Kenya asks U.N. Security Council to end Hague case against president

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Kenya has asked the U.N. Security Council to end International Criminal Court proceedings against President Uhuru Kenyatta and others, but council diplomats who discussed the request on Thursday said the 15-member body could not stop the case.

The Security Council is only able to defer International Criminal Court proceedings for one year under article 16 of the Rome Statute, which established the Hague-based court a decade ago. The council would need to adopt a resolution to do that.

"The letter from the Kenyans is slightly bizarre because they are actually asking the Security Council to do something that it has no authority to do," said a senior council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto were among six suspects initially charged by ICC prosecutors with orchestrating tribal violence after the 2007 election, when some 1,200 people were killed. Kenyatta and Ruto both deny the charges.

In a letter to the Security Council, Kenya said the implications of Kenyatta's trial "for the viability and continuity of the state should be self evident." Kenyatta's trial is due to start in July.

"What this delegation is asking for is not deferral. What this delegation is asking for is the immediate termination of the case at the Hague without much further ado," Kenya wrote to the Security Council.

The Security Council discussed the request on Thursday. The senior council diplomat said it was unlikely there would be "widespread support" for deferring the proceedings against Kenyatta - who was elected in March - for a year.

The International Criminal Court on Monday postponed the trial of Ruto on charges of crimes against humanity, saying it wanted to hold further hearings with the prosecution and the defense. Ruto asked the ICC last month to postpone the start of the trial to give his legal team more time to prepare.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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President to tout Obamacare benefits for women as Republicans plan repeal vote

Ahead of House Republicans' planned vote next week on whether to repeal the president's health care law, President Barack Obama on Friday will publicly tout what the White House views to be the law's positive impacts on women.

Obama is scheduled to issue a public statement on the "Affordable Care Act" known as "Obamacare" and his remarks will be linked to the upcoming Mother's Day holiday, according to a White House official. The official said the law has extinguished the possibility of children being denied health insurance coverage, created more access for women to preventative services such as mammograms and birth control, and enabled older children to remain on their parents' insurance-- points that could be included in the president's statement.

The president's remarks Friday are scheduled for 2:40 p.m. in the East Room and will be attended by representatives from women's organizations, according to the official. And they will help set up the partisan conversation that will occur next week surrounding a planned repeal vote staged by House Republicans.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Wednesday vowed to hold a vote next week to repeal Obamacare in full. The move is largely political theater but it allows opponents of the law-- especially freshman lawmakers-- to publicly record their opposition.

Republicans have held dozens of votes to repeal all or part of the president's health care law since it passed in 2010 but have been unsuccessful. Even if a repeal passed the House, the effort would die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

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President to tout Obamacare benefits for women as Republicans plan repeal vote

Ahead of House Republicans' planned vote next week on whether to repeal the president's health care law, President Barack Obama on Friday will publicly tout what the White House views to be the law's positive impacts on women.

Obama is scheduled to issue a public statement on the "Affordable Care Act" known as "Obamacare" and his remarks will be linked to the upcoming Mother's Day holiday, according to a White House official. The official said the law has extinguished the possibility of children being denied health insurance coverage, created more access for women to preventative services such as mammograms and birth control, and enabled older children to remain on their parents' insurance-- points that could be included in the president's statement.

The president's remarks Friday are scheduled for 2:40 p.m. in the East Room and will be attended by representatives from women's organizations, according to the official. And they will help set up the partisan conversation that will occur next week surrounding a planned repeal vote staged by House Republicans.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Wednesday vowed to hold a vote next week to repeal Obamacare in full. The move is largely political theater but it allows opponents of the law-- especially freshman lawmakers-- to publicly record their opposition.

Republicans have held dozens of votes to repeal all or part of the president's health care law since it passed in 2010 but have been unsuccessful. Even if a repeal passed the House, the effort would die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

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Man who elbowed President Obama in pickup game speaks

Ouch! President Obama received 12 stitches when he was elbowed in the lip during a basketball game in 2010 (Atlantic …

It’s probably not how what he hoped to be known for. But the man responsible for Obama’s busted lip with his elbow during a basketball game back in 2010, has finally spoken out.

“I had no desire to bring attention to myself in an accident that caused somebody pain. I didn’t want to disrespect the President of the United States,” Reynaldo Decerega, owner of the offending elbow, told the Boston Globe.

Back on November 26, 2010, the programs director for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, found himself in a pickup game with the president, when the elbow incident occurred.

The president took an elbow to the lip and got 12 stitches. Decerega got four stitches on his elbow.

“I felt horrible,” Decerega told the Globe. “I’ve played basketball a million times in my life and I’ve never elbowed anybody. So the first time I do this, it’s to the President of the United States? What is the probability of that? Nil, right?”

Well, unfortunately for Decerega, the probability was 100%.

Not that Obama’s split lip was the first presidential injury related to athletic exertion.

George W. Bush in 2004 took a spill while riding his bike on his Crawford, Texas ranch, suffering some minor scrapes and scratches. After getting cleaned up, he completed the ride.

Former president Bill Clinton required surgery for a torn tendon after he took a tumble on the steps of pro golfer
Greg Norman's house in Florida in 1997. Directly after surgery Clinton announced, “I feel great,” and asked his doctor how soon he could swing a golf club again.

And Dick Cheney, vice president to George W. Bush, who suffers from congestive heart failure, shot fellow hunter Harry Whittington in the face with birdshot while quail hunting in Texas in 2006.

For his part, to show Decerega that he is a good sport, Obama sent the 40-year-old a gift basket with a photo of the pair’s memorable moment.

"For Rey,” the president signed it, “The only guy that ever hit the president and never got arrested. Barack."

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NRA's next president to lead its court fights against gun control

By Andrea Lorenz

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Alabama lawyer Jim Porter, in line to become the next president of the National Rifle Association, is expected to spearhead the group's court challenges of gun-control laws enacted in several states since the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting massacre.

Porter, 64, the son of another Alabama lawyer who served as NRA president from 1959 to 1961, is likely to succeed David Keene on Monday in the two-year post at the nation's leading gun-rights organization.

The longtime member is chairman of the legal affairs committee for the NRA, which has headed off federal attempts to approve new gun ownership restrictions, including a U.S. Senate proposal last month for expanded background checks.

Porter told NRA members at their annual convention in Houston on Saturday that President Barack Obama was "AWOL" on border security, the deficit and national security, but "scheming and plotting" to take away Americans' gun rights.

"There is nothing, nothing that criminals do with guns that isn't already against the law," Porter said.

In a speech to the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association in June 2012, Porter called Obama a "fake" president and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder "rabidly un-American."

The NRA's focus is far different now from what it was when Porter's father, Irvine Porter, led the organization. The NRA then focused mainly on shooting and hunting. Its emphasis shifted in later decades to lobbying against restrictions on guns.

Porter, the NRA's first-vice president, who by tradition is expected to be elected president on Monday by the board, introduced the outgoing president, Keene.

"If I have anything to say about it, you just heard from your next president of your National Rifle Association," Keene told the crowd..

Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president and chief executive, remains the most visible leader of the group.

CHALLENGING GUN RESTRICTIONS

Keene told the Washington Times earlier this week that Porter would be a "perfect match" as NRA president as it focuses on court challenges to state laws restricting gun ownership.

"As we are likely to win most of the legislative battles in Congress, we will have to move to courts to undo the restrictions placed on gun owners' rights in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Colorado," Keene told the newspaper.

Connecticut and New York expanded assault weapons bans and restricted the capacity of ammunition magazines after a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at a Connecticut school in December.

Colorado, where a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 others in July 2012 at a midnight showing of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," approved restrictions on the size of ammunition clips and universal background checks.

Porter, a 1971 graduate of the University of Alabama, told the New York group last year that the fight to protect the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution setting out the right to bear arms had just begun, and that Obama's "entire administration is anti-gun, anti-freedom, anti-Second Amendment."

On Saturday, Tom King, an NRA board member from East Greenbush, New York, said Porter was a likable family man and successful attorney who would be a good NRA president.

"I say things that are controversial too, everybody does," King said. "If you want to take something out of context and say, 'He said that, that's controversial,' and you want to attack him for that, that's your prerogative or anyone else's prerogative, but Jim is a good man."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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ASPCA Board of Directors Names Matthew Bershadker President and CEO

NEW YORK, May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that it has named Matthew E. Bershadker President and CEO. Mr. Bershadker is a 12-year veteran of the ASPCA, serving most recently as Senior Vice President of the Anti-Cruelty Group (ACG). Mr. Bershadker will assume the position June 1, succeeding Edwin Sayres, President and CEO since 2003.

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Under Mr. Bershadker's leadership, the ASPCA has risen to new heights in its response to cruelty and natural disasters. The Anti-Cruelty Group evolved from a fledgling team of responders to a robust, national program that confronts animal cruelty and suffering on all levels across the country.  Mr. Bershadker helped form the Field Investigations & Response team to provide skilled support to state and federal agencies during large-scale puppy mill busts, dog fighting raids, animal hoarding cases, and other instances of animal cruelty as well as natural disasters such as the Joplin, Mo. tornado and Superstorm Sandy. The team has investigated hundreds of cases around the country.  Last year, the ASPCA played a leadership role in the removal of 50 dogs from a Bronx dog fighting ring. Most recently, the ASPCA assisted federal and state authorities in the removal of nearly 100 dogs from a multi-state dog fighting ring.

Prior to leading the Anti-Cruelty Group, Mr. Bershadker served as Vice President of the ASPCA's Development department, where he was responsible for creating fundraising strategy and implementing tactics for major gifts, planned giving, special events, capital campaign, and corporate and foundation grants.

Chair of the Board Tim F. Wray stated: "Matt is far and away the most outstanding choice to be the next leader of the ASPCA. His extensive experience, energy and unwavering commitment to animal welfare, coupled with his strong understanding of business management and the non-profit world, make him the ideal leader for the organization as we pursue our mission. I, along with the rest of the Board, look forward to working with him in his new role. We thank Ed Sayres for all he has contributed to this organization and the welfare of animals. Ed grew the ASPCA by leaps and bounds and changed the fate of countless homeless animals. We wish him the very best."

"I am thrilled to serve the ASPCA, its members and the many communities around the country where we play a vital role," stated Mr. Bershadker. "We have made significant strides on behalf of animals around the country, but there is much more to do. I look forward to working with the executive leadership team and our staff to continue to pursue our mission and develop successful initiatives and programs to take animal welfare to next level."

Mr. Bershadker has been instrumental in the creation of the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, N.J., the first-ever facility dedicated strictly to providing behavioral rehabilitation to canine victims of cruelty, such as those confiscated from puppy mills and hoarding cases.

During Mr. Bershadker's tenure, the ASPCA also launched the Cruelty Intervention Advocacy program, a ground-breaking new initiative to help protect companion animals that are in danger of potential abuse or neglect, helping hundreds of New York City's animals in jeopardy of becoming cruelty victims.

Before joining the ASPCA, Mr. Bershadker worked for ICF Consulting and Share Our Strength (SOS). He received his MBA from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School and his Bachelor's degree in Communications from Ohio University.

Mr. Bershadker serves on the board of the Gruber Family Foundation and Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. He lives in New York City with his wife, Nina, son Elias and their dog, Thelma.

About the ASPCA®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation's leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA's mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

SOURCE ASPCA

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NAWBO® Applauds President For His Selection Of Penny Pritzker As Commerce Secretary And Michael Froman To Be The Next U.S. Trade Representative

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "NAWBO applauds the President for his selection of two highly-qualified and capable individuals to lead such prominent posts within his Administration," said Diane Tomb, President & CEO of the National Association of Women Business Owners. "Both have the vision and expertise necessary to play integral roles in our nation's government and continue to get our economy on track."

From the White House Rose Garden, President Obama nominated Penny Pritzker as his new Commerce Secretary and Michael Froman to be the next U.S. Trade Representative.  

"Women business owners are the fastest-growing segment of the country's economy," said Tomb. "In his selection of Penny Pritzker to lead the Commerce Department, President Obama shows he is committed to harnessing that economic driver. We agree with the President that Penny Pritzker is one of the most accomplished and respected women business owners and are confident she will translate her skills developed as a business owner to the public sector as she leads the Department of Commerce to promote job creation and economic growth."

About NAWBO®
Founded in 1975, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) propels women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide by: strengthening the wealth creating capacity of our members and promoting economic development within the entrepreneurial community; creating innovative and effective change in the business culture; building strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations; and transforming public policy and influencing opinion makers. Learn more at www.nawbo.org.

Media Contact:
Christina Jorgensen
NAWBO Communications
(818) 772-9555, ext. 103

SOURCE National Association of Women Business Owners

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WRD Board President Albert Robles Named Among Top 100 Green Latinos in U.S

LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The latest edition of Poder 360° released its list of the Top 100 Latino Environmental Leaders and selected Albert Robles, Board President of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD). Robles, who is serving in his second consecutive term as Board President, was chosen for his outstanding leadership on environmental regulation.

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"I am deeply honored to be recognized by such a distinguished business news publication," said President Robles. "The pioneering work we do at WRD toward making Southern California more independent from unreliable and expensive imported water is critical to the future of not only Southern California but the entire state.  Without WRD's efforts to eliminate our dependence on imported water, the very strength of the economy for California, specifically, Southern California where the demand for water exceeds nature's availability is in jeopardy."

Albert Robles is listed alongside other prominent environmental leaders such as: Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar; Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro; and Former US Energy Secretary Federico Pena.

WRD provides drinking water to more than ten percent of California's population which is located in one of the state's most densely populated regions – southern Los Angeles County.  At a cost that is approximately one-quarter the cost of imported water from Northern California's environmentally sensitive Bay Delta and the Colorado River, WRD is expanding opportunities to reclaimed and highly treated local water resources, and storing more water underground for use during dry seasons. These cumulative efforts have made WRD water one of the least expensive and most reliable sources of drinking water in the state.

During Robles' tenure as Board President, WRD has delivered on significant environmental accomplishments.  This past year WRD received the Institution of the Year Award from the WateReuse Association, one of the nation's leading organizations that promotes cutting edge and innovative uses of high-quality, locally produced, sustainable water sources. WRD received the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Gold Certification for its Lakewood headquarters building as well as the Energy Star Certification.  In addition, the Government & Finance Officers Association of the US and Canada awarded its highest accolade for government budgeting with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

"We are doing amazing things here at WRD and we are at a defining moment in the agency's 54-year history," stated Robles.  "We are now at the point of becoming completely independent of imported water.  As the demand for and the struggle over water increases in the coming years, WRD will be positioned to insure that residents in our region have an affordable and reliable source of clean, safe drinking water."

As a premier Hispanic business magazine, PODER is written for a global audience of influential senior business and political decision-makers. Its in-depth, cutting edge editorial coverage and exclusive insider access and information on the U.S. Hispanic market and Latin America have made it an influence in the social, economic, political and cultural arenas.

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California's population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California

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President Obama slams Personhood USA, calls personhood "absurd"

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Effectively stating that he does not believe that all human beings are people, President Obama called Personhood USA and Personhood Mississippi's personhood amendment "absurd" when speaking at a Planned Parenthood gala earlier today. 

"The personhood amendment only says that every human being is a person. Far from absurd, it is only reasonable to recognize every single human being as a person," commented Jennifer Mason, Personhood USA spokesperson.

President Obama did not mention the ongoing trial of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist who has been charged with murder and accused of severing the spinal cords of second- and third-trimester babies born alive at his abortion clinic. 

President Obama vigorously opposed Illinois' Born Alive Infant Protection act as an Illinois Senator in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Likewise, Planned Parenthood recently stated that if a baby is born alive after surviving an abortion, the decision of whether or not to kill the newborn "should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician," seemingly blessing Gosnell's post-birth violent killings.

According to CNN, Obama also stated that the 2011 Mississippi personhood amendment was an "assault on women's rights."

Mason concluded: "Particularly in light of recent tragedies our country has suffered, it seems grossly unnecessary for President Obama to raise funds for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood receives over $542 million of taxpayer dollars every year and has reported over one billion dollars in revenue for several years running. They are the largest and wealthiest abortion provider in our nation, and President Obama's appearance at the gala was sure to generate additional revenue. That seems truly absurd."

SOURCE Personhood USA

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How much crow can a president eat? Obama’s finding out

By Jeff Greenfield

So you wake up this morning and find you’re president of the United States.

Pretty cool, no? Helicopters and a 747 at your disposal; courtside seats at any NBA playoff game of your choice; everyone stands up and the band plays when you come into the room.

But the job comes with some baggage, and one of the heaviest of steamer trunks is what to do about a political ally—make that three or four of them—who hands you a stinging defeat on a key, emotionally laden issue.

After the Newtown massacre, you put gun control—sorry, you call it “gun safety” now to avoid ruffling red state sensibilities—back on the table. You give powerful speeches surrounded by the grieving families of the kids who were killed at Sandy Hook. You see a gun rights Democrat, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, and a gun rights Republican, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey draft a bill that provides a kind of, sort of, sprinkled-with-exceptions background check.

And then you see four Democratic senators vote “no.” Three of them—Mark Begich of Alaska, Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas—were up for re-election next year (Begich and Pryor still are, but since the vote Baucus has decided not to run) in states where gun rights sentiment runs strong, and where Obama lost last year by wide margins.

What do you do now? For some on your side of this fight the answer is easy. William Daley, your former chief of staff and a member of the Chicago political family that has always played politics as a contact sport, says he’ll tell the apostates to look elsewhere for campaign contributions.

Some of your own supporters make a different point. They say you’re too soft, unwilling to back a senator up against the wall, stick your face in his (or hers), and get the vote you want—the way Lyndon Johnson used to do.

But you’ve got other considerations to think about. Next years’ midterms are going to be dicey under any circumstances, at least if history is a guide. Presidents in their sixth year almost always find their party losing seats in the Congress. With the retirement of Democrats in tough states such as South Dakota, West Virginia and Montana (Obama performed dismally in all three last year), your party’s hold on the Senate is in jeopardy. Cutting two incumbent Democrats loose significantly raises the chances that your party will lose the Senate. And if that happens, you can say goodbye to your domestic agenda, not to mention your federal judgeship nominations.

What you’re facing, it turns out, is the same dilemma that any president, any major officeholder faces: How much are you willing to live with in order to pursue a broader agenda?

FDR had to deal with Southern segregationists—and outright racists—who held power in Congress, so he had to yield to that power in order to get his New Deal legislation passed. As the Digital History website tells it: "Most New Deal programs discriminated against blacks. The NRA, for example, not only offered whites the first crack at jobs, but authorized separate and lower pay scales for blacks. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) refused to guarantee mortgages for blacks who tried to buy in white neighborhoods, and the CCC maintained segregated camps. Furthermore, the Social Security Act excluded those job categories blacks traditionally filled.”

JFK faced the same ugly reality: In order to get a black candidate approved for a federal judgeship, he had to name an ally of Mississippi Sen. James Eastland to the federal bench. That judge delighted in calling black civil rights demonstrators “chimpanzees”—and worse—but Kennedy paid that price.

So what do you do, Mr. (or Madame) President? Do you offer an object lesson to other members of your party by telling the trio of defecting senators to take a hike as a way of saying, “If you desert me on a big issue, you will pay the price?”

Or do you decide to swallow your anger and cheerfully hit the campaign trail next year to save this trio, because the price of losing the Senate is just too high?

You make the call.

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Vice President Joe Biden Holds Off on Donating Salary

Vice President Joe Biden is not planning on donating a portion of his salary, eschewing the lead of President Obama and other Cabinet members who are giving up part of their salary as some federal workers face furloughs because of the sequester.

While he is not donating his salary right now, the vice president could forgo a portion of his salary in the future should his staff face furloughs down the road.

"The vice president is committed to sharing the burden of the sequester with his staff," an aide to the vice president said.

Biden earns a salary of $230,700 a year as vice president, but his net worth is much lower than the president and some Cabinet members who have decided to donate a portion of their salary. The vice president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, reported an adjusted gross income of $379,035 in 2011, and a 2011 Center for Responsive Politics analysis estimated the vice president's net worth at approximately $337,000.

Asked by ABC News' Jonathan Karl whether the vice president should follow the example set by the president and other Cabinet members, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Friday, "We're not setting expectations. But I think everyone, including members of Congress, can make a decision as they see fit."

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"For Ukraine to move forward with its democracy, the time has come for opposing forces on important issues to find a way to compromise over seemingly intractable issues," says influential conservative commentator and long-term senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan

"For Ukraine to move forward with its democracy, the time has come for opposing forces on important issues to find a way to compromise over seemingly intractable issues," says influential conservative commentator and long-term senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan