A tragic collapse. A stunning flip-flop. A contentious decision. It’s Thursday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
INDIA BRIDGE COLLAPSE
A grim start to the morning, with word of a bridge collapse near Kolkata, India today that killed at least 10 people. More than 100 people are unaccounted for. Construction workers are among the missing, and some people are feared trapped in their cars, after slabs from the bridge fell on moving vehicles. Watch CNNGo for the latest on this breaking news story.
CAMPAIGN 2016
Donald Trump was simply tongue-tied yesterday. First he says women who seek abortions (if they were legally banned) should be punished. Cue the outcry, and not just from Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton and others on the left. Anti-abortion groups also slammed his comments. So he tried walking it back: “This issue is unclear” so let’s send it back to the states. That calmed nothing. So The Donald pulled a 180 and said doctors, not women, should be punished for unlawful abortions. Three different positions in just one day. For a guy who brags about not being a politician, he sure acted like one yesterday.
OBAMACARE
Sicker and pricier. That’s how a new report describes Obamacare patients compared to folks with employer-sponsored plans. The report said Obamacare patients have higher rates of diabetes, depression, hypertension, heart disease, HIV and hepatitis C. Hey, that’s no surprise, says the Obama administration. It always expected initial enrollees would be sicker because previously they were denied coverage because of their pre-existing conditions. The big questions for next year: Will rates go up? And will insurers start abandoning the Obamacare exchanges?
JAMAR CLARK DEATH
There were protests and marches but no violence yesterday in Minneapolis after a prosecutor said that charges won’t be filed in the shooting death of a young black man. Jamar Clark, 24, was shot and killed by a pair of cops back in November. The officers acted in self-defense, said the prosecutor. Protesters — who chanted “hey, hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go” — disagreed. Mayor Betsy Hodges called it “a hard day” in her city.
AIRPLANE
It reads like a “Saturday Night Live” skit, but (unfortunately for the taxpayer) it’s true: Two U.S. agencies joined forces to spend $86 million on a plane that can’t even get off the ground, a new report says. The Defense Department and the DEA wanted to use the plane in Afghanistan for counter narcotics efforts. Over the past seven years, money was spent on tricking out the plane with surveillance and communication equipment and modifying a hanger the plane never used (because the DEA stopped its Afghan aviation ops last year). So where is the plane now? It’s inoperable and sitting on blocks.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
But can he dance the tango?
Watch out Vladimir Putin: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving you some serious competition for the title of most athletic world leader.
Today in facepalm
Broadway blockbuster “Hamilton” got in trouble this week for a casting call that sought “NON-WHITE” performers. The producers said “sorry” and amended it.
Planet rock
Watch a mysterious object — probably a comet or asteroid — slam into Jupiter. Don’t worry, the solar system’s largest planet probably didn’t feel a thing.
Golden carriage
Next time you visit London, don’t forget your bags — and your fleet of gold cars. A young man visiting the city from Saudi Arabia this week didn’t.
Number of the day
4,400 degrees Fahrenheit
The balmy daytime temperature on 55 Cancri e, a “super Earth” planet located about 40 light years away. NASA has created a temperature map of the place.