New Variety owner Jay Penske slashes one-quarter staff

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jay Penske, the new owner of Variety, laid off nearly a quarter of the company’s staff on Thursday.

Between 20 and 25 employees from the struggling Hollywood trade’s circulation, database and conference departments were laid off. The editorial staff was not affected. Variety had about 120 employees before Thursday’s cuts.

“Without a doubt, this is a challenging day, and I particularly wanted to notify and acknowledge those of you who will be saying goodbye to valued colleagues and friends,” Penske, the CEO of Penske Media Corporation wrote in a memo obtained by the industry blog Deadline, which he also owns. “As we look ahead, Variety’s business holds almost limitless potential and I will remain available to answer any questions you might have regarding today’s changes and our future.”

Penske bought the paper last month at the fire-sale price of $ 25 million. In his memo, Penske said that he planned to invest in the editorial and digital departments while trimming the database services and business branch.

The jobs eliminated came from the LA411 and NY411 units – directories for production resources – and its administration and conference units, according to the memo. Deadline said that the cuts totaled 20 to 25 employees.

He also cut circulation staff, in what may presage a move to cut back on the paper’s printing schedule. Variety currently prints daily during the week and a weekly edition on Friday.

TheWrap previously reported that Penske planned to maintain the print edition and drop the paywall that blocked non-subscribers from reading Variety’s site, placing it in direct competition with competitors like the Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap and its corporate sister Deadline. The paywall has since been torn down.

Neither Penske nor Variety returned calls or emails from TheWrap requesting comment.

Here’s the full memo:

Dear Team

For the past six months, we have diligently reviewed every aspect of the Variety business. And in more recent weeks, we have outlined to Variety senior management an exciting and also aggressive trajectory for the brand’s resurgence. These steps will include substantial further investment in editorial and digital, but will unfortunately require some immediate eliminations in the following business units: LA411/NY411, Circ, Systems, Conferences, and Admin.

Without a doubt, this is a challenging day, and I particularly wanted to notify and acknowledge those of you who will be saying goodbye to valued colleagues and friends. As we look ahead, Variety’s business holds almost limitless potential and I will remain available to answer any questions you might have regarding today’s changes and our future. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, or see Tammy Chase to arrange an appointment.

Sincerely,

Jay Penske

CEO

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Five Republican governors reject state-run health markets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five Republican governors rejected on Friday a major provision of President Barack Obama‘s healthcare reform law that calls on states to set up online health insurance markets where consumers can purchase private coverage at federally subsidized rates.

That makes it likely that the federal government will establish its own markets, known as healthcare exchanges, in those states and potentially supplant state control of private individual insurance markets.

But in what could be a sign of thawing relations between administration officials and some state Republican leaders, three of the five governors — representing Ohio, Michigan and Florida — expressed a willingness to work with Washington as reforms inch toward a January 1, 2014, deadline for full operation.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said they would not cooperate at all.

Missouri Governor Jeremiah Nixon, a Democrat, said the state would not run its own exchange but did not take a position on a federal partnership. He said the state legislature could take up the issue early next year.

Meanwhile, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a Republican, deferred to the state’s governor-elect, Mike Pence, also Republican, who has said he intends to oppose both a state-based exchange and a federal partnership after assuming office next year.

The announcements came a day after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services extended its deadline for states to say whether they would operate their own exchanges. The positions reveal an emerging split between Republican governors who had appeared to form a united front against healthcare reform before Obama’s November 6 reelection ensured the law’s implementation.

Many governors have dragged their feet on implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hoping Republican Mitt Romney would defeat Obama and repeal the law. They are now deciding whether to set up their own exchanges, accept a partnership with the federal government or allow Washington to take control.

“What this reflects is the difficult position of some of these governors,” said Jennifer Tolbert of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks healthcare issues. “While they may oppose the new reform law and its requirements, some also don’t want the federal government to come in and run the exchange and take over that responsibility.”

Friday was the original deadline for states to tell the administration whether they plan to operate their own exchanges and file blueprints to show how they would do it. The administration extended the deadline to December 14 after governors requested more time to comply.

The Affordable Care Act is scheduled to extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans beginning January 1, 2014. About half of those would be covered by exchanges, designed to allow working families to purchase coverage at subsidized rates.

A MEETING IN FLORIDA?

At least 17 states already have told the administration that they will create their own exchanges, according to sources familiar with the situation. An HHS spokeswoman could not confirm that number. Experts predicted the total could rise to 20 by the time the new deadline passes.

As many as 15 states from Georgia and Texas to Wyoming and Maine opposed the exchanges outright before the election.

But some of those, including Nebraska, have since opted to work with the federal government on an exchange. Others say they are still deliberating. Over the past week, Kansas has rejected all participation in an exchange while Nebraska has agreed to seek a federal partnership.

States that reject the call for state-run exchanges but opt for a federal partnership could better ensure smooth market operations for residents than states that reject exchanges outright, experts say. They could also have an easier time adopting a state-based operation in coming years.

All five Republican governors who announced their plans on Friday complained that the Obama administration has been slow to release details about how exchanges should operate and complained that the law has proved too inflexible to meet the needs of individual states.

“At this point, based on the information we have, states do not have any flexibility to build and manage exchanges in ways that respond to unique needs of their citizens or markets,” Ohio Governor John Kasich said in a November 16 letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an HHS agency that is implementing the law’s exchange provision.

“Regardless of who runs the exchange, the end product is the same,” he added.

But Kasich and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder both suggested their positions could change as details emerge.

Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, said in a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that he could not see how an exchange would improve healthcare access while lowering costs for Florida residents.

But Scott said Florida was willing to “partner” with the administration to find a solution. He invited Sebelius to a meeting to discuss the issues.

States have until February 15, 2013, to say whether they would prefer a federal partnership exchange.

Whatever the choice, Sebelius has pledged that Americans in all 50 states will have access to coverage through exchanges when the Affordable Care Act comes into full force in 2014.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Leslie Adler and Tim Dobbyn)

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Head vs. heart: Egyptian president's dilemma over Gaza conflict

The hostilities threatening to escalate into all-out war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza concern the two antagonists first and foremost, but the course the fighting takes is likely to be equally consequential for Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi – and for his relations with the United States.

Egypt’s Islamist president finds himself pulled in competing directions by the head and the heart. The fighting this week – the result of heavy Israeli retaliation for escalating rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel – has the Islamist Mr. Morsi in a tight spot: caught between his co-religionists across the border in Gaza, on one side, and Washington, upon which a struggling Egypt relies for economic and military assistance, on the other.

For some Middle East analysts, this could be a moment for Morsi to emerge and establish himself as a leader to be reckoned with in the unstable and leaderless post-Awakening Arab world. But successfully maneuvering this moment will take time. And with Israeli soldiers amassing on Gaza’s border, the analysts add, it’s unclear whether Morsi will have the chance to even take the leadership test the situation presents.

IN PICTURES: Gaza: battleground and daily life under Hamas' rule

“Morsi is definitely between the proverbial rock and hard place, but if he can pull together the elements to convince Hamas to stop the rockets … and he can defuse this situation, then I think he can emerge as a leader in the region,” says Aaron David Miller, a Middle East scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington. “But he needs time and space to try to do it, and I’m not sure the Israelis are going to allow him that time.”

The sudden flare-up involving Gaza and its Islamist leaders is also testing US influence in a region where the Arab Awakening has deposed a number of autocratic leaders more disposed to upholding a US-led system of security and stability – including former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – in favor of Islamist-led governments.

Morsi hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, as does Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization that governs Gaza. The rockets crashing into southern Israel have been lobbed by a collection of militant Islamist groups operating in Gaza, including some aligned with Iran. But after the Israelis launched retaliatory air strikes, including a strike that killed the Hamas military leader, Ahmed Jabari, Hamas has continued the barrage of rocket fire into Israel and the fighting has largely boiled down to a battle between Israel and Hamas.

Morsi has made his sympathies clear on Egyptian television, lamenting the spilling of Palestinian blood and railing against what he calls the Israeli “aggression.” But privately he is apparently sounding more amenable to trying to convince Hamas to stand down, perhaps by accepting a cease-fire. Morsi has spoken by phone with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton several times this week, US officials say.

This is where Morsi’s head comes in. Egypt depends on the US for some $1.5 billion in annual assistance, not to mention Washington’s advocacy before international financial institutions – including the International Monetary Fund, where Egypt currently has a $4.5 billion loan under consideration.

Egypt’s relations with the US have not sailed through the stormy waters of the Egyptian revolution unscathed. The uncertainty and growing mistrust that now characterize what was once the solid core of US relations with the region were captured by Obama’s comment in an interview in September: “I don’t think we would consider [Egypt] an ally,” the president said, “but we don’t consider them an enemy,” either.

The turbulence has led some analysts to wonder if Morsi might be willing to jeopardize US assistance in order to pursue pro-Islamist – and more overtly anti-Israeli – policies. This week’s deadly violence between Israel and Hamas has led to some speculation that Morsi, who recalled Egypt’s ambassador to Israel, might be willing to take steps jeopardizing the Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel.

But experts like Mr. Miller point out that Egypt’s economic stability is linked to Camp David, since receipt of the substantial US aid, and favorable treatment with international financial institutions, are both products of the 1979 accords.

Without a treaty, there’s no special relationship with the US – whether or not it’s as an ally.

Morsi might take a number of steps to convince Hamas to pull back. He could agree to open the Egypt-Gaza border (this possibility is why Israel is pressing Egypt to block any passage of weapons, including replacement rocket launch pads, across its border) and he could work with Saudi Arabia and other patron states to up their financial assistance to Gaza, Miller says.

Morsi might then come out of the Gaza crisis with a much shinier image – the question now may be whether Israel is willing to hold back to see if Egypt’s Islamist leader is capable of this role.

IN PICTURES: Gaza: battleground and daily life under Hamas' rule

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France urges Mali to step up talks with rebels

PARIS (AP) — France‘s president called Thursday for stepped-up talks between Mali’s government and any leaders from its breakaway north “who reject terrorism,” even as African nations geared up for a possible military operation against Islamic extremists there.

President Francois Hollande‘s comments suggested a growing openness to dialogue with the extremists, but he remained committed to supporting the military planning effort.

Northern Mali fell to Islamic extremists in April, after coup leaders toppled the government in Bamako, Mali‘s capital. Fearing that northern Mali could become the latest hotbed of terrorism, France has been a driving force in international efforts to bolster Mali’s army to drive the Islamists from power.

Hollande spoke with interim Mali President Dioncounda Traore by phone on Thursday, partly to detail European efforts to help strengthen Mali’s army.

In recent days, representatives from the most moderate of three al-Qaida-linked groups that control northern Mali have been meeting with Burkina Faso‘s president, appointed as a mediator.

“France reiterates its wish that political dialogue will intensify between Malian authorities and representatives of northern populations who reject terrorism,” Hollande’s office said in a statement. “The acceleration of this dialogue must accompany the progress in African military-planning efforts.”

Earlier this week, the African Union approved a plan that calls for 3,300 African troops to be deployed in order to win back Mali’s north. European countries including France and Germany have expressed a willingness to provide military trainers and logistics support, but have stopped short of committing combat troops.

France, like many European countries, fears that the arid, northern Sahel region of Mali could become a breeding ground for terrorism, where al-Qaida and its allies could plot hostage-takings and attacks in Europe or beyond.

France has millions of people whose families hail from former French colonies in north and west Africa. Authorities have long been concerned that French-born militants could travel abroad for terrorism training and return home later to possibly carry out attacks.

French authorities are already investigating two French citizens who were arrested in Mali and neighboring Niger and are suspected of seeking to join up with the al-Qaida-linked extremists, a judicial official told The Associated Press.

Ibrahim Ouattara, a 24-year-old native of the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers who has dual French and Malian nationality, was arrested inside Mali this month and remains in custody there, the official said.

Separately, a 27-year-old Frenchman was arrested in August in Niger and has since been handed over to authorities in France, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss terrorism cases publicly.

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French mayor ends hunger strike after crisis aid

PARIS (Reuters) – A French mayor who went on hunger strike a week ago to demand emergency aid for his town ended his protest on Thursday and packed up the tent he had been sleeping in outside parliament after the government met his demands.

“I regret that things came to that but it was necessary,” Stephane Gatignon, mayor of Sevran, a poor town on the outskirts of Paris, told Reuters.

Gatignon slept six nights on the pavement outside the National Assembly to press his demand for 5 million euros ($ 6.4 million) of rescue aid, saying the economic crisis was pushing Sevran and dozens of other poor towns to the brink of ruin.

France’s cash-strapped government is seeking to slash its deficit in line with broader efforts to end a debt crisis that has plagued Europe for three years.

While the government is urging local authorities to do their part, it will increase aid to many of the poorest towns next year in a budget package that the lower house of parliament approved this week.

Gatignon said the government had indicated it was willing to deploy those funds in a way that would satisfy his demands. The office of urban affairs minister Francois Lamy did not respond to requests for comment.

The Sevran mayor looked weary but relieved after six days of consuming nothing but sugary tea.

“Today it’ll be a bit of broth, then some soup and slowly back to normal eating,” Gatignon said.

(Reporting by Emile Picy and Brian Love; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Robin Pomeroy)

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U.S. gives states another month to meet health exchange deadline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday gave states an extra month to say whether they plan to operate their own health insurance exchanges, after governors asked for more time in light of the November 6 election, which ensured the survival of Obama’s healthcare overhaul.

For the second time in six days, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius extended deadlines relating to the exchanges. On Thursday she sent a letter to governors telling them that states would now have until December 14 to tell her department if they plan to set up an exchange.

The deadline for a letter of intent was originally set for midnight on Friday. Last week Sebelius told governors they would have until December 14 to file a blueprint showing how their exchanges would operate.

“While receiving a letter of intent now will help us assist states in finalizing their application, a state may submit both a letter of intent and an application to operate its own exchange by December 14,” Sebelius said in a letter to Republican governors.

“States may also apply to operate their exchange in partnership with the federal government by February 15, 2013. And a state may apply at any time to run an exchange in future years,” she wrote.

The extensions are seen as concessions to dozens of states that delayed compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until after the November 6 election, which President Barack Obama won. Opponents of the plan had hoped a victory for Republican Mitt Romney would ultimately result in the law’s repeal.

After Obama’s victory, states needed more time to prepare for exchanges, which are complex marketplaces meant to offer working families private insurance at federally subsidized rates beginning in 2014.

“We are confident governors will have enough time to decide whether they want to establish an exchange, work in partnership with the federal government or have a federally facilitated exchange in their state,” Sebelius wrote in the letter.

(Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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U.S. backs Israeli response to Gaza attacks

Israeli soldiers ride on top of an armored personnel carrier close to the Israel-Gaza border, in southern Israel. …The White House on Thursday threw its full support behind Israel's military response to a barrage of rockets fired by the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip. Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said it would be "up to the Israeli government" whether to follow up punishing airstrikes with a ground assault.

"Our view is that the Israelis have the right of self-defense when their citizens are faced with the threat of indiscriminate rocket fire from within Gaza," Rhodes told reporters on a conference call.

Asked whether the Obama administration would have any issues with an Israeli ground assault, Rhodes replied that "ultimately, it's up to the Israeli government to make determinations about how they're going to carry out their military objectives."

The Associated Press has reported that Hamas fired more than 200 rockets on Thursday, killing three people, and that Israel seemed to be gearing up for a ground invasion of Gaza. The escalating conflict amounted to President Barack Obama's first major foreign policy test since winning re-election Nov. 6. Rhodes said American officials were in close consultation with their Israeli counterparts "to have an understanding of their plans going forward." The Obama administration has been in discussions with Turkey, Egypt and "some of our European partners," he said, thought to have sway over Hamas in order to get them to urge the militant organization to halt its rocket attacks.

"At the United Nations, where this is being discussed, we've sought to keep the focus where it should be—which is on Hamas's rocket fire as the precipitating cause here," Rhodes explained.

"What we've also said is that the best course of action would be for there to be a general de-escalation of the violence, but that the onus is on Hamas—and those with influence over Hamas—to help bring about that de-escalation, so that we don't see a widening conflict," he told reporters. "So we certainly want to see a de-escalation, we certainly want to see a broader conflict avoided."

The official noted that the White House has urged Israel to take "all steps ... to avoid civilian casualties." He added, "And we deeply regret the loss of life on the Israeli and Palestinian side."

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren briefed key senators on the operation. The lawmakers—Democrats and Republicans—released a joint statement expressing "solidarity" with Israel while warning that "escalation will only lead to further suffering on both sides."

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Egypt recalls envoy to Israel after Gaza strike

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed the military commander of Gaza‘s ruling Hamas.

In a statement read on state TV late Wednesday, spokesman Yasser Ali said that President Mohammed Morsi recalled the ambassador and asked the Arab League‘s Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting in the wake of the Gaza violence.

Morsi also called for an immediate cease fire between Israel and Hamas, an offshoot of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Israel says it struck in response to rocket attacks from Gaza.

Hours earlier, Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group denounced the Israeli airstrike as a “crime that requires a quick Arab and international response to stem these massacres.”

Relations between Israel and Egypt have deteriorated since longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year.

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NBC names new “Today” show chiefs

(Reuters) – Comcast‘s NBC has appointed two executives to take charge of the “Today” show, a day after the television network announced that longtime producer Jim Bell would be leaving to take a larger role in the sports division.

Don Nash, a broadcast producer who has worked on NBC’s morning show for 23 years, will become the executive producer, reporting to Alexandra Wallace, who has been named executive in charge of the show.

The reshuffling is part of NBC efforts to revive the “Today” show, which has been in a back-and-forth ratings war with ABC’s “Good Morning America” ever since ABC snapped NBC’s 16-year unbeaten streak earlier in the year.

“Today” is one of NBC’s most profitable TV shows, generating $ 485 million in ad revenues in 2011, up 6.6 percent from 2010, according to Kantar Media, which provides data to advertisers. Rival “Good Morning America” took in $ 299 million last year.

NBC said on Tuesday that former executive producer Bell would be leaving the morning show to become a full-time executive producer of the Olympics. The network has a contract to broadcast the Olympics in the United States for the next four games in Russia, Brazil, South Korea and an unnamed host city in 2020.

Bell, who has headed the show since 2005, was blamed this year for the controversial firing of Ann Curry as anchor alongside Matt Lauer.

Reuters had previously reported in August that Bell was in line for a kind of uber-producing sports role like the one Dick Ebersol – NBC’s longtime Olympics executive producer and former sports chief who served as a mentor to Bell – played for the network.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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First Person: Key to Quitting Smoking — for Me at Least — Was Self-Hypnosis

Nov. 15 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout, when organizations across the country encourage smokers to quit the habit. Yahoo asked former smokers to offer to advice to those trying to stop smoking.

FIRST PERSON | Why I ever started smoking cigarettes in the first place, I’ll never know. Maybe it was peer pressure, maybe I thought it was cool or maybe I just wanted to act like an adult.

Whatever the reason, I know now how stupid of a decision it was.

At the ripe old age of 11 years old, I had my first cigarette. By the time I was 13, I was a regular pack-a-day smoker.

Back then, it was easy for kids to get access to cigarettes. I’d buy them from unscrupulous store clerks, steal them from parents or buy them out of cigarette machines at the local laundry mat. Thank goodness it’s a lot tougher for kids to get them today.

Smoking cigarettes became easier and easier, and before I knew it, I was hooked. I always knew they were bad for me, but quitting smoking was tougher than anything I had ever done before. About every two to three years, I’d try to quit and it would last for a few months at best. I finally gave up trying to quit in my mid 20s, figuring that I could never beat the habit.

By the time I hit my 30s, my bad habits were catching up with me. By then, I was smoking two packs a day and working construction full-time. Whenever I had to do something really strenuous, I’d get winded and have to take a break to catch my breath. After a pathetic foot-race loss to an uncle who was 20 years my senior, I knew it was time to give it up.

So how did I quit? Did I chew nicotine gum, wear a patch or take medications? Absolutely not. I quit the old-fashioned way. I just stopped smoking.

I used a technique that my grandfather had used years ago to help him quit smoking: self-hypnosis. Every day for an entire month, every time I lit a cigarette, I would tell myself how gross they tasted. I’d repeat the mantra to myself with every cigarette: “These cigarettes taste like crap.” Each cigarette soon got less and less flavorful.

By the end of the month, I had a pack of cigarettes that was half full and I was smoking just a few cigarettes a day. In about 45 days, I couldn’t even stand the smell of them. I didn’t even finish the last pack; I just tossed them in the garbage and never looked back. While not all of us might not be that strong-willed (or easily fooled), everyone can quit if they just put their mind to it.

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