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The shooting at a congressional baseball practice reminds us of something we too often forget: We are one country, and we’re all in this together. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR BOMB TEST
CAMPAIGN 2016
Birthers are back!: Ted Cruz birtherism is officially a thing now, after Donald Trump said he wasn’t sure Cruz – who was born in Canada to an American mom – was even eligible to be president. And John McCain of all people agrees with Trump, saying it’s “worth looking into.” Remember, McCain faced his own birther questions during his 2008 run because he was born in Panama (but on a U.S. military base). Another reason why McCain is jumping into the fray: he pretty much hates Cruz’s guts.
Four degrees of global warming could submerge 760 million people's homes
OBAMACARE
He said/she said: Well, that was … different. Until now the Hillary-Bernie happy hour treaded the same ground. But last night’s PBS debate got decidedly testy.
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.
She said/ he said/ they said: This is all kinds of confusing. A woman says Eliot Spitzer choked her over the weekend. Spitzer’s people say no he didn’t. Cops say they’re investigating. The woman says Spitzer’s her boyfriend. Spitzer’s peeps say he isn’t. A law enforcement source says after the woman was taken to a hospital, Spitzer tried to visit using a fake name. (Spitzer, ICYMI, was New York’s governor who had to take an incredibly public walk of shame after he was exposed blowing wads of cash on prostitutes.)
GERMANY ASSAULTS
FINANCIAL MARKETS
Winter’s coming: Brace yourselves, investors. It’s probably going to be another crappy day. Once again things started off badly this morning in China, where stock trading was halted just 30 minutes after markets there took a 5% dive. Over here, the Dow dropped 252 points yesterday, as Wall Street tried to absorb not only the Chinese turmoil, but also North Korea’s alleged nuke test along with the latest belly flop in oil prices. It’s the Dow’s worst start to the trading year since 2008, and we all remember how great that turned out.
Breakfast browse
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Playing around
“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!
Quote of the day: “A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended - worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know”
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:
Won’t take it sitting down
What’s for lunch?
Here’s what’s happening later.
Mo’ problems, mo’ money
Undoing the splits
$500
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
That’s what Tamir Rice’s family is supposed to pay for EMT services after a cop shot and killed him. Talk about adding insult to injury!
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.
Teach a dog to fish and …