For Some Olympians, Games Are Golden Ticket To Politics

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hide captionTeam USA enters the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in Russia.

Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA /Landov

Team USA enters the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in Russia.

Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA /Landov

Ralph Metcalfe and Jim Ryun sprinted. Bob Mathias ran, tossed, and jumped. Bill Bradley dribbled. Wendell Anderson defended. Ben Nighthorse Campbell judo chopped.

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hide captionJim Ryun took silver in the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. About 30 years later, he won election to Congress from Kansas.

Tony Duffy/Getty Images

Jim Ryun took silver in the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. About 30 years later, he won election to Congress from Kansas.

Tony Duffy/Getty Images

They competed in different Olympic sports and in different eras, but they had one thing in common: they all ran for Congress and won.

Some of them ended up in the House. Others landed in the Senate.

The Olympics, it turns out, can be an outstanding platform for athletes who'd like to remain in the public eye long after their career in sports is over.

Two decades after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, judo champion and Colorado native Ben Nighthorse Campbell began a journey that put him in both chambers, where at various times he was able to serve with fellow Olympians Bradley and Ryun.

Campbell says that earning his (judo) chops in martial arts helped in multiple ways when he got into politics.

"Some people say running for office is a form of mortal combat. It can get mean sometimes," Campbell says.

After sustaining countless injuries literally throwing down his competitors, Campbell says running for office was physically easier than an Olympic bid.

But more than being a testing ground for mental and physical tenacity, the Olympics give athletes like Campbell something even more essential in their future bids for office: publicity.

"The thing that athletes get out of their experience is the name recognition and fundraising capability," says David T. Canon, author of Actors, Athletes, and Astronauts: Political Amateurs in the U.S. Congress.

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hide captionBen Nighthorse Campbell (right) and fellow members of the 1964 U.S. Olympic Judo Team. Campbell later won election to the U.S. House and Senate from Colorado.

Anonymous/AP

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (right) and fellow members of the 1964 U.S. Olympic Judo Team. Campbell later won election to the U.S. House and Senate from Colorado.

Anonymous/AP

And there's an additional benefit to rigorous training in media exposure at a youthful age.

"You don't get stage fright," explains Campbell.

A High-Profile Sport Helps

With the exception of curling, Olympic athletes tend to be on the young side — as in under 30 years old. The average senator is roughly 60 years old.

For political purposes, that age lag means two things. First, it provides post-Olympic athletes with plenty of time to get involved in pursuits other than sports. But it also means the public image they created may have faded before they are ready to run for office.

So an Olympic athlete looking to build a political career on their athletic legacy "would have to be a high-profile one — maybe a gold medalist, or someone who has received a lot of attention," says Canon.

The candidate wouldn't necessarily have to be remembered on a national scale, but just enough to start locally and move up the ranks.

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The Enduring Value Of Name Recognition

The milestones along the road from celebrity to politics include a deluge of publicity, followed by encouragement and endorsement by respected local figures.

If you're a former Olympian, your path to Congress might look something like this, ventures Canon: After the Olympics, "You go back to your town. You're the local hero," he says. Time passes. The 10-foot-tall ice sculpture in your likeness has melted, but there's probably a plaque or a sculpture honoring you.

"Then, years later, people are wondering who can run for office," Canon continues. "The rest of us have probably forgotten about him, but he still has that local recognition, which you need to run for a House position."

That's essentially how the story went for Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

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hide captionBill Bradley (5) came home with a gold from the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan. He was elected to the Senate 14 years later.

AP

Bill Bradley (5) came home with a gold from the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan. He was elected to the Senate 14 years later.

AP

He remembers showing up at a county event to support an old friend, who was running for sheriff. Campbell says the meeting coincided with a Democratic search for someone to run for state legislature. When the meeting turned to that issue, someone stood up, looked at Campbell, and said, "Why don't you run?"

Though another meeting attendee insisted the ex-Olympian had two chances of winning — "little and none," as Campbell recounts the story — he ran anyway. Campbell went on to serve in the House from 1987 to 1993 and in the Senate from 1993 to 2005.

This year's Olympians

So who among this year's American Olympic contingent might find their way to Congress? None have as yet expressed serious interest in a political career in Washington but a few names would fit the mold.

It would have to be "someone who's had an extended career over a period of several Olympics," says Canon. "Those are the ones who are going to be more in the public consciousness, the ones people will remember 10 years from now. Repeat winners."

That list is fairly short. But it would include someone like Shaun White, the world-famous snowboarder who, despite falling short in 2014, has been the popular face of the sport for years. Skiing stars Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn (who was forced to withdraw from this year's Olympics due to injury), carry similar cache.

Canon says there's no hard data on what leads athletes into politics, but he guesses that, in the modern era at least, Facebook and Twitter popularity may be a clue that an athlete has at least one of the essential political traits.

Athletes who are comfortable with reporters, who keep their cool during the media crush, he says, would probably have a smoother transition into the political arena than the silent athlete who keeps their headphones on and shies away from the camera.

"The ability to be media-friendly and have a public persona that appeals to people," is an important quality, Canon says. "Shaun White is a great example. He's fun to listen to on television."

As hard as it might be to believe, there might be a politician or two among the chill dudes and shredding babes. Slopestyle skiers Joss Christensen and Sage Kotsenburg, for example, or snowboarders Kaitlyn Farrington and Kelly Clark, have already exhibited some of the traits of successful politicians — such as determination, theatricality, and comfort in the spotlight.

If that still seems like a stretch, consider the backgrounds of some other athletes and entertainers who also made the jump to politics. Or this unlikely aspiring politician: American Idol star Clay Aiken, who recently announced his own bid for Congress.

If nothing else, the latest Olympians might redefine the traditional victory speech.

Consider Kotsenburg's tweeted response to qualifying for the slopestyle snowboarding finals: "Whoa how random is this I made finals at the Olympics!!!"

Mulberry unveils handbags by Cara Delevingne

LONDON -- Mulberry didn't have a catwalk show this season, but that's probably OK. They have model of the moment Cara Delevingne.

The British luxury label enlisted Delevingne to design and model a range of handbags for them, and the mini collection was unveiled Sunday at London luxury hotel Claridge's.

Delevingne wore a simple white slip dress and went barefoot to model the bags, appearing on a swing in a ballroom transformed into a misty forest scene. She twirled with a backpack in a camouflage print, accompanied by two male models and a few hounds, and the whole show was over in less than five minutes.

The model turned down interviews, but said in a statement: "My granny will like this bag. She's 102 years old. My 5-year-old cousin will probably like this bag. He's a boy."

It was a little underwhelming even given Delevingne's star power, but Mulberry got the publicity it wanted. The brand, best known for its trendy satchel bags, needs all the help it can get, after the recent departure of creative director Emma Hill and disappointing sales over Christmas.

The brand issued a profit warning last month, amid continued worries that it is losing its appeal.

Nasrallah: Hezbollah will keep its fighters in Syria

BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Sunday his party would continue fighting in Syria despite the wave of car bombings targeting predominantly Shiite areas in Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah.

“I will not repeat what I explained before about the reason we went to Syria and why we are staying where we should be,” Nasrallah said during a televised speech marking the commemoration of honoring martyrs of the resistance.

More to follow...

NY officials: Virtual currency invites real crime

NEW YORK -- The account information given by a new customer at Liberty Reserve read like a not-so-clever prank: Joe Bogus, 123 Fake Main Street, Completely Made Up City, N.Y.

But at the multibillion-dollar virtual banking operation, it didn't matter. Mr. Bogus — in reality, an undercover federal agent — was free to begin transferring funds, no questions asked.

Authorities say the recent investigations of Liberty Reserve and the hidden website Silk Road, a vast black-market bazaar for narcotics and other contraband, demonstrate how the anonymity inherent in the use of virtual currency is attracting a legion of flesh-and-blood criminals.

"The perpetrators feel they can more easily conceal their activity, their identities and their proceeds," Deputy U.S. Attorney Richard Zabel said at a hearing last month held by the New York State Department for Financial Services.

Hard cash carries the burden of needing to be physically smuggled and hand-delivered, Zabel said. By contrast, in the Silk Road case, "users were able to purchase drugs from drug dealers located anywhere in the world, essentially with a push of a button," he said.

At the same hearing, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. urged state regulators to put tighter controls on digital currency exchanges to tame "a digital Wild West."

New York's chief financial regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, said in a speech last week that he's considering new rules requiring businesses to obtain a Bitlicense if they use the new currencies and comply with know-your-customer guidelines to prevent money laundering activities.

The dialogue comes at a time when Bitcoins and other virtual currencies have been gaining the backing of legitimate investors and mainstream businesses. Last month, Overstock.com became the first major retailer to accept digital money. An online florist, Bloomnation, also began accepting Bitcoins in time for Valentine's Day.

Users exchange cash for digital money using online exchanges, then store it in a wallet program in their computer. The program can transfer payments directly to a merchant who accepts the currency or to private parties anywhere in the world, eliminating transaction fees and the need to provide bank or credit card information.

Some Bitcoin advocates say they welcome limited regulation but claim the negative publicity brought by criminal prosecutions is misleading. In the past year, there are signs that the virtual currency phenomenon has moved beyond the early days when it was an oddity embraced by a small cadre of libertarians and computer geeks and later by criminals during its "vice phase," said Fred Wilson, a partner in a Manhattan venture capital firm.

"The vice phase is in the rearview mirror," Wilson said. "Are people still doing bad things with Bitcoin? Sure. Is the majority of the Bitcoin activity vice? Not a chance."

The Liberty Reserve case had no shortage of vice. Prosecutors estimated that over roughly seven years, the Costa Rica-based operation processed 55 million illicit transactions worldwide for 1 million users and laundered $6 billion in proceeds for credit card thieves, child pornographers, drug traffickers and other criminals.

People banking with Liberty Reserve couldn't transfer money into their accounts or withdraw it directly — a system that would normally leave a paper trail. Instead, to add another layer of anonymity, it required customers to wire money to and from third-party money exchangers in locations in Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam with little or no money-laundering oversight.

Once an account was funded, a customer could make deals — for stolen credit card numbers, drugs and other illicit services — with other Liberty Reserve account holders using a virtual currency called LR. Liberty Reserve would charge a 1 percent transaction fee, plus an optional privacy fee that allowed users to hide their account number.

Liberty Reserve "provided its users with nearly impenetrable anonymity and enabled them to conduct untraceable financial transactions," Zabel said.

In the Silk Road case, investigators found that the website protected users with an encryption technique called onion routing, designed to make it "practically impossible to physically locate the computers hosting or accessing websites on the network," court papers said.

Among those arrested in the case was a defendant using the name BTCKing, who operated a service that allowed customers to obtain Bitcoins by depositing cash into a bank account controlled by a third party. The only identifying information provided was an email address.

The Silk Road case has turned the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan into a large holder of Bitcoins — 29,655 found on a server. The government also is seeking forfeiture on an additional 144,336 seized from computer hardware belonging to the alleged mastermind, Ross William Ulbricht.

Prosecutors haven't revealed what they plan to do with their Bitcoin haul, possibly because they face a volatile market for the decentralized currency. The exchange rate for Bitcoins, which has peaked at around $1,000, plunged recently on reports that a major Japanese exchange had halted trading to deal with transaction glitches.

Ulbricht, 29, has pleaded not guilty and is contesting the forfeiture. A website established to help fund his defense accepts donations in Bitcoins.

Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.

Bill addressing farm lawsuits close to passing

INDIANAPOLIS -- An agricultural bill that opponents warn would undermine Indiana residents' legal challenges against large livestock farms is moving closer to passage in the General Assembly.

The bill's author, state Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury, says Indiana farmers need protection from animal rights activists and others he said are attacking the farming profession in courts.

His measure states, in part, that Indiana's policy is "to conserve, protect, and encourage" the development and improvement of agriculture for the production of food, fuel and other products. But it also contains language that opponents argue would unfairly favor farmers in lawsuits targeting industrial-scale livestock farms called concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, that raise thousands of animals and produce large amounts of manure, dust and strong odors.

The Indiana Senate approved the bill last month by 40-8 vote and the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee endorsed it on a 12-1 vote Thursday, sending it to the full House for consideration as early as this week.

Environmental and citizens groups told the House committee they're worried about language in the measure that says the law "shall be construed to protect the rights of farmers to choose among all generally accepted farming and livestock production practices, including the use of ever changing technology."

Hoosier Environmental Council attorney Kim Ferraro told the panel the wording appears to be an infringement by lawmakers on the judicial branch's authority and "is meant to serve a very special interest" — big agribusinesses like CAFOs.

She said the phrase "shall be construed" would in essence direct judges to favor farm operators in lawsuits, such as those filed by non-farming neighbors.

"You want to know that you've got a fair arbiter in a judge who's looking at the law and considering the rights of parties in a fair, objective manner," Ferraro said. "But this is saying, 'Judge, you've got to construe the law in favor of one party over the other.' "

She said Indiana's constitution gives farmers and other state residents the right to pursue legal business activities, and current state law provides more than adequate protections of farmers' rights.

Barbara Sha Cox, the founder of Indiana CAFO Watch and a fourth-generation farmer, told the committee that farmers don't need "extra rights."

"If you elevate those rights somebody else's rights are going down," she said. ". I think this bill will make bullies on the playground."

Yoder said his bill "simply protects agriculture" and that its opponents are grossly exaggerating its possible impact.

"This lets those individuals, especially judges when they have these lawsuits that come up, this lets them know that the General Assembly stands with the farming community," he said.

Farm groups including Indiana Farm Bureau, the Agribusiness Council of Indiana, Indiana Pork and the Indiana Soybean Alliance support the legislation.

Amy Cornell, a Farm Bureau policy adviser and counsel, told the House panel that former Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Linda Chezem had reviewed the opposition's claims about the bill's implications at the group's request and found them to be "far-fetched."

Democratic state Rep. Pat Bauer of South Bend, who cast the House panel's only vote against the bill, said he felt the House Judiciary Committee should have assessed the legal implications of its wording.

The earliest the House will hear Yoder's bill on second reading is Thursday, said Tory Flynn, a spokeswoman for Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma.

Republican Rep. Don Lehe of Brookston, who chairs the House agriculture committee and is sponsoring Yoder's bill in the House, said he expects questions will be raised about the bill's language during the full House debate.

Lehe said his reading of the bill is that it would still allow judges "total latitude" in deciding lawsuits that involve agricultural operations and wouldn't protect farmers who are breaking the law.

But, he said, it might help sway judges in close decisions involving lawsuits.

"The most you can say is that in a situation where the judge says 'You know, this is a toss up,' it gives him encouragement — it doesn't mandate — it just would encourage the judge to side with the farmer," he said.

Sleiman calls for international support to Army

BEIRUT: Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman urged the international community Sunday to provide the "political cover" needed for the Army to receive weapons and equipment.

“It is important to...provide the international cover that would enable the army to get the weapons it needs [using] the Saudi grant, without obstacles or restraints,” Sleiman reportedly told U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in a phone, according to the president's office.

The president said that such cover “would enable the military to defend Lebanon, control the domestic [security] situation, preserve civil peace and confront terrorism.”

Lebanon received in December last year a Saudi grant of $3 billion to buy equipments and arms for the military from France. Critics of the deal allege the grant is an attack on the Army's neutrality, and that Riyadh is seeking to turn the Army against Hezbollah.

Charlotte Observer moves from downtown presses

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The last newspaper has rolled off The Charlotte Observer's presses at the paper's downtown Charlotte officers.

The newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/1lWPDqH ) it will now print at a plant in the northeastern part of the city that also prints the Wall Street Journal.

The Charlotte Observer has printed downtown for 87 years. But publisher Ann Caulkins says the new presses are more efficient, faster and can print more color pages.

The Observer talked to Dow Jones & Co. for several years before buying the presses for an undisclosed amount. The Observer's new press will continue to print the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper held a party Friday to say goodbye to the three-story high machines that are anchored into bedrock below the building.

Sunday's edition was the last printed in Uptown Charlotte.