Officials: 5 Americans Escaped from Algeria Terrorists

Five Americans who were at an Algerian natural gas facility when it was raided by al Qaeda linked terrorists are now safe and believed to have left the country, according to U.S. officials. At least three Americans, however, were being held hostage by the militants when the Algerian military mounted an rescue operation earlier today that reportedly resulted in casualties.

Reports that as many as 35 hostages and 15 Islamist militants at a BP joint venture facility in In Amenas have been killed during a helicopter raid have not been confirmed, though Algeria's information minister has confirmed that there were casualties. According to an unconfirmed report by an African news outlet, the militants say seven hostages survived the attack, including two Americans, one Briton, three Belgians and a Japanese national.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Algerian forces had attacked the compound, and that the situation "was ongoing."

"We face a very bad situation at this GP gas compound in Algeria," said Cameron. "A number of British citizens have been taken hostage. Already we know of one who has died. ... I think we should be prepared for the possibility for further bad news, very difficult news in this extremely difficult situation."

An unarmed U.S. Predator drone is now above In Amenas and is conducting surveillance. A U.S. official says the U.S. was not informed in advance by the Algerians of the raid they launched today.

In a statement, BP, a joint owner of the facility, said it had been told by both the British and Algerian governments that "the Algerian Army is attempting to take control of the In Amenas site."

"Sadly, there have been some reports of casualties but we are still lacking any confirmed or reliable information," said the statement. "There are also reports of hostages being released or escaping."

Algerian troops had surrounded the compound in the Sahara desert, where hostages from the U.S., Algeria, Norway, Japan, France and other countries are being held by terrorists who claim to be part of Al Qaeda and are led by a one-eyed smuggler known as Mr. Marlboro.

SITE Intel Group/AP Photo

Leon Panetta on Americans Held Hostage in Algeria Watch Video

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told ABC News that as many as 100 hostages are being held, and that there may be seven or eight Americans among them. "Right now, we just really don't know how many are being held," said Panetta, who said information about the situation, including the total number of hostages and where they are being held, is "pretty sketchy." The kidnappers have released a statement saying there are "more than 40 crusaders" held "including 7 Americans."

U.S. officials had previously confirmed to ABC News that there were at least three Americans held hostage at the natural gas facility jointly owned by BP, the Algerian national oil company and a Norwegian firm at In Amenas, Algeria.

"I want to assure the American people that the United States will take all necessary and proper steps that are required to deal with this situation," said Panetta. "I don't think there's any question that [this was]a terrorist act and that the terrorists have affiliation with al Qaeda." He said the precise motivation of the kidnappers was unknown. "They are terrorists, and they will do terrorist acts."

The terror strike came without warning Wednesday morning when an estimated 20 gunmen first attacked a bus carrying workers escorted by two cars carrying security teams.

At least one worker was killed. The terrorists moved on to the residential compound where they are now holed up with the American and other western hostages, including Norwegian, French, British, and Japanese nationals.

There is growing concern this morning about the fate of the hostages, and intelligence officials say the situation is tense. Without the element of surprise, they say, a raid to free them will be very dangerous.
"They are expecting an attack and therefore, it's going to be very, very difficult for Algerian special forces to sneak in without being seen," said Richard Clarke, a former White House counter terrorism advisor and now an ABC News consultant.

Mr. Marlboro: Kidnapper, Smuggler

Intelligence officials believe the attack was masterminded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a rogue al Qaeda leader who also runs an African organized crime network that reportedly has made tens of millions of dollars in ransom from kidnappings and smuggling. He is known as Mr. Marlboro because of his success smuggling diamonds, drugs and cigarettes. Officials think it unlikely that Belmohktar would actually be in the middle of the hostage situation, but would be calling the shots from his base in Mali more than 1,000 miles away.

Belmokhtar fought in Afghanistan alongside the mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1990s, and lost an eye. He was formerly associated with al Qaeda's North African affiliate, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and was said to be a liaison with al Qaeda's international leadership. Belmokhtar split with AQIM late last year over what other Islamist militants considered his preference for lucre over jihad. He remains affiliated with al Qaeda, however, heading a breakaway group that calls itself the "Signers with Blood Brigade" or the "Veiled Brigade."

According to a Canadian diplomat who was held hostage by Belmokhtar, Mr. Marlboro is "very, very cold, very businesslike."

Robert Fowler was a UN diplomat in Africa when he was kidnapped and held hostage by Belmokhtar for four months in 2009.

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Gruesome toll of cluster bombs in Syria

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Human Rights Watch says cluster bombs were used on Syrian town of Latamneh


• Cluster bombs release dozens of smaller bombs, which can maim or kill long after impact


• Syrian regime has previously denied cluster bombs on civilians

Editor's note: Mary Wareham is the Arms Division's Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch and chief editor of 'Cluster Munition Monitor 2012.'

(CNN) -- It was cloudy the afternoon of January 3 when residents say the cluster bombs fell on the Syrian town of Latamneh.

Three rockets containing the cluster munitions fell in nearby fields, apparently doing no harm, but a fourth landed on the street between residential buildings. Its impact was devastating.

One man was driving down the street when submunitions from the rockets exploded, killing him instantly, residents said. Fifteen civilians walking down the street or in their homes were wounded, including women and children, according to two residents and video evidence. Residents said that an hour after the attack, a submunition that had failed to detonate on impact killed a man who tried to remove it from his yard. It exploded in his hands.

Mary Wareham

Since mid-2012, Human Rights Watch and others have reported several times on civilian casualties caused by Syrian use of air-dropped cluster bombs, but Latamneh and other recent attacks are the first known instances of Syrian use of ground-based cluster munitions. The rockets were apparently launched from the vicinity of nearby Hama airport, which is under government control.

Evidence we have seen suggests that Syrian government forces delivered the 122mm cluster munition rockets containing submunitions using a BM-21 Grad multi-barrel rocket launcher, a truck-mounted system capable of firing 40 rockets nearly simultaneously with a range of 4 to 40 kilometers (2.5 to 25 miles). Grad rocket launchers are notorious for their inability to be accurately targeted due to their lack of a guidance system. This exacerbates the danger from the wide-area effect of the submunitions the rockets contain.

More: Syrian regime denies use of cluster bombs

Many countries, including Lebanon and Cambodia, have experienced civilian casualties from similar types of submunitions, both at the time of attack and from submunitions that didn't explode on initial impact. Each submunition is the size of a D-cell battery with a distinctive white ribbon, and the design of their fuze system makes each one very sensitive and liable to detonate if disturbed.

After years of civilian harm caused by cluster munitions, Israel's massive use of the weapons in southern Lebanon in 2006 helped propel governments into action. Working with civil society groups such as Human Rights Watch and international organizations, a broad-based coalition of like-minded governments sought to do something to reduce the unacceptable harm caused by cluster munitions.

The resulting Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted May 30, 2008, comprehensively prohibits cluster munitions and requires their clearance and assistance to victims. A total of 111 nations, including many former users, producers, and stockpilers of the weapon, as well as countries contaminated by cluster munition remnants, have embraced the ban convention.

Yet there has been limited interest in the Middle East and North Africa regions, where just three countries—Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia—are onboard the treaty banning cluster bombs. Some nations, such as Jordan, say they need more time to study the convention's provisions, while others including Egypt, Iran, and Israel have produced, imported, exported, and stockpiled cluster munitions.

The 122mm cluster munition rockets used by Syria bear the markings of the Egyptian state-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization and an Egyptian company called Sakr Factory for Development Industries. Syria could have bought these cluster munitions from Egypt, received them through military cooperation, or acquired them another way. With no transparency, it is impossible to say how or when they were made or transferred, though it is likely Syria acquired them long ago.

Syria's relentless use of cluster munitions, including in populated areas, is yet another sign of its blatant disregard for international law and the protection of its own civilians. Syria's use of cluster munitions runs counter to the new international standard being created by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, rejecting any use of the weapons.

The preventive impact of the convention and the standard it is establishing can already be seen as countries that have joined the ban rapidly destroy their stockpiles of cluster munitions.

In Syria, every time the government has used cluster munitions and other explosive weapons, a lethal legacy of unexploded ordnance is created. Given the terrible humanitarian impact, all governments, regardless of their position on joining the ban convention, should press Syria to stop using cluster munitions.

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Football: Rooney hammers United into FA Cup fourth round

LONDON: Wayne Rooney marked his first Manchester United appearance since December 23 with the only goal of the game as they beat West Ham 1-0 in a FA Cup third round replay at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Victory saw Premier League leaders United, the record 11-time FA Cup winners, into a fourth round tie at home to fellow top flight side Fulham.

Rooney opened the scoring in the ninth minute after the recalled Anderson produced a superb, defence-splitting pass and Javier Hernandez bore down on goal before unselfishly squaring the ball to the England striker, who was never going to miss from a few yards out.

The forward could have put the result in this all-Premier League clash beyond doubt in the second half but Rooney blasted over the top from the penalty spot after Jordan Spence handled a cross from Ryan Giggs.

"In the FA Cup anything can happen so we are pleased to get through," United veteran Ryan Giggs told ITV. "Some players are coming back from injury which can be tough but they did well.

"West Ham are a tough team to play against. We couldn't get out of our half at the start of the second half but we kept it better when Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes came on."

Frustrated Hammers manager Sam Allardyce insisted his side had been denied a penalty for handball.

"We should have had a penalty," he said, before voicing the long-held belief that United are favoured by referees at Old Trafford.

"The difference is that Jordan Spence plays for West Ham and Rafael plays for Manchester United at Old Trafford," Allardyce said. "The incidents are the same. If you give one you've got to give both, simple as that."

Earlier, Arsenal left it late before seeing off Swansea 1-0 in a third round replay with England midfielder Jack Wilshere scoring four minutes before full-time with a powerful shot.

"It was a great set-up from Olivier Giroud," said Wilshere

His goal earned Arsenal -- bidding for a first major trophy in eight years -- a fourth round clash with second-tier Brighton, the 1983 FA Cup finalists.

"I didn't want extra-time. It was important we got the winner before 90 minutes. We know Brighton play football, they play great football."

- AFP/jc

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Islamists take Americans, others hostage in Algeria

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Britain sends rapid-deployment team to Algiers


• Americans are among the hostages, the U.S. State Department says


• The In Amenas gas field is run jointly by BP, Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrac


• Panetta calls hostage-taking a "terrorist attack"

(CNN) -- Islamists angry over Algeria's support for the French offensive in Mali attacked a gas field in southern Algeria, killing two people and seizing a number of hostages, including Westerners, Algeria's interior minister said Wednesday.

The Westerners, accompanied by Algerian security forces, were en route to Ain Menas Airport when they were attacked by another group of no more than 20 people, Diho Weld Qabliyeh told Algerian state television. The security forces returned fire, and the attackers withdrew to the base of the petroleum operation, some 3 kilometers away, he said.

Upon arrival at the base, he continued, the attackers "took in a number of Westerners and Algerians -- some people told us they were nine, some people told us 12."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Americans were among the hostages.

Accounts over the number differed.

An Algerian and a Westerner were killed in the attack, and two Westerners, two of the security forces and two guards from the base were wounded, Qabliyeh said.

Algerian media reported that a British national was among the fatalities.

British Foreign Minister William Hague, speaking in Sydney, Australia, said "a number of British nationals" were among the captives.

Hague said the Foreign Office had sent a "rapid deployment team" to Algiers to beef up staffing at the embassy.

Algerian military forces were surrounding the building holding the hostage-takers and the hostages, Qabliyeh said.

Late Wednesday, the hostage-takers released the Algerians being held but continued holding the Westerners, Algerian state television reported.

The group has issued demands, Qabliyeh said. "The authorities do not negotiate, no negotiations; we have received their demands, but we didn't respond to them," he added.

A Mauritanian news agency, Al Akhbar, said the attackers demanded in a news release an end to "brutal aggression on our people in Mali."

It cited "blatant intervention of the French crusader forces in Mali" and accused the world of having left Syria's people "groaning under the pressure of the butcher" President Bashar al-Assad.

The news release said they chose Algeria because the country's president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, allowed French military forces to use Algerian air space in attacking Mali.

It put the number of hostages at "more than 40," including seven Americans, two French, two British and a number of other Europeans.

An Islamist group claiming responsibility for the attack told the Mauritanian News Agency and Sahara Media that 41 "Westerners including seven Americans, (as well as) French, British and Japanese citizens have been taken hostage."

But the Algerian Press Service, citing a source from the provincial administration of Illizi, reported that "a little more than 20 foreign nationals are held hostage."

Some nine or 10 Americans were working at the field, and U.S. officials were trying to determine who had been abducted, a State Department official told CNN.

The source said the abductors were demanding that members of their group who are being held prisoner be released and sent to northern Mali. The official was not clear about where the prisoners were being held.

"The first priority is to gain understanding of what is happening," a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter said. "We are working on ways to improve that now."

The official added that a Special Operations team -- the Commanders In-extremis Force -- "is on a very short string." In addition, he said, "other nations are similarly assessing their response posture."

He continued that "another important piece will be for Libya to really lock down the nearby border on their side," so personnel and weapons cannot get through.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in Europe meeting with NATO allies, called the hostage-taking "a terrorist attack."

A spokesman for the group -- the name of which was translated as "those who sign with blood" -- said that the jihadists controlled the plant.

Saying that the operation was an act of revenge against Algeria, the spokesman said 400 Algerian soldiers were on the site "who have not been targeted by jihadists."

A spokesman for the Norwegian Prime Ministers' office told CNN that "13 Norwegians, all employees of Statoil, are involved in the incident at Amenas gas field in Algeria."

The UK Foreign Office said British nationals were caught up in the incident.

Ireland's foreign minister said there were reports that an Irish citizen was involved; the office of the French president refused comment on reports that French citizens were among the hostages.

Oil giant BP, which operates the In Amenas field in a joint venture with Sonatrac, the Algerian national oil company, and Norway's Statoil, said it was attacked by "unidentified armed people" who were occupying the site.

Statoil Executive Vice President Lars Christian Bacher said 17 of its employees -- 13 of them Norwegian -- were in or around the facility at the time of the attack. "We have received information that five of the 17 are brought to safety in a military camp in the area," he said in a statement.

Four are Norwegian and one is a Canadian resident; two people were injured and have received medical treatment, he said.

A center for relatives has been set up in Bergen, Norway, he said.

The gas field lies about 60 kilometers west of the Libyan border and some 1,300 kilometers from the capital, Algiers, BP said.

The attack comes four days after Libyan, Algerian and Tunisian prime ministers reached security agreements Saturday in a summit in Libya, where they agreed to work together against terrorist threats.

In a statement, Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, called the attack "the latest demonstration of a large and growing radical movement across North Africa" and said the French "have acted appropriately" in intervening in Mali.

"Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its offshoots have been conducting regular kidnappings for years -- financing much of its operations through ransoms, earning millions," the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said.

"The network has planted deep roots in Europe. In recent years, cells have been broken up by authorities in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. In Mali, its brethren are imposing the strictest interpretation of Islamic law -- banning music and chopping off limbs. Large amounts of weapons are flowing into the region."

Read related: U.S. supported France's failed hostage rescue in Somalia

CNN's Carol Jordan, Laura Smith-Spark and Antonia Mortensen reported from London; Chris Lawrence, Elise Labott and Barbara Starr from Washington; , Hamdi Alkhshali, Joe Sterling and Yousuf Basil from Atlanta; Jomana Karadsheh from Tripoli, Libya; and Dheepthi Namasivayam from Paris.

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13 home buying tips for 2013

(MoneyWatch) Although housing prices started to rebound last year and are expected to continue rising in 2013, it's still a buyer's market. Prices remain 30 percent below their peak before the housing crash and mortgage rates hovering at all-time lows. If you are ready to jump in to the real estate market, here are 13 house-hunting tips for 2013.

1. Run the numbers. Put together a financial plan to determine whether you can really afford to buy. After all, just because it's a good time to purchase a home doesn't mean it's a good time for YOU to buy. It's important to understand how much home you can afford and whether home ownership might preclude you from addressing other important financial issues in your life.

2. Save 20 percent for a down payment. I'm not a huge fan of putting down less than that amount (although the Federal Housing Administration allows it). Keep your downpayment fund in cash or cash equivalent accounts, so that market movements don't thwart your plans.

3. Use this great "rent vs. buy" calculator from the New York Times. Renting might still be the better deal in your area.

4. Be an informed buyer. You're not going to buy a house simply because there's a pretty photo posted online, but you can conduct a lot of price research. That said, there's nothing better than talking to people in the neighborhood for "on the ground" intelligence.

5. Obtain a copy of your credit report. If you haven't done so in a while, go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your free copy. It's important that you correct any errors on the report before you start the mortgage process.

6. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Pre-approval is a good gut check on your price range for a home. Gone are the days that banks will fork over cash to anyone with a heartbeat. The best way to start is to ask friends for referrals from mortgage brokers and to shop around with banks and credit unions. Make sure to compare apples to apples and to ask the broker about your total costs to you at closing. You should also know that once you actually find a home, the mortgage process is on the same pain level as a root canal, only it requires more patience and there's no Novocain. You'll need to dig up tons of paperwork and fair warning -- there will be multiple requests for even more documents as you move toward closing. Eventually, you will need "commitment letter," which details the terms of your loan approval.

7. Find an agent. As much as everyone complains about realtors, I still think that it's tough to go through the home buying process alone. In some markets, buyers' brokers are available, but the most important qualities in brokers are honesty, experience, good connections with other agents, and good referrals from buyers like you. Remember that most agents represent the seller, not the buyer.

8. Hire a real estate attorney. This is a major transaction in your life, so don't try to save money when it comes to legal fees. Even if your mortgage company provides a lawyer, hire your own to help draft all documents and to ensure that your interests are being represented at every step of the process.

9. Get an appraisal. An appraisal will determine the market value of the property and ultimately will be used by your lender to determine the amount of your loan. You have a legal right to get a copy of this and will want a copy for your records.

10. Schedule a home inspection. Think you've found your dream house? Maybe, but unless you have an engineer walk through the premises with you, you might be buying a new roof in a couple of years. Don't get freaked out if a problem arises during the inspection; it can often be addressed with a simple adjustment in price. It's imperative to protect yourself, so don't blow off this important step.

11. Start with a fair offer. The offer should be based on similar houses sold in the neighborhood in the past six months. Your agent will help you with the process, but the offer should include the price you're willing to pay for the house, your financing terms and contingencies such as specifying what will happen if any problems come up during the inspection.

12. Purchase homeowners insurance. If you are a life-long renter, this can be an eye-opener in terms of cost. Make sure that you understand the difference between insuring the structure and insuring the contents. And if you are buying property that is close to water, make sure that you have an agent who can help you enroll in the national flood insurance program.

13. Review your HUD statement BEFORE closing. The government document provides basic details about the involved parties and a lot of numbers. Mistakes do occur, which is why it is vital that you review the statement and confirm that everything is correct.

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Republicans Criticize Obama's Gun Proposals

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Less than an hour after President Obama finished outlining his plan to address gun violence in America, Republicans in Congress fired back, criticizing the president for attacking the Second Amendment.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who many conservatives look to as a viable presidential candidate in 2016, said he would “oppose the president’s attempts to undermine Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.” Instead, he believes Congress should focus its efforts on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

“Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence,” Rubio, R-Fla., wrote. “Rolling back responsible citizens’ rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill.”

PHOTOS: Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Michael Steel, spokesman to Speaker John Boehner, reacted to the president’s proposals in a brief statement, putting the onus on the Democratic Senate to lead the legislative path to tougher gun laws.

“House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations,” Steel wrote in an email after the announcement. “And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that.”

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said House Republicans “welcome the recommendations of this task force and will consider them” but his committee will plot its own course in addressing gun violence.

Transcript: Obama’s Remarks On Gun Violence

“Good intentions do not necessarily make good laws,” Goodlatte, who received an A rating from the NRA, stated. “As we investigate the causes and search for solutions, we must ensure that any proposed solutions will actually be meaningful in preventing the taking of innocent life and that they do not trample on the rights of law-abiding citizens to exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.”

House Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., also said his committee would convene a hearing “to examine school safety and ways to protect our children.” Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee is also planning to review mental health laws.

Other House Republicans were skeptical of the effectiveness of the president’s ideas, such as enacting another ban on assault weapons.

“The fact is these firearms are no different than other legal firearms except for their exterior design,” Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, wrote. “Claiming to address gun violence by offering a failed, illogical action is nothing more than a red herring to target the constitutionally protected liberties of law abiding gun owners.”

“More gun restrictions may allow Washington to congratulate itself, but will never change the sickness and depravity that drive someone to murder indiscriminately,” Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., wrote in a statement.

“The president’s plan approaches the problem of gun violence from the wrong direction,” Louisiana Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander, who also received an A rating from the NRA, wrote in a statement. “This proposal will not stop criminals from getting their hands on weapons and using them for harm.”

“Guns are not the problem, evil people are,” Rep. Dan Beneshik, R-Mich., wrote in a statement. “The only thing these proposed restrictions would do is prevent law-abiding individuals from protecting their homes, children, and businesses.”

“The Second Amendment is non-negotiable,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, wrote in a statement. “The right to bear arms is a right, despite President Obama’s disdain for the Second Amendment and the Constitution’s limits on his power.”

INFOGRAPHIC: Guns in America: By The Numbers

Huelskamp said the debate should instead focus on “what fuels a very small segment of the population to inflict harm and instill fear” and the Obama administration should enforce gun laws already on the books.

“This means holding Hollywood accountable for its culture of violence and death, and talking about mental health issues and the responsibilities of families and communities,” Huelskamp, who received an A+ rating from the NRA, stated. “The Obama Administration is neglecting its obligation to enforce current law. Apparently public safety matters only when there’s political gain to be had.”

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Are gun curbs just symbolism?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Gun violence recommendations are expected from Vice President Biden on Tuesday


• The proposals are expected to contain substantive and symbolic ideas to curb gun violence


• Presidents use symbolism to shift public opinion or affect larger political or social change

Washington (CNN) -- The pictures told the story: Vice President Joe Biden looked solemn, patrician and in control as he sat at a long table in the White House, flanked by people on both sides of the gun control issue.

The images conveyed a sense that the White House was in command on this issue.

And that's the point. Historically, presidential administrations have used symbolic imagery—at times coupled with marginal actions—to shift public opinion or affect larger political or social change.

"Politics is a risk taking project," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University historian and CNN contributor. "They put together these commissions in response to some crisis. You try a hundred things and hope something works."

As Biden's gun control task force recommendations land on the desk of President Barack Obama, political experts say it is important that his administration sends a clear signal that it has things in hand.

Obama says gun lobby stokes fear of federal action

That is especially critical in what will likely be an uphill battle to push specific changes, like an assault weapons ban, as part of a broader effort on gun control.

The first move in the image battle will be to appear to move quickly and decisively.

"You have to give the Obama administration credit for one thing: They've learned from history to do things quickly," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said of previous task force initiatives that fizzled.

In 2010, Obama appointed a bipartisan commission headed by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Erskine Bowles, a former Democratic White House chief of staff, to come up with a proposal to balance the budget and cut the debt.

Like the gun task force, Simpson-Bowles reviewed current regulations, gathered input from the public and engaged in tense internal conversations. But after months of working on a proposal—a blend of steep revenue increases and spending cuts—the group struggled to agree to a solution. The president did not take up the recommendations.

Obama largely avoided the issue of gun control during his first term.

He wrote an opinion piece two months after the 2011 assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, acknowledging the importance of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In the piece he also called for a focus on "effective steps that will actually keep those irresponsible, law-breaking few from getting their hands on a gun in the first place."

Newtown searches for answers a month later

But in the aftermath of that shooting and as the election season loomed, the Justice Department backed off from a list of recommendations that included a measure designed to help keep mentally ill people from getting guns.

For now, at least, there is a sense in Washington that the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting where 26 people -- 20 of them young children -- were slaughtered could lead to meaningful legislative reform.

Public opinion would seem to suggest that the White House efforts are well timed.

In the month since the massacre, a new poll showed the percentage of Americans who said they were dissatisfied with America's gun laws has spiked.

The Gallup survey released on Monday showed 38% of Americans were dissatisfied with current gun regulations, and wanted stricter laws. That represented 13-point jump from one year ago, when 25% expressed that view. "You want to strike while the iron is hot," Sabato said. "We Americans have short attention spans and, as horrible as the Newtown shooting was, will anyone be surprised if we moved along by spring?"

The White House has since worked overtime to show it considers gun control an urgent matter.

The vice president has spent the last week meeting with what the White House calls "stakeholders" in the gun control debate.

On Monday, Biden was to meet with members of a House Democratic task force on guns, along with Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services.

Universal background check: What does it mean?

In a series of face to face discussions on Thursday, Biden sat down with the National Rifle Association and other gun owners groups before conferring with representatives from the film and television industry.

In a sign the White House is prepared to move aggressively on its proposals, Biden made public comments just before meeting with the National Rifle Association, the country's most powerful gun lobby.

"Putting the vice president in charge of (the task force) and having him meeting with these groups is intended to show seriousness and an effort to reach out and respond to concerns and wishes of various groups," said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University.

Still, the NRA expressed disappointment in its discussion with Biden and later released a statement that accused the administration of mounting "an agenda to attack the Second Amendment."

Organizations seeking tougher gun control laws insist an assault weapons ban is critical to addressing the nation's recent rash of mass shootings. However, such a ban could be difficult in a Congress mired in gridlock.

"The bully pulpit is limited. It's hard for the president to sustain that momentum," Zelizer said of the White House's gun control efforts after the Newtown shootings. "The thing about symbolism is, like the shock over Newtown, they fade quickly."

Newtown opens eyes to other gun violence against young people

CNN's Jim Acosta and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report

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Tennis: Nadal said to be targeting Brazil Open

SAO PAULO: Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, out of action since the middle of last season because of injury, could return to the court at next month's ATP Brazil Open in Sao Paulo, organisers said Tuesday.

A statement from tournament sponsors DGW Comunicacion, which recently was involved with a Roger Federer exhibition appearance in Brazil, said the event will "mark the return to the circuit of one of world tennis' top stars".

And Luis Felipe Tavares, chairman of sports company Koch Tavares, told Estado de Sao Paulo daily that "a name such as Nadal will definitely whip up a lot of interest".

Contacted by AFP, the company had not made any further comment by Tuesday afternoon.

Nadal, currently ranked fourth in the world, has won 11 Grand Slams but injuries have dogged him and the 26-year-old Spaniard has not played since June.

He had to miss the Australian Open because of a stomach virus while a succession of knee injuries have plagued his career.

Nadal, who had been widely expected to return to action at the end of February, won the Brazil Open in 2005.

- AFP/jc

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Online courses need human element

Online courses are proliferating, says Douglas Rushkoff, but will really succeed when they bring humanity to learning process

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Douglas Rushkoff: Education is under threat, but online computer courses are not to blame


• He says education's value hard to measure; is it for making money or being engaged?


• He says Massive Open Online Courses lack human exchange with teachers


• Rushkoff: MOOCs should bring together people to share studies, maintain education's humanity

Editor's note: Douglas Rushkoff writes a regular column for CNN.com. He is a media theorist and the author of "Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age" and "Life Inc.: How Corporatism Conquered the World, and How We Can Take It Back." He is also a digital literacy advocate for Codecademy.com. His forthcoming book is "Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now."

(CNN) -- Education is under threat, but the Internet and the growth of Massive Open Online Courses are not to blame.

Like the arts and journalism, whose value may be difficult to measure in dollars, higher education has long been understood as a rather "soft" pursuit. And this has led people to ask fundamental questions it:

What is learning, really? And why does it matter unless, of course, it provides a workplace skill or a license to practice? Is the whole notion of a liberal arts education obsolete or perhaps an overpriced invitation to unemployment?

Douglas Rushkoff

The inability to answer these questions lies at the heart of universities' failure to compete with new online educational offerings -- the rapidly proliferating MOOCs -- as well as the failure of most Web-based schools to provide a valid alternative to the traditional four-year college.

Education is about more than acquiring skills.

When America and other industrialized nations created public schools, it was not to make better workers but happier ones. The ability to read, write and think was seen as a human right and a perquisite to good citizenship, or at least the surest way to guarantee compliant servitude from the workers of industrial society. If even the coal miner could spend some of his time off reading, he stood a chance of living a meaningful life. Moreover, his ability to read the newspaper allowed him to understand the issues the day and to vote intelligently.

What we consider basic knowledge has grown to include science, history, the humanities and economics. So, too, has grown the time required to learn it all. While the modern college might have begun as a kind of finishing school, a way for the sons of the elite to become cultured and find one another before beginning their own careers, it eventually became an extension of public school's mandate. We go to college to become smarter and more critical thinkers while also gaining skills we might need for the work force.

Accordingly, we all wanted our sons and daughters to go to college until recently. The more of us who could afford it, the better we felt we were doing as a society. But the price of education has skyrocketed, especially in the tiny segment of elite schools. This has led to the widespread misperception that a good college education is available only to those willing to take on six-figure debt.

Worse, in making the calculation about whether college is "worth it," we tend to measure the cost of a Harvard education against the market value of the skills acquired. Did my kid learn how to use Excel? If not, what was the point?

To the rescue come the MOOCs, which offer specific courses, a la carte, to anyone with a credit card; some even offer courses for free.

Following the model of University of Phoenix, which began offering a variety of "distance learning" in 1989, these newer Web sites offer video lectures and forums to learn just about anything, in most cases for a few hundred dollars a class. MOOCs have exploded in the past few years, enrolling millions of students and sometimes partnering with major universities.

For pure knowledge acquisition, it's hard to argue against such developments, especially in an era that doesn't prioritize enrichment for its own sake. But it would be a mistake to conclude that online courses fulfill the same role in a person's life as a college education, just as it would be an error to equate four years of high school with some online study and a GED exam.

Don't get me wrong: I have always been a fan of online education -- but with a few important caveats.

First off, subjects tend to be conveyed best in what might be considered their native environments. Computers might not be the best place to simulate a live philosophy seminar, but they are terrific places to teach people how to use and program computers.

Second, and just as important, computers should not require the humans using them to become more robotic. I recently read an account from an online lecturer about how -- unlike in a real classroom -- he had to deliver his online video lectures according to a rigid script, where every action was choreographed. To communicate effectively online, he needed to stop thinking and living in the moment. That's not teaching; it's animatronics.

Online learning needs to cater to human users. A real instructor should not simply dump data on a person, as in a scripted video, but engage with students, consider their responses and offer individualized challenges.

The good, living teacher probes the way students think and offers counterexamples that open pathways. With the benefit of a perfect memory of student's past responses, a computer lesson should also be able to identify some of these patterns and offer up novel challenges at the right time. "How might Marx have responded to that suggestion, Joe?"

Finally, education does not happen in isolation.

Whether it's philosophy students arguing in a dorm about what Hegel meant, or fledgling Java programmers inspecting one another's code, people learn best as part of a cohort. The course material is almost secondary to the engagement. We go to college for the people.

Likewise, the best of MOOCs should be able bring together ideal, heterogeneous groupings of students based on their profiles and past performance, and also create ample opportunities for them to engage with one another in the spirit of learning.

Perhaps this spirit of mutual aid is what built the Internet in the first place. Now that this massive collaborative learning project has succeeded, it would be a shame if we used it to take the humanity out of learning altogether.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Douglas Rushkoff.

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NY passes 1st U.S. gun control bill since Newtown

ALBANY, N.Y. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to try to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats.

Cuomo pushed hard for the bill, which passed the Senate on Monday night and easily passed the Assembly earlier Tuesday.

"This is a scourge on society," Cuomo said Monday night, six days after making gun control a centerpiece of his State of the State address. The bipartisan effort was fueled by the Newtown tragedy that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators. "At what point do you say, `No more innocent loss of life'?"

The measure, which passed the Assembly 104-43, also calls for restrictions on ammunition and the sale of guns.

"This is not about taking anyone's rights away," said Sen. Jeffrey Klein, a Bronx Democrat, when the bill passed the Senate late Monday night. "It's about a safe society ... today we are setting the mark for the rest of the county to do what's right."

Under current state law, assault weapons are defined by having two "military rifle" features such as folding stock, muzzle flash suppressor or bayonet mount. The proposal reduces that to one feature and includes the popular pistol grip.

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Obama speaks out on gun control, debt ceiling

Meanwhile President Barack Obama will formally announce a "package of concrete proposals" for reducing gun violence on Wednesday, the White House announced.

In a White House press briefing Tuesday, spokesman Jay Carney declined to outline exactly what Mr. Obama's plan would entail, but noted that it would reflect the president's desire for a "comprehensive approach," as well as specific legislative actions he has called on before -- including reinstating the assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity magazine clips, and expanded background checks for gun owners.

Private sales of assault weapons to someone other than an immediate family will be subject to a background check through a dealer. New Yorkers also would be barred from buying assault weapons over the Internet, and failing to safely store a weapon could lead to a misdemeanor charge.

Ammunition magazines will be restricted to seven bullets, from the current 10, and current owners of higher-capacity magazines will have a year to sell them out of state. An owner caught at home with eight or more bullets in a magazine will face a misdemeanor charge.

Another provision places requirements on therapists, psychologists, registered nurses and licensed social workers who believe a mental health patient made a credible threat to use a gun illegally. They would be required to report such a threat to a mental health director, who would have to notify the state. Any registered handguns — or registered assault weapons purchased before the ban — could be taken from the patient.

The legislation also increases sentences for gun crimes including the shooting of a first responder that Cuomo called the "Webster provision." Last month in the western New York town of Webster, two firefighters were killed after responding to a fire set by the shooter, who eventually killed himself.

The measure passed the Senate 43-18 on the strength of support from Democrats, many of whom previously sponsored bills that were once blocked by Republicans.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the nation's leading gun control advocates, said the bill will not satisfy everyone but said it is a move in the right direction.

"New York has been a leader. We have some of the toughest gun laws in the country and this just strengthens them, it fills in loopholes and it expands it as the society's needs have changed and the dangers have changed to all of us," Bloomberg told reporters including WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "It makes all New Yorkers safer and they all - from the governor down - deserve real credit for doing it."

The governor confirmed the proposal, previously worked out in closed session, also mandate a police registry of assault weapons, grandfathering in the estimated 1 million assault weapons already in private hands.

It was agreed upon exactly a month since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.

"It is well-balanced, it protects the Second Amendment," said Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Long Island.

Cuomo said he wanted quick action to avoid a run on assault weapons and ammunition.

Assemblyman Steve Katz said legislators were being "bullied." He said the bill is "solely for the governor's egotistical, misguided notion."

Republicans argued the bill wouldn't stop mass shootings or other gun crimes but instead turns law-abiding into potential criminals.

Republican Assemblyman James Tedisco said the bill was dangerous because it would give people a "false sense of well-being."

"You are using innocent children killed by a mad man for own political agenda," he said. "You are actually making people less safe."

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