Boxing: Botha claims offered US$155,000 to throw Williams bout

SYDNEY: Veteran South African boxer Francois Botha on Wednesday claimed he was offered A$150,000 (US$155,000) to throw his fight against Sonny Bill Williams, sparking an angry denial from the New Zealander's manager.

Williams, a former World Cup-winning All Blacks rugby star, won the controversial heavyweight bout on points in Brisbane last Friday, which was marred by unsubstantiated reports that Botha failed a drugs test.

Botha, 44, alleges Williams' manager Khoder Nasser offered him the money in a Brisbane park three days before the World Boxing Association fight, claiming he received a phone call asking to pick him up alone.

"I wasn't told where I was going. As we stopped at a park, my cellphone was confiscated and was given to a guy in the car," Botha told New Zealand's Radio LiveSport from Durban.

"Then I was being walked (by Nasser), and during this walk, I was offered A$150,000 to throw the fight.

"I just said 'no, I can't do it'."

There is no suggestion that Williams was aware of the alleged offer.

Nasser slammed Botha as a bad loser after a fight that ended in 10 rounds, despite earlier promotions saying it was a 12-round contest.

"I think he (Botha) is still in a daze," Nasser told Fairfax Media of a man who has fought Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko and Evander Holyfield in a 23-year career.

"This is the same bloke who said he didn't know about the fight being 10 rounds, and then his promoter and he himself came out later and said it was 10 rounds.

"Then he said he wasn't drugs tested and then he said he was tested. Then he said he was tested by my brother, and now he has come up with this one. What is next?

"He has got to come to terms with the reality that he got his ass whipped by a guy who had had only five fights.

"It is all well and good to come out with all these allegations after, but where's his manhood? It's absolute madness.

"If it happened like he said, why didn't he come out and report it then -- or does it suit him now?"

While Williams won the fight, he was on the receiving end of some heavy blows from Botha in the 10th round with the South African saying another two rounds would have been enough to secure him victory.

Bookmakers refunded bets on Williams's win due to the controversy over how long the fight was supposed to be.

Doubts have also been raised about whether the WBA actually sanctioned the bout, and if Williams' claim on the title is legitimate.

There was no WBA official present in Brisbane for the fight.

- AFP/al

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Kerala rape case: Kurien's wife rubbishes charge against husband

PATHANMTHITTA, KERALA: Amid growing clamour for resignation of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien in the Suryanelli gangrape case, his wife has rubbished the allegations against him and said those hurling "malicious charges" never bothered to appreciate sentiments of her family.

Susan Kurien, a retired high school teacher, said in a statement here that her husband had reached home and they had supper together on the day he was alleged to have abused the victim in a guest house at distant Kumali.

"I am sure that the allegations against my husband are baseless. Myself and my two daughters firmly believe that the truth prevail in this matter," Susan said.

She said her family was deeply pained that Kurien was being haunted through media (by those levelling charges) after a span of 17 years, raising the same allegations which were found baseless by repeated investigations and judicial scrutiny.

"Those who are fighting for women's right should not forget the fact that Prof Kurien too has a family", she said.

Kurien has all along rejected the charge and opposition's demand for his resignation, saying it was a matter which had already been cleared by the Supreme Court.

The girl from Suryanelli in Idukki district was abducted in January 1996 and transported from place to place across Kerala and sexually exploited by different persons.

The victim had sent a letter to the Supreme Court last week, seeking a review of the apex court's order quashing all charges against Kurien.

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Obama Pledges U.S. Action on Climate, With or Without Congress

If there were anything in President Barack Obama's State of the Union to give hope to wistful environmentalists, it was the unprecedented promise to confront climate change with or without Congress, and to pursue new energy technology in the process.

Following his strong statements in his inaugural address about the ripeness of the moment to address a changing climate, Obama outlined a series of proposals to do it. Recognizing that the 12 hottest years on record all occurred in the last decade and a half, Obama said his most ambitious goal would be a "bipartisan, market-based solution," similar to the cap-and-trade system that died in Congress during his first term.(See related story: "California Tackles Climate Change, But Will Others Follow?")

But without legislative action, Obama threatened to act himself using executive authority. "I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy," he said. That will translate, White House officials said earlier in the week, to new regulations for existing coal-burning power plants and directives to promote energy efficiency and new technology research. (See related story: "How Bold a Path on Climate Change in Obama's State of the Union?")

The effort isn't one that can be stalled, he noted. Not just because of a warming planet, but also because of international competition from countries like China and parts of Western Europe that have gone "all in" on clean energy.

Energy experts signaled support of Obama's comments on energy security, including a plan for an Energy Security Trust to use revenue from oil and gas production on public lands to fund new energy research. "Clean energy businesses commend the president for reaffirming his commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address the damaging and costly impacts of climate change," Lisa Jacobson, president of Business Council for Sustainable Energy, said in a statement. The influential League of Conservation Voters perked up to Obama's vow to act on climate change, even if alone.

Noticeably unmentioned in the speech was the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from Canadian tar sands to the refining centers of Texas. Environmentalists have urged Obama to reject the project's application for federal approval in order to hold the line against carbon-intensive production from the oil sands. (See related blog post: "Obama and Keystone XL: The Moment of Truth?") Energy analysts believe Obama is likely to approve the project in the coming weeks, yet at the same time offer new regulations on domestic oil and natural gas development.

Other environmental analysts took Obama's remarks as simple talk, so far not backed by action. “How many times do we have to have the problem described?” David Yarnold, president of the Audubon Society said after the speech. “Smarter standards for coal-fired power plants are the quickest path to a cleaner future, and the president can make that happen right now.”

Obama's path toward accomplishing those goals will likely be lonely. In the Republican rebuttal to Obama's speech, Florida Senator Marco Rubio sidelined climate change as an issue of concern and highlighted the deep partisan distrust. "When we point out that no matter how many job-killing laws we pass, our government can’t control the weather, he accuses us of wanting dirty water and dirty air," Rubio said. He echoed the long-held Republican concern that remaking an economy may not be the wisest way to confront the problem of extreme weather.

Central to Obama's efforts will be his nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in his second term. Both roles were at times attacked over his first term, notably when EPA instituted new air and water regulations and DOE was caught making a bad investment in the now-defunct solar manufacturer Solyndra. If the tone of his State of the Union offers a blueprint, he'll choose people unafraid to act.

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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State of the Union: Obama Pushes Job Creation

Pursuing an aggressive and diverse early second-term agenda, President Obama turned his focus Tuesday night squarely to the economy, using his State of the Union address to unveil new government initiatives aimed at creating jobs.

The defining duty of the new Congress and new administration is to "reignite the true engine of America's economic growth -- a rising, thriving middle class," Obama said Tuesday night from the House chamber.

"That must be the North Star that guides our efforts," he said.

Obama's proposals had a familiar ring, including re-packaged economic ideas but also offering several bold new measures aimed at boosting the middle class.

None of the proposals would add to the deficit "by a single dime," Obama pledged, with costs offset by savings carved out in the budget and from money saved from ending two wars.

"It's not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth," Obama said.

For the first time as president, Obama called for raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 an hour by 2015. He proposed to ensure future increases by indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

He proposed a national goal of universal pre-school education, an effort to help states provide tens of thousands of low- to middle-income four-year-old children access to quality public education from an earlier age.

Charles Dharapak/Pool/AP Photo

Obama: A Rising Middle Class Should Be 'North Star' Watch Video

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Obama Announces Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Watch Video

And, to heal the nation's crumbling roads and bridges, Obama offered a $50 billion "fix it first" infrastructure program that would prioritize repair of existing structures before building new ones.

"Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation," Obama said. "How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?"

Answers to those questions, the president suggested, include redoubling investments in clean energy technologies -- a step which he said would both benefit the environment and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

"For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change," he said.

He called for doubling the amount of renewable electricity generation in the U.S. by 2020, and announced an energy version of his "Race to the Top" education program that would give states grants for the best energy efficiency programs.

Related: 7 Things Obama Says at Every State of the Union

In tandem with his economic focus, Obama announced the withdrawal of 34,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by this time next year, cutting in half the current force and marking a quickened pace for the final exit of U.S. combat forces by a 2014 deadline.

There are currently 66,000 U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan. Obama has vowed to bring nearly all of them home by the end of next year, though a small contingent will likely remain to train Afghan forces and assist counterterrorism operations, officials have said.

Obama touched briefly on his recently-unveiled proposals to overhaul the nation's immigration system, expand rights for gay and lesbian Americans and curb an epidemic of gun violence.

With dozens of victims of gun violence looking on from the House gallery, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords, and families of victims from shootings at Newtown, Conn., Oak Creek, Wisc., and Aurora, Colo., Obama made an emotional plea for an up-or-down vote on his gun control plan.

"Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress," he said of proposed restrictions on assault-style weapons and high capacity magazines, and enhanced background checks, among other measures.

"If you want to vote no, that's your choice," he said. "But these proposals deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun."

Read More: President Obama's Past State of the Union Promises

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Impact of State of Union speeches isn’t very lasting

When President Obama delivers his fourth State of the Union speech Tuesday night, he is guaranteed an audience of millions of viewers, the rapt of attention of Beltway reporters and issues advocates, and for at least an hour, the undivided attention of Congress.

What isn’t guaranteed is any lasting impact.

Rarely have State of the Union addresses moved public opinion, and rarely have they led to the kind of broad legislative accomplishments that presidents propose. For all the ritual and attention surrounding these speeches, the State of the Union is, well, sort of lame.

“Most of the speeches can be summarized in three words: boring, boring, boring,” said Allan Lichtman, author of “The 13 Keys to the Presidency.” “They tend to be laundry lists. But sometimes they rise above that.”

Mandated by the Constitution, the State of the Union, for much of its history, was not a speech at all but a written list of policy recommendations handed to Congress. Now, the addresses are grand political theater and provide a rare chance for a president to make an unfiltered argument and lay out policy ambitions from the biggest bully pulpit he will have all year.

Billed as a coda to his second inauguration, Obama’s speech will focus on the economy and the middle class — he is set to propose spending public money on education, research and infrastructure — as well as touch on immigration and gun control.

He will spend the remainder of the week giving repackaged versions of his address, looking to capi­tal­ize on the moment and further underscore his priorities.

“The State of the Union is a Super Bowl-like political event. The key to fully leveraging it is to make sure that it doesn’t become a one-off but contains a big-idea thematic animated by some specific proposals,” said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who worked for President Bill Clinton. “If the speech is not approached like that, it risks becoming a pupu platter moment — lots of tasty dishes, but you won’t be filled up for the long term.”

Although interest groups and lobbyists, inside and outside the administration, spend time trying to get the briefest of mentions of their pet causes in the speech before an audience of about 40 million, there are few legislative payoffs to show for all their efforts.

President George W. Bush used the first State of the Union speech of his second term to call for privatizing Social Security, an effort that hit a brick wall in Congress and nationwide.

In his 2012 speech, Obama proposed that every state require that students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18, a recommendation that also fell flat.

Obama used that address to make his argument for reelection, touching on themes of fairness and economic equality that would undergird his campaign stump speeches. But there have been few memorable lines or themes from Obama’s addresses on par with Clinton’s 1996 pronouncement that “the era of big government is over” or Bush’s “axis of evil” reference from 2002.

“His speeches have tended to be about half looking back and half looking forward. And that’s a style you can choose in a State of the Union — how much of the speech is going to be devoted to where we are today, how far we’ve come and so forth, versus something more visionary and using your time to look forward,” said Chriss Winston, a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. “That’s a choice every president has to make.”

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China support for N. Korea to survive nuke test: analysts

BEIJING: China is unlikely to punish troublesome ally North Korea harshly for Tuesday's nuclear test, analysts say, even though Chinese state media had warned the North of a "heavy price" if it went ahead.

There was no immediate official reaction to the test in Beijing -- China is in the middle of its biggest annual holiday, the Lunar New Year.

But after the North's rocket launch in December, China expressed "regret", while repeating calls for calm.

In recent weeks the state-run Global Times has issued strongly-worded editorials urging Beijing to take a tougher line on Pyongyang, saying it would have to pay dearly for another atomic test.

But China has long supported its unpredictable neighbour for fear that instability could bring refugees flooding across the border, a US-led military escalation in the region or even ultimately a unified Korea with a US military presence next door.

"I think that China is very angry about this test," said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Northeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group think tank.

She said she expected "stronger reactions" from the Communist Party's new leader Xi Jinping than his predecessors.

But she added: "We won't necessarily know about any punitive measures implemented by China, and they will not necessarily deter North Korea because China is only willing to go so far. Their main concern is stability in North Korea."

Chinese trade and aid allows the regime in Pyongyang to survive and pursue its nuclear programme.

At once important yet uncontrollable, North Korea poses a similar quandary for China as small-nation allies did for the US during the Cold War, said Wang Dong, a Northeast Asia expert at Peking University.

"You have small allies which are behaving in a very dangerous, aggressive and provocative way, potentially with the danger of driving the US into a conflict that it did not want to get into," he said.

"China is put in a very similar dilemma."

Beijing will probably respond with limited measures coordinated with other nations, perhaps to cut off financial access, Wang said. It would keep any unilateral measures under wraps to avoid antagonising Pyongyang.

In 2006 Beijing quietly reduced the oil supply upon which Pyongyang depends, two months after the regime fired a ballistic missile and one month before it tested its first nuclear bomb.

The move only emerged later when trade data revealed it -- and Beijing subsequently stopped publicising the figures.

"Of course it will not acknowledge that because they do not want to publicly humiliate North Korea," said Wang. "Face is something very much taken into consideration in international relations in East Asia."

Ahead of the blast, US envoy Glyn Davies said the US and China had "achieved a very strong degree of consensus" on North Korea while the head of the UN Security Council said its 15 members were "unified" on the matter.

But China has previously worked to soften international measures. It only agreed to a UN resolution condemning December's long-range rocket launch by Pyongyang after lengthy negotiations in which it opposed stronger sanctions.

It also diluted the UN response to North Korea's second nuclear test in 2009 and was not known to have taken any unilateral measures.

Even decisively punitive measures might fail to dissuade North Korea, which has persisted with its nuclear programme despite years of international isolation.

Pyongyang sees atomic arms as vital to its legitimacy and security, a view that may have been reinforced after the longstanding Kadhafi regime in Libya, which surrendered its nuclear weapons, fell to Western-backed rebels in 2011.

"They've drawn the conclusion that countries that give up their nukes get slammed," said Kleine-Ahlbrandt.

Given Pyongyang's doggedness, she said, Beijing's unwavering support for the regime has generated fierce debate among Chinese policy analysts, with some arguing that the relationship brings more liabilities than benefits.

But China's overriding strategic interest in avoiding instability means its support is likely to endure, said Sarah McDowall, a senior Asia analyst with the consultancy IHS Global Insight.

"Its overarching objective really is to ensure stability in the Korean peninsula," she said.

"The relationship is going to remain strong, and China will continue to take political and economic measures aimed at propping up and supporting the North Korean regime."

- AFP/ck

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Kerala's Suryanelli rape case: Special team set up to trace absconding convict

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Police have set up a special team to trace and arrest the absconding convict in the Suryanelli gang-rape case, who appeared on a Malayalam TV channel alleging that Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien was involved in the case, as claimed by the victim.

The four-member team has left for Karnataka from where Dharmarajan purportedly gave the interview to the channel yesterday and made the startling claim.

The task entrusted with the team would be coordinated by Superintendent of Police, Kottayam, police sources said.

The third accused in the 1996 gang-rape case, Dharmarajan fled Kerala before the probe was completed, but he was traced and arrested at Udupi in Karnataka later.

The special court which tried the case sentenced him to life in 2002. The high court, however, remitted it to five years in 2005. He secured bail to file an appeal the same year but has been absconding since then.

In his TV interview, Dharmarajan claimed that Kurien, who was a minister at the Centre then, had travelled in his car to a guest house in Kumali, where the girl alleged she was molested.

He claimed he was under pressure from the chief investigator not to mention Kurien's name.

Kurien, however, rubbished Dharmarajan's charge, holding that the statement of a convict has no legal validity.

"Every accused gets a chance to make a statement before the judge. He did not say this at that time. You (mediapersons) find out why he is making this claim now," Kurien had said.

Kurien was acquitted in case but the victim had recently named him as one of those who assaulted her in 1996. She sent a letter to the Supreme Court last week, seeking a review of the apex court's order quashing all charges against Kurien.

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Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival

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  Holy Bath

  Photograph by Roberto Schmidt, AFP/Getty Images

  The Hindu festival known as Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest gathering of humanity, peaked on Sunday at the meeting of the Yamuna, Ganges, and mythical Saraswati rivers. The festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad sees tens of millions of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges to wash away sins. Pilgrims and saints pray as they soak.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  New Initiates

  Photograph by Sheeraz Rizvi, Hindustan Times/Getty Images

  Newly initiated Hindu ascetics perform rituals during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival happens every three years in one of four Indian cities, with the event in Allahabad considered the holiest. It’s also the biggest.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Sacred Fire

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu priests perform a ceremony beside the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival lasts 55 days.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  River Sitting

  Photograph by Baciu Cristian, Demotix/Corbis

  A Hindu ascetic performs a ritual last month during the 2013 Kumbh Mela.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Bridge Crossings

  Photograph by Manish Swarup, AP

  Believers walk on pontoon bridges to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers, a site known as Sangam. The processions are led by heads of monasteries and by naked ascetics smeared with ash.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Stampede Victim

  Photograph by Manan Vatsyayana, AFP/Getty Images

  A woman injured in a Sunday stampede that left 36 dead in Allahabad lies in a hospital bed in the city. There are conflicting accounts of what provoked the stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Train Rush

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu devotees at the Allahabad train station press toward an arriving train.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Train Station Prayer

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  A Hindu believer waits for a train at the Allahabad train station, the site of Sunday’s stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  

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North Korea Says it Has Conducted a Nuclear Test

North Korea says it has successfully tested a miniaturized nuclear device Tuesday, according to state media.

A large tremor measured at magnitude 4.9 was detected in North Korea and governments in the region scrambled to determine whether it was a nuclear test that the North Korean regime has vowed to carry out despite international protests.

Official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with "outrageous" U.S. hostility that "violently" undermines the North's peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites. Unlike previous tests, North Korea used a powerful explosive nuclear bomb that is smaller and lighter, state media reported.

Japan's prime minister has called an urgent security meeting, according to chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, and South Korea raised its military alert level, the AP reported.

Suspicions were aroused when the U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected a magnitude 4.9 earthquake Tuesday in North Korea.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization told ABC News, "We confirm that a suspicious seismic event has taken place in North Korea."

"The event shows clear explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK (North Korea) nuclear tests," said Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the organization.

North Korea Threatens More Nuclear Tests, Warns U.S. Watch Video

"If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would constitute a clear threat to international peace and security, and challenges efforts made to strengthen global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," Toth said in a statement on the organization's web site.

Kim Min-seok, a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters that North Korea informed United States and China that it intended to carry out another nuclear test, according to the AP. But U.S. officials did not respond to calls from ABC News Monday night.

The seismic force measured 10 kilotons, according to Min-seok.

"Now that's an absolutely huge explosion by conventional terms. It's a smallish, but not tiny explosion by nuclear terms. It's about two-thirds the size of the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima," James Acton, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told ABC News.

North Korea threatened in January to carry out a "higher-level" test following the successful Dec. 12 launch of a long range rocket. At the time, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un said his country's weapons tests were specifically targeting the United States.

The suspicious tremor comes just hours before President Obama is to give the State of the Union address, and it marks the first diplomatic test in the region for new Secretary of State John Kerry.

Also, South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, is scheduled to be sworn in on Feb. 25. One of North Korea's biggest holidays, Kim Jong-il's birthday, falls on Feb. 16.

China, North Korea's main ally in the region, has warned North Korea it would cut back severely needed food assistance if it carried out a test. Each year China donates approximately half of the food North Korea lacks to feed its people and half of all oil the country consumes.

Both of North Korea's previous tests used a plutonium-based method for making bomb fuel. The first was deemed a failure, the second only slightly less so. If the most recent test used HEU (highly enriched uranium), a far more difficult-to-detect method of producing bomb fuel, it would be a significant and worrisome step forward for North Korea's weapons program.

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Being first lady’s guest at speech can yield positive and sometimes unexpected results

As President Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the first lady’s guests will be on their best behavior.

White House staffers will have coached those sitting in the gallery with Michelle Obama that at any moment the cameras might pan from the president’s podium to where they sit in the balcony. So they will watch their posture, stifle yawns and skip the chewing gum.

The everyday Americans invited to accompany the first lady as she watches her husband address Congress and the nation are essentially given roles by the White House. They are the human faces of the messages the president delivers, whether about the ingenuity of small business or the plight of returning troops.

This year, the president will focus on the economy and discuss issues such as gun control and immigration. A White House official said that victims of gun violence will be seated with the first lady, as will members of the middle class who would benefit from policy proposals that Obama will unveil, military families, and people working on immigration issues.

The speech will probably run an hour or so, and the next day, most guests will find themselves, Cinderella-like, back at their jobs and in schools and homes across the country.

Previous guests have found that the effects of the evening linger — in positive and sometimes tough or unexpected ways.

Attending the 2010 speech was a “game-changer” for Trevor Ya­ger. The founder of TrendyMinds, an Indianapolis-based advertising and public relations firm, Yager was invited, he says, to represent gay business owners thriving in a tough economy.

The attention he received — the local TV interviews, the national stories — caused a rift with a business partner. Soon after his return from Washington, the partnership dissolved, he said.

“There were jealousy issues,” Yager said. “When you have something like this come along, you do see people’s true colors.”

There were major benefits, too. He credits the exposure from attending the speech with the growth in his business. Trendy­Minds has grown from six or seven employees to 29. “All the coverage and attention helped attract clients and opened doors for us,” he said.

For Julia Frost, being a guest in 2010 complicated an already difficult relationship with her Republican father. The two are estranged, and although politics isn’t their only source of conflict, she says it contributes to the rift.

Growing up in a family of conservatives, Frost — who attended the speech as a veteran, a community college student and the wife of an active-duty Marine — says she’d always considered herself to be a Republican. But her visit to Washington made her question that.

She heard things from the president that she liked, about college and health care, and she was impressed by Obama’s demeanor.

“For a long time, I had been blindly following my family, but I saw that there was sense on both sides,” said Frost, who does not label herself a Democrat.

Another result of that night? She has a famous pen pal. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Biden, regularly corresponds with Frost. The women were seated together for the speech.

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