Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday.

Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding naming a replacement for Chavez or calling a new election in the South American OPEC nation.

In power since 1999, the 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public for more than three weeks. Allies say he is in delicate condition after a fourth operation in two years for an undisclosed form of cancer in his pelvic area.

The political opposition argues that Chavez's presence on January 10 in Cuba - where there are rumors he may be dying - is tantamount to the president's stepping down.

But Maduro, waving a copy of the constitution during an interview with state TV, said there was no problem if Chavez was sworn in at a later date by the nation's top court.

"The interpretation being given is that the 2013-2019 constitutional period starts on January 10. In the case of President Chavez, he is a re-elected president and continues in his functions," he said.

"The formality of his swearing-in can be resolved in the Supreme Court at the time the court deems appropriate in coordination with the head of state."

In the increasing "Kremlinology"-style analysis of Venezuela's extraordinary political situation, that could be interpreted in different ways: that Maduro and other allies trust Chavez will recover eventually, or that they are buying time to cement succession plans before going into an election.

Despite his serious medical condition, there was no reason to declare Chavez's "complete absence" from office, Maduro said. Such a declaration would trigger a new vote within 30 days, according to Venezuela's charter.

RECOVERY POSSIBLE?

Chavez was conscious and fighting to recover, said Maduro, who traveled to Havana to see his boss this week.

"We will have the Commander well again," he said.

Maduro, 50, whom Chavez named as his preferred successor should he be forced to leave office, said Venezuela's opposition had no right to go against the will of the people as expressed in the October 7 vote to re-elect the president.

"The president right now is president ... Don't mess with the people. Respect democracy."

Despite insisting Chavez remains president and there is hope for recovery, the government has acknowledged the gravity of his condition, saying he is having trouble breathing due to a "severe" respiratory infection.

Social networks are abuzz with rumors he is on life support or facing uncontrollable metastasis of his cancer.

Chavez's abrupt exit from the political scene would be a huge shock for Venezuela. His oil-financed socialism has made him a hero to the poor, while critics call him a dictator seeking to impose Cuban-style communism on Venezuelans.

Should Chavez leave office, a new election is likely to pitch former bus driver and union activist Maduro against opposition leader Henrique Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state.

Capriles lost to Chavez in the October presidential election, but won an impressive 44 percent of the vote. Though past polls have shown him to be more popular than all of Chavez's allies, the equation is now different given Maduro has received the president's personal blessing - a factor likely to fire up Chavez's fanatical supporters.

His condition is being watched closely by Latin American allies that have benefited from his help, as well as investors attracted by Venezuela's lucrative and widely traded debt.

"The odds are growing that the country will soon undergo a possibly tumultuous transition," the U.S.-based think tank Stratfor said this week.

(Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga; editing by Christopher Wilson)

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Tennis: China's Li beats Zakopalova in Shenzhen final

BEIJING: Chinese star Li Na captured her seventh career title and second on home soil when she beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 on Saturday in the Shenzhen Open final.

The world number seven and the competition's top seed had lost two of the pair's three previous meetings and suffered some final set jitters at the $500,000 tournament when she allowed the fifth-seeded Czech to come back from 2-5 down to 5-5.

But Li closed out victory with two quick games.

Li's previous victory in China came at Guangzhou in 2004 that made her the first Chinese player ever to win a tour trophy.

Her other five WTA titles came at Gold Coast in 2008, Birmingham in 2010, Sydney and the French Open in 2011 and Cincinnati in 2012.

"Klara played well and I managed my mood swings well, and I'm glad I made it," Li said as she continued her build-up to the opening Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open which starts in Melbourne on January 14.

"Winning the title certainly helps boost my confidence for the coming weeks, but it also depends on how I'm playing on the courts. Confidence itself won't guarantee a win.

"But I'm very happy to win and the Shenzhen Open was a great tournament - I believe it will get even better in future years."

Zakopalova is now 2-10 in WTA finals, but she has the consolation of knowing that she is projected to rise from her current world ranking of 28 past her career-high of 26, which she set back in 2006.

"It was about a few points today but she really proved she's a top player - she played her best from 5-all," Zakopalova said.

"She's playing unbelievably fast and flat, and she's hitting her backhand down the line very well. To me she's one of the top three players right now and I hope she can make it there.

"There's no way to be sad about losing - I lost to a top player and I'm happy to reach the final."

- AFP/de

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Acer brings its Windows 8 launch lineup to CES

Like many PC companies, Acer released a wide range of new laptops and hybrids alongside Windows 8 at the tail end of 2012. With fresh systems just hitting shelves, the company is highlighting those products at
CES 2013, rather than announcing new additions.

We've gotten a few chances to check out Acer's
Windows 8 launch lineup over the past two months, and have come away with a generally favorable impression. They run the gamut from traditional clamshell laptops with added touch screens to hybrids that straddle the line between PC and
tablet. Highlights include:

Acer Aspire S7
This was one of the sharpest-looking new Windows 8 systems, incredibly thin and light, although the glass-covered lid makes it a bit top-heavy. While the hardware and design of the Aspire S7 is definitely premium, it's a tough sell at $1,649 (for the Core i7 version), especially with touch-screen Windows 8 laptops available for as little as $529.

Acer Iconia W700
The Acer Iconia W700 is one of only a handful of Core i5-or-better slates we've seen with Windows 8. When docked, it feels like a mini all-in-one desktop, although some felt this full Windows 8 touch-screen tablet and keyboard combo looked ridiculous.

Acer Iconia W510
Overpriced for a system with an Intel Atom, this laptop with a detachable screen works as a standalone Windows 8 tablet when separated. Still, the idea of a touch-screen slate running a full Windows operating system that can instantly transform into a working laptop is an appealing one.

The three PCs referenced above were originally announced alongside the launch of Windows 8 in late 2012, and are available to buy now.

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House passes $9.7B Sandy relief bill

The House today passed a bill approving more than $9 billion in aid for regions impacted by superstorm Sandy, the first of two Sandy relief measures making their way through Congress between now and the end of the month.

The measure, which allows FEMA to temporarily increase the National Flood Insurance program's borrowing limit by $9.7 billion, needed two thirds support to pass through the House.

On January 15, the first full day of legislative business on Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner is expected to bring up a vote for additional Sandy relief measures totaling the remaining $51 billion requested by President Obama.

The House was expected to vote on a Sandy relief package earlier this week, before the close of the 112th Congress. But after the House passed a Democrat-crafted deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" -- a deal many Republicans disliked due to a lack of spending cuts and an increase in tax rates -- Boehner pulled the Sandy legislation at the last minute.

His decision was met with outrage on both sides of the aisle, and Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lashed out at the speaker in a press conference the following day. Several House Republicans also threatened to vote against Boehner's bid to be re-elected Speaker of the House.

In light of the backlash, Boehner quickly scheduled the $9.7 billion flood insurance package for today and pledged to conduct a vote on the remaining funds on January 15.

The first portion of Sandy aid was expected to pass, though there were objections among conservative Republicans. The Club for Growth sent out a press release urging House members to vote "no" on the bill, arguing that "Congress should not allow the federal government to be involved in the flood insurance industry in the first place, let alone expand the national flood insurance program's authority."

Republican Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., also expressed his opposition to the legislation, citing general objections to the national flood insurance program as well as a desire for the $9.7 billion to be offset by reductions elsewhere.

"There is no doubt that Hurricane Sandy rendered unspeakable damage to both lives and property on our East Coast," he said in remarks on the House floor. "The tragic reality [is] the national flood insurance program is broke. It is beyond broke... Members are faced with a tragic choice of not paying contractual claims to victims who pay premiums or adding $9.7 billion to an an insane national debt that threatens our national security, our economic well-being, and our children's future."

He continued: "Emergency bills like this should not come to the floor without offsets to pay for it or structural reforms to ensure that taxpayer bailouts are never needed again. Regrettably, less than 24 hours into a new congress, there is simply not time for this."

Democrats fiercely defended the legislation, and continued to blast Republicans for stalling on the original vote. They also expressed some concern that the bill could be held up by the Senate, which is expected to pass the package by voice vote this afternoon.

"I am concerned that whatever here passes in the United States Senate," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a press conference today. "That's why I thought, really in the interest of confidence-building, comfort to those affected by loss of life, loss of home, loss of job, loss of community, character of their community, that it would have been important just to pass that bill."

"The victims of superstorm sandy can wait no longer. It's been 11 weeks," added Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., in remarks during debate over the bill. "Haven't they suffered and waited long enough?"

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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.

Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.

Then she lost her hands and feet.

Watch the full show in a special edition of "Nightline," "To Hold Again," TONIGHT at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC

When she was 24 years old, Lindsay had just graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University's well-regarded fashion program when she developed a blockage in her small intestine from Crohn's Disease. After having surgery to correct the problem, an infection took over and shut down her entire body. To save her life, doctors put her in a medically-induced coma. When she came out of the coma a month later, still in a haze, Lindsay said she knew something was wrong with her hands and feet.

"I would look down and I would see black, almost like a body that had decomposed," she said.

The infection had turned her extremities into dead tissue. Still sedated, Lindsay said she didn't realize what that meant at first.

"There was a period of time where they didn't tell me that they had to amputate, but somebody from the staff said, 'Oh honey, you know what they are going to do to your hands, right?' That's when I knew," she said.

After having her hands and feet amputated, Lindsay adapted. She learned how to drink from a cup, brush her teeth and even text on her cellphone with her arms, which were amputated just below the elbow.

"The most common questions I get are, 'How do you type,'" she said. "It's just like chicken-pecking."

PHOTOS: Lindsay Ess Gets New Hands

Despite her progress, Lindsay said she faced challenges being independent. Her mother, Judith Aronson, basically moved back into her daughter's life to provide basic care, including bathing, dressing and feeding. Having also lost her feet, Lindsay needed her mother to help put on her prosthetic legs.

"I've accepted the fact that my feet are gone, that's acceptable to me," Lindsay said. "My hands [are] not. It's still not. In my dreams I always have my hands."

Through her amputation recovery, Lindsay discovered a lot of things about herself, including that she felt better emotionally by not focusing on the life that was gone and how much she hated needing so much help but that she also truly depends on it.

"I'm such an independent person," she said. "But I'm also grateful that I have a mother like that, because what could I do?"

Lindsay said she found that her prosthetic arms were a struggle.

"These prosthetics are s---," she said. "I can't do anything with them. I can't do anything behind my head. They are heavy. They are made for men. They are claws, they are not feminine whatsoever."

For the next couple of years, Lindsay exercised diligently as part of the commitment she made to qualify for a hand transplant, which required her to be in shape. But the tough young woman now said she saw her body in a different way now.

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Damascus blames "terrorists" for petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday said a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus on Thursday night was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

The bomb killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol station attack in the capital this week, opposition activists said.

"Terrorists ... blew up an explosive device at Qassioun Petrol Station near Hamish Hospital in Barzeh, Damascus, martyring several civilians," state news agency SANA said.

The United Nations says more than 60,000 people have been killed in the civil war, the longest, bloodiest conflict born from uprisings across the Arab world in the past two years.

Dozens of people were incinerated in an air strike as they waited for fuel at another Damascus petrol station on Wednesday, according to opposition sources.

The semi-official al-Ikhbariya television station aired its own footage from Barzeh, indicating the attack struck a government-held area. Barzeh's residents include members of the Sunni Muslim majority and religious and ethnic minorities.

The rebels hold a crescent of suburbs on the southern and eastern edges of Damascus, which have come under bombardment by government forces. Rebel forces also seized territory in Syria's north and east during advances in the second half of 2012.

The war pits rebels, mainly from the Sunni Muslim majority, against a government supported by members of Assad's Shi'ite-derived Alawite sect and some members of other minorities who fear revenge if he falls. Assad's family has ruled for 42 years since his father seized power in a coup.

Fighting has forced 560,000 Syrians to flee to neighboring countries, according to the U.N.

Lebanon, a country which has so far tried to distance itself from the conflict next door for fear it will inflame sectarian tensions, approved a plan to start registering 170,000 Syrian refugees and ask international donors for $180 million in aid.

"The Lebanese state will register the refugees...and guarantee aid and protection for the actual refugees in Lebanon," Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour said after a six-hour cabinet session on Thursday night.

Most Sunni-ruled Arab states, as well as the West and Turkey have called for Assad to step down. He is supported by Russia and Shi'ite Iran.

ARMY WITHDRAWAL?

A Lebanese citizen who crossed into Syria through a mountainous frontier region said the army appeared to have withdrawn from several border posts and villages in the area.

Rebels controlled a line of border towns and villages north of the capital Damascus, stretching about 40 km (25 miles) from Yabroud south to Rankus, said the man, who did not want to be named and visited Syria on Wednesday and Thursday.

Rebels in the area reported that some of Assad's forces have pulled back to defend the main north-south highway linking Syria's main cities of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo, while others were sent to reinforce the northern approach to Damascus.

"The border is controlled by the Free Syrian Army rebels," he said on Friday, adding he had crossed through mountainous terrain, covered in parts by more than a meter of snow.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in Beirut and Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Editing by Jason Webb)

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Delhi gang-rape victim's boyfriend speaks out

NEW DELHI: The boyfriend of a 23-year-old woman who died after a brutal gang rape on a New Delhi bus spoke out Friday for the first time about the savage attack that has sparked protests across the nation and his own trauma over his inability to save her.

The 28-year-old man, who suffered a fractured leg and other injuries in the attack, has been deeply traumatised and is currently at his parents' home in rural northern India where he is taking time out from his job at a software firm in New Delhi.

"What can I say? The cruelty I saw should not be seen ever. I tried to fight against the men but later I begged them again and again to leave her," he told AFP in an interview by phone from Gorakhpur, a town in Uttar Pradesh state.

On December 16, the couple had been out to watch a movie and decided to get into a private bus when several rickshaws had refused to drive them back to the victim's home in a New Delhi suburb.

Once in the bus, he was attacked and his girlfriend was gang-raped by six allegedly drunk men, including the driver, who also violated her with an iron bar causing immense internal damage that would lead to her death last weekend.

The horrifying crime has appalled India and brought simmering anger about widespread crime against women to the boil amid angry calls for better protection by police and changed social attitudes.

The boyfriend, who asked not to be named, also recounted how passersby had failed to come to their rescue after they were thrown out of the moving vehicle at the end of their nearly hour-long ordeal.

He was also critical of police for failing to be sensitive to his and his girlfriend's mental condition and also raised questions about the emergency care given in the public hospital where she was admitted.

"A passerby found us (after the attack), but he did not even give my friend his jacket. We waited for the police to come and save us," he told AFP.

The police have since arrested six suspects for the crime -- five men and a minor believed to be aged 17 -- who were charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in a city court on Thursday.

"I was not very confident about getting into the bus but my friend was running late, so we got into it. This was the biggest mistake I made and after that everything went out of control."

The driver of the bus then made lewd remarks and his accomplices joined him "to taunt" the couple, the boyfriend said.

He said he told the driver to stop the bus, but by then his accomplices had locked the two doors.

"They hit me with a small stick and dragged my friend to a seat near the driver's cabin."

After that the "driver and the other men raped my friend and hit her in the worst possible ways in the most private parts of her body".

"I cannot tell you what I feel when I think of it. I shiver in pain," he said.

He said the police who came to their rescue took his girlfriend to a government hospital, but failed to take into account his injuries and mental trauma.

"I was treated like an object by the police.... They wanted all the help to solve the case even before getting me the right treatment. Nobody witnessed the trauma I suffered," he said.

- AFP/jc

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CNET's Twitter team for CES 2013

CNET is ready to bring you everything under the Las Vegas sun at
CES 2013, including all the best product releases, press conferences, photography, live video, shows, panels, awards, swag... you get the picture.

Here are the accounts to follow for all the best at CES. We're sending a few people...

Master CNET accounts:

CNET - The best of everything at CES.

CNET News - Live-tweets from major press events and all the top stories.

CNET TV - Live coverage of press events, product videos, and CNET shows.

Crave - All the gorgeous gadgets.

CNET TV:

Brian Cooley, Editor at large

Molly Wood, Executive editor

Brian Tong, Senior editor

Bridget Carey, Senior editor

CNET News:

Dan Farber, Editor in chief, CNET News

Jim Kerstetter, Senior executive editor

Paul Sloan, Executive editor

Roger Cheng, Executive Editor

Casey Newton, Senior writer

Daniel Terdiman, Senior writer

Declan McCullagh, Senior writer

Greg Sandoval, Senior writer

Jay Greene, Senior writer

Jennifer Van Grove, Senior writer

Josh Lowensohn, Senior writer

Marguerite Reardon, Senior writer

Stephen Shankland, Senior writer

Luke Westaway, Crave Editor, CNET UK

Donna Tam, Staff writer

Shara Tibken, Staff writer

Nicholas Aaron Khoo, Regional blogger, CNET Asia

James Martin, Photographer

CNET Reviews:

Lindsey Turrentine, Editor in chief, CNET Reviews

Jason Jenkins, Editor, CNET UK

Seamus Byrne, Editor, CNET Australia

John P. Falcone, Executive editor

Kent German, Senior managing editor, mobile devices

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David Carnoy, Executive editor

Brian Bennett, Senior editor, phones

Dan Ackerman, Senior editor, laptops

David Katzmaier, Senior editor, home theater

Donald Bell, Senior editor

Eric Franklin, Senior editor,
tablets

Jessica Dolcourt, Senior editor, phones

Josh Goldman, Senior editor, digital imaging

Karyne Levy, Senior copy editor

Lori Grunin, Senior editor, digital imaging

Rich Brown, Senior editor, desktops

Scott Stein, Senior editor, laptops, tablets

Seth Rosenblatt, Senior editor, downloads

Wayne Cunningham, Senior editor,
Car Tech

Aloysius Low, Senior writer, mobile, CNET Asia

Dong Ngo, Senior associate editor, storage devices

Jason Parker, Senior associate editor, downloads

Jeff Bakalar, Senior associate editor, gaming

Matthew Moskovciak, Senior associate editor, home theater

Sharon Vaknin, Senior associate editor, how-to

Ty Pendlebury, Senior associate editor, home theater

Nic Healey, Editor, home entertainment, CNET Australia

Antuan Goodwin, Associate editor, Car Tech

Emily Dreyfuss, Associate editor

Jaymar Cabebe, Associate editor, downloads

Justin Yu, Associate editor, printers and peripherals

Lynn La, Associate editor, phones

CNET Twitter Lists:

CNET at CES

CNET News

CNET Reviews

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And while you're at it, like us on Facebook and add us on Google+!

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N.Y. county aims to keep gun permits from paper

CARMEL, N.Y. Officials in Putnam County say they will reject a newspaper's request to release the names and addresses of residents with pistol permits — a move an open government advocate calls illegal.

County Clerk Dennis Sant said officials were meeting Wednesday to discuss legal options.

In December, the Journal News published online maps that allow viewers to see the names and addresses of pistol and revolver permit holders in neighboring Westchester and Rockland counties. The newspaper sought the records under the state Freedom of Information Law after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Critics called the publication an invasion of privacy; some said it could endanger permit holders.

"In Putnam County, I have over 11,000 pistol permit holders, and I refuse to put their lives and their families' lives in danger," Sant told The New York Times. "When these laws were conceived, there was no social media, there was no Google maps."

The Journal News reportedly hired armed guards at one of its offices after receiving numerous "negative" phone calls and emails about the maps.

State Sen. Greg Ball referred to Journal News editors as "elitist eggheads" and called the decision to publish the maps "asinine," the Times reported.

"I thank God that Putnam County has a clerk with the guts to stand up and draw the line here in Putnam County," said Ball, who plans to appear Thursday at a news conference with county officials.

Robert Freeman, executive director of the state's Committee on Open Government, said the suburban county outside New York City would be violating state law if it withholds the information. "The name and address of any gun licensee are public," he said.

The newspaper stands by the project.

"We believe the law is clear that this is public information and the residents of Putnam County are entitled to see it," said Journal News President and Publisher Janet Hasson. "We're troubled that county officials have apparently switched their position since we first requested the information."

Freeman said the Journal News could appeal a denial, which would be heard within Putnam County government. If a second denial occurred, the newspaper could ask a judge to decide.

The Journal News, a Gannett Co. newspaper covering three counties in the Hudson Valley and operating the website lohud.com, ran an 1,800-word story headlined, "The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood."

The story included comments from both sides of the gun rights debate and presented the data as answering the concerns of those who would like to know whether there are guns in their neighborhood.

Also on Wednesday, The Journal News reported that emergency officials responded to their office Wednesday afternoon after one of their employees opened an envelope in the mail containing a suspicious white powder.

The newspaper said there were no evacuations and the employee underwent decontamination procedures.

White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong told the newspaper that preliminary tests determined the substance to be non-toxic.

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Senate Swears in Historic 20th Female Senator

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators -- four Republicans and 16 Democrats -- in office.

As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female senators.

Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on "World News" and "Nightline" tonight.

"I can't tell you the joy that I feel in my heart to look at these 20 gifted and talented women from two different parties, different zip codes to fill this room," Sen. Barbara Mikulksi, D-Md., said while surrounded by the group of women senators. "In all of American history only 16 women had served. Now there are 20 of us."

Senator-elect Deb Fischer, R-Neb., today becomes the first women to be elected as a senator in Nebraska.

"It was an historic election," Fischer said, "But what was really fun about it were the number of mothers and fathers who brought their daughters up to me during the campaign and said, "Can we get a picture? Can we get a picture?' Because people realize it and -- things do change, things do change."

Tammy Baldwin Becomes First Openly Gay Senator Watch Video

Elizabeth Warren Wins Massachusetts Senate Race Watch Video

The women senators all agree that women will be getting things done in this new Congress, a sign of optimism felt for the new Congress, after the bruising battles of the 112th Congress.

"We're in force and we're in leadership positions, but it's not just the position that we hold. I can tell you this is a can-do crowd," Mikulski said of both Democrats and Republican senators in the room. "We are today ready to be a force in American politics."

And while the number of women in the Senate today makes history, many of the women agreed that they want to keep fighting to boost those numbers.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that women are still "underrepresented" in the Senate.

"I think that until we get to 50, we still have to fight because it's still a problem," Boxer said. "I think this class as you look around, Republicans and Democrats. ... I think that because of this new class and the caliber of the people coming and the quality of the people coming, I think that hopefully in my lifetime -- and I really do hope and pray this is the case -- we will see 50 percent. "

No Sorority Here, Even With the Will to Work Together

The cooperation does not make them a "sorority," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says. There are real differences in ideology and personality and they don't want their gender to define them as senators.

But the women also admit that they believe having more women in the room would help in fierce negotiations, compromise and legislating on Capitol Hill, traits they say do not come as naturally to their male colleagues in the Senate. That sentiment enjoys bipartisan support among the women of the Senate.

"What I find is with all due deference to our male colleagues, that women's styles tend to be more collaborative," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said by nature women are "less confrontational." Sen-elect Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, says that women are "problem solvers."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., says that women have a camaraderie which helps in relationships that are key to negotiations on Capitol Hill, something she says comes natural to women more than men.

"I think there's just a lot of collaboration between the women senators and... advice and really standing up for each other that you don't always see with the men," she said.

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