Lawmaker\'s sarcastic Viagra proposal protests abortion bills

Ohio state Rep. Nina Turner (OhioSenate.gov)Democratic Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner is the third female lawmaker to introduce a bill that would limit men's access to Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs to make a statement about the dozens of anti-abortion bills that have passed statehouses around the country over the last year.

Turner is opposed to a proposed bill that would prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. The Dayton Daily News reports that Turner's bill would mandate that men seeking Viagra be "tested for heart problems, receive counseling about possible side effects and receive information about 'pursuing celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice.'"

Turner said on MSNBC Monday that the bill is about showing "men as much love in the reproductive health arena as they have shown us over the years. My Senate Bill 307 is all about the love and making sure we look out for men's sexual health."

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, the heartbeat bill's sponsor, told the Dayton Daily News that the comparison between Viagra and abortions isn't valid.

Turner is one of several female Democratic state lawmakers who are wielding the power of sarcasm to protest a wave of anti-abortion legislation.

In January, Virginia state Sen. Janet Howell introduced an amendment to the state's controversial ultrasound bill, which required women seeking abortions to first undergo a vaginal ultrasound. The amendment, which failed, said that all men seeking Viagra would have to first get a rectal exam. The ultrasound bill passed after Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell successfully requested that the vaginal ultrasound requirement be removed. Women seeking abortions will still have to receive an external ultrasound under the new bill.

Earlier this month, Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy introduced an amendment to another bill that would require women to get ultrasounds before being allowed to get abortions. The amendment mandated that men seeking Viagra watch a graphic video about the drug's potential side effects. "If they are serious about us not being able to make our own health care decisions, then I'm just as serious about them not being able to make theirs," she said.

Missouri state Rep. Stacey Newman, a Democrat, introduced legislation that would allow men to get vasectomies only if their life depended upon the procedure, which was similar to Georgia state Rep. Yasmin Neal's bill. "In determining whether a vasectomy is necessary, no regard shall be made to the desire of a man to father children, his economic situation, his age, the number of children he is currently responsible for, or any danger to his wife or partner in the event a child is conceived," the tongue-in-cheek Missouri bill reads.

According to the abortion rights group the Guttmacher Institute, a record-breaking 92 new abortion-restricting laws were passed in 2011. Two of those laws mandated that women have ultrasounds and look at the images before being allowed to get an abortion.

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\'Hello, this is Chuck Norris\': Gingrich unleashes robocalls in South

The Army staff sergeant who allegedly went on a rampage and killed 16 Afghans as they slept in their homes had a traumatic brain injury at one point and had problems at home after his last deployment, officials told ABC News.

But the soldier, who is based at Fort Lewis in Washington, was considered fit for combat duty and deployed to Afghanistan in December, officials said.

Details about the staff sergeant, who has not been identified, emerged as the Taliban vowed revenge against "sick-minded American savages" after the mass killing.

What has trickled about the suspect is that he was 38, on his fourth combat deployment in 10 years, the first three in Iraq. He was on his first tour in Afghanistan, where he'd been since December.

When the massacre took place he was assigned to Camp Belambay, a remote combat outpost where his job was to be protection for Special Operations Forces who were creating local militias. He was not a member of the special forces unit.

An official told ABC News that the soldier has suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past, either from hitting his head on the hatch of a vehicle or in a car accident. He went through the advanced TBI treatment at Fort Lewis and was deemed to be fine.

He also underwent mental health screening necessary to become a sniper and passed in 2008. He had routine behavioral health screening after that and was cleared, the official said.

When the soldier returned from his last deployment in Iraq he had difficulty reintegrating, including marital problems, the source told ABC News, . But officials concluded that he had worked through those issues before deploying to Afghanistan.

The shooting occurred at 3 a.m. in three houses in two villages in the Panjway district of southern Kandahar province, an area that was once a Taliban safe haven but has recently become more safe after a surge of troops in 2009.

The soldier left the base in the middle of the night and wore night-vision goggles during the alleged rampage, according to a source.

The first village was more than a mile south of the base. While there, he allegedly killed four people in the first house. In the second house, he allegedly killed 11 family members -- four girls, four boys and three adults.

He then walked back to another village past his base where he allegedly killed one more person, according to a member of the Afghan investigation team and ABC News' interviews with villagers.

All of the victims were shot in their homes, according to villagers and the Afghan president's office.

Video from the scene show blood-splattered floors and walls inside a villagers home and blood-soaked bodies of victims, including the elderly and young children, wrapped in blankets and placed in the backseat of a van. Some of the bodies appear to have been burned.

John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said officials "don't know what his [soldier's] motivation was. We are looking into that."

After the alleged shooting spree, it's believed the soldier returned to the base on his own and calmly turned himself in. He remains in NATO custody. One source told ABC News that the soldier had "lawyered up" and declined to talk.

Because of the soldier's role as supporting security for the special operations forces, he is not believed to have known the victims. But it's not clear whether the alleged attack was spontaneous and unprovoked.

Shooting in Afghanistan

The Taliban vowed revenge against "sick-minded American savages" after the mass killing.

The group said it would "take revenge from the invaders and the savage murderers for every single martyr," according to a statement posted on its website, the Times of London reported.

The fear now is that this latest incident could set off a fresh wave of violence.

The attack comes just as outrage stemming from burning of several Korans by members of the U.S. military seemed to be calming down.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has warned foreigners to keep a low profile.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called it "an assassination, one that cannot be forgiven."

The Afghan parliament has passed a resolution in protest of the killings, and asked for a public trial of the U.S. soldier.

U.S. officials were quick to condemn the attack Sunday.

"I offer my profound regret and deepest condolences to the victims and their families," Gen. John Allen, head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

"This deeply appalling incident in no way represents the values of ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] and coalition troops or the abiding respect we feel for the Afghan people."

NATO has launched its own investigation, and Karzai has sent his delegation to Kandahar for its own inquiry.

The White House said Sunday that Obama called "President Karzai to express his shock and sadness at the reported killing and wounding of Afghan civilians. President Obama extended his condolences to the people of Afghanistan, and made clear his Administration's commitment to establish the facts as quickly as possible and to hold fully accountable anyone responsible. The president reaffirmed our deep respect for the Afghan people and the bonds between our two countries."

ABC News Luis Martinez and Enjoli Francis contributed to this report

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Liberal groups decry corporate political spending

A coalition of groups on the political left, including MoveOn.org, the Service Employees International Union and Occupy Wall Street, says it's time to rein in corporate political spending.

"We are everywhere and we are watching," Kate Coyne-McCoy of the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending warned corporations at a Monday news conference, adding, "You've been served!"

The groups claim the trouble stems directly from the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In that 5-4 opinion, the court recognized the First Amendment rights of organizations to exercise free speech just as people do. That includes spending on political speech.

Common Cause President and CEO Bob Edgar, who also is a former Democratic congressman, says corporations are now abusing the system.

"We the people will not stand idly by while the country's major corporations use their massive wealth to buy our democracy," Edgar vowed Monday. Leaders of the coalition say all options "are on the table." That includes boycotts, petitions, legal action and even a $25,000 reward for information regarding certain corporate political expenditures.Skeptics of the plan include Michael Franc, vice president of government studies at the Heritage Foundation, who said the Monday news conference was "an exercise in hypocrisy."

 Franc, along with many others, notes that unions are some of the biggest political spenders in the United States.

"It's conceivable that what the union movement does on behalf of the Democratic Party would approach somewhere between a half a billion and a billion dollars each election cycle," Franc said.

Franc thinks unions expect payback from the candidates they support and aren't shy about admitting that publicly. He points to the Obama administration's attempt, via the National Labor Relations Board, to block construction of a Boeing plant in right-to-work South Carolina as a prime example.

Ethan Rome, executive director of HealthCare for America Now, says the missions of corporations and unions are very different. Corporations are about maximizing profits, while unions are designed to give workers a voice in the workplace and in politics, Rome said.

Rome also said corporations outspent unions 20 to 1 in so-called soft money during the last election cycle. Business leaders dispute that number.

Statistics from 2008 show that 54 percent of political expenditures by businesses went to Republicans. As for union spending during that same cycle, 92 percemt went to Democrats. In 2012, union leaders say they will spend a great deal of resources focusing not only on President Obama's re-election, but also state leaders and initiatives aimed at limiting union power.

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Family Fights to Keep Daughter\'s Killer in Jail

The family of a young New Jersey woman raped and murdered in 1976 is fighting to keep her killer behind bars, after a quirk in state law has allowed him to “slip through the cracks” and appear before a parole board next month.

Kim Montelaro was 20 years old when she was abducted at knifepoint from a popular shopping mall and forced into woods near the Pine Lake Swim Club in Washington Township, N.J., where she was left to die after being raped and stabbed six times in her chest.

Her killer, Christopher Righetti, a then-16-year-old high school student from nearby River Vale, N.J., was convicted of murder in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison, though he has appeared before a parole board five times since 1991.

In his last hearing before the board in 2009, Righetti was declared ineligible for parole until 2022. But two bills passed in 2010, during a lame-duck session of the New Jersey state legislature, allowed for prisoners, such as Righetti, to receive a new parole hearing every three years. The state legislature later repealed the law, but the 52-year-old Righetti is still eligible to appear before the 15-member board as early as next month, three years after his last hearing, according to an official with the New Jersey State Parole Board.

“He slipped through the cracks,” the woman's father, Tony Montelaro, told FoxNews.com from his home in Fort Myers, Fla.

Montelaro, who in 2009 traveled with his wife to the parole hearing in Trenton, has fought to keep Righetti â€" a prison powerlifter who officials claim tattooed the word “animal” on his body â€" from ever being released.

“He's a monster and there's no question he would do it again,” Montelaro said.

“Kim was beautiful. She smiled a lot, she was smart, she was personable. She would always fight for the underdog,” he said of his daughter, an honors student at the University of Rhode Island who was planning to attend law school. “We'll never know what she could have become because her life was taken away from her for no reason,” he said.

Police say Montelaro was abducted on Aug. 31, 1976, as she got into her car parked outside the Paramus Park mall in Paramus, N.J., in broad daylight.

Township of Washington Police Chief Randy Ciocco, who was a young officer on patrol the day she disappeared, recalled spotting a suspicious vehicle parked at the Pine Lake Swim Club shortly before 3 p.m.

“I was turning around my car to check it out,” Ciocco said, “when I got a theft call,” forcing him to leave the scene. When Ciocco returned later that day, the car â€" later determined to be Montelaro's â€" was gone.

Ciocco said a group of boys playing in woods near the swimming hole discovered Montelaro's bloodied body the next day.

“There was every indication that she did not die right away,” said Ciocoo, who added that the knife used to kill Montelaro was later found in the mud.

New Jersey State Rep. Robert Schroeder, among other state and local lawmakers, is circulating a petition throughout northern New Jersey to keep Righetti behind bars.

“In my opinion, he will not be granted parole, but anything is possible and it's unfortunate that we have to put the Monteleros through this every couple of years,” Schroeder,  a longtime resident of Washington Township, told FoxNews.com.

“It was a horrendous crime that affected the entire community,” he said. “He was an animal then and he's an animal now.”

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US: No Plan to Rush Afghan Exit

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan will not change in the wake of an American soldier's alleged attack on Afghan civilians, U.S. officials said Monday amid concerns that the action of a sole shooter could frustrate military efforts, and already prompted efforts to tamp down Afghan anger before it turns to violence.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to reporters at the United Nations on Monday, said the act was "terrible, awful -- I can't even imagine the impact on the families who were subject to this attack and the loss of children in this terrible incident."

But she said while a full investigation is underway and a suspect is in custody, "this terrible incident does not change our steadfast dedication to protecting the Afghan people and to doing everything we can to help build a strong and stable Afghanistan."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. and its NATO allies are still on course to hand over security control to the Afghans at the end of 2014. 

The pace of withdrawal will depend on a variety of factors, he said, without indicating whether the weekend incident was among those that would be considered. Carney said President Obama's objective remains focused on "disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al Qaeda."

"There is one reason why U.S. forces were sent to Afghanistan, and that is because the United States was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, in a plot that was hatched in Afghanistan by Al Qaeda leaders. That remains his objective. And that has not changed," Carney said.

Carney also would not say whether Obama believes the shooting increases security risks for Americans in Afghanistan. On Sunday, the president called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to express condolences and pledge a thorough investigation.

But Afghanistan's parliament was not appeased, and on Monday called for a stop to negotiations with the U.S. on a strategic partnership until the suspect faces justice. 

"The Afghan Parliament issued a resolution today against the butcherly action of the American military against the civilians, and asked the Afghanistan government that the perpetrator of this act should go to court inside Afghanistan," said Shakiba Hashimi, an Afghan member of parliament for the Kandahar province where the shooting took place.

That's not going to happen, U.S. officials say. But the 38-year-old alleged shooter, an Army staff sergeant serving his first tour in Afghanistan after three tours in Iraq, will face justice if he's found responsible for the Sunday morning shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 16 people, including nine children and three women. Reports revealed that some of those bodies were charred. 

The sergeant, whose name won't be released until charges are brought, is based out of Fort Lewis McChord in Washington state. It is the same base that served as home to the Army's First Corps headquarters and the 5th Stryker Brigade, from which a kill team of five U.S. soldiers were found guilty of killing civilians and collecting body parts as trophies.

The soldier, who was working with Green Berets to train local police, had reportedly been assigned to the Kandahar province less than six weeks ago.

American troops are on high alert in Afghanistan, as is the Afghan National Security Forces after the Taliban, which has its stronghold in the town where the shootings occurred, pledged revenge. 

The attack comes as Americans appear increasingly frustrated with the decade-long war, and new polling shows traditionally supportive Republicans as tired of the war as Democrats who've long opposed the U.S. presence there. An ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 60 percent of Americans say the war wasn't worth fighting.

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said he is tired of the war too, but the actions of one rogue soldier should not derail the mission to defeat Al Qaeda. 

"We got to be sure an environment never exists where they can regroup and plan more attacks," he said.

The shootings further complicate the goal to have a partnership agreement with the Afghanistan government by May, when a NATO summit convenes in Chicago. But it has also highlighted the president's relative silence about the goals in Afghanistan.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon agreed that the progress in Afghanistan should not be sidetracked by the weekend's turn of events, but said the president needs to stand up more with a vision..

"Despite what has been a tragic few weeks in Afghanistan, we have vital interests there, and a strategy that can work if our commanders are given the resources and time they need," McKeon, R-Calif., said.

"Now is not the time to abandon hope and freedom's cause, but to persevere. It has been too long since our men and women in uniform, their families, and the American people have heard the president rally the American people to this cause and demonstrate the will to win. With 90,000 men and women serving nobly in harm's way, I believe the commander-in-chief should articulate his support for the mission soon."

Asked about McKeon's argument that President George W. Bush gave more than 40 speeches about Iraq to try to educate the country about the mission while Obama has given just three speeches about Afghanistan, Carney said he "will leave the irony of the comparative there for others to assess."

Carney said the president is focused on national security and ensuring "that every bit of effort expended by American men and women in uniform and our civilian personnel over there is aimed at our strategic objective."

"It is thanks to President Obama that we refocused our strategy on the reason why we were there to begin with, and it is because of that, that we are in the process of drawing down forces in Afghanistan, and in the process of transferring responsibility for security to Afghan security forces, and in the process of supporting an Afghan-led process of reconciliation," Carney said.

He added that he didn't know the accuracy of the claim that Obama issued his apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai while in a car on his way to his daughter's basketball game, but that may just be the nature of setting up a call with a foreign leader in a very different time zone. 

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Wyoming town with population of 1 heads to auction

BUFORD, Wyo. â€"  What's advertised as the smallest town in the United States is scheduled to go up for auction next month.

Buford, located between Cheyenne and Laramie in southeast Wyoming, is famous for having just one inhabitant, Don Sammons.

Sammons plans to retire from managing his businesses at Buford and move on. The auction is set for noon on April 5.

Buford traces its origins the 1860s and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and had as many as 2,000 residents before the railroad was rerouted.

Sammons and his family moved from Los Angeles to Buford in 1980. Family members moved away over the years, but Sammons stayed on as sole resident and "mayor" of the unincorporated community. He bought the trading post in 1992 and operated it until last year.

"It was a great life for me and for my family," he said, adding it would be the same for anyone looking for a unique operation.

Buford sits at an elevation of 8,000 feet and is the highest town along Interstate 80 between New York and California. The area offers impressive views of the Rocky Mountains but is prone to extreme winds and frigid temperatures -- even by Wyoming standards.

Foul weather shuts down I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie at least a couple times during a typical winter. Each time that happens, Buford might as well be at the North Pole rather than next to one of the busiest cross-country thoroughfares in the U.S.

Assets up for sale will include a gas station and convenience store, a 1905 schoolhouse that has been used as an office, a cabin, a garage, 10 acres of land, a three-bedroom home, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.

Buford has its own ZIP code and post office boxes for people who live nearby.

It's a business opportunity that also offers a romantic lifestyle, said Amy Bates, chief marketing officer for Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Williams and Williams, which is handling the auction.

Bidding will open at $100,000, she said.

"We're going to have a variety of people attracted to this property, based on what it would mean to them," Bates said.

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Group Behind \'KONY 2012\' Answers Critics in Video

The nonprofit activists behind the largest viral video campaign ever to hit the Internet answered their critics the best way they know how. They made another film.

San Diego-based Invisible Children released on Monday an eight-and-a-half-minute video entitled, “Thank you, KONY 2012 Supporters” in which charity officials attempted to answer questions regarding the group's development model, spending and the intent behind Invisible Children's campaign to bring reputed Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony to justice.

“When we launched Kony 2012, our intention was to share the story of Joseph Kony with new people around the world, but in the process, there have been a lot questions about us, so we want to be as transparent as possible and answer some of those questions right now, the organization CEO Ben Keesey says at the start of the video.

Keesey goes on to state that the group's strategy has always been to "make compelling movies" that raise awareness of the plight of Central African children and to stop the violence of Kony's Lord's Resistance Army. The movies are designed to get people's attention.

"And then once people care, once they see the movie and they start to care, we ask them to get involved,” Keesey adds.

Keesey acknowledges the reputation the charity's supporters have gotten as "slacktivists," people who take minimal measures to show support of social cause, but have little or no practical effect on the underlying issue.

“I can understand why a lot of people are wondering is this just some kind of slick, fly-by-night, slacktivist thing, when actually, it's not at all,” said Keesey, “It's actually a really, it's connected to a really deep, thoughtful, very intentional and strategic campaign.”

The CEO insists all of his organization's financial data has been made public on the group's website.

"Any claims that we don't have financial transparency or that we are not audited every year by an independent firm--that we don't have financial integrity just aren't true,” he says.

But even as Invisible Children was defending itself, the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, which reviews charities based on donor requests, said the organization has not been forthcoming with documents it requested.

The BBB claimed in a press release on Monday that they had sent 18 letters to the nonprofit group since 2006, and expressed concern that two of the six board members are on the staff and what they see as a lack of transparency for a charity.

Representatives for Invisible Children did not immediately return requests for comment.

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Fangs on a Jellybean?

The Lexus RX crossover is about to get more aggressive…looking.

Toyota's luxury division has unveiled the updated 2013 model of its best-selling car, and the iconic jellybean has sprouted fangs.

Technically referred to as a “spindle grille,” the new face of the RX apes that of the truly-sporty 2013 GS sedan and appears to be destined for every car that the company makes. New headlights and LED daytime running lights add to the slightly sinister appearance.

Behind them are the same V6 and hybrid powertrains that have made the RX350 and RX450h perennial favorites at your local mall. The front-wheel-drive RX450h delivering a still-impressive 32 mpg city, 28 mpg highway fuel economy rating.

Added standard features, like a power liftgate plus refreshed interior trim and a new steering wheel round out the major changes to the RX.

A new sport mode on the hybrid models adds a little zing to their performance and turns the instrument cluster red when activated. But for those looking to really step it up a notch, an F-Sport appearance package is available for the first on the RX450h includes 19-inch wheels, halogen headlights and an even angrier grille and bumper combination.

Luckily, there's plenty of time to warn your kids, because the new RX doesn't go on sale until later this year.

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Energy production revolution begins in Middle East

Scenes of carnage and upheaval have been playing out for so many decades in the Middle East â€" car bombings, terrorist attacks, wars, intifadas, and the slightly more optimistic images associated with the Arab Spring â€" that they are by now well familiar.

But there is another revolution in the Mideast, presently underway, that is not being televised. It centers on the all-important area of energy production, and it might be called, "the Battle for Leviathan."

At issue is the recent discovery of huge untapped natural gas fields in the Levant Basin, the section of the eastern Mediterranean Sea that abuts Israel to the East, and Cyprus to the North.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that this underwater area holds 123 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. In simpler terms: That's equal to 20 billion barrels of oil, more than twenty times what the United States maintains in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Through "exclusive economic zones" finalized under prevailing laws of the sea, Israel and Cyprus have laid internationally recognized claims to these fields, which analysts suggest could be worth $130 billion to the Israeli economy. 

This is why in February, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister ever to visit Cyprus, and why the two nations have inked a number of unprecedented pacts with each other.

Led by Texas-based Noble Energy, the Israelis have already identified two gas fields south of Cyprus, code-named "Leviathan" and "Tamar," that offer a combined 24 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. Talks are underway between Jerusalem and Nicosia to build underwater pipelines, refineries, air bases, and other critical infrastructure to facilitate -- and protect -- these ventures.

If successful, they could serve not only to make the Jewish state energy-independent but allow it to become an energy exporter. 

This, in turn, would give Jerusalem increased clout over energy-hungry states like India and China. 

The latter, in particular, has repeatedly voted on the U.N. Security Council to protect Iran; but Beijing may be persuaded to abandon that stance if Israel becomes a significant supplier of Chinese gas imports.

Turkey, which has historically clashed with Cyprus and has feuded with Jerusalem in recent years, has deployed warships to protect what it sees as its interests in the underwater gas fields; and Lebanon, backed by the terrorist group Hezbollah, has warned that the U.S. and Israel will not be permitted to "plunder" natural resources that Beirut, too, claims as its own.

Finally, both Iran and Russia â€" which has surged over the last decade to become the world's leading exporter of natural gas â€" have also taken note of the potential geopolitical shifts that these gas discoveries could bring about. It is, in short, a situation rife with both economic promise and the potential for military peril.

"Iran, of course, as Israel's implacable foe, will do all it can do to thwart any activity that allows Israel to become more secure, more prosperous, or remain viable as a sovereign state," John Sitilides, a State Department advisor and lobbyist based in Washington, said. 

"And so we might see Iran, operating through proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in the Palestinian Authority's Gaza Strip, [act] to deny Israel and Cyprus the ability to get that natural gas to market," he added. 

While the U.S. generally sees Israeli energy independence as a desirable development for American security interests, the Obama administration has urged that Cyprus and Turkey initiate a "de-escalation of rhetoric and tension" to arrive at a resolution of the differing claims to the gas fields.

At a briefing last September, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called for the two countries, perhaps with the assistance of the United Nations, to develop "some sort of mediation on a revenue-sharing agreement for natural gas developed off of Cyprus."

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Soldier\'s shooting rampage doesn\'t change Afghan strategy

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Tax season 2012: IRS gets W-2 forms - and a lawsuit

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The scoop on the next ambassador to Iraq

Former NSC Iraq official Brett McGurk (C-Span)The White House is expected to nominate Brett McGurk to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq, an Iraqi diplomat and a former U.S. official who worked on Iraq told Yahoo News Monday. Both requested to speak anonymously since the post has not yet been announced.

McGurk previously worked for the National Security Council under both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. An early proponent of the "surge" of U.S. forces to Iraq, McGurk helped lead negotiations for the 2008 security agreement between Iraq and the United States, which called for the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country by the end of last year. A fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 2010, McGurk was enlisted this past summer by the Obama administration to assist in negotiations on a possible U.S. follow-up force in Iraq-where the U.S. would keep a number of troops in the country after 2011-but an agreement could not be reached.

Current U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Jim Jeffrey reportedly informed the State Department earlier this year of his desire to hand over the post overseeing the largest U.S. embassy in the world. He is among the U.S. ambassadors in town for the annual State Department chiefs of mission conference taking place in Washington this week.

Watch Getting out of Afghanistan on PBS. See more from Need to Know.

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- Kony 2012 filmmaker speaks out: 'We can all agree to stop him this year'

- 'The regime in Iran is a very rational one,' former Israeli spymaster says

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Want more of our best national security stories? Visit The Envoy or connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter.

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Art sleuths believe long-lost Da Vinci found in Italy

Maurizio Seracini probes the Florence fresco. (National Geographic)

In what some art experts say would be one of the biggest discoveries of the century, researchers in Italy think they may have discovered a long-lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci behind a 16th century fresco in Florence.

Scientists using endoscopic probes to look behind Giorgio Vasari's "The Battle of Marciano" in the Palazzo Vecchio say they've found traces of black paint that matches the pigment used in "St. John the Baptist" and in the "Mona Lisa," da Vinci's most-famous painting. The team-composed of researchers from National Geographic, University of California San Diego and the City of Florence-believes the Renaissance painter's unfinished "Battle of Anghiari," which da Vinci started in 1504, lies beneath Vasari's fresco.

"These data are very encouraging," Maurizio Seracini, the lead researcher, told reporters at a press conference. Seracini, though, cautioned that the discovery was "not conclusive" and the pigment would need further analysis.

"Although we are still in the preliminary stages of the research and there is still a lot of work to be done to solve this mystery, the evidence does suggest that we are searching in the right place," he said.

Other experts in the art world, however, are way more skeptical about the findings.

"What do they mean by saying the findings are compatible with Leonardo?" Tomaso Montanari, an art historian who launched a petition to stop Seracini's drilling of Vasari's 1563 mural, told the BBC. "Any painting from the Renaissance would be. Anything from that era could be painted on that wall."

According to the Telegraph, Seracini has spent more than 35 years searching for da Vinci's lost work.

"What lacked here is a neutral team that has the scientific authority to evaluate this," Montanari added. "It is very complex."

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Declare Your College Major ... and Sexual Orientation?

A plan by the University of California to allow incoming students to declare their sexual orientation is winning praise from gay advocates, but critics charge it will create another class slated for preferential treatment.

The 10-school, 235,000-student system would make the question optional on forms known as "Statement of Intern to Register," allowing officials to more accurately track the makeup of the student body and improve programs and services, officials said. But critics claim it will simply pave the way for another group to seek preferential treatment.

“It's a very bad idea," Ward Connerly, president of the American Civil Rights Institute and former regent board member for the University of California system told FoxNews.com "I think that it will lead to another protected class.”

Gay advocates hailed the measure, emphasizing that it is not mandatory. They compared it to other identifying characteristics routinely sought on such forms.

“It's much like asking race or gender,” Matt Comer, a spokesman for Campus Pride, a national LGBT student advocacy group told FoxNews.com, “Not only will it provide more accurate statistics, but the administration can be held accountable for the services they may or may not provide to the student body.”

Writing in UCLA's Daily Bruin, columnist Kimberly Grano said the plan is not as intrusive as it might sound.

"At first glance, it might seem the university would be unnecessarily delving into a potentially sensitive subject for incoming students," Grano wrote. "However, gathering figures about how many students identify with the LGBT community could allow the university to better serve and support members of the community."

But Raja Bhattar, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center at UCLA told the station the numbers may not be all that precise.

“The sexual orientation question would likely be optional," Bhattar told CBS' Los Angeles affiliate. "That may mean that a sizable number of students would not respond or would do so dishonestly - skewing the results.”

The measure recently received the backing of the Academic Council of the UC Academic Senate. The decision is up to Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Lawrence Pitts. While there does not appear to be a timetable for the decision, it is believed the plan could take effect in time for next fall's admissions.

Only one other school in the country currently asks incoming students about their sexual orientation. Chicago-area Elmhurst College included the question on forms last year and 5 percent of those who applied answered the question.

Yale and Harvard have considered similar measures in recent years, but have not enacted any changes to their registration process.

Connerly said schools should accept or reject students based solely on merit, and stop the practice of measuring the makeup of incoming classes by race, gender or sexual orientation.

“I don't think a university should be asking about a student's sexuality, race, or gender," said Connerly, who brought attention to the university system's race-based system of preferences within its admissions policies. "This is a step in the wrong direction.”

Article from FOXNEWS

Declare Your College Major ... and Sexual Orientation?

A plan by the University of California to allow incoming students to declare their sexual orientation is winning praise from gay advocates, but critics charge it will create another class slated for preferential treatment.

The 10-school, 235,000-student system would make the question optional on forms known as "Statement of Intern to Register," allowing officials to more accurately track the makeup of the student body and improve programs and services, officials said. But critics claim it will simply pave the way for another group to seek preferential treatment.

“It's a very bad idea," Ward Connerly, president of the American Civil Rights Institute and former regent board member for the University of California system told FoxNews.com "I think that it will lead to another protected class.”

Gay advocates hailed the measure, emphasizing that it is not mandatory. They compared it to other identifying characteristics routinely sought on such forms.

“It's much like asking race or gender,” Matt Comer, a spokesman for Campus Pride, a national LGBT student advocacy group told FoxNews.com, “Not only will it provide more accurate statistics, but the administration can be held accountable for the services they may or may not provide to the student body.”

Writing in UCLA's Daily Bruin, columnist Kimberly Grano said the plan is not as intrusive as it might sound.

"At first glance, it might seem the university would be unnecessarily delving into a potentially sensitive subject for incoming students," Grano wrote. "However, gathering figures about how many students identify with the LGBT community could allow the university to better serve and support members of the community."

But Raja Bhattar, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center at UCLA told the station the numbers may not be all that precise.

“The sexual orientation question would likely be optional," Bhattar told CBS' Los Angeles affiliate. "That may mean that a sizable number of students would not respond or would do so dishonestly - skewing the results.”

The measure recently received the backing of the Academic Council of the UC Academic Senate. The decision is up to Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Lawrence Pitts. While there does not appear to be a timetable for the decision, it is believed the plan could take effect in time for next fall's admissions.

Only one other school in the country currently asks incoming students about their sexual orientation. Chicago-area Elmhurst College included the question on forms last year and 5 percent of those who applied answered the question.

Yale and Harvard have considered similar measures in recent years, but have not enacted any changes to their registration process.

Connerly said schools should accept or reject students based solely on merit, and stop the practice of measuring the makeup of incoming classes by race, gender or sexual orientation.

“I don't think a university should be asking about a student's sexuality, race, or gender," said Connerly, who brought attention to the university system's race-based system of preferences within its admissions policies. "This is a step in the wrong direction.”

Article from FOXNEWS

Travel Like \'The Bachelor\'

In the 16th season of "The Bachelor," one element of the pseudo-reality show managed to nearly upstage the cattiness, Courtney's nastiness and even Ben Flajnik's heinous haircut: the spectacular travel destinations.

From California wine country to the snow-covered Swiss Alps, this season put the world on center stage while demonstrating that, for all his style shortcomings, at least Bachelor Ben is as eager for adrenaline as he is for amor. 

Of course, some excursions were specifically staged, and the average traveler can't afford to jaunt from place to place via helicopter, which has become the show's go-to transport. However, you can still follow in the footsteps of Flajnik and his harem of globetrotting hopefuls. 

The show is sponsoring The Bachelor Ultimate Getaway Sweepstakes, featuring grand prize trips to featured destinations of Park City, Utah, Panama, Belize and Switzerland. Or you can go on your own â€" no roses necessary. Here, our (ahem) winning tips.

San Francisco

A few points to clear up about the group's experiences here: No, you can't normally ski down a steep street in Russian Hill (though it's been done before). That was a publicity stunt, as was Flajnik and Emily's adrenaline-pumping climb up the cables of the Bay Bridge (not, as some reports mistakenly said, the Golden Gate Bridge. Which the general public also isn't allowed to climb.)

However, there are still plenty of ways to get your Bachelor fix in the City by the Bay. Start off at The Fairmont, the 541-room stunner atop Nob Hill, which the group used as home base during filming. The recently renovated hotel houses the Tonga Room, the historic and hopping tiki bar that first gained notoriety as a post-World War II stop for returning soldiers. Skip the touristy cable car ride in favor of ice cream at Swensen's or a hand-crafted cocktail at the uber-cool speakeasy Bourbon & Branch, in the edgy Tenderloin area. (Yes, the bar does have a private dining room accessed through a bookshelf.)

And don't feel bad if, like the initial unpicked hopefuls, you leave your heart in San Francisco, too.  

Sonoma County

Leave the whining to the dumped contestants; the real focus in Sonoma should most certainly be the wine itself. Flajnik's winery, Envolve, which he runs with his two best friends, doesn't have a tasting room open to the public (though that's in the works, Flajnik said in a recent interview). However, the winery regularly hosts several events during which Bachelor Ben may make an appearance.

In addition, the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau launched a clever website outlining each Sonoma stop on the show, from the quaint toy store where Kacie B. picked up her baton to the elegant villa where the women stayed.

Utah

Watching Ben and redhead Jennifer's drop into the serene water of Homestead Crater was almost worth listening to all the requisite relationship clichés that went with it. Their romance didn't survive, but it was easy to fall in love with the bounty of Utah's outdoor offerings, from horseback riding and fly fishing in the Wasatch Mountains to candlelit dinners in a yurt.

Serious Flajnik fans should consider the “Bachelor Bliss” packages at the Park City Waldorf Astoria, part of the sprawling Canyons Resort where the group stayed in Park City. These deals include a choice of the actual suite where Ben stayed or the ladies' Presidential Suite, plus a host of other amorous amenities, including a rose petal turndown and a bath butler, starting at $669 per night (“Bachelor Romance” packages are cheaper.).

Puerto Rico

Whether skinny-dipping is part of the itinerary or not, any trip to this beautiful island, just a short flight from many U.S. cities, will promise lasting memories. A Bachelor-themed itinerary could include strolling through historic Old San Juan, taking in some beisbol at Roberto Clemente Stadium or bedding down at the beachfront W Retreat & Spa â€" Vieques, where the group stayed (and Ben and Courtney took their infamous evening swim sans suits).

Located on a pristine island about eight miles east of Puerto Rico, the swanky, 157-room W is also offering two Bachelor-themed packages, starting at $590/night with a three-night minimum.

Although the Puerto Rico footage showed ample bare skin, it left out one of the island's most famous attractions: Vieques' bioluminescent bay, whose ephemeral nighttime glow comes from phosphorescent organisms in the water. Rent a kayak or simply slip into the sea for a magical midnight (skinny?) dip.  

Panama

Unfortunately, Ben and Co. demonstrated their share of travel don't's in this Central American paradise, the least of which was disrespecting an indigenous tribe in the rainforest with (guess whose?) boastful bare-breasted-ness. Regardless, Panama itself is a definite must-do for in-the-know travelers, recently being named by the New York Times as the top place to visit in 2012.    

Follow in the show's footsteps with a visit to the secluded and stunning San Blas Islands, where Ben and Kacie had a laughable survival-themed date; saucy salsa dancing a la Blakely in Panama City's historic Casco Viejo district; or indulging in the over-the-top luxury of the 70-story Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower, whose modern architecture resembles a sail.

Belize

Already a tourism hotspot in light of the end of the Maya long-count calendar this year, this welcoming Central American country was resplendent in the show, with majestic Maya temples and plenty of ocean-centric adventures. One highlight was Lamanai, the towering Maya temple in Northern Belize whose vertigo-inducing steps Ben and Courtney bravely climbed to the top.

(There are plenty of other ruins to choose from in Belize, however, including Xunantunich and the spectacular Actun Tunichil Muknal, a cave that houses the calcified skeleton of a young Mayan girl who was sacrificed.)

For those who prefer sand, sun and even sharks (no, we're not talking about Courtney), a trip to the offshore island of Ambergris Caye is a good bet. From the featured properties of Victoria House or Coco Beach Resort (which is also offering a “The Bachelor Island Romance Package,”) it's an easy boat ride to the aptly named Shark Ray Alley, where Rachel nearly had a panic attack swimming among friendly shark species and stingrays. Divers shouldn't miss the world-famous Blue Hole, which Ben and Lindzi dropped into from (what else?) a helicopter.

Switzerland

Switzerland Tourism has wasted no time capitalizing on its exposure from the show, with Bachelor Ben's floppy-haired mug smiling from the home page of the website. But even his middle part couldn't detract from the stunning scenery, from breathtaking aerial shots in the Alps to quaint Swiss towns. (Plus, since the show is almost as famous for its cheesiness as Switzerland is for its actual cheese, the country makes a perfect choice for the final two episodes.)

While the final rose is still on the horizon, the Switzerland footage thus far has surely piqued many an adrenaline junkie's interest in this European outdoor playground. Whether it's rappelling down a 300-foot cliff (though, technically, Ben and Lindzi were really just lowered from a rope), a sky-high picnic on rocky peaks, there's no shortage of enticements for Alpine adventure.

Or, for a more low-key offering, check out the quintessentially Swiss towns of Interlaken or Zermatt, whose plentiful shops and restaurants make for a peaceful day of shopping and strolling. (And if the urge somehow strikes to have lunch in the middle of a pasture, we beg you to refrain from playing a scintillating game of “Hey Cow!”.)

Article from FOXNEWS

Justice Department Blocks Texas Voter ID Law

Texas' secretary of state said Monday she finds a  Justice Department objection to the state's new voter photo ID law "extremely disappointing," especially since the department was warned that the two data sets it used to lodge its objection were not an apples-to-apples comparison.

"The data they demanded came from matching two separate data sets never designed to be matched, and their agency was warned that matches from these data sets would be misleading," Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade said in a statement. 

Andrade said that as a result of the objection, existing law will apply in the May 29 primary election.

The Justice Department is trying to block the law, saying the state failed to demonstrate that it is not discriminatory by design against Hispanic voters.

On Monday, the department's head of the civil rights division, Tom Perez, sent a a six-page letter to Texas' director of elections saying that Texas has not "sustained its burden" under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to show that the new law will not have a discriminatory effect on minority voters. About 11 percent of Hispanic voters reportedly lack state-issued identification.

Perez wrote that while the state says the new photo ID requirement is to "ensure electoral integrity and deter ineligible voters from voting" the state "did not include evidence of significant in-person voter impersonation not already addressed by the state's existing laws."

Perez added that the number of people lacking any personal ID or driver's license issued by 
the state ranges from 603,892 to 795,955, but of that span, 29-38 percent of them are Hispanic. 

"According to the state's own data, a Hispanic registered voter is at least 46.5 percent, and potentially 120.0 percent, more likely than a non-Hispanic registered voter to lack this identification," Perez wrote.

"Even using the data most favorable to the state ... that disparity is statistically significant," he said.

But the two data sets, compiled in September 2011 and January 2012 were not consistent, the secretary of state said.

"My office will continue working with the Texas Attorney General's Office in seeking to implement the will of the citizens of Texas, as enacted by our duly elected representatives in the Texas Legislature," Andrade said.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, added in a separate statement the Texas law was based on an Indiana law upheld by the Supreme Court.

"Voter ID laws help ensure the integrity of our elections and protect the rights of lawful voters. If citizens are required to show ID in order to open a bank account, cash a check, drive a car or board a plane, how much more important is it to show ID in order to exercise one of our most valuable democratic rights?" he asked. "This is an abuse of executive authority and an affront to the citizens of Texas. It's time for the Obama administration to learn not to mess with Texas."

However, a Democratic state lawmaker told the Houston Chronicle that he was thankful for the decision.

"Throughout the pre-clearance process, Texas consistently failed to produce information showing the law would not have a discriminatory impact on minority voters. The Voting Rights Act exists for this exact purpose: protecting the ability of all Americans to access the ballot box," Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, told the newspaper.

Perez noted that the Texas law allowed voters to show military ID, a U.S. citizenship certificate, a U.S. passport or a license to carry a concealed handgun, but the state did not provide any statistics noting how many people lack state ID but have the other allowable forms. 

"Nor has the state provided any data on the demographic makeup of such voters," Perez wrote.

Texas is the second state to have its voter ID law challenged. The Justice Department already blocked a similar law from taking effect in South Carolina -- the first time a voter ID law was rejected by the department in nearly 20 years.

South Carolina sued Holder in response, arguing that enforcement of its new law will not disenfranchise any voters.

As for the Texas law, Perez wrote that while lawmakers offered to make election identification certificates available to protect low-income voters who don't already have any ID, the documents are not free, and it creates the additional burden of traveling to a driver's license office, undergoing an application process that includes fingerprinting and finding supporting documentation to prove one's identity.

Using Census data, the Justice Department argued that the law creates an undue hardship on Hispanic populations that don't have the means to get a vehicle, live extremely far from a driver's license office or can't make it during the offices' limited operating hours.

Upon a federal court order, Texas recently changed its March 1 primary date to May 29 after a months-long fight over redistricting. 

Article from FOXNEWS

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Article from YAHOO NEWS

\'Investing is really cool\': Teen buys distressed home

(Image credit: Courtesy Shannon Moore)

After Willow Tufano earned $6,000 from antiquing and selling items on Craigslist, the 14-year-old asked her mom if she could invest in half of a short sale in her home state of Florida.

Tufano earned the money from finding free items or deals online or at antique auctions and leftover furniture from foreclosed homes. She re-sells the items or gives them away on the "free" list on Craigslist.  She says she could not have thrived in that business without the support of her parents and grandparents, who drive her around to pick up items.

With her saved money, she didn't want to buy or barter for another longboard skate board or Xbox.  Instead she set her sights on a three-bedroom short sale of $12,000 that was worth about $100,000 at the peak of the housing market, as reported by NPR's Planet Money.

"If there's one thing I want people to know, it's that your age does not matter," Tufalo told ABC News. " If I can inspire another person my age, younger, that would mean the world. Whether it's buying a house, buying a car, or whatever. If you really work for it and put your mind to it you can do what you want to do."

Tufano's mother, Shannon Moore, is a broker who owns several rental properties with her husband. When Tufano heard that her mother was considering purchasing the home, she asked her mom if she could buy half of it with the hope of buying the other half eventually. Florida requires a minimum age of 18 to own property.

(Image credit: Courtesy Shannon Moore)

"She's always thinking, 'how can I skin the cat differently?'" her mother said. Tufano helped her mom fix up the home in Port Charlotte, Fla., and even helped the new tenants find a free bed and mattress. Tufano is splitting the proceeds from the rental income with her mom and says she will use that to buy out her mom's share.

Asked if she was considering a career in real estate, Tufano said she preferred investing. "I'm not so sure about real estate," she said. "But investing is really cool. You get to see a property that was a mess before and afterward see that it's beautiful. I suppose with real estate you can connect with people more, but I would probably prefer investing."

(Image credit: Courtesy Shannon Moore)

Tufano, who is home-schooled, said her favorite subject is American history, but dislikes algebra because she is "really, really bad at math."

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Article from YAHOO NEWS

Rutgers student doesn\'t testify as defense rests

Accused Rutgers student Dharun Ravi did not take the stand to defend himself against charges that he activated a webcam to peek at roommate Tyler Clementi and another man kissing and then encouraged others to do the same.

The defense rested its case today in the trial of Ravi, who told Judge Glenn Berman that he did not want to testify.

Ravi, now 20, is charged with invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering and hindering arrest. The charges stem from his alleged spying on Clementi's date on Sept. 19, 2010 and then encouraging others to do the same during Clementi's second date on Sept. 21.

Clementi, who was an 18-year-old freshman, killed himself on Sept. 22 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. His death and the charges against Ravi sparked public outrage over cyber-bullying and gay-bullying among students.

Ravi, however, is not charged in connection with Clementi's death. Clementi left behind a note, but its contents have never been made public.

Clementi's parents have attended every day of the trial, often sitting in the front row with Clementi's two older brothers.

Before resting, defense attorney Steven Altman requested a mistrial based on information revealed during Altman's questioning of the lead investigator on the case, Frank DiNinno.

DiNinno disclosed that during the course of the Ravi investigation, he had conversations with Rutgers students that Altman was not told about. During a heated exchange, Altman and Berman argued about whether that information was relevant to the case, with Altman requesting a sidebar discussion of the issue multiple times.

"I would like to be heard on this," Altman said to Berman, after twice being told to move on in his questioning to other topics. Altman, shaking his head and visibly agitated, was denied his request for a sidebar conversation and told that he would be given a chance to discuss it during a break, while the jury was absent.

After taking a short recess, Altman returned with his request for mistrial, arguing that the prosecution did not hand over all relevant evidence ahead of the trial, a violation of the Brady rule.

Both the prosecution and Berman disagreed, noting that the interviews with students were not important to Ravi's case because they yielded no information about the alleged crimes.

Berman denied Altman's request, the second denial of a mistrial request by Altman during the trial.

Closing arguments on Tuesday morning, before sending the jury into deliberations. Ravi faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.

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Article from YAHOO NEWS

How to Find Best Hotel

If you book hotels online, it's time to face facts: Your favorite travel website probably isn't cutting it. In the past decade, some of the best-known travel sites have lost their fastball. They're not as smart and nimble as the new kids on the Web that now have tools for smarter comparison shopping, searches for smaller B&Bs and niche neighborhoods, and access to blocks of rooms reserved for its members.

Before you try these, one word of caution: No single site is the be-all-and-end-of-all of hotel booking. We recommend using at least two search tools, such as your current favorite online travel agency and one of the hotel shopping engines we've named here, to max out your chances of nabbing the perfect room or upgrade. 

Happy shopping.

BackBid

Best for: Travelers who like the idea of hotel owners competing for their business.

What it does: Hoteliers often hold back a handful of rooms to sell to last-minute guests, but they don't always fill them. You can book one of these rooms as they're released by logging on to BackBid, which enables hotels to sell rooms to travelers who already have confirmed bookings at rival properties.

How it works: Book a refundable reservation at a hotel through your favorite website, and then create a free account at BackBid. Forward the email with your confirmed hotel reservation to the site, and it will shoot your reservation details-minus your credit card information-to dozens of hotels at your destination. BackBid will then share with you any counter-offers rival hotels may make, such as a comparable room at a lower rate.

Recent steal: In a test, an editor forwarded to BackBid a confirmation email for his $199 a night reservation at the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Seattle. A day later, bids poured in from 17 Seattle hotels, which included a pitch from the Hilton Seattle, only 1.5 miles away and with better amenities, for a comparable room with a king size bed for $179 a night rate. All things considered, it's a reasonable inconvenience for a 10 percent or better savings.

Snags: Launched in November 2011, the site remains limited to a few hundred properties in 20 major U.S. cities.

DealBase

Best for: Travelers who want an independent source to vouch for the honesty of vacation package prices.

What it does: Many hotels tout packages that include perks, such as valet parking and a spa treatment, claiming that the package prices represent deep discounts over buying the components separately. DealBase vets each package for its true value.

How it works: Use DealBase to pick a hotel package at your destination, then click on the listing for a breakdown of the estimated costs of the package's components. (The site even publishes a list of the "worst" hotel deals.)

Recent steal: In California, the Ventura Beach Marriott recently showcased a "Ventura Shopping Package" that came with a $50 Visa gift card, breakfast for two at the property's restaurant, valet parking, and a welcome gift, bookable any day of the week through 2012. DealBase highlighted the package, which it discovered on the hotel's site, and calculated that travelers could save a third off by booking the package instead of its parts one by one. DealBase showed how it did its math, noting the costs of the valet parking ($15), the breakfast ($60), and the welcome gift (containing a city map, some gourmet candy, and bottles of water) at $30. The site said the overall package represented a 36 percent discount off it's à la carte value.

Snags: DealBase includes sponsored listings and identifies them as such. Readers have to take on faith that the site reviews all packages impartially, including ones it has been paid to mention.

HotelSweep

Best for: Travelers who prefer staying at independently owned properties.

What it does: Founded this year, HotelSweep lists more than 50,000 U.S. hotels, motels, B&Bs, and guesthouses, scraping listings off countless websites. (A British version, hotelsweep.co.uk, does the same thing for lodging in the United Kingdom.) One of the perks of the site is that it lists mom-and-pop properties-places that generally aim to attract budget-conscious travelers, but are too small to afford the costs of being listed with multinational travel agencies.

How it works: Punch your destination into HotelSweep's "direct hotel search" tool, and the site will fetch a quick-and-dirty list of properties, which you can sort by nightly rate or distance from a particular location. A Google Street View image of the property is provided, but it's up to you to take the next step and contact the managers and book a room. If that is too much work, HotelSweep also has a "live price comparison" tool, which is a standard booking engine powered by HotelsCombined.com, an Australian rival to Kayak, though it doesn't include all of the mom-and-pop listings that turn up in the "direct hotel search" tool.

Recent steal: In a hunt for New York City lodging, HotelSweep's "direct hotel search" tool dug up more than a thousand properties. The cheapest listing was Hostelling International, a property with rates from $29 a night per person. Surprisingly, the hostel has earned decent user ratings and reviews with TripAdvisor and a review from Lonely Planet, even though Expedia hadn't heard of it.

Snags: HotelSweep isn't vetting properties. It simply lists any place that has a Web presence. So, it puts you in hardcore "buyer beware" territory. Also, the live comparison tool doesn't include all the properties in the hotel search tool, so you might have to work harder to make a booking.

Hipmunk

Best for: Culture vultures and nightlife fans who want to stay in the buzziest neighborhoods.

What it does: Previously a metasearch site for airfare, Hipmunk last year added hotels to its repertoire. One of its signature tricks is to allow a traveler to name his or her favorite interest, such as nightlife, shopping, and museum-hopping, and the site will filter its listings to only display hotels in neighborhoods with an especially high number of relevant venues, such as bars, boutiques, and museums.

How it works: Run a search for a hotel like you would on any travel site, and Hipmunk retrieves real-time rates from booking sites, such as Orbitz, Getaroom, Hotels.com, HotelsCombined, and vacation rental platform Airbnb. Hipmunk also assigns an "ecstasy" rating to each hotel, based on an evaluation of the property's rates, amenities, and user reviews on TripAdvisor.

Recent steal: A recent search for hotels in L.A. turned up dozens of hotels that Hipmunk gave high "ecstasy" scores. A click on a button labeled "nightlife" revealed a map with a downtown district near Pershing Square that has a dense concentration of clubs and bars. Clicking on the neighborhood on the map revealed a few properties with a high "ecstasy" rating, including the Miyako Hotel for $116 a night.

Snags: The site is primarily map-driven, and people who find maps confusing might find Hipmunk equally off-putting.

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Momondo

Best for: Travelers booking hotels overseas who have been disappointed by the selection on U.S.-based travel agencies.

What it does: In 2010, Momondo, moved beyond being a flight metasearch engine and now lists hotels from major overseas hotel booking sites, such as Escapio and Hotelopia, which tend to be overlooked by U.S.-based travel sites like Expedia. It also includes an option to search for hostels.

How it works: Like Kayak, you enter your search query, and the site draws up a list of rates from various online travel agencies and hotel sites.

Recent steal: In a search this winter for hotels in Zurich, Momondo uncovered 185 hotels (and about 330 other types of lodging, such as hostels), compared with 133 hotels on Booking.com and 125 on Orbitz. Momondo put at the top of its search results properties with the most central locations, highest star ratings, lowest prices, and best user reviews. Its top pick: Hotel Rothaus, on Langstrasse in the city's entertainment district, with room rates from $104. Booking.com had the hotel buried in its search results for $140 a night on the same dates, and Orbitz had it for $139.

Snags: Compared with American giants, such as Hotels.com and Priceline.com, Momondo wasn't great at finding hotels in the United States.

Room 77

Best for: Travelers whose priority is a room with the most amenities.

What it does: Room 77 is unique in researching room-by-room amenities and floor plans for hundreds of three- to five-star hotels in about 30 North American, European, and Asian cities. It then facilitates booking a particular type of room.

How it works: Room 77 works like a typical hotel search engine, only it goes into much greater detail about the amenities available in individual rooms at hotels, such as what the view might be from any given window. Guests who book directly through Room 77 can take advantage of its free "room concierge" feature, in which it contacts hotel managers on a guest's behalf to request a room matching his or her preferences, such as "connecting rooms" and "distance from elevators." There are no guarantees, but the site claims that its customers have a high satisfaction rate with its concierge service.

Recent steal: A recent search on Room 77 for a hotel stay in Seattle turned up a list of properties, matched with their rates. One listing was for Courtyard Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square, and Room 77 included specific booking tips, such as the fact that rooms with numbers ending in 3 (i.e., 1003) above the tenth floor are among the most spacious and have some of the prettiest views. Room 77 also reveals blueprints of rooms, overlaid on a Google map. Clicking on the silhouette of room 1105 at the Courtyard Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square, for instance, reveals that it is 28 feet from the elevator, has 300 square feet of space and a view of Puget Sound. Room 77 lists current rates through multiple websites, such as Expedia and Booking.com, including taxes and fees.

Snags: The site only lists specific details for about 5,000 properties, most of which are from major U.S. chains. Room 77's room descriptions are also fairly generic and positive. For truly warts-and-all insights like "room smells of blow dryer and dead mouse," turn to TripAdvisor user-reviews.

Room Key 

Best for: Travelers who prefer the consistency and quality control of U.S.-owned chain hotels, and don't want to be distracted with information about other places.

What it does: Seven hotel chains-Best Western, Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn), Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo), Marriott, and Wyndham (Howard Johnson, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8)-are listing their rooms together in a new search engine. Unlike major online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline, Room Key limits its selection to chains, eliminating most of the uncertainty about what kind of hotel you might end up with.

How it works: Punch in your destination and travel dates and the site brings up a list of relevant hotels, which you can winnow down using the standard tools, such as distance, price, and star rating. When you decide to book, you're sent directly to a hotel owned website, where you'll need to enter your credit card number to book the room. Booking directly with the hotel cuts out the middleman and earns you customer loyalty points.

Recent steal: In a recent search, the Hilton Atlanta turned up for $179 a night on Room Key, compared with $219 on Expedia, for the same dates and type of room.

Snags: Only about 27,000 hotels-with limited international choices-are currently listed, compared with the more than 100,000 posted on the major online travel agencies.

YourRoomKey 

Best for: Travelers looking mostly for American business-type hotels.

What it does: Finds the cheapest rooms at major-brand hotels located at America's largest airports and financial districts-and nearly nowhere else.

How it works: This consolidator has access to rooms at a volume discount with major brands like Hyatt and Marriott at most major U.S. airports (especially Chicago, Denver, L.A., Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.). By only allowing members to see deals, the site is able to offer rates much lower than major chains and websites with lowest-price guarantees offered to the general public.

Recent steal: A recent search on YourRoomKey for a room near Chicago's O'Hare Airport on less than a week's notice turned up a room at the Holiday Inn with a queen-size bed, free Internet, and a free airport shuttle ride, for $52 a night. A comparable room at the same hotel on the same date went for $97 on Kayak and $109 on Travelocity.

Snags: You have to create an account with the site to be able to see any of its listings. Membership is free, but it can take a day or so to activate.

Article from FOXNEWS

Psychics search for clues in California girl\'s death

California psychics may have found a new clue in the death of 13-year-old Jessica Funk-Haslam, who was found dead last Tuesday in the dugout of a baseball field in a Sacramento park.

Funk-Haslam left her home to meet someone, her mother Tara told Fox40, but did not say who. A coroner later said she was hit in the head, stabbed and asphyxiated.

Christina George and Jennifer Newell, both local psychics, claim the suspect Funk-Haslam met at the park is a male between 16 and 19 years old.

"We came and sat here at this table 'cause this is where we felt she was at, where she met him," George said.

The pair found a piece of tape with the words “Skittles was here,” underneath the table, which they said they would offer up to detectives, Fox40 reports.

Both thought she fought with the suspect before being attacked.

Click to read more on this story from Fox40.

Article from FOXNEWS

Justice is Blind — Except When It Comes to Sex?

For judges in California, talent and track record may count as much as who they sleep with. 

A new state sanctioned survey asked judges to disclose whether they are gay, straight or transgender. While 40 percent of magistrates refused to answer the question, some argue the findings will lead to the appointment of more homosexuals to the Golden State's bench.

The Judicial Applicant Data Report collects demographic information on California's 1,600 trial court judges as well as dozens of justices on the appeals and supreme court. 

The Administrative Office of the Courts, which administers the online survey, recently released aggregate data by jurisdiction. The survey is voluntary and, while names are required on the forms, individual answers are kept confidential.

Alongside questions about gender, race and ethnicity, the survey now asks whether judges identify as a man or a woman, and if they're gay. Supporters applaud the new law, SB 182, known as the Judicial Applicant and Appointment Demographics Inclusion Act, calling it "essential in creating a more diverse judiciary."

Critics say the question, much like asking about religious preference and voting records, is immaterial to a judge's qualifications and ability to weigh evidence. They say the survey amounts to an invasion of privacy, and a threat to fair rulings from the bench.

"This is an outrageous violation of the total concept of blind justice and equality for all," says Brad Dacus, president of the Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute. 

Dacus says appointments should be based solely on competence and experience. "We should work hard to oppose bias on the bench and off the bench when it comes to the selection of judges, and the criteria by which they are evaluated. That's what true equality is all about, and that's what people want when it comes to presiding over their cases in a courtroom."

But gay activists maintain California's judiciary needs to be more diverse. 

"Equality California," which spearheaded the new law, says the 2009 survey showed women represented just 34 percent of applications, and only 28 percent of the total number of judges appointed by the governor. In addition, the group says, among those who stated their race and ethnicity, the percentages of Asian, African American, and Latino judges fall well below 10 percent, while white judges make up nearly three-quarters  -- 73.6 percent -- of the judiciary.

Equality California argued it is vital that demographic reports consider gender identity and sexual orientation to know "how the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is being represented in the judiciary. While LGBT people represent a sizable and important part of the state, their representation in the judicial branch of government is virtually unknown."

That is, until now. According to the findings, of those judges who responded to the sexual orientation question, just over 1 percent said they were gay or transgender.

Equality California was not discouraged by the results.

"While the number of gay or transgender judges remains proportionally lower than the gay and transgender population of California, it's exciting to see that we do have several out judges serving throughout the court," says Equality California's Rebekah Orr.

"It's an important benchmark for us to have as we continue to work to make the bench more diverse and better reflect the diversity of the communities it serves," she says.

She argues that asking judges if they're gay or transgender will "provide us with a better picture of who they are, where they've come from, what they're experience is and what they bring to the bench."

Fox News spoke to several judges who called the whole thing a waste of time and refused to answer any of the questions. 

The Honorable Socrates "Pete" Manoukian of Santa Clara County Superior Court wondered "why is a judge's ethnicity important? It's supposed to be unimportant!" He called the additional questions about gender identity and sexual preference "offensive."

But other judges felt the optional survey is fairly harmless, and point out the governor is not obligated to use the findings when making judicial appointments.

Former California Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grodin, who was ousted by voters in 1987, says while diversity is crucial, good judges should be open minded, regardless of their sexual preference.

"They may bring to bear different world views, different values, depending upon their own experiences and I think that's valuable and important, but that doesn't mean they're not fair-minded," Grodin said.

But after California's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage was overturned by a gay judge, critics see a political agenda.

"This legislation is a blatant attempt by liberal activists to pack the court with judges to give them things like homosexual marriage, things they otherwise would not be able to achieve at the ballot box," Dacus said.

Except in rare cases where judges are elected, judicial appointments in California are up to Gov. Jerry Brown -- a staunch supporter of gay rights, including same-sex marriage. With 64 vacant judgeships in courts across the state, some worry the inclusion of this new, highly personal data will encourage bias and discrimination on the bench, defeating the very notion of justice for all.

Article from FOXNEWS