Tuesday, July 26

Lawmakers struggle to break stalemate in debt talks

High-level debt ceiling talks dragged on between administration and congressional officials Tuesday as lawmakers struggled to devise a way to overcome deep partisan divisions and avoid an unprecedented national default that could now be little more than one week away.

Capitol Hill phone lines were jammed and websites of key lawmakers -- including House Speaker John Boehner -- crashed as citizens from coast to coast tried to weigh in on the debate.

Publicly, however, neither Democratic nor Republican leaders indicated a willingness to consider the latest proposal put forward by their counterparts.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, called a plan put forward by Boehner, R-Ohio, a market-rattling "short-term solution" that "really isn't a solution at all." Boehner called Reid's blueprint a "blank check" for more uncontrolled spending that would undermine the economy.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, called Reid's plan "another (Democratic) attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people."

The latest rhetorical volleys came little more than 12 hours after President Barack Obama's nationally televised plea for compromise.
"This is "no way to run the greatest country of Earth," Obama said Monday night. "The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government,"

The president also jumped into the partisan fray, however, ripping House Republicans for stubbornly pursuing a "cuts-only approach" that "doesn't ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all." Obama renewed his call for a "balanced approach" that would include no extension of Bush-era tax cuts for families making over $250,000 a year.

Boehner, in turn, blasted Obama in a nationally televised response, accusing the president of engaging in a debilitating "spending binge" and pushing "tax increases(that) will destroy jobs."

As political leaders continued to argue, the clock continued to tick down. If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates and a declining dollar, among other problems. As the cost of borrowing rises, individual mortgages, car loans and student loans could become significantly more expensive.

Some financial analysts have warned of a potential stock market crash and a downgrade of America's triple-A credit rating.

Officials also warn that, without an increase in the debt limit, the federal government would not be able to pay all its bills next month. Obama recently indicated he could not guarantee Social Security checks would be mailed out on time.

Despite the poisonous partisan atmosphere, the Reid and Boehner plans remain the focal points of talks between the two parties.

Both plans provide a path to raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012, but they differ in scope and in key components involving requirements for future congressional action.

Obama has endorsed Reid's plan, but acknowledged it has little chance of getting passed in the House, just as the competing Republican plan unveiled by Boehner is unlikely to get passed by the Senate.

Reid's blueprint calls for roughly $2.7 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade while raising the debt limit by $2.4 trillion -- an amount sufficient to fund the government through 2012, which means past next year's election.

The plan excludes major provisions of a comprehensive deficit-reduction strategy, such as increased revenue and reforms to politically popular entitlement programs -- such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- that face skyrocketing growth in costs.

Specifically, Reid's plan includes $1.2 trillion in savings from various domestic and defense programs, along with $1 trillion in savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It generates $400 billion in interest savings on the debt, and another $40 billion by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.

It also would establish a congressional committee made up of 12 House and Senate members to consider additional options for debt reduction. The committee's proposals would be guaranteed a Senate vote with no amendments by the end of the year.

Reid stressed Monday that his plan doesn't include tax hikes and would cut spending more than it increases the debt ceiling -- two key GOP demands.

"I hope my colleagues on the other side will still know a good deal when they see it. I hope they'll remember how to say yes," Reid said. "Democrats have done more than just meet Republicans in the middle. We've met them all the way."

Boehner, however, argued at a Monday afternoon news conference that Reid's plan is "full of gimmicks."
The package "doesn't deal with the biggest drivers of our deficits and debt, and that's entitlement programs," Boehner said.

Boehner's plan would require two separate votes by Congress. The first would approve approximately $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade while raising the debt ceiling through the end of 2011. Any failure on the part of Congress to enact the mandated spending reductions would trigger automatic across-the-board budget cuts.

The second vote would raise the debt limit through 2012, but only if Congress approves a series of major tax reforms and entitlement changes outlined by a bipartisan committee composed of Senate and House members.

The proposed structural changes -- a focal point of intense ideological conflict in Washington -- would have to generate between $1.6 trillion and $1.8 trillion in savings, according to a House Republican aide familiar with the package.

Boehner's plan, while allowing a total debt-ceiling increase of roughly $2.6 trillion, also would require both a House and Senate vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution between October 1 and the end of the year.

This plan is "less than perfect," Boehner said, but "reflects bipartisan negotiations" conducted with Senate Democrats over the weekend.

Democrats as a whole are vehemently opposed to the idea of holding more than one vote to raise the debt limit through the 2012 election, arguing that such a requirement is politically unrealistic and could prove to be economically destabilizing.

Republicans want to lock in long-term tax and spending changes, and argue that Obama is trying to avoid politically tough decisions in a presidential election year.

Top senators from each party said Monday night that efforts are under way to try to reach a deal that would avoid Congress having to vote on either the Reid or the Boehner proposals.

As the debt ceiling debate drags on, a new CNN/ORC International Poll reveals a growing public exasperation and demand for compromise. Sixty-four percent of respondents to a July 18-20 survey preferred a deal with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. Only 34% preferred a debt reduction plan based solely on spending reductions.

As in Congress, the public is sharply divided along partisan lines. Democrats and independents, according to the CNN/ORC Poll, are open to a number of different approaches because they think a failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause a crisis of major problems for the country. Republicans, however, draw the line at tax increases, and a narrow majority of them oppose raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances.

Fifty-two percent of Americans think Obama has acted responsibly in the debt ceiling talks so far, but nearly two-thirds say the Republicans in Congress have not acted responsibly. Fifty-one percent would blame the GOP if the debt ceiling is not raised; only three in 10 would blame Obama.

Wednesday, July 20

A New Thing: Relaxation Drinks!


Image: Vacation in a Bottle drinkPeople have been guzzling energy drinks for the last 10 years — maybe it's time to relax.
Sales of "relaxation drinks" with names like Vacation in a Bottle, Dream Water and Just Chill, while small, are growing.
"There is clear potential for further growth in the coming years," said Cecilia Martinez, market analyst at UK-based beverage research group Zenith International.
Relaxation drinks help the body chill out by relieving muscle tension and reducing levels of cortisone, the main stress hormone, according to a report that Martinez wrote about the drinks earlier this year.
The drinks, which evolved in Japan as far back as 2005, contain no alcohol but some have melatonin, a hormone that can cause drowsiness.
The biggest relaxation brands include Innovative Beverage Group's Drank, Purple Stuff and Jones GABA. Another called Slow Cow is up and coming. Their names provide a marked contrast to engine-revving energy drinks such as Red Bull, Hansen Natural's Monster and Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Venom Energy.
Some 22.4 million cases, or 36 million gallons, of relaxation drinks were sold in 2010, double the amount sold in 2008. By 2014, U.S. volume sales will exceed 79 million gallons, Martinez said.
That is well below the 357 million gallons of energy drinks sold in 2009 alone, according to Zenith.
"Consumption trends of America show that Americans are always willing to try out new things — relaxation drinks might be one of those things," said NPD Group Food & Beverage analyst Darren Seifer.
Carbonated soft drinks far outsold the other drinks, with 9.36 billion cases moving in 2010.

As a result, smaller niches are set to gain greater share over the next ten years, according to Seifer, especially as carbonated drink sales fall.Yet growing health consciousness has led many people to reach for drinks they consider healthier, like juices and waters. Many of these drinks claim to boost energy, metabolism and the ability to relax.
"Relaxation drinks could bring new life into beverages," said Seifer.
The main ingredients are melatonin, a hormone that is intended to induce drowsiness; L-theanine, an amino acid primarily found in green tea; GABA, a chemical that calms the mind; B vitamins, and chamomile — a plant that often winds up as tea that people drink to help them unwind.
"It gives me a chance to relax from a hard day of work without using something that might land me in jail," said relaxation drinks consumer Marcus Brook, a Facebook fan of the Drank drink line.
For Denise Ivy, also on Facebook, the drinks helped her cope with the closing of two family businesses: "If it were not for Drank, we would have not gotten any sleep for several weeks."
Nonetheless, the Zenith report says levels of ingredients in the drinks may be too small to be effective. To move beyond the next 10 years, companies that make the drinks must prove that they do what they say they do, according to Morningstar analyst Philip Gorham.
"If the consumer doesn't feel the effect, then sales would drop off," said Gorham.

Wednesday, July 13

Fan Who Caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit May Have To Pay Hefty Tax Bill

Jeter and Christian Lopez 3000th ball
The fan who gave Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit ball back to the Yankees captain and received a treasure trove of gifts in return was bracing Tuesday for another present: a five-figure tax bill, The New York Times reported.

Christian Lopez, the fan who caught and returned Jeter's home run ball at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, could be facing a tax bill for all that he received in return for his good deed, potentially to the tune of about $14,000.

The Yankees gave the 23-year-old Lopez four luxury suite tickets for each of the team's remaining home games, including the postseason, as well as three bats, three balls and two jerseys all signed by Jeter. He also received front-row seats for Sunday's game, which reportedly sell for up to $1,358.90 each.

If the goods are classified as prizes, rather than gifts, Lopez -- who has said he owes more than $100,000 in student loans -- could be in line for a heavy bill from the IRS.

A modest valuation of $50,000 for all of the items would likely mean a roughly $14,000 tax liability, the newspaper reported.

"There's different ways the IRS could try to characterize a ball caught by a fan in the stands," Andrew D. Appleby, a tax associate who has written about the taxing of souvenir baseballs, told the newspaper. "But when the Yankees give him all those things, it's much more clear-cut that he owes taxes on what they give him."

Other experts disagree. 

"The legal question of whether it is a gift or prize is whether the transferor is giving the property out of detached and disinterested generosity," Michael J. Graetz, a law professor at Columbia University, told the newspaper. 

"It's hard for me, not being a Yankee fan, to think of the Yankees as being in the business of exercising generosity to others, but there's a reasonable case to be made that these were given out of generosity," he added.

Lopez said he plans to ask his parents for a loan if he is hit with the tax bill.



Thursday, July 7

Casey Anthony Juror: 'Sick to Our Stomachs' Over Not Guilty Verdict

Casey Anthony juror Jennifer Ford said that she and the other jurors cried and were "sick to our stomachs" after voting to acquit Casey Anthony of charges that she killed her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
"I did not say she was innocent," said Ford, who had previously only been identified as juror No. 3. "I just said there was not enough evidence. If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be."
Ford, a 32-year-old nursing student at St. Petersburg College, praised the jurors, but said when deliberations began there were "a lot of conflicting ideas." At first, people came down on both sides of whether Casey Anthony killed her daughter, Ford said, and the first vote was 10-2 for "not guilty."
"I toggled on manslaughter and not guilty," Ford told "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran in an exclusive TV interview. "It doesn't feel good. It was a horrible decision to have to make."
The jury's jaw-dropping not guilty verdict shocked court observers, but it was also a difficult moment for the panel, Ford said in her exclusive interviews with ABC News. No one from the jury was willing to come out and talk to the media in the hours after the verdict.
"Everyone wonders why we didn't speak to the media right away," Ford said. "It was because we were sick to our stomach to get that verdict. We were crying, and not just the women. It was emotional and we weren't ready. We wanted to do it with integrity and not contribute to the sensationalism of the trial."
Ford told Moran she thought Casey Anthony's claim that her 2-year-old daughter accidentally drowned and she lied for three years was more believable than the evidence the prosecution presented.
"I'm not saying I believe the defense," she said. "Obviously, it wasn't proven so I'm not taking that and speculating at all. But it's easier for me logically to get from point A to point B" via the defense argument.
Ford said that she couldn't make out "logically" the prosecution's argument because there were too many unanswered questions about how Caylee died, including how Casey Anthony would have used chloroform to smother her 2-year-old daughter, then put her in the trunk of her car without anyone seeing her.
"If there was a dead child in that trunk, does that prove how she died? No idea, still no idea." Ford told Moran. "If you're going to charge someone with murder, don't you have to know how they killed someone or why they might have killed someone, or have something where, when, why, how? Those are important questions. They were not answered."
Instead of murder, Casey Anthony, 25, was found guilty of four counts of lying to law enforcement and could be released from jail as early as Thursday. Ford agreed that Anthony was a "pathological liar" but said "bad behavior is not enough to prove a crime" and her actions could be blamed on her family dynamic.
PHOTO: Jennifer Ford is a 32 year old nursing student.
Courtesy Jennifer Ford
Jennifer Ford is a 32 year old nursing... View Full Size
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"The family she comes from and the family that made her what she is had some influence," she said. "What do they say? You're as sick as your secrets? I mean, the family seemed to have a little something going on."
She added that she thought Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony, was "dishonest."
"I don't know if he had anything to do with it, but I think that he was there," she said. "He and Casey have something."
Casey Anthony Prosecutor: 'All Came Down to Cause of Death'
Earlier today, the prosecutor and an alternate juror agreed on why the jury refused to convict Anthony: They couldn't prove how Caylee Anthony died.
"It all came down to the evidence," said Florida state attorney Jeff Ashton on "The View." "I think ultimately it all came down to -- at least from what the one alternate said -- it came down to the cause of death."
Russell Huekler, one of five alternate jurors who were present for all the testimony and sequestered along with the 12 other jurors, said today that he would have delivered the same verdict and that he was shocked by the public outrage over the trial's outcome.
"The prosecution failed to prove their case and there was reasonable doubt," Huekler said. "Again, they didn't show us how Caylee died. They didn't show us a motive. I'm sorry people feel that way. ... These were 17 total jurors. They really listened to this case and kept an open mind."