The Golden Report

10 DAYS UNTIL SOUTH CAROLINA (25 delegates)
13 DAYS UNTIL THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
20 DAYS UNTIL FLORIDA (50 delegates)

TOP STORY: US TO RESUME PEACE TALKS WITH TALIBAN- previous talks had collapsed in December- from The Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung

“A tentative U.S.-Taliban deal, including the transfer of five Afghan detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison to Qatar and an insurgent renunciation of international terrorism, collapsed in December when Karzai refused to go along with it.

There have been no meetings with the insurgents since then. Although all parties have publicly said that they agree to one element of the deal — the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar — “we need now to make it real,” one official said.

Prime Minister Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani, for the first time acknowledging Qatar’s support for the arrangement, said Wednesday that his government welcomed “any opportunity” to defuse tension in the region. Thani spoke after a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The administration, which has said that negotiations must be “Afghan-led,” insists that its talks with the Taliban are only a preliminary effort to build confidence before actual negotiations over Afghanistan’s future can begin between the insurgents and the Karzai government.

One hurdle is that the Taliban prefers to talk to the United States and is “not willing to sit down with the Afghan government’,” one official said. “Our job is to see if we can break through that door.” Karzai has been under pressure from domestic opponents of negotiations to stand firm against the talks.

IN MISSISSIPPI TONIGHT-  a judge has ordered the halt to the release of any further prisoners pardoned by Governor Haley Barbour, in his final days in office. Barbour has pardoned 200 prisoners, including 14 convicted murderers. Today, the Mississippi Attorney General said that the Governor’s actions threatened public safety. From CNN-

“He’s tried to rule the state like Boss Hogg and he didn’t think the law applied to him,” Hood told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night, referring to a character in the 1980s TV series “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

“These families are afraid out here,” Hood said of relatives of crime victims.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green issued the injunction, saying it appeared some pardons, including those for the four murderers, did not meet the 30-day requirement. Any inmates released in the future must meet the standard, Green ruled.

On his way out the door, the Republican governor approved full pardons for nearly 200 people, including 14 convicted murderers, according to documents the Mississippi secretary of state’s office released Tuesday.

The four murderers who received full pardons last week — David Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray — were cited in Green’s order.

They were all serving life sentences and worked as inmate trusties at the governor’s mansion, said Suzanne Singletary, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Trusties are inmates who can receive additional rights through good behavior.

ROMNEY RAISED $24 MILLION IN THE FOURTH QUARTER- from Reuters-

“The campaign has raised more than $56 million so far in the primary election season and has $19 million in cash on hand.

The strong fundraising means Romney has a substantial warchest as he strives for a third consecutive victory in the state-by-state race for the Republican nomination to oppose President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the general election in November.”

RON PAUL’S CAMPAIGN IS CALLING ON THE REST OF THE FIELD- EXCEPT MITT- TO DROP OUT- from a statement released by the campaign after the results from New Hampshire last night:

“Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have been shown in national polls to be the only two candidates who can defeat Barack Obama.

“And Ron Paul and Mitt Romney are the only two candidates who can run a full, national campaign, competing in state after state over the coming weeks and months. Ron Paul’s fundraising numbers — over $13 million this quarter — also prove he will be able to compete with Mitt Romney. No other candidate can do all of these things.

“Ron Paul is clearly the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney as the campaign goes forward.

“We urge Ron Paul’s opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul’s candidacy.

“Ron Paul is in this race for the long haul. And he is ready to fight.”

“See you on the campaign trail.”

TODD PALIN GOES ROGUE- endorses Gingrich without consulting wife, Sarah- Here’s the former Alaska Governor on FOX News last night

“First dude went rogue. I respect him for doing that, Todd is all about hardhats and steel-toed boots and getting people to work, that’s what he represented and worked verry hard for as First Gentleman in our state.”

VIDEO 

SUPER PACS BLANKETING SOUTH CAROLINA- from National Journal’s Reid Wilson

“After decades at the head of the primary calendar, South Carolina voters won’t be surprised when they turn on their televisions this morning and see wall-to-wall campaign advertisements. And while a super PAC backing Newt Gingrich has said it will spend $3.4 million on negative ads blasting front-runner Mitt Romney, it’s actually Romney and his allies who are spending the most on television time this week and next.

Restore Our Future, a super PAC backing Romney’s campaign, has purchased more television advertisements than every other entity playing on South Carolina television, our sources in the ad buying community tell us. Restore Our Future has purchased more than $1.7 million in advertising over the next 10 days in South Carolina alone.

The pro-Romney group is spending nearly twice what any other candidate or PAC has purchased in the Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach/Florence markets. And Restore Our Future is going head-to-head with the Gingrich-friendly super PAC, Winning Our Future, in the Charlotte, Augusta and Savannah markets, too.

Romney’s campaign dropped an additional $300,000 into South Carolina television time on Tuesday, reserving a total of $418,000 this week and $187,000 next week in total statewide spending.

Romney’s campaign will outspend his rivals this week, according to our sources. Rep. Ron Paul is spending $237,000 on television advertisements, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry spending $339,000 this week. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who raised more than $2 million after nearly winning the Iowa caucuses, is starting to spend, too, reserving $337,000 in advertisements this week and another $52,000 next week. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is up with $149,000 spread across broadcast and cable.”

ROMNEY READIES HIS COUNTER ATTACK- POLITICO’S REID EPSTEIN

“Campaign advisers are polishing new messaging, tailored to rebut Republican and Democratic attacks separately. They’re cueing up new commercials.

And they’re rolling out a more aggressive approach from the candidate himself, even as the candidates who’d been waging the Bain battle appeared to be retreating from the rhetoric on Wednesday.

The change comes following three days of stumbling responses from Romney and campaign aides, who admit they were caught unprepared for the explosion of Bain as the dominant topic of the Republican race – “out of nowhere,” one adviser said. And it comes as Romney is aiming to turn his polling lead into a primary win — an early-state hat trick they hope will quickly establish him as the presumptive GOP nominee.

They’ll start with advertisements featuring employees of companies started and rescued by Bain to tell their stories — a direct response to the documentary released by the pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC that features employees of four companies closed by Bain that brutally slams Romney as a job killer. That documentary is set to be parceled out into shorter commercials which will air in South Carolina with a $3.4 million ad buy.

Romney adviser Kevin Madden says they’re confident they’ll quash those attacks with their new rebuttal.

REALITY FROM GINGRICH: THE PATH TO THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION COULD END IN SOUTH CAROLINA
from an interview on MSNBC this morning

“If Romney can win South Carolina, he’s probably going to be the nominee. This is his big test,” Gingrich said of his rival for the Republican presidential nomination. “He has so much money that if he also has the advantage of momentum, it’s going to be very hard to stop him,” Gingrich said of Romney.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: There is growing chorus of Republicans who are urging- privately & publicly- for candidates to stop the attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital, believing that it ultimately will hurt the party and the man they see as the inevitable front runner. Watch, especially, for Newt Gingrich’s reaction.

WALL STREET TODAY- from CNBC-: Stocks ended near session highs Wednesday, but still closed narrowly mixed, as worries over the euro zone and declines in the energy sector limited gains.

• DOW down 13
• NASDAQ up 8
• S&P 500 up 0.4

FINALLY: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie visited President Obama today at The White House, to update the President on Jolie’s recent work on preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence to women, according to an Administration official. Pitt was using a cane, the result of a recent skiing accident.

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SPECIAL EDITION: THE DEATH OF STEVEN P. JOBS

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, Inc., died today at the age of 56. 

Jobs was born February 24, 1955 in San Francisco and adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California. He graduated from Homestead High School in Cupertino, California in 1972 and attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but dropped out after one semester. Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. Eight years later, he led the team that founded the Macintosh Computer. All told, Jobs’ name is attached to 338 United States patents or pending patent applications. 

In 1982, Time Magazine named the Computer as the “Machine of the Year” and, in a profile of Jobs, called him “the most famous maestro of the micro.” During a 12-year gap from working at Apple in the late 1980s and 1990s, Jobs started a company called NeXT and another animation company called Pixar and later partnered with Disney to create the iconic movie “Toy Story” which Jobs worked on for over half a decade. Jobs returned to Apple, which purchased NeXT, and became Chief Executive Officer- a position he held until his resignation in August of this year. In 2006, Disney purchase Pixar for $7.4 billion and Jobs became one of the largest shareholders of the Walt Disney Corporation- holding approximately 7% of the company’s stock. Until his death, Jobs remained Chairman of the Apple Board of Directors. Jobs had battled pancreatic cancer since 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009. 

New York Times Obituary: “Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then did nothing less than lead a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday in Palo Alto, Calif.. He was 56.” 

New York Times Graphics- Steve Jobs’ Patents

Wall Street Journal Obituary: “Steven P. Jobs, the Apple Inc. chairman and co-founder who pioneered the personal computer industry and changed the way people think about technology, died Wednesday at the age of 56.

Statement from Bill Gates: “I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely”
Statement from Michael Bloomberg: “Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. Again and again over the last four decades, Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people could even see the horizon. And Steve’s passionate belief in the power of technology to transform the way we live brought us more than smart phones and iPads: it brought knowledge and power that is reshaping the face of civilization.”

White House Statement of the President, in part: 

“Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity.  By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun.  And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last.  Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.   

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him”

APPLE.COM’s homepage is a picture of Steve Jobs and, in boldface type on the left hand side, simply, “Steve Jobs: 1955-2011”. It links to apple.com/stevejobs, which reads “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.” 

“If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com”

APPLE STOCK (AAPL) closed today up 5.75 points (1.54%) to $378.25 on the NASDAQ. Jobs held 5.426 million shares of Apple. 

In 2010, FORBES MAGAZINE estimated Jobs’ net worth at $8.3 billion, making him the 42nd wealthiest American. Jobs did not engage in public philanthropy, at least in the traditional sense, in his life. Although several large gifts are rumored to have come anonymously from Jobs he did not, for example, establish a personal foundation, focus on specific initiatives, or join public initiatives such as The Giving Pledge.

In June 2005, Jobs delivered the commencement address at STANFORD UNIVERSITY. The YouTube clip of the 15-minute speech has been watched over 6 million times. In the speech, Jobs talked publicly about his health condition for the first time, saying,

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Full Transcript
YouTube

THE OTHER TOP STORY:

Former Alaska Governor and Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin announced tonight that she will not seek the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination, putting to rest persistent speculation since 2009 that she would return to public life after resigning as Alaska’s Governor and mount a bid for The White House. The announcement came on the Mark Levin Show this evening and in a statement released afterwards, Palin said, “As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.”
Republicans who were seriously considering a presidential bid this cycle but declined: Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Former South Dakota Senator John Thune, Former New York Governor George Pataki, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Former Arkansas Governor Mike  Huckabee, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and billionaire Donald Trump

With Palin’s announcement today- and Christie’s yesterday- the Republican field is now set, with 89 days before the Iowa Caucuses.

WALL STREET TODAY:

• DOW up 131
• NASDAQ up 55
• S&P 500 up 20

BREAKING NEWS- SUPREME COURT DENIES STAY OF EXECUTION FOR TROY DAVIS- Within the past few minutes, the Supreme Court has issued a decision in the case of Troy Davis, the Georgia inmate who is scheduled to be put to death tonight by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer. The Court has refused to issue a stay of the execution. Prison officials have not yet said whether the execution will go forward as planned tonight, but that is expected. CBS is reporting there were no dissents in the decision, which was issued by Justice Clarence Thomas, of Georgia. For the past few days public attention has been focused on the Davis case- it increased through the day as first a Circuit Court, then the State Supreme Court and now the US Supreme Court have rejected emergency appeals.

TOP STORY- The House of Representatives failed this afternoon to adopt a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded beyond next Saturday’s end of the fiscal year. 48 Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting against the CR. Opposition came from Democrats for two reasons: a lower level of funding for FEMA than the Senate has proposed- and an offset that would pay for that increased funding by scrapping grants for a renewable energy program. Conservative Republican opposition came because the CR actually sets a higher level of annual spending than the original House passed FY2012 budget, but is consistent with the bi-partisan discretionary spending caps agreed to in the Budget Control Act of August. Congressional leaders still have over a week to come to a resolution on the funding dispute to prevent a shutdown- but today’s vote was a rare public defeat for the House Speaker, John Boehner

FREE AT LAST- Americans Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, jailed in 2009 after hiking across the Iranian border, were released from Iranian custody this morning and have now been reunited with their families in the Arab nation of Oman. They were detained on July 31, 2009; a third hiker, Sarah Shroud, Bauer’s fiance, was also detained in 2009 and released almost a year ago. Eight days ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told NBC’s Ann Curry in an interview that the hikers would be released “in a mater of days,” and this action comes one day before Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the Untied Nations General Assembly in New York. Bauer and Fatel, now both 29, first met and became friends at the University of California Berkeley

STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT: “I welcome the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from detention in Iran and am very pleased that they are being reunited with their loved ones.  The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has won my admiration, and is now coming to an end with Josh and Shane back in their arms.  All Americans join their families and friends in celebrating their long-awaited return home.”

DEVELOPING TONIGHT- The United States continues to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority over their plans to introduce a measure asking for statehood recognition at the UN on Friday. France has joined the United States in pressuring Palestine to drop their proposal and rejoin negotiations with Israel- with France proposing a new one-year negotiation deadline, that the Palestinian Authority has rejected. President Obama met with both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders today- and also addressed the General Assembly, saying, “One year ago, I stood at this podium and I called for an independent Palestine. I believed then, and I believe now, that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own. But what I also said is that a genuine peace can only be realized between the Israelis and the Palestinians themselves.”

A BUSY DAY FOR THE PRESIDENT- who held meetings with the leaders of ISRAEL, JAPAN, THE UNITED KINGDOM and FRANCE, addressed the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, a luncheon hosted by Secretary-General BAN KI-MOON, and went across town to deliver a speech at the CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE. He has just left a UN LEADER RECEPTION with the First Lady at the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY and was driven my motorcade to JFK Airport because bad weather grounded Marine One. The President will return to the White House overnight. 

TOMORROW, the President travels to OHIO to stand on a bridge on the OHIO/KENTUCKY Border to highlight an infrastructure project that would be funded in the American Jobs Act. Ohio is the home state of Speaker Boehner; Kentucky the home state of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The FEDERAL RESERVE announced today a plan to invest $400 billion in long-term Treasury Securities over the next 9 months, a stimulus measure designed to increase economic growth and a sign that the Central Bank does not see another option for the struggling American economy. From the Fed Statement, “Growth remains slow. Recent indicators point to continuing weakness in overall labor market conditions and the unemployment rate remains elevated..Household spending has been increasing at only a modest pace in recent months.” The lower interest rates are meant to spur investments, but, as the New York Times reports, “The new effort is an experiment without a direct precedent, although the Fed tried something similar in the 1960s. Essentially, the Fed hopes to drive down rates not by expanding its portfolio, as it has done twice in recent years, but by shifting its money into riskier long-term investments.”

WALL STREET responded to the move by the Federal Reserve:

• DOW down 283 to 11,124
• NASDAQ down 52
• S&P 500 down 35

WHAT WE MISSED ON TUESDAY- President Obama will travel to Mountain View, CA next week for the First Presidential LinkedIn Town Hall Meeting. Previously, the President has used YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as platforms to answer questions directly from Americans, online

CORRECTION FROM TUESDAY- In last night’s final item on the acquisition of social networking platform Ning, I misstated the terms of an earlier deal- that of MySpace. As an eagle-eyed reader pointed out: “NewsCorp sold MySpace for $35M (and it was actually plus a 5% stake in Specific Media). NewsCorps originally bought MySpace for $580M (although only $327M was attributed to MySpace as the $580M was for its parent company)”

RUMORS- Hewlett Packard may be considered Meg Whitman, the former Chief Executive of eBay- and 2010 California Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, as its next CEO

2012:

• A must-watch campaign video released online by the Perry Campaign today (already has nearly 35,000 YouTube views) depicts President Obama as “President Zero”- using Obama’s words, as a candidate and President, against him and overlaid with the recent news of no new jobs created in August and record poverty rates 
• A McClatchy/Marist Poll that everyone is talking about: Obama 49%/ Palin 44%
• Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has cracked 1% in the polls and thus has claimed a spot in tomorrow night’s Republican Presidential Candidates Debate, sponsored by FOX News and Google, in Orlando. 

THREE THINGS TO WATCH in the debate, the third in as many weeks:

1/ The Romney attack on Perry. It was more difficult than expected last week because of a Tea Party audience. Will Romney come out swinging at Perry? Which issues he decides to attack on will show the areas he believes Perry remains vulnerable2/ Can any of the other 7 candidates break through what has been deemed a two-man race? Any signs of traction by a second or third tier candidate will attract a lot of attention. 3/ Which candidate will be the first to mention the $16 Muffin? 

FINALLY- Facebook unveiled significant changes to its platform today, a move that has sparked anxiety and angst among some users. According the Facebook, the changes come in order to make the News Feed- on the Home Page- continually interesting. “Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff. All your news will be in a single stream with the most interesting stories featured at the top,” Facebok’s Mark Tonkelowitz blogs. Among the other changes: a real-time ticker of friend updates on the right hand bar, a wider photo display (with higher resolutions) and faster photo upload times. 

AND COMING TOMORROW: Watch for Facebook Music to be announced