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FILE - This July 5, 2005 file photo shows pine trees in the White River National Forest near Frisco, Colo. The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
FILE - This July 5, 2005 file photo shows pine trees in the White River National Forest near Frisco, Colo. The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2010 file photo, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks in Concord, N.H. The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging.
The new rules, to replace guidelines thrown out by a federal court in 2009, are set to take effect in early March. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the rule change on Thursday.
Vilsack said in an interview that the rules reflect more than 300,000 comments received since a draft plan was released last year. The new rules strengthen a requirement that decisions be based on the best available science and recognize that forests are used for a variety of purposes, Vilsack said.
"I think it's a solid rule and done in a collaborative, open and transparent way," he said.
The guidelines, known as a forest planning rule, will encourage forest restoration and watershed protection while creating opportunities for the timber industry and those who use the forest for recreation, he said.
Vilsack, who has pledged to break through the logjam of political conflict over forest management, said the new regulation's emphasis on science and multiple uses should allow it to stand up to likely court challenges from environmental groups or the timber industry.
"I am hopeful and confident that it will stand scrutiny," he said.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said the guidelines would allow land management plans for individual forests to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost than under current rules, which date to the Reagan administration.
Several attempts to revise the 1982 planning rule have been thrown out by federal courts in the past decade. Most recently a Bush administration plan was struck down in 2009. Environmentalists had fought the rule, saying it rolled back key forest protections.
The Obama administration did not appeal the ruling, electing to develop a new forest planning rule to protect water, climate and wildlife.
Under the new rule, forest plans could be developed within three to four years instead of taking up to seven years, as under current guidelines, Tidwell said.
"We really can protect the forest at lower cost with less time," he said.
The new regulation also should give forest managers more flexibility to address conditions on the ground, such as projects to thin the forest to reduce the risk of wildfire, Tidwell said.
"We'll be able to get more work done ? get more out of the forest and create more jobs," while at the same allowing greater recreational use, Tidwell said. Recreational use of the forest has grown exponentially in recent years.
Like Vilsack, Tidwell said he is optimistic the new plan will stand up to scrutiny from environmental groups and the timber industry, both of which have challenged previous planning rules in court.
"I'm optimistic that folks will want to give it a shot," Tidwell said.
The 155 national forests and grasslands managed by the Forest Service cover 193 million acres in 42 states and Puerto Rico. Balance between industry and conservation in those areas has been tough to find since the existing rules went into effect three decades ago.
At least three revisions of the rules have been struck down since 2000.
The planning rule designates certain animal species that must be protected to ensure ecosystems are healthy. However, the rule became the basis of numerous lawsuits that sharply cut back logging to protect habitat for fish and wildlife.
Meanwhile, the timber industry has continued to clamor for more logs, and conservation groups keep challenging timber sales, drilling and mining projects.
Tom Partin, president of the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, said his members will review the final rule to see if it follows a federal rule to manage forests for a diversity of plants and animals ? not in a manner that places a single use or species above all else.
Jane Danowitz, U.S. public lands director for the Pew Environment Group, said national forests are the source of drinking water for one in three Americans, are home to fish and other wildlife and are an economic engine for local communities across the West.
"Faced with unprecedented threats from industrial development, these national forests need strong national protections," she said, adding that the new framework for forest management appears to reflect comments from scientists, the business community and conservation advocates.
"The plan now has stronger safeguards than what was originally proposed. That said, the true test of this plan will be how it's implemented on the ground," Danowitz said.
___
Matthew Daly can be followed on Twitter: (at)MatthewDalyWDC
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The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be handed out live in Las Vegas on April 1, in a ceremony hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton.
And who is up for these prestigious trophies? Good question! The nominees were announced today...
Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift
Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Chris Young
Female Vocalist of the Year
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Vocal Duo of the Year
Love and Theft
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Thompson Square
Vocal Group of the Year
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
Album of the Year
Eric Church, Chief
Miranda Lambert, Four the Record
Kenny Chesney, Hemingway's Whiskey
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
Lady Antebellum, Own the Night
Single Record of the Year
Eli Young Band, "Crazy Girl"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay"
Toby Keith, "Red Solo Cup"
Chris Young, "Tomorrow"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"
Song of the Year
Eli Young Band, "Crazy Girl"
Dierks Bentley, "Home"
Lady Antebellum, "Just a Kiss"
Vince Gill, "Threaten Me With Heaven"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"
Songwriter of the Year
Rhett Akins
Dallas Davidson
Ben Hayslip
Luke Laird
David Lee Murphy
Video of the Year
"Homeboy," Eric Church
"Just a Kiss," Lady Antebellum
"Mean," Taylor Swift
"Red Solo Cup," Toby Keith
"Tattoos on This Town," Jason Aldean
Vocal Event of the Year
Aaron Lewis featuring George Jones & Charlie Daniels, "Country Boy"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay"
Brad Paisley featuring Alabama, "Old Alabama"
Brad Paisley Duet with Carrie Underwood, "Remind Me"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/academy-of-country-music-award-nominations-announced/
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WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney's tax returns tell the tale: Yes, he's rich ? really rich.
His returns, spanning more than 500 pages and released under political pressure Tuesday, represent an extraordinary financial accounting of one of the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidates in generations, with his annual income topping $20 million.
It remains unclear how the details of Romney's fortune will play among American workers, who on average earn less in a lifetime than Romney paid in taxes in 2010 alone. Meanwhile, the typical taxpayer pays a similar share of his income to Uncle Sam as he does, roughly 15 percent.
Romney's returns ? which include a 2011 tax estimate ? spilled out new details of his scattered holdings, tax strategies and charitable donations. Romney paid about $3 million in federal income taxes in 2010, having earned more than seven times that from his investments.
The documents quickly became fodder for his opponents, with Democrats chiding the former Massachusetts governor for not disclosing more about his financial history. The White House also weighed in about tax fairness as President Barack Obama prepared for his State of the Union Address.
Romney is hardly the only wealthy American seeking the presidency, though he's on a level all his own.
Republican rival Newt Gingrich, who had publicly pressed him to release his tax information, released his own return for 2010 last week. It revealed that Gingrich earned more than $3.1 million, mostly from $2.5 million paid by his companies, partnerships and investments, and paid just under $1 million in federal tax, a rate of about 31 percent.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported income of $1.73 million last year, mostly from the books he's written, and paid $453,770 in federal taxes.
Romney's tax returns showed he continues to profit from Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded but no longer runs; from a Swiss bank account closed just as he launched his campaign and from new listings of investment funds set up overseas.
Romney had long refused to disclose any federal tax returns, then hinted he would offer a single year's return in April. Yet mounting criticism from his rivals and a hard loss in last week's South Carolina primary forced his hand.
"Governor Romney has paid 100 percent of what he owes," said Benjamin Ginsberg, the campaign's legal counsel. Ginsberg and other advisers said Romney did not use any aggressive tax strategies to help reduce or defer his tax income.
For 2011, Romney will pay about $3.2 million with an effective tax rate of about 15.4 percent, the campaign said. Those returns haven't yet been filed yet with the Internal Revenue Service. In total, he would pay more than $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over the past two years, his campaign said.
Romney had been cast by his GOP opponents as a wealthy businessman who earned lucrative payouts from his investments while Bain slashed jobs in the private sector. Romney concedes that some companies Bain invested in were unsuccessful but says others created large numbers of jobs.
As for his own tax payments, he said in Monday night's debate in Tampa, "I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. ... I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes."
He added, "You'll see my income, how much taxes I've paid, how much I've paid to charity."
Romney's 2010 return showed about $4.5 million in itemized deductions, including $1.5 million contributed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romney's charitable giving is above average, even for someone at his income level, according to IRS data.
Romney's GOP rivals did not immediately comment on his tax disclosures. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended him, telling reporters that Romney's tax rate is close to the 15 percent rate most Americans pay on long-term capital gains from the sale of investments.
Romney's advisers stressed that he met all his federal tax obligations, provided maximum transparency and did not take advantage of what they described as "aggressive" strategies often used by the ultra-rich. Still, for millions of taxpayers grappling with their own returns as tax season looms, Romney's multimillion dollar wealth provides a window into an unfamiliar world.
His 2010 return shows a number of foreign investments, including funds in Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. Most of Romney's vast fortune is held in a blind trust that he doesn't control. A portion is held in a retirement account.
Romney's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that Romney and his wife, Ann, had a bank account in Switzerland as part of her trust. The account was worth $3 million and was held in the United Bank of Switzerland, said R. Bradford Malt, a Boston lawyer who makes investments for the Romneys and oversees their blind trust, which was set up to avoid any conflicts of interest in investments during his run for the presidency.
In 2009, UBS admitted assisting U.S. citizens in evading taxes and agreed to pay a $780 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.
The political discussion over releasing Romney's tax information highlighted an argument that Democrats are already starting to use against him ? that he is out of touch with normal Americans. And it may well have hurt him in the South Carolina primary, where he lost by 12 percentage points to Gingrich after spending several days resisting calls to release the returns.
Asked during a round of television interviews about Romney's relatively modest tax rate, Obama adviser David Plouffe said: "We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share." Obama planned to talk about economic fairness in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday night.
Other Democratic Party voices were less restrained. "He used every loophole in the book available to the wealthy and corporations to avoid paying his fair share," said Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard.
On the other hand, Romney's wife, Ann, had told supporters at a Florida rally on Sunday: "I want to remind you where we know our riches are. Our riches are with our families."
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Alan Fram in Washington and Kasie Hunt in Tampa, contributed.
___
Follow Jack Gillum at http://twitter.com/jackgillum
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Start forming good habits and watch your progress with Doozy, a today?s leading Fresh App and a to-do list manager that lets you track statistics over time. Following that, we?ve got OneSchool, a college-centric app that brings together lots of information about the universities it covers, from local restaurants to class offerings. Breakout Boost+ heads up our games offering today, bringing more brick-breaking action to the App Store, followed by Frederic ? Resurrection of Music Complete, a rhythm game inspired by the works of Chopin.
The app can present the data you input in several different ways, including graphs and charts that let you track your progress. And a recent big update adds a lot more features as well, including Dropbox syncing, RSS feeds, notifications and reminders, new icons and lots of other enhancements.
OneSchool is a little limited right now, with only eight colleges represented, but the developer behind the app is working to add more as demand for the app comes in. If you happen to go to one of the covered schools, however, you?ll be able to take advantage of a great deal of useful information. OneSchool is meant to be handy and searchable no matter where you are.
Unlike its freemium counterpart, Breakout Boost+ requires an up-front payment of $0.99 to download and packs 100 additional levels that didn?t appear in the earlier title. It also has lots of power-ups that can turn the game in your favor, plus achievements and leaderboards care of Game Center.
Frederic contains nine levels to play through, each remixing a Chopin classic in a new and modern way. The game also features an hour of fully-voiced motion comics to tell its story, and Game Center support for leaderboards and achievements to help you measure your skill level.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? A trial over how music royalties of the late country singer "Gentleman" Jim Reeves should be split is set to begin this week.
Reeves was a country music sensation when he died nearly 50 years ago in a plane crash at the age of 39.
The two-day trial that begins Monday will focus on how much Terry Davis, who married Reeves' widow, should receive from royalties of up to $400,000 a year, The Tennessean reported ( http://tnne.ws/w4mgtF).
Reeves is best known for the lyric "Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone" but he stayed on the charts from 1970 through 1984 because of how his widow, Mary Reeves Davis, managed his posthumous career. His most popular songs included "He'll Have To Go" and "Welcome To My World."
Terry Davis has been locked in a battle with Reeves' nephew and niece since Mary Reeves Davis died in 1999.
The case will determine if Terry Davis should receive more than the $100,000 and some land that Mary Reeves Davis left to him. Terry Davis, who was married to Mary Reeves Davis for 30 years, has cited a provision of law allowing spouses an "elective share" of an estate based on how long the marriage lasted..
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