Te'o Tells Couric He Briefly Lied About Girlfriend

Manti Te'o briefly lied to the media and the public after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was a part of an elaborate hoax, he admitted in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Katie Couric.

The star Notre Dame linebacker, who has been hounded by the reporters since the story broke Jan. 16, told Couric in a taped interview Tuesday that he was not lying up until December. Te'o said he was duped into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, died of cancer.

"You stuck to the script. And you knew that something was amiss, Manti," Couric said.

Te'o found out that Kekua was a hoax on Dec. 6, but on Dec. 8 he again publicly mentioned his girlfriend. The remark came as Te'o was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the award for the best college football player in the country. Te'o was eventually a runner-up for the trophy.

"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.

Man Allegedly Behind the Manti Te?o Dead Girlfriend Hoax Watch Video

See more exclusive previews tonight on "World News With Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline." Watch Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o and his parents Thursday. Check your local listings or click here for online station finder.

Te'o, 21, was joined by his parents, Brian and Ottilia, in the interview.

"Now many people writing about this are calling your son a liar. They are saying he manipulated the truth, really for personal gain," Couric said to Te'o's father.

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

Click here for a who's who in the Manti Te'o case.

Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that she was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Manti Te'o's online girlfriend without her knowledge or consent.

O'Meara said that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating Kekua.

"I've never met Manti Te'o in my entire life. I've never spoke with him. I've never exchanged words with him," O'Meara said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old marketing executive went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. Tuiasosopo called to apologize the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.

Timeline of Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax story

In an interview with ESPN last week, Te'o said he had received a Twitter message from Tuiasosopo apologizing for the hoax.

The Hawaiian also spoke to Tuiasosopo on the phone the day the Deadspin report came out, according to ESPN.com. He found out that "two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," he said.

But he did not know the identities of the other individuals involved, other than the man he says was Tuiasosopo.

Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old resident of California, has not admitted involvement publicly. Tuiasosopo graduated from Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., in 2007 and has posted dozens of videos online signing Christian songs.

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Sacrificing Einstein: Relativity's keystone has to go

COINCIDENCE is not generally something scientists have much truck with. If two things are genuinely unrelated, there is little further of interest to be said. If the coincidence keeps turning up, however, there must be some deeper underlying link. Then it is the job of science to tease out what it is and so explain why there was no coincidence in the first place.

That makes it rather odd that a large chunk of modern physics is precariously balanced on a whopping coincidence.

This coincidence is essential to the way we view and define mass. It is so fundamental to the world's workings that most of us encounter its consequences every day without giving them another thought. Yet it has vexed some of the best minds in physics for centuries. Galileo and Newton grappled with it, and ended up just accepting it, rather than understanding it. Einstein went one better: ...

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There is scope for more opposition voices in Parliament: WP

SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party (WP) held its second rally for the Punggol East by-election on Tuesday evening.

Several WP members including party MPs Png Eng Huat and Chen Show Mao as well as NCMP Yee Jenn Jong took to the stage.

Party leaders Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim as well as WP candidate for Punggol East, Lee Li Lian, were the last few to speak.

The speakers told the audience that there is scope for more opposition voices in Parliament.

Several also countered comments by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) that it is a fallacy to believe residents can have the best of both worlds.

MP Png shared the experience of Hougang, where he said the PAP grassroots adviser has the machinery of the PAP's grassroots activists behind him.

Several speakers defended the WP's performance in Parliament, saying the party's MPs have made a difference - for example, moving a motion on the childcare sector and questioning the ethnic integration quota policy for rental flats.

The speakers added that opposition MPs too work closely with government agencies to solve residents' problems.

Ms Lee addressed a variety of issues faced by residents in Punggol East, including the state of Rivervale Mall and a lack of feeder buses and coffeeshops.

"We need more facilities and amenities in Punggol East. These were highlighted in 2011 - did PAP listen? We will push on issues that matter until we see policy changes that serve you," she said.

She also said that Singapore must take care of the elderly, to "serve them like they served us". Public transport for those above 80 should be free and more elderly-friendly, she said.

Ms Lee wrapped up the rally, saying: "I am filled with hope for Punggol East. Let's work together to create a Punggol with character."

WP chairman Sylvia Lim raised the controversial issue of the sale of computer software by PAP town councils to the Action Information Management, or AIM, a company fully owned by the PAP.

She said: "In other words, if a PAP ward is lost to an opposition party, the contract may be terminated within a short time. Let us pause for a moment and ponder: why is there such a clause in TC (town council) contracts? I have been cracking my head over this. Will the service provider be unable to perform just because the MPs have changed? Or, is the clause there - in case constituencies are lost by the PAP - to trip up the incoming opposition MPs?"

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has since asked the National Development Ministry (MND) to review the transaction. He also said MND will take a broad-based approach, including re-examining the fundamental nature of town councils, with a view to ensuring high overall standards of their corporate governance.

Ms Lim said: "This episode illustrates the way Workers' Party works. We will press the government on matters of public interest using all tools available including the parliamentary process. At the same time, if the government recognises the problem and takes some action, we will want to allow it the opportunity to put things right. This also illustrates the values of political competition in furthering the public interest."

- CNA/ir

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Former Microsoft exec does some Ballmer bashing

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Windows 8 launch in New York last October.

(Credit:
Microsoft)

There are plenty of critics of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer out there. Some think Ballmer's been too slow to react to market changes. Others think he's been too slow to get rid of problem employees. And then there are some who were the problem employees themselves...

Meet the latest Ballmer critic: Joachim Kempin. Kempin, for those who don't remember him, falls squarely into the group of "problem employees." Kempin definitely helped build Microsoft a software powerhouse. He is also one of the main employees whose actions landed Microsoft in hot water with the U.S. Department of Justice in the late 1990s.

Kempin left Microsoft 11 years ago. But he's back with a new book, entitled "Resolve and Fortitude: Microsoft's 'SECRET POWER BROKER' Breaks His Silence."

(If you're curious about the "secret power broker" part of the title -- or about Kempin's role in Microsoft's Department of Justice troubles -- I'd point you to an article I wrote about him in 1998, entitled "Who is Microsoft's Secret Power Broker.")

Kempin propelled the OEM division at Microsoft to become quite profitable. From my Kempin story:

In fiscal 1997, ended June 30, Microsoft's OEM group contributed $3.48 billion, or nearly one-third of the company's total net revenues of $11.36 billion. Even though Microsoft's financial gurus have warned Wall Street for years that the operating system market, at least for desktops, is close to tapped-out, the OEM division managed to grow its revenue contribution almost 40 percent, from $2.5 billion, in fiscal 1996.

Kempin and his group achieved this by pushing OEMs to license more and more Microsoft technologies and bundle them together to get better prices per copy for Windows. (OEMs don't seem to be the only ones he bullied, either, based on a hunting complaint filed against him in 2000.)

I haven't read Kempin's book (nor even an excerpt, given that the
Kindle version is available only to Amazon UK customers at this point.) But from the description, it seems, unsurprisingly, that his take of past events is different from what OEMs presented at the trial:

Find out how much resolve, fortitude, and perseverance were needed to make that part of the PC revolution come true; what strategies were employed to win the Internet browser war; how IBM was beaten; what drove Apple to the brink of disaster; and how shady politicians and hapless competitors eventually goaded the Feds to ensnare Microsoft in a web of antitrust accusations.

After Kempin left Microsoft, there was -- and continues to be -- a revolving door among OEM chiefs at the company. With Microsoft now competing head-to-head with its OEMs, it's got to be an even more thankless job than usual.

Whether you're in the pro- or anti-Ballmer camp, it's always worth questioning the motives of anyone recounting an event. (I've learned this from sources over the years.) To those with an ax to grind, everything looks like a grindstone.

This story originally appeared at ZDNet under the headline "The latest Ballmer basher: Microsoft's former OEM chief.

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")

As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and other companies evacuated personnel from Algeria, it was not immediately clear how widely the peril would spread in the wake of the hostage-taking at the sprawling In Amenas gas complex near the Libyan border.

Map by National Geographic

Algeria, the fourth-largest crude oil producer on the continent and a major exporter of natural gas and refined fuels, may not have been viewed as the most hospitable climate for foreign energy companies, but that was due to unfavorable financial terms, bureaucracy, and corruption. The energy facilities themselves appeared to be safe, with multiple layers of security provided both by the companies and by government forces, several experts said. (See related photos: "Oil States: Are They Stable? Why It Matters.")

"It is particularly striking not only because it hasn't happened before, but because it happened in Algeria, one of the stronger states in the region," says Hanan Amin-Salem, a senior manager at the industry consulting firm PFC Energy, who specializes in country risk. She noted that in the long civil war that gripped the country throughout the 1990s, there had never been an attack on Algeria's energy complex. But now, hazard has spread from weak surrounding states, as the assault on In Amenas was carried out in an apparent retaliation for a move by French forces against the Islamists who had taken over Timbuktu and other towns in neighboring Mali. (See related story: "Timbuktu Falls.")

"What you're really seeing is an intensification of the fundamental problem of weak states, and empowerment of heavily armed groups that are really well motivated and want to pursue a set of aims," said Amin-Salem. In PFC Energy's view, she says, risk has increased in Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—indeed, throughout Sahel, the belt that bisects North Africa, separating the Sahara in the north from the tropical forests further south.

On Thursday, the London-based corporate consulting firm Exclusive Analysis, which was recently acquired by the global consultancy IHS, sent an alert to clients warning that oil and gas facilities near the Libyan and Mauritanian borders and in Mauritania's Hodh Ech Chargui province were at "high risk" of attack by jihadis.

"A Hot Place to Drill"

The attack at In Amenas comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the oil industry in Africa. (See related gallery: "Pictures: The Year's Most Overlooked Energy Stories.") Forecasters expect that oil output throughout Africa will double by 2025, says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of the energy and sustainability program at the University of California, Davis, who has counted 20 rounds of bidding for new exploration at sites in Africa's six largest oil-producing states.

Oil and natural gas are a large part of the Algerian economy, accounting for 60 percent of government budget revenues, more than a third of GDP and more than 97 percent of its export earnings. But the nation's resources are seen as largely undeveloped, and Algeria has tried to attract new investment. Over the past year, the government has sought to reform the law to boost foreign companies' interests in their investments, although those efforts have foundered.

Technology has been one of the factors driving the opening up of Africa to deeper energy exploration. Offshore and deepwater drilling success in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil led to prospecting now under way offshore in Ghana, Mozambique, and elsewhere. (See related story: "New Oil—And a Huge Challenge—for Ghana.") Jaffe says the Houston-based company Anadarko Petroleum has sought to transfer its success in "subsalt seismic" exploration technology, surveying reserves hidden beneath the hard salt layer at the bottom of the sea, to the equally challenging seismic exploration beneath the sands of the Sahara in Algeria, where it now has three oil and gas operations.

Africa also is seen as one of the few remaining oil-rich regions of the world where foreign oil companies can obtain production-sharing agreements with governments, contracts that allow them a share of the revenue from the barrels they produce, instead of more limited service contracts for work performed.

"You now have the technology to tap the resources more effectively, and the fiscal terms are going to be more attractive than elsewhere—you put these things together and it's been a hot place to drill," says Jaffe, who doesn't see the energy industry's interest in Africa waning, despite the increased terrorism risk. "What I think will happen in some of these countries is that the companies are going to reveal new securities systems and procedures they have to keep workers safe," she says. "I don't think they will abandon these countries."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Obama's Inauguration: A Night to Remember

President Barack Obama dances with first lady Michelle Obama at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, DC. Pres. Obama was sworn-in for his second term as president during a public ceremonial inauguration earlier in the day. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Call off the pregnancy police – women want the truth

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Japan PM confirms 7 deaths in Algeria crisis

TOKYO: Japan's prime minister on Monday said seven Japanese deaths had been confirmed in the Algerian hostage crisis, the first official confirmation from Tokyo that any of its nationals had died.

"I was informed by vice foreign minister (Minoru) Kiuchi that as a result of identifications of bodies at a hospital in In Amenas, seven were confirmed to be Japanese employees of JGC," Shinzo Abe told his ministers.

The Japanese firm had earlier said it did not know the fate of 17 of its employees, ten of whom were Japanese.

The prime minister said so far it had not been possible to confirm what had happened to the other Japanese nationals who remain unaccounted for.

"There are still three more Japanese people whose safety has not been confirmed. I want all of you to do everything possible to continue gathering information and confirm their fate," he told his ministers.

"Japanese people who work at the world's frontiers, the innocent people were victimised. It is extremely painful," Abe said.

A witness at the desert gas plant told AFP he was aware of nine Japanese deaths over the extended siege, which began on Wednesday and ended in a bloodbath on Saturday when the Algerian military moved in.

Abe was speaking as his Algerian opposite number, Abdelmalek Sellal, was giving his first full account of the crisis, which brought an initial backlash against what some world leaders hinted was a too-hasty military response.

Sellal said Algiers had confirmed the deaths of 37 foreigners of eight different nationalities after the gas plant was overrun by Islamist gunmen.

He also said that the 32 militants who staged the dramatic siege, taking hundreds of workers hostage, came from northern Mali. Twenty-nine of them were killed and three arrested.

He added that some hostages had been executed with a "bullet to the head".

- AFP/fa

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Apple's first 2013 earnings to be closely watched

Apple reports its first-quarter earnings this week, and the results could not be more closely watched for signs of the company's health and future.

The story is well-known by now. Shares of Apple's stock have been on the decline, going from $702 in late September to a close at an even $500 last week. That's a 28.4 percent drop in just over four months. Positive results -- and a look ahead when Apple puts out its numbers Wednesday -- could turn that trend.

Apple forecast $52 billion in revenue and earnings of $11.75 per share when it reported its previous quarterly results in October. Wall Street's expecting the company to top that at $54.69 billion and earnings per share of $13.41 based on a poll of 47 analysts done by Thomson First Call.

Those estimates are pared down from the $13.87 per share analysts were expecting ahead of last quarter's forecast, a shortcoming that caused concerns that Apple's growth had stalled. During a conference call with analysts, Apple chalked it up to tighter margins in the creation of its newest products including the
iPad Mini, which starts at $329 and is estimated to cost the company around $198 in parts and labor, according to IHS iSuppli.

Making things a bit more complex is that Apple ended its calendar year with a bang, refreshing nearly its entire line of computers and putting out new versions of the iPhone,
iPod, and iPad. That's expected to make this quarter -- which has historically been strong due to holiday sales -- a whopper. But it's also raised concerns about the company's performance during the rest of the year, given a long history of product launches that are staggered.

By the numbers
Product-wise, Apple's story remains focused on the iPhone, the company's mega profit driver. Analysts have long been concerned that the average sale price of the device, which has been one of the highest in the business, is set to fall dramatically as the smartphone market continues to mature. That issue has been compounded with the makeup of iPhones people are buying, with many customers choosing to buy last year's model or the one from the year before, which Apple sells at a lower price and profit margin.

Wall Street expects Apple to announce iPhone sales somewhere between 43 million and 53 million. That's up from the 37.04 million iPhones it sold the same quarter the year before, and 26.9 million the previous quarter. In fact, it would be the most iPhones sold during any quarter since the product's release.

This is the first quarter to include iPad Mini sales.

(Credit:
Apple)

For Apple's iPad, which the company refreshed in late October, Wall Street's expecting between 23 million and 25 million units. That, too, is up from 14 million in the previous quarter and 15.43 million in the same quarter last year. It would also top Apple's previous sales record of 17 million iPads from its June quarter last year.

One area to watch on Wednesday is Macs. Why's that? Some analysts are anticipating a possible year-over-year decline in sales, despite product refreshes last year that would point to stronger numbers. That's not necessarily the case, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a note to investors last week.

"The December quarter of 2012 faces a difficult comparison from 2011 as the 2011 quarter had an additional week," Munster wrote. "As a result, we remain comfortable with our down 7 percent year over year estimate, which implies 4.8 million Macs."

Some other estimates expect Apple to beat last year's 5.2 million, including Gabelli & Co., which believes Apple sold 5.3 million computers, which would be an all-time sales record.

That kind of performance would be especially impressive given two things: One is that Apple's iMacs did not start shipping until the very tail end of November and late December for the larger model. The other is possible cannibalization by Apple's growing
tablet lineup, which doubled down with the iPad Mini during the quarter.

"We have learned over the years not to worry about cannibalization of our own product," Apple CEO Tim Cook said about just such a phenomenon during last quarter's earnings call with analysts. "It's much better for us to do that than for somebody else to do it."

Apple will report just after the market closes on Wednesday, followed by a conference call with executives at 2 p.m. PT.

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")

As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and other companies evacuated personnel from Algeria, it was not immediately clear how widely the peril would spread in the wake of the hostage-taking at the sprawling In Amenas gas complex near the Libyan border.

Map by National Geographic

Algeria, the fourth-largest crude oil producer on the continent and a major exporter of natural gas and refined fuels, may not have been viewed as the most hospitable climate for foreign energy companies, but that was due to unfavorable financial terms, bureaucracy, and corruption. The energy facilities themselves appeared to be safe, with multiple layers of security provided both by the companies and by government forces, several experts said. (See related photos: "Oil States: Are They Stable? Why It Matters.")

"It is particularly striking not only because it hasn't happened before, but because it happened in Algeria, one of the stronger states in the region," says Hanan Amin-Salem, a senior manager at the industry consulting firm PFC Energy, who specializes in country risk. She noted that in the long civil war that gripped the country throughout the 1990s, there had never been an attack on Algeria's energy complex. But now, hazard has spread from weak surrounding states, as the assault on In Amenas was carried out in an apparent retaliation for a move by French forces against the Islamists who had taken over Timbuktu and other towns in neighboring Mali. (See related story: "Timbuktu Falls.")

"What you're really seeing is an intensification of the fundamental problem of weak states, and empowerment of heavily armed groups that are really well motivated and want to pursue a set of aims," said Amin-Salem. In PFC Energy's view, she says, risk has increased in Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—indeed, throughout Sahel, the belt that bisects North Africa, separating the Sahara in the north from the tropical forests further south.

On Thursday, the London-based corporate consulting firm Exclusive Analysis, which was recently acquired by the global consultancy IHS, sent an alert to clients warning that oil and gas facilities near the Libyan and Mauritanian borders and in Mauritania's Hodh Ech Chargui province were at "high risk" of attack by jihadis.

"A Hot Place to Drill"

The attack at In Amenas comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the oil industry in Africa. (See related gallery: "Pictures: The Year's Most Overlooked Energy Stories.") Forecasters expect that oil output throughout Africa will double by 2025, says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of the energy and sustainability program at the University of California, Davis, who has counted 20 rounds of bidding for new exploration at sites in Africa's six largest oil-producing states.

Oil and natural gas are a large part of the Algerian economy, accounting for 60 percent of government budget revenues, more than a third of GDP and more than 97 percent of its export earnings. But the nation's resources are seen as largely undeveloped, and Algeria has tried to attract new investment. Over the past year, the government has sought to reform the law to boost foreign companies' interests in their investments, although those efforts have foundered.

Technology has been one of the factors driving the opening up of Africa to deeper energy exploration. Offshore and deepwater drilling success in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil led to prospecting now under way offshore in Ghana, Mozambique, and elsewhere. (See related story: "New Oil—And a Huge Challenge—for Ghana.") Jaffe says the Houston-based company Anadarko Petroleum has sought to transfer its success in "subsalt seismic" exploration technology, surveying reserves hidden beneath the hard salt layer at the bottom of the sea, to the equally challenging seismic exploration beneath the sands of the Sahara in Algeria, where it now has three oil and gas operations.

Africa also is seen as one of the few remaining oil-rich regions of the world where foreign oil companies can obtain production-sharing agreements with governments, contracts that allow them a share of the revenue from the barrels they produce, instead of more limited service contracts for work performed.

"You now have the technology to tap the resources more effectively, and the fiscal terms are going to be more attractive than elsewhere—you put these things together and it's been a hot place to drill," says Jaffe, who doesn't see the energy industry's interest in Africa waning, despite the increased terrorism risk. "What I think will happen in some of these countries is that the companies are going to reveal new securities systems and procedures they have to keep workers safe," she says. "I don't think they will abandon these countries."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

Read More..