As the White House prepares to unveil a sweeping plan aimed at curbing gun violence, the National Rifle Association has launched a preemptive, personal attack on President Obama, calling him an “elitist hypocrite” who, the group claims, is putting American children at risk.
In 35-second video posted online Tuesday night, the NRA criticizes Obama for accepting armed Secret Service protection for his daughters, Sasha and Malia, at their private Washington, D.C., school while questioning the placement of similar security at other schools.
“Are the president’s kids more important than yours? Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools, when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” the narrator says.
“Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security,” it continues. “Protection for their kids and gun-free zones for ours.”
The immediate family members of U.S. presidents – generally considered potential targets – have long received Secret Service protection.
The ad appeared on a new website for a NRA advocacy campaign – “NRA Stand and Fight” — that the gun-rights group appears poised to launch in response to Obama’s package of gun control proposals that will be announced today.
It’s unclear whether the video will air on TV or only on the web. The NRA did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. The domain for the website is registered to Ackerman McQueen, the NRA’s long-standing public relations firm.
The White House had no comment on the NRA ad.
In the wake of last month’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Obama administration has met with a cross-section of advocacy groups on all sides of the gun debate to formulate new policy proposals.
The NRA, which met with Vice President Joe Biden last week, has opposed any new legislative gun restrictions, including expanded background checks and limits on the sale of assault-style weapons, instead calling for armed guards at all American schools.
Obama publicly questioned that approach in an interview with “Meet the Press” earlier this month, saying, “I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools. And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem.”
Still, the White House has been considering a call for increased funding for police officers at public schools and the proposal could be part of a broader Obama gun policy package.
Fifty-five percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they support adding armed guards at schools across the country.
“The issue is, are there some sensible steps that we can take to make sure that somebody like the individual in Newtown can’t walk into a school and gun down a bunch of children in a shockingly rapid fashion. And surely, we can do something about that,” Obama said at a news conference on Monday.
“Responsible gun owners, people who have a gun for protection, for hunting, for sportsmanship, they don’t have anything to worry about,” he said.
ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Jay Shaylor contributed reporting.
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BRUSSELS: Belgium's newly-opened Holocaust and human rights museum stands symbolically on the site of barracks commandeered by the Nazis as a wartime transit centre for Jews and Gypsies being sent to the death camps.
The new "Kazerne Dossin" in the Flemish town of Mechelen, comprising a museum, memorial and documentation centre, is located at the site of an 18th century barracks that officials dub "a silent witness to the greatest war crime, in the form of genocide, in Belgium".
The new World War II remembrance complex some 30 kilometres from Brussels was inaugurated by Belgian King Albert II and opened to the public last month.
Like the Drancy camp outside Paris where Jews were rounded up and sent to death camps, the Dossin barracks -- directly linked to the Belgian rail network -- was turned into a last-stop transit centre for the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau camp run by the Nazis during the war.
More than 25,500 Jews and 350 Gypsies from both Belgium and northern France were sent there after their arrest, often with the help of local police.
There were more than 70,000 Jews in Belgium before the Second World War broke out, notably 18,000 in the nearby port city of Antwerp.
After two or three months at Dossin, deportees were herded into trains for the Third Reich's death camps. Only five percent of the Jews and Gypsies who left Mechelen in 28 convoys ever returned.
Last September, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo presented the country's apologies for crimes committed by people who had worked hand-in-hand with Nazis to deport Jews.
"This new museum takes a more profound look at the history of the persecution of the Jews in Flanders and Belgium, based on new historic sources of information and insights," said Kris Peeters, who heads the Dutch-speaking government of Flanders.
"It also provides a link between the concepts of holocaust and human rights."
In 1995, members of the Jewish community opened a small museum in a part of the barracks but much of the building had already been turned into flats and sold.
The new complex, built with the help of a 25-million-euro investment by the government of Flanders, adds a state-of-the-art cube-like museum designed by celebrated Flemish architect Bob Van Reeth.
The top fourth floor, destined to house temporary exhibitions, is open to the light of day but the other three storeys smack of a mausoleum.
Rectangular shapes in the white facade symbolise bricked-up windows while the heavy sliding steel door recalls those on the freight trains used to carry the victims to their death.
Van Reeth said the total volume was equivalent to that of the freight cars used in the 28 convoys to the death camp; the number of bricks used being the same as the number of people deported.
The three floors touch on three themes -- intolerance, fear and death.
The museum expects to see 100,000 visitors a year.
Clarence Thomas known for remaining quiet during oral arguments
On Monday, he joked about lawyers educated at Yale, his alma mater
Current Supreme Court known as 'hot bench' for the rhetorical scrum during arguments
Washington (CNN) -- It was just a few words and a joke at that. But Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas broke his seven-year long silence on Monday when he spoke at oral arguments.
He made fun of lawyers from Yale, his law school alma mater.
Thomas has become known for rarely commenting on cases from the bench, another reflection of the complex and often misunderstood personality of the court's only African-American jurist.
On Monday, the justices were hearing an argument about the state of Louisiana's delay in paying for counsel for a death penalty defendant. Should that count against the state for the purposes of the right to a speedy trial?
A lawyer for the state was making the case for the inmate's appointed counsel, saying the woman was "more than qualified" and "very impressive."
"She was graduate of Yale Law School, wasn't she?" said Justice Antonin Scalia in apparent support, noting another member of the legal team went to Harvard.
The next words were hard to hear in the back-and-forth between the justices. But Thomas made a joke about the competence of Yale lawyers when compared to their Harvard colleagues, according to two witnesses.
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Six members of the current high court attended Harvard Law School. Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor attend Yale.
Sotomayor describes life journey in new memoir
The official transcript released by the court does not capture the flavor of the colorful exchange. But the lawyer arguing before the court was apparently not pleased.
"I would refute that, Justice Thomas," said Carla Sigler, the assistant district attorney in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The rest of the time, Thomas kept his own counsel as he is known to do.
"One thing I've demonstrated often in 16 years is you can do this job without asking a single question," he recalled in a speech five years ago.
Written opinions remain the main way the court expresses itself. But the current court is known as a "hot bench" for the busy back-and-forth rhetorical scrum during arguments.
Eight of the justices compete for time to make their questions and views known.
Thomas does occasionally speak from the bench when announcing opinions he has written, but before arguments commence.
Off the bench in friendly audiences, he can be gregarious, inquisitive and often self-reflective. He has a booming voice, and his hearty laugh is easily recognizable.
Some scholars have said Thomas' aversion to talking has reached epic heights.
A study of transcripts by Timothy Johnson of the University of Minnesota found in the past four decades, no justice besides Thomas had failed to speak at least once during an entire 12-month term.
The last time he spoke was February 22, 2006, during a capital appeal.
Part of complete coverage on
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"Argo" and "Les Miserables" were the big winners at this year's Golden Globes.
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will testify Jan. 23 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the deadly Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Libya.
That's the word from Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the panel. He said in a statement late Monday that Clinton will answer questions about the raid that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.
Clinton had been scheduled to testify last month but she suffered a concussion when she fell during an illness. She was later hospitalized with a blood clot in her head.
She's also expected to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee around the same time as her House testimony. That date has not been announced by the committee.
She has planned to step down and President Barack Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry to replace her.
Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.
A goverment source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up others involved in illegal doping. This could result in a reduction of his lifetime ban, according to the source, if Armstrong provides substantial and meaningful information.
Armstrong made the admission in what sources describe as an emotional interview with Winfrey to air on "Oprah's Next Chapter" on Jan. 17.
The 90-minute interview at his home in Austin, Texas, was Armstrong's first since officials stripped him of his world cycling titles in response to doping allegations.
Word of Armstrong's admission comes after a Livestrong official said that Armstrong apologized today to the foundation's staff ahead of his interview.
The disgraced cyclist gathered with about 100 Livestrong Foundation staffers at their Austin headquarters for a meeting that included social workers who deal directly with patients as part of the group's mission to support cancer victims.
Armstrong's "sincere and heartfelt apology" generated lots of tears, spokeswoman Katherine McLane said, adding that he "took responsibility" for the trouble he has caused the foundation.
Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images|Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
Lance Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles Watch Video
Lance Armstrong Doping Charges: Secret Tapes Watch Video
McLane declined to say whether Armstrong's comments included an admission of doping, just that the cyclist wanted the staff to hear from him in person rather than rely on second-hand accounts.
Armstrong then took questions from the staff.
Armstrong's story has never changed. In front of cameras, microphones, fans, sponsors, cancer survivors -- even under oath -- Lance Armstrong hasn't just denied ever using performance enhancing drugs, he has done so in an indignant, even threatening way.
Armstrong, 41, was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October 2012, after allegations that he benefited from years of systematic doping, using banned substances and receiving illicit blood transfusions.
"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, said at a news conference in Switzerland announcing the decision. "This is a landmark day for cycling."
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a 200-page report Oct. 10 after a wide-scale investigation into Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing substances.
Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.
According to a source, speaking to ABC News, a representative of Armstrong's once offered to make a donation estimated around $250,000 to the agency, as "60 Minutes Sports" on Showtime first reported.
Lance Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman denied it. "No truth to that story," Herman said. "First Lance heard of it was today. He never made any such contribution or suggestion."
Armstrong, who himself recovered from testicular cancer, created the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now known as the LIVESTRONG Foundation) to help people with cancer cope, as well as foster a community for cancer awareness. Armstrong resigned late last year as chairman of the LIVESTRONG Foundation, which raised millions of dollars in the fight against cancer.
Are we the altruistic generation? Do we care what happens to our grandchildren, and to their children? Or are we with Groucho Marx when he said: "Why should I care about future generations? What have they ever done for me?"
A new study of climate change lays out in detail why this matters. According to its author, Nigel Arnell of the University of Reading, UK, the unpalatable truth is that even rapid action now to curb greenhouse gas emissions would have only a "negligible effect by 2030, and the benefits in 2050 would remain small". The big dividend – cooler temperatures, fewer floods and droughts and better crop yields, compared to carrying on as we are – would only become clear by about 2100.
Arnell and colleagues used climate models to look at how different policies to curb greenhouse gases would affect temperature, sea levels, crop yields and the incidence of droughts and floods. Two findings emerged. The first is that lags in the climate system mean the real benefits of cutting emissions will only show up late this century. This, says Arnell, underlines that there is a lot of global warming "in the pipeline" that cannot now be prevented.
But the study also shows that tackling climate change early brings big rewards. Arnell compared a policy of letting emissions peak in 2016 and then cutting them by 2 per cent a year with one that delays the peak till 2030 and then cuts by 5 per cent a year. He found that both restricted warming in 2100 to about 2 °C, but the climate disruption over the next century would be much less with the early start. Coastal flooding from sea-level rise in particular would be much reduced. This, he told New Scientist, contradicts a common view that drastic action to curb warming should wait for renewable energy to become cheaper.
"Arnell has shown just how crucial the emissions pathway we take today will be for our children and grandchildren," said Dave Reay, geoscientist at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Bill McGuire of University College London agrees: "It shows taking effective action now is far better than putting it off until later."
It's a shame, then, that even if all goes well with UN negotiations, no global deal to bring down emissions will come into force until at least 2020. Our great-great-grandchildren will be cursing our delay.
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SINGAPORE: Madam Halimah Yacob is Singapore's first woman Speaker of Parliament.
She took the Speaker's seat at the start of the sitting of the House on Monday afternoon.
Madam Halimah, who resigned on Sunday as Minister for State, fills the position vacated by former People's Action Party Member of Parliament, Mr Michael Palmer, who stepped down on 12 December 2012 due to an extramarital affair.
She was nominated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to be elected as Speaker.
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel was nominated by President Obama for defense secretary.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
In 2006, Hagel said 'the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here'
Ari Fleischer: The support for Israel isn't because of 'intimidation,' but merit
Polls show most Americans view Israel favorably, but don't support Iran or Palestinians
Fleischer: Israel is a steady friend of the U.S. and a tolerant democracy
Editor's note: Ari Fleischer, a CNN contributor, was White House press secretary in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2003 and is the president of Ari Fleischer Sports Communications Inc. He is a paid consultant and board member for the Republican Jewish Coalition, which opposes the Hagel nomination. Follow him on Twitter: @AriFleischer
(CNN) -- "The political reality is ... that the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here." -- Senator Chuck Hagel, 2006
As a result of those words and his voting record, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination has turned a decades-long, bipartisan confirmation process for secretary of defense into an acrimonious one.
While some leading figures such as the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman and the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Rabbi Abraham Cooper say Hagel's words are borderline anti-Semitism, I'm less worried about anti-Semitism and more worried about the judgment of a potential defense secretary who thinks Israel has won support because of "intimidation," not merit.
Ari Fleischer
Israel is widely supported by the American people because Israel deserves to be supported. Israel is a lonely democratic ally and a steady friend of the United States in a dangerous and tumultuous region. Their people are like the American people -- free, independent, capitalistic and tolerant.
A Gallup poll taken last year showed 71% of the American people view Israel favorably while only 19% view the Palestinian Authority favorably and just 10% view Iran favorably.
In a Pew Research Center study last month, 50% of adults said they sympathize more with Israel in its dispute than with the Palestinians. Just 10% sympathize more with the Palestinians, while about as many (13%) volunteered that they sympathize with neither side.
Contrary to Hagel's logic, Israel doesn't enjoy widespread American support because anyone -- from any faith -- intimidated someone else; Israel earned the support of the American people because of its people's values.
Opinion: Hagel is a friend to Israel
The danger in what Hagel said is if he thinks Israel is supported on Capitol Hill because of intimidation, then it's not hard to see why Hagel is so soft in his support for our ally. He sees himself as an independent voice willing to stand up to intimidation, and he wears his anti-Israel votes as badges of honor.
But Hagel isn't independent. He's alone.
His position on Middle Eastern matters is so outside the mainstream of both parties that almost no one agrees with him.
In 2000, Hagel was one of only four senators who refused to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
Peter Beinart: What's behind Hagel nomination fight
The following year Hagel was one of only 11 senators who refused to sign a letter urging President George W. Bush to continue his policy of not meeting with Yasser Arafat until the Palestinian leader took steps to end the violence against Israel.
John Cornyn: Why I can't support Hagel
Contrary to America's longstanding bipartisan position, Hagel has called for direct talks with terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. In 2007, Hagel voted against labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the group responsible for the death of many American servicemen in Iraq, a terrorist organization.
And in 2008, he was one of two senators on the banking committee to oppose a bill putting sanctions on Iran. One of the measure's biggest backers was an Illinois senator named Barack Obama.
I'm a New Yorker and neither of my senators -- Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand -- supports Israel because someone muscled them into that position through intimidation. They both support Israel because the lobby that wants them to support Israel is an American lobby, made up of people from both parties and all religions and from people with no religion or political party at all.
But if Chuck Hagel believes that it's intimidation and not sound judgment that has caused his colleagues to support Israel, then Chuck Hagel should not be confirmed as our next secretary of defense.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ari Fleischer.
"Argo" was the best drama winner at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, beating out the Civil War epic "Lincoln," which had emerged as an awards-season favorite.
The Iran hostage thriller also claimed the directing prize for Ben Affleck, a prize that normally bodes well for an Academy Award win -- except he missed out on an Oscar nomination this time.
Affleck is now in an unusual position during Hollywood's long awards season, taking home the top filmmaking trophy at the second-highest film honors knowing he does not have a shot at an Oscar.
And the night left "Argo" taking home the top prize at the Globes but standing as a longshot for best picture at the Feb. 24 Oscars, where films almost never win if their directors are not nominated.
In a breathless, rapid-fire speech, Affleck gushed over the names of other nominees presenter Halle Berry had read off: Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi," Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty" and Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained."
"Look, I don't care what the award is. When they put your name next to the names she just read off, it's an extraordinary thing in your life," Affleck said.
"Les Miserables" was named best musical or comedy, while Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway claimed acting prizes.
Daniel Day-Lewis won the award for best actor in a drama for the title role in "Lincoln," while the dramatic actress honor went to Jessica Chastain for playing a CIA agent in "Zero Dark Thirty."
Besides the three wins for "Les Miserables" and two for "Argo," the show was a mixed bag, with awards spread around a number of films. "Lincoln" came in leading with seven nominations but lost all but one, for Daniel Day-Lewis as best actor in the title role of "Lincoln."
"If I had this on a timeshare basis with my wonderful gifted colleagues, I might just hope to keep it for one day of the year, and I'd be happy with that," said Day-Lewis, who previously won a Globe for "There Will Be Blood" and is a two-time Oscar winner with a strong shot at taking a third.
"Zero Dark Thirty" star Jessica Chastain won the Globe for dramatic actress as a CIA agent obsessively pursuing Bin Laden. Other acting prizes went to Jennifer Lawrence as best musical or comedy actress for the oddball romance "Silver Linings Playbook" and Christoph Waltz as supporting actor for the slave-revenge tale "Django Unchained."
"Les Miserables," the musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, earned Jackman the Globe for musical or comedy actor as tragic hero Jean Valjean. Hathaway won supporting actress as a single mom forced into prostitution.
"Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt," Hathaway said. She also thanked her husband, telling him, "Thank you for the best string of yesterdays I have ever had."
Jackman was a bit hoarse from the flu, but his Globe win seemed to be the right antidote.
"I was kicking myself for not getting the flu shot, but it appears that you don't need one. I feel great," he said.
But when it comes to Hollywood's highest honors, "Les Miserables" already has a big obstacle, also failing to earn a best-director slot for filmmaker Tom Hooper at the Feb. 24 Oscars.
Last Thursday's Oscar nominations held some shockers, including the omission of Affleck from the directing lineup, along with fellow Globe nominee Bigelow. Bigelow and Affleck also were nominated for top honors by the Directors Guild of America, whose contenders usually match up closely with the Oscar field.
Play Video
President Clinton's surprise appearance at 2013 Golden Globes
Former President Bill Clinton upstaged Hollywood's elite with a surprise appearance to introduce Steven Spielberg's Civil War epic "Lincoln," which was up for best drama. The film chronicles Abraham Lincoln's final months as he tries to end the war and find common ground in a divided Congress to pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.
Amy Poehler, co-host of the Globes with Tina Fey, gushed afterward, "Wow, what an exciting special guest! That was Hillary Clinton's husband!"
Lawrence won as best actress in a musical or comedy for her role as a troubled widow in a shaky new relationship. The Globe winners in musical or comedy categories often aren't factors at the Oscars, which tend to favor heavier dramatic roles.
But "Silver Linings Playbook" is a crowd-pleasing comic drama with deeper themes than the usual comedy. And Lawrence -- a 2010 Oscar nominee for her breakout film "Winter's Bone" who shot to superstardom with "The Hunger Games" -- delivers a nice mix of humor and melancholy in the film.
"What does this say? I beat Meryl," Lawrence joked as she looked at her award, referring to fellow nominee and multiple Globe winner Meryl Streep. Lawrence went on to thank her mother for believing in her and her father for making her maintain a sense of humor. ("I beat Meryl" is a reference to the 1996 film "The First Wives Club.")
Waltz won supporting actor for his role as a genteel bounty hunter who takes on an ex-slave as his apprentice. The win was Waltz's second supporting-actor prize at the Globes, both of them coming in Tarantino films. He also played a bloodthirsty Nazi in his Globe and Oscar-winning role in Tarantino's 2009 tale "Inglourious Basterds."
"Let me gasp," Waltz said. "Quentin, you know that my indebtedness to you and my gratitude knows no words."
Tarantino, who won best screenplay for "Django Unchained," thanked his cast and also the group of friends to whom he reads work-in-progress for reaction.
"You guys don't know how important you are to my process. I don't want input. I don't want you to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. Heavens forbid," Tarantino said. "When I read it to you, I hear it through your ears, and it lets me know I'm on the right track."
The Scottish tale "Brave" won for best animated film. It was the sixth win for Disney's Pixar Animation unit in the seven years since the Globes added the category.
Austrian director Michael Haneke's old-age love story "Amour," a surprise best-picture nominee for the Oscars, won the Globe for foreign-language film. The top prize winner at last May's Cannes Film Festival, "Amour" is a grim yet moving portrait of an elderly woman tended by her husband as she is incapacitated by age.
Play Video
Adele wins "Best Original Song" at 2013 Golden Globes
Pop star Adele and co-writer Paul Epworth won for best song for their theme tune to the James Bond adventure "Skyfall." The singer, making her first public appearance since giving birth in October, got a high-five from the film's star Daniel Craig as she went up to accept the award.
"Oh, my God!" Adele gushed repeatedly, before offering gratitude to the group that presents the Globes. "I'd like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press. I never thought I'd say that."
The prize for musical score went to Mychael Danna for the lost-at-sea tale "Life of Pi," who said he wanted to share the award with the film's director, Ang Lee.
"Ang, I will always treasure this voyage we made together," Danna said. "Thank for guiding us all to shore safely."
Play Video
Poehler, Fey joke about "Zero Dark Thirty" torture
Show hosts Fey and Poehler, who co-starred in the 2008 big-screen comedy "Baby Mama," had a friendly rivalry at the Globes. Both were nominated for best actress in a TV comedy series, Fey for "30 Rock" and Poehler for "Parks and Recreation."
"Tina, I just want to say that I very much hope that I win," Poehler told Fey at the start of the show.
"Thank you. You're my nemesis. Thank you," Fey replied.
Neither won. Lena Dunham claimed the comedy series Globe for "Girls," on the same night the show's second season premiered on HBO.
"This award is for everyone who felt like there wasn't a space for her," Dunham said. "This show has made a space for me."
After that, Fey and Poehler showed up on stage with cocktail glasses, Fey joking that it was time to start drinking.
"Everyone's getting a little loose now that we're all losers," Poehler said.
"Girls" also won the prize for best comedy series. Among other TV winners, Julianne Moore won a best-actress Globe for her role as Sarah Palin in "Game Change," which also was picked as best TV miniseries or movie and earned Ed Harris a supporting-actor prize. Best actor in a miniseries or movie went to Kevin Costner for "Hatfields & McCoys." "Homeland" was named best TV drama series, and its stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis received the dramatic acting awards. Maggie Smith won as supporting actress for "Downton Abbey."
