Cricket-Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in third test

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets on the fourth day of the third test at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday to sweep the series 3-0.
Scores: Australia 141-5 (R. Herath 3-47) & 432-9 dec (M. Wade 102 not out, P. Hughes 87, D. Warner 85, M. Clarke 50; R. Herath 4-95) v Sri Lanka 278 (Dimuth Karunaratne 85, D. Chandimal 62 not out, M. Jayawardene 60; M. Johnson 3-34, J. Bird 3-76) & 294 (Lahiru Thirimanne 91, M. Jayawardene 72; J. Bird 4-41, M. Starc 3-71) (Compiled by Nick Mulvenney

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Cricket-Australia v Sri Lanka - third test scoreboard

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Scoreboard after Australia beat
Sri Lanka by five wickets after tea on the fourth day of the
third test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday:
Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first
Sri Lanka first innings 294
Australia first innings 432-9 dec.
- -
Sri Lanka second innings (overnight 225-7)
D. Karunaratne c Wade b Bird 85
T. Dilshan c Hughes b Johnson 5
M. Jayawardene c Clarke b Siddle 60
L. Thirimanne c Bird b Johnson 7
T. Samaraweera c Hussey b Lyon 0
A. Mathews run out 16
D. Chandimal not out 62
D. Prasad c Wade b Starc 15
R. Herath b Bird 10
S. Lakmal b Johnson 0
N. Pradeep c Wade b Bird 9
Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-1, nb-3) 9
Total (all out, 81.2 overs) 278
Fall of wickets: 1-24 2-132 3-155 4-158 5-178 6-178 7-202
8-235 9-237
Bowling: Starc 12-1-49-1, Bird 21.2-5-76-3 (nb-3), Johnson
15-3-34-3 (w-1), Siddle 17-4-42-1, Lyon 15-1-66-1, Hussey
1-0-6-0
- -
Australia second innings
E. Cowan lbw Herath 36
D. Warner c Jayawardene b Lakmal 0
P. Hughes lbw Herath 34
M.Clarke c Thirimanne b Dilshan 29
M. Hussey not out 27
M. Wade b Herath 9
M. Johnson not out 1
Extras (lb-5) 5
Total (for five wickets, 42.5 overs) 141
Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-45 3-104 4-108 5-132
Did not bat: P. Siddle, M. Starc, N. Lyon, J. Bird.
Bowling: Dilshan 18-2-57-1, Lakmal 6-1-18-1, Herath
16.5-0-47-3, Pradeep 2-0-14-0

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UPDATE 4-Cricket-Hussey finishes on a high with Australia sweep

* Australia win by five wickets
* Sweep series 3-0 (updates after Australia win)
SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Michael Hussey ended his test career on a high on Sunday when Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets with a day to spare in the third test to sweep the series 3-0.
The 37-year-old was deprived of the ultimate fairytale ending when his batting partner Mitchell Johnson scored the winning run but Hussey, ever the team man, was not remotely concerned.
"It couldn't have ended any better," he said after being applauded off the pitch by both teams at the end of his 79th test.
"I feel very proud to have worn the baggy green cap and I've probably achieved a lot more in my career than I ever dreamed I could."
Australia, chasing 141 runs to win the test, lost three wickets in quick succession just before tea to bring Hussey out for his final test innings before retirement.
The break came with the hosts just five runs shy of victory and when Johnson pushed the ball wide of point for his only run of the innings, Hussey was already halfway down the pitch to secure the winning run.
"I was telling Mitch the over before if it comes up that you hit it, then I'm more than happy to let us get this over and done with," said Hussey, who finished unbeaten on 27 for a career average of 51.52.
"But I was more than happy to be out there when the winning run was hit. A dream come true. The important thing was making sure we won the test match."
Australia had dismissed the tourists for 278 before lunch to set up the run chase but they inched nervously towards the target after David Warner had departed for a duck without a run on the board.
Seamer Suranga Lakmal had the opener caught in the slips by his captain Mahela Jayawardene but it was the spin-bowling of Tillakaratne Dilshan and particularly Rangana Herath that was always going to provide most problems on a turning wicket.
The peace of a hot afternoon at the Sydney Cricket Ground was punctuated by the loud appeals of the Sri Lankans pretty much any time the ball came near a batsman's front pad.
Jayawardene, so profligate with his appeals to the TV umpire in this series, made the most of his first of the innings to remove Phil Hughes for 34 with Australia still 96 runs short of their target.
There was some confusion as to whether they were appealing for a catch or lbw off the Herath delivery. The TV pictures showed no nick or glove but did reveal that the ball would have hit the stumps so Hughes was out.
HUSSEY CHANTS
Clarke, the most prolific test batsmen of last year and later named Player of the Series, came to the crease for another duel with Herath, who took more test wickets than any other bowler in 2012.
In the end though, it was the spin of Dilshan which removed the Australia skipper for 29 although opener Ed Cowan (36) and Matthew Wade (9) did then quickly fall victim to Herath.
The crowd had already started chanting Hussey's name before Clarke's dismissal in the hope he would get out to bat again in his final test after being run-out in the first innings and they got their wish.
"What a place to finish. The SCG is probably my top three favourite grounds in the whole world," Hussey said.
"The crowd support and the support in general has been a bit overwhelming and I've been a bit embarrassed by it. In a way I'm quite relieved that it's over now."
Sri Lanka had resumed on 225-7 in the morning looking to bulk up their lead of 87 and give their bowlers something to work with.
Dinesh Chandimal hit a defiant 62 not out off 106 balls but ran out of partners when Jackson Bird had Nuwan Pradeep caught behind for nine half an hour before lunch.
Chandimal and Pradeep had put on 41 for the final wicket after Herath (10) and Lakmal (0) had departed relatively cheaply.
Bird, the least experienced of the four paceman deployed by Australia in the test, was named Man of the Match after bagging figures of 7-117.
Australia won the first test in Hobart by 137 runs and the second by an innings and 201 runs inside three days in Melbourne last week.
"I think we fought really well, but it wasn't good enough," said Jayawardene, who is stepping down as captain after this series.
"When you are competing at this level, I think we need to be much better prepared and show more character to win test matches in these conditions."

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League and union resume separate mediation sessions

 The National Hockey League (NHL) and the union representing its locked-out players met separately with a U.S. federal mediator on Friday with a week to go before the deadline to reach a deal and salvage a shortened season.
The two sides met with a mediator in New York but there has been no decision on whether the league and union would hold face-to-face negotiations on Friday, according to a report on the NHL's website.
In addition to meeting separately with the mediator on Thursday, officials from the NHL and NHL Players' Association met together Thursday for small-group discussions on some key issues.
With half of the 2012-13 regular season already lost to the labor dispute, the NHL has set a January 11 deadline for a new deal so that a shortened 48-game campaign could begin eight days later.
The lockout, which the league has said is costing it about $18-$20 million a day, began in mid-September when the previous collective bargaining agreement expired with both sides at odds over how to split the NHL's $3.3 billion in revenue.
The dispute, which follows a lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 campaign, is now centered around the salary cap number for the 2013-14 season, the pension fund and length of player contracts.

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Sides in NHL labor fight meet with mediator

The NHL and the players' association met separately with a federal mediator throughout Friday morning and well into the afternoon with no sign that they would return to the bargaining table anytime soon.
Federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh has been shuttling back and forth between the hotel in which the union is working, and the league office. As of late afternoon, the sides had made no plans to get together.
After marathon talks that lasted deep into Wednesday night, the sides have remained apart with the exception of two smaller meetings on Thursday.
The lockout reached its 111th day Friday, and the sides have only one week to reach a deal on a collective bargaining agreement that would allow for a 48-game hockey season — the minimum the NHL has said it will play.
Commissioner Gary Bettman set a Jan. 11 deadline so the season can begin eight days later.
The players could be looking to wait until Saturday night to return to the bargaining table when it is expected that the executive board will again have the authority to exercise a disclaimer of interest that would allow the union to dissolve and become a trade association.
A vote among union members was initiated on Thursday, and players have until 6 p.m. Saturday to cast their ballots that would allow the board to take the action of the disclaimer. An earlier vote passed overwhelmingly last month, but the union let its self-imposed deadline to go by on Wednesday night without acting on it.
A restoration of authority to go the route of the disclaimer might be the leverage the union wants before it starts negotiating again.
Representatives from the league and the union met twice Thursday for small meetings, one dealing with the pension plan, but never got together for a full bargaining session. A long night of discussions Wednesday that stretched into the early morning hours didn't end well and created Thursday's lack of activity.
The sides can't afford many more days like that.
All games through Jan. 14, along with the All-Star game, have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.
The talks appeared to take a downward turn late Wednesday after the players' association passed on declaring a disclaimer of interest.
The discord carried over to Thursday when Bettman had said he expected to resume negotiations at 10 a.m. at the request of the mediator. But the union was holding internal meetings then and didn't arrive at the league office until a few hours later.
When players and staff did get there, they did so without executive director Donald Fehr. The group discussed a problem that arose regarding the reporting by clubs of hockey-related revenue, and how both sides sign off on the figures at the end of the fiscal year. The union felt the language had been changed without proper notification, but the dispute was solved and the meeting ended in about an hour.
The wait for more elaborate talks went on, and didn't end until the players returned — again without Fehr — for a meeting about the pension plan. That one lasted just under two hours, and again the waiting game ensued.
But this time there wouldn't be any more talks, big or little. Neither side issued a statement, and Bettman was seen leaving league headquarters shortly after 9 p.m.
The players' association held a late Thursday afternoon conference call to initiate its second vote regarding the disclaimer of interest. It wasn't immediately known when a new authorization would expire if the vote passes again.
A sense of progress might be why the union didn't declare the disclaimer on Wednesday, but any optimism created after the deadline passed took several hits Thursday.
The NHLPA filed a motion in federal court in New York seeking to dismiss the league's suit to have the lockout declared legal. The NHL sued the union in mid-December, figuring the players were about to submit their own complaint against the league and possibly break up their union to gain an upper hand.
But the union argued that the NHL is using this suit "to force the players to remain in a union. Not only is it virtually unheard of for an employer to insist on the unionization of its employees, it is also directly contradicted by the rights guaranteed to employees under ... the National Labor Relations Act."
The court scheduled a status conference for the sides on Monday.
The sides have traded four proposals in the past week — two by each side — but none has gained enough traction. Getting an agreement on a pension plan would likely go a long way toward an agreement that would put hockey back on the ice.
Fehr believed a plan for players-funded pension was established before talks blew up in early December. That apparently wasn't the case, or the NHL has changed its offer regarding the pension in exchange for agreeing to other things the union wanted.
The salary-cap number for the second year of the deal — the 2013-14 season — hasn't been agreed to, and it is another major point of contention. The league is pushing for a $60 million cap, while the union wants it to be $65 million with a floor of $44 million.
In return for the higher cap number players would be willing to forgo a cap on escrow.
Both sides seem content on the deal lasting for 10 years, but they have different opinions on whether an opt-out should be allowed to be exercised after seven years or eight.
The NHL proposed last Thursday that pension contributions come out of the players' share of revenues, and $50 million of the league's make-whole payment of $300 million will be allocated and set aside to fund potential underfunded liabilities of the plan at the end of the collective bargaining agreement.
Last month, the NHL agreed to raise its make-whole offer of deferred payments from $211 million to $300 million as part of a proposed package that required the union to agree on three nonnegotiable points. Instead, the union accepted the raise in funds, but then made counterproposals on the issues the league stated had no wiggle room.
"As you might expect, the differences between us relate to the core economic issues which don't involve the share," Fehr said of hockey-related revenue, which likely will be split 50-50.
The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

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Sides in NHL labor rift meet all day with mediator

A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players' association Friday before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.
The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 10 a.m. EST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 11 p.m.
Similar talks were scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
It still isn't known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions at least provided a glimmer of hope that perhaps progress was being made from afar.
That would be a welcome change after things cooled during an unproductive Thursday.
"I'm looking forward to continuing the process tomorrow," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote to The Associated Press in an email late Friday night.
After marathon talks that lasted deep into Wednesday night, the sides have remained apart with the exception of two smaller meetings Thursday.
The lockout reached its 111th day Friday, and the sides have only one week to reach a deal on a collective bargaining agreement that would allow for a 48-game hockey season — the minimum the NHL has said it will play.
Commissioner Gary Bettman set a Jan. 11 deadline so the season can begin eight days later.
The players could be looking to wait until Saturday night to return to the bargaining table when it is expected that the executive board will again have the authority to exercise a disclaimer of interest that would allow the union to dissolve and become a trade association.
A vote among union members was initiated Thursday, and players have until 6 p.m. Saturday to cast their ballots that would allow the board to take the action of the disclaimer. An earlier vote passed overwhelmingly last month, but the union let its self-imposed deadline to go by Wednesday night without acting.
A restoration of authority to go the route of the disclaimer might be the leverage the union wants before it starts negotiating again.
Representatives from the league and the union met twice Thursday for small meetings, one dealing with the pension plan, but never got together for a full bargaining session. A long night of discussions Wednesday that stretched into the early morning hours didn't end well and created Thursday's lack of activity.
The sides can't afford many more days like that.
All games through Jan. 14, along with the All-Star game, have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.
The talks appeared to take a downward turn late Wednesday after the players' association passed on declaring a disclaimer of interest.
The discord carried over to Thursday when Bettman had said he expected to resume negotiations at 10 a.m. at the request of the mediator. But the union was holding internal meetings then and didn't arrive at the league office until a few hours later.
When players and staff did get there, they did so without executive director Donald Fehr. The group discussed a problem that arose regarding the reporting by clubs of hockey-related revenue, and how both sides sign off on the figures at the end of the fiscal year. The union felt the language had been changed without proper notification, but the dispute was solved and the meeting ended in about an hour.
The wait for more elaborate talks went on, and didn't end until the players returned — again without Fehr — for a meeting about the pension plan. That one lasted just under two hours, and again the waiting game ensued.
But this time there wouldn't be any more talks, big or little. Neither side issued a statement, and Bettman was seen leaving league headquarters shortly after 9 p.m.
The players' association held a late Thursday afternoon conference call to initiate its second vote regarding the disclaimer of interest. It wasn't immediately known when a new authorization would expire if the vote passes again.
A sense of progress might be why the union didn't declare the disclaimer on Wednesday, but any optimism created after the deadline passed took several hits Thursday.
The NHLPA filed a motion in federal court in New York seeking to dismiss the league's suit to have the lockout declared legal. The NHL sued the union in mid-December, figuring the players were about to submit their own complaint against the league and possibly break up their union to gain an upper hand.
But the union argued that the NHL is using this suit "to force the players to remain in a union. Not only is it virtually unheard of for an employer to insist on the unionization of its employees, it is also directly contradicted by the rights guaranteed to employees under ... the National Labor Relations Act."
The court scheduled a status conference for the sides Monday.
The sides have traded four proposals in the past week — two by each side — but none has gained enough traction. Getting an agreement on a pension plan would likely go a long way toward an agreement that would put hockey back on the ice.
Fehr believed a plan for players-funded pension was established before talks blew up in early December. That apparently wasn't the case, or the NHL has changed its offer regarding the pension in exchange for agreeing to other things the union wanted.
The salary-cap number for the second year of the deal — the 2013-14 season — hasn't been agreed to, and it is another major point of contention. The league is pushing for a $60 million cap, while the union wants it to be $65 million with a floor of $44 million.
In return for the higher cap number players would be willing to forgo a cap on escrow.
Both sides seem content on the deal lasting for 10 years, but they have different opinions on whether an opt-out should be allowed to be exercised after seven years or eight.
The NHL proposed last Thursday that pension contributions come out of the players' share of revenues, and $50 million of the league's make-whole payment of $300 million will be allocated and set aside to fund potential underfunded liabilities of the plan at the end of the collective bargaining agreement.
Last month, the NHL agreed to raise its make-whole offer of deferred payments from $211 million to $300 million as part of a proposed package that required the union to agree on three nonnegotiable points. Instead, the union accepted the raise in funds, but then made counterproposals on the issues the league stated had no wiggle room.
"As you might expect, the differences between us relate to the core economic issues which don't involve the share," Fehr said of hockey-related revenue, which likely will be split 50-50.
The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

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The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, December 31, 2012

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com
Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, and Carrie Halperin
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: New York Daily News' Edgar Sandoval and Bill Hutchinson: " Hillary Clinton admitted to hospital with blood clot following concussion" Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was undergoing emergency treatment for a blood clot Sunday night at a Manhattan hospital. Doctors said the clot stems from a concussion she suffered this month when she fainted while battling a stomach bug and hit her head. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said doctors discovered the clot while conducting a follow up exam Sunday. She was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia, where she was being treated with anti-coagulants. LINK
USA Today's Liz Szabo: " Bed rest may be cause of Clinton's blood clot" Many things can cause a blood clot in someone around the age of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, 65, doctors said Sunday. The most likely explanation for her illness is a blood clot in the leg, brought on by her extended bed rest after suffering a concussion earlier this month, said Cam Patterson, a professor and chief of cardiology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. LINK
FISCAL CLIFF: ABC News' Matthew Larotonda, Jonathan Karl and Sunlen Miller: " Fiscal Cliff Talks: President Obama 'Modestly Optimistic'" With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," a senior White House official tells ABC News that President Obama is still "modestly optimistic" that a deal can be struck to prevent middle class taxes from increasing on New Year's Day. But a resolution to the ordeal won't come tonight. LINK
The Wall Street Journal's Janet Hook and Siobhan Hughes: " Congress Meets Cliff's Edge" Senate negotiations to craft a bipartisan budget deal proceeded in chaotic fits and starts Sunday, raising new questions about whether Congress would be able to steer the country away from the fiscal cliff. The center of gravity had shifted by day's end after talks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) reached an impasse. LINK
The Hill's Alexander Bolton: " Senate inches toward fiscal deal" Senate Republicans say Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is willing to drop his demand to curb the growth of Social Security cost-of-living increases. The demand from McConnell had thrown a wrench into talks Sunday on a "fiscal cliff" deal as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democrats quickly balked at the request, which they said they would not accept. LINK
The Los Angeles Times' Lisa Mascaro and Michael Memoli: " Congress edges closer to 'fiscal cliff' deal but can't close it" Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill inched toward a compromise to avert part of the so-called fiscal cliff but remained unable to close a deal as each side struggled with internal tensions as well as the remaining gap between them. Lawmakers have been trying to beat a deadline of midnight Monday, when tax rates are scheduled to go up for the vast majority of Americans. But they could continue chasing a deal for days - even until the new Congress is sworn in at noon Thursday. After that, the political dynamics could shift with the entrance of new members. LINK
Politico's Manu Raju and John Bresnahan: " Senate stuck on fiscal cliff" The tit-for-tat over avoiding the fiscal cliff slogged onward Sunday, as Senate leaders remained essentially stuck following a frantic day of horse-trading and bitter attacks by both Democrats and Republicans. Both sides now have 48 hours to resolve their differences, or risk a double whammy of historic tax hikes and spending cuts that will make them even more unpopular outside-the-Beltway. LINK
The New York Times' Jonathan Weisman: " Day of Seesaw Talks Produces No Accord on Fiscal Crisis" Senate leaders on Sunday failed to produce a fiscal deal with just hours to go before large tax increases and spending cuts were to begin taking effect on New Year's Day, despite a round of volatile negotiations over the weekend and an attempt by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to intervene. LINK
The Washington Posts' Chris Cillizza: " As 'fiscal cliff' looms, Republicans have no political incentive to make deal with Obama" mid the last-minute wrangling over a "fiscal cliff" deal, it's important to remember one overlooked fact of the 2012 election: Republicans in the House and Senate have absolutely no political incentive to compromise with President Obama. The numbers are stark. LINK
ECONOMY: Bloomberg's Adam Haigh: " Most Asian Stocks Drop as U.S. Budget Talks Stall; Fairfax Gains" Most Asian stocks declined, paring this year's advance, with a deadline looming for the U.S. Congress to reach a budget agreement to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Group, the world's largest mining companies, led declines among companies with earnings closely tied to economic growth. LINK IMMIGRATION: The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan: " Obama says immigration reform will be priority" President Obama says immigration is his major second-term priority, on par with his push for health care in his first term, according to an interview aired Sunday that continues to boost the issue to the top of the political conversation. "Fixing our broken immigration system is a top priority. I will introduce legislation in the first year to get that done," Mr. Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" host David Gregory, who had asked the president what the second-term equivalent would be to his all-encompassing push for health care during his first term.

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What to Watch in 2013 Politics

We had no time to catch our breath after the November election before plunging into imbroglios over Cabinet appointments and the fiscal cliff. But the chances of 2013 offering even a brief respite from politics are as unlikely as the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre ringing in the New Year with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Pass the eggnog quick!
With the 24/7 news cycle came the 365-day-a-year campaign, and it’s only getting worse. Fundraising invitations for candidates up for re-election in 2014 were going out before the 2012 election.
Nothing compares to the drama of a presidential race or the impact of the mid-terms, but pay attention starting now because this year will set the stage for 2014 and 2016. How much longer will President Obama bask in the glow of his re-election before the inevitable sputter in the polls? Will the Republican Party get serious about improving its image and outreach to an increasingly diverse electorate? And will Mitt Romney...oh, never mind, who cares?
Those are just a few of the questions on minds cluttered with marginal tax rates and charitable deductions. Here are some of the top political events we are looking forward to in 2013:
1. Debates over immigration reform and gun control. After a first term consumed with ending wars and avoiding economic collapse, President Obama has promised to turn his attention to social concerns. The group led by Vice President Joe Biden faces a January deadline to come up with proposals to stop gun violence in the wake of the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school. Activists on both sides of the immigration debate are gearing up for what could be an epic battle over how to treat the 11 million illegal immigrants in this country.
2. Governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. With the news that Newark Mayor Cory Booker will not challenge Republican Gov. Chris Christie, the Democratic Party is scrambling. Christie, whose popularity is soaring as he oversees the recovery from “superstorm” Sandy, has already said he’ll be “much more than ready” for a White House bid in 2016. Virginia fascinates because it’s emerged as one of the most important battleground states in the country. In 2008, President Obama turned the state blue for the first time since 1964. Gov. Bob McDonnell’s victory the following year paved the way for the Republican rout in 2010, but the GOP couldn’t overcome Obama’s well-laid groundwork in 2012. We also won’t be able to take our eyes off Virginia because of the colorful, front-running characters: Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the attorney general whose idea of a great day is shutting down an abortion clinic and stabbing a knife into the heart of Obamacare, and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the brash former national party chairman and consummate political hack.
3. Special Senate elections in Massachusetts.Obama’s appointment of Sen. John Kerry to replace Clinton as Secretary of State is expected to clear the Senate, opening up the seat he has held since a collection of celebrities recorded “We Are the World” in 1985. Republican Sen. Scott Brown, recently ousted by Democrat Elizabeth Warren, has a good shot at getting his job back.
4. Mayor’s races in New York City and Los Angeles. Both of these cities boast larger-than-life mayors whose political careers are destined to continue after they leave city hall.  Bloomberg, the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned independent billionaire, whose dislikes include big guns and Big Gulps, is winding up his third term. Four candidates are competing to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a rising star in the Democratic Party who chaired the 2012 nominating convention.
So enjoy the champagne but don’t overdo it. Twitter is no fun with a hangover.

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The top 6 political races to watch in 2013

Yes, the red and blue paint is still wet on the 2012 election map. But it's not too early to start gaming out the new year
For anyone still suffering from election fatigue, here's some good news: In terms of momentous races, 2013 is no 2012. But the paucity of marquee contests doesn't mean there won't be any drama at the ballot box this year — in fact, quite the opposite. The nation's biggest cities are picking new chief executives, and a few states are already gearing up for potentially epic face-offs in November. Here's a look at the six races to keep an eye on in 2013:
1. New Jersey governor: Chris Christie's big dance
Christie, once seen as a divisive and abrasive governor, has already launched his bid for a second term amid amazingly high popularity numbers — 77 percent, according to a late-November Fairleigh Dickinson University poll. But the Republican star's post–Hurricane Sandy bump will inevitably fade somewhat before November. The only Democrat who has entered the race so far is state Sen. Barbara Buono — who trails Christie, 60 percent to 22 percent, in a recent Rutgers poll. Cory Booker, the extremely popular Democratic mayor of Newark, says he won't run. The primary is June 4.
SEE ALSO: Bah humbug!
2. Massachusetts Senate: The race to replace John Kerry
Barring a remarkable upset, Kerry (D) will leave the Senate to become Obama's Secretary of State in early 2013, and Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has indicated he will appoint a placeholder senator who won't run in the special election in May or June. The most obvious candidate on the Republican side is outgoing Sen. Scott Brown (R), who won the last Massachusetts special Senate election in 2010 but lost his seat in the 2012 general election. In a late-December WBUR poll, Brown led a generic Democratic candidate 47 percent to 39 percent, and his favorability rating was a remarkably high 58 percent — pretty good for a man Bay Staters just rejected, and higher than any of his potential rivals. But of course Brown, who hasn't said if he's even running, would face a real Democrat not a generic one, and "contrary to many pundits' expectations, Kerry's elevation to the State Department will not automatically lead to Scott Brown's return to the Senate," says Ben Jacobs at The Daily Beast. Massachusetts is a solidly blue state, and Brown's best shot would be Democrats sinking themselves in a "furious and divisive" primary. To head that off, "the Democratic establishment inside and outside Massachusetts is quickly lining up behind Rep. Ed Markey (D)," says Rachel Weiner at The Washington Post. Kerry himself is backing the 26-year House veteran, as are Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
3. New York City mayor: Looking toward a post-Bloomberg future
Media mogul Michael Bloomberg (I), elected as a Republican right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is term-limited (again — he pushed through a law in 2009 that allowed him to seek a third term), so New York is gearing up to elect its first new mayor in 12 years. And "for the first time since 1989, a Democratic candidate has a chance at winning in a city where the Democrats outnumber the Republicans 3-1," says Ken Rudin at NPR. Since Hillary Clinton reportedly turned down Bloomberg's entreaties to fill his shoes, the early favorite is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D), who would be the first woman to lead the city. Still, the potential Democratic roster is long: Former city comptroller Bill Thompson, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, and current Comptroller John Liu are all possibilities. On the Republican side, former Bronx borough president (and former Democrat) Adolfo Carrion Jr. is eyeing a run — and could we be lucky enough that Donald Trump doesn't throw his hat in the ring? The primary takes place in September.
SEE ALSO: Let it snow
4. Virginia governor: A Clintonite-Tea Party showdown?
"Imagine the two most polarizing politicians in a state," says The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza. "Then imagine them running against one another." That's the most likely outcome in Virginia, where the race to replace term-limited Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is shaping up to be Attorney General Ken Cucinelli (R), a conservative darling, versus former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, a confidante of Bill Clinton. Both men are popular among their respective bases, and hated by the other side, says Cillizza. "Neither man has an obvious appeal to the ideological middle of the Commonwealth, but both have to find one if they want to win. This is going to be a very nasty race." The two most likely alternatives, Sen. Mark Warner (D) and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), have declined to run, though Bolling hasn't ruled out a third-party run. The Democrats' primary and GOP convention is June 11.
5. Los Angeles mayor: Life after Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa (D) is term-limited, and the three frontrunners to replace him are current office holders with strong ties to organized labor. "Like New York, Los Angeles has never had a female mayor, but Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilwoman Jan Perry are hoping to change that," says NPR's Rudin. City Councilman Eric Garcetti is running, too. Along with corralling the union vote, notes Cillizza, "getting support from Latino voters will be huge in a city where Hispanics make up 40 percent of the vote." The primary will be in March, and the election itself in May.
SEE ALSO: The top 20 weird news stories of 2012
6. Illinois' congressional race: Who will replace Jesse Jackson Jr.?
A late addition to the calendar, prompted by Jackson's not-unexpected resignation, the race for the Chicagoland congressional district heated up quickly. All the viable candidates are Democrats, and except for former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, all of them are black — former NFL linebacker (and incoming state senator) Napoleon Harris, alderman Anthony Beale, and State Sen. Toi Hutchinson. "Black leaders openly fear that an election with multiple black candidates could elect Halvorson," says Rudin. We'll find out soon enough: The primary — "tantamount to deciding the winner in this overwhelmingly Democratic district" — is Feb. 26.

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Weed Is Legal, but Prior Offenders Won’t Be Let Off the Hook

In the past 25 years, 210,000 marijuana-related arrests have been made in the state of Colorado alone. Of that number, more than 50,000 took place between 2006 and 2010. So now that Colorado has officially legalized the commercial sale and consumption of marijuana, how many of those people arrested for previous weed crimes will be let out of prison? Or, if they’ve already served their time, how many will have their marijuana crimes expunged from their records, making it easier to get a job?
The answer: Zero on all counts.
In American criminal justice, so goes the thinking, marijuana possession or distribution was against the law when the crime was committed. The law is the law. Whether or not the old law was unpopular or unjust is immaterial.
MORE: The High Road: What's Next for America's Marijuana Laws?
Though there’s a certain cruel logic to this viewpoint, from a global perspective it is an extreme outlier. The United States is one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee what’s called “retroactive ameliorative relief” in sentencing. Meaning, when a law is passed to ease or eliminate punishments for a specific crime, those already convicted of that crime don’t necessarily receive the same relaxation or cessation of their sentence.
“The only other countries [other than the U.S.] that do this are places like Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, South Sudan, and a handful of countries in the Caribbean. Even Russia provides this right.”
“The United States is one of only 22 countries that doesn’t guarantee retroactive ameliorative relief in sentencing,” says Amanda Solter, Project Director of Human Rights and Criminal Sentencing Reform Project for the University of San Francisco School of Law. “The only other countries that do this are places like Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, South Sudan, and a handful of countries in the Caribbean. Even Russia provides this right.”
Though post-conviction relief varies from state-to-state in the U.S., amelioration typically needs to be explicitly specified by lawmakers for it to take effect. In a political system paralyzed by the need of candidates to appear tough on crime, this rarely happens. The Fair Sentencing Act, for instance, which passed the U.S. Congress in 2010, eases penalties for the personal possession of crack cocaine. However, even though this law was explicitly crafted to right the wrong of absurdly high sentences for crack possession in comparison with other drugs, lawmakers made no effort to ease the sentences of those already convicted.
It gets worse.
“Connecticut repealed the death penalty and didn’t make it retroactive,” says Solter. “New Mexico has done the same. Two people there are currently on Death Row. It seems obvious on some level, and yet that right doesn’t exist here in the United States. It’s the world’s worst punishment, then you decide it doesn’t apply retroactively?
“South Africa, on the other hand, abolished the death penalty and made it retroactive for 300 to 400 people on Death Row. Russia did the same in the ’90s and commuted the sentences of roughly 700 people. These are tangible examples of where other countries are putting [retroactive ameliorative relief] into practice.”
There are some signs of hope. California’s recently passed Proposition 36 gives non-violent offenders sentenced to life in prison under the state’s rigorous “Three Strikes” law the chance to petition the judicial system for ameliorative relief.
Many state and county prosecutors in both Colorado and Washington—the Evergreen State also legalized marijuana in the 2012 election—have announced they plan to drop all current investigations into marijuana crimes, citing the intent of the states’ new laws.
For those already convicted, however, marijuana legalization will bring no relief.
Victory in the fight to legalize marijuana appears to be a matter of when, not if. The effects of weed prohibition on the criminal justice system, however, will linger on far longer.

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