OBAMA ON IMMIGRATION OVERHAUL: 'NOW IS THE TIME' : LAS VEGAS (AP) — Declaring "now is the time" to fix the nation's broken immigration system, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined broad proposals for putting millions of illegal immigrants on a clear path to citizenship while cracking down on businesses that employ people illegally and tightening security at the borders. He hailed a bipartisan Senate group on a similar track but left unresolved key details that could derail the complex and emotional effort.
Potential Senate roadblocks center on how to structure the avenue to citizenship and on whether legislation would cover same-sex couples — and that's all before a Senate measure could be debated, approved and sent to the Republican-controlled House where opposition is sure to be stronger.
Obama, who carried Nevada in the November election with heavy Hispanic support, praised the Senate push, saying Congress is showing "a genuine desire to get this done soon." But mindful of previous immigrations efforts that have failed, he warned that the debate would be difficult and vowed to send his own legislation to Capitol Hill if lawmakers don't act quickly.
APPLE UNVEILS IPAD WITH MORE MEMORY: CUPERTINO (AP) — Apple says it will sell an iPad with more memory than the current models available.
Apple Inc. said Tuesday that the new, full-size model comes with 128 gigabytes of memory, up from 64 gigabytes. Nothing else has changed, so it will remain a fourth-generation iPad, which went on sale in November. The memory increase does not apply to the iPad Mini, which also went on sale in November.
The new iPad will go on sale on Feb. 5 for $799 for a Wi-Fi model and $929 with cellular data access as well.
Apple says it has sold more than 120 million iPads since their debut in April 2010. The latest iPads with 16, 32 and 64 gigabytes remain available, starting at $499. The older iPad 2 starts at $399.
NYC PULLING DOWN 'DON'T HONK' SIGNS: NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's "Don't Honk" signs are coming down, but it's still against the law to blow a car horn unnecessarily.
The decision is part of an effort to de-clutter the streets of signs that generally go ignored.
Unnecessary honking carries a $350 fine but is rarely enforced.
The DOT says complaints about honking have declined 63 percent since 2008.
But City Councilwoman Gale Brewer said in a letter to the DOT: "I can't tell you how many requests I get for 'no honking' signs."
SEARCH IS ON FOR GOLDEN COOKIE STOLEN IN GERMANY : BERLIN (AP) — Missing: One golden cookie, weighing around 44 pounds (20 kilograms).
Suspect: The Cookie Monster?
The rectangular gilded bronze sculpture was part of a statue gracing the facade of German cookie baker Bahlsen's Hannover office.
How the century-old symbol was taken remains unclear, but police say witnesses reported having seen two men with a ladder in the area earlier this month.
A police statement said a local newspaper received a picture Tuesday showing someone in an outfit similar to Sesame Street's Cookie Monster holding a golden cookie.
The sender wrote to demand cookies be delivered to children at a city hospital.
BELAFONTE: BLACKS SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN GUN DEBATE: PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte is urging leaders in the black community to get more involved in the national debate on guns.
Belafonte told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the current discussion arising out of the Connecticut school massacre in December often ignores decades of urban gun violence. He said it's important that African-American leaders participate in the debate over gun control.
