Tag Archives: New York City

May 22, 2013 · 11:18 AM

10 things you need to know today: May 22, 2013

“I don’t have this burning, overriding desire to go out and run for office,” said Anthony Weiner in April.

The Week

A Senate committee approves immigration reform, Anthony Weiner launches his political comeback bid, and more

1. OKLAHOMA BEGINS CLEARING TWISTER DEBRIS

Rescue teams are winding down their search for survivors of the tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., and authorities are expected to start the mammoth task of clearing away debris. The mayor of Moore, Glenn Lewis, said he expected the death toll to remain at 24 people, including nine children. Officials had originally put the number of deaths at 51, but the state medical examiner’s office said that in the chaos after the storm some victims appear to have been counted twice. [NBC News, CNN]
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2. SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill Tuesday. The legislation would provide a path to citizenship for up to 11 million people who entered the U.S. illegally. It would also include tougher border control. President Obama, who has made immigration reform a second-term priority, said the bill was “largely consistent” with his own proposals. The landmark legislation goes to the full Senate next month. [Washington Post]
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3. ANTHONY WEINER ANNOUNCES HE’S RUNNING FOR NYC MAYOR
Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner on Wednesday launched a bid to become mayor of New York City. In a campaign video, he said he would fight to create jobs and reduce regulation on small businesses. He alluded to the sexting scandal that derailed his career two years ago, saying, “Look, I made some big mistakes… but I’ve also learned some tough lessons.” Polls show him ahead of all but one rival in the Democratic primaries, and he has a $5 million war chest. [New York Times]
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4. NORTH KOREA SENDS SPECIAL ENVOY TO CHINA
North Korea sent a “special envoy” of leader Kim Jong Un to China on Wednesday in an apparent bid to mend frayed relations between the communist allies. Ties between Pyongyang and Beijing were hurt by North Korea’s February nuclear test, then worsened again when China agreed to United Nations sanctions. The visit is considered important for North Korea, as the diplomatic crisis has made Pyongyang more reliant than ever on China for exports of food and fuel. [Reuters]
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5. GOVERNMENT SEIZED FOX NEWS PHONE RECORDS, TOO
Court documents indicate that the Justice Department seized records on several Fox News phone lines as part of a leak investigation, according to The New Yorker. The document was filed in the case against Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department contractor accused of illegally leaking classified information to James Rosen, a Fox News reporter. Prosecutors obtained records on two White House phone lines and five others associated with Fox, including what appears to be Rosen’s personal cellphone. [New Yorker]
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6. TSARNAEV ACQUAINTANCE KILLED DURING QUESTIONING
An FBI agent shot and killed a man believed to have had ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Little information was available early Wednesday, but the man, Ibrahim Todashev, reportedly was being questioned in his Orlando apartment when an altercation erupted. Investigators believe Todashev had spoken to Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shoot-out three days after the deadly April bombing, and had recently visited him in Boston. [CBS]
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7. ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE FRENCH HISTORIAN KILLS HIMSELF IN NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
A far-right French historian committed suicide on the altar of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in an apparent protest of gay marriage. Shortly after writing a blog post calling for radical action to oppose same-sex marriage in France, Dominique Venner, 78, walked into the famed cathedral, placed a letter on the altar, put the barrel of a handgun into his mouth, and pulled the trigger. Hundreds of visitors were immediately evacuated. Police did not immediately disclose what was in the letter. [Guardian]
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8. JUDGES RULE ARIZONA ABORTION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A panel of Ninth Circuit appeals judges struck down Arizona’s strict abortion law on Tuesday. The law, enacted in April 2012, made abortions illegal 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period, even if the fetus had no chance of surviving. The judges said the Arizona law was unconstitutional because Supreme Court rulings guarantee women the right to end pregnancies until a fetus is deemed viable outside the womb, which typically occurs around 24 weeks. [New York Times]
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9. U.S. IDENTIFIES BENGHAZI SUSPECTS
The U.S. has identified five suspects in the attack on diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans last year. The men remain at large, however. Investigators have enough evidence to justify seizing them as suspected terrorists, but not enough to try them in civilian courts, as the Obama administration prefers to do, so the FBI will continue gathering proof. [Associated Press]
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10. GARCETTI WINS ELECTION TO BECOME L.A. MAYOR
City Councilman Eric Garcetti has won Los Angeles’ mayoral race. Rival candidate Wendy Greuel called Garcetti early Wednesday to concede, ending a two-year, $33 million battle to determine who would succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the massive city’s political leader. Garcetti will be L.A.’s first Jewish mayor, and, at 42, its youngest in a century. He takes office in July. [Los Angeles Times]

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May 14, 2013 · 8:42 AM

10 things you need to know today: May 14, 2013

Angelina Jolie at a conference in London in April.

The Week

1. LAWMAKERS SLAM JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR SPYING ON AP
Lawmakers from both parties sharply criticized the Obama administration late Monday after The Associated Press revealed that the Justice Department had spied on some of its reporters. The AP said officials obtained two months of telephone records — on more than 20 cell, office, and home lines — in an apparent attempt to crack down on internal leaks. The AP called the move a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.” House Speaker John Boehner said Justice “better have a damned good explanation.” [Fox News, NPR]
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2. MINNESOTA BECOMES 12TH STATE TO ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE
Minnesota’s Democrat-controlled state Senate has approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry. The state House has already signed off, and Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, is expected to sign it into law on Tuesday, making the state the 12th in the nation to legalize gay marriage. The measure’s success marked a stark reversal over two years ago, when the legislature was controlled by Republicans who tried to write the state’s ban on same-sex marriage into its constitution. [Reuters]
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3. GOSNELL FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER
A jury found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for killing three babies born alive after botched abortions. He was also convicted of manslaughter for the death of a patient from a drug overdose. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty as the case’s sentencing phase begins Tuesday. Anti-abortion activists have used the trial as a rallying cry; abortion-rights supporters called it a reminder of why women need access to safe, sanitary care. [New York Times]
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4. OBAMA COUNTERS CRITICS OVER BENGHAZI, JOINS THEM OVER THE IRS
President Obama, facing mounting Republican criticism on several fronts, on Monday dismissed GOP questions of his administration’s handling of September’s attacks in Benghazi, Libya, as a partisan “sideshow.” Obama, however, joined angry politicians on the right and left in slamming the Internal Revenue Service for singling out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Obama was displaying “faux outrage” over the IRS scandal, which he said really proved Obama is “drunk on power.” [New York Times, Real Clear Politics]
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5. BOATS CAPSIZE FLEEING STORM IN MYANMAR
Several boats carrying as many as 150 people reportedly capsized near the western coast of Myanmar, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. The boats were ferrying members of the country’s long-suffering Muslim minority away from low-lying areas ahead of the potential arrival of Cyclone Mahasen, a storm that could hit parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh later this week. The boats were battered by high seas Monday night. Rescuers have recovered some bodies, but some passengers reached land. [CNN]
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6. VERMONT DECRIMINALIZES POSSESSION OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF POT
Vermont lawmakers on Monday gave their final approval to a bill that decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Under current state law, a first time conviction for misdemeanor pot possession carries a sentence of up to six months in jail. The new legislation, which Gov. Pete Shumlin plans to sign, replaces the criminal penalties with a $300 fine. Shumlin said now the state’s police can “focus their limited resources” on more addictive drugs. [Times Argus]
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7. TWO MEN ARRESTED IN MURDER OF MALCOLM X’S GRANDSON IN MEXICO
Mexican police on Monday arrested two men for last week’s beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X. The suspects, David Hernández Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Pérez de Jesús, were waiters at a Mexico City bar where Shabazz, 28, was killed in an apparent dispute over an excessive ($1,200) bill. Shabazz, who lived an erratic life after setting a fire that killed his grandmother when he was 12, was in Mexico to support a labor activist recently deported from the U.S. [New York Times]
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8. JOYCE BROTHERS DIES
Pioneering TV psychologist Joyce Brothers died Monday in New York City. She was 85. On her 1950s TV show, Brothers addressed personal topics that had rarely, if ever, been discussed on television. She published 15 books and wrote a syndicated column that kept her in the public eye for decades. She became a fixture in popular culture with cameo appearances on Happy Days, The Simpsons, and other TV shows, and visited Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show nearly 100 times. [USA Today]
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9. POLICE NAME SUSPECT IN NEW ORLEANS PARADE MASS SHOOTING
New Orleans on Monday identified a 19-year-old man, Akein Scott, as the suspect in a shooting that injured 19 people, including two 10-year-old children, at a neighborhood parade on Sunday. As the city’s residents expressed outrage, tips pointing to Scott poured in after police released photos from a surveillance camera showing a young man firing into a crowd. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition, although all were expected to survive. [Reuters]
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10. JOLIE REVEALS SHE HAD A DOUBLE MASTECTOMY TO PREVENT CANCER
Angelina Jolie, 37, revealed in The New York Times that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy this year after learning she carries a “faulty” gene that sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The Academy Award-winning actress said her mother died of cancer at age 56, and she wanted to be proactive for the sake of her children. “I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience,” she said. [New York Times]

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May 10, 2013 · 11:17 AM

World Trade Center, Built With Union Labor, Is Now America’s Tallest Building

Think Progress

One World Trade Center, which will replace the World Trade Center towers that fell in the September 11 terrorist attacks, became the tallest building in the United States this morning when workers hoisted a 408-foot spire atop it. At 1,776 feet tall, the building is now the tallest in the United States and the third-tallest in the world.

And, as American Rights at Work noted when it became the tallest building in New York, it was built with union labor:

It’s fitting: union members were among the first responders; union members served in the immediate cleanup; and now union members are part of the rebuilding.

Anti-union legislation has made its way across America in recent years, from Michigan to Indiana to Wisconsin. But unions were instrumental in building America’s middle class, in responding to the attacks on 9/11, and now, in rebuilding the World Trade Center in the decade since the attacks.

“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” project manager Juan Estevez told the Associated Press. “It’s a culmination of a tremendous amount of team work … rebuilding the New York City skyline once again.”

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May 8, 2013 · 7:39 AM

NYPD: It’s too hard looking for gay-bashers

NY-Knicks

I would suspect that some members and officials of the NYPD have the same mindset as the alleged gay-bashers, hence their original statement that it would be “too hard to find them”...

America Blog

Two gay men were reportedly attacked, apparently for walking arm in arm, outside a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in NYC on Sunday.

The police originally told the victims, one of whom suffered a broken nose, that it would be hard identifying the suspects since so many people were wearing Knicks shirts at the time.

Once word got out about the crime, the NYPD changed its tune and announced on Tuesday that it was looking for the suspected gay-bashers.

I’ve witnessed this kind of behavior before from the police in Washington, DC.  They have ample incentive for trying to get you not to file a crime report.  First, there’s an incentive to have crime go down, and one of the easiest ways to have crime go down is not to file a report at all.  So you’ll have police finding crafty ways of trying to convince victims not to file a

Two gay men were reportedly attacked, apparently for walking arm in arm, outside a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in NYC on Sunday.

The police originally told the victims, one of whom suffered a broken nose, that it would be hard identifying the suspects since so many people were wearing Knicks shirts at the time.

Once word got out about the crime, the NYPD changed its tune and announced on Tuesday that it was looking for the suspected gay-bashers.

I’ve witnessed this kind of behavior before from the police in Washington, DC.  They have ample incentive for trying to get you not to file a crime report.  First, there’s an incentive to have crime go down, and one of the easiest ways to have crime go down is not to file a report at all.  So you’ll have police finding crafty ways of trying to convince victims not to file a report.

Another reason police don’t like to file crime reports is that if they catch a suspect, the paperwork, and the time it takes to get them in the system, and process them, is also a pain.   If you don’t catch the bad guy, you don’t have to work extra hours processing the bad guy.

And finally, if they’re going to through all that extra work to process arrestees, they’d rather do it for a “real” criminal, a murderer, rather than someone who beats the f out of gays.

In big cities, the system, and its incentives, sadly can work against victims (and against good police officers themselves).

Fortunately, NYPD seems finally interested in working on this crime.

(h/t Liberaland)

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May 5, 2013 · 3:10 PM

10 things you need to know today: May 5, 2013

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Herzl Museum on May 5 in Jerusalem.

This is one of my favorite features on The Week website…

The Week

Israeli strikes in Syria continue, the California wildfires calm down, and more

1. SYRIA CALLS ISRAELI ATTACK AN ACT OF WAR
A Syrian official called Israel’s attack against its military research facility a “declaration of war” on Sunday. Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad told CNN that the attack, which followed an airstrike late last week, represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the Israeli military commented on the U.S. claim of an airstrike, but Israel has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups. [CNN]
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2. TSARNAEV PARENTS REQUEST SECOND AUTOPSY
An independent autopsy on the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is scheduled to be performed Sunday, a step requested by Tsarnaev’s parents, who believe their sons were framed by the U.S. government. The Tsarnaevs say the autopsy results could undermine the U.S. officials’ account of Tamerlan’s death by showing that he was not run over by his brother, Dzhokhar. That, the parents believe, would throw into question law enforcement officials’ entire account of the case. [Boston Globe]

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3. EIGHT WESTERN SOLDIERS KILLED IN BLOODY DAY IN AFGHANISTAN
Eight soldiers with the American-led military coalition in Afghanistan were killed Saturday, making it the bloodiest day this year for Western troops fighting in the country. Two were shot in an insider attack, one died in a small-arms attack and five Americans were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, according to statements from the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan officials. Seven of the slain soldiers were American. [New York Times]
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4. COOL AIR TAMPS DOWN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
A big cool-down calmed a huge wildfire burning in Southern California’s coastal mountains Saturday. High winds and witheringly hot, dry air were replaced by the normal flow of damp air off the Pacific, significantly reducing fire activity. “The fire isn’t really running and gunning,” said Tom Kruschke, a Ventura County Fire Department spokesman. Despite the favorable conditions, evacuation orders remained in place for residents of several areas. [Washington Post]
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5. NRA REACHES RECORD MEMBERSHIP LEVEL
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told organization members during a fiery speech Saturday that the “political and media elites” have tried to use Sandy Hook and other recent shootings “to blame us, to shame us, to compromise our freedom for their agenda.” He also said the proposed gun-control bill “got the defeat that it deserved.” The speech took place at a meeting that is part of the yearly NRA convention being held this weekend in Houston.LaPierre also said the NRA now has a record 5 million members. [ABC News]

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6. DURBIN USES BOSTON TO PUSH IMMIGRATION BILL
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin is using the terrorist bombings in Boston to push for his immigration reform bill. On Sunday’s State of the Union, Durbin said poor information sharing between federal agencies that came to light after the attacks would be fixed in the Senate’s immigration bill. ”There’s not enough coordination between these different agencies so that we know someone should not have been readmitted to the United States,” the Illinois senator said. “Our bill addresses that directly.” The Senate begins work on its immigration bill this week. [Politico]

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7. MALAYSIANS TURN OUT FOR HISTORIC VOTE
Voting has ended in Malaysia in what is widely expected to be the most closely contested general election in the country’s history. It will be several hours before the first results are known. PM Najib Razak’s National Front coalition is up against Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim. Voters were faced with returning the ruling party, in power for 56 years, or choosing an untested opposition. Ahead of the polls, allegations of various forms of fraud emerged. [BBC]
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8. ORB WINS 139TH KENTUCKY DERBY
On a wet and muddy track at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Orb came from behind to win the 139th Kentucky Derby. It was the first Derby win for Shug McGaughey, Orb’s trainer, and Joel Rosario, Orb’s jockey. Orb, the co-favorite with Revolutionary at 6-1, will go on to attempt a Triple Crown victory. [CBS Sports]
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9. NEW YORK TO HAVE NATION’S LARGEST BIKE SHARE PROGRAM
Public transportation-friendly New York City plans to introduce the nation’s largest bike-sharing system, called Citi Bike, later this month. City officials say the nation’s largest bike-sharing system will begin with 6,000 bikes at 330 stations in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, with plans to expand eventually to 10,000 bikes and 600 docking stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. [Wall Street Journal]
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10. MAYWEATHER RETAINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
After a year off from boxing and two months in jail, Floyd Mayweather Jr. easily retained the world welterweight championship with a masterful one-sided beatdown of interim champ Robert Guerrero on Saturday night before a crowd of 15,880 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. [ESPN]

 

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April 28, 2013 · 6:13 PM

Watch: White House Correspondents Dinner Awesome Spoof Of ‘House of Cards’

Post image for Watch: White House Correspondents Dinner Awesome Spoof Of ‘House of Cards’

The New Civil Rights Movement

The White House Correspondents Dinner featured an awesome spoof of the Netflix series, “House of Cards,” which features Kevin Spacey as the House Majority Whip, but also, cameos of John McCain, Valerie Jarrett, BuzzFeed’s editor Ben Smith, Steny Hoyer, Kevin McCarthy, New York City’s Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Politico’s Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen.

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April 2, 2013 · 10:32 AM

10 things you need to know today: April 2, 2013

A boy pays his respects to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings during a December candlelight vigil in Tirana, Albania.

The Week

Connecticut lawmakers agree on strict gun laws, North Korea restarts its nuclear plant, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

1. CONNECTICUT LEGISLATORS AGREE ON TOUGH GUN LAWS
Connecticut lawmakers agreed on what they called the nation’s toughest gun laws on Monday, just over three months after their state was shaken by the deadly shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The package, which is expected to be passed on Wednesday, requires eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun or ammunition, requires people convicted of weapons offenses to register with the state, imposes universal background checks for gun buyers, and expands a state ban on assault weapons. It also bans the sale of high-capacity magazines with more than 10 bullets, although lawmakers declined to completely ban the clips despite pleas from relatives of 11 Sandy Hook victims. [New York Times]
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2. PROSECUTOR SEEKS DEATH PENALTY FOR JAMES HOLMES
A Colorado prosecutor announced Monday that he would seek the death penalty against James Holmes, who is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 70 others in a shooting rampage inside a movie theater last July. Defense lawyers had offered to have Holmes, a graduate school dropout with a history of psychiatric problems, plead guilty in exchange for a promise that he would not be executed, but District Attorney George Brauchler rejected the deal after speaking with 60 people who lost loved ones in the Aurora, Colo., massacre. “In this case, for James Egan Holmes, justice is death,” Brauchler said. [USA Today]
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3. NORTH KOREA SAYS IT’S RESTARTING MOTHBALLED NUKE PLANT
North Korea announced Tuesday that it would restart a nuclear reactor and uranium-enrichment facilities shut down under an aid-for-disarmament deal five years ago. The declaration demonstrated the commitment of the isolated regime’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to expanding its nuclear arsenal, and heightened tensions raised by weeks of war threats against the U.S. and South Korea. “It’s yet another escalation in this ongoing crisis,” said Ramesh Thakur, director of the Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament at Australian National University in Canberra. [CNN]
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4. KENNEDY REPORTEDLY HEADED FOR EMBASSY IN JAPAN
Caroline Kennedy is reportedly in line to become President Obama’s next ambassador to Japan. Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, is a lawyer and author, and provided Obama with an early endorsement in 2008 that helped him beat out Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. The appointment has been rumored to be in the works for weeks. If it goes through, it will thrust Kennedy into one of the world’s most visible diplomatic posts as China’s rise and North Korea’s belligerence are raising the stakes in the region. [Boston Globe]
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5. SANFORD FACES GOP RIVAL IN PRIMARY RUNOFF
Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford takes the next step on the comeback trail on Tuesday, when he faces a lone rival in a GOP congressional primary runoff four years after an extramarital affair derailed his political career. Polls indicate that Sanford, who once held the seat in the Charleston-area district, is favored to beat personal-injury lawyer and former city councilman Curtis Bostic for the Republican nomination. Bostic is trying to catch up by enlisting help from evangelical preachers angered by Sanford’s affair. The winner will face Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, a business development official and an older sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, in May. [Bloomberg]
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6. EUROZONE UNEMPLOYMENT AT RECORD HIGH
Unemployment in the eurozone rose to a record 12 percent in the first two months of 2013, the European Union’s statistical agency, Eurostat, reported on Tuesday. That means that 1.8 more people are unemployed in the 17 nations using the common currency than at the same time last year. The loss of jobs has been part of the social cost of three years of government spending cuts and other austerity measures, and the latest data will raise pressure on the European Central Bank to keep interest rates at their current record low, or cut them further, at a Thursday meeting. [New York Times]
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7. FIRE KILLS 13 AT MYANMAR MUSLIM SCHOOL
A fire killed 13 boys in a dormitory at a Muslim school in Myanmar on Tuesday. Fire officials said the flames erupted and spread quickly after a transformer overheated under a staircase, filling the building with smoke and suffocating some of the 70 boys sleeping on the top floor. Some Muslims, however, were skeptical about the official version, as the tragedy came after a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the predominantly Buddhist nation. [Reuters]
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8. COURT OKs LIVE-STREAMING OF BROADCAST TV
An appeals court on Monday ruled that start-up Aereo can continue live-streaming local TV online and through its app, marking a potentially significant setback for TV broadcasters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York backed up a lower court that ruled Aereo isn’t violating broadcasters’ copyrights. Each of Aereo’s subscribers, all in the New York City area for now, leases an antenna in the company’s warehouse, and gets feeds to their computers and other devices. Consumer groups praised the decision, saying it would give viewers flexibility without hefty cable bills, but a dissenting judge called Aereo’s system “a Rube Goldberg-like contrivance” designed to sidestep the law. [USA Today]
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9. MTV HALTS BUCKWILD AFTER REALITY SHOW STAR DIES
MTV has suspended filming of the second season of Buckwild, a reality TV show about a rowdy group of friends in West Virginia, after the death of cast member Shain Gandee. The popular 21-year-old, his uncle, and another man were found dead in a red-and-white 1984 Ford Bronco that was partially submerged in a deep mud pit. The men were last seen at 3 a.m. Sunday at a bar, where they told people they were going driving off-road. Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. If the muffler was submerged while the engine ran, the vehicle could have filled with deadly carbon monoxide from the exhaust. [Associated Press]
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10. A SEA LION WITH RHYTHM
For the first time, a non-human mammal has shown it can follow a musical beat. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, taught a sea lion named Ronan to “bob her head in time with rhythmic sounds,” starting with a simple beat and moving on to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s ”Boogie Wonderland,” her favorite song. The success of the experiment challenges the conventional wisdom that only humans and some birds capable of vocal mimicry can keep time with a musical beat. [Mashable]

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March 24, 2013 · 11:51 AM

10 things you need to know today: March 24, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi on March 24 in Baghdad.

John Kerry touches down in Baghdad in unannounced Iraq visit; Quantico shooter and victims are identified; and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

The Week

1. JOHN KERRY ARRIVES IN IRAQ IN UNANNOUNCED VISIT

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Sunday on a surprise visit, the first by an American secretary of state since Hillary Rodham Clinton went to Iraq in 2009. Kerry is expected to tell Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that Iraq must take steps to stop the shipment of Iranian arms to Syria if it wants to participate in broader discussions about Syria’s future after President Bashar al-Assad leaves, according to a senior State Department official. The air corridor over Iraq has emerged as a main supply route for weapons, including rockets, antitank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, as well as Iranian personnel, according to American intelligence officials. Syria is Iran’s staunchest Arab ally. [New York Times]

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2. PAKISTAN’S MUSHARRAF RETURNS AFTER FOUR-YEAR EXILE

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has arrived back in Pakistan amid death threats, ending four years of self-imposed exile. A protection detail of heavily armed commandos met him after his plane from Dubai touched down in Karachi airport on Sunday. General Musharraf is said to be plotting his next political step and plans to lead his party in the May general election. A protest rally connected to Musharraf was cancelled. Musharraf resigned from the presidency in August 2008 amid impeachment threats and had been living in London since. [BBC]

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3. CYPRUS, EUROGROUP MEETING ON BAILOUT DEAL IN BRUSSELS
Eight days after hashing out a failed bailout deal, the Eurogroup of finance ministers and Cyprus officials plan to meet in Brussels tonight. They have until Monday to devise a plan; the European Central Bank has said that it will cut off the financing that is keeping Cyprus’s teetering banks from collapsing on that day. Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades was flying to Brussels on Sunday after mapping out a tentative outline of a deal late Saturday with representatives of the negotiators involved in the bailout, the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. Anastasiades had also briefed Cypriot political leaders on the outline, which is said to call for imposing a hefty one-time tax on bank deposits above 100,000 Euros. [New York Times]
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4. QUANTICO SHOOTER, VICTIMS ARE IDENTIFIED
Military officials have identified the victims and the Marine who shot two of his colleagues to death and then killed himself Marine Corps Base in Quantico. The shooter, 25-year-old Sgt. Eusebio Lopez, was a tactics instructor at an officer candidates school, a center that tests Marines who want to become officers, military officials said Saturday. Lopez fatally shot 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Sara Castromata and Cpl. Jacob Wooley, 23, on Thursday night inside barracks at the base in northern Virginia. Officials have not described their relationship in detail or released a motive for the shooting. Lopez joined the corps in May 2006 and was deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [Huffington Post]

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5. REBELS SEIZE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CAPITAL
Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of Bangui, the capital, on Sunday, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, government officials said. At least six South African soldiers were killed in clashes with the Seleka rebel coalition, according to a Reuters witness. The rebels resumed hostilities this week in Central African Republic, vowing to oust Bozize, whom it accused of breaking a January peace agreement to integrate its fighters into the army. The landlocked country has been racked by rural rebellions for more than a decade, and the rebel advance added to instability in the heart of Africa. [Reuters]

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6. BLOOMBERG UNVEILS GUN CONTROL AD CAMPAIGN
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $12 million television ad campaign urging U.S. senators to support legislation that would expand background checks for gun purchases. The ads running in 13 states are intended to encourage people “to call their senators if they believe that we should have gun checks that stop criminals and people with mental illnesses from getting guns,” Bloomberg said in an interview on Meet the Press that aired this morning. [Bloomberg]

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7. APPLE ACQUIRES GPS COMPANY WIFISLAM
Apple has acquired indoor-GPS company WifiSLAM, a sign that Apple and Google’s war over indoor mobile location services is heating up. Apple paid around $20 million for the Silicon Valley-based company, and an Apple spokesman confirmed the deal, but declined to discuss further plans. WifiSLAM has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. The move comes as Apple continues to build its arsenal against Google in mapping, and a year after its own mapping service debuted to poor reviews and user complaints about inaccurate data. Google already offers indoor mapping in certain locations like airports, shopping centers and sports venues. [Wall Street Journal]

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8. TILDA SWINTON HOLDS ONE-DAY PERFORMANCE ART AT MOMA
Actress Tilda Swinton held a one-person performance piece called “The Maybe” at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art on Saturday. The Moonrise Kingdom actress napped in a glass box at the museum as part of her unannounced exhibit that surprised visitors and even museum employees. In “The Maybe,” Swinton sleeps in a glass box for the day. The exhibit will move locations within the museum every time Swinton performs. There is no published schedule for the piece, which will occur about a half dozen more times through the end of the year. Swinton first performed the piece at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1995. In 1996, she performed it in the Museo Barracco in Rome. [USA Today]

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9. NASA CONFIRMS EAST COAST METEOR
The Internet lit up with reports of a bright flash in the sky along the East Coast on Friday night that NASA has confirmed was caused by a “boulder-sized space rock” that was a yard in diameter. The meteor was seen from Maine to North Carolina and as far inland as Ohio, according to the American Meteor Society, which has reported more than 600 sightings. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office told ABCNews.com that the meteor is not cause for alarm. “People have no reason to be scared, this is normal activity for this time of year,” said Cooke. “This is not a portent for an asteroid.” [ABC News]

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10. WINNING POWERBALL TICKET SOLD IN NEW JERSEY
A winning ticket for Saturday night’s $338 million Powerball jackpot was sold in New Jersey, lottery officials said early Sunday. The ticket matched all six numbers drawn: 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and 31. The largest Powerball jackpot in history was $587.5 million. A ticket purchased in Arizona and another in Missouri shared the prize in November. [CNN]

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February 19, 2013 · 8:54 AM

Gun Safety Advocates Force NRA Backed Democrat Out Of Congressional Race

Debbie Halvorson, one of the two women mentioned in this article, has implied that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the “Nanny State Mayor”.  I have a feeling this woman will be tougher for Bloomberg’s PAC to get rid of than State Senator Toi Hutchinson.

Mayor Bloomberg’s PAC is going after both Democratic candidates (running to replace Jesse Jackson’s vacant seat in Congress) because they both support the NRA and have an “A” rating with the gun-rights organization.

Think Progress

Illinois State Sen. Toi Hutchinson dropped her bid to fill the Congressional seat of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on Sunday after her moderate views on gun safety made her a target of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political action committee, Independence USA.

Toi Hutchinson

In what will be the first election since the shooting in Newton, Connecticut, the $2 million ad buy criticized Hutchison and another candidate for receiving an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). “In the race for Congress, the big issue? Fighting gun violence. Debbie Halvorson and Toi Hutchinson both earned an A from the NRA, they can’t be trusted,” the ad began before endorsing former state Rep. Robin Kelly who supports background checks and banning assault weapons.

Guns have become a central issue in the primary, as Kelly attacked her opponents’ views on gun safety and “pointed out that Hutchinson received a 92 percent rating from the NRA” and does not support a statewide concealed carry ban. She also urged all candidates to “sign on to a five-point pledge to reduce gun violence: banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, closing the gun show loophole, supporting Illinois’ conceal carry ban, and refusing support from ‘organizations that oppose reasonable gun safety legislation.’”

Neither Hutchison nor Halvorson signed on to the document, though the former sought to bolster her credentials on gun safety by releasing a video in which she highlighted her support for “the assault weapons ban and the ban on high capacity magazines favored by Gov. Pat Quinn.”

“I am simply unwilling to risk playing a role going forward that could result in dividing our community at time a when we need unity more than ever,” Hutchinson said Sunday in a statement announcing her resignation. “In the wake of horrendous gun related crimes all across our country, I agree with Robin that we need to stand together to fight gun violence.”

Hutchinson’s announcement also comes after reports detailing “alleged payments to her mother as a campaign consultant.”

A special primary will be held on February 26 and the general election is scheduled for April 9.

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February 17, 2013 · 10:30 AM

New York City’s Hidden Subway Station

Amazing.  I lived in New York City all of my life up until the late 1990′s and I’d never heard about this…

Travelettes

Deep in the belly of New York’s subway system, a beautiful untouched station resides that has been forgotten for years with only a limited few knowing of its existence. Stunning decoration with tall tiled arches, brass fixtures and skylights run across the entire curve of the station, almost a miniature imitation of Grand Central Station… But it sounds like something straight out of Harry Potter, right?

It was opened in 1904, with the hope of making it the crowning glory of the New York subway system in elegant architecture and a place for commemorative plaques to honour the work that had resulted in such a successful underground mass transit system. It was to be the original southern terminus of the first ‘Manhattan Main Line’; however the station was closed and boarded up in 1945. The gem of the underground began gathering dust, forgotten by the general public, as passengers were forced off at the Brooklyn Bridge Stop before the train continued on to the terminus to make its turnaround.

The reason for its closure was that newer longer cars were required to match the demand of passengers that passed through the system. But as the stations tracks were severely curved, a dangerous gap between the train doors and the platform was formed making it an unsafe area. This combined with the fact that only about 600 people used it, resulted in its closure with only mythical plans of turning it into a transit museum. But this was never followed through.

However, now you don’t have to take my word that the secret City Hall Station exists, as the 6 Train will now allow the passengers who have been enlightened with the knowledge of its whereabouts to stay on the train during its turnaround and see the Station. You won’t be able to get off, but you’ll be taken for a slow tour of the platform and see what a beauty it was in its heyday!

And if that isn’t enough, The Underbelly Project has turned it into a kind-of off-limits art gallery. They are a group of street artists who have painted the walls of the unattractive concrete areas with their art in a spooky art exhibition that will be witnessed only by urban explorers who prowl the deep train system at night and Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers.

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