Anniversary of JFK death brings sadness, solemnity

Anniversary of JFK death brings sadness, solemnity 

People gather before a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. President Kennedy's motorcade was passing through Dealey Plaza when shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963.

DALLAS (AP) -- It was the same time, 12:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22. It was the same place, downtown Dallas.

But 50 years later, the thousands of people who filled Dealey Plaza weren't there to cheer but to remember in quiet sadness the young, handsome president with whom Dallas will always be "linked in tragedy."

The solemn ceremony presided over by Mayor Mike Rawlings was the first time the city had organized an official Kennedy anniversary event, issuing 5,000 free tickets and erecting a stage with video screens.

Somber remembrances extended from Dallas to the shores of Cape Cod, with moments of silence, speeches by historians and, above all, simple reverence for a time and a leader long gone.

"We watched the nightmarish reality in our front yard," Rawlings told the crowd, which assembled just steps from the Texas School Book Depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the sixth floor at Kennedy's open-top limousine. "Our president had been taken from us, taken from his family, taken from the world."

Two generations later, the assassination still stirs quiet sadness in the baby boomers who remember it as the beginning of a darker, more cynical time.

"A new era dawned and another waned a half-century ago, when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas," Rawlings told the crowd that gathered under gray skies and in near-freezing temperatures. The mayor said the slaying prompted Dallas to "turn civic heartbreak into hard work" and helped the city mature into a more tolerant, welcoming metropolis.

The slain president "and our city will forever be linked in tragedy, yes," Rawlings said. "But out of tragedy, an opportunity was granted to us: how to face the future when it's the darkest and uncertain."

Historian David McCullough said Kennedy "spoke to us in that now-distant time past, with a vitality and sense of purpose such as we had never heard before."

Kennedy "was young to be president, but it didn't seem so if you were younger still," McCullough added. 

"He was ambitious to make it a better world, and so were we."

Past anniversaries have been marked mostly by loose gatherings of the curious and conspiracy-minded, featuring everything from makeshift memorials and marching drummers to freewheeling discussions about others who might have been in on the killing.

On Friday, the mayor unveiled a plaque with remarks the president was supposed to deliver later that day in Dallas. Rawlings' comments were followed by a mournful tolling of bells and a moment of silence at the precise time that Kennedy was shot.

In Dallas, the dreary weather was far different from the bright sunshine that filled the day of the assassination. But that didn't stop crowds from lining up hours before the ceremonies began.

Drew Carney and his girlfriend, Chelsea Medwechuk traveled from Toronto to attend the ceremony. Like many of those in attendance, they wore plastic ponchos to ward off the rain.

At 25 and 24, respectively, they were born a quarter-century after Kennedy died. Carney, a high school history teacher, said he became intrigued with Kennedy and his ideals as a teenager.

"It filled you with such hope," he said.

Elsewhere, flags were lowered to half-staff and wreaths were laid at Kennedy's presidential library and at a waterfront memorial near the family's Cape Cod compound.

Shortly after sunrise, Attorney General Eric Holder paid his respects at Kennedy's recently refurbished grave at Arlington National Cemetery, where a British cavalry officer stood guard, bagpipes played and a flame burned steadily as it has since Kennedy was buried.

About an hour later, Jean Kennedy Smith, 85, the last surviving Kennedy sibling, laid a wreath at her brother's grave, joined by about 10 members of the Kennedy family. They clasped hands for a short, silent prayer and left roses as a few hundred onlookers watched.

In Boston, Gov. Deval Patrick and Maj. Gen. Scott Rice of the Massachusetts National Guard endured a heavy rain during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kennedy statue on the front lawn of the Statehouse. The statue, dedicated in 1990, has been largely off-limits to public viewing since security procedures put in place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But the area was opened to visitors Friday.

Both of Kennedy's grandfathers served in the Massachusetts Legislature, and in January 1961 the president-elect came to the Statehouse to deliver one of his most famous addresses, which came to be known as the "City on a Hill" speech, just before leaving for his inauguration in Washington.

The tributes extended across the Atlantic to Kennedy's ancestral home in Ireland.

In Dublin, a half-dozen Irish soldiers toting guns with brilliantly polished bayonets formed an honor guard outside the U.S. Embassy as the American flag was lowered to half-staff. An Irish army commander at the embassy drew a sword and held it aloft as a lone trumpeter played "The Last Post," the traditional British salute to war dead.

More than a dozen retired Irish army officers who, as teenage cadets, had formed an honor guard at Kennedy's graveside gathered in the front garden of the embassy to remember the first Irish-American to become leader of the free world.

Together with Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore and embassy staff, they observed a moment of silence and laid wreaths from the Irish and American governments in JFK's memory.

UK police: 3 women held captive for 30 years

UK police: 3 women held captive for 30 years

Kevin Hyland, head of the Metropolitan Police's human trafficking unit speaks to the media outside New Scotland Yard's headquarters in London in this image taken from TV Thursday Nov. 21, 2013. London police say three women were held for at least 30 years against their will in a south London home. Metropolitan Police revealed Thursday the women had been rescued and announced the arrests of two people as part of an investigation into slavery and domestic servitude.

LONDON (AP) -- Three women have been freed after spending 30 years held captive in a south London home, including one woman believed to have spent her entire life in domestic slavery, police announced Thursday.

London's Metropolitan Police spoke about the rescues after two people - a man and a woman, both 67 - were arrested early Thursday on suspicion of forced labor and domestic servitude.

The arrests came as part of a slavery investigation launched after one of the women contacted a charity in October to say she was being held against her will along with two others. The charity went to the police, the force said.

Those freed on Oct. 25 are a 69-year-old Malaysian woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old British woman, police said.

Kevin Hyland, head of the Metropolitan Police's human trafficking unit, said the women are "highly traumatized" having had "no real exposure to the outside world" for the past 30 years.

"Trying to find out exactly what has happened over three decades will understandably take some time," he said.

Police initially said they did not believe any of the victims were related. Later, however, they appeared to backtrack, saying the relationship between the three women is part of the investigation and they will not speculate on it.

The force also said there is no evidence to suggest anything of a sexual nature - but cautioned that the investigation is still not finished. Police would not speculate on any motivation, name the suspects' nationalities or say if the suspects were a couple.

The revelations raised numerous questions - all still unanswered - about how the women's ordeal began and why it endured for so long. What brought them to London? What freedoms - if any - did they have? What restrictions and conditions were they subject to? Did neighbors ever see them, or did they ever try to escape?

The women - whose names have not been released - are now safe at an undisclosed location in Britain and have been working with severe trauma experts since their rescue, Hyland said.

It is not known how the women ended up in the house. The 30-year-old, who would have had to either been born in the home or enter it as an infant given the police timeline, appears to have been held in domestic servitude for her entire life, police said.

The Irish woman called the charity from what appears to be an "ordinary house in an ordinary street," said Aneeta Prem, founder of the charity that promotes awareness of child abuse, forced marriages and honor killings.

Police said the woman "found the courage to call" in October after seeing a documentary on the BBC about forced marriages. What followed were secret, "in-depth" conversations with the women, Prem told Sky News.

"It had to be pre-arranged when they were able to make calls to us and it had to be done very secretly, because they felt they were in massive danger," she said.

Her charity first sounded the alarm to Metropolitan Police's sexual offenses exploitation and child abuse unit; the case then was passed on to its human trafficking unit.

By tracking where the woman's calls were coming from, London police managed to find the house in the borough of Lambeth, south of the River Thames. London police were keeping the exact location of the house secret.

After repeated, tentative calls to the charity, two of the captive women agreed to meet at another location on Oct. 25, police said. The first two - the British woman and the Irish woman - walked out under their own power and identified the house where they'd been held. At that point, police said they went in and rescued the 69-year-old Malaysian woman.

Hyland said there was a delay in arresting the two suspects - neither of whom are British - as police worked to establish the facts of the case and to ensure that the women who had escaped were not further traumatized. The suspects are now in custody at a south London police station.

"When we had established the facts, we conducted the arrests," Hyland told reporters.

Hyland said while the women had some "controlled freedom," police were still working to establish what sort of conditions they lived under for the past 30 years.

"For much of it, they would have been kept on the premises," Hyland said.

He said his unit, which deals with many cases of servitude and forced labor, had seen previous cases of people held for up to ten years.

"But we've never seen anything of this magnitude before," he said.

 

A-Rod bolts grievance hearing; lawsuit looms

A-Rod bolts grievance hearing; lawsuit looms 

Alex Rodriguez arrives at Major League Baseball headquarters in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Rodriguez's grievance hearing to overturn his 211-game suspension resumed Monday with the first of what could be 10 straight days of sessions.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez benched himself at his own grievance hearing.

The New York Yankees star walked out in the middle of a session Wednesday, furious arbitrator Fredric Horowitz refused to order baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to testify. The move, followed by angry statements accusing Selig of bias and the entire arbitration process of flaws, appeared to be a prelude to a lawsuit challenging whatever ruling Horowitz makes on A-Rod's 211-game suspension.

Horowitz was in the midst of the third week of hearings on the grievance filed by the players' association to overturn the penalty given to the three-time AL MVP by Major League Baseball in August for alleged violations of the sport's drug agreement and labor contract.

"I lost my mind. I banged a table and kicked a briefcase and slammed out of the room," Rodriguez said during a 40-minute interview on WFAN radio. "I probably overreacted, but it came from the heart."

Rodriguez has not testified in the grievance and said he had been warned that repeating his denials of wrongdoing on the stand could result in attempts at additional discipline by MLB.

MLB argued that it could decide what witnesses it wanted to present to justify the discipline, since the penalty must meet a "just cause" standard. The league said Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred spoke to reasoning behind the discipline during his six hours of testimony.

Rodriguez and the union asked Horowitz to compel Selig to testify. After the arbitrator refused, Rodriguez uttered a profanity at Manfred just before leaving the hearing room at MLB's office, two people familiar with the proceedings said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because what takes place at the hearing is supposed to be confidential.

"In the entire history of the Joint Drug Agreement, the commissioner has not testified in a single case," the commissioner's office said in a statement. "Major League Baseball has the burden of proof in this matter. MLB selected Rob Manfred as its witness to explain the penalty imposed in this case. Mr. Rodriguez and the players' Association have no right to dictate how baseball's case is to proceed any more than baseball has the right to dictate how their case proceeds. Today's antics are an obvious attempt to justify Mr. Rodriguez's continuing refusal to testify under oath."

The hearing continued for about two hours after Rodriguez left the room, one of the people said, and it is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.

"We have put on evidence. We have more evidence to put on. We are evaluating our options," said James McCarroll, a lawyer for Rodriguez who also spoke during the WFAN interview. "We haven't said the case isn't being completed. We haven't said that the case isn't complete."

Horowitz, chosen by management and the union as their independent arbitrator last year, has the discretion to eliminate the suspension or alter it. The statements by Rodriguez and McCarroll made it appear the 14-time All-Star intends to sue MLB and the union unless the penalty is eliminated.

Rodriguez already has filed one suit against MLB and Selig, accusing them of a "witch hunt," and another against the Yankees team physician and his hospital, alleging malpractice in the diagnosis and treatment of a hip injury.

Manfred is technically part of a three-person arbitration panel that also includes union General Counsel David Prouty and is chaired by Horowitz.

"I'm done. I don't have a chance," Rodriguez said during the WFAN interview.

He issued a statement earlier in the day attacking the procedures established in the agreements between MLB and the union.

"I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails," Rodriguez said. "I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process.

"This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players' association refused to order Selig to come in and face me. The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce."

The players' association was disappointed with Horowitz's decision but was less confrontational than Rodriguez.

"The MLBPA believes that every player has the right under our arbitration process to directly confront his accuser," the union said in a statement. "We argued strenuously to the arbitrator in Alex's case that the commissioner should be required to appear and testify. While we respectfully disagree with the arbitrator's ruling, we will abide by it as we continue to vigorously challenge Alex's suspension within the context of this hearing."

McCarroll blamed Horowitz for precluding evidence Rodriguez wanted to introduce and hinted of a court fight.

"Whether the case is finally decided in this forum, created by Major League Baseball, Bud Selig's forum, or another forum, nobody is throwing the case out," he said.

Rodriguez denied using performance-enhancing drugs or obstructing MLB's investigation into the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. Rodriguez was the only one of the 14 players disciplined this summer to challenge his suspension.

"Over time, the arbitration process in baseball has been amazingly pro player," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said. "It was that process which created free agency. It allowed Steve Howe to remain on the field despite numerous drug violations and resulted in the shortening of suspensions like John Rocker's. The notion that this same process is not fair enough or good enough for Alex Rodriguez is ridiculous."

Rodriguez said he had hoped to testify Friday. MLB had insisted Rodriguez submit to an "investigatory interview" prior to his testimony, but he canceled his scheduled appearance last week, claiming illness. MLB agreed to waive its right to penalize him for testimony during an interview it might deem untruthful, one of the people said.

"The system is wrong, and whether you're in federal court or state court or in kangaroo court that we are today, players need protection," Rodriguez said on WFAN. "The union has already told me that if I go on on Friday and they think I lied, they can give me say another 100 games, so now you're to 311. So now we'll appeal that. In the appeal process, I would say I didn't do it, so now you're up to 411, and this can go on for the next seven or eight years."

He repeatedly disparaged Selig, who has been in charge of baseball since 1992 and said in September he plans to retire in January 2015. Rodriguez said Selig wants him as "a trophy" to put "in his big mantel on his way out."

"My only message to the commissioner is, I know you don't like New York, but come to New York and face the music. He hates my guts, there's no question about it," Rodriguez said. "One hundred percent it's personal, and I think this is about his legacy, and it's about my legacy, and he's trying to destroy me."

Rodriguez said four years ago he used PEDs while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. He has denied using them since.

He briefly discussed his relationship with Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch, who is cooperating with MLB's investigation.

"It was nutrition and it was weight loss," Rodriguez said. "And Bosch wasn't the only guy. I traveled the world to see doctors, cutting-edge stuff, but always between the parameters of Major League Baseball. And I have hundreds of e-mails that will be part of evidence which I can't get into that backs me up 100 percent."

 

Obama pays tribute to John F. Kennedy legacy

Obama pays tribute to John F. Kennedy legacy 

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, pause during a wreath laying ceremony in honor of President John F. Kennedy, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, at the JFK gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Friday will mark the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Honoring the legacy of John F. Kennedy, President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the assassinated president's gravesite as a nation remembers that terrible day in Dallas a half-century ago Friday. Obama also recognized a group of distinguished Americans - including Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey - with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award created by Kennedy.

Obama was joined at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday by Clinton, and each president held h

ands with Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, as they climbed a flight of stairs to the burial site on a steep hillside overlooking the nation's capital.

First lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped their husbands place a large wreath of white flowers in front of the roped-off gravesite of America's 35th president, which is marked by an ever-burning flame.

Both couples placed their hands over their hearts as taps sounded near a U.S. flag at half-staff before greeting Kennedy relatives, including some who arrived in Obama's motorcade, before Friday's 50th anniversary of the assassination.

The day of tributes began at the White House, where Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 living and deceased Americans for their contributions in fields ranging from sports and entertainment to science and public service.

"These are the men and women who in their extraordinary lives remind us all of the beauty of the human spirit, the values that define us as Americans, the potential that lives inside of all of us," Obama said.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton and film director Steven Spielberg were among scores of people seated in the White House East Room for the ceremony, which Obama said is "one of my favorite events every year."

Kennedy established the modern version of the medal but was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, weeks before he was to honor the inaugural group of recipients. Hundreds of notable figures since have received the honor.

Obama continued to lionize the slain president Wednesday evening at a dinner honoring the medal's recipients. At the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Obama was introduced by Kennedy's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, whose mother, Caroline Kennedy, is Obama's newly confirmed ambassador to Japan.

"He reminded us that everyone has the capacity to explore, to imagine and to give back to our great nation no matter the path we choose," the younger Kennedy said of his grandfather.

Obama said Kennedy stays in America's imagination not because he was assassinated, but because he embodied the character of the people he led. He said Kennedy was defiant in the face of impossible odds and determined to make the world anew.

"This is a legacy of a man who could have retreated to a life of luxury and ease, but he chose to live a life in the arena," Obama said. "Sailing sometimes against the wind, sometimes with it."

At the awards ceremony Wednesday morning, Obama said a few words about each recipient. Of Clinton, he said the Arkansas Democrat's presidency marked just the start of his work to make the world a better place, crediting his post-presidency humanitarian efforts as helping to save or improve the lives of millions 

worldwide.

"I'm grateful, Bill, as well, for the advice and counsel that you've offered me, on and off the golf course," 

Obama said to chuckles.

As a teenager, Bill Clinton shook hands with Kennedy in the Rose Garden the summer before the assassination when he and other high school students in the Boys Nation program came to Washington.

Obama said the late Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, didn't just break the stratospheric glass ceiling. "She blasted right through it," becoming a role model for young girls, he said.

"You can't be what you can't see," Obama said. "Today our daughters, including Malia and Sasha, can set their sights a little bit higher because Sally Ride showed them the way."

Receiving the award for Ride, who died last year, was Tam O'Shaughnessy, who was introduced as Ride's life partner.

The president made a point of highlighting those who had overcome additional obstacles and stigmatization because they are gay, black, female or Asian. He noted that early in her career, Oprah Winfrey's bosses suggested she change her name to something more relatable.

"It turned out, surprisingly, that people could relate to Oprah just fine," Obama said.

Another Kennedy relative expected at the dinner was former diplomat Jean Kennedy Smith, also past medal recipient and John F. Kennedy's only surviving sibling.

On Friday's assassination anniversary, Obama plans to meet privately at the White House with leaders and volunteers from the Peace Corps program, also established by Kennedy.

The Clintons' presence at Kennedy's gravesite was sure to spark speculation about whether Obama has a favorite in the 2016 race to succeed him.

Every move by the former secretary of state is being scrutinized for signs of whether she'll run. Vice President Joe Biden, another potential candidate, attended only the White House ceremony.

 

Va. senator stabbed; son dies of apparent suicide

Va. senator stabbed; son dies of apparent suicide

CORRECTS MEMBER TO THE VIRGINIAN PILOT, NOT RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH - In a Sept. 25, 2009 photo, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds spends time with his son Gus, left, on the road to Halifax, Va., between campaign events. Virginia State Police confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 that Creigh Deeds was stabbed multiple times and his son Gus, 24, was shot and killed at Deeds' Home in Bath County, Va., during a Tuesday morning assault.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, a Democrat who rose to be gubernatorial nominee in 2009 despite his reserved demeanor and humble farmland roots, was stabbed early Tuesday, apparently by his son, police said.

Gus Deeds, 24, was found at his father's house in rural western Virginia, dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Authorities were still piecing together a motive and the circumstances that led up to the stabbing, but "we're leaning towards it being an attempted murder/suicide," Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said at an afternoon news conference. She said that finding wasn't yet definitive.

Creigh (pronounced kree) Deeds, 55, and his son were the only people at the home Tuesday morning. Police were not looking for a suspect.

Deeds was able to walk about 75 yards away from his home in Millboro, despite stab wounds in his head and chest, police said. He was in fair condition at a hospital.

Police recovered a gun at the home, but Geller would not provide details about it. She also wouldn't say what the senator was stabbed with.

She said police have been able to talk with the senator, but wouldn't reveal what he has said.

Deeds made his first bid for statewide office in 2005 when he ran for attorney general and narrowly lost to Bob McDonnell in the general election. Four years later, McDonnell beat Deeds again - this time in the race for governor - though it was by a much wider margin.

During the race for governor, Deeds' style was somewhat unorthodox. He would listen intently to people and their worries, but rarely did he engage in lengthy conversations on the campaign trail, seemingly almost reluctant to take impose on people's time. He said then he didn't think Virginia voters were won by style points, drawing a contrast to McDonnell.

Deeds, a former Bath County prosecutor, was elected to the House of Delegates in 1991 and to the state 

Senate in 2001. He ran for attorney general in 2005, but lost to McDonnell, a Republican. The margin of victory was fewer than 400 votes out of nearly 2 million cast.

In the 2009 race for governor, Deeds defeated Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran in the Democratic primary, then squared off with McDonnell again in the general election. This time he lost badly.

Gus Deeds is one of the senator's four adult children. He was studying music at the College of William and Mary, where he had been enrolled off and on since 2007, but withdrew last month, school spokesman Brian Whitson said. The college said he had a strong academic record. It did not say why he left.

During Deeds' bid for governor, his son took off a semester to join his dad on the campaign trail.

"He needs me and I need him," Deeds told a reporter in the fall of 2009, about campaigning with Gus.

"I've got to go through this campaign process but that doesn't mean I've got to be completely separated from my family the whole time," he said.

Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville, whose district overlaps with Deeds', said in a statement: "Sen. Deeds was very close to his son, Gus, and has taken herculean efforts to help him over the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with Creigh and the family at this difficult time."

McDonnell said in a statement the news was "utterly heartbreaking."

"Creigh Deeds is an exceptional and committed public servant who has always done what he believes is best for Virginia and who gives his all to public service," McDonnell said.

McAuliffe, now governor-elect, called it a sad day for Virginia.

"We join people across the Commonwealth and country in wishing him a full recovery," he said.

Deeds and his ex-wife, Pam, divorced shortly after the 2009 campaign. Deeds remarried last year.

Deeds' reputation among colleagues has been as a thoughtful legislator. On social issues, he is generally to the right of party liberals, supporting abortion rights, but opposing gay marriage and gun control measures. He wrote a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Virginians' right to hunt and fish.

He proved to be a reserved campaigner in 2009, and was even described as shy by his fellow lawmakers.

"I don't like fundraising. I don't like being away from home all the time," he said during the campaign. "I enjoy the service. I enjoy the work that politics allows you to do. I don't know that I really enjoy the process that much."

Deeds spent most of his childhood in Bath County, where his family settled in the 1740s. The rural county is known for the high-end Homestead resort, but Deeds grew up on the other side of the mountain.

"I didn't grow up on the end of the county where you learn to ski and play golf as a child," he said. Deeds lived on a farm after his parents divorced when he was about 7.

Deeds' current home is set in rural farmland, and aerial photographs showed a large white house on the property and a red barn nearby.

Deeds' grandfather was the Democratic Party chairman in Bath County during the Great Depression.

 

New allegation made against Zimmerman in court

New allegation made against Zimmerman in court 

George Zimmerman, acquitted in the high-profile killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, listens in court Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, in Sanford, Fla., during his hearing on charges including aggravated assault stemming from a fight with his girlfriend.

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- George Zimmerman's girlfriend said he tried to choke her about a week ago during an altercation that was not initially reported to police, a prosecutor told a judge Tuesday during Zimmerman's first court appearance on domestic violence-related charges.

Samantha Scheibe feared for her life because Zimmerman mentioned suicide and said he "had nothing to lose," according to Assistant State Attorney Lymary Munoz.

After the hearing, Zimmerman's public defenders said he did not appear to be suicidal and expressed confidence he would be acquitted of any wrongdoing in Monday's domestic dispute.

Hours later, Zimmerman was released from jail after posting $9,000 bond. He was seen walking out of the jail smiling and getting into a car.

Judge Frederic Schott ordered him to stay away from Scheibe's house, wear a monitoring device and refrain from contact with her. He was forbidden from possessing guns or ammunition or travelling outside Florida.

Zimmerman has been charged with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He also has been charged with battery and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. An arraignment was set for Jan. 7.

The judge said Zimmerman's previous brushes with the law were not a factor in the conditions he imposed, but he did cite the new allegation of choking as a reason for the bond amount.

Earlier this year, Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin in a case that drew worldwide attention. The Justice Department has been investigating whether to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman related to Martin's death, and a department spokesman said Tuesday that it would announce its decision soon.

Zimmerman, 30, wore gray jail garments and handcuffs during the hearing and spoke only when answering yes or no to the judge.

Public defender Jeff Dowdy said Zimmerman's family has been supporting him financially.

"I would think it would be difficult for George Zimmerman to get a job in central Florida," he said.

In an affidavit filed Tuesday, Zimmerman asked for a public defense, saying he has liabilities and debts of at least $2 million and no income. He said he had less than $150 in cash on hand.

Dowdy and another public defender, Daniel Megaro, said Zimmerman was not suicidal.

"He doesn't appear to be a danger to himself or a danger to anybody else," Megaro said.

Zimmerman has previously used a website to raise money for his legal and living expenses, including $95,000 spent on bail in the Martin case. The site also says tens of thousands of dollars were spent on living expenses and security.

The most recent posting on the site, weeks before Zimmerman's acquittal, said the fund ran out of money in late May but raised tens of thousands more after public requests for help.

A link to donate via PayPal did not appear to be working Tuesday.

In this latest scuffle, both Zimmerman and his girlfriend called 911 and provided dueling descriptions to dispatchers about the argument at the home she rented where Zimmerman was also staying.

Scheibe accused him in the emergency call of pointing a gun at her, smashing a coffee table and then pushing her outside. Zimmerman also called dispatchers, denied pointing a gun at her and blamed her for the broken table.

The girlfriend told deputies the ordeal started with a verbal argument and that she asked Zimmerman to leave the house. Her account in the arrest report says he began packing his belongings, including a shotgun and an assault rifle. She says she began putting his things in the living room and outside the house, and he became upset.

At that point, the report said, he took the shotgun out of its case.

Zimmerman told his girlfriend to leave and smashed a pair of her sunglasses as she walked toward the front door, the report said. Scheibe told deputies he pushed her out of the house when she got close to the door.

"You point your gun at my fricking face," Scheibe is heard telling Zimmerman on a 911 call. "Get out of my house. Do not push me out of my house. Please get out of my house."

Seconds later, she told the dispatcher, "You kidding me? He pushed me out of my house and locked me out. ... He knows how to do this. He knows how to play this game."

Moments later, Zimmerman called 911 from inside the house to tell his side of the story.

"I have a girlfriend who, for lack of a better word, has gone crazy on me," Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman then said he never pulled a gun on his girlfriend and that it was she who smashed a table. He also told the dispatcher that Scheibe was pregnant with their child and that she had decided she would raise the child on her own. When Zimmerman started to leave, "she got mad," he said.

Seminole County Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma said at a news conference that Scheibe was not pregnant. He also said Zimmerman was compliant and unarmed when deputies came to the house.

On Tuesday, Dowdy said he could not confirm whether the girlfriend was pregnant.

The arrest on Monday was the latest legal problem for Zimmerman since he was acquitted last summer of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Martin. Zimmerman has said he shot the 17-year-old to defend himself during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

Relatives of Martin, who was black and unarmed, accused Zimmerman of racially profiling the teen and instigating a fight. Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, said he shot the teen in self-defense. The case sparked nationwide debates about race and self-defense laws.

In September, just months after his acquittal, Zimmerman was accused by his estranged wife of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher her husband had a gun, though she later said he was not armed.

No charges were ever filed because of a lack of evidence. The dispute occurred days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers.

In 2005, he had to take anger-management courses after he was accused of attacking an undercover officer who was trying to arrest Zimmerman's friend.

Later that year, Zimmerman's former fiancee filed for a restraining order against him, alleging domestic violence. Zimmerman responded by requesting a restraining order against her. Both requests were granted, and no criminal charges were filed.

Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic stops.

Cheney sisters spar on same-sex marriage

 Cheney sisters spar on same-sex marriage

FILE - In this July 17, 2013, file photo, Liz Cheney, left, speaks during a campaign appearance in Casper, Wyo., and her sister Mary Cheney, right, is seen in a Dec. 30, 2006, photo attending the funeral for former President Gerald Ford in Washington. Liz Cheney is running in a Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat from Wyoming. She told "Fox News Sunday" on Nov. 17, 2013, she disagrees with her sister Mary Cheney, who is married to Heather Poe, over the topic of same-sex marriage. Mary Cheney responded on Facebook: "You're just wrong."

  

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife stepped into a sibling squabble Monday after their daughters became involved in a public feud over gay marriage that began on "Fox News Sunday" and soon spread to social media.

Discussing her U.S. Senate campaign on the talk show, Liz Cheney restated her support for the "traditional definition" of marriage. She added that states should be free to decide for themselves whether to allow or prohibit same-sex unions.

Her sister, Mary Cheney, who is married to a woman, shot back on Facebook: "You're just wrong."

Things got testy enough that their parents were compelled to address the matter.

"This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years, and we are pained to see it become public," read a statement distributed by Dick and Lynne Cheney.

"Since it has, one thing should be clear," the statement continued. "Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. She has also always treated her sister and her sister's family with love and respect, exactly as she should have done."

In Wyoming, scene of the murder of gay university student Matthew Shepard 15 years ago that remains a watershed moment for gay rights, Liz Cheney's stance mirrors the Equality State's own soul-searching on gay marriage.

The heavily Republican state Legislature has swung from close votes just a few years ago on proposals to ban recognition of gay marriages performed in other states to, this year, giving serious consideration to permitting same-sex civil unions and a ban on discrimination against gays.

Liz Cheney's opponent Sen. Mike Enzi says he supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, only.

For her part, Liz Cheney says gay marriage should be a matter for states to decide and supports the "traditional definition" of marriage. But she says she doesn't think states should discriminate against same-sex couples.

She has opposed a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and supported equal spousal benefits for same-sex couples employed by the State Department, where she used to work.

"I stand by both of those positions," she said on Fox News Sunday. "I don't believe we ought to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation. If people are in a same-sex relationship, and they want their partner to be able to have health benefits or be designated as a beneficiary under life insurance, there's no reason we shouldn't do that."

But what if a state were allowed to ban gay marriage and, as a consequence, prohibit all the advantages, such as health insurance and death benefits, which marriage confers to heterosexual couples?

"The issue of sanctioning marriage has always been up to the states and to the people in the states and that is where it belongs. My own personal view is that marriage is between a man and a woman," she responded to The Associated Press by email.

How much attention the matter gets before Wyomingites cast their votes in their state's Republican primary nine months from now remains to be seen.

Mary Cheney and her wife, Heather Poe, didn't waste any time challenging Liz Cheney's television comments as insufficiently pro-gay marriage.

"Liz has been a guest in our home, has spent time and shared holidays with our children, and when Mary and I got married in 2012 - she didn't hesitate to tell us how happy she was for us," Poe posted on Facebook. 

"To have her now say she doesn't support our right to marry is offensive to say the least."

Chimed in Mary Cheney: "Couldn't have said it better myself. Liz - this isn't just an issue on which we disagree - you're just wrong - and on the wrong side of history," she posted.

Enzi was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and is seeking a fourth term. He will continue to support 

legislation that "protects the institution of marriage," campaign spokeswoman Kristen Walker said by email Monday.

Many people informally call Wyoming the Cowboy State. Officially, it's the Equality State, so-named because it was first to allow women to vote, serve on juries and hold public office.

Zimmerman tells his side of the story on 911 call

Zimmerman tells his side of the story on 911 call

This image provided by the Seminole County Sheriff`s Office shows former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman after he was arrested Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, in Apopka, Fla. Authorities said they responded to a disturbance call at a house earlier in the day.

 

APOPKA, Fla. (AP) -- George Zimmerman told a 911 operator that he never pulled a gun on his girlfriend, and that it was she who smashed a table at the home they shared outside Orlando.

Zimmerman said on the 911 call Monday that the girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, also became upset when he started to leave.

Deputies didn't buy Zimmerman's story and charged him with aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief.

Scheibe told deputies that Zimmerman smashed a glass table with his firearm, pointed the gun at her and shoved her out of their home after she asked him to leave.

The arrest was the latest legal problem for Zimmerman since he was acquitted of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen. The case, and claims that the killing was racially motivated, stoked a discussion on racial profiling across the country.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

George Zimmerman was charged with assault Monday after his girlfriend called deputies to the home where they were living and claimed he pointed a shotgun at her during an argument, authorities said.

The girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, called 911 in the early afternoon to say that Zimmerman had smashed a glass table, threatened her with the shotgun and ultimately pushed her out of the house, according to an arrest report. After pushing her out, Zimmerman barricaded the door with furniture and refused to leave, saying that he would talk to police by phone, authorities said.

Deputies used a key provided by Scheibe to unlock the door and they were able to push through the barricade of items, Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma said at a news conference hours after the arrest.

"She was very concerned for her own safety especially having the weapon pointed at her and then being pushed out," Lemma said.

Lemma says Zimmerman was compliant and unarmed when deputies came to the house.

"The easiest way to describe it is rather passive. Clearly, he's had the opportunity to encounter situations similar to this in the past," he said of the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted earlier this year on criminal charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman was charged with domestic aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic battery and criminal mischief. His first appearance was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. He will be housed in a single-person cell and guards will check on him hourly, Lemma added.

Scheibe told deputies that the ordeal started with a verbal argument and that she asked Zimmerman to leave the house. Her account in the arrest report says he began packing his belongings, including a shotgun and an assault rifle. She says she began putting his things in the living room and outside the house, and he became upset. At that point, the report says, he took the shotgun out of its case.

"Scheibe then advised Zimmerman that she was calling the Police because she was nervous about why he pulled out the Shotgun. Zimmerman then pointed the Shotgun at Scheibe for a minute, and asked her if she really wanted to do that," the report states. "Scheibe stepped back, at which time Zimmerman smashed a glass coffee table, belonging to Scheibe, with the butt of the Shotgun."

Zimmerman told his girlfriend to leave and smashed a pair of her sunglasses as she walked toward the front door, the report says. Scheibe told deputies that he pushed her out of the house when she got close to the door.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Martin family, was at Harvard Law School Monday with the teen's mother Sybrina Fulton to speak at symposium about his legacy and self-defense laws.

Crump said they found out about Zimmerman's arrest from television reports. He said the news of the arrest didn't affect their mood because they are focused on discussing ways to reform self-defense laws.

"They're focused on how we can all better deal with conflict resolution. But there is a certain irony in that while they were doing that, at basically the same time that incident was happening with their son's killer," Crump said in a phone interview.

Neither Mark O'Mara nor Don West - Zimmerman's defense attorneys during the trial of the Martin case - is currently representing him, said a spokesman for O'Mara.

A message seeking comment wasn't immediately returned by Zimmerman's brother Robert Zimmerman, Jr.

Scheibe's neighbors said it was frightening to learn that Zimmerman had been living nearby.

"Just when you thought you heard the last of George Zimmerman," said neighbor Catherine Cantrell. She said she had twice seen a man who looked like Zimmerman get out of a truck that's been in the driveway for nearly a month. The truck parked there Monday appeared to be the same one that reporters have seen Zimmerman drive previously.

"I'm in absolute shock. He was never outside. It's not like he was out flaunting around," she said.

Cantrell said Scheibe was very sweet and quiet.

Sarah Tyler, 26, also lives across the street from the tan stucco house on a cul-de-sac street of single family homes in Apopka, about 15 miles northwest of Orlando.

"It's kind of frightening," she said.

Zimmerman, 30, was acquitted in July of all charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The death of the black teenager, who was unarmed, touched off a nationwide debate about race and self-defense. 

Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has said he shot the 17-year-old to defend himself during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

He wasn't charged until 44 days after the shooting, leading to protests nationwide from people who believed he should have been immediately arrested. The case sparked accusations that Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin, and demonstrations broke out again after his acquittal. Federal authorities are now reviewing the case the see if Martin's civil rights were violated.

Zimmerman has had other brushes with the law since his acquittal.

Zimmerman and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic dispute in September just days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers, but police later said no charges were filed against either of them because of a lack of evidence.

Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic stops since his acquittal. He was ticketed for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone in Lake Mary in September and was given a warning by a state trooper along Interstate 95 for having a tag cover and windows that were too darkly tinted. He was also stopped near Dallas in July and was given a warning for speeding.

In 2005, Zimmerman had to take anger management courses after he was accused of attacking an undercover officer who was trying to arrest Zimmerman's friend.

Later that year, Zimmerman's former fiancee filed for a restraining order against him, alleging domestic violence. Zimmerman responded by requesting a restraining order against her. Both requests were granted. 

No criminal charges were filed.

 

Volunteers Provide Clothes, Food To Homeless In Center City

Volunteers Provide Clothes, Food To Homeless In Center City

 

 

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Several groups came together Sunday afternoon at LOVE Park in Center City to offer hot food and warm clothing to the homeless.

Members of the Wissahickon Boys and Girls Club and Friendship Williams Masonic Lodge in Jenkintown were among those pitching in.

Men and women without fixed addresses lined up along the tables serving up hot meals and warm clothes. Jeff Templeton’s non-profit group, S.P.E.A.K., organized the event:

For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Boeing plane crashes in Russia, 50 on board killed

Boeing plane crashes in Russia, 50 on board killed 

This photo provided by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry shows debris at the crash site of the Russian passenger airliner, Boeing 737, near Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan republic, about 720 kilometers (450 miles) east of Moscow, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. A Russian passenger airliner crashed Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the city of Kazan, killing everyone aboard, officials said. The Boeing 737 belonging to Tatarstan Airlines crashed an hour after taking off from Moscow. There were no immediate indications of the cause.

MOSCOW (AP) -- A Boeing 737 jetliner crashed and burst into flames Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard in the latest in a string of deadly crashes across the country.

The Tatarstan Airlines plane was trying to make a second landing attempt when it touched the surface of the runway near the control tower, and was "destroyed and caught fire," said Sergei Izvolky, the spokesman for the Russian aviation agency.

The Emergencies Ministry said there were 44 passengers and six crew members aboard the evening flight from Moscow and all had been killed. Kazan, a city of about 1.1 million and the capital of the Tatarstan republic, is about 720 kilometers (450 miles) east of the capital.

The ministry released a list of the dead, which included Irek Minnikhanov, the son of Tatarstan's governor, and Alexander Antonov, who headed the Tatarstan branch of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.

Some Russian air crashes have been blamed on the use of aging aircraft, but industry experts point to a number of other problems, including poor crew training, crumbling airports, lax government controls and widespread neglect of safety in the pursuit of profits.

The Emergencies Ministry released photographs from the nighttime scene showing parts of the aircraft and debris scattered across the ground. Ambulances lined up in front of the airport building.

It was not clear why the plane's first landing attempt was unsuccessful. Boeing said it would provide assistance to the investigation into the cause.

"Boeing's thoughts are with those affected by the crash," the company said in a statement on its website.

A journalist who said she had flown on the same aircraft from Kazan to Moscow's Domodedovo airport earlier in the day told Channel One state television that the landing in Moscow had been frightening because of a strong vibration during the final minutes of the flight.

"When we were landing it was not clear whether there was a strong wind, although in Moscow the weather was fine, or some kind of technical trouble or problem with the flight," said Lenara Kashafutdinova. "We were blown in different directions, the plane was tossed around. The man sitting next to me was white as a sheet."

Tatarstan is one of the wealthier regions of Russia because of its large deposits of oil. It is also is a major manufacturing center, producing trucks, helicopters and planes. About half of the people who live in the republic are ethnic Tatars, most of whom are Muslims.

Russia's last fatal airliner crash was in December, when a Russian-made Tupolev belonging to Red Wings airline careered off the runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, rolled across a snowy field and slammed into the slope of a nearby highway, breaking into pieces and catching fire. Investigators say equipment failure caused the crash, which killed five people.

A 2011 crash in Yaroslavl that killed 44 people including a professional hockey team was blamed on pilot error. And Russian investigators found that the pilots in two crashes that killed 10 and 47 people in recent years were intoxicated.

 

Typhoon-stricken Philippine town starts rebuilding

Typhoon-stricken Philippine town starts rebuilding 

A boy runs through the smoke of a cooking fire in the Typhoon Haiyan destroyed town of Guiuan, Philippines on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.

GUIUAN, Philippines (AP) -- People swept dirt from the pews and wiped clean the mud-covered, ornate tile floors of a church. The sound of hammers hitting nails and the buzzing of chain saws reverberated in the streets. Debris was piled on corners and set ablaze.

And amid all this activity, a stream of bodies continued their final journey toward a hillside mass grave where nearly 170 had been buried by Friday afternoon.

One week after Typhoon Haiyan razed the eastern part of the Philippines, killing thousands and leaving at least 600,000 homeless, resilient residents of the disaster zone were rebuilding their lives and those of their neighbors.

An international aid effort gathered steam, highlighted by the helicopter drops conducted from the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington. But the storm victims moved ahead - with or without help from their government or foreign aid groups.

Peter Degrido, a coast guard reserve, was one of the 35 workers trying to move an overturned passenger bus from a road leading to the airport in Guiuan (GEE-won), a town on Samar island. They hitched the bus to a truck with steel cables and made slow progress. Ahead of them lay many downed electricity poles that must be moved next.

"We're clearing debris from the roads leading to the airport and the port so that relief goods and medicine can arrive faster," Degrido said. "It's devastating to see this. But people are slowly recovering."

The Philippines' main disaster response agency raised the death toll Friday to 3,621, up from the previous figure of 2,360. Most of the casualties occurred on Leyte and Samar islands. It said 1,140 people are missing and more than 12,000 injured.

At 6 a.m., Dionesio de la Cruz was hammering together a bed, using scavenged rusty nails. He has already built a temporary shelter out of the remains of his house in Guiuan, about 155 kilometers (100 miles) from Leyte's devastated capital of Tacloban.

The side of the new house is open. A statue of Jesus stands on a table. On the ground is a broken mirror.

"Temporary," he shrugs, referring to the house and their status. "We're on our own, so we have to do this on our own," the 40-year-old said as his wife and mother slept on a nearby table. "We're not expecting anybody to come and help us."

Elsewhere in town, one man was selling skewers of meat, and a couple of kiosks were selling soda and soap. Everywhere, freshly washed clothes lay drying in sun.

Guiuan was one of the first towns hit by the typhoon. It suffered massive damage, but casualty figures were lower than in Tacloban and elsewhere because it was largely spared from storm surges.

While many have left the disaster zone, some chose to stay and help.

Susan Tan, a grocery store owner in Guiuan, was all set to fly elsewhere in the country after hungry townsfolk swarmed her business a few days after the storm, stripping the shelves of everything of value.

But a friend persuaded her to stay, and she is now running a relief center from her shop, which has been in the family since the 1940s.

"I can't just go to Cebu and sit in the mall while this place is in ruins," she said. "Although I've been looted and made bankrupt by this, I cannot refuse my friends and my town. We need to help each other."

Tan managed to get her hands on a satellite phone from a friend who works for a local cellphone provider. Hundreds lined up in the sun to use it to call relatives and let them know they are safe. One minute per caller is the rule.

On Thursday, she welcomed her first aid shipment. It's a fraction of what is needed, but it's a start: 20 boxes containing dried noodles, canned goods, sardines, medicine and bottled water.

In signs that relief efforts were picking up, U.S. Navy helicopters flew sorties from the USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities. The U.S. military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.

So far, the U.S. military has moved 174,000 kilograms (190 tons) of supplies and flown nearly 200 sorties.

"Having the U.S. military here is a game-changer," said Col. Miguel Okol, a spokesman for the Philippine air force. "For countries that we don't have these kinds of relationships with, it can take a while to get help. But with the U.S., it's immediate."

In one neighborhood of Tacloban, dozens of people crowded around a mobile generator, where countless cords snaked across the dirt and into power strips. Residents plugged in mobile phones, tablets and flashlights, hoping for a precious gulp of electricity, even though cell coverage remained spotty.

John Bumanig and his wife were cleaning out their secondhand clothes shop, which was swamped by storm surges. They were laying out bras in the sun, though they weren't hopeful anyone would buy them. Most of the stock had to be thrown out.

They were determined to stay in Tacloban, but faced an uncertain future.

"We cannot do anything, but will find a way to overcome this," said his wife, Luisa, holding back tears. "We have to strive hard because we still have children to take care of."

 

Defying veto threat, House OKs health law change

Defying veto threat, House OKs health law change 

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, second from left, and other members of the House of Representatives leave after the Republican-controlled House voted to let insurance companies sell individual health coverage to all comers, even if it falls short of the required standards in "Obamacare,” Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The overall vote was 261-157 on a measure that supporters said would ease the plight of millions of consumers reeling from cancellation notices. Those cancellations have been arriving from companies despite President Barack Obama's oft-made promise that anyone who liked his plan could keep it. The bill now goes to an uncertain fate in the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Brushing aside a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted by a healthy bipartisan majority Friday to weaken a core component of "Obamacare" and permit the sale of individual health coverage that falls short of requirements in the law.

In all, 39 Democrats broke ranks and supported the legislation, a total that underscored the growing importance of the issue in the weeks since millions of cancellation notices went out to consumers covered by plans deemed inadequate under government rules.

The final vote was 261-157 as lawmakers clashed over an issue likely to be at the heart of next year's midterm elections. The measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Democrats seeking re-election in 2014 are leading a move for generally similar legislation.

"For the last six weeks the White House stood idly by ignoring the pleas of millions," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and lead sponsor of the legislation.

"Our straightforward, one-page bill says, if you like your current coverage, you should be able to keep it. The president should heed his own advice and work with us, the Congress, as the founders intended, not around the legislative process."

But Democrats said the measure was just another in a long line of attacks on the health care bill from Republicans who have voted repeatedly to repeal it.

"It would take away the core protections of that law. It creates an entire shadow market of substandard health care plans," said Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

The vote came shortly before President Barack Obama welcomed insurance company CEOs to a White House meeting, and one day after he announced a shift toward making good on his oft-repeated promise that anyone liking his pre-Obamacare coverage would be able to keep it.

In brief opening remarks, he did not refer to the House vote, and showed no give in his commitment to the program known by his name. "Because of choice and competition, a whole lot of Americans who have always seen health insurance out of reach are going to be in a position to purchase it," he said.

The events capped a remarkable series of politically inspired maneuvers in recent days. The president and lawmakers in both parties have sought to position themselves as allies of consumers who are receiving cancellation notices - yet have made no move to cooperate on legislation that could require those consumers' coverage to be renewed if they wanted to keep it.

Neither Obama's new policy nor the bill passed in the House would ensure that anyone whose policy is canceled will be able to keep it. Instead, both would permit insurance companies to sell coverage renewals if they wish - subject to approval by state insurance commissioners.

The White House meeting came as the industry and state commissioners began adjusting to the president's one-day-old change in policy.

Under the shift, Obama said insurers should be permitted to continue to sell to existing customers individual coverage plans that would be deemed substandard under the health care law. Without the change, many existing plans would have been banned beginning next year, and the president's announcement was an attempt to quell a public and political furor triggered by millions of cancellation notices.

The House measure went one step further. It would give insurance firms the ability to sell individual plans to new as well as existing customers, even if the coverage falls short of the law's requirements.

Democrats sought to substitute a plan of their own that consisted largely of Obama's new policy, but failed on a party-line vote.

Even so, the combination of the president's announcement and his party's alternative apparently siphoned off a large number of Democratic votes from the GOP measure.

In a veto threat Thursday night, the White House accused Republicans of seeking to "sabotage the health 

care law," and said their measure would allow "insurers to continue to sell new plans that deploy practices such as not offering coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, charging women more than men, and continuing yearly caps on the amount of care that enrollees receive." A veto would come into play only if both houses approve legislation and send it to the White House for the president's signature.

Political calculations were evident as Obamacare produced yet more controversy.

The political arms of both parties in both houses churned out attacks all week that underscore the importance of the issue in the 2014 elections. Additionally, Obama made an unusual attempt on Thursday to shelter any Democrat who may have said when the bill was under consideration in 2010 - as he did - that anyone wanting to keep current coverage would be permitted to.

"They were entirely sincere about it," he said of the lawmakers. "It's not on them, it's on us."

In the Senate, a handful of Democrats who face tough re-election races next year, led by Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, are supporting legislation to require insurance companies to renew policies cancelled because of the law.

Under the law, plans generally are required to meet numerous conditions to qualify. Among them, they would have to accept all customers, regardless of pre-existing conditions, would be limited in additional premiums they could charge on the basis of age and could not cap lifetime benefits. They also would have to provide coverage in a wide range of areas - doctor and hospital care for adults and children, laboratory services, preventive coverage and prescription drugs among them.

The cancellation issue is only part of the woes confronting the president and his allies as they struggle to sustain the health care law.

Obama has repeatedly apologized for a dismal launch of http://www.healthcare.gov , which consumers in 36 states were supposed to use beginning on Oct. 1 to sign up for new coverage. The website is so riddled with problems that the administration disclosed earlier this week that fewer than 27,000 signups have been completed - a number that Republicans noted is dwarfed by the flood of cancellations issued due to the law.

Compounding the administration's misery, the poor quality of the website has made it that much harder for consumers receiving cancellation notices to shop for alternative plans.

It is unclear what, if anything, the administration is prepared to do to alleviate the threat of a break in coverage for those consumers.