Trouble With the Curve: Investigators have recovered the black box from the New York commuter train that crashed yesterday and will be focusing on how fast the train was going when it hit a tight curve. It should have been traveling 30 mph, but immediately after the accident the engineer told emergency workers that he’d been going too fast and “dumped the brakes”, an emergency maneuver. Commuting will be a migraine during the investigation, with service suspended south of the crash site. Metro-North is providing buses to finish the trip to NY City.

The Threatdown: The terror threat is as high as just before 9/11, according to California Sen. Diane Feinstein, chair of the Intelligence Committee. She said on CNN there are more terror groups operating independently, which makes them hard to stop. The senator said they have better bombs and “there is huge malevolence out there.”

China Moon: China launched its first-ever moon lander early Monday in a bid to become a space exploration power. The rocket is carrying the ‘Jade Rabbit’ rover, which will conduct geological surveys after a mid-December landing. The Chinese are considering sending humans to the moon sometime after 2020.

World: Hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Kiev yesterday, demanding the resignation of Ukrainian President Viktor F. Yanukovich. The crowd roared “Revolution! Revolution!” Many Ukrainians want to escape the sphere of Russian influence and turn their political affiliations toward Europe. Some of the protesters were badly beaten, with 50 injured and 100 police officers also hurt.

• Recovery teams have found a ninth body in the Glasgow pub destroyed by the crash of a police helicopter. Some people are still missing.
• Two-thirds of voters in Croatia approved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The bill defines marriage as being strictly between a man and a woman. Ninety percent of Croatia’s 4.4 million citizens are Roman Catholic. The church recommended approval.

National: Same sex marriages began just after midnight last night in Hawaii.

• The National Zoo’s 100-day-old Panda has been named Bao-Bao (bow-BOW), which means “treasure” or “precious”. It’s traditional not to name a baby Panda until 100 days.
• New York Magazine, a weekly publication since its founding in 1968, is bowing to the economic pressures of the Internet and going bi-weekly starting in March. It’s another omen of a diminished future for journalism on paper. The magazine had already scaled back to 42 issues a year. New York Magazine has 400,000 subscribers, but 9 million visitors on the web.

Dead Again: The comet ISON, first thought to be dead, then alive again after its close pass behind the sun, is fading and thought to be finished for good. The ball of ice and dust is so dissipated that it will not be visible to the naked eye when it comes closer to earth this month. An astrophysicist told the NY Times, “I really don’t think there’s a whole lot left.”

Instant Gratification: Amazon revealed on “60 Minutes” a plan to use multi-rotor mini-drones to deliver packages to customers within 30 minutes of ordering online. The service, called Amazon Prime Air, would use GPS to deliver within 10 miles of Amazon fulfillment centers. Amazon first needs FAA approval and the security code on your credit card.

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