The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

Thursday, Apr. 17, 2014 at 4:19 PM | Comments: 0

OTTAWA - The ball is now firmly in the Harper government's court when it comes to deciding whether to stick with the oft-maligned F-35 fighter jet program.

After almost 18 months of exhaustive research and analysis, a key report that will determine whether there will be an open competition to replace the air force's aging CF-18s has been completed, the public works minister said Friday.

The analysis looks at fighter jets already on the market, how suited they would be for Canada's defence needs, their cost and potential benefits.

The review was part of a package of research the Conservative government ordered as a way to douse the political fire started in 2012 following a scathing report by the auditor general, which accused National Defence and Public Works of low-balling the enormous cost of the stealth fighter program and not doing their homework.

Diane Finley did not release the findings of the market analysis, conducted by four outside defence experts.

"Over the next several weeks we will be carefully reviewing a number of reports relating to the evaluation of options, industrial benefits, costs and other factors related to the decision to replace our CF-18 fleet," Finley told a Vancouver business audience.

She described the research as "both rigorous and impartial."

Read more from the original source:
Key report on F-35 rivals now complete; cabinet to decide on open competition

Police: Utah mom admitted to killing her 6 babies Police: Utah mom admitted to killing her 6 babies

The discovery of seven dead babies in cardboard boxes in a Utah garage has police desperately seeking answers from the mother and other family members about how such a tragedy unfolded over a decade with no one...

Megan Huntsman was clear about what she did with six of her newborn babies.

Updated: Saturday, April 12 2014 6:07 AM EDT2014-04-12 10:07:09 GMT

An incredible photo snapped Saturday at the iconic Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore is going viral. A mother humpback whale and her calf were cruising just offshore when a set rolled in. J.T. Gray of North

An incredible photo snapped Saturday at the iconic Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore is going viral.

Updated: Monday, April 14 2014 6:09 PM EDT2014-04-14 22:09:02 GMT

A second man has been charged in connection with the death of an Anna man.

A second man has been charged in connection with the death of an Anna man.

Updated: Monday, April 14 2014 3:46 PM EDT2014-04-14 19:46:59 GMT

Excerpt from:
KY 2422 in Graves Co. to close for cross drain replacement

The resignation of Maria Miller as Culture Secretary came after she was criticised for failing to cooperate properly with an inquiry into claims she made for mortgage payments on the house she owned in London. Under the old system, MPs could claim for mortgage interest on their second homes, a practice scrapped after the crisis.

Even Mrs Millers replacement in the Cabinet owes his safe seat largely to the expenses crisis. Sajid Javid entered the Commons in 2010, after the then MP for Bromsgrove, Julie Kirkbride, was forced to stand down over her expenses claims. Mr Javid replaced her at the general election.

Ms Kirkbrides husband, Andrew MacKay, who was a senior adviser and confidant of David Cameron, also stood down as an MP in 2010 when it was revealed that the pair had indulged in double-dipping, both claiming whopping allowances for second homes, based on the pretence that neither of their houses was their main address. At a stormy public meeting in May 2009, which was filmed, Mr MacKay was denounced by outraged constituents.

Ms Kirkbride and Mr MacKay were far from alone in having their careers curtailed. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, was forced to stand down at the height of the controversy, and other MPs lost their liberty as well as their jobs. Since the crisis of the summer of 2009, five Labour MPs and two Conservative Peers have been sent to prison for offences relating to their expenses.

Labours David Chaytor was sentenced to 18 months for false accounting and claiming more than 20,000 in expenses fraudulently; Jim Devine MP got 16 months for false accounting; Eric Illsley was sent down for a year; Elliot Morley claimed 16,000 for a mortgage that did not exist and was sentenced to 16 months; and Denis MacShane was recently released from prison after being sentenced to six months.

Two Tory Peers Lord Taylor of Warwick and Lord Hanningfield went to prison after being convicted of false accounting. And Margaret Moran, who spent 22,000 of taxpayers money on treating dry rot at her partners home and claimed travel expenses for driving more than 26,000 miles, even though her constituency was only 30 miles from London, was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.

In addition, ahead of the 2010 general election, a long list of MPs decided in the manner of Ms Kirkbride and Mr MacKay to announce that they would not be standing. Others were forced to stand aside by their party leaders, who were desperate to prove they were responding in a robust fashion.

If the House of Commons was unpopular before those events of five years ago, it plumbed new depths in the months afterwards. It seemed as though the inhabitants of the Commons lived by an entirely different set of rules from those they represented. The scandal had not only exposed fraud in the more extreme cases, but a lid had been lifted on the strange world of Westminster.

In recent days, another aspect of Westminsters peculiarity has attracted attention. In the aftermath of the acquittal of Nigel Evans, the former deputy Speaker, on charges of rape, parliamentary researchers spoke up about the antics of some MPs who, fuelled by booze available cheaply in the Commons bars and free at receptions, get too close to the young staff who work at Westminster. During his trial, Mr Evanss barrister described his clients drunken overfamiliarity with young male researchers.

To MPs who do not inhabit the bars of Westminster or Whitehall late at night, who get on with their jobs, it is depressing stuff. My constituents think were all at it, says a Labour frontbencher. They think the absolute worst of us. It is not easy explaining that a lot of us are in it for the right reasons.

The rest is here:
MPs' expenses: A scandal that will not die

April 11, 2014 - 09:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan's Cabinet on Friday, April 11, approved an energy policy reversing the previous government's plans to gradually mothball nuclear power plants, a move likely to be unpopular with a wary public following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Reuters reports.

But the plan may too little too late for the country's moribund atomic industry, which is floundering under the weight of estimated losses of almost $50 billion, forcing two utilities to ask the government for capital last week. Plant operators have had to pay out almost $90 billion on replacement fossil fuels, with local media saying they have also spent an estimated 1.6 trillion yen ($16 billion) on nuclear plant upgrades to meet new safety guidelines, according to Reuters.

A recent Reuters analysis shows as many as two-thirds of the country's 48 idled nuclear reactors may have to be left closed because of the high cost of further upgrades, local opposition or seismic risks.

"I think it is unavoidable that the Japanese utilities will write off most of their nuclear 'assets' and move on," said Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based independent energy consultant.

The plan defines nuclear as an "important baseload power source" meaning it can feed constant power to the grid to meet minimum requirements. But the policy document did not specify the amount that nuclear should make up in the nation's energy mix.

"Given the slim realistic prospects for a major nuclear share, the challenge will be flexibility and the whole baseload concept flies out of the window," Schneider said.

The government also names coal and hydro power as baseload sources.

"The plan makes clear we will reduce reliance on nuclear power through a variety of measures," industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

Motegi said the government may decide on an ideal energy mix within two or three years.

See the article here:
Japans Cabinet approves energy policy reinstating nuclear power

WASHINGTON (CNN) President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who currently directs the White House budget office, to be the next health secretary, the Cabinet official whos ultimately responsible for overseeing Obamacare.

Obama praised the outgoing secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, saying at a Rose Garden ceremony that she would go down in history for serving when the United States finally declared that quality, affordable health care would be a right for every U.S. citizen.

I will miss her advice. I will miss her friendship, Obama said. I will miss her wit.

Her departure is not without controversy although her tenure will conclude more positively with the Obama administration riding high over the initial enrollment success of the politically charged health law.

Obama acknowledged the early problems with the governments HealthCare.gov website last fall, which was an enormously tumultuous period for Sebelius.

But Obama followed up by saying that her team turned the corner and got it fixed, got the job done in carrying out the sign-up period from October through March. The final score speaks for itself, Obama said with 7.5 million people signed up for health coverage.

The Affordable Care Act, Obamas signature domestic achievement, aims to provide insurance for millions of Americans without it.

Burwell is also no stranger to making tough calls.

As director of the Office of Management and Budget for the past year, Burwell was at the center of last falls budget drama during which she was responsible for sending out the shutdown order for federal agencies.

She also has a history in Washington circles that extends beyond her current position. She was a budget and campaign official for Bill Clinton.

More here:
President nominates replacement for Kathleen Sebelius

Prostitution, drug related arrests made in McCracken County Prostitution, drug related arrests made in McCracken County

Updated: Thursday, April 10 2014 2:22 PM EDT2014-04-10 18:22:31 GMT

Several people face drug-related charges and one person faces prostitution charges in McCracken County, Kentucky.

Several people face drug-related charges and one person faces prostitution charges in McCracken County, Kentucky.

Updated: Thursday, April 10 2014 6:53 AM EDT2014-04-10 10:53:05 GMT

A Harrison County affidavit WLOX obtained said a young girl's diary detailed the relationship between former officer Patrick Klis and a 15-year-old girl. WLOX also found online pictures of Klis and a young girl.

WLOX News has uncovered new details about what led investigators to arrest a Long Beach Police officer for three counts of sexual battery involving a minor. A Harrison County affidavit WLOX obtained said a young girl's diary detailed the relationship between former officer Patrick Klis and a 15-year-old girl. WLOX also found online pictures of Klis and a young girl.

Updated: Tuesday, April 20 2010 11:21 PM EDT2010-04-21 03:21:00 GMT

31 people are in trouble with the law after a three day prostitution sting in Richmond.Police told NBC12 they targeted specific areas where residents and business owners complained about the illegal activity.

Updated: Thursday, April 10 2014 10:41 AM EDT2014-04-10 14:41:10 GMT

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KYTC: KY 2209 in Hickman Co. to close for cross drain replacement

Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary, pictured in October 2011.

Image: Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

By Chris Taylor2014-04-10 23:08:00 UTC

Kathleen Sebelius has decided to step down from her Cabinet post as the head of Health and Human Services, according to White House officials and a replacement is already waiting in the wings.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will shortly be nominated by President Obama as the next Health and Human Services secretary, reports the New York Times.

Sebelius is 65, and officials told the Times that she's stepping down of her own accord. But it can't have failed to escape anyone's attention that Sebelius presided over the disastrous initial roll-out of Healthcare.gov, the online insurance exchange mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

The site's open enrollment period ended last week, with more than 7.5 million U.S. residents newly signed up for health insurance. The timing of Sebelius' stepping down, in the warm afterglow of that announcement, allows the administration to take credit for it while also removing the Secretary associated with Healthcare.gov's earlier problems.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell in March 2013.

Image: Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

More:
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Resigns

Sajid Javid has been appointed culture secretary after Maria Miller resigned amid a row over her expenses claims.

Javid's promotion to the cabinet by David Cameron was announced on Wednesday morning. But what does the Bromsgrove MP bring to the table as the new culture secretary and minister for equalities?

Here's 10 things you need to know about Sajid Javid:

Sajid Javid became MP after an expenses scandal

Javid won his Bromsgrove seat, replacing Julie Kirkbride, who had to step down over her own expenses scandal. And now another expenses scandal sees Javid rise up into the cabinet.

Sajid has had his own "women problem"

Sajid owes his rise to George Osborne

Javid rose up the government ranks as one of Osborne's right-hand man. He served first as his ministerial aide, becoming economic secretary and then financial secretary at the Treasury.

Sajid is a former banker who made millions

Deutsche Bank has recently been fined...

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Who Is Sajid Javid? 10 Things You Need To Know About Maria Miller's Replacement

High performance access to file storage

Culture, media and sport Secretary of State Maria Miller - whose stuffed portfolio included overseeing the rollout of faster broadband networks to country bumpkins - has finally quit her Cabinet post over an expenses row.

Miller handed in her resignation letter to Prime Minister David Cameron this morning - just hours before he faces PMQs in Parliament at midday today.

She said in her missive to the PM:

I am very grateful to you for your personal support but it has become clear to me that the present situation has become a distraction from the vital work this Government is doing to turn our country around.

But critics, both outside and within the Tory party, have attacked Cameron for failing to act sooner by sacking Miller, who had been ordered to pay 5,800 of the expenses she had claimed.

The amount of money the minister was said to have wrongly siphoned from the taxpayer was understood to be higher. Previously, it had been advised by the independent parliamentary commissioner for standards that Miller pay back 45,000 in expenses.

MPs on the Commons' Committee rejected the higher figure, however, and settled on agreeing to Miller repaying just 5,800, much to the chagrin of many within Westminster.

Since then, calls for the Cabinet minister to resign have overshadowed the government, which comes to the end of its term next year. The PM has also been criticised for his botched handling of the entire affair.

Female Cabinet ministers fell by a quarter with the exit of Miller this morning. Now, Cameron has to make a snap judgment about who will replace the Conservative MP for Basingstoke at the Ministry of Fun.

See the rest here:
Broadband Secretary of SHEEP sensationally quits Cabinet

Parliament's Independent Standards Commissioner last week found that Mrs Miller had broken Commons rules and should repay 45,000 in expenses she claimed on a London house she later sold for a 1.2 million profit.

A committee of MPs reduced the payment to 5,800 and accepted a 32-second apology from the minister. David Cameron gave his minister his "warm support" despite complaints from the public.

Mrs Miller told Sky News: This has been a really difficult 16 months because I was cleared about the central allegation made about me by a Labour member of Parliament, I hope that I could stay, but its become clear to me over the last few days that this has become an enormous distraction and its not right that distracting from the incredible achievements of this Government.

Mrs Miller said that she had apologised unreservedly to the House of Commons and was clear to everybody that she took responsibility for the findings of the Standards Committee.

She added: I want to make sure that the situation is clear to everybody and make sure that I can move on."

Mrs Miller's comments could be seen by Westminster insiders as an attempt by Downing Street to deflect criticism of the Prime Ministers weakness over the issue.

Former Culture Secretary Maria Miller drives away from Parliament on April 9 (GETTY IMAGES)

It has been reported that there was a personal visit to Maria Miller last night in which someone close to Mr Cameron told her that it was time to go.

A source close to the Prime Minister quoted by Channel Four said that Conservative leadership had decided that the damage the scandal was doing to the party had gone fair enough.

The appearance of Maria Millers Private Secretary Mary Mccleod on Sky News was the final straw, it was reported.

Continue reading here:
Maria Miller: I take full responsibility for my resignation