Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

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President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.


Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.


At age 21, Hagel and his brother Tom became the next in the family to serve in the United States Army. They joined the masses of Americans fighting an unfamiliar enemy in Vietnam.


In his book, he describes finding himself "pinned down by Viet Cong rifle fire, badly burned, with my wounded brother in my arms."


"Mr. President, I'm grateful for this opportunity to serve our country again," Hagel said after Obama announced his nomination Monday.


In 1971, Hagel took his first job in politics as chief of staff to Congressman John Y. McCollister, a position he held for six years. After that, he moved to Washington for the first time, where he went on to work for a tire company's government affairs office, the 1982 World's Fair and in 1981, as Ronald Reagan's Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration.








Obama Taps Sen. Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary Watch Video









Sen. Chuck Hagel's Defense Nomination Draws Criticism Watch Video









Obama's Defense Nominee Chuck Hagel Stirs Washington Lawmakers Watch Video





He worked in the private sector for most of the 80s and 90s before his first election to the Senate in 1997.
Since the turn of the century, Hagel has followed a curvy path of political alliances that puts his endorsements all over the map. Hagel's record of picking politically unpopular positions could be a large part of why Obama is naming him for the job, as Slate's Fred Kaplan surmises the next Defense secretary will be faced with tough choices.


In 2000, he was one of few Republican senators to back Sen. John McCain over then-presidential-candidate George W. Bush.


After that election, Hagel fiercely criticized Bush for adding 30,000 surge troops to Iraq, in place of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's proposal of a draw-down and regional diplomacy, which Hagel preferred. When Bush instead announced that more troops would go to Iraq, Hagel co-sponsored a nonbinding resolution to oppose it, along with then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.


"The president says, 'I don't care.' He's not accountable anymore," Hagel told Esquire in June 2007. "He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends how this goes."


Hagel's fierce opposition to America's involvement in Iraq – he called it one of the five monumental blunders of history, on par with the Trojan War – will be of substantial importance as the Obama administration charts our course out of Afghanistan, deciding how to withdraw the last of the troops in 2014 and how much of a presence to leave behind.


Hagel's support for McCain, which was substantial in his competition against Bush, disappeared in the 2008 election. Hagel toured Iraq and Afghanistan with Obama during his first campaign for the presidency.


In October 2008, Hagel's wife, Lillibet, announced her support for the Obama team, after the Washington Post reported on her donations to his campaign. She donated again in 2012.


Before the 2008 election, Hagel wrote: "The next president of the United States will face one of the most difficult national security decisions of modern times: what to do about an Iran that may be at the threshold of acquiring nuclear weapons."






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Historic inauguration on MLK holiday means federal workers lose a quadrennial holiday

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Inauguration Day normally entails an extra paid holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, but no such luck applies this year. That’s because the public swearing-in ceremony coincides with another federal holiday — the Jan. 21 observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.


That means the historic event — the first African American president taking the oath of office on a holiday commemorating one of the nation’s most notable civil rights leaders — will cost the region’s government employees a quadrennial holiday, at least in terms of pay and leave.


The official Inauguration Day takes place every four years on Jan. 20, except when the date falls on a Sunday, as it does this year. When that happens, the federal holiday moves to the following Monday.

Since the observance of King’s birthday falls on the same day, government workers in the D.C. area will lose the extra paid time off they usually receive for the swearing-in ceremony.

Full-time federal employees are entitled to “in lieu of” holidays, meaning they can normally bump the dates forward or back when official holidays fall on non-workdays. But that won’t apply this year because the law doesn’t offer such a provision for the inauguration holiday.

The reason: It’s not necessary.

The government provides a holiday for the swearing-in to relieve some of the logistical problems — such as traffic congestion and security — associated with the event, which draws massive crowds. That’s also why the holiday applies only to federal workers in the D.C. area instead of nationwide.

The extra day off won’t be needed to keep things running smoothly, because the King holiday eliminates the usual weekday crush of commuters and workers.

Some federal employees will have to work Jan. 21 despite the holiday. Agencies can decide which, if any, employees need to work that day.

Workers who have to show up on holidays include law-enforcement officers, firefighters, medical personnel, meteorologists and watch-center operators.

When Inauguration Day falls on a Sunday, the chief justice can administer the oath of office privately that day and publicly the following Monday. That’s how the process will take place this time around.

This year marks the seventh time in U.S. history that the constitutionally mandated inauguration date has fallen on a Sunday, with the last instance occurring during President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, according to a press release from the office of Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Perhaps more notable is the symbolic importance of President Obama taking the oath of office on the King holiday.

“It works so well together,” said Hilary Shelton, senior vice president of policy and advocacy for the NAACP and director of the organization’s D.C. bureau. “It’s a wonderful thing, because so many people that support Dr. King’s legacy and believe in his dream will be coming to this inauguration.”

Shelton said Obama’s efforts on job creation, hate-crime prevention, public education and access to health care align with the mission of the late civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968.

“Many people see the agenda President Obama has worked so hard to push forward as something that supports Dr. King’s vision,” he said. “If we look at the agenda put forward by this administration, we see a direct correlation with what Dr. King worked for and died for.”

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Conservancy workers trained to help make estates safer

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SINGAPORE: More conservancy workers have been trained to help make the estates safer.

About 270 workers in the the east went through a half-day training workshop, named "Workers-on-Watch".

They were taught how to look out for suspicious characters and activities.

The workshop was organised by Bedok Police Division, with support from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Customs and National Crime Prevention Council.

The programme started in 2008, with 30 workers at East Coast Town Council and has been expanded to four more town councils - Tampines, Marine Parade, Pasir Ris-Punggol and Moulmein-Kallang.

- CNA/xq



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Pastor Accused of Killing Wives Faces Trial

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Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Pastor Arthur Schirmer, who is accused of killing his second wife and then staging a car accident to hide it.


Schirmer, 64, also faces a second trial at a later date for the death of his first wife. He has said he is innocent of all charges.


In 2008, the pastor and his wife, Betty, were involved in what appeared at the time to be a car crash. Schirmer told police at the time that he had been driving 55 mph and swerved to miss a deer, causing him to drive off the road, according to a police affidavit obtained by ABC News.


Schirmer also said at the time that his wife's head had come forward and struck the windshield, according to the affidavit. Betty died a day later and her body was cremated at the request of Schirmer.


It wasn't until a grisly suicide in 2010 inside Schirmer's office that authorities decided to revisit the case of Betty Schirmer's death and arrest the pastor.


The man who broke in and shot himself at the desk in Schirmer's office at the Reeders United Methodist Church, Joseph Mustante, was the husband of the pastor's secretary, Cynthia Mustante, Poconos Township Police Detective James Wagner said.






Pocono Record, David Kidwell/AP Photo











Mustante's suicide was prompted by the discovery that his wife and the pastor had apparently been having an affair, Wagner said. He was alone at the time of his death.


Investigators looking into the suicide say that several church parishioners had concerns about the deaths of Schirmer's two wives.


"That suicide eventually exposed the affair publicly and subsequent to that, questions arose about the loss of [Schirmer's] wives and his character became questionable," Wagner said.


Relaunching the investigation into the two deaths, Wagner said he quickly suspected that "foul play existed, and the car crash was staged," allegedly, by Schirmer. Wagner said investigators also believed there was something "suspicious" about the first wife's death, a marriage that investigators had not known about prior to the suicide.

Investigators Look Into Deaths of Rev. Arthur Schirmer's Wives



Schirmer's first wife, Jewel, died in April 1999 from a traumatic brain injury after she purportedly fell down a flight of stairs in Lebanon, Pa., Wagner said.


Lebanon is about 100 miles southwest of Reeders, where Schrimer later moved with his second wife.


At the time of Jewel's death, Wagner said, a relative told police that he suspected Schirmer may have had a hand in his wife's death but that the investigation was "never completed."


On Dec. 11, 2012 -- more than 13 years after Jewel died, a Lebanon County judge ruled Schirmer would be tried for her murder.


When investigators looked at the death of Betty Schirmer, they saw inconsistencies, Wagner said.


"There was no airbag deployment and it simply looked like a car that had driven off the road at a very low speed," Wagner said. "It didn't match the injuries to [Betty's head].


"I know there are people out there who probably know him and feel like there is absolutely no way he would be capable of doing this," Wagner of Schirmer. "But they clearly don't know him."



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After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

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HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here.


The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted, painful negotiations in Washington over taxes and spending. Obama was eager to get away from it all and enjoy a few final days of rest before the next round of legislative battles begins.


“I think Hawaii for him is a place where he gets to recharge both physically and emotionally. The schedule is one that’s relaxing. The climate is warm like he likes it. And he’s surrounded constantly by family and the friends he grew up with,” said Robert Gibbs, Obama’s former press secretary and a longtime adviser. “It’s the perfect elixir for having had a long and busy year in national politics.”

The president was scheduled to leave Hawaii late Saturday, returning to Washington on Sunday a little before noon. He will have spent a total of nine days here, over two separate trips, and roughly 40 hours in the air going back and forth.

“Like any parent, the president enjoyed spending as much time with his family over the holidays as he could,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

The president first flew here Dec. 21, urging lawmakers to drink some eggnog and cool off over the Christmas holiday. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, rented a house overlooking the beach in the town of Kailua, on the east side of Oahu, Hawaii’s most-populous island, where Obama was born and spent much of his youth.

As has become his custom, Obama spent his time eating at Hawaii hot spots with family and friends, golfing with buddies for six-hour stretches and hanging out at home and around Oahu with his girls. He spent his first night in Hawaii out until 11:30, dining at Morimoto Restaurant Waikiki, owned by Masaharu Morimoto of “Iron Chef” fame.

The next day began with a memorial service for Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), whom Obama had previously called his “earliest political inspiration.” Following the service, which was at a veterans cemetery known as the Punchbowl, for the topographical imprint left by volcanic eruptions tens of thousands of years ago, Obama and his wife walked about a half-mile southeast to visit the grave of his grandfather Stanley Dunham, who served in World War II.

Obama went for a hike with his family later that day and then spent part of Dec. 24 with his family at the beach. Many of the president’s activities were confined to the Marine Corps base here, about a 10-minute drive from his rental home.

The Obamas’ Christmas activities are an established routine. On Christmas Eve, Obama calls members of the armed forces and his wife calls children tracking Santa’s whereabouts, before the family sits down for dinner. The next morning, they open Christmas gifts, eat breakfast and sing carols. Later in the day, the president and his wife meet with a few hundred service members at the Marine Corps base.

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Twin suicide attack at Afghan tribal meeting: officials

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KANDAHAR: Two suicide bombers struck inside a meeting of community leaders in the southern Afghan town of Spin Boldak on Sunday, causing an unknown number of casualties, local officials said.

"There has been a twin suicide bombing in the Spin Boldak council building. The blasts were inside the hall during a meeting of tribal elders," Jawed Faisal, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, told AFP.

"There are casualties but we don't have the numbers at this time."

Witnesses said that two explosions were heard, followed by small arms fire in Spin Boldak, a town in the restive Kandahar province close to the border with Pakistan.

The council building was badly damaged and some people were feared trapped in the rubble.

"Every Sunday the local shura (council) meet at the administrative building, that is where the attack happened," said Mohammad Ali, the border police chief in Spin Boldak, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Kandahar city.

"Two suicide attackers detonated themselves during the meeting."

- AFP/xq



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Indian Air Force to deploy helicopter squadron near Indo-Pak border

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JODHPUR: IAF Chief Air Marshal N A K Browne will inaugurate the medium-lift helicopter complex for the new squadron of its latest Mi-17 V5 helicopters at Phalodi airbase near the Indo-Pak border here on Monday.

This may be seen as Indian Air Force strengthening its presence along the Pakistan border by deploying the squadron, comprising about 15 aircraft.

The helicopters can undertake all weather, day and night operations in any kind of terrain, defence spokesperson Col S D Goswami said.

"Mi-17 V5 falls under the armed helicopter category, with substantial and effective firepower with the latest and more powerful engines that will greatly enhance its payload carriage capability at higher altitudes," he said.

The helicopter is an upgrade of Mi-17 in the medium-lift category and is equipped with sophisticated avionics and on-board navigation systems.

"It has on-board weather radar, state-of-the art autopilot and is equipped with the latest generation night vision devices. With these, the helicopter can undertake all- weather, day-night operations in any kind of terrain," he said.

Phalodi airbase, located between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, was inaugurated in 2010 to undertake all types of air defence operations in the western sector.

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Gun Show Near Newtown Goes on Despite Anger

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A little more than 40 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where last month 20 first graders and six staff members were massacred, gun dealers and collectors alike ignored calls to cancel a gun show, and gathered for business in Stamford, Conn.


Four other gun shows with an hour of Newtown, Conn., recently cancelled their events in the wake of the shootings, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza broke in to the elementary school with a semi-automatic assault rifle and three other guns.


The organizers in Stamford emphasized their show only displayed antique and collectible guns, not military style assault weapons like the one used by Lanza in Sandy Hook.


Still, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia had called for the show to close its doors, calling it "insensitive" to hold so close to the murders.


Gun show participant Sandy Batchelor said he wasn't sure about whether going ahead with the show was "insensitive," but said the shooter should be blamed, not the weapons he used.


"I don't have a solid opinion on [whether it is insensitive]," Batchelor said. "I'm not for or against it. I would defend it by saying it wasnt the gun."


In nearby Waterbury, the community cancelled a show scheduled for this weekend.


"I felt that the timing of the gun show so close to that tragic event would be in bad taste," Waterbury Police Chief Chief Michael J. Gugliotti said.












National Rifle Association News Conference Interrupted by Protesters Watch Video





Gugliotti has halted permits for gun shows, saying he was concerned about firearms changing hands that might one day be used in a mass shooting.


Across the state line in White Plains, N.Y, Executive Rob Astorino also canceled a show, three years after ending a had that had been in place since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado. He said he felt the show would be inappropriate now.


But across the country, farther away from Connecticut, attendance at gun shows is spiking, and some stores report they can hardly keep weapons on their shelves with some buyers fearful of that the federal government will soon increase restrictions on gun sales and possibly ban assault weapons altogether.


"We sold 50-some rifles in days," said Jonathan O'Connor, store manager of Gun Envy in Minnesota.


President Obama said after the Sandy Hook shooting that addressing gun violence would be one of his priorities and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she would introduce an assault weapons ban this month.


But it is not just traditional advocates of gun control that have said their need to be changes in gun laws since the horrific school shooting.


Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat but a long-time opponent of gun control who like Hutchison has received an A rating from the NRA, have both come out in support of strengthening gun laws.


In Stamford, gun dealer Stuart English said participants at the gun show there are doing nothing wrong.


"I have to make a living. Life goes on," gun dealer Stuart English said.


ABC News asked English, what he thought about the mayor of Stamford calling the show "insensitive."


"He's wrong," English said. "This is a private thing he shouldn't be expressing his opinion on."


If you have a comment on this story or have a story idea, you can tweet this correspondent @greenblattmark.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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