The Planned Parenthood suspect says he’s guilty; The Donald says he’s not a bigot and Justice Scalia says the darndest things. It’s Thursday, and here are the five things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
PLANED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING
Hypocritic oath: It makes no sense. You take a life because you believe you’re fighting to save one? During a hearing yesterday, Robert Lewis Dear left no doubt that what he allegedly did was an act of domestic terrorism. Dear is accused of opening fire at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic, killing three people and injuring nine. Almost 20 times, he interrupted proceedings – yelling he was guilty, that he was a “warrior for the babies,” and he did what he did to “protect the babies.” He faces 179 felony charges, including murder.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Open mouth, insert foot: The Supreme Court was hearing arguments yesterday in a case where a white woman says she was passed over for admission at the University of Texas Austin in favor of a black student. Justice Antonin Scalia let out this doozy: Black students would do better in “less advanced” schools than UT. Did he stop there? Nooo. Most black scientists, he continued, “come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.” We. Have. No. Words.
DONALD TRUMP
Tainted love: The Donald loves Muslims, and the Muslims love him back. And that’s why he wants to ban them from entering the country. It’s for their own good, really. In an CNN interview, Donald Trump said his “many Muslim friends” are high-fiving him for bringing up something that’s “so brilliant and so fantastic.” “They’re so happy at what I’m doing.” He also threatened — again — a third-party run if the GOP doesn’t show him some love. And that was Wednesday’s installment of Today in Trump.
PARIS ATTACKS
A father’s anguish: If Said Mohamed-Aggad had his way, his son — the third gunman in the Bataclan theater massacre — would never have taken part in the Paris attacks.”I would have killed him beforehand.” The shaken father said Foued Mohamed-Aggad had been brainwashed and became another person while in Syria. That person sprayed gunfire inside the theater for 20 horrific minutes before blowing himself up.
SAN BERNARDINO SHOOTING
Don’t ask, don’t tell: How does a jihadist like Tashfeen Malik get through an interview for a U.S. visa without being discovered? By not being asked questions about any jihadist leanings. A State Department official said Malik wasn’t asked those questions because her application didn’t bring up any red flags. Yesterday, we also learned Malik and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, developed extremist views before they even met. Chats about jihad and martyrdom – that’s how they courted each other!
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Owl be back
The latest craze in Tokyo? Owl cafes. Because cat cafes are so played out.
The best thing since sliced bread
Move over, BLT. Take a hike, PBJ. Sandwiches have a new BFF: sliced chocolate.
Attaboy, world
Go you. The most talked-about topics on Facebook this year were weighty, substantive matters. Not a Kardashian in sight.
Pffft, college schmollege
Unless you’re a smarty pants going to a smarty pants college, don’t even bother. You’ll earn, on average, less than a high school graduate.
Love bites
So you think you can take your hunky self to a zombie convention and a crazed female fan WON’T sink her chompers on you? Think again, Norman Reedus.
WHAT FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s coming up later.
Swap cheat: A House report that comes out this morning will say the White House broke the law when it swapped Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners. And the Dems will call it “a weighted and politically motivated” accusation. You know, just another day on the Hill.
And the Oscar goes to …: Quite likely some movie that wins the Golden Globe. And the Globe will announce its nominations at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Number of the day: $2 million
Amount Martin Shkreli paid for the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” of which there’s only one copy. Wu-Tang: Not just for the children anymore; also for pharma bad boys who raise prices of AIDS drugs from $13.50 to $750 per pill!
AND FINALLY …
Thanks for the memories
This delirious, delicious 3-minute medley of the year’s biggest hits is the best thing on the Internet today. There, we just saved you hours of clicking.