Trump’s primary treat, Obama’s SCOTUS defeat and Kanye’s cryptic tweet. It’s Wednesday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door:
NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARIES
Rebel yell: Last night’s New Hampshire primaries belonged to the outsiders, to the rabble-rousers, to the rule-breakers. To two men once dismissed as sideshows but who seized on the fury of grassroots voters to screw with the conventional wisdom. Here’s the takeaway: Donald Trump, for all his bluster, is for real. And Bernie Sanders will do his darndest to crash a Clinton coronation. Both men made history: It was the Donald’s first political win – ever. And the Bern became the first Jewish candidate to win a primary.
CLIMATE CHANGE
SCOTUS blocks POTUS: Remember last summer when President Obama proposed rules to seriously cut green house gas emissions from the mother of all polluters: electric power plants? Twenty-nine states immediately filed suit, worried they’d kill jobs. Yesterday, the Supreme Court stepped in, saying ‘Not so fast’ and temporarily blocked the plan. Bummer for the Prez because fighting climate change was supposed to be a huge part of his legacy. And now it’s stuck in court — just like his other legacy action: immigration.
AKAI GURLEY TRIAL
Judgment day: Akai Gurley isn’t as well known as Michael Brown or Walter Scott. But he too was an unarmed black man killed by a cop. Officer Peter Liang shot him dead in a housing project, saying his gun accidentally discharged. Not so, says the prosecution. The cop made too many poor judgment calls. “In fact, instead of calling for help, he just stood there and whined and moaned about how he would get fired,” the ADA said. A jury may decide today whether Liang should be convicted of manslaughter.
MEXICO MISSING STUDENTS
Unearthing a ‘cover up’: The official line of the Mexican government was this: The 43 students who went missing 17 months ago were killed by a gang that burned their bodies in a landfill. But forensic experts from Argentina said yesterday there was no evidence of a fire big enough to incinerate that many bodies. That backs up what another group of experts concluded and what loved ones of the missing have said all along. They’ve accused Mexican officials of using the fire story as a distraction. Your move, Mexico.
ISIS
Nooooo!: Top intelligence officials briefed Capitol Hill on the ISIS threat yesterday. First the bad news: ISIS is sticking its members among innocent refugees to move across borders undetected. Now, the really bad news: ISIS will attempt a direct attack on the U.S. this year. Like hump days aren’t stressful enough already.
Breakfast browse
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
“Racist, Sexist, Xenophobic Demagogue Wins NH”
– The Huffington Post huffing and puffing about The Donald’s win last night. We don’t know what’s worse – that or the New York Daily News headline: DAWN OF THE BRAIN DEAD: Clown comes back to life with N.H. win as mindless zombies turn out in droves.” So not cool!
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water …
Shark attacks rose to an all-time record last year. One reason: El Nino.
D’oh
There are dumb criminals and then there’s the dude who stole from a photo booth with a CAMERA POINTED RIGHT AT HIM!
The power of punctuation
Oh, Kanye, you could have saved Twitter from melting down if only you’d used question marks instead of exclamation points:
What’s for lunch?
Here’s what’s happening later.
Mo’ problems, mo’ money
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will ask the state legislature today for an additional $195 million for the Flint water crisis. The city’s mayor says it’ll take $55 million just to replace the lead pipes.
$14 million
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear “Happy Birthday” song which can now be sung everywhere after a $14 million settlement in a copyright suit
Happy birthday to you
And finally…
Who’s your daddy?
Life’s confusing enough when you’re 16 months old without having to tell apart your dada from your uncle.