Obama to deliver US Naval Academy graduation speech

President Obama will deliver a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy's graduation in May.

The Naval Academy's superintendent, Vice Admiral Michael Miller, told the school's Board of Visitors on Monday that Obama would be the keynote speaker at the May 24 graduation, according to the Associated Press.

Sixteen presidents in total have spoken to graduating classes at the Naval Academy, more than at any other service academy, according to academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell.

Obama's speech will be the second graduation speech he delivers to the Naval Academy. His first speech was in 2009.

Obama is also scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the Ohio State University.

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Biden to deliver gun violence remarks in town neighboring Newtown

Vice President Biden will deliver remarks Thursday at a conference on gun violence just 20 minutes from the site of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre that inspired the Obama administration's push for new gun regulations.

In addition to the vice president, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) and Christ Murphy (D-Ct.) will be in attendance, as will Rep. Elizabeth Etsy (D-Ct.). Biden will follow a panel discussion on ways to reduce gun violence featuring national and local political and law enforcement leaders, along with mental-health experts, sportsmen and survivors of gun violence, the White House said Tuesday.

The conference at Western Connecticut State University is just 13 miles from the seen of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. There, a 20-year-old gunman killed six educators and 20 first grade students before committing suicide.

The trip to Connecticut is the latest in a campaign by the vice president to keep pressure on Congress to consider the series of gun regulations proposed by the Obama administration. The president has called for a renewed assault weapon ban, limits on the capacity of magazine clips and universal background checks on all gun purchases.

Biden will participate Tuesday in a Facebook "town hall" event hosted by Parents magazine, where he is expected to field questions in a live video chat. That follows round-table events in Philadelphia and Richmond, Va., with law enforcement personnel.

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Rubio to deliver GOP response to Obama's State of the Union

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will deliver the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address on Feb. 12.

Rubio's response will be delivered in both English and Spanish, according to Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) office.

"Marco Rubio is one of our party’s most dynamic and inspiring leaders. He carries our party’s banner of freedom, opportunity and prosperity in a way few others can. His family’s story is a testament to the promise and greatness of America," Boehner said in a statement on Wednesday.

"He’ll deliver a GOP address that speaks from the heart to the hopes and dreams of the middle class; to our party’s commitment to life and liberty; and to the unlimited potential of America when government is limited and effective," added Boehner.

Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, said he would discuss limited government in his response.

"I’m honored to have this opportunity to discuss how limited government and free enterprise have helped make my family’s dreams come true in America," said Rubio.

According to a Rubio aide, the response will focus on policies to aid the middle class. The Cuban-American lawmaker is also likely to discuss immigration. 

"It’s worth noting that his speech will focus on the Republican Party’s agenda to grow the middle class," the aide said. "Immigration will likely be mentioned as one way to grow the economy, but the speech really is about the Republican Party’s commitment to limited government as the best way to help the middle class, and how it differs from the president’s plans for bigger government."

Rubio's selection to deliver the GOP response is the latest sign of the freshman senator's increasing prominence within the Republican Party. The junior senator is viewed as key to attracting more Hispanic voters to the GOP and is at the center of speculation as a potential 2016 presidential contender.

Rubio's response also comes as he has taken a prime role in negotiations over crafting an immigration reform deal. He signed on to a bipartisan Senate blueprint for immigration reform unveiled last week and has taken the lead in selling conservative lawmakers on the plan.

The president has said he hopes to make immigration reform a priority in his second term. Obama also unveiled his own principles on immigration last week, but the White House has said he will likely deliver more specifics during his address to Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), in a statement, said Rubio would "contrast the Republican approach to the challenges we face with President Obama’s vision of an ever-bigger government and the higher taxes that would be needed to pay for it."

"Marco’s own experience as the child of immigrants has always informed his belief in limited government and free enterprise, which is why he has helped lead the fight against out-of-control spending and job-destroying tax hikes that continue to hold our economy back and stifle opportunity for millions. He was a natural choice to deliver the Republicans’ alternative to the administration’s reliance on government and debt," said McConnell.

In 2012, the GOP response was delivered by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.).

—This story was last updated at 4:21 p.m.

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UPDATE 2-Roche flags further growth as new drugs deliver

* 2012 sales up 7 pct, core earnings up 11 pct

* To pay 7.35 Sfr per share dividend for 2012

* Some investors had speculated about special dividend

* Shares fall 1.3 percent, underperform sector

BASEL, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche forecast a rise in sales and profits this year, helped by new cancer medicines it hopes will shield it from the patent expiries ravaging many rivals.

Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, said on Wednesday it hoped sales would grow in line with 2012, when they rose 7 percent to 45.5 billion Swiss francs ($49 billion).

The Basel-based group also said it was aiming for core earnings, up 11 percent in 2012, to increase ahead of sales.

That assessment was more upbeat than cross-town rival Novartis, which last week guided for a fall in profit in 2013 as it grapples with competition from cheaper copies of its top-selling product.

Roche has been spared the pain from a wave of patent expiries hitting many rivals, as most of its medicines do not face imminent generic competition.

It also has high hopes for new treatments like skin cancer drug Zelboraf and breast cancer medicine Perjeta, and some analysts predicted its guidance for 2013 would prove cautious.

"In our opinion, sales in 2013 should pick up more strongly; we see the guidance as conservative as usual," said ZKB analyst Michael Nawrath.

Roche proposed a dividend of 7.35 francs per share, compared with 6.80 francs a year ago, and pledged to keep hiking shareholder payouts.

This wasn't enough for some investors, though, who had speculated the group might pay a special dividend.

Roche Chief Executive Severin Schwan dismissed this, pointing out the group's net debt to assets ratio of 16 percent was still above its 0-15 percent target range.

At 0900 GMT, shares in Roche, which have gained 9.5 percent so far this year, were down 1.3 percent at 198.8 francs compared with a 0.1 percent weaker European healthcare index.

The group said 2012 core earnings per share reached 13.62 francs, in line with analyst forecasts, helped by cost cutting and sales of its three biggest-selling cancer medicines - Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin.

DEFEND AND GROW

Some analysts have raised concerns about the loss of market exclusivity on chemotherapy drug Xeloda at the end of 2013 and possible competition for hepatitis C drug Pegasys from other oral treatments, which they say could drag on Roche's medium-term growth.

However, the group is developing follow-on medicines to try and fend off anticipated competition from so-called biosimilar copies of its cancer drugs.

Sales of Perjeta, a treatment for women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, were 56 million francs so far, up from 26 million in the third quarter.

Perjeta is a follow-on to Roche's current second-biggest seller Herceptin and part of its strategy to develop new drugs to extend the longevity of its best-selling brands. It won approval from U.S. regulators in June.

U.S. regulators are expected to decide on Feb. 26 whether to approve another new breast cancer drug called T-DM1, which Roche hopes will be used in combination with Perjeta, giving further protection against the biosimilar threat.

"We do not only believe that we will defend the franchise, we believe that with those two important new medicines we will actually grow the franchise in the medium to long term," Schwan told journalists in Basel.

Roche is hoping to duplicate this defence strategy with GA101 - a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia which it bills as a better product than its original Rituxan.

Key data due later this year will provide clues as to whether Roche will be able to convince doctors to move patients to GA101 from Rituxan, which had sales of 6.7 billion francs in 2012 but loses patent protection in Europe at the end of 2013.

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