The search for bodies begins in the Germanwings crash. U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan won’t change through the end of the year. And Ted Cruz drops an Obamacare surprise.
It’s Wednesday, and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day.
GERMANWINGS CRASH
Aviation tragedy: Rescue crews will begin again today to try to recover bodies from yesterday’s Germanwings Airbus A320 crash. Authorities weren’t able to retrieve bodies yesterday, due to the mountainous terrain and cold weather conditions. Snow is in the forecast for today. One-hundred-fifty people are presumed dead in the crash, which occurred in a remote area in the French Alps. Germany’s foreign minister, after flying over the crash site, called the scene a “picture of horror.” One of the plane’s black boxes has been found, but it’s still too early to tell what brought the plane down.
AFGHANISTAN TROOP LEVELS
Drawdown slowed: The U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will stay at the current level of 9,800 troops through the end of the year, President Obama announced yesterday, rather than dropping to 5,500 as planned. Obama, who met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani yesterday, said the delay was needed to give Afghan forces enough time to improve the security situation in the country and to make sure U.S. troops “don’t have to go back.” The President emphasized, however, that almost all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.
OBAMACARE
Cruz’s surprise: After years of fighting for its destruction (and a day after launching his presidential bid), Sen. Ted Cruz stunned many yesterday by announcing that he’ll be going on Obamacare. The Texas Republican is signing up for the Affordable Care Act because he will no longer have health coverage via his wife’s employer, Goldman Sachs. Heidi Cruz is on unpaid leave while her husband runs for president. Cruz dismissed the obvious irony of the situation, saying that he was simply following a law he disagrees with.
LISTERIA RECALL
Another one: This time it’s ice cream. Blue Bell is recalling 3-ounce cups of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream after a test detected listeria in a cup taken from a Kansas hospital. No one has reported getting sick, so far. The contaminated cup was produced in April 2014 at a Oklahoma plant. This comes about a month after Blue Bell recalled products produced in Texas linked to a fatal listeria outbreak in Kansas and a day after Amy’s Kitchen pulled back almost 74,000 cases of its products, also due to possible listeria contamination.
DAVID CROSBY
911 calls: The California Highway Patrol released 911 calls yesterday from singer David Crosby after he hit a jogger with his car. Crosby repeatedly tells the 911 dispatcher that “we need an ambulance,” after he hit the male jogger Sunday while driving about 50 mph in Santa Ynez, California. The posted speed limit was 55. The jogger is in fair condition, and a highway patrol spokesman said Crosby was cooperative and not impaired “in any way.” Crosby is best known as a member of legendary rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of other things that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
Electric ride: Ah, California. Where else can you be riding down the road and ride past a possible new Tesla prototype?
Sweet consolation: Remember that member of Villanova’s band that cried as the team lost in the NCAA tournament? Jimmy Fallon brought a smile to her face.
Good sleep: Falling off the couch can’t ruin this dog’s sleep.
Cleaning time: Cleaning a cow never looked so fun.