Superbug: The UCLA medical Center says 179 of its patients may have been infected and seven have died after being exposed to a “superbug” during endoscopic procedures to treat pancreatic and bile duct problems. The problem is believed to have been caused by incomplete cleaning of the endoscopes between procedures. The bacteria in question is difficult to treat and has a high mortality rate.

Chill: Arctic cold has dipped into the country from North Dakota to Georgia and Missouri to Maine. Expect local weather forecasters to be carrying on about “dangerous” cold, wind chill, and hypothermia. It is cold. Grand Forks, ND, -25; Atlanta, 16; Memphis, TN; Cleveland, 2: New York, 15; Williamstown, Ma, 13; Poughkeepsie, NY, 13; Boston, 24. A new winter storm is coming tomorrow.

Big Dig: The Boston area is still dealing with collapsing roofs and urban avalanches as it continues to dig out from more than 90 inches of snow this winter. Yesterday two people were buried when a van-sized bank of snow fell off a roof. They were dug out. And Boston’s transit agency is still shoveling snow off the tracks of its rail lines. They promise all lines will be running again by Monday.

Nation: President Obama yesterday called for Muslim communities to help in the fight against extremism and violence in the name of their faith.

“We’ve got to discredit these ideologies,” the president said at a three-day meeting in Washington on confronting Islamic extremism.

Obama was careful not to describe it as a confrontation with Islam itself. “We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam,” he said.

But Obama is being criticized for not acknowledging that the Western world faces opponents who believe they are waging a religious war. Michael Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general and director of the Defense Intelligence Agency told a House hearing, “You cannot defeat an enemy that you do not admit exists.”

Chip Off: Undeclared presidential candidate Jeb Bush delivered his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, disagreeing with President Obama about opening relations with Cuba and accusing him of fumbling the situation with Islamic State extremists.

Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the former Florida Governor sidestepped the legacy of his father and brother, admitting George W’s mistakes in Iraq, saying, “I’m my own man, and my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences.” But Bush did not say what he would do to deal with the lingering Iraq mess.

In the Bush tradition he misappropriated facts and the language, substituting Iraq for Iran, as well as a “catalytic converter” for “catalyst.” And he listed opening a bank office in Venezuela as one of his foreign policy accomplishments.

Drachma Drama: Greece’s leftist government yesterday asked for a six-month extension of its Eurozone loan agreement to keep the country afloat. Unclear is whether Greece will adhere to the promises of its previous government to cut spending and raise taxes.

Portlandia: Kate Brown yesterday became the first openly bisexual governor of Oregon. She replaces John Kitzhaber, who resigned. A resident of Portland, she does yoga, bicycles, and bats from both sides of the plate.

Measured Diagonally: The ratings are down over 7 percent but NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt sitting in for Brian Williams continues to hold the #1 spot among network news shows. Holt has become the Energizer bunny of television news. In addition to doing the nightly show, he co-anchors Dateline NBC, Weekend Today, and Nightly News, on the weekends. In the absence of Williams, he’s the current and possible future face of the network.

Line of Fire: Joseph Clancy, the former director of the Presidential Protection Division, has been appointed the permanent chief of the secret service, despite recommendations that the president should look outside the agency. The service has been criticized for lapses, including allowing people to get over the White House fence. Comedian Conan O’Brien said, “The new secret service chief was so excited he jumped over the White House fence for joy.

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