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 | January 27, 2015 |
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| "POTENTIALLY HISTORIC" STORM |
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NBC News: Blizzard '15 Latest
- At least 60 million people are under a winter weather alert, and 28 million are in the possible path of blizzard conditions — heavy snow whipped around by ferocious wind.
- Seven states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire — have declared emergencies.
- New England is braced for two or even three feet of snow, whipped by near-hurricane force winds that created almost whiteout conditions and threatened coastal flooding — but New York City and Philadelphia will likely not fare as bad as expected. There was 6.3 inches on the ground in New York's Central Park by 4:45 a.m. ET.
- According to the Weather Channel: "New York City may end up with 10-12 inches — which is still a lot — but the worst of it will be from central Long Island and Rhode Island up through to coastal Maine where we could still expect 12-24 inches and maybe up to 30 inches where the storm lingers."
- More than 7,000 flights have been scrapped, and the major airlines warned that practically nothing would take off or land in New York, Boston and Philadelphia as the worst of the storm sweeps in overnight and Tuesday morning.
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that at 11 p.m. ET Monday city subways, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North and Staten Island Railroad would stop running. At the same time, a road travel restriction will begin, meaning that all cars other than emergency vehicles will be banned in 13 counties, including those in New York City and Long Island. That included the George Washington Bridge and Lincoln and Holland tunnels.
- A similar travel ban in New Jersey was to begin at 11 p.m. ET, Gov. Chris Christie announced. The move excludes emergency and public safety personnel, utility companies and others assisting in storm recovery.
- Boston suspended all public transit for Tuesday and Massachusetts officials pleaded for people to go home and keep put. "The bottom line is it's going to be the kind of night where the best thing anyone can do is to stay inside," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said.
- At least one town in Massachusetts turned off power preemptively, while at least 3000 customers in the Bay state and hundreds of people in Connecticut lost electricity overnight, utility officials said..
- Amtrak suspended Tuesday service on many of its busiest lines, including the Northeast Regional and Acela Express between New York and Boston.
Read more..
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| More News |
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| POLITICAL NEWS |
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The Hill: Snowstorm Puts A Freeze On House GOP Border Bill
The blizzard slamming into the Northeast shortened what was already expected to be an abbreviated week for the House, which planned to be out Thursday and Friday so Democrats could attend their annual policy retreat in Philadelphia. House GOP leaders pushed back legislation on human trafficking, which will now come up Tuesday, and a bill on exports of liquefied natural gas that will now see a vote Wednesday. The Senate, meanwhile, pushed ahead with a procedural vote on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, with a handful of senators missing the procedural step due to the storm. A motion to end debate on the Keystone bill failed 53-39, raising the potential for a protracted fight this week over amendments. Back in the House, GOP leaders made one major change in plans, announcing a controversial border security bill set to come to the floor on Wednesday now won’t be considered until February. Read more..
Gallup: Obama Job Approval Hits 50% For First Time Since 2013
Less than a week after President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to Congress, his job approval rating reached 50% in Gallup Daily tracking conducted Friday through Sunday. This is the first time the president's rating has returned to that level in Gallup's ongoing three-day rolling averages since June 2013. Only three months ago, in mid-October, 39% of Americans approved of Obama's job performance -- near his term low of 38%, last reached in September. His approval recovered slightly to 42% by the time of the Nov. 4 midterm elections. Following the elections -- after announcing executive actions on immigration and benefiting from an improving economy and falling gas prices -- his approval rating has gradually improved, averaging 44% in December and 46% thus far in January. Read more..
NYT: A Drone, Too Small For Radar To Detect, Rattles The White House
A White House radar system designed to detect flying objects like planes, missiles and large drones failed to pick up a small drone that crashed into a tree on the South Lawn early Monday morning, according to law enforcement officials. The crash raised questions about whether the Secret Service could bring down a similar object if it endangered President Obama. The drone, which was about two feet in diameter and weighed about two pounds, was operated by a government employee whom the Secret Service did not identify. The agency said the employee was flying the object near the White House around 3 a.m. for recreational purposes when he lost control of it. Officials did not explain why the man, who does not work at the White House and who has not been charged with a crime, was flying the drone at that hour. Read more..
WSJ: Obama Administration To Propose New Offshore Areas For Oil And Gas Drilling
The Obama administration is planning to propose opening up new areas of the nation’s federally owned waters to oil and natural gas drilling, including areas along the Atlantic Coast, according to people familiar with the plan. The Interior Department is set to propose as soon as Tuesday its plan that will outline what leases the federal government will offer from 2017 to 2022, a step the government is required by law to take every five years. The plan is expected to come under increased scrutiny as low oil prices are testing the profit margins of energy companies and President Barack Obama is pursuing an aggressive climate-change agenda. Jessica Kershaw, an Interior Department spokeswoman, declined to comment Monday evening on the proposal. Read more..
Washington Post: Koch-Backed Network Aims To Spend Nearly $1 Billion On 2016 Elections
A network of conservative advocacy groups backed by Charles and David Koch aims to spend a staggering $889 million in advance of the next White House election, part of an expansive strategy to build on its 2014 victories that may involve jumping into the Republican primaries. The massive financial goal was revealed to donors here Monday during an annual winter meeting hosted by Freedom Partners, the tax-exempt business lobby that serves as the hub of the Koch-backed political operation, according to an attendee. The amount is more than double the $407 million that 17 allied groups in the network raised during the 2012 campaign. Read more..
NYT: Budget Office Slashes Estimated Cost Of Health Coverage
The Congressional Budget Office on Monday significantly lowered its estimate of the cost of providing health insurance coverage to millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act. Douglas W. Elmendorf, the director of the budget office, said the changes resulted from many factors, including a general “slowdown in the growth of health care costs” and lower projections of insurance premiums that are subsidized by the federal government. In March 2010, when President Obama signed the health care law, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the expansion of coverage would cost the federal government $710 billion in the fiscal years 2015 through 2019, Mr. Elmendorf said. Read more..
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| FORMER C.I.A. OFFICER CONVICTED IN NYT LEAK CASE & OTHER STORIES FOR THIS TUESDAY MORNING |
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WSJ: U.S.-Backed Kurds Seize Back Most of Syrian Border City Kobani
Kurdish forces regained most of the Syrian border city of Kobani, hoisting their flags atop strategic hilltops as the regional campaign against extremist group Islamic State appeared on the cusp of a major military victory. Kurdish fighters and officials in Kobani, a once-bustling city that was destroyed by four months of urban warfare with Islamic State, said that only mopping-up operations continued Monday night, and the entire city could be proclaimed liberated as early as Tuesday. “Kobani’s war is over,” resident Farhad Shami said by telephone from the city. A U.S.-led bombing campaign launched in September helped tip the balance in favor of the Kurds and prevented Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from seizing Kobani outright and solidifying its control over much of the Turkish-Syrian border. Read more..
NBC News: U.S. Embassy in Yemen Closed, But Not Evacuated, Officials Say
U.S. officials said Monday they have no plans to evacuate the American embassy in Yemen, although it was closed to the public as "a prudent precaution" given political turmoil and security concerns in that country. Senior officials also confirmed that an American drone strike in Yemen had killed three suspected members of al Qaeda on Monday. One official said the strike showed that the U.S. has the capability to launch airstrikes against al Qaeda in Yemen despite the recent chaos. Read more..
Washington Post: Former CIA Officer Jeffrey Sterling Convicted In Leak Case
A former CIA officer who was involved in a highly secretive operation to give faulty nuclear plans to Iran was convicted Monday of providing classified information about his work to a New York Times reporter — a significant win for federal prosecutors and a presidential administration that has worked zealously to root out leakers. As guilty verdicts were read on all nine criminal counts, Jeffrey Sterling stared emotionless at the jurors who decided his fate. His wife, seated in the courtroom behind him, sobbed. The 47-year-old Missouri man is scheduled to be sentenced April 24 and remains free until then. In a statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the verdict was a “just and appropriate outcome.” Read more..
AP: S&P Downgrades Russia Credit Rating to Junk
Standard & Poor's rating agency on Monday downgraded Russia's credit grade by one notch to junk status, citing a weakened economic outlook. The agency dropped the rating to BB+ from BBB- as it sees the country's financial buffers at risk amid a slide in the country's currency and weakening revenue from oil exports. "In our view, the Russian Federation's monetary policy flexibility has weakened, as have its economic growth prospects," it said. Russia's economy has been hit hard by the double impact of weaker prices for its energy exports as well as Western sanctions. The Russian currency tumbled on the downgrade, dropping some 7 percent to about 68.5 rubles to the dollar. Read more..
WSJ: U.S. Charges Russian Banker In Spy Case
Federal prosecutors arrested a Russian banker in New York on Monday and charged him as a spy, accusing him and two others of secretly gathering information about the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. energy resources and sanctions against Moscow. Prosecutors described clandestine meetings and coded communications between the banker and his handlers, one of whom worked as a trade representative of the Russian Federation in New York, the other as an attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. The spycraft alleged in the complaint reads like a throwback to the Cold War. Yet the alleged operatives’ target was more modern: economic intelligence. Prosecutors allege that Evgeny Buryakov, also known as “Zhenya,” worked at the Manhattan office of a Russian bank to disguise his true purpose in the U.S. In fact, according to prosecutors, 39-year-old Mr. Buryakov worked as an agent of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, known as the SVR, and his bank job was merely “nonofficial cover” for his spying. Mr. Buryakov lives in New York City with his wife and two children. Read more..
Washington Post: NFL Deflategate Investigation Is Reportedly Focusing On Patriots Locker Room Attendant
Following the press conferences held by Patriots Coach Bill Belichick (two, in his case) and quarterback Tom Brady, and their repeated denials of any involvement with deflating footballs before the AFC championship game, the question has been asked, again and again: If they had nothing to do with it, who did? A report by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports indicates that the NFL is focusing its investigation on someone much farther down the food chain than Belichick and Brady. On Monday afternoon, Glazer tweeted out this update:
Breaking news: sources tell @FOXSports the NFL has zeroed in on a locker room attendant w Patriots who allegedly took balls from officials locker room to another area on way to field. Sources say they have interviewed him and additionally have video. Still gauging if any wrong doing occurred with him but he is strong person of interest
Read more..
Yahoo News: Lance Armstrong: I Would Dope Again
Lance Armstrong would dope again, which might be the most honest thing he's said since, well, ever. "If I was racing in 2015, no I wouldn't do it again because I don't think you have to do it again," he said in an interview with BBC. "If you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive, I would probably do it again. People don’t like to hear that." People won't like to hear him say that, and the quote will provide more fodder for those who now see Armstrong as the biggest fraud sports (any sport) has ever known. But here's the thing: he's just providing an honest assessment of his sport circa 1995 and beyond. Read more.. |
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