Obama urges a move away from narrow focus on politics of austerity

Just about every argument in Washington since the 2010 midterm elections, which returned control of the House to Republicans, has centered on reducing the federal deficit. On Tuesday night, President Obama leaned into his second term by declaring that a single-minded focus on deficit reduction would jeopardize the nation’s future. And he sounded an urgent call to rebuild.

Reelected by an ascendent coalition, the president spoke from a position of strength in his fourth State of the Union address. The economy is improving. The Republican Party is in disarray. The time has come, Obama indicated, to pivot away from the politics of austerity.

“Most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of the agenda,” he said. “But let’s be clear: Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan. A growing economy that creates good middle-class jobs — that must be the North Star that guides our efforts.”

The president rejected the fiscal brinkmanship that defined the past two years. Instead, he framed future fiscal debates as opportunities to shape a “smarter government” — one with new investments in science and innovation, with a rising minimum wage, with tax reform that eliminates loopholes and deductions for what the president labeled “the well-off and well-connected.”

Second-term presidents have a narrow window of time to enact significant change before they become lame ducks, and Obama, while echoing campaign themes of reinforcing the middle class, made an urgent case for a more pragmatic version of populism, one that emphasizes economic prosperity as the cornerstone of a fair society.

Over and over, he noted that the time to rebuild is now.

The “Fix-It-First” program that Obama outlined to put people to work on “urgent repairs,” such as structurally deficient bridges, bore echoes of President Bill Clinton’s call in his 1999 State of the Union address to “save Social Security first.” Clinton’s was an effective line, one that stopped — at least until President George W. Bush took office two years later — a Republican drive to use the budget surplus to cut taxes.

Although Obama’s speech lacked the conciliatory notes of some of his earlier State of the Union addresses, he did make overtures to Republicans and cited Mitt Romney, his presidential challenger, by name.

He combined tough talk about securing the border, which brought Republicans to their feet, with a pledge to entertain reasonable reforms to Medicare, the federal entitlement program that fellow Democrats are fighting to protect.

“Those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms,” he said.

Obama also pledged to cut U.S. dependence on energy imports by expanding oil and gas development. And he singled out one area where he and Romney found agreement in last year’s campaign: linking increases in the minimum wage to the cost of living.

Obama set a bipartisan tone at the start of his speech, quoting from President John F. Kennedy’s address to Congress 51 years earlier when he said, “The Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress.”

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Apple loses rights to iPhone trademark in Brazil

BRASILIA: Regulators in Brazil on Wednesday rejected Apple's application to register its iPhone trademark in the country, having already recognized a local manufacturer's claim to the name.

The Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) "denied Apple registration of the iPhone trademark," the institute's press office told AFP. The decision was officially published by the INPI.

- AFP/fa

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Chopper scam: Govt suspends payments for Italy's Finmeccanica

NEW DELHI: India has suspended payments to Italian defence group Finmeccanica SpA for a $750 million helicopter deal and won't take delivery of more aircraft until the completion of a federal police investigation into bribery allegations, a defence ministry source told Reuters.

Will blacklist Finmeccanica if bribery proven

India will cancel a $750 million deal to buy helicopters from Finmeccanica SpA and blacklist the Italian defence group if bribery allegations are proven, defence minister AK Antony said, as political opponents tried to capitalize on the scandal.

Italian police arrested Finmeccanica's chief executive Giuseppe Orsi on Tuesday for alleged bribes paid to secure the sale of 12 AgustaWestland executive helicopters to the Indian Air Force, when he was head of the Finmeccanica helicopter unit. Orsi's lawyer denied the allegations.

The former head of India's Air Force, SP "Shashi" Tyagi, and three of his cousins are among the Indians named in the arrest warrant for Orsi. All say they are innocent.

AK Antony said he had ordered Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the purchase of the luxury helicopters destined for use by India's political leadership. He said that if the allegations are proven to be true, the company would be blacklisted and those involved punished.

"If any individual or foreigner, any firm are involved in this malpractice, nobody will be spared. We will take action against them, whatever may be the consequences," he told reporters on Wednesday. Three helicopters have already been delivered.

Coming at a time of cuts in defence procurement spending, the latest scandal could lead to additional scrutiny and delays for defence deals in the works.

"I am sure that there will be initial setback, but we will overcome that. That is not the main thing. The main thing is that we cannot allow corruption in defence deals," Antony said when asked about the impact on weapons modernization.

The arrests in Italy came as Finmeccanica unit Alenia Aermacchi was preparing to compete for a contract to supply over 50 military transport aircraft to India in competition with European aerospace group EADS.

The military arm of EADS subsidiary Airbus told Reuters last week it would offer its C295 military transport plane, adding that manufacturers were waiting for a formal competition document from the Indian government.

India, the world's largest weapons importer, has a long history of corruption in defence deals. A multi-million dollar scandal in the 1980s over the purchase of Swedish Bofors artillery guns contributed to an electoral defeat for then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, of the Congress party.

The current Congress party-led government has been buffeted by a series of corruption scandals that opposition parties plan to exploit ahead of general elections due in 2014.

India's defence ministry has put in place strict guidelines for arms deals in an effort to crack down on bribery and corruption. Last year, six arms firms including Rheinmetall Air Defence, part of Rheinmetall AG, a German automotive parts and defence group, were placed on a blacklist of firms banned from doing business in India. Rheinmettal strongly denied the allegations against it.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party accused Antony of dragging his feet in the latest instance and said the case was similar to the Bofors scandal, which implicated an Italian middleman close to the Gandhis. The BJP often seeks to play up the Italian origins of current Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv's widow.

"I see the making of another Bofors in this," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said. He asked why the government had not launched a police investigation earlier despite the details of the Italian prosecution case, including suspects' names, being published in media reports months ago.

"The suspicious circumstances surrounding this raises one fundamental question again — the fact that it was an Italian company, was it the grounds to go slow?"

The Indian Express newspaper had access to Italian prosecution documents last October and ran a series of stories giving detailed accounts of the alleged bribery and named several Indians said to have been involved.

The minister formally ordered the CBI to investigate the deal after Orsi's arrest on Tuesday. It was not clear why the agency had not been asked to investigate before, but Antony criticized Italy on Wednesday for not responding to requests for information about the allegations uncovered by Italian investigators.

"From day one, we have been trying to find out the truth and we conveyed that to them," he said. "So far we have not received any details."

Antony said that so far internal enquiries by the defence ministry have found no evidence against Finmeccanica in the deal. He refused to answer specific questions about the Italian allegations and said the CBI investigation would find the truth.

Former Air Force chief

The Italian arrest warrant for Orsi said three brothers who are cousins of Shashi Tyagi received kickbacks and helped twist rules in favour of AgustaWestland in the helicopter tender.

Tyagi denied all wrongdoing and described the charges as "bunkum". Speaking at his home near Delhi, he said that a requirement that the aircraft fly at 18,000 feet (6,000 metres) had been lowered to 15,000 ft, but during a government led by the opposition BJP and before his time as air chief.

He said the change was necessary because only one helicopter was able to fly that high. Tyagi admitted to having met an Italian called Carlo Gerosa who Italian authorities accuse — along with his US-born partner Guido Ralph Haschk — of working as a middleman for Finmeccanica.

Tyagi, who spoke openly and extensively with media on Wednesday about the case, said he had met Gerosa at least twice, once 15 years ago and once since his retirement, but not while he ran the Air Force.

Gerosa and Haschk are directors of an India-based IT company called Aeromatrix, the company told Reuters. Tyagi said his cousins had links to Gerosa, but he knew nothing of any defence dealings. Tyagi said he had no knowledge of Gerosa's links to Finmeccanica.

He said the deal had been sealed three years after he retired from the air force in 2007 and denied the changes to the tender requirements had happened during his time in the job.

Antony said he could not comment on the alleged involvement of Tyagi, who still headed the IAF when Antony took over the ministry in 2006.

"I have no information within my hands ... nothing is available with me. How can I say anything? At the moment, I will not say anything against any individual unless I get some reports from CBI," he said.

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Obama Pledges U.S. Action on Climate, With or Without Congress

If there were anything in President Barack Obama's State of the Union to give hope to wistful environmentalists, it was the unprecedented promise to confront climate change with or without Congress, and to pursue new energy technology in the process.

Following his strong statements in his inaugural address about the ripeness of the moment to address a changing climate, Obama outlined a series of proposals to do it. Recognizing that the 12 hottest years on record all occurred in the last decade and a half, Obama said his most ambitious goal would be a "bipartisan, market-based solution," similar to the cap-and-trade system that died in Congress during his first term.(See related story: "California Tackles Climate Change, But Will Others Follow?")

But without legislative action, Obama threatened to act himself using executive authority. "I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy," he said. That will translate, White House officials said earlier in the week, to new regulations for existing coal-burning power plants and directives to promote energy efficiency and new technology research. (See related story: "How Bold a Path on Climate Change in Obama's State of the Union?")

The effort isn't one that can be stalled, he noted. Not just because of a warming planet, but also because of international competition from countries like China and parts of Western Europe that have gone "all in" on clean energy.

Energy experts signaled support of Obama's comments on energy security, including a plan for an Energy Security Trust to use revenue from oil and gas production on public lands to fund new energy research. "Clean energy businesses commend the president for reaffirming his commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address the damaging and costly impacts of climate change," Lisa Jacobson, president of Business Council for Sustainable Energy, said in a statement. The influential League of Conservation Voters perked up to Obama's vow to act on climate change, even if alone.

Noticeably unmentioned in the speech was the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from Canadian tar sands to the refining centers of Texas. Environmentalists have urged Obama to reject the project's application for federal approval in order to hold the line against carbon-intensive production from the oil sands. (See related blog post: "Obama and Keystone XL: The Moment of Truth?") Energy analysts believe Obama is likely to approve the project in the coming weeks, yet at the same time offer new regulations on domestic oil and natural gas development.

Other environmental analysts took Obama's remarks as simple talk, so far not backed by action. “How many times do we have to have the problem described?” David Yarnold, president of the Audubon Society said after the speech. “Smarter standards for coal-fired power plants are the quickest path to a cleaner future, and the president can make that happen right now.”

Obama's path toward accomplishing those goals will likely be lonely. In the Republican rebuttal to Obama's speech, Florida Senator Marco Rubio sidelined climate change as an issue of concern and highlighted the deep partisan distrust. "When we point out that no matter how many job-killing laws we pass, our government can’t control the weather, he accuses us of wanting dirty water and dirty air," Rubio said. He echoed the long-held Republican concern that remaking an economy may not be the wisest way to confront the problem of extreme weather.

Central to Obama's efforts will be his nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in his second term. Both roles were at times attacked over his first term, notably when EPA instituted new air and water regulations and DOE was caught making a bad investment in the now-defunct solar manufacturer Solyndra. If the tone of his State of the Union offers a blueprint, he'll choose people unafraid to act.

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Charred Human Remains Found in Burned Cabin

Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned-out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.

The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a news release early this morning.

Dorner barricaded himself in the cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Tuesday afternoon after engaging in a gunfight with police, killing one officer and injuring another, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

Cindy Bachman, a spokeswoman for the department, which is the lead agency in the action, said Tuesday night investigators would remain at the site all night.

FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt

When Bachman was asked whether police thought Dorner was in the burning cabin, she said, "Right. We believe that the person that barricaded himself inside the cabin engaged in gunfire with our deputies and other law enforcement officers is still inside there, even though the building burned."

Bachman spoke shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department denied earlier reports that a body was found in the cabin, contradicting what law enforcement sources told ABC News and other news organizations.

Police around the cabin told ABC News they saw Dorner enter but never leave the building as it was consumed by flames, creating a billowing column of black smoke seen for miles.

A news conference is scheduled for later today in San Bernardino.

One sheriff's deputy was killed in a shootout with Dorner earlier Tuesday afternoon, believed to be his fourth victim after killing a Riverside police officer and two other people this month, including the daughter of a former police captain, and promising to kill many more in an online manifesto.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

Carjacking Victim Says Christopher Dorner Was Dressed for Damage Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Inside the Shootout Watch Video

Chris Dorner Manhunt: Fugitive Ex-Cop in Shootout With Police Watch Video

Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, which was the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.

Police did not enter the building, but shot tear gas inside.

One of the largest dragnets in recent history, which led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, apparently ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.

It all began at 12:20 p.m. PT Tuesday, when a maid working at a local resort called 911, saying she and another worker had been tied up and held hostage by Dorner in a cabin, sources said.

The maid told police she was able to escape, but Dorner had stolen one of their cars, which was identified as a purple Nissan.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and state Fish and Wildlife wardens spotted the stolen vehicle and engaged in a shootout with Dorner.

Officials say Dorner crashed the stolen vehicle and fled on foot only to commandeer Rick Heltebrake's white pickup truck on a nearby road a short time later.

"[Dorner] said, 'I don't want to hurt you, just get out and start walking up the road and take your dog with you.' He was calm. I was calm. I would say I was in fear for my life, there was no panic, he told me what to do and I did it," Heltebrake said.

"He was dressed in all camouflage, had a big assault sniper-type rifle. He had a vest on like a ballistic vest," Heltebrake added.

The white pickup truck bought Dorner extra time because police were still looking for the purple Nissan, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lt. Patrick Foy told "Good Morning America" today.

"We were looking for a purple color Nissan and all of a sudden this white pickup starts coming by in the opposite direction. That's not the suspect's vehicle that we had been looking for," Foy said.

A warden with the Fish and Wildlife department noticed Dorner driving and the pursuit picked up again, Foy said.

"Ultimately, the officer who was driving that vehicle stopped and pulled out his patrol rifle and engaged probably 15 to 20 shots as Dorner was driving away," Foy said.

Dorner then ran on foot to the cabin in which he barricaded himself and got in a shootout with San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies and other officers who arrived.

The two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy was in surgery and was expected to survive, police said.

Police sealed all the roads into the area, preventing cars from entering the area and searching all of those on the way out. All schools were briefly placed on lockdown.

Believing that Dorner might have been watching reports of the standoff, authorities asked media not to broadcast images of police officers' surrounding the cabin, but sent him a message.

"If he's watching this, the message is: Enough is enough," Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Andy Smith told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. "It's time to turn yourself in. It's time to stop the bloodshed. It's time to let this event and let this incident be over."

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Cycling: Sagan wins second stage in Oman, takes lead

AL BUSTAN, Oman: Slovakia's Peter Sagan won the second stage of the Tour of Oman on Tuesday and moved into the overall lead, following a 146km run from Fanja in Bidbid to Al Bustan, close to the Oman Sea.

The 23-year-old Cannondale rider broke free from the pack in the final kilometre to finish nine seconds in front of Frenchman Tony Gallopin, with Swiss rider Martin Elmiger a further two seconds back.

Sagan, the defending Slovakian champion, also won stage two on last year's race and counts three stages wins to his name on both the Tour de France and Tour of Spain in a career that continues to flourish.

Last year's Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins endured a frustrating start to his challenge during stage one on Monday as he came in last over a minute behind stage winner Marcel Kittel.

The popular British rider was delayed by a pile-up in the last few kilometres of the 162km stage and came in 1min 30sec adrift of the leaders.

However, Team Sky are confident they will win an appeal on the basis that according to rules governing crashes, he should be awarded the same time as those riders he was riding within the closing 3km of a stage.

"There was a crash with 2km to go," said Team Sky's sports director Nicolas Portal.

"Bradley was not caught up in it but he was behind it and there was a little split in the peloton as the riders slowed down. So, with the 3km rule he should be fine."

The official results still listed the Olympic time-trial champion as 142nd and last before the start of stage two as Team Sky await a decision on their appeal.

The six-stage race continues on Wednesday with the third stage route over 190km between Nakhal Fort and Wadi Dayqah Dam, which features a profile that will again suit the likes of attacking riders like Sagan.

- AFP/al

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Newspapers in Kashmir to be available from Wednesday

SRINAGAR: Local newspapers in Kashmir would hit the stands Wednesday as their editors said authorities had told them to resume publication, while cable operations were again normal.

"We have been told to resume publications of our newspapers from tomorrow. Authorities have also said security forces have been instructed to treat identity cards of our staff members as curfew passes," the editor of a local newspaper told IANS.

Local newspaper editors had said they had to suspend publications Monday and Tuesday on the orders of the authorities.

Cable operators in Srinagar also said they have resumed operations after three days. They had Sunday stopped transmission under orders from the authorities.

Although there was no official confirmation of stop to cable operations and newspaper publication, senior police officers said the administration was worried about spread of rumours in the tension-ridden Valley after the Saturday execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

In another development, police lodged an FIR against the security force unit whose personnel allegedly fired at protesters in north Kashmir's Watergam village Sunday leading to the death of a teenaged protestor.

Meanwhile, curfew continued without any relaxation in all the ten district headquarters of the valley for the fourth day on Tuesday.

Reports of sporadic clashes between protestors and security forces have come in from some places in the curfew-bound areas, but there has been no major incident of violence.

Three people have died so far during the protests in the valley after Guru's hanging.

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Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival

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  Holy Bath

  Photograph by Roberto Schmidt, AFP/Getty Images

  The Hindu festival known as Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest gathering of humanity, peaked on Sunday at the meeting of the Yamuna, Ganges, and mythical Saraswati rivers. The festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad sees tens of millions of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges to wash away sins. Pilgrims and saints pray as they soak.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  New Initiates

  Photograph by Sheeraz Rizvi, Hindustan Times/Getty Images

  Newly initiated Hindu ascetics perform rituals during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival happens every three years in one of four Indian cities, with the event in Allahabad considered the holiest. It’s also the biggest.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Sacred Fire

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu priests perform a ceremony beside the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival lasts 55 days.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  River Sitting

  Photograph by Baciu Cristian, Demotix/Corbis

  A Hindu ascetic performs a ritual last month during the 2013 Kumbh Mela.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Bridge Crossings

  Photograph by Manish Swarup, AP

  Believers walk on pontoon bridges to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers, a site known as Sangam. The processions are led by heads of monasteries and by naked ascetics smeared with ash.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Stampede Victim

  Photograph by Manan Vatsyayana, AFP/Getty Images

  A woman injured in a Sunday stampede that left 36 dead in Allahabad lies in a hospital bed in the city. There are conflicting accounts of what provoked the stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Train Rush

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu devotees at the Allahabad train station press toward an arriving train.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Train Station Prayer

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  A Hindu believer waits for a train at the Allahabad train station, the site of Sunday’s stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  

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Great Energy Challenge Blog

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Could an African Cardinal Be the Next Pope?

Feb 12, 2013 9:09am

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson attends a Mass for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, in this April 13, 2005 photo. (Pier Paolo Cito/AP Photo)

By BAZI KANANI and PHOEBE NATANSON

ROME – After Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope in hundreds of years to voluntarily resign, the Roman Catholic Church could be in for another first in recent history—an African pope.

Two African cardinals are rumored to be among the top candidates to succeed Pope Benedict, and many Vatican watchers believe the election of a non-European pope is a very real possibility at a time when the majority of the church’s growth is in the developing world.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, 64, of Ghana, is considered to be near the top of the short list of likely successors.  (British bookmakers offering odds on the next pope have already made Turkson their 3 to 1 favorite.)

After serving for more than 30 years as an ordained priest, Turkson was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003.  He currently serves as president of the Vatican’s Council for Justice and Peace.  Colleagues describe him as a “people person” with excellent communication skills.  He is considered a conservative who is unlikely to steer the church in a new direction on issues such as contraception, abortion and gay rights.

Turkson outlined for ABC News Monday the challenge facing Benedict’s successor.

“The new pope has to be very sensitive to the present condition of humanity and yet recognize the task of having to still keep the Gospel in its pure form. That’s a big challenge that we all pray for,” he said.

“I think what we should be looking for, probably what we should be doing rather is recognizing the nature of the church… pray God will provide us with the leadership that can confidently lead the humanity in the church in the year ahead. The challenges are not going to cease. They’re going to be increasing and we need somebody with God’s guidance to get us through all this,” Turkson said.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, 80, of Nigeria is again being mentioned as a possible pope, as he was in 2005 when Pope Benedict was elected.  Arinze served as a priest for 27 years and became one of the world’s youngest bishops before Pope John Paul II elevated him to cardinal in 1985.

He was appointed to lead the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and colleagues compliment his ability to cooperate with people of other faiths.  Arinze is also considered a conservative.

If the conclave of the College of Cardinals were to choose either Turkson or Arinze, it would be the first selection of an African pope in more than 1,500 years.  Scholars say in the first five centuries of the church there were three popes from North Africa. But the selection of Turkson or Arinze would be the first pope from sub-Saharan Africa and the first-ever black pope.

Vatican watchers also believe it is possible a Latin American pope could be selected.  The cardinals considered leading candidates from Latin America are said to be Leonardo Sandri from Argentina, Oscar Maradiaga from Honduras, Odilo Scherer from Brazil, and Joao Braz de Aviz from Brazil.

SHOWS: World News

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Obama snubs newspapers; Sen. Graham’s motives on Hagel; and Panetta’s Pentagon swan song (read-this roundup)

President Obama during an interview with David Letterman.
(Pete Souza - The White House)
Here’s what the Loop is reading Monday:

TV president — He does “The View,” but not the Post: President Obama “may be the least newspaper-friendly president in a generation.”

Questioning his motives — Sen. Lindsay Graham’s tough talk on the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel isn’t “purely” a political ploy. But the South Carolina Republican’s got an eye fixed on reelection, and his posture on Hagel seems calculated with 2014 in mind.

No time for senior-itis — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s last days in the Cabinet have been busy ones.

Proximity to power — And sitting with the first lady at the State of the Union might be an honor, but for some, it’s a “game changer.”

Read More..