A New Kind of Holster for iPhone

Unless you carry a Bushmaster Adaptive Combat Rifle around, the Sector 5 Black Ops iPhone cover from Element Case is likely to be the most polarizing accessory you own.

The case is made from a resin called G10 and designed by a company best known for its premium handgun grips, VZ Grips.

The back of the case bears a checkering pattern common to handguns, and it has a rim of machined aluminum that is anodized with a nonreflective coating.

They even throw in a back knurled power button and “tactical holster” for affixing your phone to your belt.

Like many Element Case products, the cost is high: $200. Element Case has made a business of creating expensive covers from premium and exotic materials, like its $200 Ronin case made with a bumpr of resin-impregnated wood.

The weaponized iPhone case certainly courts controversy, but thanks to the remarkably grippy pattern on the Black Ops model, you may not give it up until they pry it from you cold, dead hands.

A Sound Dock That Docks With a Dock

Zagg has simultaneously entered two markets with one device, the Origin.

The Origin is a travel-size Bluetooth speaker system that lets you bump up the fidelity of music from a phone or tablet. But the minidock itself docks with a larger dock, to turn into a whopping 36-watt desktop speaker system.

The smaller unit, which looks like a clone of the larger dock, magnetically connects to a recess in the back of the larger unit.

The smaller Origin, roughly 6 by 2 by 3 inches, weighs 10 ounces and packs in two 1.5-inch speakers and a two-inch speaker as well, for lower tones. It gets an estimated 15 hours of play from a full charge.

The smaller unit is similar to the older FoxL portable sound bar, much favored by music-loving frequent fliers.

Thebig Origin dock is roughly 14 by 6 by 8 inches and weighs in at a hefty seven pounds. It contains a four-inch subwoofer, two 2.5-inch speakers and two 1.5-inch speakers capable of pumping out some significant volume. There was no problem hearing this one in the convention hall â€" dorm room neighbors beware.

The Origin becomes available in March, at a price of $250.

House Democrats Seek to Pass Expansive Domestic Violence Law

A day after the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was reintroduced in the Senate, House Democrats declared that they would do everything in their power to ensure that it also passes the House.

The bill, which reauthorizes a 1994 law that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence, is similar to a bill that the Senate passed last year with bipartisan support, but which foundered (and ultimately expired) in the House when the Republican conference refused to support it. House Republicans offered their own bill, which excluded protections for gay, bisexual or transgender victims of domestic abuse and stripped certain provisions related to undocumented immigrants and Native American women on reservations.

“Today House Democratic leaders are here to fulfill that promise to protect the lives and secure the liberty and happiness of America’s women and families by reauthoizing and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader. “For nearly two decades, the Violence Against Women Act has helped ensure that no victim of domestic violence has to suffer in silence or in the shadows.”

Referring to the reintroduced Senate bill, she added, “It is time for their House Republican colleagues to follow suit and join the Senate in a bipartisan backing of this measure.”

Ms. Pelosi, flanked by roughly two dozen congresswomen and a handful of her male colleagues, said the bill currently had “158 and counting” co-sponsors in the House, including every female Democratic member.

Although the bill is typically reauthorized with the little fanfare, House Republicans of the previo! us Congress were particularly worried about a provision that granted undocumented immigrants who were victims of abuse a temporary legal status, intended to encourage them to come forward and report the assault.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said the issue of violence against women transcended any one group.

“This is not just a women’s issue, this is not just a men’s issue or a children’s issue,” he said. “This is an issue of safety, this is an issue of security, this is an issue of health. This is an issue of family, solidarity and security.”

He said he expected the bill to be successful this time, because he could not fathom anyone objecting to protections for those three key constituencies.

“I can’t believe that there is any House member who’s goingto get up and say there is somebody who lives in America who I do not believe ought to not be protected from domestic violence,” he said.

Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault herself, began by thanking the members who had helped pass the original law in 1994.

“I just want to thank them for being here in 1994 when this was passed, because I was one of the people who was kind of out there getting beat up and sexually assaulted, and one of those faceless, nameless women who really needed advocates and law enforcement and people on the other end of the telephone to be there, and I am so proud to be here today,” she said, before turning her attention to her Republican colleagues: “This is our call to action, our clarion call to action to the House G.O.P.! lead! ership, to make it crystal clear that we’re ready and prepared to make this a priority.”

However, despite the confidence of the House Democrats, the bill currently has no Republican co-sponsors in the House.

Vermont Lawmaker Moves to Repeal Protection for Drug Maker

A Vermont lawmaker on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal language passed into law in early January that benefits a California-based biotechnology company, saying the deal “confirms the American public’s worst suspicions of how Congress operates.”

The bill introduced by Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, would eliminate the two-year delay in Medicare price restraints that Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., sought as part of the legislation to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. The provision protects certain oral drugs, including Amgen’s Sensipar, from Medicare price controls, costing the federal government perhaps as much as $500 million in the coming two years.

This special protection, first detailed in The New York Times, was supported by the two top members of the Senate Finance Committee â€" Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, and Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah â€" who are major recipients of campaign contributions from Amgen and its employees.

Aides for the senators, and a spokeswoman for Amgen, said the delay in the price controls was necessary to protect kidney dialysis patients, because so many other changes are already taking place in the way Medicare covers this care. They dismissed any suggestion that the provision was re! lated to political contributions, saying the change was good public policy.

“Patient access to necessary treatments would be compromised,” Kelley Davenport, an Amgen spokeswoman , said in a written statement Wednesday, defending the provision and opposing any repeal.

But critics called the provision an unnecessary giveaway to Amgen.

“As the nation’s economy teetered on the edge of a Congressional-created fiscal cliff, lobbyists for a private, for-profit company seized an opportunity to feed at the public trough,” Mr. Welch said in a statement issued Wednesday announcing the plan to repeal the provision. “Without scrutiny or debate, the American taxpayer was stuck with the $500 million tab. This special interest provision should have stood on its own merits with an up or down vote. It’s no wonder cockroaches and root canals are more popular than Congress.”

Ms. Davenport defended the company’s behind-the-scenes push to secure the provision, which Amgen has acknowleded should help sales of Sensipar.

“Our 2012 lobbying efforts and expenditures reflect Amgen’s continued advocacy efforts to provide patient access to and advance the coverage of existing and future innovative products,” she said in a statement last week.

Mr. Welch, the chief deputy whip for House Democrats, lined up three co-sponsors for the legislation, including one Republican, Richard Hanna, of New York. But the repeal of the provision has little chance of becoming law unless a much larger number of lawmakers sign on to the effort, and then move to attach the repeal to some other piece of related legislation moving through the House.

Vermont Lawmaker Moves to Repeal Protection for Drug Maker

A Vermont lawmaker on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal language passed into law in early January that benefits a California-based biotechnology company, saying the deal “confirms the American public’s worst suspicions of how Congress operates.”

The bill introduced by Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, would eliminate the two-year delay in Medicare price restraints that Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., sought as part of the legislation to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. The provision protects certain oral drugs, including Amgen’s Sensipar, from Medicare price controls, costing the federal government perhaps as much as $500 million in the coming two years.

This special protection, first detailed in The New York Times, was supported by the two top members of the Senate Finance Committee â€" Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, and Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah â€" who are major recipients of campaign contributions from Amgen and its employees.

Aides for the senators, and a spokeswoman for Amgen, said the delay in the price controls was necessary to protect kidney dialysis patients, because so many other changes are already taking place in the way Medicare covers this care. They dismissed any suggestion that the provision was re! lated to political contributions, saying the change was good public policy.

“Patient access to necessary treatments would be compromised,” Kelley Davenport, an Amgen spokeswoman , said in a written statement Wednesday, defending the provision and opposing any repeal.

But critics called the provision an unnecessary giveaway to Amgen.

“As the nation’s economy teetered on the edge of a Congressional-created fiscal cliff, lobbyists for a private, for-profit company seized an opportunity to feed at the public trough,” Mr. Welch said in a statement issued Wednesday announcing the plan to repeal the provision. “Without scrutiny or debate, the American taxpayer was stuck with the $500 million tab. This special interest provision should have stood on its own merits with an up or down vote. It’s no wonder cockroaches and root canals are more popular than Congress.”

Ms. Davenport defended the company’s behind-the-scenes push to secure the provision, which Amgen has acknowleded should help sales of Sensipar.

“Our 2012 lobbying efforts and expenditures reflect Amgen’s continued advocacy efforts to provide patient access to and advance the coverage of existing and future innovative products,” she said in a statement last week.

Mr. Welch, the chief deputy whip for House Democrats, lined up three co-sponsors for the legislation, including one Republican, Richard Hanna, of New York. But the repeal of the provision has little chance of becoming law unless a much larger number of lawmakers sign on to the effort, and then move to attach the repeal to some other piece of related legislation moving through the House.

Leahy Introduces Modest Gun Safety Measure in the Senate

A week before his hearings on gun violence, Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a modest measure Wednesday that may presage the sorts of legislative avenues that could find support among both Republicans and Democrats.

The bill, known as the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act, would give law enforcement officials more tools to investigate so-called straw purchasing of guns, in which someone buys a firearm for someone else who is prohibited from obtaining one on his own. The bill would also create tough penalties for those who make purchases with the intent to transfer a gun in that manner, particularly in cases involving crimes of violence or drug trafficking.

Mr. Leahy announced his bill a day before Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who will be joined by various other House and Senate Democrats on Thursday, introduces her own measure, which would ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The two bills underscore the tension among Senate Democrats over how to proceed with President Obama’s call for legislative measures to combat gun violence. Some Democrats - and many Republicans - would like to limit such actions to an expansion of background checks on gun buyers and other checks on selling, while others, like Ms. Feinstein, would like to see more expansive measures that limit certain types of weapons and ammunition. All gun legislation will face serious opposition in the Senate and the House.

“When the president spoke last week about the need for legislative action in the wake of the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month,” Mr. Leahy said in a prepared statement, “strengthening our law enforcement efforts against illegal gun trafficking was one of the key issues he noted. This bill will answer that call to action.”

The White House has made gun legislation a priority. Also Thursday afternoon, Vice President! Joseph R. Biden Jr. will hold an online “fireside hangout” via Google, according to a news release posted Wednesday on the Google blog.

The Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing of the 113th Congress on gun violence next Wednesday; a witness list will be made public later in the week. Among those invited are Wayne LaPierre, who is head of the National Rifle Association.

Mr. Leahy expects a broad array of issues to be discussed, including how to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. “I believe that we can enact common-sense protections consistent with the Second Amendment,” he said.

Sustainable Living in Your Headphones

The Saddle model from the Rise Up collection of headphones from the House of Marley.

These days, the look of headphones is as important as the sound they produce, and the House of Marley knows it.

The company, which was founded on the vision of the reggae musician Bob Marley, tries to incorporate earth-friendly materials and craftsmanship in its latest line of over-ear headphones, called Rise Up.

The new collection, which was revealed at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, uses materials like canvas and bamboo fiber over a frame of aluminum and steel. The headphones, which sell for $160, have a comfortable, yet durable feel, as if tey would outlast their plastic competitors.

The headphones have a standard mic with a three-button controller that is integrated into a four-foot-long, tangle-free fabric cord secured to the right cup. They are relatively light, weighing about 2½ pounds, and come with a canvas carrying case.

One of the models bears a resemblance to the bright Rastafarian flag, but the one I tested, called the Saddle, was of a more muted brown and gray. The Saddle includes Rewind fabric, the House of Marley’s brand of textile that uses recycled materials like reclaimed hemp and organic cotton combined with fibers of recycled water bottles.

But the appeal of Rise Up headphones is more than their appearance; they sound great, too. The headphones are not noise-canceling, but they do use 50-mm dynamic drivers, which offer a rich, bass-heavy sound.

So, you can sit on the couch and listen to your music, smug in the belief that you’re saving the earth while you enjoy your tunes.

After Investigation Clears Allen, White House to Proceed with NATO Nomination

The White House said Wednesday that it would move forward with the nomination of Gen. John R. Allen as the top NATO commander now that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with a series of e-mails with a Florida socialite.

General Allen’s appointment had been on hold since the e-mails were discovered during the investigation that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency who was having an extramarital affair. The Department of Defense said Tuesday that it found no improprieties by General Allen.

“The D.O.D.’s investigator general’s investigation of that matter is now complete and we welcome its findings,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Wednesday. “And therefore, we intend for the nomination to proceed.” He said that “we hope the Senate will consider it in a timely manner, and, you know, we will press the Senate! to do just that.”

General Allen, a Marine, is currently the top American commander in Afghanistan, but his successor has already been confirmed and is due to replace him within weeks. Until now, General Allen’s fate had been uncertain. Even after the e-mail investigation was completed, officials initially said no decision had been made on whether to go ahead with the NATO nomination.

The Pentagon’s inspector general looked into whether his e-mails with Jill Kelley, a socialite from Tampa, Fla., violated policy, regulation or military law. About 15 investigators pored through the e-mails and examined them for indications of an inappropriate relationship or security breaches and concluded that “allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated,” as te Pentagon spokesman put it.

Ms. Kelley became ensnared in the investigation after she asked an acquaintance at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for help with what she considered harassing anonymous e-mails she received warning her to stay away from Mr. Petraeus. Ultimately, the F.B.I. determined that those e-mails had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Mr. Petraeus’s biographer. Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general and former commander in Afghanistan and Iraq, acknowledged having an affair with Ms. Broadwell and resigned on Nov. 9, but the e-mails between Ms. Kelley and General Allen were sent to the Pentagon for review.

On Wednesday, General Allen broke a long silence on the investigation and released a statement in Kabul through his spokesman, Maj. David Nevers! .

â! €œFrom the outset, the general placed his faith in â€" and fully supported â€" the investigative process,” Major Nevers said. “He’s obviously pleased by the outcome. But more critically, he is grateful for the support he received throughout this process from his chain of command, friends, family and colleagues.”

Ms. Kelley had remained publicly quiet until Wednesday, when she and her husband, Scott, published an article on the op-ed page of The Washington Post, decrying what they called a breach of their privacy. They disputed reports that she had sent General Allen 30,000 e-mails, a distortion of original reports saying that investigators were looking at 30,000 pages of documents, many of them e-mail messages.

“This is untrue, and the insinuation that Jill was involved in an extramarital affair is as preposterousas it is hurtful to our family,” Jill and Scott Kelley wrote. “This small sample of junk reporting was emotionally exhausting and damaging - as it would be to the strongest of families.”

After Investigation Clears Allen, White House to Proceed with NATO Nomination

The White House said Wednesday that it would move forward with the nomination of Gen. John R. Allen as the top NATO commander now that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with a series of e-mails with a Florida socialite.

General Allen’s appointment had been on hold since the e-mails were discovered during the investigation that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency who was having an extramarital affair. The Department of Defense said Tuesday that it found no improprieties by General Allen.

“The D.O.D.’s investigator general’s investigation of that matter is now complete and we welcome its findings,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Wednesday. “And therefore, we intend for the nomination to proceed.” He said that “we hope the Senate will consider it in a timely manner, and, you know, we will press the Senate! to do just that.”

General Allen, a Marine, is currently the top American commander in Afghanistan, but his successor has already been confirmed and is due to replace him within weeks. Until now, General Allen’s fate had been uncertain. Even after the e-mail investigation was completed, officials initially said no decision had been made on whether to go ahead with the NATO nomination.

The Pentagon’s inspector general looked into whether his e-mails with Jill Kelley, a socialite from Tampa, Fla., violated policy, regulation or military law. About 15 investigators pored through the e-mails and examined them for indications of an inappropriate relationship or security breaches and concluded that “allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated,” as te Pentagon spokesman put it.

Ms. Kelley became ensnared in the investigation after she asked an acquaintance at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for help with what she considered harassing anonymous e-mails she received warning her to stay away from Mr. Petraeus. Ultimately, the F.B.I. determined that those e-mails had been sent by Paula Broadwell, Mr. Petraeus’s biographer. Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general and former commander in Afghanistan and Iraq, acknowledged having an affair with Ms. Broadwell and resigned on Nov. 9, but the e-mails between Ms. Kelley and General Allen were sent to the Pentagon for review.

On Wednesday, General Allen broke a long silence on the investigation and released a statement in Kabul through his spokesman, Maj. David Nevers! .

â! €œFrom the outset, the general placed his faith in â€" and fully supported â€" the investigative process,” Major Nevers said. “He’s obviously pleased by the outcome. But more critically, he is grateful for the support he received throughout this process from his chain of command, friends, family and colleagues.”

Ms. Kelley had remained publicly quiet until Wednesday, when she and her husband, Scott, published an article on the op-ed page of The Washington Post, decrying what they called a breach of their privacy. They disputed reports that she had sent General Allen 30,000 e-mails, a distortion of original reports saying that investigators were looking at 30,000 pages of documents, many of them e-mail messages.

“This is untrue, and the insinuation that Jill was involved in an extramarital affair is as preposterousas it is hurtful to our family,” Jill and Scott Kelley wrote. “This small sample of junk reporting was emotionally exhausting and damaging - as it would be to the strongest of families.”

Ryan Expects Debt Deal but Takes Taxes Off the Table

Representative Paul D. Ryan predicted on Wednesday that the two parties would produce “a big down payment” on reducing federal debt this year, yet outlined Republican conditions - chiefly no new tax revenues - that would seem to rule out any budget agreement with President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Mr. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who is back as chairman of the House Budget Committee after his unsuccessful turn as Mitt Romney’s running mate, gave no clues as to how he can produce a fiscal plan in coming weeks that puts the government on a path to a balanced budget in 10 years as House Republicans, in a big shift, now promise.

His last two budgets took three decades to erase annual deficits, largely because big spending cuts were offset by big tax cuts for high -earners and businesses, and reductions in Medicare spending would not take effect until after 10 years, shielding current beneficiaries and those nearing eligibility.

“We do have our work cut out for us” Mr. Ryan told reporters and policy analysts at a breakfast sponsored by The Wall Street Journal.

The new goal suggests that Mr. Ryan and other Republicans will have to forfeit a big political talking point from his budgets of the past two years - that is, that people over 55 years old would not see any immediate changes in Medicare benefits. That age group includes more voters than any other - voters who are zealously protective of the so-called entitlement programs for older Americans: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

While Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have indicated that they could support hundreds of billions of dollars in reduced entitlement spending over 10 years, they have said they would refuse to do so without additional increases in revenues from taxes on high incomes. Having raised top rates as part of a year-end fiscal accord that let the Bush-era tax cuts expire on high incomes, Democrats have said additional revenues c! ould be collected through limiting deductions and other tax breaks for the affluent.

But Mr. Ryan said that he and the House’s top tax writer,  the Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan, were  drafting legislation to overhaul the tax code that would reduce tax breaks but use the revenue to lower tax rates - not to reduce budget deficits.

Although Republicans resisted the recent fiscal measure that raised the top tax rates, and most House Republicans - though not Mr. Ryan - voted against it, Mr. Ryan said  they would  embrace the additional revenues - roughly $600 billion over 10 years - as they look ahead to writing budget and tax-overhaul plans. The additional money makes their jobs that much easier, he said.

Mr. Ryan also said he did not expect the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate to be able to resolve differences over whatever budget plans they pass this year. “I expect two competing plans,” he said, though ultimately he sid the debt “down payment” would come from negotiations between the White House and Congress.

The Early Word: Take Two

Today’s Times

• As President Obama’s second term begins, Republican leaders appear ready to accede to him at least in the short term, Jonathan Weisman reports. Even some staunch conservatives are pushing the party to take a more pragmatic tone.

• For all the revelry surrounding the president’s second inauguration, his staff is now racing to prioritize his second-term ambitions, Jeff Zeleny writes. Political reality says he has perhaps as little as a year to accomplish his biggest goals.

• Hoping to persuade states to expand Medicaid, the Obama administration has proposed a policy that would require millions of low-income people to pay more for health care, Robert Pear reports.

• President Obama’s inauguration marked the beginning of the next phase in his campaign to install a new national-security team, as his nominees continue to have “frank and candid” exchanges on Capitol Hill, Mark Landler writes.

• Gen. John R. Allen, the American commander in Afghanistan, has been cleared of wrongdoing after a Defense Department inquiry into potentially inappropriate e-mails with a socialite in Tampa, Fla., Thom Shanker reports.

Around the Web

• Curators for the Smithonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture spent much of the inauguration weekend scouring the crowds in search of objects! , documents and images that could someday have a space in history, the Associated Press reports.

Happenings in Washington

• President Abraham Lincoln’s Bible will be on display at the Library of Congress