Obama Confident Immigration Reform Will Pass













President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Wednesday that he would sign comprehensive immigration reform into law by the end of this year.


In an interview with Univision's Maria Elena Salinas, Obama explained that significant details of a bill still must be worked out by lawmakers, including the structure of a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants. But Obama said that the progress made by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate has given him hope that a deal can get done.


See Also: What Will Be Obama's Immigration Legacy?


When asked by Salinas if we will have immigration reform by the end of the year, Obama said, "I believe so."


"You can tell our audience, 'Sí, se puede?'" Salinas asked.


"Sí, se puede," Obama responded.


Later in the interview, Obama said that he hopes a bill could be passed as early as this summer.


But cognizant of deep divisions a topic like immigration has sewn in the past, Obama said that's contingent on bipartisan negotiations continuing to proceed well.


"The only way this is going to get done is if the Republicans continue to work with Democrats in Congress, in both chambers, to get a bill to my desk," he said. "And I'm going to keep on pushing as hard as I can. I believe that the mood is right."




Although the president threatened to introduce his own bill if negotiations in Congress stall during his speech in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, he said he is content to let lawmakers hash out the details among themselves for the time being.


"If they are on a path as they have already said, where they want to get a bill done by March, then I think that's a reasonable timeline and I think we can get that done. I'm not going to lay down a particular date because I want to give them a little room to debate," he said. "If it slips a week, that's one thing. If it starts slipping three months, that's a problem."


The president's principles and the Senate's principles on immigration broadly align with one another, but there are still thorny issues that could spark a division between Obama and Republicans, such as the pathway to citizenship.


The Senate's path to citizenship would allow many undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status immediately upon passage of the law. But their ability to then seek legal permanent residency would be contingent upon the U.S.-Mexico border being deemed secure. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" on immigration, has been particularly vocal in stating that border security is a precondition for gaining legal permanent residence, and then citizenship.


While the White House has said that it is withholding judgment on that plan until actual legislative language is drafted, Obama said that he wants a bill that makes it clear from the outset that undocumented immigrants eligible to earn their way to citizenship can eventually obtain it.


"What we don't want to do is create some kind of vague prospect in the future that somehow comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship will happen, you know, mañana," Obama said. "We want to make sure we are very clear this legislation provides a real pathway."


The president said that enhancing border security measures and workplace enforcement provisions are a part of his plan, as well as the Senate's, and cited his administration's efforts to bulk up border security during the past four years, saying that illegal crossings have dropped 80 percent since 2000.






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Is the U.S. getting Egypt wrong again?




Egyptian riot police stand guard as people protest against Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on December 29, 2012.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • National protests against Morsy set for second anniversary of Egypt's revolution

  • Cynthia Schneider: U.S. out of step, underestimates the anti-Morsy sentiment

  • She says proponents of secular democracy think the U.S. backs Muslim Brotherhood

  • She says massive protests will show U.S. needs to align itself with the popular will




Editor's note: Cynthia Schneider is a professor in the practice of diplomacy at Georgetown University; dean at the School of Diplomacy, Dubrovnik International University; and a senior nonresident fellow at Brookings Institution. She is also a former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.


(CNN) -- Protests planned around Egypt -- particularly in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- on the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution are expected to be an explosion of dissent, revealing the deep divisions in the country between President Mohamed Morsy and the Egyptian people.


Opposition to Morsy's authoritarianism is broader than the world recognizes. In making accommodations for Morsy's government, the United States is -- once again -- out of step with the Egyptian people.



Cynthia P. Schneider

Cynthia P. Schneider



Egyptians may not know exactly what they want, but they know what they don't want. Although an effective political opposition has yet to coalesce, Egyptians from all sectors of society are united in their refusal to accept another repressive regime.


Egypt is on a collision course. An ever growing, if periodically discouraged, portion of the population opposes the government and Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood, and supports the revolution's goals of social and economic justice, accountable government, and basic freedoms, including freedom of expression and protection of minorities. Yet the government is moving in exactly the opposite direction, with its authoritarian control over political, social, and religious life.


The government's investigation of the wildly popular "Egyptian Jon Stewart" Bassem Youssef -- charged with insulting Morsy and undermining his command -- and the forced "retirement" of respected journalist Hani Shukrallah, editor of state-owned Al-Ahram's English-language website, are just two very public examples of the vice tightening on freedom of expression.



In fact, the Arab Network for Human Rights says about 24 lawsuits for insulting Morsy have been filed against journalists and activists since his election in June.


The regime is trying to put the revolution genie back in the bottle. But it is clamping down on a population that has discovered its voice. In opposition to this repression, Egyptians at all levels are increasingly engaged in politics.


A Cairo cab driver -- ever the measure of popular sentiment -- recently debated the failings of the Constitution with a passenger. After reaching the destination, the driver leapt out, grabbed a dogeared copy of the Constitution he kept in the front seat, and pointed to a passage to prove his point to his passenger.


The December demonstrations against President Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Constitution, which attracted an even broader segment of the population than those who stood in Tahrir Square in 2011, revealed the broadening chasm between the regime and the people in Egypt.








Assembled outside the Presidential Palace were old and young, veiled and unveiled, rich and poor. Whether they arrived in chauffeur-driven cars or whether they marched from Cairo's outlying shantytowns, the hundreds of thousands joined together in their refusal to accept a state that squashed the dreams of the revolution and dictated political, social, and religious behavior.


Many call the second wave of the revolution in the fall of 2012 the "Mothers' Revolution." Parents and grandparents went into the streets to protest the divided loyalties in their families between the Islamists (Brotherhood or Salafis) and those supporting a democratic, secular Egypt. In Egypt, secular means freedom from state control of religion, not nonreligious.


The clash between these two visions of Egypt -- secular with freedom and social justice, or a religious state run by the Brotherhood with its version of Sharia law -- played out inside families and on the streets.


Soldiers protecting the Presidential Palace during the December demonstrations were moved to tears when an Egyptian woman, referring to Morsy, shouted at them, "Why are you protecting this man who is pitting Egyptians against each other?"


Mohamed El Gindy, a successful businessman who opposes Morsy and spent much of December camping in Tahrir with the young revolutionaries, has experienced this division within families firsthand. A relative who had joined the Salafis informed him that the extreme Islamist group had put El Gindy at No. 5 on its "hit list," which is widely believed by Egyptians to exist. The relative was unapologetic until El Gindy told him that he might as well put El Gindy's mother on the list, too, since the octogenarian also had joined the street protests.


Egypt and its families may be divided, but on one subject, all are united -- in the belief that the United States is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government.


Visible in the throngs at the December demonstrations were signs opposing Qatar and the United States -- yes, the U.S. and Qatar were lumped together as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood regime.


"This is such a historic opportunity to restore the image of the U.S., but instead it is putting itself in the same position as Qatar. ... And this from President Obama -- so disappointing," Riham Bahi, a professor at American University in Cairo, said, reflecting views heard repeatedly last December in Egypt.


Opposition leader and blogger Bassem Sabry was even more blunt: "With the Constitution in play, you are subsidizing an Islamist state." Sabry said he was always pro-U.S. "until the revolution."


In addition, the Pentagon plans to proceed with the delivery of 20 F-16 jets to Egypt, a step that looks to Egyptians like a vote of confidence in Morsy. Unchanged since the revolution, U.S. aid policy toward Egypt still makes the military alliance its priority.


Two years after the Egyptian Revolution, the U.S. government finds itself again backing an authoritarian regime against the popular will. As January 25 approaches, with massive protests planned against Morsy's government, this is a precarious position for both the U.S. and Egypt.


In his second term, Obama should adopt a more agile and informed policy toward Egypt, one that matches the words often heard from the White House -- "The United States always has stood with the Egyptian people" -- with action.


Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.


Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.


The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Cynthia Schneider.






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US judge postpones Texas woman's execution






CHICAGO: A Texas judge on Tuesday granted a last-minute reprieve to death row inmate Kimberly McCarthy, who had been scheduled to become the first woman executed in the United States since 2010.

District Judge Larry Mitchell postponed her execution until April 3 after her lawyers asked for time to bring forward an appeal on grounds of racial discrimination.

McCarthy -- who has been on death row for 14 years -- had been due to be executed at 6:00 pm, 2300 GMT, after the US Supreme Court rejected her previous appeal.

"The previous warrant of execution is hereby recalled," Mitchell wrote in a two-page order issued five hours before she was set to die.

"We are very pleased that we will now have an opportunity to present evidence of discrimination in the selection of the jury that sentenced Kimberly McCarthy to death," defence attorney Maurie Levin told AFP in an email.

"As recognised by the US Supreme Court (Miller-El v. Dretke, 2005), these facts must be understood in the context of the troubling and long-standing history of racial discrimination in jury selection in Dallas County, including at the time of Ms McCarthy's trial."

McCarthy, 51, is African American. Her victim, 70-year-old retired professor Dorothy Booth, was Caucasian.

Despite the fact that her home county is 22.5 per cent African American, only one non-Caucasian juror judged McCarthy and three non-Caucasian jurors "were unilaterally excluded by the state despite being fully qualified to serve," her lawyers wrote.

They further argued that 42 per cent of people sentenced to death in Dallas county were African American while 70 per cent of the 24 men exonerated with DNA evidence in the same county were African Americans.

"A remedy is not only warranted, but demanded," her lawyers argued Monday in a letter urging Texas Governor Rick Perry to issue a 30-day reprieve.

McCarthy was set to be just the 13th woman executed since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.

She was convicted of forcing her way into her elderly neighbour's home near Dallas under the pretext of borrowing some sugar in 1997, court records show.

She then smashed Booth in the face with a candle stick, stabbed her five times and cut off her finger to steal her diamond ring.

McCarthy drove off in Booth's Mercedes and tried to buy some crack, court documents showed. She also used Booth's credit cards at least four times and pawned her wedding ring for US$200 before she was caught.

Prosecutors also accused her of killing two other elderly people.

She was sentenced to death in 1998, saw her conviction overturned on appeal and then was convicted and condemned again in a second trial in 2002.

"It is a shame that courts allowed Ms McCarthy to come so close to execution before granting the stay," said Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Centre.

"There certainly are signs and a history of racial discrimination in jury selection in Dallas County."

There is also a good chance that she would not be sentenced to death if tried now due to mitigating factors like her drug addiction, Dieter told AFP.

Texas was sentencing as many as 40 people to death a year before the courts began providing juries with the alternative sentence of life without parole. That number has now since dropped to about eight people a year, Dieter said.

McCarthy would have been the fourth woman executed in Texas since 1976, out of a total of 493. Nine other women are among the 304 people on the state's death row.

A dozen women were among the 1,321 people executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre. Of the 3,199 people on death row as of October 1, 63 were women and 42 per cent were African American.

- AFP/jc



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Judge OKs BP plea, record $4 billion fine









By Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer


updated 3:51 PM EST, Tue January 29, 2013







Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 21, 2010.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • The $4 billion deal is the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history

  • 11 workers died April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon caught on fire

  • The plea deal includes felony manslaughter charges

  • A BP executive apologizes in court for the company's role in the accident




(CNN) -- A federal judge in New Orleans Tuesday approved a $4 billion plea agreement for criminal fines and penalties against oil giant BP for the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history.


U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Vance imposed the terms that the Justice Department and BP had agreed to last November, which include the oil company pleading guilty to 14 criminal counts -- among them, felony manslaughter charges -- and the payment of a record $4 billion in criminal penalties over five years.


Vance's ruling came after hearing from eight witnesses Tuesday, including family members of those killed, cleanup workers, and members of the Southeast Asian Fisherfolks Association.


Transocean to pay $1.4 billion for role in Gulf oil spill








The plea agreement is with the oil company and not with indicted individual employees, so it doesn't result in anyone going to jail.


Two high-ranking supervisors on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig have been indicted on 23 counts, including manslaughter, for allegedly ignoring warning signs of a possible blowout on the rig. It caught fire April 20, 2010, resulting in the deaths of 11 workers. Those separate criminal cases remain in litigation.


Luke Keller, a vice president of BP America, Inc., apologized again in court Tuesday for his company's role in the accident.


"We -- and by that I mean the men and the women of the management of BP, its board of directors, and its many employees -- are deeply sorry for the tragic loss of the 11 men who died and the others who were injured that day," said Keller. "Our guilty plea makes clear, BP understands and acknowledges its role in that tragedy, and we apologize -- BP apologizes -- to all those injured and especially to the families of the lost loved ones. BP is also sorry for the harm to the environment that resulted from the spill, and we apologize to the individuals and communities who were injured."


The London-based oil giant also agreed to pay $525 million over three years to settle claims with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company concealed information from investors.


The oil firm has not agreed with the Justice Department on a separate civil settlement involving federal and state claims of damages to natural resources. At stake are potential fines for violations of the Clean Water Act, which could range from $5 billion to almost $20 billion if BP is found guilty of gross negligence or willful misconduct. That case is being heard by another federal court in New Orleans.


According to Justice Department officials, $1.3 billion of the $4 billion fine will go to the government, nearly $2.4 billion will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $350 million will go to the National Academy of Sciences.


Judge approves medical claims settlement in BP oil spill


CNN's Vivian Kuo contributed to this story











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Two years ago, Egyptians toppled a longtime dictator. But frustration over the new leadership and court verdicts have ignited clashes regularly.







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Ah, the 21st century. Too bad no one's figured out an antidote. Wait a minute, some places have.























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Calif. family with "mixed" immigration status eager for Obama reforms

(CBS News) LOS ANGELES - On Tuesday, President Obama laid out what would be the most sweeping reform of immigration law in decades. it would include a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants who already live in America. Here's how he described his plan in Las Vegas:


President Barack Obama delivers remarks on immigration reform at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, January 29, 2013. Obama Tuesday hailed a "genuine desire" among warring politicians to pursue immigration reform, ahead of a speech laying out his own approach to the politically fiery issue.


/

JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty Images

"We've got to lay out a path -- a process that includes passing a background check, paying taxes, paying a penalty, learning English, and then going to the back of the line behind all the folks who are trying to come here legally, that's only fair. So that means it won't be a quick process, but it will be a fair process. And it will lift these individuals out of the shadows and give them a chance to earn their way to a green card and eventually to citizenship."

President Obama also called for stronger enforcement on the borders. His plan is similar to a bill that both Democrats and Republicans are introducing in the Senate. This may be the best chance for immigration reform in decades. It would mean a lot of families would not live in fear of being split up.

Jaime Colin helps his mother Lupe at one of the family's two dry cleaners in Southern California.

Obama: "Now is the time" for immigration reform
McCain: "We cannot have 11M people living in the shadows"
Immigration proposal a "major breakthrough," senators say
Is now the time for immigration reform?

"My parents have worked so hard," he said. "Everything I am, everything my sister is -- we owe to them."

The Colin family's immigration status is complicated. Jaime and his sister Diana were brought from Mexico as children. President Obama's deferred action program allows them to stay for work and school. Their younger siblings were born in the U.S. But their parents have been here illegally for 22 years.

Their father declined to appear on camera. Lupe Colin said they employ five workers and have earned a path to citizenship. "I have my own business," she said. "I am living here like an American citizen because I pay the taxes."

Added Diana Colin: "We're aspiring citizens. Obama promised us immigration reform."

What would these changes in immigration policy mean for the Colin family? "We would be more secure, we don't have to live with the fear of being deported, having our family torn apart," Jaime Colin said.

"That's the calculation that they made when they came into the country illegally," said Jack Martin of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a group that lobbies for strict immigration enforcement. "They've been in the country breaking the law all that period of time. And that should earn them no priority with regard to people who have been waiting outside the country

He said allowing the Colins to stay in the U.S. is no more effective at stopping illegal immigration than a 1986 law that allowed three million illegal immigrants to apply for legal immigrant status.

"We now have 11 or 12 million illegal aliens in the country," said Martin. "Instead of cutting down on illegal immigration, it led to an increase."

As for those say her family should get to the back of the line, Diana Colin responded: "We have been here as aspiring citizens for 22 years. Is that the back of the line? What is the back of the line?"

The Colin family believes the political muscle Hispanic showed at the polls in November will push Democrats and Republicans to actually pass immigration reform with a path to citizenship this year.

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Jodi Arias Borrowed Gas Cans Before Killing Ex













Accused murderer Jodi Arias borrowed two five-gallon gas cans from a former boyfriend the day before she drove to Arizona to kill another ex, Travis Alexander, according to testimony in Arias' murder trial today.


In cross examination, prosecutors also forced Arias' former live-in boyfriend Darryl Brewer to describe his sex life with Arias as "pretty aggressive."


Brewer, 52, dated Arias for four years and shared a home with her in California for two years. He told the court today that Arias called him in May 2008, asking to borrow gas cans, but would not explain why. She called him again at least two more times, and arrived at his house on June 2008, to borrow the cans.


On the day she picked up the gas cans she told Brewer that she was going to visit friends in California and Arizona.


Prosecutors argue that Arias then drove to Mesa, Ariz., where she allegedly had sex with Alexander, took nude photos of him, and then stabbed him 27 times, slashed his throat, and shot him twice in the head. She is charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.


Arias, who claims she killed Alexander in self defense, had approached prosecutors two years ago offering to plea to a second degree murder charge, which could carry a 25 year term, but the state rejected the offer, Nancy Grace reported on Good Morning America today.


Brewer said that Arias never returned the gas cans. The pair had been broken up two years earlier and they had only spoken "sporadically," he said.








Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Reported Plea Deal Attempt Watch Video









Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Rental Car Covered in 'Kool-Aid Stains' Watch Video









Jodi Arias Trial: Explosive Recordings Played in Court Watch Video





Prosecutors also showed receipts from Arias' trip from her California home to Alexander's home in Mesa, showing that she purchased a 10 gallons of gas at one gas station the night before she drove to Arizona, and then another 10 gallons from a different gas station 10 minutes later. Prosecutors are expected to argue she brought the gas with her to fill up her car secretly on the way to Alexander's home, showing premeditation for the murder.


Arias' attorneys called Brewer as one of their first witnesses as they began mounting their case that Arias killed Alexander in self defense, arguing that Alexander was controlling and abusive toward Arias.


They asked Brewer to explain how he and Arias had been in a stable relationship for four years, from 2002 to 2006, and had bought a home together before Arias met Alexander at a business conference and began to change.


"I saw a lot of changes in Jodi. She became a different person than I had known previously," Brewer said, describing how Arias' behavior changed in May 2006 when she joined a company called Pre-Paid Legal. There, she met Alexander and began seeing him. She continued to live with Brewer.


"She had continued to pay the mortgage, but she was not paying other household bills, she began getting into debt or financial trouble," Brewer said. "For me it seemed she was not as rational or logical."


Arias also converted to Mormonism while living with Brewer, telling him that he could no longer curse and she would no longer have sex with him because she was saving herself for marriage.


The pair had previously had an "enthusiastic" and "aggressive" sex life, Brewer admitted to prosecutors. They had engaged in anal sex, Arias had taken nude photos of Brewer, and Arias had purchased breast implants in 2006, he testified.


Brewer said that after Arias began to change, he made arrangements to move closer to his son from his first marriage, and he and Arias broke up.


They kept in touch with occasional phone calls until Arias asked to borrow the gas cans in June 2008, and then called him a week after borrowing the cans to say that her friend had been killed.


Martinez, reading notes from an interview Brewer gave to authorities during the investigation into Alexander's death, asked if Arias had ever mentioned needing an "alibi." Brewer said he did not recall any conversation about alibis.


"After this date of June 4, 2008," Martinez asked, "you received a call from Jodi Arias, and she was very agitated?"


"She was sad," Brewer said.


"Did she tell you that her friend had been killed and she did not have an alibi?"


"I don't remember that," Brewer said.


Arias was arrested a month after Alexander was found dead, in July 2008.



Read More..

Why haven't we learned from fires?






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Pyrotechnics, overcrowding, poor exits have contributed to tragic fires in recent years

  • You would think the world would have learned from past incidents, John Barylick says

  • Concertgoers have to be their own fire marshals, he says




Editor's note: John Barylick, author of "Killer Show," a book on the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is an attorney who represented victims in wrongful death and personal injury cases arising from the fire.


(CNN) -- Sunday morning we awoke to breaking news of another tragic nightclub fire, this time in Brazil. At last report the death toll exceeded 230.


This tragedy is not without precedent. Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of a similar nightclub fire in Rhode Island. At this sad time, it's appropriate to reflect on what we've learned from club fires -- and what we haven't.


Rhode Island's Station nightclub fire of 2003, in which 100 concertgoers lost their lives, began when fireworks set off by Great White, an 80s heavy metal band, ignited flammable packing foam on the club's walls.


Deadly blazes: Nightclub tragedies in recent history



John Barylick

John Barylick





Panicked patrons stampeded toward the club's main exit, and a fatal pileup ensued. Contributing to the tragedy were illegal use of pyrotechnics, overcrowding and a wall covering that would have failed even the most rudimentary flammability tests.


Video images of the Station fire were broadcast worldwide: A concert begins; the crowd's mood changes from merry, to curious, to concerned, to horrified -- in less than a minute. You'd think the world would have learned from it. You would be wrong.



The following year, the Republica Cromanon nightclub in Argentina went up in flames, killing 194 people. The club was made to hold about 1,000 people, but it was estimated that more than 3,000 fans were packed inside the night of the fire, which began when fans began lighting flares that caught the roof on fire.


Echoes of the past: Rhode Island victims 'can't help but watch'


Then, in January 2009, at least 64 New Year's revelers lost their lives in a nightclub in Bangkok, Thailand, after fire ignited its ceiling. Many were crushed in a rush to get out of the club. In December of that same year, a fire in a Russian nightclub, ignited by pyrotechnics, killed 156 people. Overcrowding, poor exits, and indoor fireworks all played roles in these tragedies; yet no one bothered to learn from mistakes of the past.


While responsibility for concert disasters unquestionably lies with venue operators, performers and promoters, ultimately, we, as patrons of clubs and concerts, can enhance our own safety by taking a few simple steps. The National Fire Protection Association urges concertgoers to:


• Be observant. Is the concert venue rundown or well-maintained? Does the staff look well-trained?


• As you proceed to your seat, observe how long the process takes. Could you reverse it in a hurry? Do you pass through pinch points? Is furniture in the way?


• Once seated, take note of the nearest exit. (In an emergency, most people try to exit by the door they entered, which is usually not the closest, and is always overcrowded.) Then, share the location of that nearest exit with your entire party. Agree that at the first sign of trouble, you will all proceed to it without delay.


• Once the show begins, remain vigilant. If you think there's a problem, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Do not stay to "get your money's worth" despite concerns about safety. Do not remain to locate that jacket or bag you placed somewhere. No concert is worth your life. Better to read about an incident the next day than be counted as one of its statistics.


Read more: How to protect yourself in a crowd


To be sure, all fire codes must be vigorously enforced, and club and concert hall operators must be held to the highest standards. A first step is banning indoor pyrotechnics in all but the largest, stadium-type venues.


But, ultimately, we are our own best "fire marshals" when it comes to avoiding, and escaping, dangerous situations. We can still enjoy shows. But it is up to us to look out for our own safety.


In coming days, Rhode Islanders will follow the unfolding news from Brazil with a sense of queasy deja vu -- the rising body counts, the victim identification process, the grieving families, and the assigning (and dodging) of blame. If only they had learned from our tragedy.


The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Barylick.







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Golf: Tiger wins Torrey Pines title for 75th career crown






LA JOLLA: World No. 2 Tiger Woods captured his 75th career title on Monday, winning the US PGA Farmers Insurance Open by four strokes for his record-setting eighth career triumph at Torrey Pines.

Despite struggling in windy conditions Monday over the final 11 holes, Woods showed flashes of the form that has brought him 14 major titles as he chases the all-time record of 18 won by Jack Nicklaus.

Woods won his most recent major title at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines and has also won the PGA event staged at Torrey Pines seven times. No other PGA player has won so many times on a single course.

A fog delay Saturday led to the Monday finish, with darkness halting Woods on Sunday after seven holes.

Woods completed a final-round par 72 Monday despite going three-over in the closing stretch, finishing 72 holes on 14-under par 274. Brandt Snedeker, the 2012 winner, and Josh Teater shared second on 278.

Woods had two bogeys and a double bogey between the 14th and 17th holes, but managed a par at the par-5 18th to close out the victory.

"It got a little ugly toward the end," Woods said. "I started losing my patience with slow play and lost my concentration there a little bit. But I was able to get my par there at 18 and got the win."

After missing the cut in his season opener at Abu Dhabi, Woods collected his first victory since last July at the US PGA National at Congressional.

- AFP/jc



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Netherlands queen to abdicate throne









updated 6:34 PM EST, Mon January 28, 2013









STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Queen Beatrix will end 33 years on the Dutch throne on April 30

  • She will be succeeded by Prince Willem-Alexander.

  • He has earned a history degree and served in the Dutch Royal Navy

  • His daughter Catharina-Amalia will be first in line when he becomes king




Editor's note: An earlier version of this story wrongly referred to Prince Claus as Queen Beatrix's son, not her husband. We apologize for this mistake.


(CNN) -- Queen Beatrix spent 33 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her son, the Prince of Orange, Prince Willem-Alexander.


She ascended to the throne when Queen Juliana abdicated on her 71st birthday, on April 30, 1980. Beatrix announced Monday that she will step aside on April 30.


Beatrix was born January 31, 1938, and when World War II reached Holland the family fled to London. Juliana, Beatrix and her sister Irene then moved to Ottawa, Canada.









Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate








HIDE CAPTION









Beatrix married German diplomat Claus von Amsberg on March 10, 1966, in Amsterdam. They have three sons, Willem-Alexander, born in 1967, Friso, born in 1968, and Constantijn, born in 1969.


Friso was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last year.


She has eight grandchildren. Her husband died in 2002 aged 76.


He overcame early Dutch wariness -- in a country where the German occupation in WWII was still fresh in the national memory -- to become one of the most popular members of the Dutch royal family .


Under the Dutch Constitution the king or queen is head of state but politically neutral.


Beatrix, held weekly meetings with the prime minister and spoke regularly with high-ranking ministers and secretaries of state.


The head of state also signs all new acts of Parliament, and plays a role in the formation of new governments.


Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, was educated in Wales and Holland where he earned a history degree at Leiden University. He served in the Dutch Royal Navy from August 1985 to January 1987.


As Prince of Orange -- the title given to the person first in line to the Dutch throne ---- he has been interested in sustainability and innovation.


He has also been a member of the Dutch central bank supervisory board and regularly has represented the queen at international events.


Willem-Alexander has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1998.


He is married to Princess Máxima, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has a degree in economics and has worked for HSBC and Deutsche Bank.


The couple, who met at a party, were engaged in March 2001 and they were married in February 2002.


The relationship -- like his mother's marriage -- sparked initial controversy when it emerged that Maxima's father had been a minister during the 1976-1983 Argentinean military dictatorship. He agreed to stay away from the wedding.


They have three daughters, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane.


When Willem-Alexander becomes king, 9-year-old Catharina-Amalia will be next in line.












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Chicago mom loses all four children to gun violence

(CBS News) CHICAGO - President Barack Obama is keeping up the pressure on Congress to pass new gun control legislation.

He met at the White House today with police officials from around the country, including: Aurora, Colo.; Oak Creek, Wisc.; and Newtown, Conn. - all the scenes of recent mass shootings.

The president called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban.

In Chicago, gun violence is taking more and more lives: 50 since Newtown.

Among the seven people murdered in Chicago this past weekend was 33-year-old Ronnie Chambers, shot dead in a parked van.

He was the last surviving child of Shirley Chambers, who now has lost all four of her children to gun violence. CBS News spoke to her Monday at a local funeral home.


Shirley Chamber's four children were all killed by guns in Chicago

Shirley Chamber's four children were all killed by guns in Chicago


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CBS News

"It's not Chicago. It's these people. It's these people with these guns. They shouldn't have guns, you know?" Chambers said.

Chicago's deadly day: Shootings kill 7, wound 6
Feinstein: Assault weapons ban "an uphill climb"
Watch: Chicago mother takes stand against gun violence

Her son was a former gang member who stole cars, sold drugs and spent time in prison.

"He had changed a lot. He was trying to help other people. So whatever he did in the past, that's in the past. He changed," Chambers said of her son.

Just last month he appeared on the Ricki Lake show as an example of transformation.

"I told myself that you know, I need to protect my mother and be out here for her," Ronnie said on the show.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel told CBS News the problem here is more than guns.

"I think we have to deal with this -- not just with our gun controls -- but with a values-based education," he said.

He made his frustration clear at the height of the violence last summer.

"It's not about crime. It's about values," Emanuel had said at a press conference. "Where were you raised and who raised you?"

Watch: Emanuel: Curbing Chicago violence is "about values"

In the interview with CBS News, Emanuel explained why that question resonated with a lot of people.

"There is a values piece where people are so, I don't know, careless, dismissive -- totally are devoid of any sense of right from wrong," he said.

Shirley Chambers insists her son was different.

"Ronnie knew right from wrong," she said. "He wanted to change his life for his mother. He loved me and I loved him."

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