AP source: Armstrong 'sorry' to Livestrong staff

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong apologized to the staff at his Livestrong cancer foundation before heading to an interview with Oprah Winfrey, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private.

Stripped last year of his seven Tour de France titles because of doping charges, Armstrong addressed the staff Monday and said, "I'm sorry." The person said the disgraced cyclist choked up and several employees cried during the session.

The person also said Armstrong apologized for letting the staff down and putting Livestrong at risk but he did not make a direct confession to the group about using banned drugs. He said he would try to restore the foundation's reputation, and urged the group to continue fighting for the charity's mission of helping cancer patients and their families.

After the meeting, Armstrong, his legal team and close advisers gathered at a downtown Austin hotel for the interview.

The cyclist will make a limited confession to Winfrey about his role as the head of a long-running scheme to dominate the Tour with the aid of performance-enhancing drugs, a person with knowledge of the situation has told the AP.

Winfrey and her crew had earlier said they would film the interview, to be broadcast Thursday, at his home but the location apparently changed to a hotel. Local and international news crews staked out positions in front of the cyclist's Spanish-style villa before dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of Winfrey or Armstrong.

Armstrong still managed to slip away for a run Monday morning despite the crowds gathering outside his house. He returned home by cutting through a neighbor's yard and hopping a fence.

During a jog on Sunday, Armstrong talked to the AP for a few minutes saying, "I'm calm, I'm at ease and ready to speak candidly." He declined to go into specifics.

Armstrong lost all seven Tour titles following a voluminous U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that portrayed him as a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race. USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labeled the doping regimen allegedly carried out by the U.S. Postal Service team that Armstrong once led, "The most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Yet Armstrong looked like just another runner getting in his roadwork when he talked to the AP, wearing a red jersey and black shorts, sunglasses and a white baseball cap pulled down to his eyes. Leaning into a reporter's car on the shoulder of a busy Austin road, he seemed unfazed by the attention and the news crews that made stops at his home. He cracked a few jokes about all the reporters vying for his attention, then added, "but now I want to finish my run," and took off down the road.

The interview with Winfrey will be Armstrong's first public response to the USADA report. Armstrong is not expected to provide a detailed account about his involvement, nor address in depth many of the specific allegations in the more than 1,000-page USADA report.

In a text to the AP on Saturday, Armstrong said: "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."

After a federal investigation of the cyclist was dropped without charges being brought last year, USADA stepped in with an investigation of its own. The agency deposed 11 former teammates and accused Armstrong of masterminding a complex and brazen drug program that included steroids, blood boosters and a range of other performance-enhancers.

Once all the information was out and his reputation shattered, Armstrong defiantly tweeted a picture of himself on a couch at home with all seven of the yellow leader's jerseys on display in frames behind him. But the preponderance of evidence in the USADA report and pending legal challenges on several fronts apparently forced him to change tactics after more a decade of denials.

He still faces legal problems.

Former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit that accused Armstrong of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service. The Justice Department has yet to decide whether it will join the suit as a plaintiff.

The London-based Sunday Times also is suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit. On Sunday, the newspaper took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, offering Winfrey suggestions for what questions to ask Armstrong. Dallas-based SCA Promotions, which tried to deny Armstrong a promised bonus for a Tour de France win, has threatened to bring yet another lawsuit seeking to recover more than $7.5 million an arbitration panel awarded the cyclist in that dispute.

The lawsuit most likely to be influenced by a confession might be the Sunday Times case. Potential perjury charges stemming from Armstrong's sworn testimony in the 2005 arbitration fight would not apply because of the statute of limitations. Armstrong was not deposed during the federal investigation that was closed last year.

Many of his sponsors dropped Armstrong after the damning USADA report — at the cost of tens of millions of dollars — and soon after, he left the board of Livestrong, which he founded in 1997. Armstrong is still said to be worth about $100 million.

Livestrong might be one reason Armstrong has decided to come forward with an apology and limited confession. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with Armstrong. He also may be hoping a confession would allow him to return to competition in the elite triathlon or running events he participated in after his cycling career.

World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what information Armstrong provides and his level of cooperation.

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AP Sports Columnist Jim Litke contributed to this report.

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Well: That Loving Feeling Takes a Lot of Work

When people fall in love and decide to marry, the expectation is nearly always that love and marriage and the happiness they bring will last; as the vows say, till death do us part. Only the most cynical among us would think, walking down the aisle, that if things don’t work out, “We can always split.”

But the divorce rate in the United States is exactly half the marriage rate, and that does not bode well for this cherished institution.

While some divorces are clearly justified by physical or emotional abuse, intolerable infidelity, addictive behavior or irreconcilable incompatibility, experts say many severed marriages seem to have just withered and died from a lack of effort to keep the embers of love alive.

I say “embers” because the flame of love — the feelings that prompt people to forget all their troubles and fly down the street with wings on their feet — does not last very long, and cannot if lovers are ever to get anything done. The passion ignited by a new love inevitably cools and must mature into the caring, compassion and companionship that can sustain a long-lasting relationship.

Studies by Richard E. Lucas and colleagues at Michigan State University have shown that the happiness boost that occurs with marriage lasts only about two years, after which people revert to their former levels of happiness — or unhappiness.

Infatuation and passion have even shorter life spans, and must evolve into “companionate love, composed more of deep affection, connection and liking,” according to Sonya Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

In her new book, “The Myths of Happiness,” Dr. Lyubomirsky describes a slew of research-tested actions and words that can do wonders to keep love alive.

She points out that the natural human tendency to become “habituated” to positive circumstances — to get so used to things that make us feel good that they no longer do — can be the death knell of marital happiness. Psychologists call it “hedonic adaptation”: things that thrill us tend to be short-lived.

So Dr. Lyubomirsky’s first suggestion is to adopt measures to avert, or at least slow down, the habituation that can lead to boredom and marital dissatisfaction. While her methods may seem obvious, many married couples forget to put them into practice.

Building Companionship

Steps to slow, prevent or counteract hedonic adaptation and rescue a so-so marriage should be taken long before the union is in trouble, Dr. Lyubomirsky urges. Her recommended strategies include making time to be together and talk, truly listening to each other, and expressing admiration and affection.

Dr. Lyubomirsky emphasizes “the importance of appreciation”: count your blessings and resist taking a spouse for granted. Routinely remind yourself and your partner of what you appreciate about the person and the marriage.

Also important is variety, which is innately stimulating and rewarding and “critical if we want to stave off adaptation,” the psychologist writes. Mix things up, be spontaneous, change how you do things with your partner to keep your relationship “fresh, meaningful and positive.”

Novelty is a powerful aphrodisiac that can also enhance the pleasures of marital sex. But Dr. Lyubomirsky admits that “science has uncovered precious little about how to sustain passionate love.” She likens its decline to growing up or growing old, “simply part of being human.”

Variety goes hand in hand with another tip: surprise. With time, partners tend to get to know each other all too well, and they can fall into routines that become stultifying. Shake it up. Try new activities, new places, new friends. Learn new skills together.

Although I’ve been a “water bug” my whole life, my husband could swim only as far as he could hold his breath. We were able to enjoy the water together when we both learned to kayak.

“A pat on the back, a squeeze of the hand, a hug, an arm around the shoulder — the science of touch suggests that it can save a so-so marriage,” Dr. Lyubomirsky writes. “Introducing more (nonsexual) touching and affection on a daily basis will go a long way in rekindling the warmth and tenderness.”

She suggests “increasing the amount of physical contact in your relationship by a set amount each week” within the comfort level of the spouses’ personalities, backgrounds and openness to nonsexual touch.

Positive Energy

A long-married friend recently told me that her husband said he missed being touched and hugged. And she wondered what the two of them would talk about when they became empty-nesters. Now is the time, dear friend, to work on a more mutually rewarding relationship if you want your marriage to last.

Support your partner’s values, goals and dreams, and greet his or her good news with interest and delight. My husband’s passion lay in writing for the musical theater. When his day job moved to a different city, I suggested that rather than looking for a new one, he pursue his dream. It never became monetarily rewarding, but his vocation fulfilled him and thrilled me. He left a legacy of marvelous lyrics for more than a dozen shows.

Even a marriage that has been marred by negative, angry or hurtful remarks can often be rescued by filling the home with words and actions that elicit positive emotions, psychology research has shown.

According to studies by Barbara L. Fredrickson, a social psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a flourishing relationship needs three times as many positive emotions as negative ones. In her forthcoming book, “Love 2.0,” Dr. Fredrickson says that cultivating positive energy everyday “motivates us to reach out for a hug more often or share and inspiring or silly idea or image.”

Dr. Lyubomirsky reports that happily married couples average five positive verbal and emotional expressions toward one another for every negative expression, but “very unhappy couples display ratios of less than one to one.”

To help get your relationship on a happier track, the psychologist suggests keeping a diary of positive and negative events that occur between you and your partner, and striving to increase the ratio of positive to negative.

She suggests asking yourself each morning, “What can I do for five minutes today to make my partner’s life better?” The simplest acts, like sharing an amusing event, smiling, or being playful, can enhance marital happiness.

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Chrysler Pauses to Mark an Unlikely Comeback

Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times

Chrysler introduced a new Grand Cherokee in Detroit on Monday.

DETROIT — While its hometown rivals struggle to regain momentum, Chrysler is accelerating its unlikely product revival.

The smallest of the American automakers kicked off the annual Detroit auto show on Monday with new versions of two Jeep models, the Grand Cherokee and Compass, that have helped turn the company around since its government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009.

Chrysler outperformed the industry last year with a 20.6 percent increase in domestic sales in a market that grew by 13.4 percent. By comparison, sales increased just 3.7 percent at General Motors and 4.7 percent at Ford.

Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of both Chrysler and its Italian parent Fiat, said Monday he expected Chrysler’s upward sales trend to continue this year, particularly in pickup trucks and SUVs.

“I think there’s a general feeling that the U.S. market is in healthy shape,” Mr. Marchionne said in a meeting with reporters. “And we’re certainly going to improve in the market.”

Last year was a stellar one for Chrysler. Its bread-and-butter products like the Grand Cherokee and the Ram pickup had big gains, and new cars like the Dodge Dart began to mitigate the company’s traditional reliance on larger vehicles.

Now Mr. Marchionne is laying plans to build a new, entry-level Jeep at an underutilized Fiat plant in Italy – evidence of how the American company is shepherding its European parent company through difficult times.

Sales of Chrysler products now account for more than 60 percent of the total vehicles sold under the Fiat corporate umbrella, which also includes brands like Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

When Mr. Marchionne negotiated Fiat’s acquisition of Chrysler during its federal bailout, industry executives were skeptical that the American company could thrive after the failures of its previous owners, the German carmaker Daimler and the private-equity firm Cerberus.

Now, however, “it’s not Fiat saving Chrysler, it’s Chrysler saving Fiat,” said David Cole, a founder of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Mr. Marchionne said a key part of Chrysler’s growth will come from its iconic Jeep brand, which has updated its rugged image with better fuel efficiency and improved quality.

The company showed off the first diesel-engine version of the Grand Cherokee on Monday, which officials said could get 30 miles per gallon in highway driving.

A new version of the Jeep Liberty is scheduled to be introduced later this year. Mr. Marchionne said. The compact Jeep will be built alongside a Fiat model in the Italian plant.

The plan helps solve Fiat’s glaring overcapacity issues in Europe, where vehicle sales have dropped to their lowest level in years. It also represents an aggressive step to grow the Jeep brand outside the United States.

“The brand needs an entry-level Jeep” that people can get at a lower price point, Mr. Marchionne said.

Chrysler was also close to finalizing plans to build Jeeps in China, he said.

Mr. Marchionne said it was important for Chrysler to expand its product lineup to help Fiat weather the European sales crisis, which is affecting most auto companies there.

He estimated that mass-market carmakers in Europe lost a combined 5 billion euros last year, mostly because demand fell well short of supply.

Automakers have so far announced a handful of plant closings to address the overcapacity issue. But Mr. Marchionne has consistently argued for a broader reduction in the number of factories throughout Europe.

“The gap is too large,” he said. “You can’t close a 5 billion euro gap in operating profit by tweaking the machine.”

Mr. Marchionne said that he was driving Chrysler to make up the difference in profits as Fiat falters and as comeback plans for Alfa Romeo take shape.

“We are living with the consequences of a collective inability to resolve the issue,” he said. “But this is not for the fainthearted.”

He said that overcoming the “threat of complacency” is Chrysler’s biggest issue. After the Ram pickup won the truck of the year award at the Detroit show, Mr. Marchionne cut short the celebratory mood at the company’s exhibit.

“Celebration is fine, I’m delighted,” he said. “But it’s over.”

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India Ink: Woman Raped by Seven Men in Punjab, India, Police Say

NEW DELHI — Police said Sunday that a  29-year-old woman had been raped by a bus driver, a bus conductor and five other men in the north Indian state of Punjab, in an incident that recalls the recent attack in Delhi that has caused widespread outrage.

The woman boarded a bus on Friday bound for Gurdaspur, to visit her in-laws, the police chief of Gurdaspur, Raj Jit Singh, said in a telephone interview. When she got off the bus, the driver offered her a ride on his motorcycle, perhaps to her in-laws village, the police said. Instead, he took her to a nearby village where he and six other men, including the bus conductor, raped her repeatedly through the night.

The next morning, the driver dropped her at her in-laws home, where the woman told her family members of the incident, and then reported it to the police, Mr. Singh said.

Six men, including the bus driver and conductor, have been arrested, he said. All of the men are their twenties.

Gurmesh Singh, the deputy superintendent of police for the  region, said it was unclear how or why the bus driver persuaded the woman to go with him on his motorcycle. She was in a state of distress during the bus ride, Mr. Singh said, and originally refused to get off of the bus when it reached its final destination.

The Press Trust of India reported that the bus driver did not stop at her stop when requested.

The gang-rape of a woman on a moving bus in New Delhi on Dec. 16, and her subsequent death from injuries sustained during the rape, has sparked widespread protests and calls for increased policing and tougher laws against sexual assault in India.

The case against five of the men arrested in that rape is being heard this month in a special fast-track court created just for incidents of sexual assault.

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Ryan's 2 TDs give Falcons 20-0 lead over Seattle

ATLANTA (AP) — The Falcons' defense made a fourth-down stop to set up Matt Ryan's second touchdown pass and then delivered another stop as the first half ended to preserve a 20-0 lead over Seattle in Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game.

Ryan threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 20-0.

The Falcons' defense then stiffened after Russell Wilson moved the Seahawks to a first down at the Atlanta 6. Wilson threw incomplete passes to Sidney Rice and Golden Tate as Seattle used all its timeouts. On third down from the 11, Wilson was sacked by Jonathan Babineaux and time expired before the rookie quarterback could attempt a fourth-down pass.

Ryan, who threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez in the first quarter, threw deep over the middle to White for his second scoring pass. Cornerback Richard Sherman fell down while attempting to cover White, and safety Kam Chancellor was too late in providing help.

Falcons fans chanted "Roddy! Roddy!" as officials returned to the field following their review to announce the touchdown call was confirmed.

The long touchdown pass came after a fourth-down stop by the Falcons' defense deep in Atlanta territory.

Wilson completed a 34-yard pass to tight end Zach Miller and added a 16-yard pass to Tate to push the Seahawks deep into Atlanta territory in the second quarter.

Robert Turbin was stopped on third-and-1 from the Falcons 11. On fourth down, Wilson handed to fullback Michael Robinson, who was dropped by Falcons safety Charles Mitchell for a 1-yard loss.

The Falcons overcame an interception by Ryan by taking advantage of a fumble by Seattle's Marshawn Lynch.

Ryan's pass for Gonzalez was intercepted by Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, giving Seattle possession at its 33 midway through the quarter.

On first down from the 50, Lynch fumbled when hit by linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. Babineaux recovered at the Atlanta 39 to set up the touchdown drive. Wagner was penalized for a horse-collar tackle on Turner, moving the Falcons to the Seattle 29.

Ryan completed a 16-yard pass to backup tight end Chase Coffman to the 1, setting up the touchdown pass to Gonzalez.

The Falcons held the ball for 11 plays on their opening drive, moving to the Seahawks 21. Ryan completed a 13-yard pass to White on the first third-down play of the drive. Sherman made a last-second deflection on Ryan's pass for White in the end zone on third down from the 21, setting up Matt Bryant's 39-yard field goal.

Atlanta had success running the ball on the drive with Michael Turner, who had a 15-yard gain on his first run, and Jacquizz Rodgers, who had runs of 7 and 6 yards.

The Seahawks trailed 14-0 before rallying in last week's 24-14 victory over Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins in the opening round of the playoffs.

Rodgers broke through the Seattle line for a 45-yard run, the longest of his career, on the final play of the first quarter. The 11-play drive stalled at the Seahawks 19, setting up a 37-yard field goal by Bryant for a 13-0 lead.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.

“We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.

Under the order, pharmacists will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunizations to children.

While children and older people tend to be the most likely to become seriously ill from the flu, Mr. Cuomo urged all New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that deaths from the flu had reached epidemic levels, with at least 20 children having died nationwide. Officials cautioned that deaths from pneumonia and the flu typically reach epidemic levels for a week or two every year. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by how long the death toll remains high or if it climbs higher.

There was some evidence that caseloads may be peaking, federal officials said on Friday.

In New York City, public health officials announced on Thursday that flu-related illnesses had reached epidemic levels, and they joined the chorus of authorities urging people to get vaccinated.

“It’s a bad year,” the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu. Our message for any people who are listening to this is it’s still not too late to get your flu shot.”

There has been a spike in the number of people going to emergency rooms over the past two weeks with flulike symptoms – including fever, fatigue and coughing – Dr. Farley said.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mr. Cuomo made a public display of getting shots this past week.

In a briefing with reporters on Friday, officials from the C.D.C. said that this year’s vaccine was effective in 62 percent of cases.

As officials have stepped up their efforts encouraging vaccinations, there have been scattered reports of shortages. But officials said plenty of the vaccine was available.

According to the C.D.C., makers of the flu vaccine produced about 135 million doses for this year. As of early this month, 128 million doses had been distributed. While that would not be enough for every American, only 37 percent of the population get a flu shot each year.

Federal health officials said they would be happy if that number rose to 50 percent, which would mean that there would be more than enough vaccine for anyone who wanted to be immunized.

Two other diseases – norovirus and whooping cough – are also widespread this winter and are contributing to the number of people getting sick.

The flu can resemble a cold, though the symptoms come on more rapidly and are more severe.

A version of this article appeared in print on 01/13/2013, on page A21 of the NewYork edition with the headline: New York Declares Health Emergency.

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Treasury Will Not Mint $1 Trillion Coin to Raise Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Saturday that it will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to head off an imminent battle with Congress over raising the government’s borrowing limit.

“Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit,” Anthony Coley, a Treasury spokesman, said in a written statement.

The Obama administration has indicated that the only way for the country to avoid a cash-management crisis as soon as next month is for Congress to raise the “debt ceiling,” which is the statutory limit on government borrowing. The cap is $16.4 trillion.

“There are only two options to deal with the debt limit: Congress can pay its bills, or it can fail to act and put the nation into default,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “Congress needs to do its job.”

In recent weeks, some Republicans have indicated that they would not agree to raise the debt limit unless Democrats agreed to make cuts to entitlement programs like Social Security.

The White House has said it would not negotiate spending cuts in exchange for Congressional authority to borrow more, and it has insisted that Congress raise the ceiling as a matter of course, to cover expenses already authorized by Congress. In broader fiscal negotiations, it has said it would not agree to spending cuts without commensurate tax increases.

The idea of minting a trillion-dollar coin drew wide if puzzling attention recently after some bloggers and economic commentators had suggested it as an alternative to involving Congress.

By virtue of an obscure law meant to apply to commemorative coins, the Treasury secretary could order the production of a high-denomination platinum coin and deposit it at the Federal Reserve, where it would count as a government asset and give the country more breathing room under its debt ceiling. Once Congress raised the debt ceiling, the Treasury secretary could then order the coin destroyed.

Mr. Carney, the press secretary, fielded questions about the theoretical tactic at a news conference last week. But the idea is now formally off the table.

The White House has also rejected the idea that it could mount a challenge to the debt ceiling itself, on the strength of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which holds that the “validity of the public debt” of the United States “shall not be questioned.”

The Washington Post earlier published a report that the Obama administration had rejected the platinum-coin idea.

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Venezuela Governors Warned Not to Question Government’s Legitimacy

CARACAS, Venezuela — Top government officials are threatening to take action against opposition governors and issuing dark warnings about conspiracies against the government of President Hugo Chávez, who is ailing and remains incommunicado in Cuba.

At a large rally for the cancer-stricken Mr. Chávez on Thursday, the day designated for his inauguration, Vice President Nicolás Maduro sent a warning to government critics who had objected to a Supreme Court ruling that endorsed the indefinite postponement of the president’s swearing-in.

Many interpreted his words to be directed at Henrique Capriles, the governor of Miranda State who lost to Mr. Chávez in the presidential election in October. He is the most likely opposition candidate if a special election has to be held should Mr. Chávez die, resign or become too sick to continue in office.

“Some governors out there have come out to make declarations, playing with words,” Mr. Maduro said. “We say to them, ‘Stop the waffling.’ If you don’t recognize the legitimate government of President Chávez, we are evaluating legally very forceful actions, because if you don’t recognize me, I’m not obligated to recognize you. It’s that simple.”

He added: “Watch your words and your actions. Take care not to get involved in coups and destabilizing adventures.”

Before leaving for cancer surgery in Havana in early December, Mr. Chávez designated Mr. Maduro as his political heir and said that he wanted him to run for president if a special election became necessary.

It is not unusual for Venezuelan officials to threaten or lash out at the opposition, which they routinely characterize as an enemy bent on overthrowing Mr. Chávez’s revolution. But in recent days, amid an intense debate over the constitutionality of postponing the president’s swearing in, the tone has gotten harsher.

Later on Thursday, Mr. Capriles posted a reply on Twitter saying, “Threats from No. 2s make us laugh, let’s see if starting tomorrow they get back to work, Government in paralysis.”

Mr. Capriles added in another post: “What do you know, they didn’t let Al Capone speak, what happened?”

Vladimir Villegas, a former ambassador who is now critical of the government, said that in Mr. Chávez’s absence, Mr. Maduro and other officials were using the clash with the opposition to promote unity among their followers.

“They can’t live without an enemy,” Mr. Villegas said. “The confrontation with the opposition holds them together.”

The vice president is appointed by the president, and some in the opposition have argued that Mr. Maduro cannot continue to serve in the new term without being reappointed by Mr. Chávez. But the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Maduro and other appointees could continue in their posts.

Mr. Capriles has pointed out repeatedly that although Mr. Maduro is now at the head of the government, he is not an elected official.

“He was not elected Oct. 7,” Mr. Capriles said last week, referring to the recent presidential election. “He shouldn’t come and talk to us about legitimacy.”

The front page of the newspaper Tal Cual on Friday showed a caricature of Mr. Maduro with the headline: “The Usurper.” Another newspaper opposed to the government, El Nacional, ran a front-page headline that said: “The new term starts with legality questioned.”

On Thursday, Mr. Maduro also said the government had uncovered a plot to destabilize the country, although he offered no evidence and was vague in his description of the conspiracy.

“There is a plan by sectors of the ultraright to find a cadaver, two cadavers and fill the streets of Venezuela with protests,” Mr. Maduro said, adding that the opposition was planning “a kind of sabotage and constant fires in the cities.”

“We alerted all the police security forces to be very careful of their actions because they are looking to stain the political life” of the country, Mr. Maduro said.

Also last week, the government said it was starting an administrative proceeding against Globovisión, a television station closely allied with the opposition, over its coverage of the constitutional controversy around Mr. Chávez’s swearing-in. The proceeding could result in a large fine or the temporary shutdown of the station.

The National Telecommunications Commission announced the proceeding on Wednesday, several hours after Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly and a top Chávez ally, said in a speech that the station should be sanctioned for its coverage of the issue.

The director of the commission, Pedro Maldonado, said punishment could include a fine of up to 10 percent of the station’s gross revenue and a 72-hour shutdown.

Globovisión paid a fine of about $2.2 million last year for its coverage of a deadly prison riot in 2010. The government said its reporting threatened public order and fomented anxiety.

On Friday, Globovisión ran a short spot several times showing a section of the Constitution that defends free speech followed by Mr. Maldonado announcing the proceeding against the station. It ends with the words, “Censorship of the Constitution.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Maduro flew to Cuba on Friday to visit the president and his family and speak with his doctors.

Mr. Chávez has not been seen or heard from since his cancer surgery on Dec. 11 in Havana. Officials have said that he is fighting a severe lung infection. In past trips to Cuba for cancer treatment, starting in June 2011, Mr. Chávez stayed in the public eye, posting on Twitter, making phone calls to government-run television stations and on one occasion conducting a televised government meeting from Havana.

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“Storage Wars” porn lawsuit: alleged Brandi Passante video distributor found in contempt

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Storage Wars” star Brandi Passante has won a legal victory over the man accused of distributing a fake pornographic video of her on the Internet.

Or, at least, the alleged porn-monger has suffered a legal setback.

Federal judge James V. Selna of U.S. District Court in Central California found Hunter Moore, former operator of the website Is Anyone Up, in contempt of court on Tuesday. Selna ruled Moore failed to comply with a preliminary injunction ordering him to remove the images of Passante from the websites that he posted them to.

According to the order issued by Selna, if Moore has not “purged his contempt” (presumably, meaning “removed the images,” but feel free to supply your own mental imagery) by the time he has received the order, he will be fined $ 50 for each day that he fails to comply with the injunction.

After that, the fine increases to $ 100 per day, and a warrant for his arrest will be issued if he fails to comply after 14 days.

As reported earlier by TheWrap, Passante sued Moore in October, claiming that he published photos and video purporting to depict Passante in pornographic situations. (Passante claims that the images are fake.)

The suit says that Passante first became aware of the images when she received a tweet reading, “Love the pics” from Is Anyone Up’s Twitter account.

The complaint goes on to claim that Moore later posted the video to porn-friendly website Fleshbot.com, adding that when users clicked on the video, a virus immediately began to download onto their computers.

Since filing the suit, Passante has claimed to suffer further headaches due to Moore’s efforts. In November, the “Storage Wars” buyer and her attorney Linda S. McAleer filed declarations that Moore had violated a temporary restraining order by targeting the pair in a digital harassment campaign.

According to the declarations, Moore published a number of obscene tweets with Passante’s Twitter handle tagged, ensuring that she would see them.

In another instance, McAleer claimed, when she emailed a copy of the restraining order to Moore, he replied with a message asking “if brandi had missed this?” with a photo of himself naked from the waist down and in an aroused state.

(Pamela Chelin contributed to this report)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Armstrong to admit doping in Oprah interview

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home in Austin, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak publicly on the matter.

While not directly saying he would confess or apologize, Armstrong sent a text message to The Associated Press early Saturday that said: "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."

The 41-year-old Armstrong, who vehemently denied doping for years, has not spoken publicly about the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report last year that cast him as the leader of a sophisticated and brazen doping program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included use of steroids, blood boosters and illegal blood transfusions.

The USADA report led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and given a lifetime ban from the sport.

Several outlets had reported that Armstrong was considering a confession. The interview will be broadcast Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network and oprah.com.

A confession would come at a time when Armstrong is still facing some legal troubles.

Armstrong faces a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, but the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to announce if it will join the case. The British newspaper The Sunday Times is suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit.

A Dallas-based promotions company has threatened to sue Armstrong to recover more than $7.5 million it paid him as a bonus for winning the Tour de France.

But potential perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony denying doping in a 2005 arbitration fight over the bonus payments have passed the statute of limitations.

Armstrong lost most of his personal sponsorship — worth tens of millions of dollars — after USADA issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still said to be worth an estimated $100 million.

Livestrong might be one reason to issue an apology or make a confession. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with its famous founder.

Armstrong could also be hoping a confession would allow him to return to competition in elite triathlon or running events, but World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what new information Armstrong provides and his level of cooperation.

Armstrong met with USADA officials recently to explore a "pathway to redemption," according to a report by "60 Minutes Sports" aired Wednesday on Showtime.

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AP Sports Columnist Jim Litke contributed to this report.

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