Good morning! And a happy 73rd birthday to Dick Cheney. Here are some of the stories we’re reading this AM…
I spy –> Snowden docs reveal that the NSA spied on negotiators at the 2009 international climate summit. Kate Sheppard and Ryan Grim report for HuffPo. ALSO: McClatchy’s Sean Cockerham reports that a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing got heated yesterday when senators accused Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other spy chiefs of lying. AND: a new poll released by the AP finds that 60 percent of Americans value privacy over anti-terrorism activities.
Ghoulish –> The OC Register is taking out life insurance on its employees. But the company’s pension fund, rather than the employees’ families, would be the beneficiary if they die, according to Michael Hiltzik at the LAT.
Painful cuts –> MoJo’s Erika Eichelberger: Republicans quietly won the battle over food stamps.
MyRA?? –> George Zornick explains what those new retirement accounts Obama unveiled in the SOTU are all about for The Nation.
Great economy you have there –> More 27-year-olds now live with their parents than with roommates, reports Slate’s Katy Waldman.
“It’s frightening, it really is frightening” –> That’s what one chemical engineer said after formaldehyde was discovered in a water sample in Charleston, as the fallout from Freedom Industries’ spill continues. Ken Ward and David Gutman report for West Virginia’s Charleston Gazette.
Litigation –> Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill that Republicans plan to sue the Obama administration for its use of executive orders, claiming they’re tyrannical. RELATED: Obama has issued fewer executive orders per year than Reagan, both Bushes and Clinton, according to Erik Voeten at The Monkey Cage.
“The noose is tightening” –> That’s how Kevin Drum describes Chris Christie’s situation for MoJo.
He’ll break you in half! –> At The Daily Beast, David Freedlander alleges that Michael Grimm, the rep. who threatened to kill a reporter who asked him a tough question on Tuesday, has a long history of dangerously reckless behavior.
Thou shalt not lie –> Religious right group fabricates a story about a schoolchild being censored for expressing her Christian views, Fox News picks up the story and the school gets inundated with hateful emails from around the country. Travis Gettys has the details at The Raw Story.
Related –> At Salon, John Haggerty writes about his experience watching Fox News for three hours a day over the course of a very long month.
A heavy lift –> At the New York Review of Books, Jeff Madrick writes that Obama faces a difficult if not impossible task trying to deal with this economy without Congress’ help.
