Feds Move In, Georgia Kidnapping, Poverty Up

New Landlord: The US is moving to seize a 36-story 5th Avenue building the Justice Department says is owned by a front for the Iranian government. A federal judge ruled that the owners of the building had violated money laundering laws and economic sanctions against Iran. Justice describes it as a “terrorism related seizure.”

Kidnapped: The FBI has joined the hunt for a Georgia girl whose family reported she was kidnapped early Tuesday in a home invasion robbery. The family of Ayvani Perez said two gunman burst into their home demanding money and jewelry. The mother said that when they didn’t get what they wanted, they took one of her two teenage daughters. The mother now reports that the kidnappers are demanding $10,000 ransom.

Shooting: The primary weapon for Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was a legally bought shotgun, authorities now say. Initial reports that he had an AR-15 assault rifle were not correct. Despite a history of mental problems, Alexis was given an honorable discharge from the Navy and had a security clearance as a civilian contractor. Fox News reports that his post separation review said, “Alexis will be a valuable asset to any civilian organization.” He had recently reported being followed and hearing voices through walls.

Poverty: The US Census says 46.5 million Americans were living in poverty in 2012, an increase of nearly 7 million from 2008. The report says that be the end of 2012 most people making $191,000 or more had recovered most or all of their pre-recession income, but the bottom 80% of earners are making less.

World: Five people were killed today in the collision of a bus and a train in Ottawa, Canada. The bus was a double-decker.

  • Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has called off a state visit to Washington because of reports that the US has been spying on her and the state oil company. The revelations were part of documents given to The Guardian newspaper by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. President Obama said he would investigate.

National: Time Magazine for the first time in its history has named a woman to be managing editor. Nancy Gibbs, 53, started as a fact-checker 28 years ago, and until this appointment had been deputy managing editor. The magazine that once dominated weekly-magazine journalism now has more readers online than on paper.

  • The fire that destroyed several blocks of New Jersey boardwalk last week was an accident caused by wiring damaged in Hurricane Sandy, investigators have said. The problem started in an electrical vault buried in sand and salt water a year ago.

Repair Bill: Last week’s flooding destroyed at least 30 Colorado bridges and damaged 20 more. Major roads through mountains towns are washed out and residents face at least a year of repairs. Winter is close and blacktop cannot be poured at temperatures below 40.

The Look: Julie Chen, host of “The Talk” on CBS, is defending herself against rumors that she has had more facial surgery than just the eye tailoring she previously admitted. Chen said that years ago she had her eyes altered to make them less Chinese and advance her television career.

She denies having surgery on her nose, but she does look substantially different than she did 25 years ago.

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Monday, December 23, 2024

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It's Been Said

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote."

  • Donald Trump courting the vote of the Christian right

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