Are gun curbs just symbolism?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Gun violence recommendations are expected from Vice President Biden on Tuesday


• The proposals are expected to contain substantive and symbolic ideas to curb gun violence


• Presidents use symbolism to shift public opinion or affect larger political or social change

Washington (CNN) -- The pictures told the story: Vice President Joe Biden looked solemn, patrician and in control as he sat at a long table in the White House, flanked by people on both sides of the gun control issue.

The images conveyed a sense that the White House was in command on this issue.

And that's the point. Historically, presidential administrations have used symbolic imagery—at times coupled with marginal actions—to shift public opinion or affect larger political or social change.

"Politics is a risk taking project," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University historian and CNN contributor. "They put together these commissions in response to some crisis. You try a hundred things and hope something works."

On the eve of the Biden-led gun control task force recommendations to President Barack Obama, political experts say it is important that his administration sends a clear signal that it has things in hand.

That is especially critical in what will likely be an uphill battle to push specific changes, like an assault weapons ban, as part of a broader effort on gun control.

The first move in the image battle will be to appear to move quickly and decisively.

"You have to give the Obama administration credit for one thing: They've learned from history to do things quickly," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said of previous task force initiatives that fizzled.

In 2010, Obama appointed a bipartisan commission headed by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Erskine Bowles, a former Democratic White House chief of staff, to come up with a proposal to balance the budget and cut the debt.

Like the gun task force, Simpson-Bowles reviewed current regulations, gathered input from the public and engaged in tense internal conversations. But after months of working on a proposal—a blend of steep revenue increases and spending cuts—the group struggled to agree to a solution. The president did not take up the recommendations.

Obama largely avoided the issue of gun control during his first term.

He wrote an opinion piece two months after the 2011 assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, acknowledging the importance of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In the piece he also called for a focus on "effective steps that will actually keep those irresponsible, law-breaking few from getting their hands on a gun in the first place."

But in the aftermath of that shooting and as the election season loomed, the Justice Department backed off from a list of recommendations that included a measure designed to help keep mentally ill people from getting guns.

For now, at least, there is a sense in Washington that the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting where 26 people -- 20 of them young children -- were slaughtered could lead to meaningful legislative reform.

Public opinion would seem to suggest that the White House efforts are well timed.

In the month since the massacre, a new poll showed the percentage of Americans who said they were dissatisfied with America's gun laws has spiked.

The Gallup survey released on Monday showed 38% of Americans were dissatisfied with current gun regulations, and wanted stricter laws. That represented 13-point jump from one year ago, when 25% expressed that view. "You want to strike while the iron is hot," Sabato said. "We Americans have short attention spans and, as horrible as the Newtown shooting was, will anyone be surprised if we moved along by spring?"

The White House has since worked overtime to show it considers gun control an urgent matter.

The vice president has spent the last week meeting with what the White House calls "stakeholders" in the gun control debate.

On Monday, Biden was to meet with members of a House Democratic task force on guns, along with Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services.

In a series of face to face discussions on Thursday, Biden sat down with the National Rifle Association and other gun owners groups before conferring with representatives from the film and television industry.

In a sign the White House is prepared to move aggressively on its proposals, Biden made public comments just before meeting with the National Rifle Association, the country's most powerful gun lobby.

"Putting the vice president in charge of (the task force) and having him meeting with these groups is intended to show seriousness and an effort to reach out and respond to concerns and wishes of various groups," said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University.

Still, the NRA expressed disappointment in its discussion with Biden and later released a statement that accused the administration of mounting "an agenda to attack the Second Amendment."

Organizations seeking tougher gun control laws insist an assault weapons ban is critical to addressing the nation's recent rash of mass shootings. However, such a ban could be difficult in a Congress mired in gridlock.

"The bully pulpit is limited. It's hard for the president to sustain that momentum," Zelizer said of the White House's gun control efforts after the Newtown shootings. "The thing about symbolism is, like the shock over Newtown, they fade quickly."

CNN's Jim Acosta and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report

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Extended smoking ban takes effect

SINGAPORE: The extended smoking ban in public areas kicked in on Tuesday.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it will step up spot checks by about 70 per cent after three months, which is some 8,000 additional hours per month.

In a spot check at Toa Payoh MRT station on Tuesday, seven smokers were caught in an hour for smoking where they were not supposed to.

Smokers are now not allowed to light up at the common areas of all residential buildings, covered linkways and walkways, overhead pedestrian bridges, as well as within a five-metre radius of bus shelters.

For the first three months of the new ban, the NEA said it will take on a more advisory approach.

But come April 15, first time offenders will be fined S$200, while repeat offenders could be fined as much as S$1,000.

Eileen Yap, a NEA inspector, said: "We realise that the public in general are not aware of such bans and the awareness level is not so high in the beginning, so in these three months, NEA will be advising smokers and we'll be working with the community in general to create awareness, so that everyone can have cleaner air."

Smokers hope the NEA will exercise some flexibility when it comes to enforcing the ban.

A smoker, who did not reveal his name, said: "We can't be smoking outside when it's raining or pouring. So they have to fine tune the balance. They probably have to list down under what circumstance it's forgivable, or if there is a second chance, or if not they have to find a solution - a sheltered smoking area for example."

Last year, some 4,000 smokers were caught flouting the rules. This is 800 cases, or 17 per cent less than in 2011.

- CNA/xq

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Senate holds key to fixing Washington

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House after a 2012 meeting.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ira Shapiro: 2013 just started and a consensus has formed that politics will be polarized


• Shapiro: What America needs is a rejuvenated Senate to be the nation's mediator


• He says so much depends on the quality of leadership to bypass obstructionism


• Shapiro: Can Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid restore Senate to its special place in history?

Editor's note: Ira Shapiro is the author of "The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis" (PublicAffairs).

(CNN) -- The new year has hardly set in and a consensus has formed that the polarization and dysfunction gripping Washington will inevitably continue. A headline in Politico summed it up well: "New Congress with Same Old Problems." Fareed Zakaria wrote about "America's political failure" and the specter of our political system "seizing up." Ezra Klein went one step further, commenting that "while the 112th Congress was surely one of the most broken and incompetent in our history, the worst is probably yet to come."

Everyone can describe the factors that produced America's vitriolic political culture. We are well aware of the various possible remedies, like passing a constitutional amendment on campaign finance, embracing open primaries, establishing commissions to prevent gerrymandered districts, or setting up a requirement of universal voting. But these ideas are many years away if attainable at all.

There is only one prospect for real change in our national politics. America urgently needs a rejuvenated Senate, which has to return to being, as Walter Mondale once described it: "the nation's mediator." The good news is that could actually happen.

The 2012 Senate elections were a landslide for the Democrats, who won 25 out of 33 elections, gaining blue states and red states, sweeping nine of the 10 most hotly contested elections and bringing in a record 20 female senators.

The Senate results can be read as a repudiation of extremism and obstructionism, strengthening the hand of Senate Democrats while freeing the moderate and conservative Senate Republicans from the death grip of blind loyalty to Grover Norquist, the NRA or the tea party. Republican insiders have already indicated their interest in nominating candidates who might win general elections rather than extreme candidates destined to be defeated.

As America's economic potential remains enviable, our political dysfunction threatens to undermine it. The fiscal cliff was barely averted, but the battles over our economic future will recommence almost immediately. The nation is still stunned by the horrific killings in Newtown and shaken by the implications of Hurricane Sandy.

The country yearns for responsible adult leadership. President Obama will provide it, but he needs the cooperation and engagement of Congress, which the Republican House has proven it cannot offer. The Senate is the only realistic partner to the president in seeking constructive solutions to the nation's challenges on guns, climate change and immigration.

Most importantly, no one should underestimate the commitment of the senators to our country, and the anger and frustration they share about the Senate.

Across the political spectrum, from liberals like Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, to conservatives like Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, there is a demand for "regular order" -- legislation that results from committee consideration, vigorous debate and the opportunity to offer amendments and to reach principled compromises. The Senate has a handful of members deeply committed to absolute obstruction, but the overwhelming majority of its members sought the office for the opportunity to address the country's challenges in a serious way. They know what the Senate is supposed to be, they hate what it has become and now they have the chance to rebuild it.

Many Americans doubt that the current crop of senators measures up to the stalwarts of the past. No one admires the great senators of the 1960s and 1970s more than I do. But the Senate that convened in the first week of January combines many capable veteran legislators, promising young senators and exciting new arrivals. They can change the status quo.

For example, even in the midst of gridlock in 2012, Democrat Barbara Boxer of California and Republican Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma reached agreement on a major transportation bill, and Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa and Republican Mike Enzi of Wyoming forged compromises to produce a far-reaching food safety legislation.

Our senators would do well to take a page from history. In "The Passage of Power," his latest volume on LBJ, Robert Caro reminds us that in 1963, exactly 50 years ago, the Senate was paralyzed. It was unable to move on even the tax cut proposed by President Kennedy. But the television coverage of fire hoses and police dogs being turned on peaceful civil rights demonstrators, which changed the nation's consciousness, followed by the trauma of President Kennedy's assassination, and Lyndon Johnson's extraordinary leadership, transformed the Senate. Congress produced the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a number of great legislative accomplishments. It doesn't take much time, or that many people, to change the Senate.

So much depends on the quality of leadership. We remember the profound impact of Lyndon Johnson, Mike Mansfield, Everett Dirksen and Howard Baker on the Senate. The current Senate leaders, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, did not create the hyperpartisan Senate, but it got undeniably worse on their watch. Now, their places in history are on the line. They can be judged failures and quickly forgotten, or they can be remembered as the leaders who played a crucial role in restoring the Senate to its special place in our country. I wouldn't bet against them making the right choice.

Reid has already committed to spearheading needed reforms to the Senate rules, and appears to have wisely decided against ramming through rules changes by a majority vote. McConnell already played an essential role in the last-minute compromise that averted the fiscal cliff, and in doing so, produced an 89-8 Senate vote for the compromise. He remains the key: Will he use his considerable savvy to obstruct, as he did for most of the last four years, or to reach the hard, principled compromises that major legislative accomplishments demand?

Pessimistic observers of our political scene believe that ultimately the Senate can only mirror our deep national divisions. I think this view oversimplifies the complex relationship between voters and their elected representatives.

The senators are supposed to rise above our divisions to find common ground, and by the act of doing so, contribute to rebuilding public confidence and healing a fractured nation. If the Senate returns to being "the nation's mediator," the results of its work can pass the Republican House the way the "fiscal cliff" deal did -- by a decisive vote among Democrats, coupled with a minority of the Republicans.

The men and women in today's Senate have a rare privilege and a special opportunity. They are United States senators. They walk where the greats once walked, and it's time they make us proud again.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ira Shapiro.

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Son of ex-fire chief sentenced for LAX drug ring

LOS ANGELES The son of a former Los Angeles fire chief has been sentenced to a year in federal prison and fined $6,000 for heading a marijuana-smuggling ring in which he bribed security officers to get pot-filled suitcases on flights from L.A. to Boston.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 24-year-old Millage Peaks IV received the sentence Monday. He also was given three years' probation.

Prosecutors say Peaks paid between $200 and $500 to get at least 10 shipments of pot through security at Los Angeles International Airport in 2010 and 2011.

Peaks' father, Millage Peaks III, retired as L.A.'s fire chief 2011.

Co-defendant Randy Littlefield is one of two former Transportation Security Administration officers who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the case. Littlefield, 29, received eight months in prison and three years' probation.

In court papers, Littlefield acknowledged accepting $200 on two occasions from fellow TSA agent Dianna Perez when she needed help clearing luggage filled with marijuana through LAX security. Perez pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge last September, reports CBS Station KCBS.

She admitted she helped her co-defendants smuggle the drugs on nine occasions between November 2010 and October 2011.

According to court papers, Peaks told the defendants he would pay $500 for every pot-filled suitcase that would go through airport security.

Last year, Andrew Welter and co-defendant Charles "Smoke" Hicks, 24, admitted to working with Peaks to smuggle marijuana onto flights, reports KCBS.

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Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour, Sources Say

Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.

A government 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 Doping Confession: Why Now? Watch Video

Lance Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles 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.

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Is China easing up on local media?

A protester calls for greater media freedom outside the headquarters of Nanfang Media Group in Guangzhou on Jan. 9.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Young: Handling of Southern Weekly row demonstrated tolerant side of new leadership


• Traditional, newer media can serve as tools for achieving goals in China's modernization


• The fight against corruption in China is at the top of the list for incoming leader, Xi Jinping


• Young: Media has also emerged as an important tool for combating other social problems

Editor's note: Doug Young teaches financial journalism at Fudan University in Shanghai and is the author of The Party Line: How the Media Dictates Public Opinion in Modern China published by John Wiley & Sons. He also writes daily on his blog, Young's China Business Blog, commenting on the latest developments in China's fast-moving corporate scene.

Shanghai, China (CNN) -- China's traditional iron-handed approach to the media has taken a surprise turn of tolerance with Beijing's soft handling of a recent dispute with local reporters, in what could well become a more open attitude toward the media under the incoming administration of presumed new President Xi Jinping.

The new openness is being driven in large part by pragmatism, as the government realizes that both traditional and newer media can serve as powerful tools for achieving many of its goals in the country's modernization.

The recent conflict between reporters at the progressive Southern Weekly and local propaganda officials over a censorship incident left many guessing how the government would respond to the first clash of its kind in China for more than 20 years. The result was a surprisingly mild approach, including mediation by a high-level government official and a vague promise for less censorship in the future.

Read: Censorship protest a test for China

The unusually tolerant tack could well reflect a new attitude by Xi and other incoming leaders set to take control of China for the next decade, all of whom have come to realize the media can serve many important functions beyond its traditional role as a propaganda machine.

At the top of Xi's list is the fight against corruption, a problem he has mentioned frequently since taking the helm of the Communist Party last year. The party has tried to tackle the problem for years using its own internal investigations, but progress was slow until recently due to protection many officials received through their own sprawling networks of internal relationships, known locally as guanxi.

Read: Corruption as China's top priority

All that began to change in the last two years with the rapid rise of social media, most notably the Twitter-like microblogs known as Weibo that are now a pervasive part of the Chinese Internet landscape and count hundreds of millions of ordinary Chinese among their users. Those social media have become an important weapon for exposing corruption, allowing thousands of ordinary citizens to pool their resources and build cases against officials they suspect of using their influence for personal gain.

This increasingly sophisticated machine was on prominent display last year in a case involving Yang Dacai, a local official in northwestern Shaanxi province who infuriated the online community by smiling at the site of a horrific accident scene. Netizens quickly turned their outrage into an online investigation, and uncovered photos of him wearing several luxury watches he could hardly afford on his government salary. As a result, the government ultimately opened an investigation into the matter and Yang was sacked from his posts.

In addition to its role in battling corruption, the media has also emerged as an important tool for combating and addressing many of the other social problems that China is facing in its rapid modernization. Barely a week goes by without a report on the latest national food safety scandal or case of illegal pollution in both traditional and social media, with such reports often followed by government investigations.

Beijing leaders have also discovered that the media can also be an important vehicle for improving communication between the government and general public -- something that was a low priority in previous eras when officials only cared about pleasing their higher-up party bosses.

Following a Beijing directive in late 2011, most local government agencies and other organizations have all established microblog accounts, which they use to keep the public informed about their latest activities and seek feedback on upcoming plans. Such input has become a valuable way to temper traditional public mistrust toward the government, which historically didn't make much effort to include the public in any of its internal discussions.

Lastly, the government has also discovered that media, especially social media, can be an effective tool in gauging public opinion on everything from broader national topics like inflation down to very local issues like land redevelopment. Such feedback was difficult to get in the past due to interference by local officials, who tried to filter out or downplay anything with negative overtones and play things up to their own advantage. As a result, central government officials often received incomplete pictures of what was happening in their own country.

With all of these valuable roles to play, the media has become an increasingly important part of Beijing's strategy in executing many of its top priorities.

The government also realizes that a certain degree of openness is critical to letting the media perform many of those roles, which may explain its relatively tolerant approach in the recent Southern Weekly conflict. Such tolerance is likely to continue under Xi's administration, helping to shift more power towards a field of increasingly emboldened reporters at both traditional and new media and away from their traditional propaganda masters.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Doug Young.

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Public hospitals adopt multi-pronged strategy to avoid overcrowding

SINGAPORE: Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong in a written reply to Parliament said public hospitals adopt a multi-pronged strategy to actively manage patient loads and bed occupancy.

Mr Gan was replying to Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, Associate Prof Fatimah Lateef.

She asked Mr Gan how are overcrowding and high bed occupancy rates handled in the restructured hospitals.

Mr Gan said the multi-pronged strategy includes right-siting care, active intervention to safeguard patient safety during the wait for admission and optimising the use of resources.

To right-site care, hospitals review and discharge patients who are medically stable to allow new patients to be admitted.

For patients waiting at the emergency departments for admission, hospitals deploy inpatient medical teams to initiate prompt medical assessment and definitive care at the emergency department.

To optimise the use of resources, subsidised patients may be placed in private wards for a short duration if subsidised wards are full and these patients continue to pay subsidised rates.

Some stable patients are also transferred, with their consent, to hospitals with higher available capacity to help spread the load across the system.

The Health Ministry is also working with existing institutions to add capacity in the short term.

In addition, hospitals also tap on the capacity in the private sector to meet their needs.

- CNA/fa

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Senator: 'This is not your father's NRA'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "This is not your father's NRA," Sen. Chris Murphy says


• NRA president predicts an assault weapons ban won't pass


• Schumer calls on retailers to suspend sales of assault-style rifles


• A federal task force on gun violence will present proposals by Tuesday

What proposals do you want to see to reduce gun violence? Share them at CNN iReport, Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below.

(CNN) -- When a set of recommendations to reduce gun violence hits President Barack Obama's desk on Tuesday, it will trigger a new stage in a decisive political battle consuming Washington. And it will show just how much America may have changed in the wake of last month's massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

The proposals from a White House task force may include some with broad support on issues involving mental health. But one of the most intense flashpoints is already known: The group, overseen by Vice President Joe Biden, is expected to support reinstating an assault weapons ban.

"I would say that the likelihood is they will not be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress," National Rifle Association President David Keene said Sunday.

But the powerful gun rights lobbying group is gearing up for a fight, which, CNN has learned, will include an ad campaign.

"When a president takes all the power of his office and is willing to expend political capital, you don't want to make predictions," Keene said on "State of the Union."

Keene said he also does not believe Congress will pass a ban on high-capacity magazines.

The NRA argues that such bans won't help stop gun violence and that they infringe on Second Amendment rights.

But Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said the NRA's prediction is wrong. "I think that this issue is going to continue to move," he told "State of the Union," speaking from Newtown.

"The NRA does not represent gun owners anymore. This is not your father's NRA. It represents gun manufacturers," Murphy said.

While the NRA does receive large sums of money from gun makers, Keene insisted that manufacturers are "not our constituency."

"Our constituency is twofold," he said. "It's the American people who want to own guns and use them legally, and it's the Second Amendment itself."

Biden told reporters last week, amid meetings with a wide array of groups, that he had never heard so much support for "the need to do something about high-capacity magazines."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is pushing a ban similar to one that expired in 2004, has said she believes it will make it through Congress.

"All of the things that society regulates, but we can't touch guns? That's wrong," Feinstein said in December after 27 people, including 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, were killed in Newtown by a gunman who then shot himself to death.

Numerous mass shootings have involved high-capacity weapons.

Obama set up the task force and instructed the group to have proposals by the end of January. Biden said last week he will have a set of recommendations ready for the president by Tuesday.

While the NRA, with 4.2 million members, holds a great deal of sway, it faces a country deeply concerned about the kinds of weapons that have been used in numerous mass killings. It's also facing a new foe: a political action committee created by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly.

Giffords was shot in the head in a mass shooting two years ago that killed six people.

"With Americans for Responsible Solutions engaging millions of people about ways to reduce gun violence and funding political activity nationwide, legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby," the two vowed in a USA Today op-ed last week.

Obama made clear Saturday that he's ready for a fight over how to respond to gun violence.

In his weekly radio address, he gave a list of challenges ahead, including protecting "our children from the horrors of gun violence."

"These, too, will be difficult missions for America. But they must be met," he said.

The Obama administration will try to pass an assault weapons ban, an administration official said Friday.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, told CNN he believes that a ban on assault weapons alone, "in the political reality that we have today, will not go anywhere." A strong advocate for Second Amendment rights with an "A" rating from the NRA, he has expressed openness to changing laws but argues that other aspects of society should change as well. "It has to be a comprehensive approach," he argued Sunday on "State of the Union."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, on Sunday called on the nation's largest gun retailers to "participate in a temporary moratorium on selling assault-style rifles until Congress has considered legislation to reduce gun violence," his office said in a statement.

"Since the Sandy Hook massacre, sales of assault-style rifles have skyrocketed and are poised to grow even further during an upcoming 'Gun Appreciation Day' organized by extreme pro-gun activists," the statement said.

The group behind the event, scheduled for January 19, uses its website to encourage Americans to "go to your local gun store, gun range or gun show with your Constitution, American flags and your 'Hands off my Guns' sign to send a loud and clear message."

Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sporting goods retailers, suspended sales of certain semi-automatic rifles nationwide after the Newtown massacure.

Another likely point of contention between gun rights activists and those supporting stricter gun control is a call for universal background checks.

Biden has said several groups that his task force met with support such checks for all gun buyers, including those who purchase through private sales.

Keene has also told CNN that he does not support instituting background checks for purchases at gun shows.

He said Sunday the NRA does support the idea that people who are ruled mentally incompetent should be listed as not allowed to purchase firearms.

In the interview Sunday, Keene complained that Biden's panel didn't really listen to what the NRA had to say.

Despite promises that the task force had not reached conclusions before hearing from all sides, "the conclusions were reached," he argued. "We suspected all they wanted to be able to do was to say he had talked to us, and now they were going to go forward to do what they wanted to do."

Another question facing Biden's panel is how to tackle images of shootings in entertainment.

His task force met with leaders of the the film, TV and video game industries.

It's unknown what the task force may suggest as a response to what Obama has described as a culture that often "glorifies guns and violence."

Meanwhile, across the country, Americans of all stripes are debating the issue in person, in town hall meetings, and in social media.

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United Airlines scheme saves millions on fuel taxes: lawsuit

CHICAGO A transportation agency plans to file a lawsuit Monday alleging that United Airlines is falsely claiming to buy huge amounts of jet fuel out of a small, rural Illinois office that doesn't even have a computer to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago, where the purchases are allegedly being made.

The Regional Transportation Authority alleges United Aviation Fuels Corp., a subsidy of United Airlines, has operated a "sham" office in the DeKalb County community of Sycamore since 2001 after reaching an agreement to pay the town more than $300,000 a year -- a fraction of what it would have owed in sales taxes in Chicago and Cook County.

"The only reason that United Fuels has an office in Sycamore is to attempt to create a sham tax situs (location) for fuel sales in a lower taxing jurisdiction," reads a draft of the lawsuit obtained by The Associated Press.

United officials say they have not seen the lawsuit, but that the Sycamore operation is legal.

The RTA, which contends the office has no computer and is staffed by one person who only works part time, said consultants visited the site on a recent weekday and found it locked with nobody inside. The agency said judging from the few chairs and empty desks seen through a window, there is little, if any, business occurring in the office.

"Whoever is out there is not negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of jet fuel," said Jordan Matyas, the RTA's chief of staff. He said any negotiations for fuel, as well as delivery scheduling, accounting, credit approval and administrative decisions, are being done in the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago, where United is headquartered.

The RTA alleges that American Airlines is engaged in a similar "sham" business out of an office it rents in Sycamore's City Hall. But Matyas said American was not included in the lawsuit because the airline remains in bankruptcy, and that suing American would require litigating the case both in federal bankruptcy court in New York and in Cook County Circuit Court, where the RTA plans to file its suit against United. He added that the RTA does plan to pursue legal action against American at some point.

The two airlines are spending a staggering amount of money on fuel. Based on sales taxes that were paid in Sycamore, the RTA estimates that in 2012 alone, the two airlines spent "approximately $1.2 billion on jet fuel the airlines" for jets at O'Hare, Matyas said in an email, adding that it is unclear how much of that was later sold to other airlines.

United officials said they have not received a copy of the complaint, but "believe that any such suit would be without merit."

"In fact, the operation of our fuel subsidiary in Sycamore has been examined by tax authorities in the past and has been determined to comply with all applicable laws," spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said in an email.

American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said in an email that the airline does not comment on pending litigation but added, "What American is doing is permitted under Illinois law."

Sycamore's city manager, Brian Gregory, declined comment.

The RTA said in a prepared statement that "sales tax dodges" have cost the city of Chicago $133 million in lost sales tax revenue since 2005. They have cost Cook County an additional $60 million and Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority another $96 million, according to the RTA, which oversees the three agencies and relies on sales tax revenue for much of its funding.

"CTA, Metra and Pace have had to work with constrained budgets and have needed to raise fares and reduce service because the money's just not there," RTA executive director Joe Costello said in the news release. "Now we know why."

The lawsuit is potentially embarrassing for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who earlier this year called United's decision to move its corporate headquarters to Chicago "great news for all Chicagoans."

When told of the lawsuit, Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said, "The City has been supportive of efforts in Springfield to ensure corporations pay their fair share, but we have not seen this specific lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on it."

According to the RTA, the total sales tax rate in Sycamore is 9.5 percent, compared to 8 percent in Chicago. But the RTA contends the airlines are getting an even better deal: The two companies have entered 25-year agreements that call for Sycamore to "kick back" most of its share of the sales tax on jet fuel, as much as $14 million a year, in exchange for payments of at least $300,000 a year from each airline.

A document provided by the RTA contends that the agreement with United calls for Sycamore to receive $360,000 to $556,000 between 2003 and 2026.

The lawsuit is part of a larger effort by the RTA to combat similar deals between various communities and companies.

The RTA, the city of Chicago and Cook County in 2011 filed lawsuits against Kankakee and the village of Channahon. They alleged that those communities' tax incentive programs are costing other government agencies millions of dollars, because they enable companies to avoid paying higher sales taxes by moving purchases through satellite offices in areas where the sales tax rates are lower.

According to the RTA's lawsuit against Kankakee and Channahon, the agency is owed at least $100 million in lost revenue. The communities contend their programs are legal.

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Golden Globe Moments: A Night of Laughs, Surprises

Let's finally bury this idea that women can't be funny once and for all. Fey and Poehler were undeniably hilarious throughout the Globes, so much so that many fans on Twitter demanded more of them during the ceremony. From their opening bit -- Poehler: "Meryl Streep is not here tonight, she has the flu. And I hear she's amazing in it." -- to their pseudo drunk heckling of best TV comedy actress winner Lena Dunham, they were radiant, energetic, and above all, funny. More please.

Foster made her acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award a coming out, of sorts. She first shocked the audience by leading them to think that she was about to make a huge public statement about her sexuality. Instead, she said she was single, adding "I already did my coming out in the stone age."

"Now, apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference ... You guys might be surprised, but I'm not Honey Boo Boo child," she said, to a flurry of laughter and applause.

"If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler ... then maybe you too might value privacy above all else," she said. "Privacy."

But Foster did specifically thank her ex-partner Cydney Bernard, with whom she has two kids. Both boys gestured to her from the audience.

She also implied that she was retiring from acting when she said she would not be returning to the Globes stage or any stage. "It's just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick," Foster said, bringing many in the audience to tears.

But backstage, Foster clarified to reporters that she was not retiring from acting. "Oh that's so funny," she responded to reporters. "You couldn't drag me away. And I'd like to be directing tomorrow."

It takes a lot to make Hollywood star struck. Bill Clinton did it when he strutted on stage to introduce a clip of "Lincoln," which was up for best drama. He brought the crowd of A-listers to its feet and commended the 16th president. "We're all here tonight because he did it," he said of Lincoln's battle to end slavery.

If there was any doubt that Lena Dunham wasn't Hollywood's next big thing, it was obliterated Sunday night. The star and creator of HBO's "Girls" went home with two awards, best actress in a TV comedy and best TV comedy. Her heartfelt acceptance speech for best actress struck a chord: "This award is for everyone who feels like there wasn't a place for her," she said. "This show made a space for me."

Jessica Chastain won the Globe for best actress in a drama for "Zero Dark Thirty." She offered a moving tribute to director Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win a best director Oscar who failed to get a nomination for that award this year, though "ZDT" was up for a slew of other awards, including best picture. "I can't help but compare my character of Maya to you," Chastain said to Bigelow. "When you make a film that allows your character to disobey the conventions of Hollywood, you've done more for women in cinema than you take credit for."

Blame it on nerves, the spirit of spontaneity, or the a-a-a-a-alcohol (apologies to Jamie Foxx), but Jennifer Lawrence's acceptance speech was a tad insulting to a Hollywood icon, if totally hilarious. "Oh what does it say?" she asked, looking at her trophy. "I beat Meryl." She meant Meryl Streep, who was also up for the award.

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