Health-Exchange Deadline Looms

All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.

The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer consumers an Internet-based marketplace for purchasing private health insurance plans.

But the president's signature health care plan has become so fraught with politics that whether governors agreed to set up the exchanges has fallen mostly along party lines.

Such partisanship is largely symbolic because if a state opts not to set up the exchange, the Department of Health and Human Services will do it for them as part of the federal program. That would not likely be well-received by Republican governors, either, but the law forces each state's chief executive to make a decision one way or the other.

Here's what it looks like in all 50 states and the District of Columbia:

20 states that have opted out -- N.J., S.C., La., Wis., Ohio, Maine, Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ga., Pa., Kan., Neb., N.H., N.D., Okla., S.D., Tenn., Texas and Wyo.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

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Several Republican governors have said they will not set up the exchanges, including Chris Christie (N.J.), Nikki Haley (S.C.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Scott Walker (Wis.), John Kasich (Ohio), Paul LePage (Maine), Robert Bentley (Ala.), Sean Parnell (Ark.), Jan Brewer (Ariz.), Nathan Deal (Ga.), Tom Corbett (Pa.), Sam Brownback (Kan.), Dave Heineman (Neb.), John Lynch (N.H.), Jack Dalrymple (N.D.), Mary Fallin (Okla.), Dennis Daugaard (S.D.), Bill Haslam (Tenn.), Rick Perry (Texas), and Matt Mead (Wyo.).

3 States Out, but a Little More Complicated -- Mont., Ind. and Mo.

The Montana outgoing and incoming governors are both Democrats, but the Republican state legislature rejected the Democratic state auditor's request to start setting up a state exchange. So a federal exchange will be set up in Montana as well.

The Indiana outgoing and incoming governors are both Republicans and outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred the decision to governor-elect and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, who said his preference is not to set up a state health care exchange, paving the way for the feds to come in too.

In Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon is a Democrat, but Prop E passed on Nov. 6, which barred his administration from creating a state-based exchange without a public vote or the approval of the state legislature. After the election, he sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services saying he would be unable to set up a state-based exchange, meaning the federal government would have to set up its own.

1 State Waiting for the White House -- Utah

Utah already has a state exchange set up, a Web-based tool where small-business employees can shop and compare health insurance with contributions from their employee. In a letter Republican Gov. Gary Herbert sent to the White House Tuesday, he asked for its exchange, called Avenue H, to be approved as a state-based exchange under the Affordable Care Act as long as state officials can open it to individuals and larger businesses.

Norm Thurston, the state's health reform implementation coordinator, says authorities there "haven't received an official response" from the White House, but "we anticipate getting one soon."

There are some sticking points that don't comply with the exchanges envisioned by the Affordable Care Act and Utah would like to keep it that way.

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UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls.

Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which introduced a "de-penalisation" strategy in 2000. Citizens caught in possession avoid criminal records but must attend drug advice sessions. Last month, the US states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalise the recreational use of cannabis.

The UK report calls for the effects of these legal moves to be monitored. "Drugs policy ought to be evidence-based as much as possible," it concludes. "We recommend that the government fund a detailed research project to monitor the effects of each legalisation system."

The report notes that 21 countries have now introduced some form of decriminalisation. But the government's response has been lukewarm. "I don't support decriminalisation," said Cameron. "We have a policy which actually is working in Britain. Drugs use is coming down."

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S'pore strongly urges N.Korea to work with international community

SINGAPORE: Singapore has strongly urged the North Korean government to refrain from further actions that would escalate tensions, and work with the international community to preserve peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said North Korea's rocket launch on Wednesday is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

It added that Singapore deeply regrets this defiance of the concerns of the international community. The launch also does not serve the best interests of the North Korean people.

- CNA/ck

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Mall gunman: 'I have lived one crazy life so far'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Gunman's mother died at childbirth; he never met father, friend says


• NEW: He was an 'outgoing' skateboarder in high school, another friend says


• NEW: He told a friend he left aunt's home at age 14 and raised himself


• Jacob 'Jake' Roberts uses edgy, dark humor on his Facebook page

(CNN) -- Intended or not, the central image on the Facebook page of Jacob "Jake" Roberts, the Oregon shopping mall gunman, is haunting.

A "Follow Your Dreams" slogan painted on a wall is stamped "Cancelled" in red.

He makes an attempt at humor.

"Hey what's up guys my names Jake and I'm an alcoholic... Lol just kidding," Roberts wrote in the first line of his introduction, which included grammatical errors. "If you were to ask someone that knows me they would probably say that I am a pretty funny person that takes sarcasm to the max.

Read more: Oregon mall shooting victims remembered

"I'm the conductor of my choo choo train," he continued. "I may be young but I have lived one crazy life so far."

Authorities have released a photograph of Roberts, 22, who wore a hockey-like face mask and opened fire on holiday shoppers Tuesday at the Clackamas Town Center in Happy Valley, Oregon, near Portland. He killed two people and then himself.

The photograph of Jacob Tyler Roberts depicts a thin chin beard and gauge earrings embedded in both lobes. Black, wavy hair frames a half-smile.

Gunman opens fire in Oregon mall

HIDE CAPTION

One of his Facebook friends, Brittany Curry, 21, told CNN she dated Roberts for five months last year. They met through mutual friends in the Portland area, she said.

"I am in shock. I don't know what to feel," Curry said in a telephone interview. "He was really a good guy. He was really happy. He put everybody before himself."

Roberts owned one gun, Curry said, but she didn't want to elaborate.

His Facebook page lists "shooting" as one of his 10 interests, along with camping, sleeping, rafting, BMX, sushi and spending money.

Read more: Details, but no answers, in Oregon mall shooting

Roberts told Curry that his mother died at childbirth and he never met his father, she said. He left his maternal aunt's home at age 14, Curry said.

"He raised himself," Curry said. "He was doing it all on his own."

A friend from high school, Jordan Salazar, said she understood that Roberts' parents were not present in his life. He was a skateboarder back then, she said.

"In high school Jake was a nice guy, outgoing," Salazar told CNN.

"I saw him a few times in the last year. He seemed normal" and a "good guy," she added.

Roberts valued his friends, Curry said.

Roberts wrote on his Facebook page: "My friends are my family and I don't think that will ever change. I have done a lot for myself in the past year some good and some bad but I still press on.

"I like hanging out with my friends and having a good time maybe get a little drunk every now and then. I like to think of myself as a bit of an adrenaline junkie... Yup that's right I'm a junkie lol. But I'm just looking to meet new people and see the world," Roberts typed.

When they were dating, Roberts was living in an apartment across from the Clackamas Town Center mall, Curry said.

Roberts wanted to be a firefighter and was taking classes at Clackamas Community College, Curry said.

"It was always his dream," Curry said.

In the meantime, he had been working as a cook at Big Bertha's gyro eatery in Portland for more than two years, Curry said.

About that job, Roberts commented on Facebook: "Right now I work at the most badass gyro shop in town. I am one of the few people that can say I love my job and actually mean it."

Read more: Inside Clackamas Town Center Mall

CNN's Paul Vercammen contributed to this report from Portland, Oregon.

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12-12-12 Sandy benefit: Night of music, stars

Updated: 9:25 p.m. ET

Music filled New York's Madison Square Garden Wednesday night for the "12-12-12" gig all in the name of helping superstorm Sandy victims.

11 Photos

12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief

Bruce Springsteen kicked off the star-studded concert, a fitting start for the benefit, which will aid hard-hit storm areas such as the rocker's native New Jersey. The Boss launched into "Land of Hope and Dreams" as audience members rose to their feet, before singing "Wrecking Ball," a song he wrote about Jersey and Giants Stadium at The Meadowlands. He changed a lyric to "My home is on the Jersey shore."

And it's no surprise Springsteen performed "My City of Ruins," a song that has taken on various meanings through the years, especially having debuted around the 9/11 attacks. But Wednesday night, it meant something different to many people watching.

"This was a song I wrote for my adopted hometown -- Asbury Park, which was struggling through hard times," he said, later adding, "Tonight this is a prayer for all of our struggling people in New York and New Jersey."

After slipping in a few lines of "Jersey Girl," Springsteen brought out his friend Jon Bon Jovi for a New Jersey-rocker musical mash-up of "Born to Run."

"The size of the destruction was shocking," said Springsteen in a taped interview with concert organizers prior to the show. "It took days and days to even understand the level of destruction that occurred along the Jersey shore."

After Springsteen and Bon Jovi left the stage, Billy Crystal took the reins, injecting some humor into the night, mixed with touching remarks about the devastation that Sandy brought along with it.

"You can feel the electricity in the building, which means that Long Island power isn't involved," said Crystal, a Long Beach, Long Island, native, before rattling off a series of other jokes that took jabs at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Chris Christie.

Play Video

Roger Waters performs at "12-12-12" Sandy benefit concert

Roger Waters took the stage next, playing Pink Floyd classics, including "Us and Them," "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Money."

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joined Waters for a collaboration of "Comfortably Numb," a highlight for Waters.

"Eddie was absolutely amazing. It that was like a dream come true...it was magical. I think i stopped singing to kiss him at one point, which is weird," Waters said laughing.

Waters described the Vedder collaboration as "magical" when speaking with reporters in the press room backstage.

Adam Sandler performed a very different version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," swapping lyrics out for the occasion, singing: "Halleluja/Sandy screw ya/We'll get through ya."

Actress Kristen Stewart introduced Bon Jovi before the band played "It's My Life" and "Wanted Dead or Alive." Springsteen came out to return the favor from earlier, performing "Who Says You Can't Go Home." While backstage, E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt talked about how Bon Jovi and Springsteen have been friends for years, having both got their start in Jersey.

"There have been hurricanes, there have been storms," said Bon Jovi before the show. "But I've never seen anything remotely close to what Hurricane Sandy was."

After comments from Jon Stewart the evening continued with Eric Clapton doing what he does best. He put on a rocking, blues-heavy performance that included "Crossroads."

"When I heard there was going to be a concert, I wanted to be there and I wanted to try to do my bit," said McCartney who has an office in Manhattan and spends time with his wife, Nancy Shevell, in Long Island. "Hopefully try to make a bit of difference and give back."

Also in attendance? Steve Buscemi, Martha Stewart, Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, James Gandolfini, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremey Piven, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Chastain, Chelsea Clinton, Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler, Sean Combs, Billy Crystal, Leo DiCaprio, Jimmy Fallon, Katie Holmes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Karlie Kloss, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Susan Sarandon, Jon Stewart, Kristen Stewart and Quentin Tarantino, among others.

Sarandon was one of the stars answering calls at the evening's telethon.

"It's so moving every time you see a grassroots movement," Sarandon said backstage in the press room. "It's just great that people found a way to come out."

Producer John Sykes said the fundraiser featured "the greatest lineup of legends ever assembled on a stage."

The sold-out "12-12-12" concert is being aired on 37 TV stations in the United States and more than 200 others worldwide. Thirty websites are streaming the show live. All together -- more than two billion people around the world have access to the show, which benefits the Robin Hood Foundation.

The October storm left millions of people in several states without power or heat. It's to blame for at least 125 deaths and damaged 305,000 homes in New York.

Go here to donate.

Watch live online here.

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McAfee Lands in Miami: I'm Free

Software mogul John McAfee has been released from detention in Guatemala City and has landed in Miami.

Immediately upon landing, according to passengers on the plane, McAfee's name was called and he was whisked off the aircraft. Federal officials escorted the 67-year-old Internet antivirus pioneer through customs spirit him out a side door, out of the view of reporters, according to Miami International Airport's communication director, Greg Chin.

It was not clear whether officials intended to help McAfee avoid the inevitable media circus or wanted to question him. However, he has not been charged with committing a crime in Guatemala or Belize, where the authorities have sought to question him about the murder of his neighbor.

McAfee's departure from Guatemala came earlier today.

"They took me out of my cell and put me on a freaking airplane," he told ABC News. "I had no choice in the matter."

McAfee said, however, that Guatemalan authorities had been "nice" and that his exit from the Central American country was "not at all" unpleasant.

"It was the most gracious expulsion I've ever experienced," he said. "Compared to my past two wives that expelled me this isn't a terrible trip."

McAfee said he would not be accompanied by his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend, but is seeking a visa for her. He also said he had retained a lawyer in the U.S.

Guatemala's National Police/AP Photo

John McAfee Arrested in Guatemala Overnight Watch Video

Software Founder Breaks Silence: McAfee Speaks on Murder Allegations Watch Video

When he was released earlier today, McAfee told the Associated Press, "I'm free. ... I'm going to America."

McAfee, who had been living in a beachfront house in Belize, went on the run after the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull. Belize police said they wanted to question McAfee about the murder, but McAfee said he feared for his life in Belizean custody.

He entered Guatemala last week seeking asylum, but was arrested and taken to an immigration detention center. He was taken to the hospital after suffering a nervous collapse and then returned to the detention center. The U.S. State Department has visited McAfee, who is a dual U.S.-British citizen, several times during his stay in Guatemala.

During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.

He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.

Investigators in Belize said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of Faull, a former developer who was found shot in the head in his house.

McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.

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Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers

Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into it

How hacking a mosquito's heart could eradicate malaria

Watch how a double-pronged trick helps mosquitoes remain healthy while carrying disease, a process that could be exploited to eliminate malaria

New drug lifts hard-to-treat depression in hours

A new class of drugs that changes the way neurons interact in the brain can rapidly lift people out of depression

E. O. Wilson and poet laureate on altruism and mystery

Leading evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson and former US poet laureate Robert Hass discuss free will, wilderness and the mysterious origin of the arts

Souped-up immune cells force leukaemia into remission

Genetically engineered white blood cells have been shown to have a strong impact on leukaemia after just three months

War of words: The language paradox explained

If language evolved for communication, how come most people can't understand what most other people are saying?

AC/DC's Highway to Hell sent via a drone's laser beam

A dose of rock music proves that a drone's reconnaisance data can be sent via reflected laser beam instead of radio

'Biology is a manufacturing capability'

Soon we'll be able to engineer living things with mechanical precision, says Tom Knight, father of synthetic biology

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Britain 'deplores' N.Korea rocket launch

LONDON: Britain said it "deplored" North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on Wednesday and vowed to summon the Asian country's UK ambassador to the Foreign Office.

"I strongly condemn the DPRK's satellite launch today," Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

"I deplore the fact that the DPRK has chosen to prioritise this launch over improving the livelihood of its people. We will be summoning the DPRK Ambassador to the UK to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office," he added.

North Korea launched the rocket in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics insist is a disguised ballistic missile test.

"It (the rocket) has been launched," a South Korean defence ministry spokesman told AFP without elaborating further.

The Yonhap news agency, citing a government source, said the rocket had taken off from the Sohae satellite launch centre at 9:51 am (0051 GMT) and was immediately detected by navy vessels deployed by Seoul in the Yellow Sea.

Hague said the launch violated UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874 as it involved the testing of ballistic missile technology and warned it would increase tensions in the region.

Britain will consult its partners in the UN in order to formulate a response, he said.

"It is essential that the DPRK refrain from further provocative action and take constructive steps towards denuclearisation and lasting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," added the minister.

- AFP/ck

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Two victims, gunman dead after shooting at Oregon mall

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot, a sheriff's official says


• Mall's Santa says he heard gunshots and "hit the floor"


• Three people are killed in the mall shooting, including the gunman


• One witness in Macy's says she saw a man wearing a hockey mask, wielding an assault rifle

(CNN) -- Panicked customers rushed to the exits when a gunman opened fire Tuesday at a mall outside Portland, Oregon. Some people huddled behind store counters and hid behind racks of clothing. The mall's Santa dropped to the ground.

Three people were killed, including the shooter, said Lt. James Rhodes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. One person suffered a traumatic injury, he said. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot, Rhodes said.

Authorities did not release details about the gunman or the victims.

Witnesses told CNN affiliates that many people ran for cover at the two-story Clackamas Town Center mall, located about 11 miles southeast of downtown Portland.

Live blog: Oregon mall shooting

A woman told CNN affiliate KOIN that she saw a man wearing a hockey mask jogging through Macy's and wielding an assault rifle.

"Everyone ran toward the exits at that point to get out," she said.

Outside Macy's, gunshots echoed where a man portraying Santa Claus was snapping photos with kids.

"I heard two shots, then 15 or 16 more shots," he told CNN affiliate KGW. "I hit the floor."

Inside Sears, some customers cried as word spread of the shooter going store to store, Christina Fisher told KOIN.

"We were told to stand in a group by the top of the escalators and stay away from the windows out of the aisle. ... We stood there for probably a good 20 minutes," she said. "All of the sudden, somebody came through with a radio, yelling 'get down!'"

Are you there? Share your stories, videos and images.

A group of customers inside Sears watched television news reports about the shooting inside the store's entertainment center, witness Tylor Pedersen told CNN affiliate KGW.

Pedersen said he heard about the shooting when people ran into the store, saying they had heard shots fired in the middle of the mall.

"I didn't think it was real at first until I saw the reactions on their faces," he said. "They were serious."

Nicole Sutton said she heard gunshots echoing and saw people huddled in the store where she works at the mall.

"It's the scariest thing I've ever experienced," she told KOIN.

Gov. John Kitzhaber praised first responders for reacting quickly to the shooting.

"I have directed State Police to make any and all necessary resources available to local law enforcement," he said in a statement.

Authorities closed entrances and exits into the mall parking lot Tuesday evening, said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police.

A spokesman for General Growth Properties, which owns the mall, referred questions about the shooting to the sheriff's office.

"Our hearts and prayers are with everyone who was in the mall at the time of this incident," said David Keating, vice president of corporate communications. "Our priority is always for their safety and well-being."

Timeline: Worst mass shootings in U.S.

CNN's Cristy Lenz, Tom Watkins, John Fricke, AnneClaire Stapleton and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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Suspect, two others, killed in Ore. mall shooting

Updated 9:40 p.m. ET

PORTLAND, Oregon A gunman opened fire Tuesday in a Portland, Oregon-area shopping mall Tuesday, killing at least two people before turning the gun on himself, police said. An unknown other number of people were injured.

Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes said they were still trying to get more details about the situation at the Clackamas Town Center. So far, the shooter has only been described as an "adult male."

Authorities were going store-to-store to secure the scene, but Rhodes said there was no indication that there was more than one gunman. Officials say police did not fire a shot during the incident.

"At first no one really knew what was going down," Mario, a kiosk worker ninside the mall, told CBS affiliate KOIN in Portland. "We heard six shots at first, and then people scattered like crazy, everybody left."

"The shots were really loud and really scary... It was echoing all through the mall, so nobody knew where it was coming from at first," witness Larisa Tereahova said.

Another witness said the Macy's opens into the food court area, where it was reported the shootings took place. Bautista said it sounded like the shots were coming from that direction.

Macy's employees Pam Moore and Austin Patty told the AP the shooter was short, with dark hair, dressed in camouflage. He had body armor and a rifle and was wearing a white mask, they said.

"I heard about 20 shots and everyone hit the ground," Moore said. "That's when we all just ran."

Governor John Kitzhaber released a statement late Tuesday, saying: "My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I appreciate the work of the first responders and their quick reaction to this tragic shooting. Oregon State Police Superintendent Rich Evans is on the scene. I have directed State Police to make any and all necessary resources available to local law enforcement."

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