WASHINGTON (AP) ? The fate of his gun proposals on Capitol Hill uncertain, President Barack Obama is seeking to rally support from the public and law enforcement community for his calls to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.
Obama will pitch his proposals to stem gun violence Monday in Minnesota, a Democratic-leaning state where officials have been studying ways to reduce gun-related attacks and accidents for several years. His visit to the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center will mark the first time Obama has campaigned on his controversial proposals outside of Washington.
Ahead of the trip, the White House released a photo of the president skeet shooting at Camp David, the presidential retreat. Obama cited skeet shooting when asked in a recent interview whether he had ever shot a gun.
The president unveiled his sweeping package of proposals for curbing gun violence last month in response to the horrific mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He vowed to use the full weight of his office to fight for the proposals, many of which face tough opposition from congressional lawmakers and the powerful National Rifle Association.
The reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, is expected to be the steepest climb for Obama. Universal background checks for gun purchasers may have an easier time passing Congress, though the NRA also opposes that measure.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has said he hopes his panel can write gun legislation this month, though it's unclear what it will contain.
The White House picked Minneapolis as the backdrop for Obama's remarks in part because of recent steps the city has taken to tackle gun violence, including a push for stricter background checks.
After a spike in violent crimes, the city launched a program in 2008 aimed at providing more resources for at-risk youth and helping rehabilitate young people who have already perpetrated crimes. In January, Minneapolis also hosted a regional summit on gun violence for elected officials from around the Midwest.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau and Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek are also among the officials Obama has consulted as he pursues his anti-gun violence measures.
Stanek has also been leading a group of Minnesota sheriffs pushing for stronger background checks for people trying to buy guns.
Obama is expected to make more trips around the country to build support for his anti-gun violence measures. The outside group Organizing For Action, an offshoot of Obama's presidential campaign, is also promoting the proposals.
White House officials say quick action on the president's gun measures gives them the best prospects for passing legislation in Congress. They fear that as time passes lawmakers will have less incentive to back the measures as the shock of the Newtown massacre fades.
In addition to the gun control measures, Obama's anti-violence proposals also included increasing mental health resources, boosting funding for school security, and lifting restrictions that prevent the government from studying the causes of gun violence.
Sex between teachers and underage students is happening every day, all the time, all over the country. It?s some kind of epidemic, apparently.
The Daily Caller whipped together another slideshow based on teacher-student sex stories that appeared on respectable national and local news websites this week alone.
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This week's six creepiest teachers who allegedly banged their students [SLIDESHOW]
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Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said "the political knives" came out when Chuck Hagel faced fellow Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to be Pentagon chief.
Panetta said he was disappointed that Thursday's eight-hour hearing focused so much on what Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, had said in the past about Iran, Israel and other matters instead of what he thinks about today's issues, including the war in Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism, and looming automatic budget cuts and their impact on military readiness.
"We just did not see enough time spent on discussing those issues. And in the end, that's what counts," Panetta told NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"It's pretty obvious that the political knives were out for Chuck Hagel," Panetta said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, noting the lengthy hearing, said on ABC's "This Week," ''give the guy a break. I thought he did pretty good." Reid, D-Nev., said Hagel's party affiliation "should be a plus. We need more."
Panetta said he is confident that Hagel is prepared to succeed him at the Pentagon.
In an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Panetta dismissed concerns that Hagel and former Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was sworn in Friday as secretary of state, agree with Obama's views to the point that they won't challenge the president.
"I've got to tell you, anybody who knows John Kerry and anybody who knows Chuck Hagel ... they push back. Believe me, they push back on the issues," he said. "In the situation room, everybody has to give their honest views. And I think they won't hesitate to give their honest views."
Two Republican senators, Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Mike Johanns of Nebraska, have said they will support Hagel's nomination. Johanns said Saturday his concerns were allayed after Hagel's Senate hearing and after he met with Hagel for an hour.
"Chuck earned this endorsement," Johanns said in an interview with the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star.
MUNICH (AP) ? U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is telling an international security conference that there's still time for diplomacy to succeed in resolving concerns over Iran's nuclear program ? but he's insisting that it's up to Tehran to show good faith.
Biden's comments on Saturday came a few days after Iran, in a defiant move ahead of new talks expected later this month with leading world powers, announced plans to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment. That can be used to make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of warheads.
Biden told the Munich Security Conference that "there is still time, there is still space for diplomacy backed by pressure to succeed." He didn't specify any timeframe.
He insisted that "the ball is in the government of Iran's court."
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, side salads, apple sauce and plums await the students of Eastside Elementary School in Clinton, Miss. The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make school snacks healthier, a move that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Washington ? Goodbye candy bars and sugary cookies. Hello baked chips and diet sodas.
The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful, a change that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus.
?
What foods are in, what foods are out
Some examples of what could be in and out under the proposed new rules, provided the items meet or don?t meet all of the requirements:
WHAT?S IN
Baked potato chips
Granola bars
Cereal bars
Trail mix
Dried fruits
Fruit cups
Yogurt
Whole grain-rich muffins
100 percent juice drinks
Diet soda (high schools)
Flavored water (high schools)
Lower-calorie sports drinks (high schools)
Unsweetened or diet iced teas (high schools)
100 percent juice popsicles
Baked lower-fat french fries
Healthier pizzas with whole grain crust
Lean hamburgers with whole wheat buns
WHAT?S OUT
Candy
Snack cakes
Most cookies
Pretzels
High-calorie sodas
Many high-calorie sports drinks
Juice drinks that are not 100 percent juice
Most ice cream and ice-cream treats
Greasy pizza and other fried, high-fat foods in the lunchroom
Under new rules the Department of Agriculture proposed Friday, school vending machines would start selling water, lower-calorie sports drinks, diet sodas and baked chips instead. Lunchrooms that now sell fatty "a la carte" items like mozzarella sticks and nachos would have to switch to healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups and yogurt.
The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government?s effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have made improvements in their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.
Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunch rooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. And food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has not been federally regulated.
"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools, and 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.
The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.
The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.
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"USDA?s proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well," Harkin said.
Last year?s rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn?t be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion.
The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren?t working.
Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year.
Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says surveys done by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.
"Parents aren?t going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch," she said.
The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.
A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? "Girls" star Lena Dunham has won the TV comedy directing prize from the Directors Guild of America, while the musical portrait "Searching for Sugar Man" earned the documentary award.
Dunham won Saturday for directing the pilot of the show, which focuses on the lives of a group of girls in their 20s.
"It is such an unbelievable honor to be in the company of the people in this room, who have made me want to do this with my life," Dunham said.
Malik Bendjelloul won the documentary award for "Sugar Man," his study of the fate of critically acclaimed but obscure 1970s singer-songwriter Rodriquez. The film also is nominated for best documentary at the Feb. 24 Academy Awards.
Among other early TV winners:
? Musical variety: Glenn Weiss, "The 66th Annual Tony Awards."
? Daytime serial: Jill Mitwell, "One Life to Live."
? Children's program: Paul Hoen, "Let It Shine."
The Directors Guild honors continued Hollywood's strange awards season, which could culminate with a big Oscar win for Ben Affleck's "Argo." The guild's prize for best director typically is a final blessing for the film that goes on to win best-picture and director at the Academy Awards.
Affleck can go only one-for-two at the Oscars, though. He's up for the film honor at the Directors Guild, and "Argo" is looking like the best-picture favorite at the Oscars. But the director's branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked him and several other key filmmakers for an Oscar directing slot.
The guild and Oscar directing lineups usually match up closely, but they have little in common this season, with only Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln" and Ang Lee for "Life of Pi" nominated at both shows.
Along with them and Affleck, the guild nominated Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty" and Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables." At the Oscars, Spielberg and Lee are joined in the directing category by Michael Haneke for "Amour," David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild."
Director Norman Jewison, the guild's 2010 lifetime-achievement prize winner, presented Bigelow with her nomination plaque and noted the incongruity of the Oscar best-picture field, which has nine nominees, while there are only five directing slots.
"So apparently, there were four films that were directed by themselves," Jewison said.
With 12 Oscar nominations, Spielberg's Civil War saga initially looked like the Oscar favorite over such other potential favorites as "Argo," ''Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty," since films generally have little chance of winning best picture if they are not nominated for best director. Only three films have done it in 84 years, most recently 1989's best-picture champ "Driving Miss Daisy," which failed to earn a directing nomination for Bruce Beresford.
But Affleck's "Argo," in which he also stars as a CIA operative who hatches a bold plan to rescue six Americans during the hostage crisis in Iran, has swept up all the major awards since the Oscar nominations. "Argo" won best drama and director at the Golden Globes and top film honors from the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.
Many of the same film professionals who vote in guild awards also cast ballots for the Oscars. If Affleck wins at the Directors Guild awards, it will be a strong sign that "Argo" has the inside track for the best-picture Oscar.
Affleck may have a bit of newcomer's edge at the guild, where he's the only first-time nominee. Spielberg has won the guild prize a record three times, for "The Color Purple," ''Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan." Lee has won twice, for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Brokeback Mountain," while Bigelow won three years ago for "The Hurt Locker" and Hooper won two years ago for "The King's Speech."
A win for Affleck would nick the guild's record as a strong forecast for the eventual directing recipient at the Oscars. Only six times in the 64-year history of the guild awards has the winner there failed to follow up with an Oscar. It would be No. 7 if Affleck wins Saturday, since he's not up for best director at the Oscars.
Peer loyalty might play in Affleck's favor at the Oscars. The acting branch in particular, the largest block of the academy's 5,900 members, might really throw its weight behind "Argo" because of Affleck's directing snub. Actors love it when one of their own moves into a successful directing career, and Affleck ? who's rarely earned raves for his dramatic chops ? also delivers one of his best performances in "Argo."
Affleck has had no traction in acting honors this season, and he's joked that no one considered it a snub when he wasn't nominated for best actor. So a best-picture vote for "Argo" might be viewed as making right his omission from the directing lineup and acknowledging what a double-threat talent he's become in front of and behind the camera.
A best-picture prize also would send Affleck home with an Oscar. The award would go to the producers of "Argo": George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Affleck.
But it's not as though Affleck has never gotten his due at Hollywood awards before. He and Matt Damon jump-started their careers with 1997's "Good Will Hunting," for which they shared a screenplay Oscar.
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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.
