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| TOP STORIES |
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| Within NBC, an intense debate over whether to fire Brian Williams |
| Senior NBC officials seriously considered firing anchor Brian Williams because he lied to his viewers about riding in a military helicopter hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during the Iraq war, according to a top network official. Read full article » |
| In China, a women’s detective agency battles for wronged wives |
| BEIJING — When Zhang Yufen’s husband finally admitted to having an affair and left her to live with his mistress, clearing out his possessions and emptying their joint bank account, she felt as though the sky had fallen on her head. Read full article » |
| CIA scales back presence and operations in Yemen, home of potent al-Qaeda affiliate |
| The closure of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen has forced the CIA to significantly scale back its counterterrorism presence in the country, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said the evacuation represents a major setback in operations against al-Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate. Read full article » |
| As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit |
| MILWAUKEE — Scott Walker was gone. Dropped out. And in the spring of his senior year. In 1990, that news stunned his friends at Marquette University. Walker, the campus’s suit-wearing, Reagan-loving politico — who enjoyed the place so much that he had run for student body president — had left without graduating. Read full article » |
| Veteran ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Bob Simon killed in N.Y. car crash |
| He covered wars and violence on every continent. He was kidnapped by Saddam Hussein’s soldiers in Iraq, where he was beaten and spat upon because he was a Jew. He survived, and he searched for more adventures. Read full article » |
| NTSB: Metro fans pulled smoke toward passengers on train at L’Enfant |
| Metro botched the operation of ventilation fans in and near the L’Enfant Plaza station during a fatal smoke emergency last month, causing a mass of noxious fumes to move hundreds of feet toward a train in a tunnel and then linger around it while scores of riders gasped for air, federal investigators said Wednesday. Read full article » |
| POLITICS |
| Wisconsin Gov. Walker takes trip to London but stays mum on many subjects |
| LONDON — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s appearance Wednesday evening before a prestigious think tank here was an opportunity for the likely presidential candidate to demonstrate a fluency in foreign affairs. Read full article » |
| The one reason Congress will authorize force against the Islamic State, and the one reason it won’t |
| President Obama asked Congress on Wednesday to officially approve his use of military force against the Islamic State.The last time Obama did this, it didn't go so well. Congress was clearly primed to turn him down when it came to authorizing force against the Syrian government before the plan was scrapped and an alternate agreement was reached with the Syrian regime. And indeed, there was plenty of skepticism again Wednesday when it came to Obama's request. Read full article » |
| Veterans’ health, federal IT management rank among top government risks |
| Health-care delays for veterans and poorly managed information technology are among the U.S. government’s most pressing problems, federal auditors said Wednesday.The issues showed up for the first time this year in the Government Accountability Office’s biannual high risk list, which flags federal programs especially susceptible to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. Read full article » |
| Obama’s claim that one in five American women have been raped |
| “Right now, nearly one in five women in America has been a victim of rape or attempted rape.”—President Obama, in a video that aired during the Grammy Awards, Feb. 8, 2015A number of readers have questioned this statistic asserted by President Obama in a public service announcement that is part of the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign, which aims to end sexual assaults on college campuses. It’s a different statistic from one we have previously examined—that one out of five women will be sexually assaulted while in college—though confusingly, it involves a similar “one in five” number. Read full article » |
| OPINIONS |
| The FEC’s farcical open hearing |
| It was a noble idea, in theory.The Federal Election Commission undertook an unprecedented experiment in democracy on Wednesday: It held an open-microphone hearing and invited any and all members of the public to come in unannounced and make their opinions known to the six commissioners. Read full article » |
| The Brian Williams story that was too good to be true |
| In hindsight, the tip-off that Brian Williams was making up that story about getting shot at over Iraq in 2003 was that he seemed to think it was something to brag about in the first place. War reporting, like war itself, involves a high sitting-around-to-action ratio. Once they’ve accepted the extra risk of going to a conflict zone, journalists generally wind up under fire for one of two reasons: sheer bad luck or their own miscalculations — all too often, embarrassingly stupid miscalculations. Read full article » |
| The irresponsible reporting in the Chapel Hill killings |
| As soon as the news broke Tuesday evening, anyone near a TV, radio or computer heard that three Muslim students were murdered near the University of North Carolina.My immediate thought was, “Oh, my God, not Muslims.” Read full article » |
| Why conservatives should miss Jon Stewart |
| Dear conservatives: Jon Stewart can be unfair. He can be ideological — or, to use a more favorable term from recent coverage, passionate — in his coverage of national and world events. But his impending departure from the Daily Show desk should sadden you as well as his legions of liberal fans. He is not just any other ideologue. In fact, a consistent and crucial piece of his message isn’t ideological at all: The right and the left should behave with more civility and self-reflection. And in important moments he has acted on his rhetoric. Read full article » |
| LOCAL |
| Charter board could close school amid allegations that leader diverted money |
| They were called “Kent’s kids,” scores of inner-city teens in the 1980s who found structure and mentoring from Kent Amos, a corporate executive-turned-community activist who offered study sessions and family meals in his Northwest home. Read full article » |
| East-West Highway blocked in Prince George’s County |
| Drivers are advised to avoid part of East-West Highway Thursday morning because of a water main break. Read full article » |
| What’s the purpose of education in the 21st century? |
| What is the purpose of education? The question came into stark relief when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recently tried to quietly change the century-old mission of the University of Wisconsin system by proposing to remove words in the state code that command the university to “search for truth” and “improve the human condition” and replacing them with “meet the state’s workforce needs.” Walker backed off when the issue became public and sparked intense criticism from academics and others, but the issue remains a topic of national debate and of the following post. It was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. The ideas expressed in this article are his alone and do not represent Stevens Institute. His other writing can be found atwww.arthurcamins.com. Read full article » |
| A bit of everything today: Snow showers, wind gusts and cold surge |
| Two powerful cold fronts are hitting the area, one today and a meaner one on Saturday. Read full article » |
| SPORTS |
| Wizards come up short against Raptors, 95-93 |
| TORONTO — For a few minutes Wednesday night, it appeared as though the Washington Wizards were ready to finally solve their mystifying Canadian riddle. Late in the third quarter, John Wall and Otto Porter Jr. connected for their second alley-oop of the evening to pump Washington’s lead over the Toronto Raptors to double digits for the first time all evening. Read full article » |
| Maryland-Indiana postgame: Terps are ‘resilient’ in win over Hoosiers |
| As Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell sat on the floor and bowed his head in disappointment, Maryland’s Melo Trimble and the rest of his teammates found euphoria Wednesday night at the Xfinity Center. It took seven ties, 18 lead changes and two Ferrell misses in the final eight seconds to get there. It was a win that Maryland badly needed — not necessarily to stay near the top of Big Ten standings or further polish its tournament resume — but rather for its psyche. Read full article » |
| Capitals survive San Jose in overtime |
| SAN JOSE — The cheers whooped from inside the Washington Capitals’ dressing room and traveled down the halls of SAP Center, a release from the wackiness of their 5-4 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks. Their saviors were a lifetime grinder enjoying the latest surprise in a career offensive year, a linesman positioned in the perfect spot, a forward wedged in a 13-game scoring drought — and now, at the outset of their longest road trip this season, doused in good fortune, everyone hollered accordingly. Read full article » |
| TV and radio listings: February 12 |
| NBA8 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago » TNT, WTEM (980 AM)NHL7:30 p.m. St. Louis at Tampa Bay » NHL NetworkMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL7 p.m. Mississippi at Florida » ESPN Read full article » |
| FEDERAL GOVERNMENT |
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| Vitter slammed for using AG nomination to score points in his governor’s race |
| Weeks before attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch appeared before the Judiciary Committee to testify, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) had already announced he would vote against her to underscore his opposition to Obama’s executive action on immigration. Read full article » |
| Kerry’s recent layover in Boston riles State Department reporters |
| We’ve been hearing complaints from the State Department press corps about Secretary John Kerry’s penchant for being dropped off at his home in Boston after a long trip overseas.Usually the press corps then takes off for Washington, mostly just grumbling about the resultant delay in getting to their homes in this area. Read full article » |
| NATIONAL |
| How Alabama’s chief justice helped the gay marriage movement he was trying to block |
| Last week, after a federal district judge had ordered Alabama to stop enforcing the same-sex marriage prohibition, a federal appeals court refused to intervene. So on Sunday, while the Supreme Court was mulling whether to jump in, Alabama’s Chief Justice, Roy S. Moore, told his state’s probate judges, who issue the licenses there, not to grant them to gays. After all, Moore’s instructions said, the order had come from a lowly federal judge. Until the Supreme Court forces us to change course, we state judges are just as good as any federal jurists are at reading the U.S. Constitution, he wrote. Read full article » |
| The most scandalous part of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ isn’t the sex and bondage |
| The most scandalous part of “Fifty Shades of Grey” isn’t what Christian Grey does behind closed doors. It’s that the book might well be illegal art.The movie’s dubious legal status stems from its origins: The popular novel by E.L. James began its life as unauthorized, online fan fiction based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling (and comparatively chaste) romance series “Twilight.” Read full article » |
| The most disturbing authoritarian regime in the world |
| Last month, Robert Kagan published an essay in the Journal of Democracy that fretted about the decline of democracies in world politics: We live in a time when democratic nations are in retreat in the realm of geopolitics, and when democracy itself is also in retreat. The latter phenomenon has been well documented by Freedom House, which has recorded declines in freedom in the world for nine straight years. Read full article » |
| WORLD |
| Pakistan likely knew of Osama bin Laden’s presence, admits former spy chief |
| Ever since the discovery and death of Osama bin Laden in a leafy town not far from Islamabad in May 2011, it's been an open secret that some element within the Pakistani state must have played a role in giving the world's most wanted terrorist safe haven. Read full article » |
| China official hounded out of office -- for being too honest |
| BEIJING — At the start of a far-reaching government campaign against corruption, Communist Party official Fan Songqing had the bright idea of publicly declaring all of his assets, and encouraging his colleagues to do the same. Read full article » |
| Trial opens of man accused of killing ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle |
| STEPHENVILLE, Tex. — Two years ago this month, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the American sniper immortalized in a blockbuster movie, and a friend took a troubled young veteran to a rifle range for some therapeutic camaraderie. Read full article » |
| Taya Kyle, wife of slain Navy SEAL, delivers tearful testimony |
| STEPHENVILLE, Tex. — The widow of the Navy SEAL veteran who inspired the recent blockbuster movie “American Sniper” on Wednesday tearfully recalled her last day with her husband, saying they attended a basketball game for one of their children before he was killed. Read full article » |
| BUSINESS |
| FBI is investigating fraudulent tax returns filed through TurboTax |
| The FBI is investigating cases of fraudulent tax returns filed using TurboTax software.The probe comes after a number of states, including Minnesota, Utah, Alabama and Georgia, reported a spike in potentially fraudulent tax returns being filed by scam artists attempting to steal tax refunds. State tax authorities investigating the fraud say it’s too early to know if the personal information was pulled from TurboTax or another database, but some states say it’s clear the fraudsters had access to 2013 tax returns. Read full article » |
| China’s increase in debt is massive and unsustainable |
| China’s economy continued to chug along through the financial crisis, as other economic engines sputtered. But it’s becoming increasingly apparent that that stability came at a heavy price -- a huge expansion in debt that now threatens to destabilize the economy. Read full article » |
| TECHNOLOGY |
| Vegas’s new bet on grabbing millennials: Turning slots into video games |
| Millennials love Las Vegas, but they're far less enamored with the casino world's hyper-profitable lifeblood, slot machines. So to hook young visitors back onto pulling the lever, the kings of the Strip are betting on a new strategy: making gambling look like a video game. Read full article » |
| SpaceX launches satellite but calls off attempt to land rocket on platform in Atlantic |
| Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched a research satellite into space Wednesday but called off a dramatic attempt to land the first stage of an unmanned rocket on a platform floating in the Atlantic Ocean because of extreme weather that caused massive waves. Read full article » |
| PSA: Dating apps can give you viruses, too. |
| Valentine's Day is right around the corner, which means that there's probably a flood of people hitting dating sites this week to find the right person with whom to spend their Saturday.What you do on Valentine's Day is up to you, of course. But here's a friendly tech reminder: viruses aren't only a real-world dating problem. Read full article » |
| Society has outgrown privacy, just like it did chivalry |
| In the digital era, it’s not only government agencies and Silicon Valley companies spying on us or attempting to monetize our data — it’s our smart TVs and our futuristic cars. And, once the Internet of Things gets fully connected, you can finally say goodbye to privacy, as just about any device will have the ability to eavesdrop on our conversations and report data in real-time. Privacy, once a right, is now not even a social norm. Read full article » |
| LIFESTYLE |
| Would you leave your family behind to be the first human to set foot on Mars? |
| Leila Zucker remembers the ping of her inbox that launched her on this quest.From: Ron Zucker Read full article » |
| NBC’s ‘The Slap’ is trolling, but in a surprisingly absorbing way |
| TV shows are getting better at the modern ways of trolling, which, after all, is an ancient and perhaps fundamental feature of drama — the ability to stir emotions, get goats and raise hackles. Provocative characters make terrible decisions to draw us into their moral quandaries. How flattering that we each get a reserved seat in the judge’s chair. Read full article » |
| Kanye West, Bob Dylan and why one man’s trash talk is another man’s treasure |
| With the trophies disbursed at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony already collecting dust on their winners’ mantles, the rest of us are left to sift through the trash talk.Kanye West put an exclamation point on Sunday night’s ceremony with a post-show suggestion that the folk singer Beck relinquish his prize for album of the year to Beyoncé. “I am here to fight for creativity,” West said. Pearls were clutched. Read full article » |
| Two planned birthday blowouts turn family members against each other |
| Adapted from a recent online discussion.Dear Carolyn:I happen to share my birthday with my niece (who is preschool age). Since she was born, my birthdays have been spent celebrating my niece’s birthday, which I have gladly done with no ill feelings whatsoever. Read full article » |
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