In/Out: New Hope for Massachusetts G.O.P.

BOSTON â€" With just over three weeks to go before candidates need to submit 10,000 signatures to the state, the special election for Senate in Massachusetts is still waiting for its first major Republican contender after several of the party’s prominent members declined to make a run. On Tuesday morning, one such candidate took a step toward getting in.

State Representative Dan Winslow, of Norfolk, Mass., announced plans to form an exploratory committee for the seat that was vacated when Joh Kerry, a Democrat, became secretary of state last week.

“If we continue to elect the same Washington politicians, we cannot expect different results,” Mr. Winslow said.

A second-term representative, Mr. Winslow was a Massachusetts district court judge in the 1990s, and was the chief legal counsel to Gov. Mitt Romney from 2002 to 2005. In that job, he trained state and local officials on how to administer some of the nation’s first same-sex marriages, after the practice was legalized by a Supreme Judicial Court decision here in 2003.

The only other declared Republican candidate is Douglas Bennett, a Boston real-estate agent who has run unsuccessfully for the state Senate in Nantucket and Boston’s City Council. Gabriel Gomez, a Massachusetts businessman and former Navy SEAL, is also said to be eyeing a run.

Meanwhile, two United States representatives, Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch, are squaring off in the Democratic primary for the seat.

The primary election is Apr! il 30, with the special election scheduled for June 25. The winner will be up for re-election in 2014, at the end of this seat’s full Senate term.

In/Out in 2014 Senate Races

SOUTH CAROLINA: As expected, Senator Lindsey Graham faces a potential primary challenge from his right. Lee Bright, a Republican state senator from Spartanburg, told GreenvilleOnline.com that he believes “South Carolina is more conservative than what Senator Graham represents” and will make a decision about a bid within the next few months. A friend and ally of Senator John McCain of Arizona, Mr. Graham has drawn the ire the Republican Party’s right wing at various points over his 10 years in the Senate, notably on immigration.

IOWA: Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, is retiring, and Republicans really want his seat. Some national strategists are afraid Representative Steve King - who has not  announced whether he will run - could hurt their chances. Representative Tom Latham, a moderate Iowa Republican, said Mr. King’s ultimate choice would not affect whether he dives in, but for now, “it’s way early” to say.

GEORGIA: Two nationally known figures ruled themselves out of the race to replace Senator Saxby Chambliss on Monday, including Kasim Reed, Atlanta’s Democratic mayor, and Representative Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from outside Atlanta. But a third of Georgia’s nine Republicans in the House have expressed interest: Paul Broun (expected to announce his candidacy on Wednesday, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), as well as Jack Kingston and Phil Gringey.

NEW JERSEY: One thing for Geraldo Rivera to keep in mind as he mulls a Republican Senate bid: he would have to leave his job at Fox News.

The most prominent potential entrant in the race is, of course, Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark, who is considering taking on Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, 89, in a Democratic primary.

Jess Bidgood reported from Boston and Sarah Wheaton from Washington.

A Pocket Speaker System Hits a New Low

For quite a while the FoxL from Soundmatters was the gold standard of pocket-size speakers for its unusual quality-to-size ratio. It pumped out mighty good sound for a speaker so small.

But the continued growth of pods, pads and phones brought new competitors, many of them proving to be worthy rivals to the FoxL.

The foxL Dash 7 speaker and foxLO subwoofer produce a lot of sound for a mini-system.

Soundmatters has not been sitting still, though. It has introduced a limmer and sleeker version of its amp and speaker, which can be augmented with a palm size subwoofer, the FoxLO.

The new speaker is called the Dash 7. It retains the sound quality of the FoxL, packing two speakers into a slim package about the size of an iPhone stretched to one and a half times its normal length. The cover for the speaker, reminiscent of Apple’s iPad covers, can be folded into a stand.

The Dash 7, which lists for $250, can be connected to an audio source with a cable or through Bluetooth. It claims a battery life of up to 12 hours. There is also a mic, so the device can be used as a speaker phone.

To give the Dash 7 a bit more kick, you can add the FoxLO, which lists for $180. According to the spec sheet, the FoxLO sends 30 watts of power to a nearly two and a half-inch speaker. It attaches to the smaller sound bar with a cable, extending the low range o! f the minisystem. The combination is a worthy update to the FoxL, with sound that is more clear and detailed than a two-pound stereo has any right to produce.

The FoxLO is about the size of a typical paperback dictionary. It weighs almost a pound and a half, about three times the weight of the Dash 7. You might want to take it traveling, but probably in your suitcase rather than your carry-on bag.

Cantor Speech Expands His Visibility and Party Vision

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, seeking to soften the image of a Republican Party that has been focused almost exclusively on budget cutting, laid out an expansive social agenda on Tuesday for education, health care, job training and scientific research â€" what he called “creating the conditions for health, happiness and prosperity.”

Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research organization in Washington, Mr. Cantor, the House majority leader, joined a broader Republican effort to expand the party’s appeal in the wake of last November’s electoral beating and to move beyond an endless cycle of budget showdowns that began as soon as the Repblicans took control of the House in 2011. He embraced offering illegal immigrants brought to the country as children a path to citizenship, a policy he once opposed. And though he has in the past endorsed proposals to turn Medicare into a system that offers seniors a fixed subsidy to buy private health insurance, Mr. Cantor on Tuesday embraced simpler approaches to cutting health care costs.

“In Washington, over the past few weeks and months, our attention has been on cliffs, debt ceilings and budgets, on deadlines and negotiations,” he said. “But today, I’d like to focus clearly on what lies beyond those fiscal debates.”

That message was somewhat mixed, however. In the morning, leaders emerged from a meeting of the House Republican Conference to tout legislation demanding that President Obama produce a budget that balances in 10 years â€" or at least projects when it would come into balance. The afternoon was spent responding to the president’s demand that Congress act now t! o head off automatic, across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, set to begin in March. Those cuts, known as “sequestration,” were set up in 2011 to help defuse the first â€" but not the last â€" showdown between Republicans and the White House over raising the government’s borrowing limit.

But after a 2012 Republican campaign that revolved around such deficit debates, Mr. Cantor set out to show that House Republicans have a broader vision for governance â€" and to raise his own profile as a party leader.

He pointed to a San Francisco public schools policy that expands choice within the school system and allows financing to flow with students to schools that are most attractive. Under the policy, more money is awarded for low-income students, children with disabilities, and those that speak English as a second language.

“So there€™s an incentive for schools to seek the more vulnerable populations, and reasons for schools to differentiate themselves and to excel,” Mr. Cantor said in a rare show of support for a city synonymous with political liberalism.

Federal school financing formulas should adopt the same approach, encouraging choice between public, private and charter schools, he said. Higher education assistance should encourage students to go into science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields by prompting universities to disclose unemployment rates and earning potentials for all areas of study. And the nation’s visa and immigration system should be tilted toward offering foreign students studying science, engineering and technology a way to stay in the country.

“One of our priorities this year will be to move heaven and earth to fix our education system for the most vulnerable,” he said.

Financing for federal research should shift from social sciences to hard sciences as well.

M! any of th! e policies Mr. Cantor embraced â€" school choice, streamlining federal worker training and changing labor laws to allow workers to eschew overtime for time off â€" have been Republican agenda items for more than a decade. But they have largely dropped off the radar screen for a singular focus on deficit reduction. His support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul might have been most noteworthy, although he kept his support to broad principles.

Moderate Republicans expressed relief that they would have new issues to raise with their constituents.

“It was just refreshing to hear someone talk about education,” said Representative Richard Hanna, Republican of New York.

Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, said, “As a party, we sometimes get too much into the green eyeshade discussion at the expense of everything else.”

Cantor Speech Expands His Visibility and Party Vision

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, seeking to soften the image of a Republican Party that has been focused almost exclusively on budget cutting, laid out an expansive social agenda on Tuesday for education, health care, job training and scientific research â€" what he called “creating the conditions for health, happiness and prosperity.”

Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research organization in Washington, Mr. Cantor, the House majority leader, joined a broader Republican effort to expand the party’s appeal in the wake of last November’s electoral beating and to move beyond an endless cycle of budget showdowns that began as soon as the Repblicans took control of the House in 2011. He embraced offering illegal immigrants brought to the country as children a path to citizenship, a policy he once opposed. And though he has in the past endorsed proposals to turn Medicare into a system that offers seniors a fixed subsidy to buy private health insurance, Mr. Cantor on Tuesday embraced simpler approaches to cutting health care costs.

“In Washington, over the past few weeks and months, our attention has been on cliffs, debt ceilings and budgets, on deadlines and negotiations,” he said. “But today, I’d like to focus clearly on what lies beyond those fiscal debates.”

That message was somewhat mixed, however. In the morning, leaders emerged from a meeting of the House Republican Conference to tout legislation demanding that President Obama produce a budget that balances in 10 years â€" or at least projects when it would come into balance. The afternoon was spent responding to the president’s demand that Congress act now t! o head off automatic, across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, set to begin in March. Those cuts, known as “sequestration,” were set up in 2011 to help defuse the first â€" but not the last â€" showdown between Republicans and the White House over raising the government’s borrowing limit.

But after a 2012 Republican campaign that revolved around such deficit debates, Mr. Cantor set out to show that House Republicans have a broader vision for governance â€" and to raise his own profile as a party leader.

He pointed to a San Francisco public schools policy that expands choice within the school system and allows financing to flow with students to schools that are most attractive. Under the policy, more money is awarded for low-income students, children with disabilities, and those that speak English as a second language.

“So there€™s an incentive for schools to seek the more vulnerable populations, and reasons for schools to differentiate themselves and to excel,” Mr. Cantor said in a rare show of support for a city synonymous with political liberalism.

Federal school financing formulas should adopt the same approach, encouraging choice between public, private and charter schools, he said. Higher education assistance should encourage students to go into science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields by prompting universities to disclose unemployment rates and earning potentials for all areas of study. And the nation’s visa and immigration system should be tilted toward offering foreign students studying science, engineering and technology a way to stay in the country.

“One of our priorities this year will be to move heaven and earth to fix our education system for the most vulnerable,” he said.

Financing for federal research should shift from social sciences to hard sciences as well.

M! any of th! e policies Mr. Cantor embraced â€" school choice, streamlining federal worker training and changing labor laws to allow workers to eschew overtime for time off â€" have been Republican agenda items for more than a decade. But they have largely dropped off the radar screen for a singular focus on deficit reduction. His support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul might have been most noteworthy, although he kept his support to broad principles.

Moderate Republicans expressed relief that they would have new issues to raise with their constituents.

“It was just refreshing to hear someone talk about education,” said Representative Richard Hanna, Republican of New York.

Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, said, “As a party, we sometimes get too much into the green eyeshade discussion at the expense of everything else.”

Q.& A.: Fixing Incorrect Photo Dates

Q.

Why do my pictures have the wrong dates on them when I transfer them from the camera to the computer with the Picasa program

A.

One reason may be that the date and time settings on the camera were incorrect when the photos were taken. When you snap the shutter, a digital camera records more than just the image; it also embeds other data into the photo file.

This information includes the date, time, image dimensions and name of the camera manufacturer. If the camera’s own date setting is incorrect, it will write the wrong time in the photo file. (Google has more information about viewing a photo’s embedded data in Picasa on its site.)

To fix the problem for future photos you take, go into your camera’s settings menu and correct the date and time. For the photos you have already imported into Picasa 3.5 and later, selec the pictures with the incorrect dates in a folder or album, go to the Tools menu and choose “Adjust Date and Time.” Enter the correct information in the New Photo Date area and click O.K.

The Early Word: Voter Resignation

Today’s Times

• Several recent polls and studies suggest that long waiting times in some places discouraged voter turnout in the 2012 elections, possibly costing Democrats hundreds of thousands of votes, Jeremy W. Peters writes. Party leaders are beginning to make a push for easier voting and voter registration, setting up a new conflict with Republicans over a deeply polarizing issue.

• Even though he appeared to acknowledge that expanded background checks on gun sales were far more likely to pass Congress than tougher measures, President Obama renewed his call for lawmakers to pass a ban on the manufacture and sale of new assault weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines, Michael D. Shear writes.

The Senate restarted a politically tinged debate on Monday evening with a vote to take up a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act - a measure that foundered over Republican concerns last year, Jonathan Weisman writes. That will leave party members in the House with a stark choice: stand against the provisions that derailed the bill last year or adjust their views given November’s electoral blowout with women.

• The Republican-controlled House is moving quickly to stake out a position in what is likely to become a stormy debate on overhauling the immigration system, Julia Preston and Ashley Parker report. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a series of hearings in the coming months to examine different overhaul proposals, including some fo! r a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

 Around the Web

• Former President Bill Clinton has already named his choice for 2016: the actress Betty White. “After all, she’s gained praise all the way from President Obama to George Dubya,” he said. “Of course I’m talking about Presidents Barack Obama and George Washington.” His remarks will be part of “Betty White’s Second Annual 90th Birthday Special,” which will be broadcast on NBC Tuesday night.

 Happenings in Washington

• President Obama will have a number of meetings on Tuesday, including one with leaders of progressive groups like the N.A.A.C.P. and labor union officials, as well as meetings with business executives and his defense secretary, Leon E. Panetta.

• A group of female Olympians will viit Capitol Hill to give speeches commemorating the 27th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The Early Word: Voter Resignation

Today’s Times

• Several recent polls and studies suggest that long waiting times in some places discouraged voter turnout in the 2012 elections, possibly costing Democrats hundreds of thousands of votes, Jeremy W. Peters writes. Party leaders are beginning to make a push for easier voting and voter registration, setting up a new conflict with Republicans over a deeply polarizing issue.

• Even though he appeared to acknowledge that expanded background checks on gun sales were far more likely to pass Congress than tougher measures, President Obama renewed his call for lawmakers to pass a ban on the manufacture and sale of new assault weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines, Michael D. Shear writes.

The Senate restarted a politically tinged debate on Monday evening with a vote to take up a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act - a measure that foundered over Republican concerns last year, Jonathan Weisman writes. That will leave party members in the House with a stark choice: stand against the provisions that derailed the bill last year or adjust their views given November’s electoral blowout with women.

• The Republican-controlled House is moving quickly to stake out a position in what is likely to become a stormy debate on overhauling the immigration system, Julia Preston and Ashley Parker report. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a series of hearings in the coming months to examine different overhaul proposals, including some fo! r a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

 Around the Web

• Former President Bill Clinton has already named his choice for 2016: the actress Betty White. “After all, she’s gained praise all the way from President Obama to George Dubya,” he said. “Of course I’m talking about Presidents Barack Obama and George Washington.” His remarks will be part of “Betty White’s Second Annual 90th Birthday Special,” which will be broadcast on NBC Tuesday night.

 Happenings in Washington

• President Obama will have a number of meetings on Tuesday, including one with leaders of progressive groups like the N.A.A.C.P. and labor union officials, as well as meetings with business executives and his defense secretary, Leon E. Panetta.

• A group of female Olympians will viit Capitol Hill to give speeches commemorating the 27th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day.