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Purveyor's JournalBiden: Trayvon Case Could Spur Fla. Gun Law Debate
(CBS News) Vice President Joe Biden said Florida's "Stand Your Ground" gun laws will be a topic of debate in light of the controversy surrounding the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
"It's important that people be put in a position where their Second Amendment rights are protected, but that they also don't, as a consequence of the laws, unintendedly put themselves in harm's way," Biden told anchor Bob Schieffer in an interview to air on "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Florida's gun laws allow people to shoot in self-defense if they feel threatened. Mr. Biden, who was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for eight years, said that the Martin case underscores the need to ensure public safety in accordance with current gun laws.
"The idea that there's this overwhelming additional security in the ownership and carrying concealed and deadly weapons... I think it's the premise, not the constitutional right, but the premise that it makes people safer is one that I'm not so sure of," Biden said.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57407389/biden-trayvon-case-could-spur-fla-gun-law-debate/
Clinton: Iran Agrees To New Nuke Talks
(CBS/AP) RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Iran and six world powers have agreed to meet in Istanbul on April 13 for the latest round of talks about Iran's nuclear program.
Clinton made the announcement at a news conference Saturday following a security conference in Saudi Arabia. That conference focused on the nuclear program, which the U.S. and other believe is intended to develop nuclear weapons, and on military threats from Iran in the Persian Gulf region.
Iran and the six nations — the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — met in Istanbul 14 months ago. But the talks ended after two days with the sides agree on what to talk about.
Iran contends the program is solely for peaceful energy and research purposes.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57407560/clinton-iran-agrees-to-new-nuke-talks/
U.S. Ambassador Says Russia Is A ‘Wild Country’
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, March 30, 2012 11:13 EDT
The US ambassador to Moscow questioned Friday how a Kremlin-linked television channel accessed his private schedule, calling Russia a “wild country” in an altercation with its reporters.
Michael McFaul wrote on Twitter that NTV, a state-run broadcaster that has aired smear documentaries against the opposition, seemed to know his appointments and was waiting as he came to visit a prominent rights activist.
“Not true. State Dept does not publish my schedule,” McFaul said on Twitter, adding that the meeting with activist Lev Ponomaryov from the For Human Rights group had not been scheduled through the consulate either.
NTV published a statement on its website saying the channel had a “wide network of informants.”
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/30/u-s-ambassador-says-russia-is-a-wild-country/
Attacking Iran: Did US Just Torpedo Israeli Deal For A Base In Azerbaijan?
By Brad Knickerbocker
posted March 29, 2012 at 7:41 pm EDT
The three-way tension between the United States, Israel, and Iran became tenser this week with a widely cited report that Israel is developing a “secret staging ground” in Iran’s neighbor to the north – Azerbaijan – for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Quoting unnamed senior US diplomats and military intelligence officials, a lengthy article in Foreign Policy magazine asserts that “Israel has recently been granted access to airbases on Iran's northern border.”
"The Israelis have bought an airfield," a senior administration official is quoted as saying, "and the airfield is called Azerbaijan."
Why would US officials be talking about this? Likely to slow down any rush to war in an already volatile region, some speculate.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2012/0329/Attacking-Iran-Did-US-just-torpedo-Israeli-deal-for-a-base-in-Azerbaijan
General: U.S. May Export Terror War Tactics To Fight Drug Gangs
By Stephen C. Webster
Friday, March 30, 2012 9:30 EDT
Drug cartels in Mexico and across South America pose a grave and growing threat to the security of the United States, and Army General Martin Dempsey is well aware of it.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently returned from a tour of South America, during which he repeatedly told national leaders that the U.S. is concerned about terrorists utilizing drug smuggling networks to launch terrorist attacks.
Because if they can smuggle drugs into the U.S., they can smuggle almost anything else just as well.
To help protect against that threat, Dempsey called on closer security ties between South American nations and the U.S., suggesting that there may be greater opportunity to engage the drug cartels by exporting key lessons learned in America’s experience fighting al Qaeda.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/30/general-u-s-may-export-terror-war-tactics-to-fight-drug-gangs/
Guest Lineups For The Sunday TV News Shows
ABC's "This Week" — Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
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CBS'"Face the Nation" — Vice President Joe Biden; Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul; Kevin Madden, adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
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CNN's "State of the Union" — Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; Ryan.
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"Fox News Sunday" — Santorum; former Govs. Haley Barbour, R-Miss., and Howard Dean, D-Vt.
NOTE: CBS'"Face the Nation" goes to a 1 hour format starting this week.
General: U.S. May Export Terror War Tactics To Fight Drug Gangs
Source: Rawstory
By Stephen C. Webster
Friday, March 30, 2012 9:30 EDT
Drug cartels in Mexico and across South America pose a grave and growing threat to the security of the United States, and Army General Martin Dempsey is well aware of it.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently returned from a tour of South America, during which he repeatedly told national leaders that the U.S. is concerned about terrorists utilizing drug smuggling networks to launch terrorist attacks.
Because if they can smuggle drugs into the U.S., they can smuggle almost anything else just as well.
To help protect against that threat, Dempsey called on closer security ties between South American nations and the U.S., suggesting that there may be greater opportunity to engage the drug cartels by exporting key lessons learned in America’s experience fighting al Qaeda.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/30/general-u-s-may-export-terror-war-tactics-to-fight-drug-gangs/
The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance Is Coming to an End
By David Welch, Chris Burritt and Lauren Coleman-Lochner - Mar 30, 2012 10:16 AM ET
When Best Buy Co. (BBY) said yesterday it was closing 50 big stores and opening 100 smaller ones, the world’s largest electronics retailer was adjusting to reality: The era of big-box retail dominance is coming to an end.
The new mantra is small box. While Best Buy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT) are still opening large stores, all are putting increasing emphasis on smaller ones. Best Buy plans to double the number of its smaller Best Buy Mobile stores by 2016. Wal-Mart is building as many as 100 small-format stores this year, while Target is opening five CityTarget locations.
After 50 years of putting mom and pops out of business, big-box retail is having a mid-life crisis. A slow economy has hurt same-store sales, narrowing margins at big stores. Meanwhile, consumers, armed with price-comparison technology, are visiting more stores seeking deals or exclusive merchandise rather than making one-stop, fill-the-cart excursions.
“We’re undergoing a seismic shift,” said Natalie Berg, an analyst with Planet Retail in London. “People are still cutting back. People are buying more products online so there is a real case for downsizing stores.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-30/the-era-of-big-box-retail-dominance-is-coming-to-an-end.html
Mothers Trump Regulators as Campbell Dumps Chemical
By Jack Kaskey - Mar 30, 2012 10:45 AM ET
Campbell (CPB)’s soup and Chef Boyardee pasta are banned from Lori Popkewitz Alper’s pantry in Bedford, Massachusetts, because the mother of three says her family may be harmed by the chemical that lines the metal containers.
Alper is part of the growing opposition among consumers to bisphenol A, also known as BPA, which the National Institutes of Health says may affect the development of young and unborn children. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which since the 1960s has said BPA is safe, must reassess by March 31 whether the chemical should be forbidden in food and beverage packaging.
An immediate ban would hurt the $60 billion can industry, cutting profits at can makers Silgan Holdings Inc. (SLGN), Ball Corp. (BLL) and Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK), said Ghansham Panjabi, a Roseland, New Jersey-based packaging-industry analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. Campbell Soup Co. and HJ Heinz Co. (HNZ) aren’t waiting for regulators to act and are taking steps to ditch the compound.
“In investment terms, it’s all about what the consumer thinks,” Alexia Howard, a New York-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in an interview. “Over time, we will see a decline in the use of cans.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-29/mothers-trump-regulators-as-campbell-dumps-chemical.html
Obama Campus Fervor Losing to Apathy as Students Sour on 2012
On election night 2008, freshman Meagan Cassidy left Lake Forest College and hopped a train to Chicago to celebrate Barack Obama’s impending victory.
“There was probably no better place to be,” Cassidy said in a phone interview. The excitement generated that evening spurred her on to become an intern and then a field organizer in three congressional contests and two human rights campaigns.
Now a senior, Cassidy, 21, said she’s not working on a campaign this time around. She’s too busy looking for a job at a nonprofit advocacy group. She and her friends aren’t discussing the election as much as in 2008, she said.
“There is not much talk of Obama at all,” Cassidy said of the mood on campus, which extends beyond the president. “I don’t think anyone’s satisfied.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-30/obama-campus-fervor-losing-to-apathy-as-students-sour-on-2012.html
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