Campaign Aide Says Bachmann Knew of Payments to State Senator

The former chief of staff for the presidential campaign of Representative Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, released an affidavit on Monday describing how Ms. Bachmann’s campaign allegedly made payments to an Iowa state senator to work on the campaign.

In his statement, the former campaign officer, Andy Parrish, said that he personally recruited Kent Sorenson, a well-known conservative leader in the state, and that the campaign paid Mr. Sorenson $7,500 a month to support the campaign. State lawmakers in Iowa are not allowed to accept employment from political campaigns.

“Congresswoman Bachmann knew of and approved this arrangement,” Mr. Parrish said in his statement. However, he adds, that he, Ms. Bachmann and others on the staff relied on Mr. Sorenson’s assurances that the arrangement did not “run afoul of any Iowa Senate ethics rules.” Mr. Parrish includes e-mails stating that a fund-raiser for Ms. Bachmann’s campaign fund-raiser, Guy Short, paid Mr. Sorenson as a consultant via his C&M Strategies firm.

Mr. Sorenson abruptly withdrew his support for Ms. Bachmann’s candidacy just days before the important Iowa caucuses and endorsed the candidacy of Representative Ron Paul of Texas. At the time, Ms. Bachmann accused the Paul campaign of offering Mr. Sorenson money to shift allegiances.

Mr. Sorenson has denied receiving payments from the Bachmann campaign.

Ms. Bachmann’s attorney, William McGinley, said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press that the Bachmann campaign followed “all applicable laws and ethical rules.”

Boston Attack Shows Need for Immigration Overhaul, Ryan Says

CHICAGO â€" Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, said on Monday that he did not believe the Boston Marathon bombings should prevent immigration overhaul talks from moving forward in Washington.

“If anything, this is a case in point on the need to modernize our immigration laws,” said Mr. Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, responding to questions about whether the attacks posed a threat to the legislative efforts under way in Congress.

With Republican leaders reconsidering their position on immigration since the November election, when they received low support from Latinos, Mr. Ryan’s stance on the issue could help bridge the divide between party leaders and more reluctant rank-and-file conservatives in the House.

Speaking to reporters after appearing at a City Club of Chicago luncheon with Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat and longtime advocate of revamping the nation’s immigration policies, Mr. Ryan added, “We need a modern immigration system that not only protects our border but protects national security in all of its aspects.”

Mr. Ryan made his remarks the same day that federal authorities charged the surviving suspect in last week’s bombings with using a “weapon of mass destruction.”

That suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and his family entered the United States legally a decade ago through the existing immigration system, a fact that caused Republicans and Democrats to clash on Monday during a Senate hearing on a comprehensive immigration overhaul proposal.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said the bombings raised concerns about national security that needed to be incorporated into the immigration debate. Democrats said such remarks were an attempt to exploit the attack to delay the immigration bill, which was drafted by a bipartisan group of senators.

“It’s premature to make any kind of a judgment as to the outcome of this,” Mr. Ryan said when asked on Monday if the bombings would slow the progress of immigration legislation. “We just don’t know all of the facts. And so the last thing we ought to do is make some kind of knee-jerk assessment as to how this affects some other bill in Congress.”

Mr. Ryan, a possible 2016 presidential contender, also said on Monday that he supported proposals that would tighten border security, enforce laws already on the books and offer an eventual path to legal status for the estimated 11 million immigrants currently in the United States illegally. On his Facebook page earlier this year, he endorsed immigration reform ideas proposed by Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.

“When you look at this issue, you can see the dysfunction of our current immigration system,” Mr. Ryan said during his address at the luncheon. “It doesn’t work for anybody.”

Boston Attack Shows Need for Immigration Overhaul, Ryan Says

CHICAGO â€" Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, said on Monday that he did not believe the Boston Marathon bombings should prevent immigration overhaul talks from moving forward in Washington.

“If anything, this is a case in point on the need to modernize our immigration laws,” said Mr. Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, responding to questions about whether the attacks posed a threat to the legislative efforts under way in Congress.

With Republican leaders reconsidering their position on immigration since the November election, when they received low support from Latinos, Mr. Ryan’s stance on the issue could help bridge the divide between party leaders and more reluctant rank-and-file conservatives in the House.

Speaking to reporters after appearing at a City Club of Chicago luncheon with Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat and longtime advocate of revamping the nation’s immigration policies, Mr. Ryan added, “We need a modern immigration system that not only protects our border but protects national security in all of its aspects.”

Mr. Ryan made his remarks the same day that federal authorities charged the surviving suspect in last week’s bombings with using a “weapon of mass destruction.”

That suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and his family entered the United States legally a decade ago through the existing immigration system, a fact that caused Republicans and Democrats to clash on Monday during a Senate hearing on a comprehensive immigration overhaul proposal.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said the bombings raised concerns about national security that needed to be incorporated into the immigration debate. Democrats said such remarks were an attempt to exploit the attack to delay the immigration bill, which was drafted by a bipartisan group of senators.

“It’s premature to make any kind of a judgment as to the outcome of this,” Mr. Ryan said when asked on Monday if the bombings would slow the progress of immigration legislation. “We just don’t know all of the facts. And so the last thing we ought to do is make some kind of knee-jerk assessment as to how this affects some other bill in Congress.”

Mr. Ryan, a possible 2016 presidential contender, also said on Monday that he supported proposals that would tighten border security, enforce laws already on the books and offer an eventual path to legal status for the estimated 11 million immigrants currently in the United States illegally. On his Facebook page earlier this year, he endorsed immigration reform ideas proposed by Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.

“When you look at this issue, you can see the dysfunction of our current immigration system,” Mr. Ryan said during his address at the luncheon. “It doesn’t work for anybody.”

This Tablet’s Top Attraction? Its $80 Price.

If you’re not sure that you need a tablet, $200 is a lot to spend just to find out. But Ematic has reduced the risk with the Genesis Prime, a 7-inch Android tablet computer that lists for $80.

You get quite a lot at that price â€" with an emphasis on “at that price.”

Keeping costs down means stripping out all of the frills. The tablet does come loaded with a recent version of the Android operating system, Jellybean 4.1 (only Jellybean 4.2 is newer). That means access to all of the Google services, like Gmail, Google Play, Google Now, Chrome, Maps and YouTube, as well as the most recent versions of third-party apps.

The tablet’s hardware is good but entry level by current standards. For instance, the 1.1 GHz processor in the Genesis would have been top of the line a couple of years ago, but in watching streaming videos over Wi-Fi, it lagged a little.

The tablet is also Wi-Fi only, so if there is no hot spot, there is no Web access. The device has limited memory, with only four gigabytes on board. But there is a slot that can take a 32 GB micro SD memory card (that will add at least $20 to the price). Ematic also includes five GB of cloud storage with the tablet.

The tablet has only one physical button, the on/off switch. The rest of the controls are on the screen. That has to save a few dollars, right?

The screen itself is reasonably sharp, but very small type, like that on the apps page, breaks up a bit. And the screen has a subtle blue tint, which you probably won’t notice watching movies but which is apparent on print pages with white backgrounds.

The only camera is a front-facing VGA, so this is not the first choice for photo buffs. And the speaker is particularly anemic, although when using headphones the sound quality was good.

Battery life isn’t stellar, with the manufacturer estimating a 4.5-hour play time.

It would be easy to write off this tablet based on the specifications, but don’t forget the one spec that really sets it apartâ€" the $80 price.

Q&A: Replacing a Dead Drive

Q.

The hard drive in my Windows desktop computer has died. I want to remove it and install a new one â€" is it as simple as unscrewing the old drive and plugging a new one into the old socket?

A.

Replacing the hard drive in a desktop computer is a fairly straightforward process once you find a compatible replacement drive, as you need to match the physical size and internal connection to the PC’s motherboard. Your computer’s manufacturer may have a list of replacement parts that fit your computer on its Web site, along with a guide to installing it (take Hewlett-Packard, for example). Repair-oriented sites like iFixit.com also have illustrated tutorials that show the basic steps for hard-drive replacement.

Third-party vendors may be less expensive, and some have online help for finding compatible hard drives. Drive Solutions is just one such option out there.

When you have the new drive, open the computer’s case and locate the old drive. (Avoid static electricity by doing the work in a noncarpeted area or by wearing an antistatic wrist strap.) Unplug the drive’s motherboard cable and remove it from any brackets, and then reverse the process to plug in the new drive.

Once you have the new drive in place, you need to format it and reinstall Windows from your original system discs. Microsoft has information on doing that.

Obama to Attend Memorial Service for Victims of Texas Blast

President Obama will attend a memorial service this week for the victims of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tex., in what will be his latest foray as the country’s comforter in chief.

Mr. Obama, who spoke at emotional services for victims of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., and the bombing at the Boston Marathon, will participate in a ceremony on Thursday at Baylor University in Waco. He will travel there after attending the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum outside Dallas on Thursday morning.

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, noted that the president had publicly said that “our thoughts and our prayers are with the people of West, Texas, where so many good people lost their lives, some lost their homes, and many were injured and are still missing.”

At least 14 people were killed when the West Chemical and Fertilizer Company plant exploded on Wednesday night in West, not far from Waco. Most of the dead were firefighters or other emergency responders. About 200 others were wounded.

Mr. Carney declined to discuss whether safety was adequate at the plant. “This is currently obviously an active investigation,” he said. “The cause is still unknown. And it is still too early to point to specific violations, if any.”

That’s One Loud Battery

The JBL Charge combines an auxiliary battery with an amplifier and speaker in a package about the size of an oversize soda can.

The Charge has two standout features. One is its battery life, the other is its volume level.

The JBL Charge can play music and charge other devices.

Inside the Charge is a rechargeable 6000 milliamp-hour (mAh) lithium-ion battery. Milliamp-hours are a measure of how much energy a battery can hold. Many smartphones have a 1400 mAh battery. By that measure, the Charge could refill a phone battery almost four times.

That battery gives the Charge the capacity to play music for 12 hours at a time, according to the manufacturer, Harmon International Industries. At that rate, it would outlast the phone or tablet that it is connected to.

In a test, it connected to a phone easily using Bluetooth. The Charge also has a 3.5 mm jack for a wired connection, which slows the battery drain from the device providing the music.

Behind the grille are two speakers, and at one end is a bass port to improve reproduction of deeper tones. The Charge certainly produces a lot of volume for a 6-inch-tall music dock, but it isn’t exactly high fidelity. Thanks to the bass port, there is a little trick to improving the sound: Point the port into a container (I used a partially empty shelf) and it acts as a chamber to further increase the low tones. An empty cooler would probably work just as well.

The Charge is available in black, green, and blue for $150 through JBL.com.

Q&A: Uninstalling Toolbars in Internet Explorer

Q.

How do you get rid of an unwanted Internet Explorer specialty toolbar? I can’t find it in my All Programs list and don’t see it in the Control Panel list of programs to change or remove.

A.

If a new third-party toolbar is not as helpful as you were hoping, you can usually uninstall it from Internet Explorer’s own settings if you do not see it in the Programs list. Some extra toolbars also show up on the browser unexpectedly when you install a game or free program and many of these can be more annoying than helpful. Some may even cause the browser to crash or behave erratically.

To yank the unwanted toolbar, open Internet Explorer. Click on the Tools menu â€" or press Alt+X â€" and choose “Manage add-ons.”

A box appears on screen with a list of all the toolbars, search engines and other software that runs alongside the browser. In the “Add-on types” column on the left, choose “Toolbars and Extensions.” In the Show menu at the bottom of the column, select “All add-ons.” On the right side of the box, select the unwanted toolbar in the list and then click the Disable button. Click the Close button. Microsoft’s site has more information about Internet Explorer add-ons.