AP names Torchia as bureau chief in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press bureau chief in Turkey who has reported from five continents, has been appointed chief of bureau for AP for southern Africa.
The appointment was announced Thursday by Africa Editor Andrew Selsky.
"Torchia is one of the best foreign correspondents in the business and has the experience and talent to deliver fascinating stories from this important and diverse region," Selsky said.
As southern Africa bureau chief, Torchia, 45, will oversee coverage of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, Madagascar, Lesotho, Swaziland and Malawi. He will be based in Johannesburg and report directly to Selsky.
He joined the AP in Albany, the New York state capital, in 1989 after a stint at The Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico. He moved to the AP's Boston bureau and the international editing desk in New York, and then transferred to Colombia in 1994, covering drug cartels and rebel and paramilitary groups.
He was posted to Indonesia during the Asian economic crisis that helped oust President Suharto in 1998 and served as bureau chief in South Korea and Singapore, reporting on events including the North Korean nuclear standoff and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. In late 2006, he moved to Istanbul, where he drove coverage of Turkey's rising diplomatic and economic profile and contributed to reporting on the Mideast and on the Arab spring uprisings and Syria's civil war.
He also has reported frequently from Iraq and Afghanistan, covering the 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, among other stories.
Torchia holds a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University. He is the co-author of "How Koreans Talk" and "Indonesian Slang: Colloquial Indonesian at Work."
An American, Torchia lived in South Africa as a youth. His father, Andrew Torchia, a foreign correspondent for AP before retiring in 1994, also served as AP's bureau chief in Johannesburg in the 1980s.

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Nigeria airline in June crash resumes flights

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian airline involved in a June crash that killed at least 163 people resumed domestic flights Thursday, even though officials acknowledge they still don't know what brought the aircraft down and that the families of the dead still haven't received insurance settlements.
Government authorities cleared Dana Air to again fly the same type of planes involved in the crash, despite public outrage over the disaster in a nation with a long history of airplane tragedies. Meanwhile, passengers still nervously board flights, even though the country's aviation industry remains mired in financial problems and is governed by lax oversight.
Smiling staffers stood Thursday at empty check-in and ticket counters at a domestic wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, as only a few passengers paid for seats on its 4:20 p.m. flight Thursday to Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The private airline planned to have a flight Friday morning carrying local celebrities, government officials and journalists to the capital and back as a sign that the carrier was again open for business, said Tony Usidamen, a Dana spokesman.
The carrier was offering tickets as cheap as 14,400 naira ($90) one-way to the capital, about half the price of its competitors, as a means of luring back passengers. However, Usidamen said the carrier planned a limited flight schedule for the coming weeks and acknowledged it would be a while before its flights were full again.
"It's going to take time to publicize the resumption of flights and to regain the public's confidence," the spokesman told The Associated Press.
On June 3, a Dana Air MD-83 twin-engine jet crashed in a crowded neighborhood on the outskirts of Lagos, killing all 153 people onboard and at least 10 on the ground, authorities have said. The pilots told air traffic controllers that the plane lost power to both engines just before the crash. The reason for the power loss remains unclear. Crash investigators in Nigeria have said the flight data recorder on the plane melted in the ensuing fire.
Dana will fly its remaining stock of five MD-83s, airplanes built by McDonnell Douglas, which was later bought by Boeing Co. The aircraft series is a mainstay of airlines around the world, with a large number still flown by American Airlines, owned by AMR Corp. Joe Obi, a spokesman for Nigeria's Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, pointed to that when asked if authorities had any concerns about Dana continuing to fly that model.
"Until we are sure what caused the crash, we can't make a decision on the MD-83," Obi told the AP.
Federal officials have given Dana Air a two-month window to complete insurance payments to the bereaved, Obi said. That could prove difficult, as Usidamen said the airline's insurers have made full payments to only five families of victims so far. Usidamen blamed the delays on families not getting needed documents from probate courts.
Nigeria has suffered a series of plane crashes over the last decades, with authorities never offering clear explanations for why the disasters happened. Obi said Nigeria's government planned to immediately publicize the cause of the Dana crash as soon as it knew, but the government has previously declined to publish the causes of other crashes.
Other airlines in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, have collapsed or faced dire financial straits over the last year.
Air Nigeria, the nation's second-largest carrier, collapsed in September amid allegations of financial mismanagement. Arik Air Ltd., the country's largest and perceived safest carrier, recently halted domestic flights after its management alleged Oduah had a financial interest in seeing the airline fail. The carrier later resumed its flights, but raised its prices as authorities halted other smaller carriers from flying due to financial and safety issues.
Air travel, despite its perils, represents the quickest way for those who can afford it to travel across Nigeria, a nation twice the size of California and with decrepit and dangerous roads. However, experts say Nigerian aviation authorities remain overworked and safety regulations are laxly enforced in a nation where bribery is an epidemic.
The Dana Air crash represented the worst airline disaster in the country since Sept. 27, 1992, when a military transport plane crashed into a swamp shortly after takeoff from Lagos and killed all 163 people onboard. The worst air disaster in Nigeria happened in 1973, when a Jordanian Boeing 707 crashed at Nigeria's Kano international airport and killed 176 people.

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C. African Republic leader fires son from post

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Facing an insurgency by a new rebel coalition, the president of Central African Republic consolidated military power under his control Thursday after dismissing his own son as acting defense minister along with his army chief of staff.
President Francois Bozize said in a decree read on state radio late Wednesday that he was taking over the position held by his son, Jean Francis Bozize as neighboring countries sent troops to help.
Hundreds of soldiers from Chad, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon have been in arriving this week in this desperately poor, landlocked country where rebels have seized 10 towns in a month's time.
Rebel spokesman Col. Djouma Narkoyo reiterated Thursday that they were holding their position at the transportation hub of Sibut pending negotiations in Gabon. They have apparently made no further advance toward the capital since taking the town on Dec. 29.
"Our position today is that we respect the decision of the Economic Community of Central African States," he said by satellite phone. "That's why we are staying in Sibut and are not advancing."
In New York, France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said there will be a meeting in Libreville, Gabon on Jan. 8 to promote a political solution to the crisis, mediated by President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo.
"The goal is to have a political agreement in Libreville, a national unity government ... and eventually a peaceful settlement," he told reporters after a closed-door briefing to the U.N. Security Council Thursday on the latest developments in the Central African Republic by U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman.
Araud said the African Union and regional groups are in the lead and have been very active, and the Security Council is supporting them and will likely issue a press statement Friday. He said France planned to circulate the text to the 14 other council members on Thursday evening.
"They have stopped the rebels, and they have ideas about a national unity government," Araud said of the AU and regional groups. "So everything will be discussed in the meeting in Libreville on the 8th, and after the meeting in Libreville we'll see whether the U.N. has to do something."
Residents in the capital of Bangui said Bozize's decision to fire his own son was not surprising given the recent military losses. But some noted Bozize may be making his moves too late.
"It's coming too late because the security of our country is already in the hands of rebels," said Jean Nestor Kongbu as he watched fishermen cast their nets in the Obangui River that separates Central African Republic from Congo. ... They say they won't advance, but the government could provoke the rebels or the rebels could provoke the government. They need to negotiate for the Central African people."
The sudden military reorganization also suggests that Bozize's regime may be weakening, said Thierry Vircoulon, the project director for Central Africa at the International Crisis Group.
"If he is dismissing his own son, it means he is getting more and more isolated," Vircoulon said.
Jennifer Cooke, director of the Africa program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said people see Bozize "as a losing ticket right now."
"People are losing confidence in him and he has every reason to be a bit paranoid right now watching the disintegration of the country," she said.
The United Nations called for talks between the government and rebels and the Security Council scheduled closed consultations on the Central African Republic on Thursday afternoon.
The rebels have indicated they will participate in upcoming talks in Gabon but are also insisting that Bozize go. The president says he will not leave before finishing his term in 2016.
Bozize himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion with the help of Chadian forces. He later went on to win elections in 2005 and 2011, though the opposition and international observers have called the votes deeply flawed.
The rebels behind the latest challenge to Bozize's rule are made up of four separate groups all known by their French acronyms — UFDR, CPJP, FDPC and CPSK. They are collectively known as Seleka, which means alliance in the local Sango language, but have previously fought one another. In September 2011, fighting between the CPJP and the UFDR left at least 50 people dead in the town of Bria and more than 700 homes destroyed.
Just 70 miles (112 kilometers) to the south of Sibut, government and regional forces are fortifying the town of Damara, where truckloads of Chadian troops patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
Gen. Jean Felix Akaga, who heads the regional force known as FOMAC, says a push on Damara, 45 miles (75 kilometers) north of the capital, would be "a declaration of war" on the 10 Central African states.
"For us, Damara is the red line that the rebels cannot cross," Akaga said Wednesday. "If they attack Damara, we will attack.

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Laurendeau has some extra variables to consider ahead of Davis Cup roster picks

There are a number of factors that Martin Laurendeau must consider before a decision is made on the Canadian roster for Davis Cup play.
For next month's World Group tie against Spain, a few extra variables are in play.
Laurendeau has a few weeks left to weigh his roster options ahead of the first-round matchup in Vancouver. Making things different for the longtime Canadian captain is the possibility that Jesse Levine could be in the mix and the opposition may not have its top player.
Levine, an Ottawa native who moved to the United States when he was 13, has petitioned the International Tennis Federation to represent Canada. It's unlikely that he will get approval in time for the Spain tie, but it's a possibility.
In addition, the status of world No. 4 Rafael Nadal is uncertain. The Spaniard announced last week that he probably won't play again for about two months, saying he needs time to recover from a stomach virus.
Nadal, who missed several months last season due to knee problems, now hopes to return at Acapulco on Feb. 27. However, he did not rule out playing at an earlier tournament if his recovery went well.
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is Canada's top singles threat and will have his hands full with Spain's deep lineup with or without Nadal. Toronto's Daniel Nestor is the Canadian doubles anchor and Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver rounds out the team's core.
"Our main task basically is to have a healthy team and to have all our players as sharp as they can (be) that early in the season, which is a difficult thing to do," Laurendeau said from Australia. "To play a Grand Slam and a Davis Cup within the first month of the year is a tough assignment. It's a tough start. You want all your guys healthy."
The fourth roster spot could go to youngster Filip Peliwo of North Vancouver, Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., or Levine, if he gets approval.
"It's that time of the year where things can go slowly and we haven't heard back from the ITF," Laurendeau said of Levine's status. "It's going to be cutting it short I think. There's an outside chance that he might be eligible but I think it's more of a longshot."
At No. 104, Levine would be Canada's second-ranked player behind Raonic (No. 13). Pospisil has the No. 125 spot, Dancevic is at No. 165 and Polansky has the No. 180 position. Peliwo, meanwhile, was named ITF junior world champion last year.
Laurendeau said whether Levine is selected or not, the 25-year-old southpaw is planning to be in Vancouver for training purposes and support. Levine reached a career-high ranking of No. 69 last January and has had success in singles and doubles.
"He can volley, he's got the feel, he can drop, he's got good hands," Laurendeau said. "Given the chance, he can hold his own and do his share of damage playing doubles. It's not at the top of his priorities but given the chance he can take on most of the teams out there."
Canada is hoping the indoor courts at UBC's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre will provide an advantage against the top-ranked Spaniards, who are most dominant on clay. Anchored by world No. 5 David Ferrer, Spain has several top-flight players and will present a stiff challenge in the best-of-five tie.
"From our end, we don't have the same depth as Spain but our top players can hold their own against any of their guys," Laurendeau said.
Spain dropped a 3-2 decision to the Czech Republic in the 2012 final, a loss that prevented the Spaniards from claiming a sixth Davis Cup crown. Canada maintained its spot in the World Group with a 4-1 victory over South Africa last September in Montreal.
The hard-serving Raonic has shown that he can hang with anyone on tour, especially on an indoor synthetic hardcourt. If he can pull out a couple of singles victories and Canada can add a point in doubles or in the other singles matches, the host side will have a shot.
The roster must be named 10 days before the start of the Feb. 1-3 tie but up to two player changes can be made after that. For his lineup, Laurendeau must consider previous head-to-head matchups, big-match experience and health and fitness.
"As far as I'm concerned the No. 1 thing is to have everyone playing, everyone healthy and then we'll select (the lineup) accordingly depending on who's showing the best form that early in the season," Laurendeau said.
Injuries have been a problem for the Canadians over the last few years.
Polansky and Dancevic have had some injury issues and Raonic had to bow out of a key Davis Cup match last February against France due to a knee problem that did not prove to be serious.
It's also unclear who might be the best fit to play with Nestor, who has been a dominant force on the doubles circuit for years. Laurendeau has said Nestor's partner will be whoever is playing the best at the time.
"That's where his experience comes into play," Laurendeau said of the doubles veteran. "The ideal scenario is to play with the same guy every match of the year but come Olympics and Davis Cup that's difficult to do.
"He's important to the team because of his experience and his ability to play with whoever is thrown out there with him."
The tie will begin with two singles matches on the Friday of Davis Cup week. The doubles match goes Saturday and reverse singles are set for Sunday.
"Doubles on Saturday is always an important point and we've lost the last couple of points on Saturday, the last two times that we played," Laurendeau said. "We've really got to address that, the fact that if we want to beat Spain, we're going to have to come out with a win on Saturday this time around for sure."
Raonic's performance will be particularly critical for the 12th-ranked Canadian side at the 6,500-seat venue.
"He's a guy that trains really hard in the off-season and it's not a coincidence that he's done well early in the season the last two years," Laurendeau said. "And if we want to beat Spain, we'll need him to do it a third year in a row.
"We need Milos to be at the top of his game.

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Azarenka wins; Stephens vs Williams in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka opened her 2013 season with a 6-3, 6-3 win Wednesday over Sabine Lisicki to join No. 3 Serena Williams and fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
American Sloane Stephens had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson to set up a quarterfinal against Williams. She'll face a childhood hero.
"Obviously, she's been a really great influence in my tennis," the 19-year-old Stephens said. "I'm excited to play her and get on the court with her. I think it'll be fun."
Williams said she has been following Stephens' career and was "a fan" of her young Fed Cup teammate's style.
In her first tournament back since being sidelined by an abdominal injury following the U.S. Open, Stephens isn't awed by the prospect of taking on the 15-time Grand Slam winner.
"Obviously, I always was like, 'Oh, my God. I love her to death. She's amazing, whatever,'" Stephens recalled of early meetings with Williams. "Now she's like an actual person and I'm like, 'Oh, hi. How is it going?' She's not like a hero anymore. She's just a friend.
"Even if I go out there and lose, just bomb it, I don't win a game, at least if I'm able to focus on myself and do what's right for me, then it's not a loss."
Kerber recovered from 5-2 down in the deciding tiebreaker to beat Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Azarenka won her first major at the Australian Open last year during a 26-match winning streak to start the season and spent most of 2012 atop the women's rankings.
She said her focus ahead of her first major title defense was more about attacking than defending.
"I actually don't really look at defending anything. I'm just looking to win," Azarenka said. "I'm going to have the same mindset for as long as I'm playing."
The Belarusian, who won here in 2009 without dropping a set, got the better of 37th-ranked Lisicki in a match that had nine breaks of serve. Azarenka said Lisicki, who was serving at up to 121 mph, proved a tough match and a good measure of her preparations for the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 14.
Lisicki was "serving some bombs," although the German player was only getting half of her first serves into play and had five double-faults. Lisicki mixed 36 winners with 36 unforced errors, trying to push Azarenka around the court.
Azarenka will play Kazakh qualifier Ksenia Pervak, who has ousted former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and Urszula Radwanska in matches decided by third-set tiebreakers.
"I hope she's tired," Azarenka said, joking. "She's a young girl with a lot of potential. She's going to be really motivated. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Kerber rallied from 4-1 down in the third set and reached the tiebreaker when Puig was two points from the biggest victory of her career.
The 19-year-old Puig, ranked No. 124, buried a swinging volley into the bottom of the net at 5-2 in the tiebreaker and it changed the momentum of the match.
"For sure, it was a surprise how she played. I didn't know her before, but, yeah, I'm sure that she'll be coming very soon into the top 50," Kerber said. "I have a lot of confidence right now that I won again (in a) very close match."
In men's second-round matches, third-seeded Gilles Simon of France beat Colombia's Alejandro Falla 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) and No. 5 Kei Nishikori of Japan had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Tommy Robredo of Spain. Sixth-seeded Florian Mayer lost 6-4, 6-2 to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
In the night match, fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov was leading 6-2, 4-1 when Jarkko Nieminen of Finland retired because of a migraine.

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No. 1 Victoria Azarenka beats Lisicki 6-3, 6-3 to reach Brisbane International quarterfinals

BRISBANE, Australia - Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka opened her 2013 season with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Wednesday to join No. 3 Serena Williams and fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
Azarenka, who won here in 2009 without dropping a set, got the better of 37th-ranked Lisicki in a match containing nine breaks of serve.
The Belarusian won the Sydney International and then her first major at the Australian Open last year during a 26-match winning streak to start the season and spent most of 2012 atop the women's rankings.
She said her focus ahead of her first major title defence was more about attacking than defending.
"I actually don't really look at defending anything. I'm just looking to win," Azarenka said. "I'm going to have the same mindset for as long as I'm playing."
In earlier second-round matches, Angelique Kerber recovered from 5-2 down in the deciding tiebreaker to beat Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) and Sloane Stephens had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson to set up a quarterfinal against fellow American Williams.
Azarenka said Lisicki, who was serving at up to 194 kph (121 mph), proved a tough match and a good measure of her preparations for the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 14.
She said Lisicki was "serving some bombs," although the German player was only getting half of her first serves into play and had five double faults. Lisicki mixed 36 winners with 36 unforced errors, trying to push Azarenka around the court.
"I had a tough challenge at the beginning," she said. "It's always good to see where you're at, right at the start."
She'll next play Kazakh qualifier Ksenia Pervak, who has ousted former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and Urszula Radwanska in Brisbane in matches decided by third-set tiebreakers.
"I hope she's tired," Azarenka joked. "She's a young girl with a lot of potential. She's going to be really motivated. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Five of the top eight seeded players had already been eliminated midway through the second round.
Kerber narrowly avoided that fate, coming back from 4-1 down in the third set and clawing her way back in a tiebreaker when Puig was two points from the biggest victory of her life.
The 19-year-old Puig, ranked No. 124, buried a swinging volley into the bottom of the net at 5-2 in the tiebreaker and it changed the momentum of the match.
"For sure it was a surprise how she played. I didn't know her before, but, yeah, I'm sure that she'll be coming very soon into the top 50," Kerber said of Puig. "I have a lot of confidence right now that I won again (a) very close match."
Stephens had a convincing win over Arvidsson and next faces a childhood hero.
"Obviously she's been a really great influence in my tennis year career. I'm excited to play her and get on the court with her. I think it'll be fun," the 19-year-old Stephens said.
Williams said she has been following Stephens' career and was "a fan" of her young Fed Cup teammate's style.
In her first tournament back since being sidelined by an abdominal injury following the U.S. Open, Stephens isn't overawed by the prospect of taking on the 15-time Grand Slam winner.
"Obviously I always was like, 'Oh, my God. I love her to death. She's amazing, whatever,'" Stephens recalled of her earliest meetings with Williams. "Now she's like an actual person and I'm like, 'Oh, hi. How is it going?' She's not like a hero anymore. She's just a friend.
"Even if I go out there and lose, just bomb it, I don't win a game, at least if I'm able to focus on myself and do what's right for me then it's not a loss."
In men's second-round matches, third-seeded Gilles Simon of France beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), and No. 5 Kei Nishikori of Japan had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Tommy Robredo of Spain. Sixth-seeded Florian Mayer lost 6-4, 6-2 to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
In the night match, fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov was leading 6-2, 4-1 when Jarkko Nieminen of Finland retired due to a migraine.

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3 reasons the next round of budget talks might be easier

Tough issues remain but there have already been some key concessions from both sides
Although Matthew Yglesias says we’ve entered "an era of semi-permanent fiscal policy crisis," there’s still hope to think the next round of budget negotiations — in two months when the U.S. Treasury is unable to borrow money and automatic spending cuts kick in — just might be a little bit easier.
1. The big reason for optimism is that the issue over tax rates is settled. Republican resistance to ever raising taxes on anyone was finally broken earlier this week. Taxes were raised on the wealthiest Americans and will bring in about $620 billion in new revenues over the next decade.
SEE ALSO: 7 inspiring firsts for the 113th Congress
2. House Republicans have already signaled to Democrats that they would consider an overhaul of the tax code — mainly by closing loopholes and limiting deductions — as a way to raise additional revenues to reduce the deficit.
3. President Obama has already offered a major concession on how the government calculates cost of living adjustments to Social Security and other entitlement programs. By moving to a "chained CPI" calculation, analysts predict the government would save more than $100 billion over the next decade.
There are certainly many more complicated and controversial issues to be hashed out, but the seriousness of reaching an agreement in two months might also spur greater cooperation. The "fiscal cliff" was a creation by politicians, not markets, and going over it — as we did for more than a day — really didn’t amount to much. But the next deadline involves the full faith and credit of the federal government. Reneging on our debts would have an immediate punishing effect by the financial markets and possibly throw the entire global economy into crisis.

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The Accidental Congressman: Can a good man survive in Washington?

A new documentary tracks the rise and fall of Ahn "Joseph" Cao, the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress
When Ahn "Joseph" Cao won election to the House in 2008, he ticked off a couple of firsts. He was the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress. He was also the first Republican in more than 100 years to win election in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, which covers nearly all of New Orleans. With zero experience in politics (he was formerly in training to become a priest), the diminutive candidate won election in the heavily Democratic district only because his opponent, William Jefferson, was mired in scandal. When he arrived in Washington, he was known as the Accidental Congressman.
Two years later, Cao was out of a job. His unlikely rise and precipitous fall is the subject of Mr. Cao Goes to Washington, a new documentary from PBS that premiered on Thursday night and will be aired across the country by various affiliates in the coming week. (Watch a trailer below.) The film, directed by Leo S. Chiang, is the story of what happens to a well-intentioned rookie who finds himself thrust into the partisan miasma of Congress.
Cao was always something of an anomaly in the country's halls of power. He told Deborah Solomon at The New York Times that he had joined the Republican Party for its "strong pro-life stance. That alone." His positions on other issues were decidedly liberal, though they were inflected with a religious bent. "I always adhere to what I call 'the politics of the Gospel,'" he told Solomon. "You have to take care of the poor, take care of the widows, visit the sick, help those who cannot help themselves." He crossed GOP orthodoxy multiple times (irritated conservatives kept track of his infractions), and, most egregiously, was the only Republican who voted to pass President Obama's health care bill. The distinction earned Cao the president's affection.
Or so he thought. The health care vote upended Cao's life. Republicans accused him not only of betrayal, but of pandering to his mostly black constituents. Cao then switched his vote to "nay" for the bill's final draft, claiming that the Senate had introduced language that could allow federal money to be used for abortions. His about-face earned him the disdain of Democrats, who claimed that Cao had let Republicans bully him into line. Cao claimed that all his votes were reflections of his conscience and beliefs; his opponents on both sides of the aisle said he reeked of political opportunism. And, when the air is so foggy with cynicism, who knows which side is telling the truth?
Cao was especially disappointed when he discovered that Obama had cut an ad in support of his 2010 opponent, Democrat Cedric Richmond. "From the tone of his campaign I expected something different than the usual political stance," he told Carlo Rotella of The Boston Globe. "I had hoped he was a person who would do the right thing, not the expedient thing." As Rotella notes, "Can he possibly be naive enough to mean this?

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The single dumbest gun-control measure ever proposed

With extraordinary shortsightedness, Connecticut lawmakers want to publicize the addresses of handgun owners
The Connecticut state legislature is about to consider changing the law to make the information and addresses of 170,000 Connecticut handgun owners public. Aside from potentially being unconstitutional on the grounds that such a law would violate (somewhat ironically) the right to privacy first enumerated by the Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut, this proposal would, if passed, prove a boon for criminals, a disaster for unarmed Connecticuters, and would eventually lead to the proliferation of handgun ownership throughout the state.
That was not a typo: I did, in fact, write that the law would most harm people who do not own handguns. Of course, the gun-rights crowd is emphasizing the harm the proposal would do to gun owners' privacy. And they argue that it would put handgun owners in more danger. It's certainly true that the law would invade the privacy of Connecticut residents who own guns. But it wouldn't put them in harm's way. It would actually maximize the utility of owning a firearm — to the detriment of people who don't own guns.
Think about it. What idiot is going to choose to rob a home where he knows the owner is packing heat? Criminals tend to be stupid, but not that stupid. On the contrary, owning a registered handgun would dramatically decrease the likelihood of your home being targeted, all things being equal.
Here's what would happen: Someone, probably some ridiculous newspaper that does not think the consequences through, will FOIA the gun ownership records and publish them online in an easily searchable database. Would-be robbers would then visit this website and figure out which houses do not have residents who own registered handguns. Those will be their targets. In other words, this law would screw the very people it is aimed at protecting: people who do not own handguns.
Civilians will quickly catch on to this logic. It turns out that if you are a civilian and you are worried, you probably are going to want to be on that gun owner list, if only because you do not want to be among the crowd most likely to be targeted. At this point, the proposal’s most perverse consequence of all becomes clear: If this bill becomes law, Connecticut would likely see first-time handgun permit requests and handgun purchases skyrocket as people who never had any reason to desire a gun flock to stores so that criminals will be more likely to leave them alone. And because the proposal exempts rifles, people who already own guns for sporting purposes will also probably head to the store and pick up a handgun that they neither wanted nor needed.
This proposal, which appears to have received almost no critical thought prior to its introduction, is a perfect example of why legislators need to think long and hard about how they seek to regulate firearms. If they do not, ill-conceived proposals are apt to do exactly the opposite of what they were originally designed for. For historical evidence, look no further than the Assault Weapons Ban of 1990. The ban eliminated high-capacity magazines… but only for a limited time. Furthermore, the law grandfathered in all pre-ban magazines and failed to ban their importation in certain circumstances. Thus the number of high-capacity magazines actually increased while the ban was in place.
Additionally, the ban limited supply and, in the wake of the ban, demand skyrocketed. Gun companies like Glock cleverly arranged to have many of the police departments that use Glock trade their old weapons (with their pre-ban magazines) in for new weapons. Glock then resold the old guns and, more importantly, the pre-ban magazines at a considerably higher price, creating a windfall for the company. And then, of course, when the assault weapons ban expired, Glock resumed production.

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Today in business: 5 things you need to know

Regulators clear Google in antitrust probe, Tory Burch becomes a billionaire, and more in our roundup of the business stories that are making news and driving opinion
1. REGULATORS CLEAR GOOGLE IN ANTITRUST CASE
The Federal Trade Commission, after a two-year investigation, has determined that Google didn't violate antitrust laws by delivering search results that highlight its own services. The decision, released Thursday, constitutes a major victory for Google and allows it to avoid a costly and lengthy battle similar to the one Microsoft fought in the 1990s. That antitrust battle helped competitors challenge Microsoft's tech dominance, and now the weakened software giant is among the loudest voices complaining that Google is using its ubiquitous search engine to unfairly squelch competition. [New York Times]
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2. OFFICIAL DATA CONFIRM HIRING HELD STEADY DESPITE FISCAL CLIFF
Labor Department figures released Friday confirmed what private analysts reported this week: Employers shrugged off the looming fiscal cliff in December and continued to gradually hire more workers. Businesses added 155,000 jobs in the month, close to expectations, leaving the unemployment rate essentially unchanged, at 7.8 percent, from revised numbers for November. The new hiring was consistent to the gradual gains posted throughout 2012, which economists said would slowly but steadily bring down the unemployment rate. [Washington Post]
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3. TORY BURCH BECOMES A BILLIONAIRE (ON PAPER)
The former husband of fashion designer Tory Burch has sold nearly half of his 28 percent stake in her company in a deal that makes her a billionaire. Tory and Chris Burch opened their first store in New York in 2004, and divorced two years later. The company, which sells high-end women's clothing and accessories, has since grown into a retail juggernaut, with 80 Tory Burch retail stores and other displays in other outlets, including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's. Chris Burch sold off part of his stake to settle the former couple's legal squabble, fetching a price that values Tory Burch's 28-percent stake at $935 million. [Bloomberg]
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4. WHITE HOUSE SIGNS OFF ON OBAMACARE INSURANCE EXCHANGES
The Obama administration on Thursday approved another seven states' plans to set up health-insurance exchanges designed as a key part of President Obama's health-reform law. The White House has now signed off on the plans submitted by 17 states and Washington, D.C. The exchanges will serve as "a kind of Travelocity" to help individuals and businesses find the best deals on health coverage. The exchanges are due to start enrollment on Oct. 1, so consumers will be able to use federal subsidies to buy insurance on the exchanges by Jan. 1. Most states didn't submit plans to run their own marketplaces, so they'll have to either partner with the federal government or let the Obama administration establish their exchanges for them.

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