Egypt army seeks national unity as crisis mounts

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief called for talks on national unity to end the country's mounting political crisis after a vital loan from the IMF was delayed and thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets.

The meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was called in response to an increasingly destabilizing series of protests that has unfolded since President Mohamed Mursi awarded himself sweeping powers on November 22 to push through a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies in a referendum on Saturday.

Armed forces chief and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a meeting of "national unity for the love of Egypt to bring together partners of the country in the presence of the president of the republic", the army spokesman said.

An aide said Mursi had supported the call for talks. The Muslim Brotherhood said it would be there, while the main opposition coalition said it would decide on Wednesday morning whether to attend.

Earlier, the finance minister disclosed that a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, a cornerstone of Egypt's economic recovery hopes, would be delayed until next month.

Mumtaz al-Said said the delay was intended to allow time to explain a widely criticized package of economic austerity measures to the Egyptian people.

The announcement came after Mursi on Monday backed down on planned tax rises, seen as essential for the loan to go ahead, but which the opposition had fiercely criticized.

"Of course the delay will have some economic impact, but we are discussing necessary measures (to address that) during the coming period," Said told Reuters, adding: "I am optimistic ... everything will be well, God willing."

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said the measures would not hurt the poor. Bread, sugar and rice would not be touched, but cigarettes and cooking oil would go up and fines would be imposed for public littering. In a bid to rebuild consensus, he said there would be a public consultation about the program next week.

In Washington, the IMF said Egypt had asked for the loan to be postponed "in light of the unfolding developments on the ground". The Fund stood ready to consult with Egypt on resuming discussions on the stand-by loan, a spokeswoman said.

GUNMEN OPEN FIRE

On the streets of the capital, tensions ran high after nine people were hurt when gunmen fired at protesters camping in Tahrir Square, according to witnesses and Egyptian media.

The opposition has called for major protests it hopes will force Mursi to postpone the referendum. Thousands gathered outside the presidential palace, whose walls are scrawled with anti-Mursi graffiti.

A bigger crowd of flag-waving Islamist Mursi backers, who want the vote to go ahead as planned on Saturday, assembled at a nearby mosque, setting the stage for further street confrontations in a crisis that has divided the nation of 83 million.

In Egypt's second city of Alexandria, thousands of rival demonstrators gathered at separate venues. Mursi's backers chanted: "The people want implementation of Islamic law," while his opponents shouted: "The people want to bring down the regime." Others cities also witnessed protests.

The upheaval following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year is causing concern in the West, in particular the United States, which has given Cairo billions of dollars in military and other aid since Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, made peace with Israel in 1979.

The turmoil has also placed a big strain on the economy, sending foreign currency reserves down to about $15 billion, less than half what they were before the revolt two years ago as the government has sought to defend the pound.

"Given the current policy environment, it's hardly a surprise that there's been a delay, but it is imperative that the delay is brief," said Simon Williams, HSBC economist in Dubai. "Egypt urgently needs that IMF accord, both for the funding it brings and the policy anchor it affords."

The IMF deal had been seen as giving a seal of approval to investors and donors about the government's economic plans, vital for drawing more cash into the economy to ease a crushing budget deficit and stave off a balance of payments crisis.

MASKED ATTACKERS

In central Cairo, police cars surrounded Tahrir Square in central Cairo, the first time they had appeared in the area since shortly after Mursi awarded himself sweeping temporary powers in a move that touched off widespread protests.

The attackers, some masked, also threw petrol bombs that started a small fire, witnesses said.

"The masked men came suddenly and attacked the protesters in Tahrir. The attack was meant to deter us and prevent us from protesting today," said John Gerges, a Christian Egyptian who described himself as a socialist.

The latest bout of unrest has so far claimed seven lives in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and opponents who gathered outside Mursi's presidential palace.

The Republican Guard, which protects the palace, has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the building, now ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades.

The army has told all sides to resolve their differences through dialogue, saying it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel". For the period of the referendum, the army has been granted powers by Mursi allowing it to arrest civilians.

In statement issued after rights groups criticized the army's new police powers, the presidency said anyone arrested by the military during the referendum would face civil rather than military courts. It said the army's new role would only last until results are declared after Saturday's referendum.

The army has portrayed itself as the guarantor of the nation's security, but so far it has shown no appetite for a return to the bruising front-line political role it played after the fall of Mubarak, which severely damaged its standing.

OPPOSITION MARCHES

Leftists, liberals and other opposition groups say the hastily arranged constitutional referendum is polarizing the country and could put it in a religious straitjacket.

Opposition leaders want the referendum to be delayed and hope they can get sufficiently large numbers of protesters on the streets to change Mursi's mind.

The main association of Egypt's judiciary, the Judges' Club, voted against supervising the referendum, but the Islamists are confident they can muster enough judges to make sure the vote goes ahead with the necessary judicial supervision.

Islamists have urged their followers to show support for Mursi and for a referendum they feel sure of winning.

The opposition says the draft constitution fails to embrace the diversity of the population, a tenth of which is Christian, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Peter Graff and Will Waterman)

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Egypt army calls for talks as rival protests throng Cairo

CAIRO: Egypt's powerful army called for President Mohamed Morsi and the secular opposition to meet to resolve a deepening crisis over a constitutional referendum that sparked rival mass protests on Tuesday.

General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the country's armed forces chief and defence minister, made the appeal "for the sake of Egypt" for all political groups and movements to meet on Wednesday at a Cairo military sports complex, according to a statement posted on the military's official Facebook page.

It came as tens of thousands of protesters filled Cairo streets to demonstrate for and against the referendum called for Saturday on a draft constitution backed by Morsi and his Islamist allies.

There were fears the rival rallies could mix, sparking clashes like those seen outside the presidential palace last week, when seven people were killed and hundreds injured in a melee between mobs wielding metal bars, petrol bombs and handguns.

Troops have orders from the president to use police powers to protect "vital state institutions".

Outside the palace, thousands of opposition protesters tore down a metal and concrete barricade to denounce the Saturday referendum, forcing hundreds of soldiers back but without violence.

"We are here to say: 'Down with the illegitimate constitution'... If the referendum happens we will have to vote. But hopefully it won't," said one protester, Ahmed Badawy, 29.

At a much bigger Islamist counter-demonstration a few kilometres (miles) away gathering tens of thousands of referendum supporters, determination was equally evident.

"It's the last battle for Islam against the secularists who want to ruin Egypt," said Ahmed Alaa, who was bussed in from the north of the country.

Around him the crowd held up banners saying "Yes to the constitution," and waved Saudi and black Islamist flags as well as the Egyptian one.

The military, which has vowed to maintain stability while trying to remain neutral, has been caught in the middle of the dispute.

The main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, has so far ignored a previous call the army made at the weekend to start dialogue, saying talks are not possible unless the referendum is called off.

A key group of judges said on Tuesday that they would refuse to oversee the plebiscite. It was not known whether other judges would follow their lead.

Political analyst Emad Gad said that if no solution was found, there was a chance the crisis might prompt the army to step in and maybe even seize back the political control they gave up on Morsi's June election.

"In the event there are violent clashes or especially if blood is spilt in the street, the army will certainly intervene," he said.

The opposition, made up of secular, leftwing and liberal groups, sees the draft constitution rushed through by an Islamist-dominated panel last month as weakening human rights, the rights of women and religious minorities.

The UN human rights chief and international watchdogs have criticised the draft and the way it was drawn up.

Morsi's supporters, however, argue that it is up to Egypt's voters to decide in the referendum.

Michael Wahid Hanna, a political analyst at US think-tank The Century Foundation told AFP that, as things stood, there was a good chance of the referendum passing.

If that happened, Hanna warned, "I fear they are going to have an institutionalised crisis" that would polarise Egypt in the long-term, raising "the spectre of violence".

The prolonged crisis, the worst since a popular uprising overthrew autocratic president Hosni Mubarak early last year, is intensifying uncertainty over Egypt's economy.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday put a proposed $4.8 billion loan on hold.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said: "We have officially requested the delay of a month in the negotiations with the IMF because of the political situation in the country."

The IMF's executive board had been expected this month to review a provisional agreement on the loan, which is needed to bridge financing shortfalls through fiscal 2013-2014 as the country rebuilds its battered post-revolution economy.

-AFP/ac

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Apple's Find My iPhone app gets driving directions

Apple today made a slight new addition to its Find My iPhone software (iTunes), with a tweak that gives owners driving directions right to a lost device.

Under the previous system, users saw only the precise location on a map with the option to refresh. The new update shows your device's location just like a point of interest within Apple's maps software, with the option to fire up driving directions by tapping a
car icon.

In practice this means you can now hunt down a device's location without having to guesstimate a location and switch over to the maps app.

There is a slight wrinkle in that plan -- specifically, that you need to have another iOS device at the ready to install the app and use it to track down your lost gadget. However, the service continues to work through Apple's iCloud.com, where it still uses mapping data from Google instead of the company's homegrown solution.

Apple initially debuted Find My iPhone as a key benefit of subscribing to its now-defunct MobileMe service, before making it free in late 2010. In recent months, the app has led to arrests in armed robbery cases in California and Georgia.

One of the weaknesses with the app is still the fact that thieves can disable it by turning off the device, a move that doesn't require the use of a security passcode. Users must also enable the app on their device through the iCloud settings.

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Colo. massacre suspect asked for notebook back

CENTENNIAL, Colo. Attorneys for Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes called the University of Colorado four days after the attack and asked the school return a package that Holmes sent to his psychiatrist, according to testimony Monday.

16 Photos

The Colorado massacre suspect

University of Colorado, Denver, Police Chief Douglas Abraham said that the call alerted authorities to the presence of the unopened package in the campus mail room. He made the disclosure in a hearing in which defense attorneys were trying to determine who told Fox News that the package contained a notebook with writing that detailed violent plans.

Holmes' attorneys contend the disclosure violated a gag order.

Abraham and two other law enforcement officials said they didn't discuss the package with members of the media.

Abraham testified that burnt U.S. currency fell out of the notebook when he picked it up and shook it, CBS News' Julie Gautier reports from the courthouse. Asked if he wore protective gloves while handling the notebook, Abraham said he didn't "because I was careless."

Holmes was in court with no visible injuries, sporting a full beard, Gautier reports. It was his first court appearance since being taken to the hospital last month, when he tried to injure himself by ramming his head into his jail cell wall, CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen reports. Holmes was hospitalized with injuries that were called not serious.

Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 58 others during a shooting at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in July.

Holmes has not entered a plea and won't do so until after a weeklong preliminary hearing in which prosecutors will present evidence supporting the charges. That hearing is scheduled to begin Jan. 7.

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New Evidence Suggests Biblical Flood Happened

The story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood is one of the most famous from the Bible, and now an acclaimed underwater archaeologist thinks he has found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour for ABC News, Robert Ballard, one of the world's best-known underwater archaeologists, talked about his findings. His team is probing the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in search of traces of an ancient civilization hidden underwater since the time of Noah.

Tune in to Christiane Amanpour's two-part ABC News special, "Back to the Beginning," which explores the history of the Bible from Genesis to Jesus. Part one airs on Friday, Dec. 21 and part two on Friday, Dec. 28, both starting at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Ballard's track record for finding the impossible is well known. In 1985, using a robotic submersible equipped with remote-controlled cameras, Ballard and his crew hunted down the world's most famous shipwreck, the Titanic.

Now Ballard is using even more advanced robotic technology to travel farther back in time. He is on a marine archeological mission that might support the story of Noah. He said some 12,000 years ago, much of the world was covered in ice.

"Where I live in Connecticut was ice a mile above my house, all the way back to the North Pole, about 15 million kilometers, that's a big ice cube," he said. "But then it started to melt. We're talking about the floods of our living history."

The water from the melting glaciers began to rush toward the world's oceans, Ballard said, causing floods all around the world.

"The questions is, was there a mother of all floods," Ballard said.

According to a controversial theory proposed by two Columbia University scientists, there really was one in the Black Sea region. They believe that the now-salty Black Sea was once an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland, until it was flooded by an enormous wall of water from the rising Mediterranean Sea. The force of the water was two hundred times that of Niagara Falls, sweeping away everything in its path.

Fascinated by the idea, Ballard and his team decided to investigate.

"We went in there to look for the flood," he said. "Not just a slow moving, advancing rise of sea level, but a really big flood that then stayed... The land that went under stayed under."

Four hundred feet below the surface, they unearthed an ancient shoreline, proof to Ballard that a catastrophic event did happen in the Black Sea. By carbon dating shells found along the shoreline, Ballard said he believes they have established a timeline for that catastrophic event, which he estimates happened around 5,000 BC. Some experts believe this was around the time when Noah's flood could have occurred.

"It probably was a bad day," Ballard said. "At some magic moment, it broke through and flooded this place violently, and a lot of real estate, 150,000 square kilometers of land, went under."

The theory goes on to suggest that the story of this traumatic event, seared into the collective memory of the survivors, was passed down from generation to generation and eventually inspired the biblical account of Noah.

Noah is described in the Bible as a family man, a father of three, who is about to celebrate his 600th birthday.

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Egypt army given temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their critics besieging Mohamed Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace. Both sides plan mass rallies on Tuesday.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, which it ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades after last week's violence.

Mursi, bruised by calls for his downfall, has rescinded a November 22 decree giving him wide powers but is going ahead with a referendum on Saturday on a constitution seen by his supporters as a triumph for democracy and by many liberals as a betrayal.

A decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians and refer them to prosecutors until the announcement of the results of the referendum, which the protesters want cancelled.

Despite its limited nature, the edict will revive memories of Hosni Mubarak's emergency law, also introduced as a temporary expedient, under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.

But a military source stressed that the measure introduced by a civilian government would have a short shelf-life.

"The latest law giving the armed forces the right to arrest anyone involved in illegal actions such as burning buildings or damaging public sites is to ensure security during the referendum only," the military source said.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the committee overseeing the vote had requested the army's assistance.

"The armed forces will work within a legal framework to secure the referendum and will return (to barracks) as soon as the referendum is over," Ali said.

Protests and violence have racked Egypt since Mursi decreed himself extraordinary powers he said were needed to speed up a troubled transition since Mubarak's fall 22 months ago.

The Muslim Brotherhood has voiced anger at the Interior Ministry's failure to prevent protesters setting fire to its headquarters in Cairo and 28 of its offices elsewhere.

Critics say the draft law puts Egypt in a religious straitjacket. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the crisis has polarized the country and presages more instability at a time when Mursi is trying to steady a fragile economy.

On Monday, he suspended planned tax increases only hours after the measures had been formally decreed, casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

"VIOLENT CONFRONTATION"

Rejecting the referendum plan, opposition groups have called for mass protests on Tuesday, saying Mursi's eagerness to push the constitution through could lead to "violent confrontation".

Islamists have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning with their loyal base and perhaps with the votes of Egyptians weary of turmoil.

The opposition National Salvation Front, led by liberals such as Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa, as well as leftist firebrand Hamdeen Sabahy, has yet to call directly for a boycott of the referendum or to urge their supporters to vote "no".

Instead it is contesting the legitimacy of the vote and of the whole process by which the constitution was drafted in an Islamist-led assembly from which their representatives withdrew.

The opposition says the document fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill-equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

"Inevitability of referendum deepens divisions," was the headline in Al-Gomhuriya newspaper on Monday. Al Ahram daily wrote: "Political forces split over referendum and new decree."

Mursi issued another decree on Saturday to supersede his November 22 measure putting his own decisions beyond legal challenge until a new constitution and parliament are in place.

While he gave up extra powers as a sop to his opponents, the decisions already taken under them, such as the dismissal of a prosecutor-general appointed by Mubarak, remain intact.

"UNWELCOME" CHOICE

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for former Arab League chief Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

A spokeswoman for ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said: "We do not acknowledge the referendum. The aim is to change the decision and postpone it."

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no, they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

A military source said the declaration read on state media did not herald a move by the army to retake control of Egypt, which it relinquished in June after managing the transition from Mubarak's 30 years of military-backed one-man rule.

The draft constitution sets up a national defense council, in which generals will form a majority, and gives civilians some scrutiny over the army - although not enough for critics.

In August Mursi stripped the generals of sweeping powers they had grabbed when he was elected two months earlier, but has since repeatedly paid tribute to the military in public.

So far the army and police have taken a relatively passive role in the protests roiling the most populous Arab nation.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Samsung, Apple top 'smart device' Q3 sales: survey

WASHINGTON: Samsung and Apple led the field of makers of "smart connected devices" -- tablets, smartphones and PCs -- in the third quarter as sales hit fresh records, a survey showed Monday.

Research firm IDC found that the global market for such devices grew 27.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter to 303.6 million units, valued at $140.4 billion dollars.

The firm said it expects shipments will continue to reach record levels in the fourth quarter, rising 19.2 percent from the third quarter's figure and 26.5 percent above the same quarter a year ago.

IDC expects sales of 362 million units with a market value of $169.2 billion in the final quarter, with tablet sales up 55.8 percent and smartphones up 39.5 percent, while PCs are expected to show small declines.

Samsung maintained the top position with a 21.8 percent market share while Apple help 15.1 percent based on unit shipments.

But Apple led all vendors in value with $34.1 billion in quarterly sales and an average selling price of $744 across all device categories.

"The battle between Samsung and Apple at the top of the smart connected device space is stronger than ever," said IDC analyst Ryan Reith.

"Both vendors compete at the top of the tablet and smartphone markets. However, the difference in their collective ASPs (average selling prices) is a telling sign of different market approaches. The fact that Apple's ASP is $310 higher than Samsung's with just over 20 million fewer shipments in the quarter speaks volumes about the premium product line that Apple sells."

In terms of shipments, Lenovo ranked third with seven percent of the market, followed by Hewlett-Packard (4.6 percent), and Sony (3.6 percent).

IDC expects the worldwide smart connected device market will hit 2.1 billion units in 2016 with a market value of $796.7 billion worldwide.

In 2011, PCs accounted for 39.1 percent of this market but by 2016 it is expected to drop to 19.9 percent.

Smartphones will be the top product category with share growing from 53.1 percent in 2011 to 66.7 percent in 2016 and tablets will grow from 7.7 percent in 2011 to 13.4 percent in 2016.

"Both consumers and business workers are finding the need for multiple 'smart' devices and we expect that trend to grow for several years, especially in more developed regions," said IDC's Bob O'Donnell.

"The advent of cloud-based services is enabling people to seamlessly move from device to device, which encourages the purchase and usage of different devices for different situations."

-AFP/ac

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Does it still make sense to buy an e-reader?

Should you buy something like a Kindle Paperwhite when you can get a full-blown color tablet for just $40 more?

(Credit:
Amazon)

I've been an e-book fan for as long as I can remember. Ever since I found myself stuck on a slow-moving mountain train with nothing but my PalmPilot and an e-book, I've been hooked on digital reading.

Flash-forward some 15 years and e-books are everywhere, thanks in no small part to the Amazon
Kindle -- a dedicated e-reader with a special "e-ink" screen that I still consider a marvel of modern technology. (Know why Kindles and other e-ink devices have such phenomenal battery life? Because every pixel on the screen is either "on" or "off" until it needs to change. And only when you make a change -- like, say, for turning a page -- does the screen consume any power. Extraordinary!)

Remember when the Kindle cost $399, and you couldn't even get one for the first six months? That was a mere five years ago; today you can get a Kindle for as little as $69, assuming you prefer to it any number of competing Kobo Readers, Nooks, and the like. Heck, as of yesterday, the touch-screen-enabled Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch now sells for just $79.

Tempting as those prices may be, it's time to start debating whether these devices really have a future. Given that most people already own a smartphone, and more and more are buying
tablets every day, does it still make sense to buy an e-reader?

It probably goes without saying that you can read e-books on your phone. Just install the Kindle app, Nook app, Kobo app, and so on, or use something like Apple's iBooks or Google's Play Reader. Although you may balk at the idea of reading on such a comparatively small screen, it's really not bad once you get used to it. Plus, smartphone screens are getting larger all the time --
iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3, anyone?

Needless to say, tablets are just as versatile when it comes to reading (unless they're running a specialized version of Android, in which case you may be limited to specific e-book apps). And for the deal to beat, look no further than Amazon's $159 Kindle Fire, which was state-of-the-art just a year ago and is still plenty powerful. Indeed, it's a full-blown tablet, capable of everything from apps and games to music and video -- all displayed on its lovely 7-inch color screen.

Compare that with, say, the $119 Kindle Paperwhite, which has a 6-inch grayscale screen and really serves only one function: books. For just $40 more, it's like making the leap from bicycle to Ferrari.

There are, of course, plenty of points in favor of the humble e-reader. Many book lovers prefer the gentle look of the e-ink screen to the harsh glare of a backlit tablet. (The former is also vastly superior for outdoor reading.) What's more, e-readers don't distract you with games, apps, e-mail, and other attention-grabbers the way tablets do. And say what you will about price: $69 or $79 is still half (or less than half) the cost of a Kindle Fire, to say nothing of a $199 Google Nexus 7, $269 Nook HD+, or $329 iPad Mini. If you're on an e-book budget, a simple e-reader will leave you with extra cash for actually buying books.

All that being said, I can see a time in the not-too-distant future when Amazon and B&N abandon e-readers in favor of an all-tablet lineup, because, let's face it, tablets are sexy, and they do a lot more than just e-books.

So now I'll turn the discussion over to you. Does it still make sense to buy an e-reader? Or should you invest a few dollars more in a tablet? Personally, I'm in the latter camp, as I've been reading on tablets for years and don't mind their supposedly eye-unfriendly screens. And when I'm caught up in a really good book (like I am now with "Gone Girl"), no amount of app distractions can tear me away. Tablets FTW!

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Cory Booker considering run for N.J. governor, Senate

(CBS News) Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker did not skirt the question nor pause for a moment when asked if he had aspirations for higher office. Booker said he is considering running for either the New Jersey Senate seat or governor.

"I am absolutely considering running for governor, as well as giving other options some consideration." Booker said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." He added that he is also considering a run for Senate.

Booker, should he be the Democratic nominee for governor, would run against current governor Chris Christie, who's approval ratings reached 67 percent in a Monmouth University poll last week.

Booker, however, said he needs to decide "in the next few weeks" if he is going to make the move. "[T]here are a lot of very good candidates for governor in New Jersey on the Democratic side and I have to give my party and be a part of my party's push forward, whether me as a candidate or supporting other candidates for that office."

If he instead chooses to run for Senate, it would be for current Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg's seat. Lautenberg is the oldest sitting senator and would be 90 years old on Election Day in 2014, but he has not announced plans to retire.

Democrats consider Booker a rising star - a young African-American politician who has made national news for a range of reasons, including his efforts to turn around crime in his city and for running into a burning building to save a neighbor. He is also an avid conversationalist on Twitter, which led him to a food stamp challenge in which he is currently living off $30 dollars worth of food for one week, the amount the average 46 million food stamp recipients receive. He called it "very challenging."

"I had an apple for breakfast. I burnt a sweet potato and couldn't go out and buy another one because it wasn't on my budget so I cut around the burned part and had a sweet potato around lunch time and made a casserole with broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and peas and nursed that over a couple hours. I found I could stave off hunger if I ate a spoonful and came back to it," Booker said.

"Even going to Starbucks and buying a cup of coffee is more than my daily food allows right now," Booker said. "I'm thoroughly uncaffeinated right now. And it's a terrible state of human existence. I don't see how people do it."

As for the "fiscal cliff," Booker said there's "an immediate fear" among people in his city that their taxes could go up by $2,000 for the middle class if Congress doesn't act. "For many families, not only in my city, but across our state, a couple of thousands dollars could be the difference between making that mortgage payment, being able to afford food and making critical investments during every month," he said.

"This is not time for the Republicans to hold the country hostage again, really at this point, holding it hostage to protect a couple of percent of our population."

Booker, whose city and state was impacted by Hurricane Sandy, said the country can't afford serious cuts in investments to things such as infrastructure. "This is not a time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish," he said.

Sandy "really exposed how vulnerable and unprepared our infrastructure is in this country," Booker said "And you have storm systems and even heavy rainfalls right now are causes of incredible economic damage. To not invest the pennies now to asset dollars later is also a bad thing to do."

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Cowboys Players Were Like 'Brothers'

Dallas Cowboys players Joshua Price-Brent and Jerry Brown Jr., had a brotherly bond that began when they were teammates at the University of Illinois and carried on when they were both signed, in different years, to the NFL franchise.

But in an instant, the lives of the young, successful men who were living out their NFL dreams were altered.

Irving police suspect Price-Brent, 24, was intoxicated when he was behind the wheel of his 2007 Mercedes early Saturday morning. He was allegedly speeding when his car hit a curb, flipped, landed in the middle of a service road and caught fire, killing his passenger, Brown, 25, who had been a linebacker on the Cowboys practice squad.

Price-Brent, who is scheduled to be arraigned today on an intoxication manslaughter charge, released a statement Saturday night from his jail cell.

"I will live with this horrific and tragic loss every day for the rest of my life," he wrote.

His attorney, George Milner, called Brown's death a "tremendous loss" and said "this was like losing a little brother" for his client.

Kansas City Chiefs Player Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide Watch Video

Authorities were alerted to the accident, which occurred at about 2:21 a.m., by several 911 callers, Irving Police Department spokesman John Argumaniz said. When police arrived, they found Price-Brent pulling Brown from his 2007 Mercedes, which had caught fire, he said.

Brown was unresponsive and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

It was not known where the men were coming from or where they were going, but Argumaniz said officers suspected alcohol may have been a factor in the crash and asked Price-Brent to perform field sobriety tests.

"Based on the results of the tests, along with the officer's observations and conversations with Price-Brent, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated," Argumaniz said.

This is the second week in a row an NFL player has been accused of being involved in another person's death. Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs killed his girlfriend early Dec. 1, then committed suicide while talking to team officials in the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium.

Jovan Belcher: Police Release Dash-Cam Videos of NFL Star's Final Hours

Price-Brent was taken to a hospital for a mandatory blood draw where he was treated for minor scrapes, Argumaniz said. He was then booked on an intoxication manslaughter charge after it was learned Brown had died of injuries suffered in the crash.

It is expected that results from the blood draw could take several weeks, the police spokesman said.

If convicted, the second-degree felony intoxication manslaughter charge carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Milner suggested that ongoing construction in the area of the crash may have played a role.

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