News

Yesterday’s blizzard came within one-tenth of an inch of breaking the all-time snowfall record for New York City. From the Daily News: The killer blizzard that forced New Yorkers to stay home amid a city-wide travel ban will go down as one of the city’s worst snowstorms in history. At least 18 people were killed as the blizzard pummeled the …

From the editorial board of the Des Moines Register: The presidency is not an entry-level position. Whoever is sworn into office next January must demonstrate not only a deep understanding of the issues facing America, but also possess the diplomatic skills that enable presidents to forge alliances to get things done. By that measure, Democrats have one outstanding candidate deserving …

New York City is being clobbered by the blizzard today, surprising the forecasters. The National Weather Service has increased its snowfall estimate to 24-30 inches for Manhattan, more than double the total forecast yesterday. All bridges and tunnels have been closed and the MTA has suspended above-ground service. Winds are gusting at 40-50mph in the other boroughs. Broadway will be …

The New York Times reports: Michael R. Bloomberg has instructed advisers to draw up plans for a potential independent campaign in this year’s presidential race. His advisers and associates said he was galled by Donald J. Trump’s dominance of the Republican field, and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on the Democratic …

Not surprising, but interesting nonetheless. Politico reports: At home, Julián Castro’s been spending more time reading and watching television in Spanish, trying to get his speaking skills up to speed. On the job as Housing and Urban Development secretary, he’s been carefully working the levers in Washington, with coaching from Bill Clinton and a twin brother who’s a popular and …

Trump will be thrilled. Via the Associated Press: State Sen. Jeff Yarbro [PHOTO] and Rep. Jason Powell, both of Nashville, filed the bill on Thursday that would bar the secretary of state from placing the nominee of either party on the ballot if they fail to meet the constitutional eligibility requirements. While the Democrats say the legislation isn’t aimed at …

FlightAware.com reports that more than 5100 flights scheduled for today and tomorrow have been canceled nationwide due to the blizzard already underway in the mid-Atlantic. More from the Associated Press: A blizzard menacing the Eastern United States started dumping snow in Virginia, Tennessee and other parts of the South on Friday as millions of people in the storm’s path prepared …

Via the Washington Post: As Hillary Clinton closes in on the final days of campaigning in Iowa, she launched a new broadside against her principal Democratic rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), over his inability to advance a single-payer health-care plan throughout his decades in Congress. “Senator Sanders has been in Congress for 25 years,” Clinton said at a rally at …

CNN reports: Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in Iowa as Sen. Bernie Sanders takes control of the Democratic race in the critical first-in-the-nation voting state, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released Thursday. Trump leads Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is in second place in the GOP race, among likely Republican caucus-goers, 37% to 26%. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, …

This certainly doesn’t bode well for the coming blizzard. The Washington Post reports: “Horrible.” “Pathetic.” “Painful.” “Unbelievable.” “One inch of snow did this.” From every corner of the region and into the wee hours of the morning, from every highway and byway, motorists vented their anger and frustration that they were still out there — at 1 a.m., then 2 …

Months into the wimpiest winter in recent memory, we’re finally going to get a major blizzard this weekend. Allegedly. Meteorologists are positively giddy about having actual news to report. From the Weather Channel: Winter storm watches have been issued for 14 states from the Mid-South to the East Coast in advance of Winter Storm Jonas. In addition, blizzard watches have …

Scientists at Caltech believe they have confirmed the existence of a massive and icy ninth planet in our solar system. The planet was first speculated upon in 2014 paper which the Caltech team had set out to disprove. Via the Washington Post: They have inferred its existence from the motion of recently discovered dwarf planets and other small objects in …

Environmentalists are rallying in Tallahassee today after the Florida Senate advanced GOP Sen. Garrett Richter’s bill that would override any local laws against fracking and oil exploration. Under Garrett’s proposed bill, all energy-related regulations would be placed in the hands of a Republican-run state agency. From the Guardian: Opponents fear that removing the rights of cities and counties to prohibit …

Via the Los Angeles Times: British lawmakers on Monday debated whether Donald Trump should be banned from Britain, after an online petition calling for him to be denied entry for making controversial anti-Muslim comments amassed more than 570,000 votes. “His words are not comical. His words are not funny. His words are poisonous,” said the Labor Party’s Tulip Siddiq. “They …

Entertainment Weekly reports: Cher is pitching in to help out Flint, Michigan, during the city’s ongoing water crisis. As part of a partnership with Icelandic Glacial, Cher is donating 181,440 bottles of water to Flint after the discovery of lead contamination in the city’s drinking water. According to a press release, the bottles will be shipped out on Monday and …

Via USA Today: President Obama has weighed on the hottest Internet debate since the blue-or-gold dress. Dogs should wear their pants on two hind legs, not on all four. That presidential declaration came Friday during a series of interviews with YouTube stars in the East Room of the White House. Adande Thorne, also known as sWooZie, asked the president about …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Actor Dan Haggerty of “Grizzly Adams” fame died early Friday of cancer, said his longtime friend and manager Terry Bomar. He was 73. Haggerty learned he had cancer of the spine in August and died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Bomar said. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Haggerty was a product …

CBS News reports: “There is this myth about the visit that we made, my colleagues and I with El Chapo, that it was — as the Attorney General of Mexico is quoted — ‘essential’ to his capture,” Penn said. “We had met with him many weeks earlier…on October 2nd, in a place nowhere near where he was captured.” “So as …

USA Today reports: Al Jazeera America, the American cable news outlet owned by Qatar-based Al Jazeera, plans to shut down less than three years after its much-ballyhooed launch, unable to overcome low ratings, operational problems and a lack of advertisers. The cable news network will be phased out by April 30, according to a memo that was e-mailed to staffers …

A few days ago we learned that the MTA is planning the complete closure of 30 subway stations for renovations that will (allegedly) take up to a full year. Today we get more much dire news about the L train, known to many here as the “hipster express” as its first Brooklyn stop is in Williamsburg. Via Gothamist: Like the …