commitment gap” that prevents the world from ending genocide, human rights abuses and wars. Mr. Bacon wrote and spoke extensively about these issues. In remarks at the Brookings Institution in February 2003, just five weeks before the United States attacked Iraq, he suggested ways to reduce the number of refugees in a war, including choosing targets outside of urban areas. In an article in Newsday in September 2003 he urged the United States to persuade France to contribute peacekeepers to Iraq, because of France’s success in peacekeeping elsewhere. At the time, many Americans resented France because of its strong opposition to the American attack. Kenneth Hogate Bacon was born in Bronxville, N.Y., on Nov. 21, 1944. He graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy and Amherst College, where his father was a political science professor. He earned master’s degrees in journalism and business from Columbia. In 1968 and 1969, he was a legislative assistant to United States Senator Thomas J. McIntyre, Democrat of New Hampshire. He then joined The Wall Street Journal’s Washington bureau, where he worked for 25 years as a reporter, columnist and editor. From 1968 to 1974, he served in the Army Reserve. Mr. Bacon had covered the Pentagon during the Carter administration and had come to respect William J. Perry, a senior official. When President Bill Clinton appointed Mr. Perry as his second secretary of defense in 1994, Mr. Perry asked Mr. Bacon to be his spokesman. Mr. Bacon joined the Clinton administration as assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, and was promoted to assistant secretary in 1996. He served until 2001, becoming a familiar face on broadcast and cable television news shows donned in his signature bow tie. Mr. Bacon is survived by his wife, the former Darcy Wheeler, and his daughters, Katharine and Sarah; his father, Theodore S. Bacon of Peterborough, N.H.; and his brother, Douglas A. Bacon of Concord, Mass. To Mr. Bacon, being a refugee was something that could happen to anybody at any time. “Even blue-blooded WASPs were refugees at one time; mine came over from England in 1630, fleeing debts for all I know,” he said.

Refugees
Defense Department
Bacon Kenneth H
Immigration and Emigration
Deaths (Obituaries)
United States Politics and Government


Storms in Midwest and South Crush Towns

Abstract: HARRISBURG, Ill. — A powerful storm system tore through parts of the Midwest and South on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, leaving pockets of devastation across several states and marking the acceleration of another deadly tornado season. Tornadoes and powerful winds tore off roofs, downed power lines, tossed mobile homes and injured more than 150 people from Kansas to Kentucky , according to the National Weather Service . The damage appeared to be most significant in Harrisburg, a small city in southern Illinois , where six people were killed in the storm and about 100 more injured, according to Lt. Tracy Felty of the Saline County Sheriff’s Office. Blocks of houses and businesses were reduced to rubble. Trees and power lines were tangled along the streets. Puffs of building insulation floated in the air here. “I don’t know how I could still be here with us,” said Charles Turner, 71, whose trailer collapsed on top of him. “After the sirens went off, there was a cracking sound, then everything lit up pretty as could be and my place just exploded around me. Everything went black, and I thought that was it, I was done.” Firefighters pulled Mr. Turner from what was left of his home: the side of a bedroom stuck 20 feet up in a tree, walls gone, and old photos, Christmas decorations and a grandchild’s handwritten story strewn all around. He was treated at a local hospital and released, and he was packing up what items he could find before going to stay with relatives. “Everything in the path was completely wiped out, just destroyed,” said Nick Sumner, who ran for cover after waking to tornado sirens. “It’s indescribable,” he added. “It’s surreal. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s something you’d see on a movie. Complete devastation.” The intense late winter storm system, which resulted from cold air from the Rocky Mountains mixing with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, also killed at least three people in southern Missouri , according to state officials. Moving east Wednesday night, storms tore roofs from buildings and flattened trees in eastern Tennessee , leaving at least three people dead. The sound of warning sirens and the sight of devastation provided unnerving reminders of the fierce unpredictability of the skies in this part of the country. Last year, 550 people were killed by tornadoes, making it the deadliest season in 75 years, according to the National Weather Service. The worst of those storms leveled much of Joplin , Mo., just east of several of the communities where people were digging out on Wednesday. In one of them, Buffalo, Mo., a trailer park suffered a direct hit just after midnight. The dozen homes were scattered and splintered, many with their startled residents still inside. One person was killed and another 13 were injured, some seriously. One of the trailers caught fire during the rescue operation. “It looks more like a war zone than a tornado path,” said Lt. Dana Egan of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, who described the scene. Two deaths were reported elsewhere in Missouri, in Cassville and in Puxico, where Judy Richard, 59, the owner of a local grocery store, said that her cousin’s house, about seven miles away, was destroyed. “Their house looks like a bunch of matchsticks out there,” she said. Branson , Mo., a popular tourist draw known for its country-themed shows, also was hit by a tornado, rated an EF2, which damaged the waterfront area, hotels and some of the city’s signature music venues as it moved up the main drag through the heart of the tourism district. The Skaggs Regional Medical Center in Branson reported that 37 people were treated for injuries starting at 2 a.m. The storm system hit first in Harveyville, Kan., where a tornado carved a narrow path through the community on Tuesday night, hospitalizing six people, destroying about a dozen homes and erasing the familiar outline of the Harveyville United Methodist Church, said the Rev. Dennis Irwin. “My wife looked up, and the church wasn’t there,” Mr. Irwin said. “It was almost surreal. You’re expecting to see this beautiful white church, and it’s a pile of rubble. It didn’t look real. I kept thinking this didn’t really happen, but I’m starting to realize that it is real.” Already this year there have more tornadoes than usual, according to the National Weather Service. Two people were killed in Alabama in January. And while meteorologists said that it was impossible to predict whether this would continue to be a bad year for tornadoes, the season typically peaks in the coming months. Another storm system is expected to return severe weather to the area this Friday. “We’re probably going to see these events increase in frequency as we go into March and April,” said Greg Carbin, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

Tornado
Kansas
Weather
Illinois
Missouri
Fatalities
Branson Missouri
Harrisburg Illinois
Midwestern United States
Southern US


Crennel Tried to Talk Belcher Out of Suicide

Abstract: KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Romeo Crennel had tried to help. He had stood in the parking lot of the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice site with Jovan Belcher early Saturday morning. He was uncertain what was troubling Belcher, whom he knew as a strong-willed leader who sat in the front at meetings. He did not know that less than an hour earlier, Belcher had fatally shot his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. Belcher thanked General Manager Scott Pioli and Crennel for all they had done for him. “I was trying to get him to understand that life is not over, he still has a chance, and let’s get this worked out,” Crennel said Monday, adding that he did not know of any personal issues that Belcher might have had. But Belcher turned away from both of them and shot himself. At a news conference on Monday, Crennel for the first time discussed the details of Saturday. Crennel said he did not know whether Belcher, a linebacker, had ever sustained a concussion. He said he had never known Belcher to behave in a violent manner. “I’ve never seen him with a gun — never, ever,” he said, his voice rising as he ended his answer with, “O.K.?” Crennel is trying to shift his focus, and his team’s, to Sunday’s game at Cleveland. He is aware this is no small task, that the emotions “might not be over, for some of us, for most of our lives.” But Crennel said he was moving on and that he would turn his attention to helping his players. “I know my daughters and my wife tell me I must be crazy, that something should be wrong with me,” Crennel said. “But I can deal with stress. I can deal with grief, so I’m dealing with it by trying to be the leader that those young men upstairs need.” Right tackle Eric Winston said that the players had been encouraged to speak with the counselors available at the team’s site since Saturday. Winston said they were told: “Don’t hold it in, talk to people, communicate. You don’t have to talk to us, but you need to talk to somebody.” The Chiefs are also left trying to come to terms with the Belcher they knew and the one who killed himself and his girlfriend. “We didn’t know the guy that made those last few decisions,” said Brandon Siler, who played in place of Belcher on Sunday. In West Babylon, N.Y., Belcher’s hometown, the conflicting portraits of Belcher were much the same. Those in his hometown said he was considered a role model. A late bloomer on the field, he set his sights on reaching the N.F.L. and worked tirelessly to achieve that goal despite being lightly recruited out of West Babylon High School. He went undrafted out of the University of Maine, but signed as a free agent with the Chiefs in 2009 and proved himself on the practice squad and special teams. “He just had that inner drive that you can’t give to somebody,” Al Ritacco, West Babylon High’s football coach, said. “When you’re in ninth grade and you tell your coach that you’re going to make it to the pros, that’s something that you don’t really find, not only in kids, but adults. He was driven to do the right thing.” Belcher maintained a presence at West Babylon High beyond his retired No. 52 jersey. He frequently visited the school and offered passionate pregame speeches to the football team. “They couldn’t take their eyes off of him any time he came into the locker room,” said Frank Riviezzo, a former assistant coach at West Babylon. “He talked to them about how life was, and to do the right thing and be the best person you could be.” Belcher, family and close friends have said, was unchanged by his status as a professional football player. He gave back to the community, paying for the entertainment for an annual Fourth of July neighborhood block party. “It was just like a big family thing every July 4th ever since he went pro,” said Troy Brown, who was a neighbor of Belcher’s. “He took care of his mom. He took care of a lot of people.” The house where Belcher’s mother lives has been more of a memorial site, as friends and family have gathered to grieve and reminisce. A makeshift shrine of jerseys and other memorabilia rests beside the front stairs.

Kansas City Chiefs
Football
Belcher Jovan
Crennel Romeo
Suicides and Suicide Attempts
Murders and Attempted Murders
Kansas City (Mo)
Perkins Kasandra


Tight Race in Virginia as 3 Democrats Vie for Governor

Abstract: RICHMOND, Va. — When Virginia voters go to the polls Tuesday in the Democratic primary for governor, they will choose among three candidates who have distinguished themselves more by personality than politics during the fight to continue their party’s recent winning streak in this historically conservative state. The candidates are Terry McAuliffe , the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; State Senator R. Creigh Deeds; and Brian J. Moran, a former member of the House of Delegates. The winner will oppose the Republican candidate, Robert F. McDonnell, in November. Mr. McDonnell, a former state legislator, was Virginia’s attorney general until he resigned in February to seek the governorship. The incumbent governor, Tim Kaine, a Democrat, is prevented by law from seeking a consecutive term. The race is one of two elections for governor this year — the other is in New Jersey — and both national parties are strongly involved. A close ally of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. McAuliffe, 52, is a multimillionaire businessman with an outsize personality who held an early lead in statewide polls based largely on his ability to out-talk and outspend his opponents. But his supercaffeinated style, dependence on out-of-state donors and lack of experience in state politics have undercut his popularity among some voters and undermined his claim that his national stature makes him the man to beat Mr. McDonnell. And Mr. McAuliffe’s pitch that his proven skill at making money — as a banker, real estate developer, credit-card marketer and an Internet venture capitalist — will bring prosperity to all Virginia comes as public mistrust of millionaires is high and unemployment in some parts of the state is near 14 percent. “My argument is that if you’re looking for someone new, someone who hasn’t been part of the partisan bickering in Richmond, a business guy to come in and shake things up, then you should take a look at me,” Mr. McAuliffe said Friday in an interview between campaign stops in Richmond and Charlottesville. After most polls had the three candidates in a statistical dead heat for most of the race, Mr. Deeds opened up a slight lead over the weekend, but many voters were still undecided and turnout was expected to be low. Both parties see more than a governor’s seat at stake, with Virginia the latest front in the national red state-blue state battle. Democrats have defeated Republicans in two successive United States Senate elections in Virginia and held the governor’s office for two terms, and Barack Obama carried the state last year, the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Republicans, though, say they are hopeful in this race because Mr. McDonnell has generally polled better than any of the three Democrats running to oppose him. Republicans say they would strengthen their hand nationally if they can beat the Democrats vying to replace Mr. Kaine, the Democratic national chairman, in a state that Mr. Obama has courted over the past four years. The three Democrats agree on most major issues. Each supports the death penalty, enforcement of immigration laws and higher salaries for teachers. Each has said he will bring new jobs and high-speed rail to Virginia. Mr. Moran opposes drilling for oil and gas off the state’s coast, while Mr. McAuliffe backs limited drilling for natural gas only and Mr. Deeds is open to drilling for either. Their campaign strategies and personal styles pose the starkest contrasts. Folksy and halting in his public speaking, Mr. Deeds, 51, is from Bath County, in the state’s rural western sector. In 2005, he ran against Mr. McDonnell for attorney general, losing by fewer than 400 votes. The tortoise to Mr. McAuliffe’s hare, Mr. Deeds was the first candidate to enter the race in 2007. He has been traveling the state ever since, gradually rising in the polls as he has met with voters in small groups to promote his legislative record. “The knock on Mr. Deeds is that he’s a nice guy — an odd insult,” The Washington Post editorial board wrote in endorsing him. Hailing his character, the newspaper said Mr. Deeds was the only candidate with a record of tough stands, including calling for an increased gasoline tax to tackle a shortfall in the transportation budget. “Our judgment, from watching Mr. Deeds over the years,” it said, “is that he is more politically astute than his ‘aw, shucks’ persona might suggest.” Having spent two decades as a prosecutor and lawmaker, Mr. Moran, 49, also claims deep roots in the state. His approach, though, has been to argue that he is best equipped to win in November because he is the most progressive Democrat in the race and the most able to rally support from liberal voters in Northern Virginia, the fastest-growing part of the state. “Unlike my friend Creigh, I support the Second Amendment, but I don’t dance whenever the N.R.A. tells me to,” said Mr. Moran, jabbing at Mr. Creeds, who won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association in his 2005 attorney general race. Mr. Moran, from Alexandria, added that he was the only candidate who had said he would try to repeal the state’s 2006 constitutional amendment banning contractual agreements to sanctify same-sex relationships. In the end, Tuesday’s result may come down, as it often does, to infrastructure, said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. To win, Mr. McAuliffe will need his get-out-the-vote machine to counter the help Mr. Moran is likely to receive from the two dozen or so mayors and local elected officials who are expected to push their constituents to go to the polls and support him, Mr. Sabato said. Still, as the Democrats look to November, they will need to close the gap with Mr. McDonnell, who has raised about $8.9 million. Mr. McAuliffe leads the Democrats, with roughly $6.9 million; Mr. Moran is next, having reported raising $3.8 million, with Mr. Deeds at $2.8 million.

Virginia
Elections
McAuliffe Terry
Moran Brian J
Deeds R Creigh
Governors (US)
Democratic Party
Primaries and Caucuses


Congress to Look Into Drug Known as DMAA

Abstract: Three Republican members of a powerful House subcommittee have opened an inquiry into the safety of an amphetaminelike substance in some popular workout and fat-burning products sold at GNC. The products, with names like Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, contain a stimulant called dimethylamylamine, or DMAA. The Food and Drug Administration believes the stimulant to be an illegal dietary supplement ingredient and warned consumers last month that it was potentially dangerous. The lawmakers sent letters on Wednesday asking for documents on the safety and legal status of the stimulant to the agency; USPlabs, the maker of Jack3d and OxyElite Pro; and GNC, the nation’s largest dietary supplement chain. In a letter to GNC, they asked why the products were still for sale. “F.D.A. issued a consumer safety alert noting that the agency had received 86 adverse event reports associated with products containing DMAA, including psychiatric disorders, heart problems, nervous system disorders and deaths,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Joseph M. Fortunato , the chief executive of GNC. “However,” the letter added, “as of May 7, 2013, GNC continues to sell Jack3d on its Web site.” The lawmakers’ letters cited articles in The New York Times in February and March on the health concerns. Although the reports to the F.D.A. do not prove that DMAA causes the health problems, agency officials warned people not to consume the ingredient. In a release last month, USPlabs said that it stood by the safety and legality of its products, but it said it had concluded for “business reasons” to phase out the original Jack3d and OxyElite Pro containing the stimulant. GNC.com continues to sell both products. Laura Brophy, a spokeswoman for GNC, said on Thursday that the company “has no reason to believe that DMAA is unsafe” and that it did not sell products containing substances that the F.D.A. had banned. “Pending a recall order on the products from the F.D.A., GNC will continue selling what inventory we have left of the USPlabs product,” she said, adding that GNC would respond to the letter from the lawmakers. While GNC continues to sell the products, other leading retailers have removed Jack3d and the other DMAA items. Some prominent dietary supplement researchers started warning about the potential health risks after the deaths in 2011 of two American soldiers who had used products containing the substance. The Defense Department subsequently removed products containing DMAA from stores on military bases, including more than 100 GNC stores, pending an investigation into the soldiers’ deaths. The congressmen who sent the letter were Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the oversight subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; Michael C. Burgess of Texas, the vice chairman of the committee; and Joe L. Barton of Texas, the chairman emeritus. Mr. Murphy said in a phone interview on Thursday, “If it’s dangerous, I’m curious as to why it’s still being manufactured and sold.”

Dimethylamylamine
Diet and Herbal Supplements
US Politics
FDA
GNC Holdings


Microsoft’s Quarterly Income Rises 35%

Abstract: Sometimes breaking a sales record isn’t good enough. Just ask Microsoft . In the span of a couple of weeks, analysts and investors following the technology industry have had their expectations swell for a powerful recovery. Sales at giants like Intel, Apple and EMC have surged past prerecession levels to hit new highs. Both consumers and corporations have increased their technology spending, and there is talk once again of hiring in Silicon Valley. Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, added to the good cheer on Thursday, as it too reported record results for its third quarter, with sales rising 6 percent to $14.50 billion. But Microsoft’s numbers left investors wanting more. Shares of Microsoft promptly fell about 4.5 percent to $29.98 in after-hours trading on Thursday, after the release of third-quarter figures. “They had strong results, but the expectations from investors were higher,” said Sasa Zorovic, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets. “This was a sign that we probably need to be a little more realistic, and that things are moving slower than you would believe by the recent euphoria.” The hopes for a blowout quarter from Microsoft rose in recent weeks as other technology companies reported their results, and as data about the PC industry was made public. Intel, for example, just reported record sales of its PC chips, noting particularly strong demand for faster, more expensive laptop chips. In addition, a number of analysts raised their predictions for 2010 sales of PCs, in some cases predicting as much as 25 percent growth for the industry. Microsoft’s third-quarter figures backed up this optimism around the PC market. Its net income rose 35 percent, to $4.01 billion or 45 cents a share, from $2.98 billion, or 33 cents, in the period a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Microsoft to earn 42 cents a share. Executives at Microsoft pointed to Windows as the main driver of revenue during the quarter, as sales of the software rose to $4.42 billion, from $3.45 billion in the same period last year. According to Microsoft’s estimates, the PC market grew 25 percent during the last quarter, with the consumer segment rising 30 percent and business market rising 14 percent. The strength of the sales to businesses was a real highlight for Microsoft, because many companies have resisted buying new PCs. “We are encouraged by the recent uptick in business PC growth and expect this business PC refresh cycle will continue over a couple of years,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft, during a call with Wall Street analysts. Brendan Barnicle, a software analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, said in an interview, “The most important thing is that they’re seeing business PCs come back,” adding, “This is huge.” Mr. Barnicle noted that rising corporate spending on PCs should drive Windows 7 sales as well as sales of Office 10, which will go on sale in June. Microsoft also said its search, gaming and online software products performed well during the quarter. Microsoft has tried to put the dark days of the recession and a string of product missteps behind it. The company spent much of the last 18 months retooling its core products. It now looks to rebuild its relationship with consumers over the next year via various pieces of software and gadgets. For instance, Microsoft has worked to revitalize its smartphone software business, demonstrating a new smartphone operating system, Windows Phone 7, that will ship on cellphones late this year. In addition, the company just released a pair of new phones aimed at handling social networking tasks like posting photos and videos online in a bid to court a younger audience. Other than the PC, Microsoft has some razzle-dazzle in store for video gamers. Later this year, it will begin selling a version of its gaming accessory code-named Project Natal. This product will allow people to do away with controllers altogether and instead play games using body gestures. Katherine Egbert, an analyst with Jefferies & Company, has forecast that Microsoft could generate up to $1.3 billion in sales of the Project Natal systems over the first year of the product’s release if it is priced at about $100. But even if the Project Natal device is a blockbuster, it will do little to impact Microsoft’s overall revenue, which remains highly dependent on the Windows and Office franchises. “Microsoft’s entertainment division is important, but it just doesn’t really move the dial,” Ms. Egbert said.

Software
Company Reports
Microsoft Corp
Enterprise Computing


Aviation Hearing on Landing of Flight 1549 in Hudson

Abstract: WASHINGTON — When US Airways Flight 1549 glided into the Hudson in January and all 155 people on board made it out alive, scrambling onto the decks of nearby ferryboats as the jet drifted gently downstream, it looked almost easy, a note-perfect ditching. But at a hearing on Tuesday, it became clear just how close a call it had been. The plane, an Airbus A320, hit the water at a rate of descent more than three times what it was designed to handle, cracking the fuselage open and letting frigid water flow in so fast that the rear doors, which were supposed to stay above the water line for seven minutes, were under water by the time the plane stopped moving, according to documents released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board . The big inflatable rubber pieces attached to the rear doors — they can be used as rafts or slides — were instantly useless, and there was not nearly enough space in the front rafts for everyone on board. Had the plane not come down at a time and location when the river was thick with ferryboats, according to testimony, many of the passengers and crew members would have ended up in the cold water. “When it finally came to a stop, I was feeling the miracle of, ‘Wow, we survived this crash,’ and then immediately water was rushing in through my window,” said Billy Campbell, 49, who had been in Seat 25A, in the second-to-last row of the plane. The cabin smelled of fuel and smoke, some of the overhead bins had broken open and oxygen masks shaken loose, and quickly the water was chest deep. “My concern was that the plane was going to sink, and we were going to be stuck in the back,” he said. The drama of Flight 1549, including how Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III guided the plane to safety after geese knocked out both engines, was the focus of Congressional hearings in February. But this week’s safety board hearings are the first by aviation experts. The board is looking into how to detect or scare off birds, which experts testified were growing rapidly in number because of a cleaner environment. Captain Sullenberger recounted the now-famous flight of 5 minutes 8 seconds, and his split-second decision to turn to the river instead of returning to La Guardia Airport. The touchdown point, it is evident in hindsight, was much farther away than the runway, but that was not clear at the time, and, he said, “I couldn’t afford to be wrong.” “The only option remaining in the metropolitan area that was long enough, wide enough and smooth enough to land was the Hudson River,” he said. Robert L. Sumwalt, the vice chairman of the safety board, remarked that it was unusual for crew members involved in a crash to be able to describe what happened. “This event turned out differently than a lot of the situations the board has looked at,” Mr. Sumwalt said. “What made the critical difference in this event? How did this event turn out so well?” The captain responded: “I don’t think it was one thing, it was many things. We had a highly experienced, well-trained crew. The first officer, Jeffrey Skiles, and I worked together well as a team, and we solved each problem as it presented itself to us.” In harrowing detail, the passenger, Mr. Campbell, the chief executive of a motion picture equipment company who said he had taken the same flight from New York to Charlotte, N.C., hundreds of times, described his perspective, from the bird strike to the water rescue. Mr. Campbell said that the left engine was “almost a bonfire,” and that he felt the airplane decelerate, then shudder and emit a smell of jet fuel. He recalled that a flight attendant, Doreen Welsh, reassured the passengers that everything would be fine. As Captain Sullenberger guided the plane over the Hudson and lifted the nose high to follow the procedures recommended by Airbus, the plane’s manufacturer, the back of the plane bore the brunt of the impact. Mr. Campbell looked out his window, and it seemed as if he were peering out the porthole of a cruise ship; the plane was submerged in the rear. Ms. Welsh shouted to Mr. Campbell and other passengers that they could not go out the back, and directed them to the front of the plane. The aisle was jammed with passengers, so Mr. Campbell scrambled over seats, row by row, falling with each seat hurdle into water reaching chest level. He got to the exit over the left wing to find it full of passengers. Captain Sullenberger beckoned him to climb onto a life raft at the main cabin door. Mr. Campbell was the last passenger out of the cabin. A minute of stunned silence later, Mr. Campbell grabbed Captain Sullenberger by the arm. “Thank you, you saved my life,” he recalled telling the captain. “You saved all of our lives.” Captain Sullenberger responded, “You’re welcome.” The safety board will dissect the technical details in the next few days. One detail under discussion is whether the plane was “ditched.” Because the fuselage cracked, the plane did not meet the standard for ditching. Airbus is arguing that ditching requires advance planning, and that this was a forced landing on water. But the company said that “the overall behavior of the fuselage structure was excellent” because it did not break up on impact and it maintained “a safe, protective environment for the passengers.” But it was clear that neither the crew’s training, the plane’s construction nor the emergency procedures contemplated the loss of both engines at a low altitude. Since the accident, Captain Sullenberger, 58, has become a symbol of stoic calm and courage, the author of miracles. Even Mr. Sumwalt praised his ability not to choke under pressure, especially after the plane first hit the birds. “If you think I wasn’t startled,” Captain Sullenberger said, “you misunderstand.” The cockpit recordings released Tuesday showed that Captain Sullenberger did exhibit quite human emotions before and during the flight. The beginning of the transcript relates Mr. Sullenberger’s frustration with the plane’s bulletproof cockpit door, which was apparently sticking. Captain Sullenberger complained soon after the recording began, “Oh, that # door again.” (The transcript uses the “#” sign to denote expletives.) “What’s wrong?” asked the first officer, Mr. Skiles. “Have to slam it pretty hard,” Captain Sullenberger said. A few moments later, with the engines dead, attempts to restart them fruitless, and the Hudson fast approaching, Captain Sullenberger turned to Mr. Skiles and said, “Got any ideas?” Mr. Skiles replied, “Actually, not.”

US Airways
National Transportation Safety Board
Hudson River
Sullenberger Chesley B III
Accidents and Safety
La Guardia Airport (NYC)
Airlines and Airplanes


Weakness in Economy Isn’t Hurting Charities

Abstract: Despite the economic downturn and fears of recession, major charities say their fund-raising has not fallen off. “We’re doing fine,” said Christina Walker, director of development at the Cleveland Orchestra. “We haven’t seen any effect yet.” In fact, some 64 percent of the organizations that have responded so far to the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual survey on fund-raising have reported bringing in more money in 2007 than the year before. “Our surveys tell us fund-raising has been holding steady,” said Paulette V. Maehara, the association’s president and chief executive, who emphasized that the findings for 2007 were preliminary and that in any case the environment could change over the course of 2008. Some fund-raisers already see what could be signs of a downturn. Stephen R. Birrell, vice president for alumni relations and development at Williams College, said that the college’s annual fund-raising effort was doing well but that the number of donors was down somewhat. “I hesitate to single this out,” Mr. Birrell said, “because I don’t know what to make of it.” The reason for his uncertainty is that a plan that Williams adopted in 2003 to raise $400 million through a special campaign by the end of this year has so far exceeded the goal by more than $50 million, he said, and may have drawn donors away from the annual fund. One donor to the special campaign, Paul Neely, said he would look at his seven-figure gift differently today, because the value of the stock he donated had since dropped by roughly a third. “If I wanted to give the same dollar amount today, I would have to give more shares and then worry that they might go back up,” said Mr. Neely, a Williams trustee. “That’s the kind of calculation that I think people are turning over in their minds, which hasn’t noticeably impacted us yet but it may very well by the end of the year.” Revenue at the March of Dimes rose 4.5 percent in 2007 on an unaudited basis, said Carol Portale, the organization’s senior vice president for customer relationship management and direct response. Ms. Portale said that there had been a slight decline in the average size of gifts this year but that enrollment and sponsorship for the organization’s annual March for Babies, which accounts for roughly half its annual revenue and is set for next month, were solid. “It’s too early to say” how the organization will fare over all in 2008, Ms. Portale said. “We’re obviously concerned,” she said, “because the economy does have an effect on us, and so does political fund-raising, which also relies on donated money.” Darell Hammond, chief executive of KaBOOM!, a nonprofit group that builds and maintains playgrounds, said he and his senior management team were keeping a close eye on revenue to see what effect, if any, the organization would feel from economic weakness. The 12-year-old group has long been a favorite of corporate donors, and declines in corporate donations tend to be steeper during hard times than do reductions in gifts from other sources. But Mr. Hammond said corporate support had so far remained strong, fortunately. Last year the organization embarked on an effort to diversify its financing sources, reaching out to foundations and individuals. Many foundations, he said, have since told the organization that they are not making any new commitments, and the first foray by KaBOOM! into direct mail, last fall, attracted just $50,000, a quarter of what it had expected. “Whether that was due to the economy or just a measure of how tired people are of direct mail,” Mr. Hammond said, “I don’t know.”

Finances
Recession and Depression
Philanthropy
Nonprofit Organizations
United States Economy


Greene Leads Iowa to Outback Bowl Victory in Final Act

Abstract: Iowa’s Shonn Greene went from carrying couches to being an all-American carrying a football. Now, he figures he is ready for the next level. Greene turned Thursday’s Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., into a farewell party, leading the Hawkeyes past South Carolina, 31-10, and then announcing he intended to skip his senior season to enter the N.F.L. draft. “I don’t think there’s really a lot more I can do here,” Greene said. “People talk about the Heisman, but I think that’s a lot of politics. I don’t like getting caught up in all of that, so I just figure I’ll try my chances.” Greene ran for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns. He rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Iowa’s 13 games, scored in all but one, and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. “He’s been the same guy each and every week,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said, using words like “humble” and “modest” to describe the 235-pound Greene, who worked at a furniture store and did not play football last year after losing his scholarship because of academics and attending community college to improve his grades. Greene finished with Iowa single-season records of 1,850 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. “I’m speechless right now,” Greene said. “I never imagined this happening. All the success, all the accolades and stuff like that.” Iowa (9-4) won for the sixth time in seven games since losing three straight to fall to 3-3. South Carolina (7-6) lost three straight down the stretch while being outscored, 118-30. Greene scored twice on 1-yard runs to help Iowa build a 21-0 halftime lead, then added an 11-yarder to make the score 31-0 late in the third quarter. South Carolina scored on Chris Smelley’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Jared Cook and Ryan Succop’s 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. GEORGIA 24, MICHIGAN ST. 12 Matthew Stafford gave the type of performance in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., that would make a fitting finale to his excellent Georgia career. But Stafford, a junior, has not decided if it was his last game with the Bulldogs. Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 18 minutes against No. 19 Michigan State, hitting Knowshon Moreno for the clinching score for the 16th-ranked Bulldogs. “It’s going to be an extremely hard decision,” Stafford said about leaving for the N.F.L. “My time at Georgia has been great, and the allure of coming back is something I’m considering. I’m 50-50 right now and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m going to take these next few days and figure it out.” Ranked No. 1 to start the season, the Bulldogs (10-3) gave Coach Mark Richt his sixth bowl win in eight tries and put a happy ending on a season that did not live up to expectations. Stafford was 6 for 14 with an interception in the first half as Michigan State (9-4) led, 6-3. In the second half, he looked more like the quarterback N.F.L. teams covet. He completed 14 of his final 17 throws, including three touchdown passes. NEBRASKA 26, CLEMSON 21 Joe Ganz threw for two touchdowns, Alex Henery kicked four field goals and Nebraska won the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., to end the season on a four-game winning streak. Nebraska (9-4) won six of its final seven games and had success in a January bowl game for the first time in nine years. It capped quite a turnaround for the Cornhuskers, who hired Bo Pelini to replace the fired coach Bill Callahan after missing the postseason in 2007. Clemson (7-6) had won four of its previous five games after a 3-3 start that prompted the longtime coach Tommy Bowden to resign. But the Tigers could not get a win for Coach Dabo Swinney in his first bowl game, despite leading by 14-3 at halftime. BUCKEYES’ WELLS IS UNDECIDED The Ohio State junior running back Chris Wells is not ready to say that the Fiesta Bowl on Monday against Texas will be his last game for the Buckeyes. “I personally feel like I haven’t done enough at Ohio State, the things I wanted to accomplish here, to move on to the next level,” said Wells, who is known as Beanie. Asked if that meant he was leaning toward staying, Wells said: “I don’t want to say I’m leaning toward staying or I’m leaning toward going. All I’m saying is I do want to be the best Buckeye to ever come through here.” IN OTHER NEWS Tulsa Coach Todd Graham has agreed to a 10-year contract that could keep him with the Golden Hurricane through the 2018 season. ... California Coach Jeff Tedford has agreed to a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2015 season.


Q. and A. With Bill Cowher

Abstract: There were seven head coaching hires in the N.F.L. for the 2014 season. Bill Cowher was not among them. But he is fine to continue as a studio analyst for CBS Sports on “The N.F.L. Today.” “There are parts of coaching that I miss,” he said. In his 15 seasons as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he guided the team to 8 division titles and 10 playoff appearances, including two Super Bowls and a championship. “You can never say never,” Cowher said of coaching again. “But I love the job I have now.” Cowher, 57, will be one of the sports figures honored at the 29th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria on Sept. 29. The event benefits the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis . (Interview has been edited and condensed.) Q. Who do you like to reach the Super Bowl? A. In the A.F.C., I like New England and what they’ve done this off-season, with Darrelle Revis coming back, and Brandon LaFell, the receiver. Combine that with their quarterback, getting Vince Wilfork back, Jerod Mayo back. Their defense is going to have some guys they were missing last year and it’s going to be very strong. In the N.F.C., I like Seattle again. People say how hard it is to go back to the Super Bowl, but they have pretty much the same team. They have Percy Harvin back healthy. I also think the division that they’re in has taken a little bit of a hit with injuries. Sam Bradford, the St. Louis quarterback, went down and the defense of San Francisco has injuries. Q. Do you have a surprise team that can go deep in the playoffs? A. The Steelers. They finished last year 6-2. I like what they did in the off-season. Their running back situation is strong with LeGarrette Blount. They got speed with Dri Archer. I like the linebacker Ryan Shazier. They have speed on defense. Ben Roethlisberger is primed to have a good year. Their offensive line played very well the second half of last season and they’ve been together for three years. Q. What team do you think will take a step back? A. I look at the injuries that San Francisco has on defense, particularly NaVorro Bowman being out. They’re losing Aldon Smith. They could potentially take a step back in a tough division. Q. What rookie will make the most impact? A. Brandin Cooks with New Orleans. You put him in a slot opposite Jimmy Graham, the best tight end in football. I think that kid is dynamic. He’s a special player. I think he’ll have a tremendous impact. The Saints already have a really good offense. And with that quarterback I think he’ll be offensive rookie of the year. Q. With the referees throwing frequent flags in preseason trying to educate defenders about illegal contact, are you worried that the game will slow down? A. I don’t think the amount of calls will be the same in the regular season as they were in the preseason. People acclimate. By the first month of the season players will figure out what they will and won’t call. Q. How will secondaries cover receivers, dealing with the illegal contact rules? A. It’s an offensive league. All the rules cater to the offense. The bump-and-run has become more prevalent because of Seattle. People will have to play a little bit more off coverage. No question, it will be harder on the defenses. We all understand football is entertainment. And people like high-scoring games. But you still have to play defense to win championships. I think Seattle proved that last year. Q. What new coach will have the best season? A. I like the Titans’ Ken Whisenhunt. He’s in a good division. He is a good guy to develop quarterbacks. I think Jake Locker was 3-1 before he got hurt last year. If he gets him playing well, Tennessee can be very consistent and challenge Indianapolis in the A.F.C. South. Q. Chip Kelly, the former Oregon coach, proved up-tempo college coaches can succeed in the N.F.L. With his success last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, will teams copy his offensive system? A. The no-huddle has been around for a while. It’s a little bit different, but Peyton Manning runs it. The biggest thing is, can you sustain it over the course of 17 weeks playing 15 games? You need depth at the running back position. That’s why Chip went out and got Darren Sproles. You still have to be able to throw the ball and play good defense to win a championship. It takes a balanced team. A lot of his thoughts and ideas were about preparation, and people have copied a lot of that.


Senate Democrats Fail to Advance Campaign Finance Bill

Abstract: WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats failed Thursday to advance campaign finance legislation that would force businesses, unions and others to disclose how they were spending money in political campaigns and where they were getting it. The vote was a defeat for President Obama on one of his top legislative priorities. For months, Mr. Obama has urged Congress to undo the damage he said was caused last January by a Supreme Court decision on campaign finance, saying the failure to act would herald “the corporate takeover of our democracy.” But Republicans would not budge, blocking the bill from even coming to a vote and accusing Democrats of ignoring bigger problems. The president fared better on a separate matter, as the House approved and sent to Mr. Obama for his signature a Democratic plan to aid small businesses. By a vote of 237 to 187, the House passed legislation that would create a $30 billion loan fund for small businesses and provide other tax incentives to encourage hiring and stimulate growth. On the measure, 236 Democrats and one Republican voted yes while 174 Republicans and 13 Democrats opposed the bill. Mr. Obama said in a statement that he would sign the small-business bill on Monday, calling it “a common-sense plan to put Americans back to work.” But his hopes for signing legislation on campaign finance before the November elections quickly evaporated Thursday afternoon on the Senate floor. With no Republicans voting to cut off debate, the vote was 59 to 39 — one short of what the measure’s supporters needed. The House had approved the measure on a party-line vote in June. The measure would have forced companies, unions, special-interest groups and other organizations active in political campaigning to disclose in federal filings their donors of more than $1,000 and to require the head of an organization that paid for a political commercial to appear on camera to say, “I approved this message,” just as candidates themselves now do. It would also prevent government contractors, businesses that received federal bailout money and foreign corporations from spending on campaigns. Democrats maintained that with a recent surge in money from outside groups that do not have to disclose their donors, the bill was essential to maintaining some transparency in the political process and neutralizing the impact of big businesses. But Republicans asserted that it went too far. Republicans had also succeeded in July in blocking a vote in the Senate, but Democrats held out some hope that they could sway one or two moderate Republicans by making concessions this week. Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who authored the bill, offered to pare down the measure and to ensure that it would not be enacted until after the November elections to appease Republicans who asserted that the measure could be used to help Democrats gain re-election. Republicans, however, would not relent. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, said Democrats should be focusing on issues that Americans really care about — especially jobs and the economy — instead of wasting two days of debate on a measure that he asserted would mean “more government control” over political finance. Liberals pushing for changes in campaign finance did take some solace, however, in a separate vote in a House committee to provide some public financing for Congressional candidates. “It was a ‘you win some, you lose some’ day for campaign finance,” Lisa Gilbert, who tracks political finance issues for U.S. PIRG, a federation of public interest groups. The House committee on administration voted to approve a bill that would provide matching federal money for Congressional candidates who attract enough small local donors. The financing — potentially hundreds of millions of dollars — would come from the sale of broadcast spectrum and would not require any additional taxpayer money, sponsors say. Republicans quickly signaled that they would fight this bill as well. Mr. McConnell, in fact, linked the two measures in voicing his opposition and questioning the priorities of Democrats who support public financing. “Have they no shame?” Mr. McConnell asked. “The last thing the American people want right now is what amounts to welfare for politicians.”

Senate
Campaign Finance
Small Business
Law and Legislation
House of Representatives
Obama Barack


Soros Gift Will Lead to $200 Bonus for Many New York State Students

Abstract: A $35 million gift from George Soros , the financier and philanthropist, will allow for a $200 back-to-school bonus for each of more than 850,000 low-income children in New York State this fall, state officials said on Friday. The $175 million in bonuses are also funded by $140 million from the federal government under a four-to-one matching program for needy families created by the stimulus package. Mr. Soros’s gift follows a $50 million challenge grant that he announced in May at the Robin Hood Foundation annual gala to fight poverty in New York. Together, the two gifts represent a new emphasis on poverty in his adopted city of New York since the economic downtown. “Most of my philanthropic giving has been abroad,” Mr. Soros, who was born in Hungary, said in an interview on Friday afternoon. “I feel like I should do more in these exceptional times in the United States.” Mr. Soros’s charitable foundations, including the Open Society Institute and its sister organizations, have given away almost $7 billion over the past 25 years around the world. In response to the current economic crisis, Mr. Soros created a $250 million Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation. Children in New York State eligible to receive the money must have been from ages 3 to 17 as of last Saturday, and their families must have received food stamps or have been on welfare in July. The money will be directly transferred into their families’ welfare or food stamp accounts. The bonus program takes advantage of the $5 billion allotment under the federal stimulus package to help needy families. With certain restrictions, those funds can be used for a variety of programs, including basic cash assistance, food stamps, job training and housing subsidies. Mr. Soros said he received his own unexpected bonus when he was a student. When he was studying at the London School of Economics, he worked nights as a waiter. His tutor found out and sent a letter to the Quakers, which had a history of charity: “They just sent me 40 pounds without any strings attached. I thought that was the way to do it, without strings attached.”

New York State
Poverty
Soros George
Philanthropy
Education and Schools


Canseco Finds a Publisher for Sequel

Abstract: Less than a week after Jose Canseco lost a publisher for “Vindicated,” his follow-up book to the controversial 2005 best-seller “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ’Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big,” a new publisher, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, has picked up the book and will publish it in time for opening day. Simon Spotlight, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, will announce Tuesday its plans to publish “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball” on March 31. The book, which intends to name more players with alleged links to performance-enhancing drugs, is expected to run about 250 pages. Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, withdrew from the project last Tuesday because it was concerned that it could not get the book ready in time for opening day. A person with knowledge of the deal also said Berkley had questions about the news value of the book. Jennifer Bergstrom, publisher of Simon Spotlight, said Bret Saxon, Canseco’s book agent, called her last Tuesday after Berkley decided not to go forward. Bergstrom asked to see the manuscript exclusively, and within 48 hours of reading it, Bergstrom had signed a deal. Asked whether the book would be controversial, she said, “Absolutely.” She added that the problems with the earlier deal that fell through “surprised me a little bit, but it didn’t scare us.” The project had hit a snag when Canseco failed to come to terms with his original ghostwriter, Don Yaeger, a former Sports Illustrated associate editor, early this month. The new collaborator is Pablo F. Fenjves, a screenwriter and the ghostwriter of “If I Did It,” O. J. Simpson’s hypothesized confession to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, and “Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson,” by Amber Frey, who was having an affair with Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson. Fenjves wrote Canseco’s book in less than three weeks. Fenjves said he met with Canseco several times and that it was not that difficult cranking out the book. “I was surprised by the level of detail in his head,” Fenjves said. “He knew what he wanted to say.”

Baseball
Canseco Jose
Books and Literature
Steroids