The Justice Department might sue Ferguson. Two die from a hospital superbug. And frigid weather frosts America.
It’s Thursday and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day
FERGUSON
Lawsuit pending: The Justice Department may be drafting papers to sue the Ferguson Police Department over a pattern of racially discriminatory tactics used by officers, sources say. What could stop a lawsuit? If the department agrees to make the changes on its own. Attorney General Eric Holder said he expects to announce the results of the department’s investigation of the shooting death of Michael Brown and a broader probe of the Ferguson Police Department before he leaves office in the coming weeks.
DEADLY BACTERIA
Superbug: UCLA hospital officials say they can link the deaths of two people to a drug-resistant bacteria. Worse yet, nearly 180 other patients may have been exposed to the superbug. The hospital is contacting the patients who had endoscopic procedures between October and January and is offering in-home tests that they can take to see if they have it. The bacteria kills up to half the people who get it.
COLD WEATHER
How cold is it?: Pretty much the entire eastern half of the United States is in the ice box. From the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast, temperatures are 25 to 45 degrees below average. That’s 115 million people in 27 states shivering and shouting choice words. Schools are closed far and wide, ranging from Chicago to north Georgia. And the final insult? Many parts of the Lower 48 will be colder than Alaska today.
ISIS
No end to the savagery: Lots of stories are floating around about ISIS these days. Many of them are brutal. New reports say ISIS burned alive up to 40 people near the town of al-Baghdadi in Iraq’s massive Anbar province. An Iraqi official told CNN that the reports are true. Another story involves ISIS harvesting organs from slain civilians and trafficking them. Iraq’s ambassador to the U.N. made the claim. The United Nations is investigating.
JEB BUSH
Standing out: Jeb Bush is trying to put some distance between himself and his brother before a possible presidential bid. His message: “I am my own man.” It’s too early to tell whether Bush’s strategy to differentiate himself from George W. answered the key question facing his campaign: Can a third man with the name “Bush” win the presidency in a nation exhausted by war and suspicious of dynasties? Hillary Clinton, another potential White House hopeful, could face a similar challenge.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
Selfie proposal: It might be staged, but it’s still the feel-good video of the day.
Lighting up the sky: This is what happens when a 500-pound piece of space rock burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Chow, chow, chow: A hungry cat bulldozes a snowbank at dinnertime.
How did he do that?: Rufus solves a “Wheel of Fortune” puzzle with just one letter. Even Pat Sajack is amazed.
Not fair: A last-second shot to win the game gets stuck on the rim.