Executive Orders: President Obama last night announced executive orders to reform immigration, including stiffening border security, welcoming highly skilled immigrants, and protecting illegal immigrants with American-born children from deportation. His orders will shield as many as five million illegal immigrants.

The president is acting over the objections of Republicans who have refused to deal with the issue, but he said, “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.”

Obama said it would be impossible to deport the millions of illegal immigrants living in the country so he would focus on the undesirables. “Felons, not families,” he said. “Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom who’s working hard to provide for her kids.”

Republicans have decried Obama’s intentions as unconstitutional and dictatorial. House Speaker John Boehner released his objections even before the president spoke. “The president has said before that ‘he’s not king’ and he’s ‘not an emperor,’ but he sure is acting like one,” Boehner said.

Higher Ed: The California Board of Regents yesterday voted to raise the price of tuition at University of California schools by five percent every year for five years. That’s a 28 percent hike by 2019. It will bring tuition alone to about $15,000 a year, still a great bargain in college education, but it means that California has abandoned the once-cherished ideal of a nearly-free college education for its residents.

Cosby, Sigh: A seventh woman has come forward to publicly accuse comedian Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her when she was younger. Therese Serignese, 57, is a Florida registered nurse who says the incident happened in 1976 after one of Cosby’s shows at the Las Vegas Hilton. Despite cancellations of Cosby projects and television re-runs, he has refused to answers questions about the rape accusations. Yesterday the Associated Press released video in which Cosby was silent when asked about the rape charges. He asked the reporter not to release the footage saying, “I would appreciate it if it was scuttled.”

World: Protesters massed in Mexico City yesterday to demand to know what happened to 43 students who went missing in the southern city of Iguala in September. Late in the day the demonstrations turned violent.

Despite official reports that the students were murdered and their bodies burned on the orders of the town’s mayor, some of the families refuse to believe their children are dead and want a fuller explanation. Despite finding the burned remains of dozens of bodies, authorities have yet to make any identifications.

Eyes on the World: Data watchdogs have discovered a Russian website that hacks into webcams all over the world, providing viewers a look at babies sleeping, people working in offices, and the commerce in shops and stores. Many people fail to change the default password on their webcams, making them easy to tap.

Enough Already: In a city of legendary blizzards, Buffalo, NY is digging out of a record-breaker. People are shoveling snow off the roofs of homes and public buildings before they collapse. The NFL is moving the Bills Sunday game to Monday night in Detroit because the local stadium is under four feet of snow. The National Hockey League has postponed Friday night’s Sabres match with the NY Rangers. The winter weather is too rough to play a rough winter game. More snow is expected to come off the Great Lakes today, as much as 30 inches in some areas. 

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