YouTube confirms eyeing subscription 'channels'

SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube confirmed on Wednesday that its evolution as an Internet stage for video may include subscriptions to content that creators believe people will pay to see.

"We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models," a YouTube spokesman told AFP.

"There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we're looking at that."

Talk of the Google-owned video sharing service one day charging for content surfaced in December of 2011 when YouTube unveiled a major redesign that showcases television-style channels.

The new layout set the stage for film or television studios to create pay channels at YouTube.

"We are trying hard to marry the best of TV and the best of online," YouTube vice president of product development Shishir Mehrotra said when the re-design was introduced.

While YouTube is the most popular application on Google TV, the service is intent on being available on the full array of platforms and hardware including videogame consoles, tablets, smartphones, and Internet-linked televisions.

YouTube in the year 2010 began letting viewers pay to "rent" streaming movies or television shows.

- AFP/jc

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U.S. Cellular dials up $300 rebate for new family plans

For a limited time, The Huawei Ascend Y costs just one penny with activation.

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

U.S. Cellular is offering a limited time "Family Switcher Bonus" for new customers who activate at least two lines on a Family Plan. The deal, which runs through April 1, provides consumers with a $300 MasterCard debit.

The catch? At least one of the new lines must be a smartphone.

To sweeten the deal, U.S. Cellular has discounted a number of smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S 3 for $150 and the Huawei Ascend Y, which now sells for just a penny.

What's more, the carrier is tossing in a free 4G LTE Samsung Mobile Hotspot with any smartphone or
tablet purchase. Family Plans start as low as $99 for two lines, but vary depending on the amount of allotted monthly data.

Rounding things out, new and existing customers with U.S. Cellular's 4G LTE coverage can sign up for unlimited data plans for $40 per month.

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Senate confirms Kerry as Secretary of State

After 28 years in the Senate, one failed presidential bid, and four years as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, D-Mass., was formally confirmed this afternoon to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, sailing through the Senate confirmation process in a matter of days and receiving near-unanimous approval from his colleagues for the job.

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Kerry on his way to becoming Secretary of State: "What a privilege"

Kerry, whose nomination was announced last month, was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- on which he served for the past 28 years -- with a swift, unanimous voice vote this morning. This afternoon, the full Senate voted to approve his nomination by a vote of 94-3, with one senator voting present: Kerry. The three "nay" votes were Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; James Inhofe, R-Okla.

Kerry could be sworn into office as early as Friday, which is also Clinton's last day on the job.

The longtime Massachusetts senator has faced little opposition in his bid for the top job at the State Department: Before his nomination in December, as a handful of Republican senators raised questions about the potential nomination of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, some on the right actively started suggesting Kerry as an alternate candidate. Rice ultimately withdrew her name from consideration for the job due to protracted criticism over comments she made about Benghazi, and Mr. Obama tapped Kerry as the nominee about a week later.

Debate on the Senate floor today hardly qualified as such: Most of the senators spoke highly of Kerry, offering up personal anecdotes and praising his experience. Even the committee's ranking Republican said he was "happy" for Kerry's good fortune.

"I know a lot of people think that because of the way partisan politics are here in Washington, that sometimes we can't be happy for someone on the other side of the aisle when they do well, and nothing could be further from the truth," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. "I don't know of anybody who's lived a life that has been more oriented towards ultimately being Secretary of State than John Kerry. And for that, I also am happy for him and his family and the fact that very soon he's going to be able to express himself on behalf of our nation in this way."

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who has been leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee proceedings during the process in Kerry's place, expressed his confidence in Kerry's ability to represent the nation on the world stage.

"As a senator, as a member of this committee, and as a chairman, John has already built strong relationships with leaders across the world, which will allow him to step seamlessly into the role of Secretary of State," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on the Senate floor. "Senator Kerry will need no introduction to the world's political and military leaders and will begin day one fully conversant not only with the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy but able to act on a multitude of international stages."

In confirmation hearings last week in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry laid out his vision for U.S. diplomacy on the world stage, and spoke urgently about the role he believes the American economy plays in its diplomacy efforts. He also shot down suggestions that there was any "daylight" between his and Clinton's governing philosophies.

Clinton, meanwhile, called him the "right choice" to take her place.

Once sworn in to the president's cabinet, Kerry will officially abandon his Massachusetts seat. According to a report yesterday from the Boston Globe, a special election to fill his spot has already been set for June 25.

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Jodi Arias Borrowed Gas Cans Before Killing Ex

Accused murderer Jodi Arias borrowed two five-gallon gas cans from a former boyfriend the day before she drove to Arizona to kill another ex, Travis Alexander, according to testimony in Arias' murder trial today.

In cross examination, prosecutors also forced Arias' former live-in boyfriend Darryl Brewer to describe his sex life with Arias as "pretty aggressive."

Brewer, 52, dated Arias for four years and shared a home with her in California for two years. He told the court today that Arias called him in May 2008, asking to borrow gas cans, but would not explain why. She called him again at least two more times, and arrived at his house on June 2008, to borrow the cans.

On the day she picked up the gas cans she told Brewer that she was going to visit friends in California and Arizona.

Prosecutors argue that Arias then drove to Mesa, Ariz., where she allegedly had sex with Alexander, took nude photos of him, and then stabbed him 27 times, slashed his throat, and shot him twice in the head. She is charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Arias, who claims she killed Alexander in self defense, had approached prosecutors two years ago offering to plea to a second degree murder charge, which could carry a 25 year term, but the state rejected the offer, Nancy Grace reported on Good Morning America today.

Brewer said that Arias never returned the gas cans. The pair had been broken up two years earlier and they had only spoken "sporadically," he said.

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Prosecutors also showed receipts from Arias' trip from her California home to Alexander's home in Mesa, showing that she purchased a 10 gallons of gas at one gas station the night before she drove to Arizona, and then another 10 gallons from a different gas station 10 minutes later. Prosecutors are expected to argue she brought the gas with her to fill up her car secretly on the way to Alexander's home, showing premeditation for the murder.

Arias' attorneys called Brewer as one of their first witnesses as they began mounting their case that Arias killed Alexander in self defense, arguing that Alexander was controlling and abusive toward Arias.

They asked Brewer to explain how he and Arias had been in a stable relationship for four years, from 2002 to 2006, and had bought a home together before Arias met Alexander at a business conference and began to change.

"I saw a lot of changes in Jodi. She became a different person than I had known previously," Brewer said, describing how Arias' behavior changed in May 2006 when she joined a company called Pre-Paid Legal. There, she met Alexander and began seeing him. She continued to live with Brewer.

"She had continued to pay the mortgage, but she was not paying other household bills, she began getting into debt or financial trouble," Brewer said. "For me it seemed she was not as rational or logical."

Arias also converted to Mormonism while living with Brewer, telling him that he could no longer curse and she would no longer have sex with him because she was saving herself for marriage.

The pair had previously had an "enthusiastic" and "aggressive" sex life, Brewer admitted to prosecutors. They had engaged in anal sex, Arias had taken nude photos of Brewer, and Arias had purchased breast implants in 2006, he testified.

Brewer said that after Arias began to change, he made arrangements to move closer to his son from his first marriage, and he and Arias broke up.

They kept in touch with occasional phone calls until Arias asked to borrow the gas cans in June 2008, and then called him a week after borrowing the cans to say that her friend had been killed.

Martinez, reading notes from an interview Brewer gave to authorities during the investigation into Alexander's death, asked if Arias had ever mentioned needing an "alibi." Brewer said he did not recall any conversation about alibis.

"After this date of June 4, 2008," Martinez asked, "you received a call from Jodi Arias, and she was very agitated?"

"She was sad," Brewer said.

"Did she tell you that her friend had been killed and she did not have an alibi?"

"I don't remember that," Brewer said.

Arias was arrested a month after Alexander was found dead, in July 2008.

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Sixty-five people executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible. Assad's forces and rebels have been battling in Syria's commercial hub since July and both have been accused of carrying out summary executions.

U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told the U.N. Security Council "unprecedented levels of horror" had been reached in Syria, and that both the government and rebels had committed atrocious crimes, diplomats said.

He appealed to the 15-nation council to overcome its deadlock and take action to help end the civil war in which Syria is "breaking up before everyone's eyes".

More than 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the war, the longest and deadliest of the revolts that began throughout the Arab world two years ago.

The U.N. refugee agency said the fighting had forced more than 700,000 people to flee. World powers fear the conflict could envelop Syria's neighbors including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, further destabilizing an already explosive region.

Opposition activists posted a video of at least 51 muddied male bodies alongside what they said was the Queiq River in Aleppo's rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood.

The bodies had what looked like bullet wounds in their heads and some of the victims appeared to be young, possibly teenagers, dressed in jeans, shirts and trainers.

Aleppo-based opposition activists who asked not to be named for security reasons blamed pro-Assad militia fighters.

They said the men had been executed and dumped in the river before floating downstream into the rebel area. State media did not mention the incident.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which says it provides objective information about casualties on both sides of Syria's war from a network of monitors, said the footage was evidence of a new massacre and the death toll could rise as high as 80.

"They were killed only because they are Muslims," said a bearded man in another video said to have been filmed in central Bustan al-Qasr after the bodies were removed from the river. A pickup truck with a pile of corpses was parked behind him.

STALEMATE

It is hard for Reuters to verify such reports from inside Syria because of restrictions on independent media.

Rebels are stuck in a stalemate with government forces in Aleppo - Syria's most populous city which is divided roughly in half between the two sides.

The revolt started as a peaceful protest movement against more than four decades of rule by Assad and his family, but turned into an armed rebellion after a government crackdown.

About 712,000 Syrian refugees have registered in other countries in the region or are awaiting processing as of Tuesday, the U.N. refugee agency said.

"We have seen an unrelenting flow of refugees across all borders. We are running double shifts to register people," Sybella Wilkes, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters in Geneva.

The United Nations said it had received aid promises ahead of a donor conference in Kuwait on Wednesday where it is seeking $1.5 billion for refugees and people inside Syria. Washington announced an additional $155 million that its said brought the total U.S. humanitarian aid to the crisis to some $365 million.

Aid group Médecins Sans Frontières said the bulk of the current aid was going to government-controlled areas in Syria and called on donors to make sure they were even-handed.

MISSILES

In the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, insurgents including al Qaeda-linked Islamists captured a security agency after days of heavy fighting, according to an activist.

Some of the fighters were shown carrying a black flag with the Islamic declaration of faith and the name of the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al Qaeda in neighboring Iraq.

The war has become heavily sectarian, with rebels who mostly come from the Sunni Muslim majority fighting an army whose top generals are mostly from Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Assad has framed the revolt as a foreign-backed conspiracy and blames the West and Sunni Gulf states.

Fighting also took place in the northern town of Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey, between rebels and Kurdish militants, the Observatory said.

In Turkey, a second pair of Patriot missile batteries being sent by NATO countries are now operational, a German security official said.

The United States, Germany and the Netherlands each committed to sending two batteries and up to 400 soldiers to operate them after Ankara asked for help to bolster its air defenses against possible missile attack from Syria.

(Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Kuwait, Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Robin Pomeroy)

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US Dollar falls on euro as Fed meets

NEW YORK: The US dollar fell against the euro Tuesday as the Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting keenly watched for signs that the US central bank could move up plans for tightening monetary policy.

The euro hits its best level against the greenback since December 2011, at 2200 GMT, trading at US$1.3493 compared to US$1.3454 late Monday.

No major new decisions were expected from the Fed Wednesday in the wake of December's momentous meeting, in which it expanded its bond-buying program and set explicit unemployment and inflation targets for raising interest rates.

But with four new members rotating onto the Federal Open Market Committee and the notes from the last meeting showing increasing concerns over inflation, analysts will be looking for any nuance on its view of economic strength.

"There is heavy debate amongst traders as to when the Fed's quantitative easing program will slow or come to an end alongside evidence that the US economy is improving gradually," said Renee Mu at DailyFX.

"The Fed, though, with new voters is less likely to stop its asset buying within the first half of 2013."

Yet the US dollar's steady fall since early November has not been matched by the bond market, where prices have dropped sharply in the past week and yields surged as bond investors anticipate an early tightening of monetary policy.

"Expectations for the Fed have shifted significantly in the past couple of weeks, which in turn has moved the bond market," said Chris Low at FTN Financial.

"The market now expects the Fed will raise rates in Q4, 2014."

The yen was mixed Tuesday. The dollar fell marginally to 90.72 yen from 90.82 yen, while the euro bought 122.42 yen, up from 122.20.

The pound ended its losing streak, picking up to US$1.5758 from US$1.5692. The dollar fell to 0.9212 Swiss francs from 0.9259 francs.

- AFP/jc

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Smaller Apple TV box hinted at in FCC filing

A new regulatory filing suggests Apple is readying a fourth-generation Apple TV set, one that looks a whole lot like the last two models, but with one minor difference.

That difference is size. The new version, which was spotted by Endgadget in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today, is 93.78mm around versus the current model's 98mm. It also carries the model number A1469, which differs from the current model's A1427 designation.

The filing comes on the heels of a reference to an unreleased
Apple TV model inside of
iOS 6.1, which Apple released to the public yesterday after months of testing. Like the iPhone,
iPad and iPod touch, the Apple TV also runs iOS, though differs in various ways -- notably a lack of touch interface, and the capability to install and use third-party applications.

Apple updated the Apple TV's hardware last March with a third-generation model that added 1080p playback. Since then Apple has put out a handful of interim software updates that added new features, including compatibility with iTunes Match and more recently Bluetooth keyboards. The company is still expected to roll out a full-fledged TV set, possibly as soon as this fall, putting any interim hardware releases under closer scrutiny.

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FBI: Gun background checks peaked after Newtown tragedy

WASHINGTON The FBI said Monday it conducted more background checks for firearms sales and permits to carry guns the week following the Newtown, Conn., shooting massacre that it has in any other one-week period since 1998.

The second highest week for background checks came earlier this month as President Barack Obama announced sweeping plans to curb gun violence. The FBI started keeping track of federally mandated background checks in 1998.

The newly released FBI data confirms what many gun dealers around the country have said about sales going up after the deadly Connecticut shooting that left 27 dead, including 20 children, as gun enthusiasts braced for stricter controls. The number of background checks does not represent the number of firearms purchased, but gun manufacturers use these statistics to measure the health of the gun industry in the U.S.

After the Dec. 14 shooting at a Newtown elementary school, the FBI conducted 953,613 background checks between Dec. 17 and Dec. 23. The highest number of background checks in a single day since 1998 was Dec. 21, just one week after a gunman shot and killed his mother at their Connecticut home using weapons his mother had legally purchased before he drove to the school and shot his way into the building. The second highest day for background checks was December 20.

During the week that Obama announced his plans to curb gun violence, the FBI conducted 641,501 background checks. The 10th highest single day for background checks came Jan. 19, three days after Obama spoke about gun violence and new gun control measures. Obama has announced a $500 million plan to tighten federal gun laws, and he is urging Congress to pass new laws that would ban "military-style assault weapons."

Nationally, there were nearly twice as many more background checks for firearms between November and December 2012 than during the same time period one year ago.

Background checks typically spike during the holiday shopping season, and some of the increases in the most recent FBI numbers can be attributed to that. But the number of background checks also tends to increase after mass shootings, when gun enthusiasts fear restrictive measures are imminent.

One gun store owner in Nashville, Tenn., said people in the business are calling this rush to buy guns after the Newton shooting a "banic," meaning people are panicked that Obama would ban guns.

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Immigration Plan Includes Path to Citizenship

A bipartisan group of senators on Monday formally unveiled their proposal to drastically overhaul the nation's immigration system, with the hope of passing a bill out of the Senate by late spring or early summer.

"We believe this will be the year Congress finally gets it done," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) one of the members of the so-called "Gang of Eight" said during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

See Also: Transcript: Framework for Immigration Reform

Five of the eight members of the group -- Schumer, Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- appeared at the press conference intended to outline their immigration proposal. The proposal would provide a path to citizenship for many of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants while upping border security and cracking down on businesses that hire workers who are not legally present in the U.S.

Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) were the members not in attendance.

The senators all expressed optimism that their legislation could pass both the House and the Senate. Schumer added that he hopes to have an actual piece of legislation done by the end of March, and then have the Senate act on it right away.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

But while some conservatives have signaled support for the Senate framework, many others have resisted any plan that could grant a pathway to citizenship to undocumented immigrants, saying it amounts to amnesty for people who broke the law.

The Senate's plan does not grant undocumented immigrants automatic "amnesty," rather it requires them to go through an arduous process that includes undergoing a background check, paying fines, back taxes and learning English and American civics over the course of a number of years. The new law would grant eligible undocumented immigrants permission to live and work in the U.S. legally, but would not confer permanent legal status, or a green card, until the border is deemed to be secure. Young people brought into the U.S. illegally as minors and some agricultural workers would face an easier path to citizenship.

"We will never put these people on a path to citizenship until we have secured the border," Schumer said.

McCain, who helped lead the last effort on a comprehensive immigration bill in 2007 said, "We have been too content for too long to allow individuals to mow our lawns, grow our food, clean our homes, and even watch our children while not affording them any of the benefits that make our country so great."

Senators in both political parties suggested that the reason that some Republicans have had a change of heart was because of the results of last November's election, when seven in 10 Latino voters backed President Barack Obama over Republican Mitt Romney.

"The politics on this issue have been turned upside down," Schumer said. "For the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform, than in supporting it."

Perhaps more than anyone on the stage, McCain understands this. While he backed comprehensive immigration reform five years ago, he backed away from it during his 2010 run for Senate, just as his home state was considering the SB 1070 crackdown law on undocumented immigrants.

McCain went so far as to say that the current plan is a "testimonial" to bill he worked on with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the late liberal icon, in 2007.

Another member of the group, Marco Rubio, had not always voiced support for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants during his Senate career. But on Monday, he said that Congress needs to "address the reality" of the massive undocumented population in the U.S.

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Egyptian protesters defy curfew, attack police stations

CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian protesters defied a nighttime curfew in restive towns along the Suez Canal, attacking police stations and ignoring emergency rule imposed by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to end days of clashes that have killed at least 52 people.

At least two men died in overnight fighting in the canal city of Port Said in the latest outbreak of violence unleashed last week on the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that brought down autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Political opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks on Monday to try to end the violence.

Instead, huge crowds of protesters took to the streets in Cairo, Alexandria and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule and a curfew on Sunday.

"Down, down with Mohamed Mursi! Down, down with the state of emergency!" crowds shouted in Ismailia. In Cairo, flames lit up the night sky as protesters set police vehicles ablaze.

In Port Said, men attacked police stations after dark. A security source said some police and troops were injured. A medical source said two men were killed and 12 injured in the clashes, including 10 with gunshot wounds.

"The people want to bring down the regime," crowds chanted in Alexandria. "Leave means go, and don't say no!"

The demonstrators accuse Mubarak's successor Mursi of betraying the two-year-old revolution. Mursi and his supporters accuse the protesters of seeking to overthrow Egypt's first ever democratically elected leader through undemocratic means.

Since Mubarak was toppled, Islamists have won two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote. But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism, and punctuated by repeated waves of unrest that have prevented a return to stability in the most populous Arab state.

WEST UNNERVED

The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency.

The instability unnerves Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of powerful regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the bloodshed and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence is not acceptable. ID:nW1E8MD01C].

In Cairo on Monday, police fired volleys of teargas at stone-throwing protesters near Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising. Demonstrators stormed into the downtown Semiramis Intercontinental hotel and burned two police vehicles.

A 46-year-old bystander was killed by a gunshot early on Monday, a security source said. It was not clear who fired.

"We want to bring down the regime and end the state that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ibrahim Eissa, a 26-year-old cook, protecting his face from teargas wafting towards him.

The political unrest in the Suez Canal cities has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting in Port Said a year ago.

Mursi's invitation to opponents to hold a national dialogue with Islamists on Monday was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition, which rejected the offer as "cosmetic and not substantive".

The only liberal politician who attended, Ayman Nour, told Egypt's al-Hayat channel after the meeting ended late on Monday that attendees agreed to meet again in a week.

He said Mursi had promised to look at changes to the constitution requested by the opposition but did not consider the opposition's request for a government of national unity.

The president announced the emergency measures on television on Sunday: "The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Mursi said.

His demeanor in the address infuriated his opponents, not least when he wagged a finger at the camera.

Some activists said Mursi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.

"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," said Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanize the 2011 uprising. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Edmund Blair, Yasmine Saleh and Peter Graff)

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