Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

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Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast Guard

Waves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.

The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel and the 150,000 gallons (568,000 liters) of diesel fuel and lubricants on board. The Kulluk came to rest just east of Sitkalidak Island (map), an uninhabited but ecologically and culturally rich site north of Ocean Bay, after a four-day odyssey, during which it broke free of its tow ships and its 18-member crew had to be rescued by helicopter.

The U.S. Coast Guard, state, local, and industry officials have joined in an effort involving nearly 600 people to gain control of the rig, one of two that Shell used for its landmark Arctic oil-drilling effort last summer. "This must be considered once of the largest marine-response efforts conducted in Alaska in many years," said Steve Russell, of Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation.

The 266-foot (81-meter) rig now is beached off one of the larger islands in the Kodiak archipelago, a land of forest, glaciers, and streams about 300 miles (482 kilometers) south of Anchorage. The American Land Conservancy says that Sitkalidak Island's highly irregular coastline traps abundant food sources upwelling from the central Gulf of Alaska, attracting large numbers of seabirds and marine mammals. The largest flock of common murres ever recorded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in Sitkalidak Strait, which separates the island from Kodiak. Sitkalidak also has 16 wild salmon rivers and archaeological sites tied to the Alutiiq native peoples dating back more than 7,000 years.

Shell incident commander Susan Childs said Monday night that the company's wildlife management team had started to assess the potential impact of a spill, and would be dispatched to the site when the weather permitted. She said the Kulluk's fuel tanks were in the center of the vessel, encased in heavy steel. "The Kulluk is a pretty sturdy vessel," she said. " It just remains to be seen how long it's on the shoreline and how long the weather is severe."

—Marianne Lavelle

*Shell is sponsor of National Geographic's Great Energy Challenge initiative. National Geographic maintains editorial autonomy.

Published January 2, 2013

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Obama Signs 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill With Autopen

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Jan 3, 2013 12:53am







ap obama fiscal cliff press Conference thg 130101 wblog Obama Signs Fiscal Cliff Bill With Autopen

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo


HONOLULU, Hawaii — President Obama has signed the “fiscal cliff” legislation into law via autopen from Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family.


The bill to avert the “fiscal cliff” arrived at the White House late this afternoon and it was immediately processed, according to a senior White House official. A copy was delivered to the president in Hawaii for review. He then directed the bill to be signed by autopen back in Washington, D.C.


The Bush administration deemed in 2005 that the use of the autopen is constitutional, although President George W. Bush never used the mechanical device to replicate his signature on a bill.


The office of legal counsel found at the time that Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution allows the president to use the autopen to sign legislation, stating “the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill to sign it.”


Obama has used the autopen twice in the past to sign legislation, both times while he was overseas.


Use of the autopen has been controversial.  Conservative groups alleged last summer that Obama used an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of Navy SEALs killed in a Chinook crash in Afghanistan — a charge the White House disputed flatly as false.


In 2004, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was criticized for using an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of fallen troops.


And in 1992 then-Vice President Dan Quayle even got into some hot water over his use of the autopen on official correspondence during an appearance on “This Week with David Brinkley.”


Obama, who arrived back in Hawaii early Wednesday morning to continue his family vacation, spent the afternoon golfing with friends at the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay.


Obama is slated to remain in Hawaii through Saturday.


ABC News’ Jonathan Karl contributed to this report



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Tennis: Davis Cup row brews in India

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CHENNAI, India: Indian tennis was hit by controversy on Wednesday over reports that top players may boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against South Korea if a slew of demands were not met.

The group of players, headed by Somdev Devvarman, want a better distribution of the Davis Cup prize money, a change in the support staff and involvement in the choice of venues for ties.

The All-India Tennis Association (AITA) and the players currently have a 50-50 share of the prize money sent by the world governing body from revenues earned from the tournament.

The players also wanted non-playing captain Shiv Misra and national coach Nandan Bal to be replaced and a full-time physiotherapist be inducted in the squad.

Both the AITA and Devvarman played down a report in Wednesday's Hindustan Times that the players could stay away from the Cup tie against the Koreans if their demands were ignored.

The Asia-Oceania group one tie in New Delhi from February 1-3 will take the winners into the play-offs for next year's elite world group.

"I don't want to point fingers at anyone or make an alarming statement," said Devvarman, who is taking part in the ongoing ATP Chennai Open.

"You will probably hear more about it in the days to come."

An AITA official, who did not want to be named, accepted the players had made suggestions which will be discussed before the Cup squad is named around January 11.

"It's not as serious an issue as is being made out," the official told AFP. "We have already spoken to the players and will arrive at an agreement soon."

Among those players supporting Devvarman' stance are senior players Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, but former captain Leander Paes is not part of the group.

Trouble had also erupted ahead of the London Olympics last year when both Bopanna and Bhupathi declined to partner Paes at the Games for what they said were personal and professional reasons.

The controversy started after the AITA initially named the veteran duo of Bhupathi and Paes for the doubles, even though Bhupathi wanted to play with his then partner Bopanna.

The AITA were later forced to pick two doubles teams for the Olympics, with Paes pairing with lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan, and Bhupathi partnering Bopanna.

Both pairs fell in early rounds at the Games.

Devvarman, who was India's top player with a ranking of 62 in mid-2011, fell to 663 by the end of last year when he was sidelined with a shoulder injury for almost seven months.

The 27-year-old proved he was fit again as he defeated the 106th-ranked Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday.

- AFP/de



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Cold wave hits normal life in Punjab, Haryana

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CHANDIGARH: Normal life was thrown out of gear as intense cold conditions prevailed in most parts of Punjab and Haryana with mercury dropping by up to three notches below normal in the two states.

Due to dense fog and mist which resulted in low visibility, rail, road and air traffic remained disrupted as many trains and flights were either rescheduled or cancelled for various destinations.

People will not get any respite from icy winds for the time being as the MeT department in its forecast said cold wave will continue for next 2 to 3 days and maximum temperature will remain well below 16 degrees Celsius in plain areas of Punjab and Haryana.

"Current weather conditions will continue to prevail for next 2-3 days in Punjab and Haryana," Chandigarh MeT Department, Director, Surinder Pal said today.

Fog and mist will also occur during next 24 hours, the MeT Department said.

The MeT Department has also warned of ground frost that may occur at a few places in both states.

Narnaul in Haryana remained the coldest place in plains of both states with minimum at 2.4 deg C, down by three notches below normal.

Bhiwani and Hisar had a low of 3.6 deg C and 4 deg C respectively, while Ambala and Karnal shivered at 5.5 deg C and 5 deg C, down by two notches below normal.

Union Territory of Chandigarh had a low of 4.2 deg C, dipping by a degree below normal.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded minimum temperature of 7.2 deg C, up by 4 degrees above normal, while Ludhiana and Patiala had a low of 7 deg C and 5.5 deg C respectively.

The maximum temperature in Punjab and Haryana has also observed sharp drop with mercury at most of the places in two states dropping by up to whopping 11 notches below normal.

On Tuesday, Patiala had a maximum of 9.5 deg C, down by 11 degrees below normal. Similarly Chandigarh and Ambala had a maximum of 11.3 deg C and 10.8 deg C.

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

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Obama Hails 'Cliff' Deal, Warns of Next Fiscal Fight

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Minutes after the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year, President Obama praised party leaders and wasted little time turning to the next fiscal fight.


"This is one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy for everybody," Obama said.


Obama lamented that earlier attempts at a much larger fiscal deal that would have cut spending and dealt with entitlement reforms failed. He said he hoped future debates would be done with "a little less drama, a little less brinksmanship, and not scare folks quite as much."


But Obama drew a line in the sand on the debt ceiling, which is set to be reached by March.


"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether they should pay the bills for what they've racked up," Obama said. "We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred."


An hour after his remarks, Obama boarded Air Force One to return to his planned Hawaiian holiday vacation, reuniting with his family, who have been vacationing there since just before Christmas.






AP Photo/Charles Dharapak















'Fiscal Cliff' Negotiations: Congress Reaches Agreement Watch Video





House Republicans agreed to the up-or-down vote Tuesday evening, despite earlier talk of trying to amend the Senate bill with more spending cuts before taking a vote. The bill delays for two months tough decisions about automatic spending cuts that were set to kick in Wednesday.


A majority of the Republicans in the GOP-majority House voted against the fiscal cliff deal. About twice as many Democrats voted in favor of the deal compared to Republicans. One hundred fifty-one Republicans joined 16 Democrats to vote against the deal, while 172 Democrats carried the vote along with 85 Republicans.


The Senate passed the same bill by an 89-8 vote in the wee hours of New Year's Day. If House Republicans had tweaked the legislation, there would have been no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in Thursday.


The vote split Republican leaders in the House. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, voted yes, and so did the GOP's 2012 vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.


But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., the No. 2 Republican in the House, voted no. It was his opposition that had made passage of the bill seem unlikely earlier in the day.


The deal does little to address the nation's long-term debt woes and does not entirely solve the problem of the "fiscal cliff."


Indeed, the last-minute compromise -- far short from a so-called grand bargain on deficit reduction -- sets up a new showdown on the same spending cuts in two months amplified by a brewing fight on how to raise the debt ceiling beyond $16.4 trillion. That new fiscal battle has the potential to eclipse the "fiscal cliff" in short order.


"Now the focus turns to spending," said Boehner in a statement after the vote. "The American people re-elected a Republican majority in the House, and we will use it in 2013 to hold the president accountable for the 'balanced' approach he promised, meaning significant spending cuts and reforms to the entitlement programs that are driving our country deeper and deeper into debt."


Republicans hope that allowing the fiscal cliff compromise, which raised taxes without an equal amount of spending cuts, will settle the issue of tax rates for the coming debates on spending.






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Senate approves deal to avoid worst of ‘fiscal cliff’

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The Senate approved a bipartisan agreement early Tuesday morning to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades, fulfilling President Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and avoiding the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” The agreement, brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), passed 89 to 8 in a highly unusual New Year’s morning vote. It now heads to the House, where leaders have not guaranteed passage but top officials believe it could win passage in the next few days.


The agreement primarily targets taxpayers who earn more than $450,000 per year, raising their rates for wages and investment profits. At the same time, the deal would protect more than 100 million households earning less than $250,000 a year from income tax increases scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.


The deal came together barely three hours before the midnight deadline, after negotiators cleared two final hurdles involving the estate tax and automatic spending cuts set to affect the Pentagon and other federal agencies this week.

Republicans gave in on the spending cuts, known as sequestration, by agreeing to a two-month delay in budget reductions that would be paid for in part with new tax revenue, a condition they had resisted. And the White House made a major concession on the estate tax, agreeing to terms that would permit estates worth as much as $15 million to escape taxation by the end of the decade, Democrats said.

As Biden rushed to the Capitol to brief Senate Democrats on the deal, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) laid plans for a vote shortly after midnight, when taxes were set to rise for virtually every American.

“I think we’ll get a very good vote tonight,” a beaming Biden said as he emerged from the meeting with Democrats after nearly two hours. “But happy new year and I’ll see you all maybe tomorrow.”

About three hours later, just before 2 a.m., the gavel finally fell on a sweeping bipartisan vote designed to send a signal to the more unstable House that passage was imperative. Just three Democrats and five Republicans opposed the measure. The moment served as a rare bipartisan coda to what has been one of the most rancorous, partisan Congresses in recent history, as the 11 retiring senators received hugs and kisses from senators, bidding what is likely a final farewell as colleagues.

Now the measure heads to the House, where Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) pledged to bring it to a vote in the coming days.

Senior aides predicted the measure would pass the House with bipartisan support. But Boehner’s decision to delay the vote meant the nation would tumble over the cliff at least briefly.

In addition to dealing with the fiscal crisis, the measure would extend federal farm policies through September, averting an estimated doubling of milk prices. The deal also nixed a set pay raise for members of Congress.

During a midday event at the White House, Obama praised the emerging agreement even though it would raise only about $600 billion over the next decade by White House estimates — far less than the $1.6 trillion the president had initially sought to extract from the nation’s richest households.

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Japan's Sharp considering US$1.15b public offering: report

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TOKYO: Embattled Japanese electronics firm Sharp is considering making a public share offering worth more than 100 billion yen ($1.15 billion) early this year, a report said Tuesday.

The public offering could take place in the spring with the firm hoping to use the funds to strengthen its mainstay liquid crystal display (LCD) business and improve its creditworthiness, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.

Sharp has started talks with major creditor banks and wants to include the capital increase scheme in a mid-term business plan to be announced as early as February, the mass-circulation daily said without naming its sources.

The cash-strapped company said in December it had struck a 9.9-billion-yen capital injection deal with US-based chipmaker Qualcomm as it moves to repair its tattered balance sheet.

The Qualcomm deal will see the pair jointly develop energy-efficient LCD panels for smartphones using the Japanese firm's technology, with the US company initially getting about 2.64 per cent of Sharp's stock.

Japan's battered electronics sector has suffered from a myriad of problems including a high yen, slowing demand in key export markets, fierce overseas competition and strategic mistakes that left its finances in ruins.

Sharp has suffered a series of credit rating downgrades and warned it expects to lose about $5.6 billion in the fiscal year to March 2013.

The Osaka-based maker of Aquos-brand electronics has announced thousands of job losses while cutting wages for employees -- from the factory floor to the boardroom -- and selling real estate to shore up its balance sheet.

Sharp said last year it had reached a capital injection deal worth about $800 million with Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision, which makes Apple gadgets in China, but the deal stalled as Sharp's share price nosedived.

-AFP/ac



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Indian Air Force to airlift 370 stranded passengers between Jammu, Leh

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JAMMU: Indian Air Force will today airlift 370 passengers stranded between winter capital city Jammu and Leh belt of Ladakh region, officials said.

"IAF would be airlifting 370 stranded people between Jammu and Leh today," PRO, ministry of defence, S N Acharya told PTI.

IL-76 would ferry 120 people, mostly belonging to Kargil district of Ladakh region, from Jammu to Leh and 250 people from Leh to Jammu, Acharya said.

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

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