 | January 28, 2015 |
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| STORM RECAP |
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AP: Near-Miss For NYC Blizzard Prompts Backlash Against Forecasters
In the wild world of winter weather, location is everything, which New York and Massachusetts learned too well Tuesday. Small last-minute changes in the air morphed what was supposed to be crippling feet of snow into a handful of inches in New York, leading one forecaster to apologize, the National Weather Service boss to get defensive, politicians to explain themselves and some Northeast residents wondering where the much-hyped snow went. The not-so-great blizzard of 2015 did wallop other parts of the Northeast as predicted: Long Island and Massachusetts got hammered with more than 2 feet of snow. Auburn, Massachusetts, got hit with 32 inches and there was severe coastal flooding, National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said. But snowfall in the self-absorbed media capital of New York City, shut down in advance, was under a foot. New Jersey and Philadelphia also were spared. Read more..
NYT: Snowstorm’s Forecast Was Mostly Right, Even If It Felt Wrong In New York
In the wake of the blizzard that wasn’t, New Yorkers on Tuesday were asking how the weather forecasters could have been so wrong. The answer, the forecasters say — and they are backed up by atmospheric scientists who do not have any reason to be defensive — is that they were not so wrong. Computer models predicted that the storm would become extremely powerful, which it did, but the intensification occurred 50 to 100 miles east of where the preferred model predicted it would. The models “were all on board with this idea that parts of the Northeast would get this wild storm,” said Todd Miner, a meteorologist with AccuWeather in State College, Pa. “But as always, the devil is in the details.” “There was always a question of how far west blizzard conditions would extend,” he added. In this case, the model that was favored by most forecasters showed New York City falling within the western boundary, when actually it ended up outside it. Read more..
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| POLITICAL NEWS |
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AP: Scott Walker Forms First Committee For 2016 Run
Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced Tuesday that he formed a political organization to help boost a potential 2016 presidential run, the first concrete step toward a possible campaign that comes as others are also ramping up efforts to seek the GOP nomination. The tax-exempt group, Our American Revival, was formed on Jan. 16 and will be able to raise and spend unlimited cash to help Walker push his agenda. But if he were to become an official candidate, Walker would not be able to move the balance from his tax-exempt group to a presidential campaign. Read more..
NYT: Again For Murdoch, Romney Can Do No Right
The usually grim-faced media mogul practically swooned in his seat. Moments after Jeb Bush delivered what many in the audience described as an unremarkable talk at a conference in Washington, Rupert Murdoch turned to his seatmate, Valerie Jarrett, the White House adviser, to gush over its content and tone. Mr. Murdoch was pleased that Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida, had listed the economic benefits of overhauling the nation’s immigration system, confiding in Ms. Jarrett that Mr. Bush, a likely Republican presidential candidate, had said all the right things on the difficult issue, according to three people with firsthand knowledge of the conversation. It was the kind of warm embrace, from the powerful and widely courted owner of The Wall Street Journal and Fox News Channel, that Mr. Murdoch denied Mitt Romney during his 2012 bid for the White House — a snub that Mr. Murdoch is already signaling he will repeat if Mr. Romney runs in 2016. Read more..
Huffington Post: Sarah Palin Just Gave A Pro-Hillary Group A Big Boost, Could Qualify As Super PAC Finance Council Co-Chair
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has helped raise so much money for a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC that she qualifies to co-chair the group's national finance council. The group, Ready For Hillary, used comments about Clinton that Palin made over the weekend in Iowa to raise more than $25,000. "It's going to take more than a village to beat Hillary," Palin said on Saturday. "I'm ready for Hillary. Are you coming?" Ready For Hillary immediately seized on the comments and emailed supporters,asking them to donate. On Tuesday evening, the group emailed supporters again, announcing that the super PAC had raised more than $25,000 as a result of Palin's comments -- enough to qualify the former GOP candidate for vice president to be a co-chair of Ready for Hillary. Read more..
AP: Rick Perry Request To Dismiss Charges Denied By Judge
A Texas judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss a felony abuse-of-power case against former Gov. Rick Perry on constitutional grounds, rejecting the argument that Perry was acting within his rights as chief executive of America's second-most populous state when he carried out a veto threat. The decision by District Judge Bert Richardson, who like Perry is a Republican, means the case against the possible 2016 presidential hopeful can move forward. Perry left office Jan. 20 and says he will announce as soon as May whether he will make a second run for the White House. Read more..
NBC New York: NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to Step Down Amid Criminal Charges
Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader of the New York state Assembly, agreed to give up the position he has held for 21 years in the wake of federal corruption charges, a top lawmaker announced Tuesday. The decision announced by Majority Leader Joseph Morelle came after Democratic lawmakers met behind closed doors for two days to discuss their response to the turmoil that appears likely to end one of the longest active tenures in American state politics. "He said to me he will not impede the transition," said Morelle, surrounded by most of the 105 Assembly Democrats. "We'll have a vacancy on Monday." Read more..
Politico: Boehner: House GOP Has 'A Couple Of Stumbles' In 2015
After a rough few weeks, Speaker John Boehner acknowledged Tuesday morning that House Republicans have had some “stumbles” at the beginning of the 114th Congress. They had to pull a bill last week to ban abortions after 20 weeks, and they are now having trouble lining up the votes for a border-security bill. “We wanted to get off to a fast start this year and, as a result, taken bills that have passed in the past and put other bills together, in spite of the fact that committees in many cases have not had their organizational meetings,” Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday morning. “And so, yeah, there have been a couple of stumbles, all in our effort to show the American people that we’re here to listen to their priorities.” Read more..
AP: White House Drops Plan To Scale Back College Savings Plans
The White House said Tuesday it is dropping a proposal to scale back the tax benefits of college savings plans amid a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats. President Barack Obama made the proposal last week as part of his State of the Union address. It was part of Obama's plan to consolidate and simplify a sometimes confusing array of tax breaks for college students. Resistance from Congress was swift. Republicans publicly criticized the plan, and aides said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi pushed senior administration officials to drop it as she flew with the president aboard Air Force One from India to Saudi Arabia. Read more..
Politico: Dems Give Obama Two Months To Reach Iran Deal
President Barack Obama’s exhaustive lobbying effort with Capitol Hill Democrats is paying off: The party is giving him major breathing room to finish nuclear negotiations with Iran. Senate Democrats, led by Iran hawk Robert Menendez of New Jersey, said Tuesday that they will give Obama two months to reach a deal on the country’s nuclear program before they vote for new sanctions. At the same time, House progressives are urging their colleagues to hold off on moving any legislation that would tighten economic penalties on Iran. Read more..
NBC News: More Than 9 Million Choose Obamacare In Latest Round
More than 9.5 million people have signed up for health insurance on the Obamacare online marketplaces, the federal government said Tuesday. Most — more than 7 million — have signed up on the federally run exchanges that 37 states are using. Another 2.4 million signed up in 12 states that have their own online marketplaces, and in Washington, D.C. About 87 percent will get federal subsidies to help pay their premiums. That's more than the federal government aimed for last fall, when the second year of so-called open enrollment for the exchanges began. More than one-third are under 35 - an important consideration for the insurance companies offering plans on the exchanges, as they need younger, healthier people to help pay for sicker people who will use their insurance coverage more. Read more..
NYT: Netanyahu Talk Stirs Backlash In Israeli Race
Michael B. Oren, who spent four years as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ambassador to Washington, has called on Mr. Netanyahu to cancel his speech to Congress about Iran. Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief who frequently briefed the Israeli prime minister on security matters, denounced the event as “irresponsible.” Both men criticized their former boss for politicizing issues vital to Israel’s future. Both also have their own political motives: Mr. Oren is running for Parliament with a new center-right party, and Mr. Yadlin is the defense-minister designee of the center-left party Zionist Camp. If Mr. Netanyahu imagined that the speech, scheduled for two weeks before the March 17 elections in Israel, would bolster his status as statesman, the undiplomatic way it was arranged has instead given his challengers an opening to undermine his main campaign platform. Read more..
AP: Mormon Leaders Call For Measures Protecting Gay Rights
The Mormon church announced a campaign Tuesday for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting people who assert their religious beliefs. "We must find ways to show respect for others whose beliefs, values and behaviors differ from ours while never being forced to deny or abandon our own beliefs, values and behaviors in the process," a church elder, Jeffrey R. Holland, said in announcing the church's position. Mormon leaders did not explain just how it would draw lines between gay rights and religious freedoms, and it's unclear how much common ground the church will gain with this campaign. Read more..
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| AMERICAN AMONG 10 KILLED IN LIBYAN HOTEL ATTACK & OTHER STORIES FOR THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING |
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AP: Michelle Obama Forgoes Headscarf In Saudi Arabia
For first lady Michelle Obama, just a few hours in Saudi Arabia were enough to illustrate the stark limitations under which Saudi women live. Joining President Barack Obama for a condolence visit after the death of the King Abdullah, Mrs. Obama stepped off of Air Force One wearing long pants and a long, brightly colored jacket — but no headscarf. Under the kingdom's strict dress code for women, Saudi females are required to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public. Most women in Saudi Arabia cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab. But covering one's head is not required for foreigners, and some Western women choose to forego the headscarf while in Saudi Arabia. Read more..
AP: Gunmen Storm Libya Hotel, Killing American, 9 Others
In the latest sign of Libya's descent into chaos, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel used by diplomats and businessmen in the capital on Tuesday, killing 10 people, including an American, a French citizen and three people from Asia. Two attackers were killed following an hourslong standoff that included a car bomb that exploded in the parking lot of the seaside Corinthia Hotel. It was unclear if other gunmen were involved in the attack, which also killed five Libyan guards. In Twitter posts and a statement on social media, a Tripoli affiliate of the Islamic State group was said to be behind the attack, but there was little evidence to back up the claims in a country that has been awash in armed extremist groups who would be equally suspect. The SITE intelligence group reported that the two dead gunmen were identified online as sympathizers of IS and said the militants said the hotel was targeted because it houses diplomatic missions and "crusader" security companies. However, The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm the claims, which didn't conform with the group's earlier postings from Libya. Read more..
LA Times: Japan's Prime Minister Calls New Hostage Deadline 'Despicable'
Japan's prime minister Wednesday condemned a renewed ultimatum issued by extremists believed to be holding a Japanese journalist and Jordanian pilot hostage, calling it "despicable." Both men are believed to be in the hands of Islamic State militants, who control large swaths of Syria and Iraq. A video released Tuesday purports to show Kenji Goto, a freelance journalist, saying he and a Jordanian pilot, Lt. Moaz Kasasbeh, would be killed within 24 hours if Jordanian authorities do not release a jailed female bomber. "This was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. We strongly condemn that," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, according to the Associated Press. "While this is a tough situation, we remain unchanged in our stance of seeking help from the Jordanian government in securing the early release of Mr. Goto." Read more..
NBC News: Bowe Bergdahl Likely to Be Charged With Desertion, Officials Say
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by enemy forces in Afghanistan for five years, will likely be charged with desertion, senior defense officials tell NBC News. The officials point out that Bergdahl will likely face a lesser charge of desertion described in the Uniform Code of Military Justice as leaving a post to avoid duty or shirk an important assignment, based on his actions when he left a remote outpost in June 2009. Those charges carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison upon conviction, but sources tell NBC News the Army is considering crediting Bergdahl for the 5 years he spent in captivity and be given the opportunity to avoid prosecution by leaving the Army with a "less than honorable discharge." If accepted, Bergdahl could be denied as much as $300,000 in back pay and benefits and be reduced in rank from Sergeant to Private First Class or lower. Read more..
NYT: White House Drone Crash Described As A U.S. Worker’s Drunken Lark
It was 42 degrees and raining lightly around 3 a.m. on Monday when an inebriated off-duty employee for a government intelligence agency decided it was a good time to fly his friend’s drone, a 2-foot-by-2-foot “quadcopter” that sells for hundreds of dollars and is popular among hobbyists. But officials say the plan was foiled, perhaps by wind or a tree, when the employee — who has not been named by the Secret Service or charged with a crime — lost control of the drone as he operated it from an apartment just blocks from the White House. He texted his friends, worried that the drone had gone down on the White House grounds, and then went to sleep. It was not until the next morning, when he woke and learned from friends that a drone had been found at the White House, that he contacted his employer, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He then called the Secret Service and immediately began cooperating with an investigation into the incident. Read more..
AP: On Auschwitz Anniversary, Leader Warns Jews Again Targets
A Jewish leader stood before 300 survivors of the Nazis' most notorious death camp on Tuesday and asked world leaders to prevent another Auschwitz, warning of a rise of anti-Semitism that has made many Jews fearful of walking the streets, and is causing many to flee Europe. Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, made his bleak assessment on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, speaking next to the gate and the railroad tracks that marked the last journey for more than a million people murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He said his speech was shaped by the recent terrorist attacks in France that targeted Jews and newspaper satirists. Read more..
NBC News: Mexico: Investigation Shows 43 Missing Mexican Students Are Dead
Mexico's attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam declared all 43 college students missing since September dead, citing 39 confessions as well as forensic evidence from the spot where he said they were killed and incinerated shortly after being seized by police in the southern city of Iguana. "The evidence allows us to determine that the students were kidnapped, killed, burned and thrown into the river," Murillo Karam said in a press conference that included a video reconstruction of the mass murder. It was the first time Mexico's attorney general declared all of the students dead. Only one student was identified via DNA; a European lab said it was impossible to identify the rest. Read more..
Huffington Post: The iPhone Just Obliterated Sales Records
The iPhone 6 is Apple's biggest phone ever in terms of screen size -- and likely in terms of sales, too. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones during the last three months of 2014, the company reported on Tuesday, the most in any quarter. That's 9 million more than the 65 million iPhones analysts predicted, and an increase of 23.5 million from the same period last year -- a jump of 46 percent. The surge in iPhone sales lifted Apple profits to $18 billion in the quarter, up 38 percent from a year earlier. That was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, quarterly corporate profits on record. Read more..
NYT: Yahoo To Spin Off Its Stake In Alibaba
Marissa Mayer, chief executive of Yahoo, said on Tuesday that the Internet company would spin off its 15.4 percent stake in Alibaba, China’s leading e-commerce company, into a separate company. The decision, which Wall Street has been waiting for since Ms. Mayer joined the company in 2012, cheered shareholders because they will directly reap all the remaining profit from Yahoo’s prescient investment, which cost almost nothing a decade ago but is now worth about $39.5 billion. In the process, Yahoo will avoid any taxes on the transaction but will be stripped of its single most valuable asset. The Alibaba stake alone now makes up nearly 85 percent of Yahoo’s market value. Read more..
Washington Post: These Four Lucky Cities Are Now Officially Getting Google Fiber
After months of speculation, Google confirmed Tuesday that its ultra-fast Internet service will soon be coming to four more cities — Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Those regions, along with more than a dozen cities in their immediate vicinity, will be the latest to benefit from high-speed Internet provided by the search giant. Google Fiber already sells Internet service with download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second — roughly 100 times faster than the national average — for $70 a month in other cities, such as Provo, Utah. Google had been considering expanding to as many as nine metropolitan areas. In a blog post Tuesday, Google said it was still in talks with five of those cities — Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Jose — and would decide whether to expand into those regions later this year. Read more..
ESPN: Tiger Woods Explains How He Lost His Front Tooth
Woods, who is playing in his first PGA Tour event of the year at this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open, was photographed at girlfriend Lindsey Vonn's ski race with a missing left front tooth on Jan. 19 in Italy. "That didn't feel very good," said Woods, who had traveled unannounced to watch Vonn set a record for victories. "I was looking down, and all the camera guys are below me on their knees or moving all around, trying to get a picture because she's hugging people, saying congratulations to the other racers as they are coming down. Some already finished, some are there already in the changing area. "Dude with a video camera on his shoulder, right in front of me, kneeling, stood up and turned and caught me square on the mouth. He chipped that one, cracked the other one. "And so then, you know, I'm trying to keep this thing so the blood is not all over the place, and luckily he hit the one I had the root canal on. That's the one that chipped. But the other one had to be fixed, as well, because it had cracks all through it." Woods said he had the teeth fixed when he returned to Florida. Read more..
SB Nation: Robert Kraft Expects NFL Apology For DeflateGate
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft addressed DeflateGate in a press conference on Monday, reiterating his team's innocence first and foremost. But on top of that, Kraft also said that he expects the league to apologize to the team, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady once the investigation has wrapped up. Read more..
ESPN: Marshawn Lynch On Media Day: 'I'm Here So I Won't Get Fined'
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll celebrates his players' "uniqueness," and running back Marshawn Lynch certainly stood apart from his teammates Tuesday, even as he faced a $500,000 fine from the NFL. During the annual Super Bowl media day, Lynch answered every question with some variation of "I'm here so I won't get fined." He occasionally changed the delivery but stuck to his script. Lynch stayed at his designated podium for 4 minutes, 51 seconds -- over an hour less than all his teammates and coaches -- and was asked 29 questions. At the 4:51 mark, he said "time," stood up and walked away from the microphone. Read more..
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