Morning Reads: Warren Calls for Citigroup Breakup; Why the US Will Torture Again

Good morning — and Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Breaking –> Police in Sydney, Australia, stormed a café where 17 hostages had held by a gunman for more than 16 hours. Three were killed, including the gunman, and several were injured. The assailant was identified as self-described Muslim cleric Man Haron Monis. The Sydney Morning Herald has details and live updates at the link. AND: Islamophobia triggered by the attack has been countered by Australians with an #IllRideWithYou campaign, offering to accompany Muslims on public transport.

On to Paris in ’15 –> Although talks almost broke down at several points, a “watered down” climate deal was struck over the weekend in Lima, Peru. It establishes “building blocks” for an agreement at next year’s much-anticipated conference in Paris. AP reports that the agreement comes “amid warnings that far tougher action will be needed to cut rising world greenhouse gas emissions.” (Via: the CBC.)

“A breathtaking example of the scale of the state-sponsored hacking problem” –> At The Intercept, Ryan Gallagher details the full story behind Edward Snowden’s revelations that British intelligence hacked into Belgium’s largest telecommunications provider, Belgacom.

Why we’ll torture again –> Julian Hattem reports for The Hill that “lawmakers on both sides of the issue …[are] opposed to the notion that either the U.S. or foreign governments should press charges” against those who authorized or conducted torture. Human rights experts say that failing to prosecute torture is a good predictor of whether a country will torture in the future. AND: Justice Antonin Scalia told a Swiss radio program, “I don’t know what article of the Constitution that would contravene,” although the Fifth Amendment bars the government from forcing people to incriminate themselves and the Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual” punishment. (Via: Mediaite.) ALSO: According to Sean Michaels at The Guardian, a band called Skinny Puppy is suing the Defense Department for using its music to torture prisoners at Gitmo without the band’s permission. ALSO, TOO: Check out Brian Lowry’s latest column for Variety: “The ‘24’ Effect: How ‘Liberal Hollywood’ Carried Water For Torture.“

Cromnibus –> In the Senate, the $1 trillion spending bill passed Saturday night with 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans voting against. AND: Sen. Elizabeth Warren gave a defiant speech conceding to Wall Street that the Dodd-Frank regulatory scheme was inadequate — but only because it should have broken Citigroup “into pieces.” HuffPo’s Ryan Grim has that story, and you can watch an excerpt from the speech embedded below. AND: The Senate rebuked Republican Ted Cruz of Texas by voting 74-22 against his “point of order” declaring Obama’s immigration order unconstitutional. Niels Lesniewski reports for Roll Call.

Related –> At the NYT, Nate Cohn writes that while Obama’s immigration action isn’t terribly popular with the public as a whole, it is extremely popular with key constituencies who live in a handful of battleground states that will matter in 2016.

“Black lives matter” –> That was the message on Saturday as tens of thousands took to the streets in Washington, New York, Oakland and many other cities across the country to protest the recent grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner police killings. HuffPo has the story.

Wrongful deaths –> Sunday marked the grim anniversary of the 2012 Newtown school massacre. Richard Weizel reports for Reuters that almost half of the victims families have taken initial steps to file wrongful death lawsuits, but their initial legal work does not indicate against whom. UPDATE: AP reports, “The families of nine of the 26 people killed and a teacher wounded two years ago at the Sandy Hook Elementary School filed a lawsuit Monday against the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the rifle used in the shooting.”

Congress, making a mess –> At Vice, Olivia Becker points out that, in theory, Congress didn’t block marijuana legalization in the nation’s capitol — they just prohibited the city from regulating and taxing it.

Sharpening those long knives –> Michael Barbaro reports for the NYT that “an unseen but intense phase in the emerging presidential campaign” for Republican hopefuls is “audition[ing] for the job of Clinton slayer.”

Here’s Warren, calling for Citigroup to be broken up…