What’s wrong with Kris Aquino tipping a cabbie? Plenty, says Comelec By Philip C. Tubeza, TJ Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer

What’s wrong with giving a cab driver a fat tip during an election campaign?

Plenty, in the view of Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes who said popular television host Kris Aquino could be liable for vote-buying.

“It looks like you’re campaigning, you’re making an appeal and then you give a prize,” commented Brillantes.

“Anyone could ride a taxi, go campaigning and then give out cash,” he said.

The Comelec chief was actually reacting to media reports of a story that Aquino gave reporters, about how when she was campaigning in Cebu City last week, she let the taxi driver keep the change from the P1,000 bill she handed him after he agreed to vote for three senatorial candidates she was endorsing—Sen. Francis Escudero, Grace Poe Llamanzares and her cousin, Bam Aquino.

Palace defends Kris

Not surprisingly, Malacañang on Wednesday said it disagreed with the Comelec chief and defended President Aquino’s celebrity sister.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it was apparent that Aquino “decided to let the taxi driver keep the change after he made it known to her that he was voting for the three candidates.”

The taxi driver “needed no persuasion nor was the money given in exchange for his vote as defined by the law,” she said.

“We respect Chairman Brilliantes’ opinion but disagree with it,” she said.

Brillantes said, however, that it would not be easy to charge Aquino. For one thing, there would have to be a complainant, he said.

“It’s not that easy. Who will be the complainant? She can always deny it. I don’t know if she would admit that under oath. I will not make any conclusion,” he said.

Vote-buying is an election offense and violators could face up to six years of imprisonment, the loss of the right to vote, and disqualification from holding public office.

Brillantes said Aquino’s narration of what happened showed that she gave the driver money “in good faith.”

“As far as she is concerned, she does not find anything wrong with it. It was like she was happy because she campaigned (for her candidates) and the driver said, ‘okay,’” he said.

‘In good faith’

“I think it was done in good faith. I’m making statements here… I might be jailed,” he added in jest.

Aquino, who has disclosed that she intends to run for governor of Tarlac in 2016, took time out from her busy schedule to pitch for Escudero, Llamanzares and her cousin in a two-day swing through General Santos, Davao, Cebu and Tacloban cities last week.

Talking with reporters while campaigning in Cebu City, Aquino said she took a taxi from the airport to her hotel and gave the driver a fat tip after the latter agreed to vote for her three candidates.

“I reminded him that apart from Chiz, and Grace, don’t forget Bam Aquino. When he said yes, I doubled my payment. I gave him P1,000 and told him keep the change,” she said.

SPORT Andrew Bogut's Golden State Warriors lose NBA thriller to Spurs

 

Chicago Bulls stun Miami Heat in game one

Chicago Bulls stun defending champions Miami Heat on the road in game one of their second round playoff series.

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Golden State centre Andrew Bogut, right, and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard go after the ball during game one of their NBA playoff series. Picture: Darren Abate Source: AP

GOLDEN State suffered a heartbreaking 129-127 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in game one of the second round of the Western Conference playoffs today.

A three-pointer by Manu Ginobili with 1.2 seconds left proved to be the game-winner, finishing off a Warriors squad that led by as much as 18.

The Warriors got 44 points and 11 assists from Stephen Curry, who played 58 minutes. But the Warriors' defence couldn't stop the Spurs onslaught. San Antonio point guard Tony Parker scored 16 of his 28 points after the third quarter to lead the Spurs to the come-from-behind victory.

The Spurs closed the fourth quarter on an 18-2 run to send the game to overtime.

In today's other game, Nate Robinson led the injury-hit Chicago Bulls to a stunning 93-86 upset win over reigning champions Miami Heat in the opening game of their NBA second round series.

"We've been hit all year with a lot of different things, but I like the mental toughness of our team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "This is just one game."Robinson finished with 27 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who snapped the Heat's 27-game winning streak during the regular season and have now handed them their first loss in their last 13 games.

Robinson played with 10 stitches in his mouth after hitting his face on floor. He left the game to get medical attention but returned later.

"It was just a hustle play that went wrong," Robinson said. "You have to play through it."

James had 22 of his 24 points in the second half for Miami, which lost its third game in its last 44 going back to February 3.

Miami will also host game two on Wednesday in the best of seven series.

The Heat, who had been idle for the past week, looked rusty down the stretch and the Bulls scored the last 10 points.

The Heat's superstar trio of James, Wade and Chris Bosh combined for just 12 points in the opening half, their lowest first-half total of the season.

The Bulls bottled up James late in the fourth as they appear to have developed a formula this season for beating the mighty Heat.

"Our offence was not as fluid and efficient as it normally is, and you have to give credit to their defence for that. We need to show more poise, patience and aggressiveness," Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said.

After Chicago ended Miami's 27-game winning streak during the regular season, James complained about the Bulls physical play, especially the defence of Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson.

James didn't have to contend with injured Hinrich on Monday, but he did have his hands full with the rest of the Bulls' balanced attack.

On top of missing Hinrich and injured former MVP Derrick Rose, Luol Deng also didn't play against Miami with complications from a spinal tap procedure.

Deng, 28, underwent the spinal tap last week to rule out meningitis.

The complications from the procedure led to further problems. Deng reportedly had to return to a Chicago emergency room on Sunday morning after being released from the hospital Saturday.

Injuries aside, the Bulls showed their depth as five players finished in double figures, including forward Gibson who came off the bench to score 12 points.

Jimmy Butler had 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Joakim Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who held a commanding 46-32 advantage on the glass and a 17-8 edge in second-chance points.

Since the 2005-06 season, the teams have met in the playoffs four times, including a Chicago series sweep in 2007. The Heat won in 2006 and 2011.

AFP

China sends large fleet to disputed islands

China has sent one of its largest recorded fishing fleets to disputed islands in the South China Sea, state-run media said on Tuesday, amid tensions over Beijing's assertion of its claims in the region.

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Kalayaan island in the Spratlys, a chain of islets in the South China Sea. (AFP/Kayalaan Municipal office/File - Kayalaan Municipal Office)

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BEIJING: China has sent one of its largest recorded fishing fleets to disputed islands in the South China Sea, state-run media said on Tuesday, amid tensions over Beijing's assertion of its claims in the region.

A flotilla including 30 fishing vessels set sail on Monday for the Spratly Islands, an archipelago disputed between China and other countries including Vietnam and the Philippines, the China Daily reported.

The fleet left China's southern province of Hainan for a 40-day trip to the region, the report said, and includes two large transport and supply ships.

Chinese fishing boats regularly travel to the Spratlys, parts of which are also claimed by Taiwan and Brunei, but the fleet dispatched Monday was as large as one described as the biggest ever launched from the province when it set off last year.

China will make "every effort to guarantee the fleet's safety," the report quoted an official from the department of ocean and fisheries as saying.

China and neighbouring countries have long used fishing fleets and maritime patrols to assert their territorial claims, and have upgraded their naval forces in recent years as tensions over claims in the South China Sea have risen.

The Philippines and Vietnam have complained that China is becoming increasingly aggressive in its actions in the area -- such as harassing fishermen -- and also through bullying diplomatic tactics.

The waters around the Spratlys are rich in fishing resources and it is believed they could hold large oil and gas reserves.

Mom’s Saliva Can Strengthen Babies’ Immune Systems By Bonnie Rochman Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/06/moms-saliva-can-strengthen-babies-immune-systems/#ixzz2SeMtZVro

Picking up a dropped pacifier and sucking it clean may help infants to be better germ fighters.

The practice not only protects babies from the nasty microbes on the floor, but passes on good bugs that can lower the risk of allergies, according to a new study from Swedish researchers published in Pediatrics. “Parental sucking of their infant’s pacifier is associated with a reduced risk of allergy development and an altered oral flora in their child,” they write.

Infants whose parents use their tongues to burnish binkies were more likely to have different strains of bacteria in their gut, and with more helpful bacteria populating the intestines, the less likely the babies were to develop allergies and eczema.

When the 184 infants in the study were four months old, the scientists collected saliva samples to determine which types of bacteria resided in their guts. At six months old, parents reported whether their infants used pacifiers and how moms and dads cleaned them. The researchers checked back in with the parents when their babies were 18 and 36 months old to see if the infants had developed allergies and when the first symptoms appeared.

(MORE: Bacteria on Binkies: A Recipe for Crankiness)

By 18 months, 25% of the babies had eczema, 15% had developed some type of food allergy and 5% had been diagnosed with asthma.

But the children whose parents sucked on their pacifiers to sanitize them were one-third less likely to have eczema, which is considered the earliest sign of allergies, at 18 months than kids whose parents relied on other techniques — such as rinsing the binkies in tap water or boiling the pacifier. By the time the kids were 3 years old, those who had their pacifiers sucked clean were still considerably less likely to develop eczema than kids whose parents employed other cleaning strategies.

And it didn’t seem that parents were passing on more germs or infections to their little ones with the practice; regardless of how a parent cleaned a pacifier, all of the babies in the study developed an average of one and a half colds in their first six months of life.

To delve even deeper into the power of parents’ saliva, the researchers also looked for correlations between how a mother delivered her child and her tendency to suck the pacifiers clean. Moms who delivered vaginally tend to favor the cleaning practice more than C-section moms. (Those with a college degree, meanwhile, were less likely.) Indeed, vaginally-delivered babies are already exposed to more maternal bacteria thanks to their transit through the birth canal; tack on the oral bacteria from a parent’s mouth and babies in this group had the lowest incidence of eczema: 20%. C-section babies whose parents didn’t lick their pacifiers had the highest rate — 54% — of eczema.

So while it might seem unsanitary, sucking on that pacifier may end up giving babies just the right kind of good germs to better equip them to battle the more dangerous ones.

(MORE: Bring Back the Binky? Study Finds Pacifiers Actually Boost Breast-Feeding)

Mother Lily’s children out of wedlock FUNFARE By Ricky Lo (The Philippine Star) |

Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde with Pres. Noynoy ‘P-Noy’ Aquino…

Unless somebody surfaces at the last minute and waves a “birth certificate” claiming that he or she is,ehem, “one of them,” as of press time yesterday (6:30 p.m.), Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde has publicly recognized 15 “children” out of wedlock (as in mga anak sa labas) in addition to her and (Father) Remy Monteverde’s five legitimate children (Winnie, Roselle, Meme, Dondon and Goldwyn).

No, Mother Lily didn’t give birth to her other children; she very simply claims them as her own.

You guessed it: All 15 are running in the May 13 elections and they swear by Mother Lily’s legendary “Magic Touch” — you know, that her anointed ones believe in their hearts that they are assured of victory. Mother Lily’s “regal” batting average is beyond reproach.

As I was saying, it was Mother Lily who recognized the power of the movie press in spreading the platform of candidates because, as you must have known by now, movie stories are read by people from both the AB and CD crowds, even by those in far-flung places. Mother Lily first did it in 1992 for then presidential candidate Fidel V. Ramos for whom she hosted a movie presscon and a victory dinner for President-Elect FVR. Other candidates followed suit, all of whom Mother Lily has embraced as her children.

During the campaign season, the children seek out their adoptive mother for help, as children of any color, any race and any belief usually do in times of need. Mother knows best.

She could win hands down if ever she run for a public office but Mother Lily would rather stay in the background, acting as the wind beneath her children’s wings, basking in their victory and without expecting anything in return. It’s a mother’s unconditional love.

Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

What makes Mother Lily an effective endorser, with the highest credibility quotient among showbiz endorsers (bar none!), doing so without being paid (unlike star endorsers who earn millions by simply raising the hand of a candidate…easy does it, see?) and, in fact, spending her own money by hosting movie presscons for them, gratis et amore?.

And what are her criteria in taking a candidate under her wings?

“I only support senatoriables who I believe can help the country. I endorse only those whose values and principles are remarkable. Some of them have approached me, some are truly good friends. I like to help that’s why I am doing this,” said Mother Lily who calls every one of her (political/adoptive) children “anak.”

Here are Mother Lily’s mga anak sa labas (at random, since she plays no favorites):

• Pres. Noynoy “P-Noy” Aquino who touched Mother Lily’s heart when he visited her at home after she was diagnosed with an early-stage lung cancer.
• Sen. Loren Legarda (consistent topnotcher in surveys): An original anak way back when, who remembers Mother Lily even in off-campaign seasons.
• Former Sen. Dick Gordon: He’s Mother Lily and her daughter Roselle’s partner in Red Cross projects.
• Grace Poe: Mother Lily has known her since she was a child because Grace’s parents did movies for Regal.
• Bam Aquino: “A goal-oriented person who lets his work speak for itself.”
• Risa Hontiveros: Whose initials are stamped on the widely-debated RH Bill that she helped pass.
• Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte: Whose family is the Monteverdes’ long-time friends.
• Sen. Chiz Escudero: As far as Mother Lily is concerned, he can’t go wrong.
• Former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar: The “wonder woman” who has initiated innovative projects with Water Lily (made into bags, baskets, etc.).
• Nancy Binay: Said to be the silent political strategist of her father, Vice Pres. Jojo Binay.
• Sen. Antonio Trillanes: Mother Lily would love to film his colorful life story.
• Former Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile: “I believe he can put food on every Filipino family’s table.”
• Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano: “I will never forget when he brought me a bouquet of get-well-soon flowers.”
• Sen. Koko Pimentel: At yesterday’s presscon, he served fresh buko, as if to say, “Drink coco, think Koko!”
• Sen. Gringo Honasan: Like Father Remy, a proud native of Sorsogon (where Father Remy’s dad was known as Copra King).

Cavite bet's nephew shot, in critical condition ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA -- A nephew of a vice mayoral candidate in Bacoor, Cavite is in critical condition after he was shot by unidentified men in Barangay Aniban.

Bacoor police chief Col. Ronaldo Mendoza identified the victim as Ferdinand Malvar, nephew of vice mayoral bet Edwin Malvar.

Initial investigation showed that Ferdinand, who was on board his vehicle, confronted a group of motorcycle-riding men who were taking out the campaign posters of his uncle.

The still unidentified suspects then suddenly shot Ferdinand.

Police are still Investigating the incident. -- Report from Eric Dastas, dzMM

Volcano eruption in Philippines kills 5 climbers, injures 7

One of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes rumbled to life Tuesday, spewing room-sized rocks toward nearly 30 surprised climbers, killing five and injuring others that had to be fetched with rescue helicopters and rope.

The climbers and their Filipino guides had spent the night camping in two groups before setting out at daybreak for the crater of Mayon volcano when the sudden explosion of rocks, ash and plumes of smokes jolted the picturesque mountain, guide Kenneth Jesalva told ABS-CBN TV network by cellphone.

He said rocks “as big as a living room” came raining down, killing and injuring members of his group, some of whom were in critical condition. Jesalva said he rushed back to the base camp at 914 meters (3,000 feet) to call for help.

AP

Among the dead were three Germans and their Filipino guide, said Albay provincial Gov. Joey Salceda. He said everyone on the mountain had been accounted for at midday, except for a foreigner who was presumed dead.

Eight people were injured, and Salceda said the others were in the process of being brought down the mountain. Ash clouds have cleared over the volcano, which was quiet later in the morning.

“The injured are all foreigners … They cannot walk. If you can imagine, the boulders there are as big as cars. Some of them slid and rolled down. We will rappel the rescue team, and we will rappel them up again,” he said from Legazpi, the provincial capital at the foothill of the mountain.

An Austrian mountaineer and two Spaniards were rescued with small bruises, he said.

Tuesday’s eruption was normal for the restive Mayon, said Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The 2,460-meter (8,070-foot) mountain about 340 kilometers (212 miles) southeast of Manila has erupted about 40 times during the last 400 years.

In 2010, thousands of residents moved to temporary shelters when the volcano ejected ash up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater.

Solidum said no alert was raised after the latest eruption and no evacuation was being planned.

Climbers are not allowed when an alert is up, and the recent calm may have encouraged this week’s trek. However, Solidum said that even with no alert raised, the immediate zone around the volcano is supposed to be a no-go area because of the risk of a sudden eruption.

Salceda said he would enforce a ban on climbers.

Despite the risks, Mayon and its near-perfect cone is a favorite spot for volcano watchers. Most enjoy the occasional nighttime spectacle of the rim lit by flowing lava, viewing from the safety of hotels in Legazpi.

The volcano has a trail to the crater that is walkable though it’s steep and strewn with rocks and debris from past eruptions.

Boston Plotters Said to Initially Target July 4 for Attack

By ERIC SCHMITT, MARK MAZZETTI, MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and SCOTT SHANE

WASHINGTON — The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings told F.B.I. interrogators that he and his brother considered suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July as they plotted their deadly assault, according to two law enforcement officials.

F.B.I., via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An evidence photograph showing fireworks recovered in a backpack at a 

landfill in NewBedford, Mass.

But the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, told investigators that he and his brother,Tamerlan, 26, who was killed in a shootout with the police, ultimately decided to use pressure-cooker bombs and other homemade explosive devices, the officials said.

The brothers finished building the bombs in Tamerlan’s apartment in Cambridge, Mass., faster than they had anticipated, and so decided to accelerate their attack to the Boston Marathon on April 15, Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts, according to the account that Dzhokhar provided to authorities. They picked the finish line of the marathon after driving around the Boston area looking for alternative sites, according to this account.

On Friday morning, federal agents, state troopers and local law-enforcement officers fanned out to search areas in the vicinity of Dartmouth, Mass., as part of their continuing investigation into the bombings, an F.B.I. spokesman, Jason J. Pack, said.

It was not immediately clear what they were searching for, but the officials said that there was no immediate threat to public safety. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Two of his classmates from the college were charged this week with throwing out evidence that officials said could have linked Mr. Tsarnaev to the attacks.

In addition, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told authorities that he and his brother viewed the Internet sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American cleric who moved to Yemen and was killed in September 2011 by an American drone strike. There is no indication that the brothers communicated with Mr. Awlaki.

Mr. Tsarnaev made his admission on April 21 — two days after he was captured while hiding in a boat in a nearby backyard — to specially trained F.B.I. agents who had been waiting outside his hospital room for him to regain consciousness.

After he woke up, they questioned him, invoking what is known as the public safety exception to the Miranda Rule, a procedure authorized by a 1984 Supreme Court decision which in certain circumstances allows interrogation after an arrest without notifying a prisoner of the right to remain silent.

The new details of what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told authorities emerged as the F.B.I. moved forward on Thursday with trying to determine how the brothers were radicalized and the role that Tamerlan’s wife, Katherine Russell, may have played in the plot or in helping the brothers evade the authorities after the attacks.

As part of those efforts, the authorities have sought to determine whether fingerprints and DNA found on bomb fragments were from Ms. Russell. According to two other law enforcement officials, Ms. Russell’s fingerprints and DNA do not match those found on the fragments. All of the law enforcement officials were granted anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a continuing investigation.

Federal authorities are skeptical of Ms. Russell’s insistence that she played no role in the attack or in helping the brothers elude the authorities after the F.B.I. released photographs of them. That skepticism has been stoked by Ms. Russell’s decision in recent days to stop cooperating with the authorities.

A funeral home retained by family members of Tamerlan Tsarnaev claimed his body from the Massachusetts state medical examiner’s office about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a spokesman for the Boston Department of Public Safety, Terrel Harris, said. He offered no other details.

The details of what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told authorities fill out a growing portrait of what the grievously wounded young man has told investigators at his hospital bedside. During the interrogation, Mr. Tsarnaev, who sustained a gunshot wound to the neck, had trouble speaking and answered several questions by writing on a piece of paper and nodding.

Reporting was contributed by William K. Rashbaum and Serge F. Kovaleski from New York, and Emmarie Huetteman from Washington.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 2, 2013

An earlier version of this article misstated the last name of a contributing reporter. Serge F. Kovaleski contributed reporting, not Serge Schmemann. Also, a caption on a photograph with an earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of one of the suspects in the bombings. He is Tamerlan Tsarnaev, not Tsarneav.

Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S.

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen sharply in the past decade, prompting concern that a generation of baby boomers who have faced years of economic worry and easy access to prescription painkillers may be particularly vulnerable to self-inflicted harm.

More people now die of suicide than in car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the findings in Friday’s issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides.

Suicide has typically been viewed as a problem of teenagers and the elderly, and the surge in suicide rates among middle-aged Americans is surprising.

From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-aged men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.

The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicide rates jumped by nearly 50 percent, to about 30 per 100,000. For women, the largest increase was seen in those ages 60 to 64, among whom rates increased by nearly 60 percent, to 7.0 per 100,000.

Suicide rates can be difficult to interpret because of variations in the way local officials report causes of death. But C.D.C. and academic researchers said they were confident that the data documented an actual increase in deaths by suicide and not a statistical anomaly. While reporting of suicides is not always consistent around the country, the current numbers are, if anything, too low.

“It’s vastly underreported,” said Julie Phillips, an associate professor of sociology at Rutgers University who has published research on rising suicide rates. “We know we’re not counting all suicides.”

The reasons for suicide are often complex, and officials and researchers acknowledge that no one can explain with certainty what is behind the rise. But C.D.C. officials cited a number of possible explanations, including that as adolescents people in this generation also posted higher rates of suicide compared with other cohorts.

“It is the baby boomer group where we see the highest rates of suicide,” said the C.D.C.’s deputy director, Ileana Arias. “There may be something about that group, and how they think about life issues and their life choices that may make a difference.”

The rise in suicides may also stem from the economic downturn over the past decade. Historically, suicide rates rise during times of financial stress and economic setbacks. “The increase does coincide with a decrease in financial standing for a lot of families over the same time period,” Dr. Arias said.

Another factor may be the widespread availability of opioid drugs like OxyContin and oxycodone, which can be particularly deadly in large doses.

Although most suicides are still committed using firearms, officials said there was a marked increase in poisoning deaths, which include intentional overdoses of prescription drugs, and hangings. Poisoning deaths were up 24 percent over all during the 10-year period and hangings were up 81 percent.

Dr. Arias noted that the higher suicide rates might be due to a series of life and financial circumstances that are unique to the baby boomer generation. Men and women in that age group are often coping with the stress of caring for aging parents while still providing financial and emotional support to adult children.

“Their lives are configured a little differently than it has been in the past for that age group,” Dr. Arias said. “It may not be that they are more sensitive or that they have a predisposition to suicide, but that they may be dealing with more.”

Preliminary research at Rutgers suggests that the risk for suicide is unlikely to abate for future generations. Changes in marriage, social isolation and family roles mean many of the pressures faced by baby boomers will continue in the next generation, Dr. Phillips said.

“The boomers had great expectations for what their life might look like, but I think perhaps it hasn’t panned out that way,” she said. “All these conditions the boomers are facing, future cohorts are going to be facing many of these conditions as well.”

Nancy Berliner, a Boston historian, lost her 58-year-old husband to suicide nearly two years ago. She said that while the reasons for his suicide were complex, she would like to see more attention paid to prevention and support for family members who lose someone to suicide.

“One suicide can inspire other people, unfortunately, to view suicide as an option,” Ms. Berliner said. “It’s important that society becomes more comfortable with discussing it. Then the people left behind will not have this stigma.”

United States Calls on North Korea to Free American

By CHOE SANG-HUN and RICK GLADSTONE

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States said Thursday that North Korea should immediately release an American citizen who was sentenced this week to 15 years of hard labor, setting up a potential new source of confrontation between the two countries that could aggravate tensions that are still high over North Korea’s nuclear war threats.

Yonhap, via euters

Kenneth Bae

A State Department spokesman, Patrick Ventrell, said the Obama administration had “longstanding concerns about the lack of transparency and due process in the North Korean legal system.” Mr. Ventrell said that the administration wanted the convicted American, Kenneth Bae, who was sentenced on Tuesday on charges of committing hostile acts, to be granted “amnesty and immediate release.”

Mr. Ventrell’s statement signaled the administration was not prepared, at least not now, to seek Mr. Bae’s release through a high-profile mission to North Korea, as it has done twice in the past when Americans were held by North Korean authorities essentially as hostages to gain concessions from the United States.

Asked at a briefing if such a mission to free Mr. Bae were an option, Mr. Ventrell said, “I’m not aware one way or another.” While he acknowledged such previous missions, he said, the administration was urging North Korea “to grant him amnesty and to allow for his immediate release, full stop.”

Analysts of North Korea’s behavior said an American diplomatic mission to secure Mr. Bae’s release could easily be used by the country’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, as an example of Washington’s capitulation and an opportunity to burnish his profile as a tough anti-American strategist.

But by taking the tougher approach, the Obama administration is assuming the risk that one of its citizens will be incarcerated indefinitely.

The sentencing comes at a time of high tension between the North and the United States over the North’s nuclear program, and it was handed down the same day that joint American-South Korean military drills ended. With the end of the drills, some analysts have said, North Korea might tone down its bellicosity and shift its focus toward drawing Washington back to the negotiating table — using, among other things, the plight of Mr. Bae as bait.

“The timing of the sentencing makes us think that the North is again playing its old card,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea specialist at Dongguk University in Seoul. “But will the Americans play the same game? If Washington sends a former president whenever North Korea holds an American captive, they say it will run out of former presidents.”

Mr. Bae, 44, a Korean-American from Washington State who ran a tour business out of China, was arrested in the special economic zone of Rason in northeastern North Korea in November after leading a group of businessmen there from Yanji, China.

Like several other Americans detained in the North in recent years, Mr. Bae is a Christian, according to rights advocates. While North Korea’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, in practice it cracks down on religious activities, according to human rights groups, and is wary of all Christians who visit.

The North said Saturday that it was indicting Mr. Bae on charges that he tried to overthrow the government, a crime that called for a punishment as severe as the death penalty. But on Tuesday, its Supreme Court convicted him of “hostile acts,” a charge less grave than the original, the North said.

Mr. Bae is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009, and his punishment was the most severe. The others eventually were deported or released. Two were released in 2009 when President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong-il, the leader at the time. Another was released when former President Jimmy Carter visited Pyongyang.

Americans recently held prisoner in the North were kept in special facilities, away from domestic inmates, possibly out of fear that when released, they would testify about the condition of prison camps where the State Department says starvation and forced labor remain rampant.

Choe Sang-hun reported from Seoul, and Rick Gladstone from New York.

Proposal for Changes in Food Aid Sets Off Infighting in Congress

By RON NIXON

WASHINGTON — A proposal by the Obama administration to overhaul the international food aid program has set off a jurisdictional fight among members of several House and Senate committees, threatening to derail the most significant change to the program since it was created nearly 60 years ago.

The $1.4 billion annual program provides emergency food supplies to disaster-stricken regions across the globe. The United States provides over half of the world’s food aid.

The food aid money is currently part of the Agriculture Department’s budget, but President Obama’s proposal would transfer it to the foreign affairs budget, where it would be overseen by the Agency for International Development. The reorganization would also mean that Congressional oversight of the program would shift from the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on agriculture to the appropriations subcommittees on foreign operations.

Administration officials say the current program is costly and inefficient, and does not get food quickly enough to the people who need it. By law, the food must be bought from American farmers and shipped on vessels flying American flags, which can sometimes take weeks, with food arriving after a crisis is over, administration officials and development experts say.

Also, because of rising shipping costs, the amount of food the United States sends abroad has fallen, to 1.8 million cubic tons annually from 5 million cubic tons, according to figures from the development agency.

Under the new proposal the agency, or charities working in partnership with it, would use money to buy some food locally, closer to the disaster areas. Fifty-five percent of the food would still be purchased from American farmers.

“This new reform would give us the flexible tools we need to get food to people who need it now, not weeks later,” said Rajiv Shah, the agency’s administrator. “We would still buy from U.S. farmers.”

He added, “But this way we can help feed two to four million more people without additional costs.”

But members of the House and Senate agriculture subcommittees are skeptical.

During hearings last week, Representative Robert B. Aderholt, Republican of Alabama, the chairman of the House agriculture subcommittee, said he was concerned that removing food aid from the agriculture budget would hurt American farmers.

Representative Sam Farr of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, also questioned the transfer, raising concerns about the subcommittee losing oversight of the program.

“I’m not endorsing the transfer — the realignment — until there are assurances that the program will remain intact and not be raided by other foreign ops interest,” Mr. Farr said at the hearing.

Mr. Farr expressed doubts about the proposal’s chances of success. “I don’t think it will happen this year,” he said. “That’s the politics.”

There has been a similar response from members of the Senate agriculture subcommittee. Senator Mark Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, the chairman of the subcommittee, along with Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, the ranking Republican, both said that they were opposed to transferring food aid dollars out of the agriculture budget.

In February, they joined 19 other senators in sending a letter to the president opposing the measure.

Representative Kay Granger, Republican of Texas, the chairwoman of the House foreign operations subcommittee, which oversees the foreign aid budget, has not said if she will support the Obama administration’s proposal.

But Nita M. Lowey of New York, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, has endorsed the plan to move food aid, as have members of the House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees.

Representative Ed Royce, Republican of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has criticized the administration’s overall budget proposal, but he supports the food aid change.

“The president’s budget proposal to reform the international food program — helping more at less cost — is a bright spot in the budget request,” Mr. Royce said.

Budget experts say Mr. Obama’s proposal will be a tough sell in Congress, where committee members can be parochial and rarely want to give up control of programs.

While it is common for committees to allow agencies to move money from one account to another, experts said it was rare for Congressional appropriators to move money and oversight of a program from one agency to another.

“This is a classic jurisdictional battle among committees,” said Edward A. Brigham, a consultant and former staff member at the White House Office of Management and Budget and at the House Budget Committee. “No one wants to give up their area of control.”

Mr. Brigham said lawmakers could vote to move the money through the appropriations process or just to authorize the change in the next farm bill, which falls under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Members of those committees have already voiced their opposition to the proposal.

“Food aid is in need of reform for all the hungry people in the world who depend on it,” said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a Christian antihunger group that supports the Obama administration’s proposal. “But it’s going to be difficult to get anything through Congress, particularly because of the jurisdictional issues.”