National: President Obama said in an Israeli television interview that Iran is still at least a year away from having a nuclear weapon, and that the US would never let that happen. He said he hoped to sway Iran with diplomacy, but if he couldn’t, “I continue to keep all options on the table.”

• Also today, President Obama is expected to propose spending $2 billion on research to replace petroleum-based fuels for cars and trucks. The money would come from oil and gas leases on public lands.  
• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Washington bankruptcy lawyer Kevin D. Orr to be the emergency financial manager of Detroit. An appointed manager was an affront to local politicians in the largely black city, but Orr also is black. He was part of the legal team on the Chrysler bankruptcy. Detroit is short of cash and $14 billion in debt. Orr says he intends to avoid bankruptcy for the city.
• Scientists claim they have definitely identified the subatomic particle known as the Higgs Boson, which gives mass to all elementary particles. Unlike other particles the Higgs does not spin. It’s known as “The God particle” because it holds matter together.

Gay OK: Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman announced a turnaround, saying he now supports same sex marriage. He is the first Republican senator to do so. It’s a significant crack in the Republican wall on this issue. Portman came to the decision two years ago after learning that his 21-year-old son is gay. The senator said, “It allowed me to think of this from a new perspective, and that’s of a dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have.”

World: Libyan authorities say they have detained a man who may be a valuable witness or suspect in the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last September. He is not believed to be a leader. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, another ambassador and two CIA security officers were killed in the attacks that have been the target of Republican demands for thorough investigation.

Phoenix Falling: The once-revered alternative newspaper The Boston Phoenix is closing after 47 years of publication. Last year The Phoenix converted from gritty newsprint to glossy magazine, and it failed.

Call Me Maybe: Samsung rented Radio City Music hall in New York last night to reveal its newest telephone Galaxy S4, the so-called “iPhone killer”. It has a bigger screen, translates foreign languages, and responds to hand gestures and eye movement. The Galaxy is made in South Korea. We don’t make anything in the US anymore except phone calls.

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