WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor granted a temporary exemption late Tuesday to a small group of Catholic nuns that shields it from having to comply with a part of President Obama's healthcare law that requires it to provide contraceptive coverage in its insurance plans.

 She acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for the group who said the nuns faced "draconian fines" beginning on New Year's Day if they failed to comply with the law widely known as Obamacare.

 Sotomayor gave the government until Friday to file a response in the case. Her order extends only to the group of nuns and does not apply more broadly to the Affordable Care Act and its requirements.

 The Supreme Court is facing a series of appeals from religious organizations and private corporations whose owners object to paying for contraceptives. In March, the court will hear two cases involving corporations and the contraceptive mandate.

 The Obama administration has exempted churches and other religious groups from providing contraceptive coverage. However, it has granted a more limited exemption for religiously affiliated charities. Although they need not pay for this coverage directly, their insurers are required to include the coverage in their policies.

 Nonetheless, several religious charities have continued to press for exemptions to the law. And on Tuesday evening, hours before the mandate was to take effect, they sent several emergency appeals to the court seeking an emergency exemption.

 It was unclear how the Obama administration would proceed after Sotomayor's order. Obama is vacationing with his family in Hawaii this week, and the White House is not expected to make any comment before the Justice Department files a response to Sotomayor's ruling on Friday.

 A number of religious groups with similar objections have vigorously challenged the Affordable Care Act in court. The Colorado order of nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor, asked for the last-minute ruling Tuesday because the healthcare law's provisions go into effect Jan. 1.

 In late November, the Supreme Court agreed to hear several cases that could settle the dispute between the Obama administration and businesses run by Christian conservatives over whether those companies must pay for birth control if providing that coverage is in conflict with the religious beliefs of the business owner.

 The November announcement that the Supreme Court would hear the constitutional challenge to the birth control mandate in Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., as well as another case, signaled a new phase of the political battle over the healthcare law.

 David Green, founder of Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby Stores, has argued that business owners "should not have to choose between violating their beliefs and violating the law."

 david.savage@latimes.com

 maeve.reston@latimes.com

 Savage reported from Washington and Reston from Honolulu. ||||| WASHINGTON — Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Obama administration from forcing some religious-affiliated groups to provide health insurance coverage of birth control or face penalties as part of the Affordable Care Act.

 Acting at the request of an order of nuns in Colorado, Justice Sotomayor issued the stay just hours before the requirement was to go into effect on New Year’s Day. She gave the Obama administration until Friday to respond to the Supreme Court.

 Justice Sotomayor’s order applies to the nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and other Roman Catholic nonprofit groups that use the same health plan, known as the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust. The groups’ lawsuit is one of many challenging the federal requirement for contraceptive coverage, but a decision on the merits of that case by the full Supreme Court could have broader implications.

 “We are delighted with the ruling,” said Mark L. Rienzi, a lawyer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who represented the nuns in the lawsuit. “We are delighted that the Supreme Court will require the government to file briefs in the court on this matter.” The Little Sisters of the Poor operate nursing homes for low-income people in the United States and around the world.

 Without Justice Sotomayor’s order, the nuns “would have been forced to comply with the contraceptive mandate on Wednesday or face large fines,” Mr. Rienzi said late Tuesday.

 The contraception requirement has been one of the most controversial aspects of the health law since the Obama administration first announced it in mid-2011, along with other requirements it characterized as preventive care. Religious opponents of abortion have objected especially strongly to the requirement to provide emergency contraception pills, like Plan B, although most studies show that the drug works by preventing fertilization, not by inducing abortion.

 In an effort to compromise, the administration said that women who work for nonprofit religious groups that object to birth control could receive separate coverage not paid for by the employers. It refused, however, to offer accommodations to secular businesses whose owners have religious objections to contraception.

 That has led to a separate group of lawsuits. And last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a pair of cases on whether corporations may refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraception.

 Justice Sotomayor — who later was to lead the countdown for the Times Square ball drop — issued her order after the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, earlier on New Year’s Eve denied the nuns’ request for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the contraceptive coverage requirements imposed by the new health care law.

 The Obama administration had argued that the Little Sisters of the Poor could opt out of the contraceptive coverage requirement by completing “a self-certification form” and providing it to the entity that administers their health benefits. Therefore, the Justice Department said, the contraceptive mandate imposes “no substantial burden on their exercise of religion.”

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 “To opt out of providing contraceptive coverage, Little Sisters need only certify that they are nonprofit organizations that hold themselves out as religious and that, because of religious objections, they are opposed to providing coverage for some or all contraceptive services,” the Justice Department told the appeals court on Monday.

 The administration says it has exempted churches from the contraceptive coverage requirement and offered an accommodation to certain religious nonprofit groups. But the Becket Fund argued that “the ‘accommodation’ still forces the Little Sisters to find an insurer who will cover sterilization, contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.”

 “The Sisters would also be required to sign a form that triggers the start of that coverage,” it said. “In good conscience, they cannot do that. So the ‘accommodation’ still violates their religious beliefs.”

 The Obama administration has repeatedly defended the birth control requirement. “The president believes that no one, including the government or for-profit corporations, should be able to dictate those decisions to women,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said last month.

 One of the pending Supreme Court cases was filed by Hobby Lobby, a corporation owned by a family whose members have said they try to run the business on Christian principles. The company, which operates a chain of arts-and-crafts stores and has more than 15,000 full-time employees of many faiths. Hobby Lobby has said it has no problem with offering coverage for many forms of contraception, including condoms, diaphragms, sponges, several kinds of birth control pills and sterilization surgery. But drugs and devices that can prevent embryos from implanting in the womb are another matter, and make it complicit in a form of abortion, the company said.

 The other case was filed by the Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, which makes wood cabinets and is owned by a Mennonite family that had similar objections to the law. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Before dropping the ball in Times Square, Sonia Sotomayor dropped yet another problem on ObamaCare, many key provisions of which kick in today. The Supreme Court justice granted a last-minute temporary exemption to a group of Catholic nuns who object to providing contraceptive coverage for employees, reports the Los Angeles Times. The government has been given until Friday to file a response in the case, which applies to the nuns and other Roman Catholic nonprofit groups using the same health plan. Lawyers for the nuns argued that they would face "draconian fines" if they didn't start complying with the law today. Churches have been exempted from providing contraceptive coverage, but the nuns' suit is among several from religious organizations and private corporations who are also pressing for exemptions, NBC notes. The Justice Department says that to opt out, all the nuns need to do is "certify that they are nonprofit organizations that hold themselves out as religious," though the group representing the nuns says ObamaCare rules still require them to violate their beliefs by dealing with an insurer covering "sterilization, contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs and devices," the New York Times finds.


Summarize this article:

Details Published on November 20, 2013 Written by Amanda H. Miller Hits: 1763

 Facing fixed-mount solar panels west instead of south could produce more electricity during peak demand according to a new study from Pecan Street Research, which debunks the conventional wisdom that solar panels should always face south when installed on homes in the northern hemisphere.

 The research firm, based at the University of Texas's Austin campus, concentrates on testing and developing new technology and business models in advanced energy management systems. The company tested 50 Austin homes with solar panels, some with south-facing installations. Pecan Street used a financial incentive to convince others to install west-facing solar panels for the sake of the study, which is the first of its kind.

 While advanced modeling and research used by installers suggest homeowners could lose up to 30 percent of their energy production by facing solar panels west instead of south, the Pecan Street study found otherwise.

 Austin homes with west-facing solar panels produced 2 percent more electricity during the course of a normal day than homeowners with south-facing panels. Beyond that, they produced 49 percent more electricity during peak demand hours of 3 to 7pm. Homeowners with south-facing solar panels reduced their peak energy usage by 54 percent, while those with west-facing panels cut their power draws by 65 percent.

 “There’s no other residential demand response tool generating 60 percent reductions,” Brewster McCracken, CEO of Pecan Street, told Green Tech Media. “Those are pretty extraordinary peak reductions.”

 This research has the potential to dramatically change the residential solar market. While homeowners with east-west roof pitches have historically thought they would not be good candidates for solar, it turns out their west-facing roof could be an even better spot for solar than their neighbor’s south-facing roof. It essentially opens the solar market up to every homeowner who doesn’t have significant shading issues.

 It also means homeowners might be more inclined to install west-facing solar panels - even if they do have a south-facing roof -especially if their utility offers pricing differentiation between peak demand hours and off-peak hours.

 It's important to note, however, that the Austin study was conducted during the summer months. It’s hard to predict what the overall outcome of the same study would be if winter months, when the sun sets shortly after electricity demand spikes, were included.

 Comments: ||||| Conventional wisdom says that if you put solar panels on your roof in the Northern Hemisphere, you should point them within 30 degrees of true south to generate the most energy in the course of a year. But a new study by Pecan Street Research Institute, an Austin, Texas-based research and development organization, suggests that most people may do better at covering their own electrical use and reducing stress on utility grids during summertime peak demand periods if they aim the panels westward instead. (See related quiz: What You Don’t Know About Solar Power.”)

 Though the study has not been released publicly, Pecan Street provided a copy to National Geographic News. It analyzed 50 homes in the Austin area, looking not just at the amount of electricity generated by the panels, but at the impact on homeowners’ electricity use and the utility grid during periods of summer peak electrical demand, which generally occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (See related post: “Solar Researchers Dig Deeper Into Snow Issue.”)

 The study found that west-facing solar systems reduced the amount of electricity that homeowners needed to draw from the grid during summer peak demand by 65 percent. Homes with the conventional true-south orientation, in comparison, achieved a 54 percent reduction.

 Pecan Street chief executive and study co-author Brewster McCracken explained that west-oriented panels may be more effective for many homeowners because of their lifestyles. West-oriented panels are more effective at capturing solar energy late in the afternoon, which also happens to be the time that most people get home from work and turn on their air conditioning in the summer, he said. So homeowners with panels facing in that direction are optimizing their solar power generation at precisely the time that their own usage surges, and when the utility company needs the most help coping with demand.

 Additionally, McCracken said, using a west orientation for panels means that less electricity will go unused by the homeowners who generated it, and end up as surplus electricity being put back into the grid. That makes things easier for utility companies. “They’re not structured to handle high levels of electricity being sent back to the grid,” he said. “If they have to do that, it becomes a challenge to maintain electric reliability in an area.” (See related story: “New ‘Flexible’ Power Plants Sway to Keep Up With Renewables.”)

 While solar panel installers have known that west-facing panels may be more effective for a while, utility companies still cling to the south-is-best rule-of-thumb, and refuse to give rebates to homeowners unless their panels are facing south, McCracken said. He’s hoping that the study will prompt them to rethink their opposition to west-facing panels.

 The Pecan Street study isn’t the first to show that west-facing panels may be more effective. A California Public Utility Commission study published in 2011 also found that west-facing systems were “significantly better” at offsetting peak load that south-facing ones, even though they had lower annual energy yields.

 Solar Energy Industries Association spokesperson Samantha Page declined comment on the study. A spokesman for Southern California Edison said that the utility continues to recommend a conventional south orientation for solar panels.

 David Mooney, laboratory program manager for solar R&D portfolio at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, said that Pecan Street’s findings weren’t a surprise, but hoped that the more precise quantification would motivate both consumers and utilities to fine-tune their use of solar installations.

 Mooney said that the benefits of tinkering with solar panel orientation would vary, depending upon the region, and that no single prescription necessarily fits all places. “In Colorado, for example, we tend to have clouds rolling in off the mountains in the west in the summer, so west-facing arrays would produce the least electricity,” he said. “You would want to have a southern or eastern orientation here to get the most electricity, and that wouldn’t necessarily align with the utility company’s peak demand.”

 Mooney also noted that the structure of the incentives provided by utility companies figures into how consumers chose to orient their panels. His own utility provider in Colorado, for example, offers incentives that reward optimum output over the year, rather than the amount of electricity generated during periods of peak demand. “I get no benefit from shaving their peak demand, so there’s no motivation to do it,” he said.

 Vote and comment: “What Energy Solution Should We Develop Next?“) ||||| Conventional wisdom in the northern hemisphere is to face solar panels south so they get the most light all day. Architects and panel installers implement this approach all the time, especially on homes. But a new study indicates that panels facing west may actually get more juice from the sun, and at more convenient times.

 Researchers at the Pecan Street Research Institute did a study of homes with solar panels in Austin, Texas and found that when homeowners faced solar panels west they were able to generate 2% more electricity in a day. And they also generated more electricity in the afternoon, when power grids experience peak demand.

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 Though a 2% increase in electricity generation isn't enormous, it would certainly add up over the life of solar panels. And the rise in afternoon performance, reducing grid dependance during peak hours by 65% as opposed to 54% for south-facing panels, could have widespread efficiency implications beyond single homes.

 It's only one study so nothing is definitive yet, but if nothing else the research raises a good point about testing solar panel performance in practice instead of just assuming that angling south is always the way to go. [Quartz via Digg] |||||

– If you happen to have solar panels on your house, they might need a change of direction. A new study suggests that the standard industry advice (at least in this hemisphere) of having the panels face south is wrong, reports National Geographic. Try west instead. The study by the Pecan Street Research Institute in Texas found that homes with west-facing panels generate 2% more electricity per day, with the biggest benefit coming in the late afternoon—generally peak usage time for utilities, notes Gizmodo. "Quantifying the way that favoring late-day sunlight helps homeowners save money and utilities flatten out demand could lead to a simple but effective hack for the world’s solar installers," writes Christopher Mims at Quartz. "Simply re-orienting solar panels could shorten the amount of time it takes for them to pay for themselves." It's just one study, however, and it would be interesting to see whether the results hold up in winter as well as summer, writes Amanda Miller at the Clean Energy Authority. Still, she adds, "this research has the potential to dramatically change the residential solar market." (Soon, you might be able to pick some up at IKEA.)


Fifty-seven people spent Christmas aboard a cruise ship that has become stuck in the ice in a remote region off the coast of Antarctica and rescue vessels are at least two days away, Australian maritime officials told ABC News.

 The Russian-operated Akademik Shokalskiy, an ice-strengthened vessel built in 1984 for oceanographic research, became stuck in the ice about 1,500 nautical miles from Hobart, Tasmania, and issued a satellite distress call early this morning, Andrea Hayward-Maher of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

 “We’ve been in touch with the master of the vessel, who says they are beset by ice,” spokeswoman Hayward-Maher said. “They are basically trapped or stuck in the ice and can’t move.”

 Passengers are believed to have enough provisions to wait out their rescue. One passenger tweeted that all on board were fine and their “spirits high.”

 “We’re in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas,” Australian professor Chris Turney tweeted.

 The ship is too far from land to send aircraft or normal rescue vessels, Hayward-Maher said. Three ships with ice-breaking capabilities in the region have “been tasked with helping,” but they are all a two-day sail from the stuck vessel,” she added.

 “This is quite a complex and lengthy search-and-rescue operation because of the remote location of the area,” Hayward-Maher said.

 Of the 57 souls on board, 22 are crewmen and 35 are passengers. The ship cruised to the site of a 1911-1914 expedition of British explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, according to Expeditions Online, a travel agency that sells tickets for the cruise. ||||| Day 19 – The AAE has met heavy ice Posted by Chris - 26 December 2013

 Following our successful visit to Cape Denison, sea ice remained clear, allowing our science expedition to proceed to the Mertz Glacier and open water polynya on the other side of Commonwealth Bay. Good conditions allowed the team to reach the Hodgeman Islets to continue our science programme and make comparisons to our findings around Mawson’s Hut. We managed to collect a range of samples for three of the science teams on these rarely visited islands; a fantastic result. The distance from the land to the sea ice edge is only 5 kilometres, providing an excellent test of the impact of the large sea ice extent around Cape Denison. Supported by volunteers on board, our teams investigated marine mammals, ornithology, glaciology while oceanographic work continued on board. Kerry-Jayne Wilson of the Blue Penguin Trust found the penguin colony on the Hodgeman Islets is thriving, demonstrating the distance the Mawson Hut Adelie penguins have to travel is a major factor in the fall of numbers. Tracey Rogers of UNSW also obtained the largest number of seal blubber samples on the expedition while Eleanor Rainsley collected geological samples that will provide an invaluable insight into the history of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Returning to the Shokalskiy, conditions started to close in and we quickly loaded the vehicles on to the vessel.

 Unfortunately proceeding north we found our path blocked by ice pushed in by an increasingly strong southeasterly wind. On Christmas Eve we realised we could not get through, in spite of being just 2 nautical miles from open water. We hoped the conditions would change but we have experienced several low pressure systems over the last few days which have held the ice fast. We just wanted to let all our family and friends know there is no risk to the vessel and everyone is well. Yesterday the team celebrated Christmas and morale is high. We have called for assistance due to the anticipated continuing southeasterly winds (with forecasts kindly provided by the Australian Antarctic Division at Casey Station and Meteoexploration).

 We have been informed a Chinese ice breaker called Snow Dragon (Xue Long) is currently en route from Freemantle to the Ross Sea and will be entering the pack near our location tomorrow. We have also learnt the French vessel Astrolabe is travelling to our position to provide support and will be arriving shortly after Xue Long; the Australian ship, the Aurora australis, has also been sent from Casey and will be arriving later. For regular updates we will be posting details on Twitter @profchristurney, +Intrepid Science at Google+, and the Guardian Antarctica Live website. The BBC World Service are also embedded in the team and broadcasting a weekly programme on the expedition (including updates on our work) on Discovery. We are using the Inmarsat satellite system to provide live communications while we are in the field.

 We will be keeping this blog updated. Thanks to all our supporters and look forward to seeing you all soon. ||||| A RESCUE mission is still underway to help passengers on a Antarctic-bound cruiseliner which has been trapped by ice after a storm.

 There are 50 tourists, including Australian scientists and explorers and 20 crew on the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which is on a Spirit of Mawson voyage along the edge of Antarctica.

 They are in no immediate danger, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

 Those on board are said to be in fine spirits.

 "The ship is reinforced against ice and well adapted to the conditions," said Alvin Stone, spokesman for voyage operators. He said those on board were in fine spirits and were enjoying Christmas.

 Mr Stone said the storm was well-timed as those on board has just returned from a 60km trek across pack ice in Antarctica. The ship had sailed from New Zealand to visit several sites. The AMSA received a distress call on Christmas morning.

 A spokeswoman said three ships had been sent to assist but it would take at least two days for the nearest vessel to reach the remote location - about 1500 nautical miles south of Hobart. "It's in quite a remote part of the world," she said.

 "But we have everyone safe. The vessel isn't in any immediate danger." The ship's voyage is part of a research expedition to commemorate the centenary of Douglas Mawson's exploration.

 Expedition leader Chris Turney didn't seem too bothered by being stranded.

 He posted this Vine video of the ship on Twitter.

 We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas from the AA... https://t.co/dIiKBnP6rz — Chris Turney (@ProfChrisTurney) December 25, 2013

 He wrote in a Christmas Day tweet: "Heavy ice. Beautiful; light wind. Only -1degC. All well. Merry Xmas everyone from AAE." The privately funded expedition includes a trip to Mawson's Huts on Antarctica, which had been inaccessible for many years because of an iceberg. |||||

Write a summary.

– An Antarctic adventure cruise has become stuck in ice after a storm, and rescue ships are at least two days away—but to judge from the dispatches from the ship, the people aboard don't seem to mind. The Akademik Shokalskiy sent out a distress call yesterday, News.com.au reports, but a spokesman for the Spirit of Mawson, which organized the voyage, says the Russian ship is "reinforced against ice and well adapted to the conditions." The ship is believed to have enough provisions aboard to hold out. Reports differ on how many people are aboard—News.com.au says there are 50 tourists and 20 crew, while ABC has the numbers at 35 and 22—but those "tourists" include scientists, explorers, and historians. "We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas," the expedition leader tweeted. In a blog post, the ship said it was just two nautical miles from open sea, but powerless to get closer. The timing of the storm was actually fairly fortuitous though; if it had struck earlier, it might have caught the adventurers in the middle of a nearly 40-mile hike across pack ice.


– Jeff Sessions is out as attorney general, report CNN and the AP. White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly asked him to resign Wednesday, and Sessions' resignation letter was subsequently delivered to the White House. The speed of the move, coming so soon after polls closed, "suggested how eager Mr. Trump was for Mr. Sessions to depart," observes the Wall Street Journal. "At your request, I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter addressed to the president, which you can read here. "Since the day I was honored to be sworn in as Attorney General of the United States, I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country. I have done so to the best of my ability, working to support the fundamental legal processes that are the foundation of justice." More:

Expand this summary.

President Trump responds to questions regarding the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, saying "I could have ended it anytime I wanted." Photo: AP

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Trump on Wednesday, immediately placing oversight of the special counsel’s Russia probe in the hands of an official who has been critical of the inquiry and suggested limiting it.

 The move—one day after elections in which Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives but made gains in the Senate—follows months in which Mr. Trump regularly expressed displeasure with Mr. Sessions for recusing himself from the inquiry into alleged Russian interference... ||||| President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press)

 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the midterm elections (all times local):

 2:45 p.m.

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

 Sessions announced his plan to resign in a letter to the White House on Wednesday.

 President Donald Trump announced in a tweet that Sessions' chief of staff Matt Whitaker would become the new acting attorney general.

 The attorney general had endured more than a year of stinging and personal criticism from Trump over his recusal from the investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

 Trump blamed the decision for opening the door to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation and began examining whether Trump's hectoring of Sessions was part of a broader effort to obstruct justice.

 ___

 1:20 p.m.

 President Donald Trump says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's (pahm-PAY'-ohz) meeting with his North Korean counterpart was postponed but is being rescheduled.

 Pompeo had been scheduled to meet with Kim Yong Chol in New York on Thursday.

 Trump says he's likely to meet with the North Korea leader early next year and there's "no rush" to engaging in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.

 Trump met Kim Jong Un in June for a landmark meeting in Singapore, where the two leaders agreed on vague goals of denuclearization. There's been little progress since then.

 North Korea has continued a yearlong halt in weapon tests but wants U.S. sanctions eased. In recent days, North Korea criticized the U.S. for its continued support of sanctions and hinted it may resume nuclear development.

 Trump says he'd "love to take the sanctions off" but North Korea has to make concessions, too.

 ___

 1:10 p.m.

 President Donald Trump says he would consider raising other tax rates to pay for a middle-class tax cut.

 Trump said at a Wednesday press conference that if Democrats offer an idea for tax cuts he would work with them, even if it would require "some adjustment" to other rates.

 The president did not say what any changes to rates could look like but said, "I would certainly be willing to do a little bit." He says Democrats would need to propose a plan, given that he would need bipartisan support in the Senate.

 Trump said during the midterm campaign that he would offer a plan for a 10 percent middle income tax cut. But he has not provided any details. Republicans passed a massive tax cut package last year.

 ____

 12:50 p.m.

 President Donald Trump says Vice President Mike Pence will be his running mate in 2020, impromptu confirmation that could give sign makers a head start on printing political signs for the next presidential election.

 In the middle of a news conference at the White House on Wednesday, the Republican president was unexpectedly asked if Pence would be on the ticket.

 Trump said he hadn't asked Pence yet but then turned to the vice president and said: "Mike, will you be my running mate? Will you?"

 Pence acknowledged that he would.

 ___

 12:45 p.m.

 President Donald Trump has sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another he's a "rude, terrible" person.

 He told yet another reporter he's "not a fan of yours, either."

 The president's mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an "invasion." Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections.

 Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the man's actions to the caravan.

 Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all.

 ___

 12:35 p.m.

 President Donald Trump says he's happy with "most" of his Cabinet as he suggests changes may be coming.

 Trump said at a Wednesday press conference that he is "looking at different people for different positions," adding that "it is very common after the midterms."

 Asked specifically about the future of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Trump says, "I'd rather answer that at a little bit different time."

 Trump has long been frustrated with Sessions over his recusal from the Russia investigation. Rosenstein's future appeared uncertain after reports that he discussed secretly recording Trump.

 On Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (ZIN'-kee), Trump says he wants to "study whatever is being said." Trump adds that he's doing an "excellent job." Zinke faces a series of inquiries into his conduct.

 ___

 12:30 p.m.

 President Donald Trump is warning House Democrats about spending the remaining years of his presidency investigating him and the administration.

 Trump said at a post-election news conference Wednesday that Democrats and Republicans should set aside partisanship to work together for the American people.

 Democrats won back control of the House. Many have threatened to use the subpoena power they will gain in January to investigate Trump and administration actions.

 Trump says he's been hearing about investigations since he began running for president and refers to it as "investigation fatigue."

 He says he will respond in kind if House Democrats flood his administration with subpoenas and government will come to a halt.

 Trump adds that Democrats have "nothing, zero" on him.

 ___

 12:25 p.m.

 President Donald Trump is calling out Republican candidates who apparently did not support him enough and lost congressional seats in Tuesday's elections.

 At a news conference in the White House East Room on Wednesday, Trump crowed that Republicans held control of the Senate and then took aim at members of the House, where the GOP lost.

 Rep. Mike Coffman in Colorado blames his loss on resentment toward Trump in his Denver-area district. The president responded: "Too bad, Mike."

 Trump says Utah Rep. Mia Love "gave me no love, and she lost," even though the race was too close to call.

 Trump says his vigorous campaigning stopped a so-called "blue wave," ''if there ever was such a thing."

 The GOP is expected to add to its Senate edge, but Democrats regained control of the House.

 ___

 12:15 p.m.

 President Donald Trump says Republicans "defied history" in the midterms as he seeks to take credit for expected Republican gains in the Senate while minimizing House losses.

 Trump discussed the election results at a White House press conference on Wednesday. He says Republicans "dramatically outperformed historical precedents."

 The GOP is expected to add to its Senate edge, but Democrats regained control of the House. The mixed verdict in the first nationwide election of Trump's presidency showed the limits of his hardline immigration rhetoric in today's political landscape.

 Midterm losses are typical for the party in the White House. Trump stressed the anticipated Republican pickups in the Senate and said the GOP had surpassed expectations in the House, citing the high number of retirements.

 ___

 9 a.m.

 President Donald Trump says Democrat Nancy Pelosi "deserves" to be the next House speaker.

 Democrats won back control of the chamber in Tuesday's election and Pelosi would be in line to be elected speaker. The California Democrat was the nation's first female speaker from 2007-2011. But a number of House Democratic candidates have said they won't support her for the top role.

 Trump said Wednesday that "if they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!"

 House Democrats meet later this month to elect party leaders and Pelosi is expected to win most of those votes. But being elected speaker in January requires a majority of House votes.

 Pelosi has been up front about not wanting to pursue impeaching Trump.

 ___

 8:30 a.m.

 President Donald Trump is warning Democrats against using their new majority in the House of Representatives to investigate his administration. He said in a tweet Wednesday that if they do, the Republican-controlled Senate may investigate Democrats.

 With the Democrats in the majority they will have the power to launch investigations and subpoena records, including possibly Trump's tax filings and private business dealings.

 Trump said that if the Democrats plan to "waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level," then Republicans "will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level."

 He said that "two can play that game!"

 It wasn't clear what leaks he was referring to.

 Asked about potential investigations, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said in a CNN interview Wednesday that "the president is not nervous about anything."

 __

 7:50 a.m.

 President Donald Trump is praising candidates who embraced his policies and principles during the midterm election, saying they "did very well."

 In a tweet Wednesday, Trump tells those candidates who avoided him to "say goodbye!"

 Trump campaigned repeatedly for Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates in Missouri, West Virginia, North Dakota, Florida, Georgia and other states where he won in 2016. Several of those candidates won their races Tuesday night, while other contests remained too close to call.

 Trump says Tuesday's "Big Win" for Republicans was achieved "all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!"

 But Tuesday didn't bring complete good news for Republicans; Democrats won back control of the House.

 Trump is scheduled to "discuss our success in the Midterms!" at a White House news conference later Wednesday.

 __

 7:40 a.m.

 President Donald Trump will address the midterm election results at a late-morning White House news conference.

 Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Twitter that Trump will take questions from reporters at the White House at 11:30 a.m. EST.

 Democrats took back control of the House from Trump's Republican Party. But the GOP gained ground in the Senate by defeating several Democrats in states where Trump was elected by wide margins in 2016. Republicans also preserved governorships in key states like Ohio and Florida.

 Trump campaigned aggressively in the closing days of the campaign, mostly to help Republican Senate candidates.

 __

 With the loss of the Republican majority in the House, President Donald Trump is facing the prospect of endless House investigations and fresh questions about the resilience of his unorthodox political coalition.

 Still, he celebrated GOP success hanging on to the Senate and distanced himself from any blame. Late Tuesday, Trump tweeted: "Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!" Early Wednesday, Trump added: "Now we can all get back to work and get things done!"

 On Tuesday, Trump called House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, a conversation that her office said included congratulations and a nod to her pitch for bipartisanship.

 ___

 For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics ||||| "At your request I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly.

 Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general, the President said.

 Whitaker is expected to take charge of the Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Whitaker has been openly critical of Mueller and the investigation and Democrats immediately called on him to recuse himself, just as Sessions had.

 "We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well ...We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date," Trump tweeted

 JUST WATCHED Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired 01:52

 The move is an abrupt end to what had been a tumultuous tenure for Sessions, originally one of Trump's earliest and most loyal surrogates as an Alabama Republican senator. He was a key figure in implementing Trump's vision for America and significantly rolled back Obama-era policies on immigration, police reform and civil rights.

 Sessions was an enforcer of much of the Trump administration's hardline approach on immigration and regularly praised the President's tough words on crime. But even as he continued to carry out the Trump agenda, his relationship with the President remained strained and fraught for months due to the ongoing Mueller investigation.

 Sessions received the request to resign from Kelly, not the President, on Wednesday morning, an administration official said. It is not clear whether Mueller was told ahead of time.

 Sessions believed that Rosenstein has handled the investigation properly after it was dropped "right in his lap," according to a source familiar with Sessions' thinking.

 "[Rosenstein is] a professional, he's tried to do the right thing and he's handled it as well as anybody could," the source said of Sessions' views on the matter.

 However, the source said that Sessions himself has been frustrated that Mueller's investigation has not yet concluded, but DOJ officials have "tried to do the right thing every day and not be involved in arguing the case in the media."

 In a statement, Whitaker said he will lead a "fair" department with high ethical standards.

 "It is a true honor that the President has confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General. I am committed to leading a fair Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans," he said.

 Trump constantly criticized Sessions

 Sessions' ouster came a day after the midterm elections saw Republicans hold onto control of the Senate -- which would confirm Trump's eventual permanent choice to head the Justice Department -- and just weeks after Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud and Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight charges including tax fraud and bank fraud.

 Sessions was aware that Cohen was facing bank fraud and tax violations but had been walled off from the campaign finance aspects of the investigation into Trump's former lawyer, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN.

 Trump's distaste for Sessions was well known -- and publicly reinforced by the President himself on a regular basis -- after the attorney general recused himself from all matters related to the 2016 campaign early in Trump's term.

 The President mocked Sessions in August as " scared stiff and Missing in Action ." Later the same month as Trump continued to rail against him, Sessions issued a statement firing back at Trump and declaring, "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action."

 Just days later, Trump knocked the Sessions-led Justice Department for indicting two Trump-supporting Republican congressmen ahead of the midterm elections. Both lawmakers won their re-election bids Tuesday.

 But Sessions hung on, and although there was no formal reconciliation, the President allowed him to stay, even despite the unwillingness of White House spokespeople to publicly confirm, for days, that Trump had confidence in the attorney general.

 In early August, Trump tweeted that Sessions "should stop" Mueller's investigation, raising questions as to whether the President was attempting to obstruct justice. Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN's Dana Bash that Trump was merely "expressing his opinion on his favorite medium."

 Sessions, for his part, consistently maintained that his recusal decision was made in consultation with career ethics officials at the Justice Department and was in the works from the time he was sworn in.

 Democrats demand continued independence for Mueller

 Top Democrats immediately called for Mueller's investigation to be allowed to proceed.

 "Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general," Schumer said.

 Former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder declared interference with the special counsel "a red line."

 "Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man," Holder tweeted.

 Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man. — Eric Holder (@EricHolder) November 7, 2018

 New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler tweeted a vow for accountability. Nadler is poised to chair the House Judiciary Committee next year.

 "Americans must have answers immediately as to the reasoning behind @realDonaldTrump removing Jeff Sessions from @TheJusticeDept. Why is the President making this change and who has authority over Special Counsel Mueller's investigation? We will be holding people accountable," Nadler tweeted.

 Immigration bonded him with Trump from the start

 Sessions' campaign loyalty to Trump earned him a plumb spot in the administration as attorney general, and Sessions' former aides and allies, including prominent Trump adviser Stephen Miller, spread throughout the administration in key posts across multiple agencies.

 Under Sessions, the Justice Department has been aggressive in trying to cut off funds to and punish sanctuary cities -- though the courts have repeatedly admonished many of those efforts -- and was the primary agency that justified the ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, a program that protected young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. |||||


When Huguette Clark's will was filed six months ago, art lovers in Santa Barbara were delighted: The bluff-top estate owned by the reclusive 104-year-old copper heiress was to be transformed into a museum.It was an exciting but uncertain prospect at the time, largely because the museum was to be established by Clark's attorney and accountant — longtime advisors whose ethics had been questioned in news reports and in legal actions by Clark's relatives.The possibility grew even dimmer Friday when a New York City judge suspended the pair as Clark's executors, citing accusations of massive tax fraud.At a hearing in Surrogate's Court, which rules on estate matters, Surrogate Kristin Booth Glen pointed to charges by the New York public administrator's office that the pair caused Clark's estate to lose more than $50 million.In court filings, the office said attorney Wallace Bock and certified public accountant Irving H. Kamsler should be removed "by reason of their dishonesty, improvidence, waste, and want of understanding."New York prosecutors have been investigating alleged mismanagement of Clark's estate for more than a year. No criminal charges have been filed, and John Dadakis, an attorney for both men, said his clients had always acted "in Clark's best interest and at her express wishes."For outsiders, Clark's intent was hard to divine. A 2005 will left most of her fortune to the distant relatives who were her only family. But another will — drawn up just six weeks later — directed Bock and Kamsler to turn Bellosguardo, a grand home Clark hadn't visited for at least 50 years, into a repository for her extensive art collection.Also included in the will was a bequest of more than $30 million for Clark's longtime nurse, Hadassah Peri.The change of heart came about as Clark, who was then 98 and living in a New York hospital, reflected on her legacy, according to a spokesman for Dadakis.Clark's relatives have challenged the Bellosguardo will, saying Bock and Kamsler designed it to allow themselves unlimited access to Clark's wealth. Named as executors in both wills, they stood to make millions in fees alone.Under Friday's ruling, the pair may apply to the court for reinstatement. That could be a tough case to make, with the public administrator contending they filed false tax returns, charged Clark for work they never did, lied to the IRS and allowed their client to give more than $56 million to individuals, including themselves and Peri.In Santa Barbara, Mayor Helene Schneider said Clark "was as mysterious in death as she was in life.""I just hope that this can come to a conclusion that befits her legacy," she said. ||||| Associated Press This is the last known photo of Huguette Clark, taken 80 years ago. She hid away in a New York hospital room for at least the past 22 years, until her death in May. This photo was made on Aug. 11, 1930, the day of her divorce, in Reno, Nev. Her marriage lasted two years. She had no children.

 New York — A New York official has accused the attorney and accountant for mysterious heiress Huguette Clark of a tax fraud that could cost her estate $50 million in IRS penalties. While the men denied any wrongdoing, the accountant resigned this week from handling her $400 million estate just before the allegations were leveled in court documents.

 The allegation was made by the office of the public administrator of New York County, who was appointed by the court as a third executor, in effect to watch the actions of Clark's attorney and accountant. The public administrator, Ethel J. Griffin, asked the court on Tuesday to remove attorney Wallace "Wally" Bock and accountant Irving Kamsler as executors, a position that would normally pay each of them about 2 percent of her estate, or roughly $8 million each.

 Read the related story: Nurse, in line to inherit millions, battles family of heiress Huguette Clark.

 Document: Read the full petition at msnbc.com. (PDF file opens in a new window.)

 Clark, who died in May at age 104, gained public attention in a series of articles on msnbc.com over the past two years, focusing at first on the mystery of her empty mansions and then the financial dealings of her attorney and accountant. The full series of articles is at http://clark.msnbc.com. Born in 1906, Clark was the youngest child of former U.S. Sen. William Andrews Clark (1839-1925), a copper miner and U.S. senator from Montana, said to be one of the richest men in the world.

 The public administrator alleges that while Huguette Clark lived as a recluse in New York City hospital rooms, attorney Bock and accountant Kamsler:

 Failed to file federal gift tax returns for Clark for the years 1997 through 2003, when she made approximately $56 million in gifts to individuals. The gift tax and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax due would have been about $41.5 million.

 Charged her for filing tax returns that were not filed.

 Paid only $7.5 million in estimated tax payments toward the gift tax in those years.

 Failed to pay the remaining $34 million during the years since, exposing her to millions in IRS interest and penalties for failure to file.

 Failed to tell Clark about the unpaid taxes or possible interest and penalties, even though she had sufficient liquid assets to pay the bill in full.

 Filed false returns with the IRS for the years 2004 through 2009, claiming that previous gift tax returns had been filed, and understating Clark's current tax liabilities by more than $7 million.

 Underreported and underpaid by millions her federal taxes.

 Misrepresented to the IRS that returns had been filed.

 Lied to the IRS, with Kamsler claiming he was unaware of a $5 million gift to Clark's nurse, when documents show he listed that gift on a profit and loss statement seven months earlier.

 Lied to the public administrator, claiming that they were searching for the gift tax returns, until the IRS disclosed that none had been filed.

 "By 2011, Mrs. Clark owed $34,000,000 in gift and GST taxes for the years 1997 through 2003; plus potential late filing and late payment penalties in excess of $16,000,000; plus interest on the unpaid taxes and potential penalties in the amount of approximately $32,000,000; for a total liability to the IRS in excess of $82,000,000," the public administrator alleges, adding that "neither Bock nor Kamsler made Mrs. Clark aware of this tax liability."

 Claudio Papapietro Irving Kamsler, Huguette Clark's longtime accountant, resigned as her executor this week. He is shown outside court on Long Island after he pleaded guilty in October 2008 to attempting to disseminate indecent material to minors on AOL. The court sentenced him to five years of probation, but he was allowed to keep his license as a certified public accountant. In a letter he told his client only the barest details of the case.

 The tax bill was rising at the rate of $9,000 per day, the public administrator calculated.

 "Bock and Kamsler have demonstrated," the public administrator wrote, "that they are unfit for the execution of their office as Preliminary Executors, by reason of their dishonesty, improvidence, waste and want of understanding, both while Mrs. Clark was alive and subequent to their appointment." In addition, the public administrator's office said it is investigating what it believes are other violations of trust, including improper solicitation of gifts, abuse of powers of attorney, and making gifts without authority. The case is being handled by attorneys for the public administrator, including Peter Schram, David R. Gelfand and Georgiana J. Slade.

 An attorney for Kamsler in the estate case wrote to the judge informing her that Kamsler would resign. That letter was filed in court on Tuesday, just ahead of the filing by the public administrator, and was released by the court on Wednesday.

 Kamsler's criminal defense attorney, Elizabeth Crotty, would not answer questions but issued a statement on Wednesday: "For the past 3 decades, Mr. Kamsler has served professionally and diligently as Ms. Clark's accountant. Although Mr. Kamsler is fully capable of remaining as a preliminary executor to Ms. Clark's estate, the distant family members and the Public Administrator have made it impossible for him to carry out her wishes. Therefore, Mr. Kamsler is voluntarily removing himself as Preliminary Executor, with the hope that Ms. Clark's last wishes be respected and to put this whole matter behind him."

 An attorney representing Bock and Kamsler in the estate case, John Dadakis of the firm of Holland and Knight, issued this statement Wednesday through a spokesman: "For 30 years, Irving Kamsler was Mrs. Clark's accountant, and for 15 years Wallace Bock was her attorney. There is no allegation in the paper's filed that either individual was taking anything out of her account for themselves. Their entire handling of her affairs was an effort to protect and preserve Mrs. Clark's chosen lifestyle."

 Bock and Kamsler are already under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, who is looking into their handling of Clark's finances; no charges have been filed, and the investigation remains open.

 Christopher Sadowski Attorney Wallace "Wally" Bock says he has always done exactly what his client, heiress Huguette Clark, has asked. He acknowledged soliciting from her a gift of $1.5 million for the community where his daughter and grandchildren live. Court records show the amount to be $1.85 million. He remains an executor of her estate, at least until a court hearing planned for Friday.

 The new allegations raise the possibility that they could face federal charges, with the public administrator noting that it is a felony to willfully submit fraudulent tax returns.

 Kamsler, 64, from the Bronx, N.Y., is a convicted felon and a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty in 2008 to attempting to distribute indecent materials to teenage girls in a chat room on AOL, under the moniker "IRV1040." Bock, 79, is from Queens, N.Y.

 Msnbc.com reported last year that the two men also handled the affairs of another elderly client, Donald Wallace, who in fact was the previous attorney for Huguette Clark. After the man's will was revised six times, during years when his relatives said he was suffering from dementia, Bock and Kamsler ended up as his executors and also beneficiaries in his will, getting his New York apartment and his Mercedes.

 And the allegations may bolster the request by Clark's relatives that they be allowed to intervene in the case. The relatives disclosed last month that Clark signed two wills at age 98 in 2005, six weeks apart: The first benefitted mostly her family, the second cut out the family altogether and included $500,000 each in bequests to attorney Bock and accountant Kamsler, who also stood to benefit as trustees of a charitable foundation and art museum to be established in her home in Santa Barbara, Calif. The family has not yet officially challenged that second will but has asked to intervene in a preliminary stage of the case, the accounting of the estate.

 The public administrator makes a point in the document of saying that the gifts made by Bock and Kamsler from Clark's accounts may not have been valid, because the men may not have had authority to make those gifts. "The Public Administrator will seek, in a separate proceeding, to clawback into the Estate any gifts deemed to be invalid."

 The public administrator notes that Kamsler lists himself in online biographies as a specialist in "gift tax planning and preparation," and Bock bills himself as having "substantial expertise in estate planning."

 The allegations by the public administrator were first reported Wednesday by The Associated Press.

 A hearing is scheduled on Friday in Surrogate's Court in Manhattan on the family's request to intervene in the case, and the public administrator's request to remove Bock and Kamsler.

 ---

 Documents (PDF files)

 Family reply to nurse and attorney and accountant, Dec. 21, 2011

 Public administrator's petition to remove attorney and accountant, Dec. 20, 2011

 Public administrator's petition to remove Bock and Kamsler, Dec. 20, 2011

 Bock and Kamsler reply to the family's motion to intervene, Dec. 16, 2011

 Family motion to intervene in the estate case, Nov. 28, 2011

 Huguette Clark's last will and testament, signed April 19, 2005

 Huguette Clark's previous will, signed March 7, 2005

 Family's petition seeking a guardian for Huguette Clark, September 2010

 Attorney Bock's sworn statement to the court, September 2010

 Judge's ruling rejecting her family's guardianship petition, September 2010

 Kamsler letter informing Clark of his guilty plea, February 2009

 Kamsler's criminal court file and investigator's report

 ---

 Stories in the Huguette Clark mystery on msnbc.com:

 Archive of all stories, photos and videos

 Photo narrative, "The Clarks: An American story of wealth, scandal and mystery," Feb. 26, 2010.

 Printable version of the photo narrative, Feb. 26, 2010.

 Clark family notes and sources, Feb. 26, 2010.

 Investigative report, part one, "At 104, the mysterious heiress Huguette Clark is alone now: Relatives are kept away. Only her accountant and attorney visit. Who protects Huguette Clark, with 3 empty homes and no heirs?" Aug. 19, 2010.

 Investigative report, part two, "Who is watching Huguette Clark's millions? Reclusive heiress's assets are sold by two advisers, one an accountant with a felony conviction. Another elderly client signed over his property to the same accountant and attorney," Aug. 20, 2010.

 "Criminal probe begins into the finances of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark: Manhattan DA's Elder Abuse Unit is on the case. The same unit prosecuted the Brooke Astor case — though Clark has about four times the wealth," Aug. 24, 2010.

 "Report sparks welfare check on heiress Huguette Clark," Aug. 25, 2010.

 "Generosity of an heiress: four homes for a nurse, gifts for attorney's family," Sept. 1, 2010.

 "Huguette Clark, the reclusive heiress, has signed a will, attorney says," Sept. 2, 2010.

 "Family of copper heiress asks court to protect her from attorney, accountant," Sept. 3, 2010.

 "Attorney for 104-year-old heiress defends his handling of her finances," Sept. 7, 2010.

 "Judge leaves pair under investigation in control of heiress Huguette Clark's fortune," Sept. 9, 2010.

 "Huguette Clark, the reclusive copper heiress, dies at 104," May 24, 2011.

 "Family excluded from Huguette Clark burial," May 26, 2011.

 "Heiress Huguette Clark's will leaves $1 million to advisers," June 22, 2011.

 "The 1 percent of the 1 percent: How Huguette Clark's millions were spent," Nov. 19, 2011.

 "A $400 miillion twist: Huguette Clark signed two wills, one to her family," Nov. 28, 2011.

 "Nurse, in line to inherit millions, battles family of heiress Huguette Clark," Dec. 22, 2011. |||||

Write a summary.

– Reclusive heiress Huguette Clark's life was shrouded in mystery—and now, more intrigue. A New York City judge yesterday suspended her lawyer and accountant from administering her $400 million estate—taking away the $8 million payday they'd each receive as executors. Though both deny wrongdoing, the surrogate court judge pointed to claims made by the New York public administrator's office earlier in the week: It found evidence that the pair engaged in tax fraud that led to $90 million in unpaid federal gift taxes and penalties. Attorney Wallace Bock and CPA Irving H. Kamsler should be removed "by reason of their dishonesty, improvidence, waste, and want of understanding," read the office's court filing, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Among the allegations made by the public administrator—who was court-appointed to serve as a third executor—as reported by MSNBC: That Bock and Kamsler charged Clark for filing tax returns they never filed; didn't file federal gift tax returns between 1997 and 2003, and paid only $7.5 million of the $41.5 million in taxes due on the gifts made during that period; and never told Clark about the unpaid taxes, or the penalties and interest that were accruing (her tax bill was jumping $9,000 per day) ... among other lies made to the IRS and the public administrator. Kamsler (who MSNBC notes is a registered sex offender) resigned as executor on Wednesday.


Article:

View Full Image Associated Press Weak demand and tight credit are contributing to the fall in home prices. Above, trying to sell in Atlanta.

 Home values are falling at an accelerating rate in many cities across the U.S.

 The Wall Street Journal's latest quarterly survey of housing-market conditions found that prices declined in all of the 28 major metropolitan areas tracked during the fourth quarter when compared to a year earlier.

 The U.S. housing market may take five or six more years to recover, TrimTabs Investment Research warned recently. Madeline Schnapp, director of macroeconomic research at TrimTabs, talks to MarketWatch's Alistair Barr about what that means for the world's largest economy.

 The size of the year-to-year price declines was greater than the previous quarter's in all but three of the markets, the latest indication that the housing market faces considerable challenges.

 Inventory levels, meanwhile, are rising in many markets as the number of unsold homes piles up.

 Home values dropped the most in cities that have already been hard-hit by the housing bust, including Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, and Chicago, according to data from real-estate website Zillow.com. But price declines also intensified in several markets that so far have escaped the brunt of the downturn, including Seattle and Portland, Ore.

 Where Housing Is Headed See housing data for 28 major metro areas.

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 Falling prices are a reflection of weak demand and tight credit conditions that reduce the number of potential buyers.

 "There are just not a lot of renters with confidence, with a down payment, with good credit, and without a lot of additional debt," said John Burns, a homebuilder consultant in Irvine, Calif.

 On the inventory front, New York's Long Island had enough homes on the market at the end of December to last 15 months at the average sales pace. The supply of unsold homes stood at 14 months in Charlotte, N.C., and Nashville, Tenn., and at nearly 13 months for northern New Jersey.

 Markets are generally considered balanced when the supply is around six months.

 A few markets, including Sacramento and San Diego, are seeing inventories fall to healthier levels as low prices spur interest from first-time buyers and investors, while others, such as Washington, D.C., and Boston, have been cushioned by more stable economies.

 "We're still running at half speed," said Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group, an East Brunswick, N.J., appraisal firm. "Sales are below year-ago levels and inventory is higher than it was a year ago." Far-flung suburbs continue to fare worse than homes located closer to core metro centers, he says.

 Economists say that the biggest risk to the housing market is that job growth doesn't pick up. "Without improvement in unemployment, confidence stays low. Purchasing stays low," says Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.

 Market conditions could get worse in the months ahead. Millions of homeowners are in some stage of foreclosure or are seriously delinquent on their mortgages, and millions more owe more than their homes are worth.

 Real-estate agents are bracing for an uptick in distressed properties hitting the market, including foreclosures being sold by banks and homes sold by owners via a short sale, in which banks agree to a sale for less than the amount owed.

 Sales of foreclosed homes are partly responsible for reducing home values because banks tend to reduce prices quickly to sell the homes. Sales of foreclosures slowed in some markets at the end of last year as document-handling problems raised questions about the integrity of their foreclosure processes. But that could change as banks pick up the pace of foreclosures.

 Real-estate agents say that the threat of future price declines has led to a months-long standoff between buyers and sellers.

 Sellers spurn what they see as low-ball offers, while buyers are demanding discounts because they are "convinced prices will drop further, and they don't want to feel like suckers six months later," says Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin Corp., a Seattle-based real-estate brokerage that operates in nine states. The result is that "it's high noon at the O.K. Corral on every single transaction."

 Agents say that sluggish housing markets are requiring sellers to become much more realistic about setting prices that will spur dealsthe prices they set.

 After receiving no offers on a three-bedroom home in Oceanside, Calif., during the first week on the market, real-estate agent Jim Klinge convinced the seller to slash $30,000 from the price, to $420,000.

 That drew two full-price offers, and the home sold last week in an all-cash deal. "The drop in price was critical to reignite urgency for buyers," said Mr. Klinge.

 Some sellers have opted to pull their homes from the market rather than lower their prices, either because they believe values will improve or because cutting the price would mean selling for less than the amount owed to the bank.

 "I know so many people here who are unwilling landlords," said Mr. Kelman. "They're now spending their Friday nights fixing leaky faucets for the tenants they've brought into their house."

 Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com ||||| America's home ownership rate, after holding steady for a while, took a pretty big plunge in Q4, from 66.9 percent to 66.5 percent. That's down from the 2004 peak of 69.2 percent and the lowest level since 1998.

 Homeownership is falling at an alarming pace, despite the fact that home prices have fallen, affordability is much improved and inventories of new and existing homes are still running quite high.

 Bargains abound, but few are interested or eligible to take advantage.

 More concerning than the home ownership rate is the vacancy rate. The Census tables don't tell the entire story, but they tell a lot of it. Of the nearly 131 million housing units in this country, 112.5 million are occupied. 74.8 million are owned, and that's only dropped by about 30 thousand in the past year. 38 million are rented, but that's up by over a million year over year. That means more new households are choosing to rent.

 Now to vacancies. There were 18.4 million vacant homes in the U.S. in Q4 '10 (11 percent of all housing units vacant all year round), which is actually an improvement of 427,000 from a year ago, but not for the reasons you'd think.

 The number of vacant homes for rent fell by 493 thousand, as rental demand rose. 471,000 homes are listed as "Held off Market" about half for temporary use, but the other half are likely foreclosures. And no, the shadow inventory isn't just 200,000, it's far higher than that.

 So think about it. Eleven percent of the houses in America are empty. This as builders start to get more bullish, and renting apartments becomes ever more popular. Vacancies in the apartment sector have been falling steadily and dramatically, why? Because we're still recovering emotionally from the toll of the housing crash.

 Younger Americans have seen what home ownership has done to their friends and families, and many want no part of it. Credit has become very nearly elitist. Home prices, whatever your particular data provider preference might be, are still falling.

 Banks, Fannie and Freddie are holding on to hundreds of thousands of properties, and we don't know exactly when or how they'll sell them.

 Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.comAnd follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick |||||
What is a summary?

– The latest census figures on the housing market make for grim reading for homeowners. Some 18.4 million homes are vacant—11% of the nation's housing supply—and home ownership rates are dropping rapidly, CNBC reports. Prices are down year-over-year in all 28 major metropolitan areas tracked by the Wall Street Journal, and conditions look set to get even worse. Real estate agents expect many more foreclosed homes to hit the market this year, sending prices down further. Buyers are demanding discounts because they are "convinced prices will drop further, and they don't want to feel like suckers six months later," says the chief executive of Redfin Corp., a real-estate brokerage that operates in nine states. The result, he says, is that "it's high noon at the OK Corral on every single transaction."