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Humble coin toss thrust to heart of multiverse debate
Labels: WorldRepublican leader vows to hold vote on stalled storm aid
Labels: Technology
WASHINGTON: A chastened US House Republican leadership scrambled Wednesday to tamp down seething bipartisan fury over a failure to approve emergency relief for victims of superstorm Sandy, saying a vote will now occur Friday.
The Senate has already passed a $60.4 billion aid package put forward by the White House to help northeast US states still reeling in the wake of the killer late October storm, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes and businesses and pummeled critical infrastructure.
But, in the lower House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, still smarting from battle with Democratic President Barack Obama over "fiscal cliff" budget negotiations, signaled there would be no vote in the closing days of the outgoing Congress.
Boehner's move sparked rage and indignation from figures in both parties, prompting the Republican speaker to announce a two-stage vote on Sandy relief -- on Friday and again on January 15.
"Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress," Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a joint statement.
Earlier, Obama and New Jersey's outspoken Republican Governor Chris Christie led the charge against Boehner's refusal to act more quickly.
Our "citizens are still trying to put their lives back together. Our states are still trying to rebuild vital infrastructure," Obama said in a statement.
"The House of Representatives has refused to act, even as there are families and communities who still need our help," Obama said, urging Republicans to swiftly bring the aid package to a vote.
Christie and Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo of neighboring New York issued a harsh joint statement, calling the House's failure to come to the aid of devastated Americans "inexcusable."
"When American citizens are in need we come to their aid," they said.
"That tradition was abandoned in the House last night."
Hours later, in front of the television cameras, Christie went nuclear.
"It's absolutely disgraceful," he boomed.
"In this current atmosphere everything is the subject of one-upmanship, everything is... a potential piece of bait for the political game," Christie said.
"It is why the American people hate Congress."
Republicans who postpone the disaster aid should prepare to feel the wrath of politicians in the storm-battered northeast, Christie continued.
"Governor Cuomo and I are not wallflowers. We are not shrinking violets."
Since the relief bill will now come to the floor after Thursday, when the incoming Congress is sworn in, new legislation will have to be crafted and voted on in both chambers.
Fuming Republican congressman Peter King of New York tore into his own leadership, saying New Yorkers would be "out of their minds" if they contributed any money to congressional Republicans now.
"What they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans," he told Fox News.
Later Wednesday, he and other members met with Boehner, and a calmer King explained that the House would vote Friday on $9 billion in flood insurance for storm-hit states -- plans confirmed by Boehner.
"On January 15th, which is the first legislative day, we will vote on the remaining $51 billion, which is required, we believe, for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut," King said.
Some senators including Marco Rubio from Florida, a hurricane-prone state which has received billions in federal disaster aid, voted against the Sandy bill, claiming it was stuffed with "pork" -- funding for projects or elements unrelated to Sandy relief. But it eventually passed 62-32.
Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York said he was "infuriated" with comments by Republicans like California's Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who said pork is what delayed the House bill.
"I'd like Darrell Issa to sit eye to eye with a homeowner who has lost their home and their life, and tell that homeowner to his face that that's pork," Schumer told a news conference in New York.
He described the delay as the "Boehner betrayal," but later said he was pleased that the speaker was bringing the two votes to the floor.
"We gave relief to Katrina within a week," Schumer said in reference to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.
"We are now two and a half months away from when Sandy hit and there is still no relief for New York."
-AFP/ac
U.N.'s Syria death toll jumps dramatically to 60,000
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- United Nations' Navi Pillay: "We have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns"
- Syrian planes hit Damascus suburbs and other targets, killed dozens at a fuel station
- Al-Nusra Front is among three factions attacking the Taftanaz military air base in northern Syria
- The militant group is a cover for al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. State Department says
(CNN) -- The overall death toll in devastated Syria has surpassed an estimated 60,000 people, the United Nations said Wednesday, a dramatic figure that could skyrocket as the civil war persists.
To put it in perspective: 60,000 people is roughly the population of Terre Haute, Indiana; or Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's how many people would fit in Dodger Stadium, and it's more than the 50,000-plus U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam.
The figure is about 15,000 higher than the death toll CNN had cited from a collection of sources.
It's "truly shocking" and shameful, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who blamed the international community for inaction.
"Collectively we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns," she said. "While many details remain unclear, there can be no justification for the massive scale of the killing highlighted by this analysis."
Inside Syria, anti-government activists brought their personal perspective to the new death estimate: "No wonder!" Hama activist Mousab Alhamadee said. "We live on the ground and we see the massacres daily."
Western and Arab nations have denounced President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but they have been been reluctant to intervene in hopes of ending the warfare.
They haven't been successful in forging tough action against Syria at the U.N. Security Council because of opposition from Russia and China, both of which have long had friendly relations with and economic ties to Damascus. While some countries have passed along weapons to the rebels, the larger world community has avoided being drawn into a war, fearing a bloody quagmire, such as the Vietnam War for the United States or the invasion of Afghanistan for the Russians.
Echoing the fears of U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Pillay worried about more deaths "unless there is a quick resolution to the conflict."
"I fear thousands more will die or suffer terrible injuries as a result of those who harbor the obstinate belief that something can be achieved by more bloodshed, more torture and more mindless destruction," she said.
Pillay said the number of deaths is higher than expected.
"This massive loss of life could have been avoided if the Syrian government had chosen to take a different path than one of ruthless suppression of what were initially peaceful and legitimate protests by unarmed civilians," she said.
"As the situation has continued to degenerate, increasing numbers have also been killed by anti-government armed groups, and there has been a proliferation of serious crimes including war crimes, and -- most probably -- crimes against humanity, by both sides."
The 60,000, she said, "is likely to be an underestimate of the actual number of deaths." Citing the discovery of mass graves in newly liberated government bases, Alhamadee, the activist, said: "The number I think is far greater than this, and lots of people are missing."
"The recording and collection of accurate and reliable data has grown increasingly challenging due to the conflict raging in many parts of the country," Pillay said.
Rupert Colville, a U.N. spokesman, agrees that the number "is probably a minimum" and reflects a killing field of war crimes.
"There's not a shadow of doubt now that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed. That said, in each individual case, the final judgment has to be made by a court. It's hard to quantify at this point," he said.
"This is a classic case of a conflict that's spiraling downwards, becoming ever more ghastly. We've seen this before in the Balkans and other places. The worse it becomes, the more difficult it is to resolve."
Ahawa, who posted a reaction on CNN.com's comment section, sees a dark future for Syria, regardless. "Syria is doomed, no matter who wins, the terrorist rebels or the terrorist regime, the country ... will take tens of years to rebuild,' Ahawa wrote. "Even if Assad is toppled in the next few months, sectarian fighting will still go on for years."
Wimcorbijn, another CNN.com commenter, accused Western and Arab nations of wanting to topple al-Assad at any cost.
"I think the best bet for Syria now is to keep Assad as leader," wimcorbijn wrote. "It is the right time for (countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to step in and support to help to defeat the rebels. Once the rebels are defeated, they can force to introduce democracy as well as political reforms in Syria."
Air attacks, shelling, tank fire, bomb attacks, street-to-street fighting and sectarian fighting have all contributed to the rising toll, Pillay said. Deaths have increased from 1,000 a month in the summer of 2011 to more than 5,000 a month since July, she said.
Collectively we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns.
Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
Deaths have been most prevalent in Homs, the Damascus outskirts, Idlib, Aleppo, Daraa and Hama. More than three-quarters of the victims are male, and 7.5% are female, Pillay said. The gender of the others isn't clear, and analysts couldn't "differentiate clearly between combatants and non-combatants."
The inability of the U.N. Security Council and the international community to stop the violence "shames us all," she said.
Read more: Syria's grim toll continues into 2013
Death estimates have varied among opposition groups that have issued daily counts. For example, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 46,000 people have died since March 2011.
U.N. data specialists counted 59,648 people reported killed in Syria between March 15, 2011, and November 30, 2012, Pillay said. Scores of deaths were reported every day in December.
Related: 2013 prediction: 100,000 deaths
Latest clashes
On Wednesday, fighting sent the daily death toll higher. More than 207 people were killed, mostly in and around Damascus, according the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
Syrian government warplanes hammered the Damascus suburbs and other targets. At least 74 people died and dozens were wounded in the Damascus suburb of Mleiha when government planes carried out an airstrike on a fuel station, the LCC said, citing initial reports. The toll of "martyrs" will probably rise "due to continuous pulling of the bodies from under the rubble," the LCC said.
Aerial shelling also was reported in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, in the cities of Aleppo and Deir Ezzor and other locations.
-Estimated Syrian civil war deaths: 60,000
-Estimated Syrian population: 22,530,746
-Percentage of Syrian population killed: .26%
Sources: CIA World Fact Book, United Nations
In Idlib province, Syrian rebels, including jihadists, fought to wrest a key military air base from government forces Wednesday, the opposition said, as anti-regime fighters kept up the heat on al-Assad's forces. Al-Nusra Front, a militant group that the United States designated last month as a terrorist movement, is among three rebel factions attacking the base, rebels said in a statement.
"The battle to liberate Taftanaz military airport has started," the rebels said. "Taftanaz airport has been delivering horrors to Muslims. The warplanes fly from there on a daily basis, to throw explosive barrels on villages and towns."
Read more: Deadly day in Syria as diplomats talk
The other factions participating in the effort are Battalions of Ahrar Al-shaam and the Islamic Forefront. Ahrar is an Islamist coalition with some Salafist elements that cooperates with the Free Syrian Army. The Islamic Forefront is a larger umbrella group of Islamist organizations; one of its members is Ahrar.
About 400 soldiers are based at the airport, along with a number of pro-government militia.
At the base are 30 planes, including transportation craft and fighting jets; seven armored vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers; artillery and rocket launchers.
Casualties have been reported on both sides in the fighting, but precise numbers were not available because the government has restricted international journalists' access.
Read more: Refugee figures fail to give true picture of Syria crisis
Read more: Marriage destroyed by war
CNN's Joe Sterling, Salma Abdelaziz and Yousuf Basil reported from Atlanta, and Kareem Khadder contributed to this report from Jerusalem
Al Jazeera acquires Al Gore's Current TV
Labels: HealthLOS ANGELES Al-Jazeera, the Pan-Arab news channel that struggled to win space on American cable television, has acquired Current TV, boosting its reach nearly ninefold to about 40 million homes. With a focus on U.S. news, it plans to rebrand the left-leaning news network that cofounder Al Gore couldn't make relevant.
The former vice president confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shares Current TV's mission "to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling."
The acquisition lifts Al-Jazeera's reach beyond a few large U.S. metropolitan areas including New York and Washington, where about 4.7 million homes can now watch Al-Jazeera English.
Al-Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar, plans to gradually transform Current into a new channel called Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now and hiring more journalists.
Al-Jazeera spokesman Stan Collender said there are no rules against foreign ownership of a cable channel — unlike the strict rules limiting foreign ownership of free-to-air TV stations. He said the move is based on demand, adding that 40 percent of viewing traffic on Al-Jazeera English's website is from the U.S.
"This is a pure business decision based on recognized demand," Collender said. "When people watch Al-Jazeera, they tend to like it a great deal."
Al-Jazeera has long struggled to get carriage in the U.S., and the deal suffered an immediate casualty as Time Warner Cable Inc., the nation's second-largest cable TV operator, announced it is dropping Current TV due to the deal.
"Our agreement with Current has been terminated and we will no longer be carrying the service. We are removing the service as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement.
Previous to Al-Jazeera's purchase, Current TV was in 60 million homes.
In 2010, the network's managing director, Tony Burman, blamed a "very aggressive hostility" from the Bush administration for reluctance among cable and satellite companies to show the network.
Even so, Al-Jazeera has garnered respect for its ability to build a serious news product in a short time. But there may be a culture clash at the network. Dave Marash, a former "Nightline" reporter who worked for Al-Jazeera in Washington, said he left the network in 2008 in part because he sensed an anti-American bias there.
Current, meanwhile, began as a groundbreaking effort to promote user-generated content. But it has settled into a more conventional format of political talk television with a liberal bent. Gore worked on-air as an analyst during its recent election night coverage.
Former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Cenk Uygur are currently its lead personalities. Current signed Keith Olbermann to be its top host in 2011 but his tenure lasted less than a year before it ended in bad blood on both sides.
Current has largely been outflanked by MSNBC in its effort be a liberal alternative to the leading cable news network, Fox News Channel.
Current hired former CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman in 2011 to be its president. Bohrman has pushed the network to innovate technologically, with an election night coverage that emphasized social media conversation.
Current TV, founded in 2005 by former vice president Gore and Joel Hyatt, is expected to post $114 million in revenue in 2013, according to research firm SNL Kagan. The firm pegged the network's cash flow at nearly $24 million a year.
Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital
Labels: BusinessJan 2, 2013 7:18pm
Hillary Clinton, rear center, leaving hospital. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been released from the hospital following treatment for a blood clot in her head, the State Department confirmed on Wednesday.
In a statement, Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Reines said Clinton’s medical team “advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery. She’s eager to get back to the office.”
Clinton’s daughter Chelsea tweeted, “Thank you to the doctors, nurses & staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center for taking great care of my Mom.’
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Wednesday that the secretary has been “quite active on the phone,” working from the hospital, regularly speaking to State Department staff.
Last Sunday, Secretary Clinton was admitted for treatment of a blood clot in her head that developed following a concussion she sustained earlier this month after fainting from illness. The pictures of Clinton, smiling and wearing sunglasses, are the first time she has been seen in public since Dec. 7.
Earlier on Wednesday the Secretary was seen by journalists leaving a building at New York-Presbyterian Hospital with her husband and daughter. Officials told the Associated Press that Clinton was just having tests done at another location on the sprawling hospital campus.
Hours later, she was released for good, driving away in a black van with her family.
SHOWS: World News
In-depth 2012: The best long reads of the year
Labels: WorldRead more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"
Dig deeper, look closer and think harder – these are the goals of New Scientist's in-depth articles. Each one is perfect for saving in your favourite read-it-later app and curling up in front of a glowing tablet for a good long read.
These are our editors' picks of our best features of the year, and all are prime examples of the amazing breadth of big ideas that were ripe for the tackling in 2012. When you have finished digesting these readable meals, visit our in-depth articles archive if you're hungry for more.
Richard Webb: "You might not have heard of the algorithm that runs the world." I certainly hadn't, or that its mathematical foundations are starting to look a little wobbly. An eye-opening examination of how seemingly abstruse mathematics is in fact deeply embedded in modern life: "The algorithm that runs the world"
Sally Adee: Gastric bypass surgery is the best surgery you're not getting, said Dr Oz on his popular medical advice show in the US. Because of enthusiasm from people like him, this operation has become massively popular – but by whimsically hacking at our stomach, might we might be messing with a system far more complicated than anyone really understands? Samantha Murphy had the surgery and began to realise that losing 45 kilograms could come with some profound neurological trade-offs: "Change your stomach, change your brain"
Michael Le Page: Nowadays most people either haven't heard of the 1970 book The Limits to Growth, or believe – wrongly – that the research it was based on has been discredited. But the main message of Limits is perhaps more relevant than ever – that a delayed response to mounting environmental problems leads to catastrophe further down the line: "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse"
Richard Fisher: This is a simple story about a scientific mystery. Strange rumbles, whistles and blasts have been reported all over the world for centuries. In New York state, they are called "Seneca guns"; in the Italian Apennines they are described as brontidi, which means thunder-like; in Japan they are yan; and along the coast of Belgium they are called mistpouffers – or fog belches. Yet the cause is often unexplained – what on Earth could be behind them? "Mystery booms: The source of a worldwide sonic enigma
Valerie Jamieson: It's been a sensational year for particle physics, but the Higgs boson isn't the only fascinating particle in town. Meet 11 more particles that change our understanding of the subatomic world: "11 particles for 11 physics puzzles
David Robson: What is the secret of the legendary "flow state" that seems to mark out genius in everyone from piano virtuosos to tennis champions? With the latest brain stimulation techniques, it may soon be within everyone's reach, and Sally Adee writes with panache as she describes her own use of the technology during a terrifying marksmanship training session. This has everything I want to read in a story – drama, a revolutionary idea and some practical advice for anyone to try at home: "Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus"
Graham Lawton: The writer of this article, Christopher Kemp, is a self-confessed lover of marginalia – nooks and crannies of science that are often overlooked. But as this beautifully written story reveals, those nooks and crannies often contain rich and fascinating material. Material, in fact, like ambergris: "Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale's gut"
Ben Crystall: Many people may remember the wonder material Starlite from an episode of BBC TV's Tomorrow's World – it seemed to have a miraculous ability to withstand fire and heat. So what happened to it? In this feature Richard Fisher uncovers the strange tale of Starlite and its eccentric inventor Maurice Ward, and on the way reveals fascinating details about Ward and his creation. And though Ward is dead, the story may not be over – it now looks like Starlite could get a second chance… "The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?"
Clare Wilson: I enjoyed working on this feature the most this year because to me it truly represents the future of medicine. New Scientist often predicts that some new medicine or technology will be available in five years' time. When it comes to using gene therapies or stem cell therapies on babies in the womb – the subject of this feature – the timeline is probably more uncertain, yet I don't see how anyone can doubt that some day it will happen: "Fetal healing: Curing congenital diseases in the womb"
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Myanmar prison art tells story of repression
Labels: Technology
YANGON: Painted on scraps of clothing with carved soap, cigarette lighters and even syringes, Htein Lin's artworks were his lifeline during years in Myanmar jails -- and the spark for an extraordinary love story.
"These paintings were really dangerous and also precious," said the 46-year-old former student protest leader, who produced more than 200 works during his six-and-a-half years in jail under the military.
"I really wanted to tell the government that locked me up for nothing: 'you might have put me behind bars but you cannot imprison my creativity'," he said.
Htein Lin was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned on the basis of an intercepted letter from a former "comrade" naming him as potentially still interested in opposition activity.
Jail was fraught with hardship such as beatings, solitary confinement and unsanitary conditions, but it also became his "studio".
Using any material he could get his hands on, Htein Lin -- who had previously focused on performance art -- channelled his creativity to express the injustices that were a part of life during decades of military rule.
With names like "Shadow of Hope", "Back from the Chain Gang" and "Self Torture for 6 Years", the paintings writhe with colour, depicting anything from contorted figures to abstract designs.
Held first in Mandalay prison and then at Myaungmya, close to his home town in the Irrawaddy delta region, the artist was able not only to receive the occasional batch of smuggled paint, but also to sneak the collection out.
The paintings are "strongly entwined with my life", Htein Lin told AFP in Yangon on a recent rare visit to Myanmar, where political changes under a reformist government have raised hopes of a new era of openness.
After he was freed in 2004, the artist came to the attention of then-British ambassador Vicky Bowman, who visited him and persuaded him to let her take the paintings for his own security.
"When we met, she told me that these paintings were dangerous for me to keep and I should give them to her if I trusted her. So I gave them all to her -- I really felt like I was giving her my whole life," he said.
The meeting, the first of many as the pair catalogued the works, was to kindle a love affair between the diplomat and the dissident.
"She became my life," said the artist. The pair married in 2006 and live in London with their daughter.
Bowman was able to smuggle the paintings out of the country and the collection is now in Amsterdam at the International Institute of Social History.
In March, Myanmar saw its first exhibition of works from former detained dissidents and organiser Tun Win Nyein, himself an ex-political prisoner, hopes the country will one day have its own museum devoted to prison art.
"We want to show the next generation what people went through for the country," he told AFP.
Htein Lin said each painting tells the story of the people around him in prison -- from the fellow political or criminal prisoners who donated their uniforms for canvasses, to the guards who helped smuggle in materials.
One piece, a geometric design called "Map of Rat", was inspired by a guard who smuggled a batch of paintings out of prison but on seeing the images mistook them for escape plans and destroyed them.
On another occasion, his jailers became suspicious and searched his cell, but failed to spot artwork under their noses.
"They were looking for something particular, with a frame, a portrait or something," he said.
A trained lawyer, Htein Lin said he hopes the political reforms in his homeland mean he will one day be able to exhibit all his prison art in Myanmar.
He has so far resisted all offers to buy the paintings -- even those from celebrity fans.
"The last one who wanted to buy these paintings was the singer Bono from U2. But I explained to him that I have to bring all these paintings back to the country one day," he said.
"This was part of history. We should not forget."
- AFP/al
Pa. gov. to sue NCAA over Penn State sanctions
Labels: HealthHARRISBURG, Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett said Tuesday he plans to sue the NCAA in federal court over stiff sanctions imposed against Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.
The Republican governor scheduled a Wednesday news conference on the Penn State campus in State College to announce the filing in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.
The sanctions, which were agreed to by the university in July, included a $60 million fine that would be used nationally to finance child abuse prevention grants. The sanctions also included a four-year bowl game ban for the university's marquee football program, reduced football scholarships and the forfeiture of 112 wins.
The governor's office announced the news conference late Tuesday afternoon. His spokesman did not respond to repeated calls and emails seeking to confirm a Sports Illustrated story that cited anonymous sources saying a lawsuit was imminent.
Corbett's brief statement did not indicate whether his office coordinated its legal strategy with state Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, who is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 15.
Kane, a Democrat, ran on a vow to investigate why it took state prosecutors nearly three years to charge Sandusky, an assistant under former football coach Joe Paterno. Corbett was the attorney general when that office took over the case in early 2009 and until he became governor in January 2011.
Who's who in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal
Pa. Atty Gen: Penn State officials showed "callous lack of concern"
State and congressional lawmakers from Pennsylvania have objected to using the Penn State fine to finance activities in other states. Penn State has already made the first $12 million payment, and an NCAA task force is deciding how it should be spent.
The NCAA, which did not respond to calls seeking comment Tuesday, has said at least a quarter of the money would be spent in Pennsylvania.
Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent called that an "unacceptable and unsatisfactory" response by the NCAA to a request from the state's U.S. House delegation that the whole $60 million be distributed to causes within the state.
Last week, state Sen. Jake Corman, a Republican whose district includes Penn State's main campus, said he plans to seek court action barring any of the first $12 million from being released to groups outside the state.
The fine was just part of college sports' governing body's sanctions on Penn State for its handling of the abuse scandal involving Sandusky, who was convicted in June on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, some on campus. The landmark sanctions, though, didn't include a suspension of the university's football program, the so-called death penalty.
Sandusky, 68, was convicted on 45 counts. He's serving a 30- to 60-year state prison term.
Eight young men testified against him, describing a range of abuse they said went from grooming and manipulation to fondling, oral sex and anal rape when they were boys.
Sandusky did not testify at his trial but has maintained his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but insisting he never molested them.
House Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal
Labels: Business
The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year.
The compromise is now on its way to President Obama for his signature.
House Republicans agreed to the up-or-down vote Tuesday evening, despite earlier talk of trying to amend the Senate bill with more spending cuts before taking a vote. The bill delays for two months tough decisions about automatic spending cuts that were set to kick in Wednesday.
A majority of the Republicans in the GOP-majority House voted against the fiscal cliff deal. About twice as many Democrats voted in favor of the deal compared to Republicans. One hundred fifty-one Republicans joined 16 Democrats to vote against the deal, while 172 Democrats carried the vote along with 85 Republicans.
The Senate passed the same bill by an 89-8 vote in the wee hours of New Year's Day. If House Republicans had tweaked the legislation, there would have been no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in Thursday.
The vote split Republican leaders in the House. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, voted yes, and so did the GOP's 2012 vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., the No. 2 Republican in the House, voted no. It was his opposition that had made passage of the bill seem unlikely earlier in the day.
The deal does little to address the nation's long-term debt woes and does not entirely solve the problem of the "fiscal cliff."
Indeed, the last-minute compromise -- far short from a so-called grand bargain on deficit reduction -- sets up a new showdown on the same spending cuts in two months amplified by a brewing fight on how to raise the debt ceiling beyond $16.4 trillion. That new fiscal battle has the potential to eclipse the "fiscal cliff" in short order.
"Now the focus turns to spending," said Boehner in a statement after the vote. "The American people re-elected a Republican majority in the House, and we will use it in 2013 to hold the president accountable for the 'balanced' approach he promised, meaning significant spending cuts and reforms to the entitlement programs that are driving our country deeper and deeper into debt."
President Obama also seemed to be looking forward to the next debate.
Bill Clark/Roll Call/Getty Images
'Fiscal Cliff' Negotiations: Congress Reaches Agreement Watch Video
"This is one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy for everybody," said Obama, who was joined by his top negotiator, Vice President Joe Biden, for late-night televised remarks after the House vote.
Obama lamented that earlier attempts at a much larger fiscal deal that would have cut spending and dealt with entitlement reforms failed. He said he hoped future debates would be done with "a little less drama, a little less brinksmanship, and not scare folks quite as much."
But Obama drew a line in the sand on the debt ceiling, which is set to be reached by March.
"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether they should pay the bills for what they've racked up," Obama said. "We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred."
Republicans hope that allowing the fiscal cliff compromise, which raised taxes without an equal amount of spending cuts, will settle the issue of tax rates for the coming debates on spending.
However, getting the deal done wasn't easy. Before deciding on the up-or-down vote in the House on the fiscal cliff deal, GOP leaders had emerged from a morning conference meeting disenchanted by the legislative package devised by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Mo., and Vice President Biden early this morning, with several insisting they could not vote on it as it stood.
"I do not support the bill," Cantor said as he left the meeting. "We're looking for the best path forward. No decisions have been made yet."
Boehner refused to comment on the meeting, but his spokesman said, "The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today's meeting."
As lawmakers wrestled with the legislation, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill's added spending combined with the cost of extending tax cuts for those making under $400,000 would actually add $3.9 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The Joint Committee on Taxation reached a similar conclusion.
The impasse once again raised the specter of sweeping tax hikes on all Americans and deep spending cuts' taking effect later this week.
"This is all about time, and it's about time that we brought this to the floor," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said after emerging from a meeting with Democrats.
"It was a bill that was passed in the U.S. Senate 89-8. Tell me when you've had that on a measure as controversial as this?" she said of the overwhelming vote.
Pelosi could not say, however, whether the measure had the backing of most House Democrats.
"Our members are making their decisions now," she said.
Biden joined Democrats for a midday meeting on Capitol Hill seeking to shore up support for the plan.
While Congress technically missed the midnight Dec. 31 deadline to avert the so-called cliff, both sides expressed eagerness to enact a post-facto fix before Americans went back to work and the stock market opened Wednesday.
"This may take a little while but, honestly, I would argue we should vote on it today," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who sits on the Budget Committee, early Tuesday. "We know the essential details and I think putting this thing to bed before the markets is important.
"We ought to take this deal right now and we'll live to fight another day, and it is coming very soon on the spending front."
2012 review: The year in health science
Labels: WorldRead more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"
The first half of 2012 will be remembered for the saga over whether or not to publish controversial research involving versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus engineered to spread more easily in mammals. In the end openness won out, and both contentious studies did finally see the light of day.
This was also the year that saw the battle to eradicate polio reach its crucial endgame – just as another problem, in the form of totally drug resistant tuberculosis, reared its head.
Away from infectious disease, 2012 brought us a theory on the link between Tutankhamun, epilepsy and the first monotheistic religion, and an insight into the perils of premature ageing in Italy's ominously named Triangle of Death. Here are 10 more of the year's memorable stories.
Babies are born dirty, with a gutful of bacteria
Far from being sterile, babies come complete with an army of bacteria. The finding could have implications for gut disorders and our health in general
Forensic failure: 'Miscarriages of justice will occur'
Our survey of UK forensic scientists reveals that many are concerned that closure of the Forensic Science Service will lead to miscarriages of justice
Scandal of an underfunded and undertreated cancer
Lung cancer in those who have never smoked is on the rise – but they face the same stigma as their smoking counterparts
Ovarian stem cells discovered in humans
Stem cells capable of forming new eggs could promise limitless eggs for IVF treatments, and the rejuvenation of older eggs
Paralysis breakthrough: spinal cord damage repaired
An implant helping paralysed people stand unaided suggests the spinal cord is able to recover function years after severe damage
A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan
Graham Lawton reports the highs, lows and psychedelic purple doors involved in taking MDMA while having his brain scanned
You may carry cells from siblings, aunts and uncles
Male cells found in the umbilical cord blood of baby girls with older brothers suggests fetal cells cross between mother and baby more than once thought
Can we deter athletes who self-harm to win?
The Paralympics may encourage a debate on a dangerous practice – and potential ways to prevent it
First non-hormonal male 'pill' prevents pregnancy
A non-hormonal drug that temporarily reverses male fertility appears to have few side effects in mice
Mining MRSA genetic code halts superbug outbreak
Whole genome sequencing of an MRSA outbreak has identified the person who unwittingly spread the bacteria around a hospital, stopping further infection
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