Grumpy Editor

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DIRECTED TO COLD WASHINGTON GARAGE TO REST

 

National Guard members camping in a cold parking garage is something one might see in a third world country --- but it happened in Washington, D.C. where 26,000 Guard members from around the country were deployed to help inauguration activities, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The National Guard said it moved troops from the Capitol building and other spaces for rest breaks to the garage at the behest of Capitol Police.  It was a crowded scene.

 

Following settling in the garage, it later was announced that nearly 200 Guard members in the Capitol tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

 

Lawmakers from both political parties, noting reports of the undesirable garage rest area (without cots), intervened, allowing Guard members to return to indoor spaces.

 

Capitol Police and National Guard officials offered conflicting explanations on why troops were moved to the parking garage.

 

Most called-up National Guard soldiers hold full-time civilian jobs.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

FIRST DOGS RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE.  Canines are back in the White House.  After a four-year hiatus, dogs are back.  President Joe Biden brings in two German shepherds, including one adopted from an animal shelter in 2018.

 

BETTY WHITE REACHES 99.  Actress Betty White marks her birthday by commenting:  “Since I am turning 99, I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission” and later went outside to feed a pair of ducks that frequent home.”

 

GRAY WHALES EBB.  The population of gray whales off the West Coast has dropped nearly one-quarter since 2016, reports NOAA Fisheries.

 

CARGO SHIP LOSES CONTAINERS.  A Maersk cargo ship with more than 13,000 containers, loses about 750 of them in heavy seas half-way to Los Angeles from China. 

 

PANDEMIC BOOSTS HOME SALES.  The pandemic is giving a boost to home sales, surging last year to the highest level in 14 years. Existing home sales reached 5.64 million in 2020, up 5.6 percent from the prior year.

 

PRINT BOOK SALES RISE.  BookScan says print book sales rise 8.2 percent last year, largest annual increase since 2010, despite deep concern over supply chain issues and early spring pandemic-induced store lockdowns. A prolonged decline never came, as online sales and sales through non-book store outlets more than offset declines at physical bookstores.

BEE POPULATION DECREASES.  Researchers say bee species around the world are facing major declines and are warning time is running out to save them, adding up to 25 percent of known bee species haven't been reported in global records since the 1990s. There are over 20,000 known bee species around the world.

GANNETT REBOUNDS.  Gannett reports better than expected fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, showing what it called a "rebound" as the company's digital subscription strategy gains momentum. Gannett owns USA TODAY, about 260 other daily publications, hundreds of weeklies, a marketing services division and an events business. 

WHITE HOUSE ILLUSTRATES IMPORTANCE OF WEARING FACE MASKS

With President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump testing positive for COVID-19, will that inspire non-mask wearers to put on face coverings, asks Grumpy Editor.

Time will tell.

The president's condition sent him to the hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for months declared wearing masks slows the spread of COVID-19 while others, including politicians,  were not firm on face coverings in public places.

"For the next seven to 10 days, I think there will be an uptick in all sorts of prevention and safety behaviors, so there will be more people buying masks, more people wearing masks, more people using hand sanitizer, more people respecting social distancing," said Kelly Goldsmith, an associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University.

The growing coronavirus outbreak at the White House has left members of the media scrambling to find out if they, too, are infected after three journalists tested positive on Friday.

"Given these positive cases, the president's diagnosis and positive cases among members of the White House staff, a number of White House journalists are self-isolating pending diagnostic testing,” said the White House Correspondents Association.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

 

 

One of five cussing parrots in England 

NAUGHTY PARROTS CUSS.   Five parrots are removed from an English wildlife park for swearing at guests.  The parrots, adopted and brought to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, are together now in the same room.  They had apparently taught each other curse words.

GOVERNOR NIXES JOURNALISTS' PROTECTION.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes a bill that would have protected journalists covering demonstrations from physical or verbal obstruction by law enforcement officers.

AMERICANS ARE DRINKING MORE.  Americans are drinking alcohol more frequently and in higher quantities in the first half of this year compared to 2019, finds a study. The experts pin the higher drinking on the stress of the pandemic with the highest changes among women and people ages 30 to 59.

AIR FORCE ALLOWS LONGER HAIR. The Air Force approves a revision to its dress and personal appearance regulations, allowing men to have hair two inches long from the scalp, a “hair bulk” that is three quarters of an inch longer than previously allowed.  Meanwhile, maximum length of women’s hair increases from three and a half to four inches.

EASTWOOD STARS, DIRECTS FILM.  Oscar-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood, 90, will star in and direct a big-screen adaptation of N. Richard Nash's 1970 novel, Cry Macho. He will play a former rodeo star who agrees to bring his old boss' young son back to Texas from rural Mexico.

ISLAND SUES AMERICAN WRITER.  An American is sued by an island resort in Thailand over a negative TripAdvisor review and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.  A visit to Sea View Resort on Koh Chang island lands Wesley Barnes in trouble after he writes unflattering online reviews about his holiday.

FRANCE BANNING WILD ANIMALS.  France will be banning use of elephants, bears, lions, tigers and other wild animals in traveling circuses along with not allowing dolphins and killer whales to be kept in captivity.

SUBMERGED WWII STEAMER FOUND.  Polish divers find an almost intact sunken wreckage of German World War II steamer Karisruhe, bombed in the Baltic Sea by Soviet aircraft in April, 1945.

CARNIVAL CANCELS MOST SAILINGS.  Carnival Cruise Line is canceling sailings from all U.S. ports except Florida’s Miami and Port Canaveral through the end of tjis year.

ANOTHER HURRICANE IN THE NEWS --- AN EX-U.S. SECRET SERVICE DOG

 

           Hurricane at the White House

 

Hurricane, a Belgian Malinois that worked as a U.S. Secret Service dog, will be honored next month for his heroism on White House grounds five years ago --- by the British, notes Grumpy Editor.

The dog is credited with saving former President Barack Obama from an intruder, points out Nicole Darrah of Fox News.

 

Hurricane will be awarded the Order of Merit from PDSA, a British veterinary charity that equates the honor with the "Order of the British Empire," during a special ceremony in London.

 

It will mark the first-ever foreign animal to receive the award.

 

Darrah reports that Hurricane “stopped an intruder, who in October 2014 scaled a White House fence. The intruder swung Hurricane around, and punched and kicked him --- but the dog dragged the man to the ground, allowing Secret Service agents to intercept him.”

 

Obama, who was home at the time, was not harmed.

 

Darrah says Marshall Mirarchi, the dog’s handler who worked with Hurricane for four years, describes the dog as a "legend" within the Secret Service after the attack, adding, “he loved working and his talent for the job impressed me every single day. That night, he stepped up and delivered under circumstances that no amount of training could prepare him for.  I have never witnessed such violence toward a dog before but it didn’t stop him from doing his job."

 

Mirarchi recounts Hurricane didn't have obvious signs of trauma after the attack, but did have "some cuts and significant bruising," injuries that ultimately contributed to Hurricane's retirement in September 2016 when his former handler adopted him.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

WASHINGTON STILL EYES GREENLAND.  Following the idea of buying Greenland, the Trump administration is planning to open a U.S. consulate there for the first time in decades amid increased strategic and economic interest in the Danish territory.

 

ARMY TO START TOUGHER MARKSMANSHIP TESTS.  The Army is unveiling tougher marksmanship tests — via pistols and automatic rifles — next month designed to prepare troops to shoot better while under duress.

 

TOKYO WORLD'S SAFEST CITY.  Tokyo tops the list of safest cities in the world ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Safe Cities Index.  Factors include digital security, health security, infrastructure and personal safety.  Singapore is in second place followed by Osaka.

 

GERMAN COMBAT BOOTS DELAYED.  German soldiers will have to wait until 2022 to get new combat boots, according to the German Defense Ministry.  It’s a setback that has angered politicians and raised questions about the readiness of the country's military. 

 

OBITS VITAL FOR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.  Local newspapers still heavily rely on obituaries for revenue, according to data from local obituary and advertising placement firm Adpay.  Obits, alongside public notice ads, are one of the last remaining consistent revenue streams that local newspapers rely on.

SARAH SANDERS JOINS FOX. Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders starting Friday will provide political commentary and analysis on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and its radio and podcast division.

KROGER BANS FREE PUBLICATIONS.  Kroger, effective Oct. 15, will ban free newspapers from all of its stores.  "We are removing the publication racks from our stores because more publications continue to shift to digital formats, resulting in less customers using the products," says a spokesperson.  The move will hurt some local news outfits that depend on customers picking up their publications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kellyanne’s knee on Oval Office couch shocks some who overlook when Obama put feet on Oval Office desk

All the outcry by some print/broadcast media concerning a widely-shared on social media photo of President Donald Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway casually kneeling with shoes on a couch in the Oval Office comes from those with short memories, notes Grumpy Editor.

Some berated Conway for “a lack of respect in the Oval Office” although past president Barack Obama was photographed with his feet on the historic desk in the Oval Office.

A photographer was on hand to capture Obama’s elevated legs on the so-called Resolute desk on Feb. 11, 2010 and Sept. 2, 2013.

The desk, constructed in 1880, was a gift from Britain’s Queen Victoria.

It got its special name from being built with timbers from the British Arctic Rescue ship, the HMS Resolute, which became trapped in ice and was abandoned in 1854.

Trump team adds two from Fox News to security posts

Fox News is losing two of its top female commentators to key security posts on Donald Trump’s team, observed Grumpy Editor.

Monica Crowley will become senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. She will work under retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, selected to be national security adviser.

Crowley will join former Fox News national security analyst, K.T. McFarland, selected earlier to serve as deputy national security adviser.

Crowley also was a columnist and online opinion editor at The Washington Times and a syndicated radio host.

McFarland’s national security experience dates back to the Nixon administration.

She was an aide to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, a speechwriter for Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Red faces in the Navy:  A shadowing Chinese Navy ship snatched a U.S. Navy underwater drone as crew members from the USNS Bowditch prepared to retrieve it in international waters in the South China Sea. Over the weekend, however, the Pentagon said China will return that drone…Southern California weather just like old times:  Rain started moving in late in the week as the Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains plus foothill communities in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys…In the aftermath of its questionable sales practices in September, Wells Fargo’s new customer banking activity continued to fall last month. November checking account openings, for example, fell 41 percent from a year prior...President-elect Donald Trump was expected to select Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer to serve as White House press secretary in his administration…Fox News' Bill O'Reilly told Deadline.com , “I thought the coverage of the election was disgraceful and it was dishonest. It was ideologically driven and I think that the news agencies that did that will never return to a level of credibility ever”…Get those saws ready: With about 102 million dead trees in California forests, the state said it wants them removed soonest to reduce the risk of wildfires…Cigars, once banned, fire up troops morale in Afghanistan, reported Stars and Stripes. Military, civilian and contractor personnel in Kabul said cigar smoking is more than a nicotine fix. They pointed out it’s a bond of friendship, an escape from the drudgery of deployed life and a taste of home.

            Like a war zone...

In San Francisco, gunfire erupted across the street from where San Francisco’s KPIX 5 reporter Susie Steimle was working another story, leading to some shaken nerves. The shooters are being sought.

White House snubs weakest U.S. growth in two years

The Washington Times noted that while "President Obama was trumpeting his mastery of the economy in a New York Times Magazine interview," the White House labored to explain a first-quarter economic report showing the weakest growth in two years, observed Grumpy Editor.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, expanded at a slim 0.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, reported the Commerce Department.  That was below 2015's fourth quarter with a 1.4 percent growth rate.

An editorial in The Wall Street Journal said, "The White House issued its typically upbeat GDP analysis, with the only discouraging word being that "even with the solid growth in recent years, there is room for further expansion."


The Journal reminded that "the reality is that the first quarter is further evidence of what has been the weakest economic expansion in the postwar era."

It pointed out that since nearly seven years ago, growth has never exceeded 2.5 percent (2010).

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Talking to a group of Rutgers University journalism students visiting the White House, President Obama complained about getting "picked on" by the press. The president urged the budding journalists to focus on the “great work” being done in Washington in an effort at “reducing cynicism."  Then, sounding like a corporate public relations executive, he complained that "it is very hard to get good stories placed"...At Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, comedian and late night talk show host Larry Wilmore noted that MSNBC “actually now stands for missing a significant number of black correspondents”…The Associated Press apparently didn't like Donald Trump's foreign policy speech, saying it outlined "no strategy" --- even though many listeners cheered at the go-get-'em remarks.  AP by the way, continued to refer to the GOP presidential front runner as "billionaire businessman and reality TV star"...The Chinese government nixed allowing the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and four accompanying U.S. Navy ships to make a scheduled stop in Hong Kong…House lawmakers rejected a proposal to rename a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle the "Lima Warrior" after a company hit hard by improvised explosive devices during the Iraq War...However, the gung-ho House Armed Services Committee voted in favor of opening the Selective Service draft to women.  The U.S. has not had a military draft since 1973 in the Vietnam War era...Analyzing U.S. colleges, College Factual named the top five schools to receive a journalism degree:  Emerson College, University of Texas-Austin, Northwestern University, University of Southern California and Boston University...Smacking a home run deal: Boston’s radio sports outlet WEEI will continue as the flagship station of the Boston Red Sox for (at minimum) another seven years. WEEI and the Red Sox have been partners since 1995.

For those who follow global warming talk:

Winemakers in France turned to torches to keep their grapes from freezing during some unexpectedly cold nights last week in the Burgundy region, which hasn't seen such frost since 1981.

Do White House staffers read the weather report?

 

On the same day the Weather Service issued snow advisories and warned of approaching frigid air in many U.S. areas, the White House --- still strong on climate change --- issued a report that “extreme heat can be expected to cause an increase in the number of premature deaths,” noted Grumpy Editor.

The report was released when travelers in southern Oregon were amazed to see a blanket of snow in early April while record cold temperature readings were set in some Northeast and Great Lakes cities.

New York City had an unusual mix of rain and snow over the weekend.

During the week, the temperature dipped below or close to zero near the Canadian border in northern Michigan, northern New York and northern Maine.

Some examples: Marquette, Mich. recorded seven degrees below zero, Concord, N.H. hit four degrees (an all-time record low for April) and Syracuse, N.Y. reached nine degrees.

Among record lows last Wednesday in other areas: Providence, R.I., 18 degrees; Baltimore, Md., 24; Lynchburg, Va., 25 and, yes, Washington, D.C., 24.

Despite this, the administration reminded, “From children to the elderly, every American is vulnerable to the health impacts associated with climate change, now and in the future.”

It predicted extreme temperatures linked to climate change in the U.S. could cause an additional 11,000 heat-related deaths in summer, 2030.

Mark your calendar for May 23 to 27. The administration designated that period --- three weeks before the summer season arrives --- as “extreme heat week.”

During that period, look for a round of TV, radio and print reports on “preparedness to extreme heat events.”

That should be of special interest to visitors to Las Vegas, for example, where summer temperatures often reach 110 degrees --- and beyond.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Mailing a letter costs less today, down to 47 cents an ounce from 49…CNBC reported many analysts felt the U.S. economy may not have grown much in the turbulent first quarter, pointing out the U.S. deficit rose more than anticipated while some said the GDP growth, now slated at 0.5 percent, might end up a negative number after more data are revised…Starting June 1, Associated Press will lower case “internet” and “web”…Vin Scully, who plans to retire this year after 67 seasons broadcasting Dodgers baseball games, will have a street named after him: Vin Scully Ave. (replacing Elysian Park Ave.). The route runs from Sunset Blvd. to Dodger Stadium Way…Federal regulators approved Gannett Co.’s purchase for $280 million the Journal Media Group that includes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Commercial Appeal, Memphis.

Local interest?

Miami Herald headline, sure to grab its readers, some 8,400 miles from New Delhi:

Delhi's leader ducks again, this time as shoe hurled at him

Now Obama Administration fears ‘Big One,’ seeks plan

One of the Obama Administration’s major concerns last year was global warming/climate change. Now, barely into 2016, the White House’s major focus is on boosting earthquake-preparedness efforts, notes Grumpy Editor.

“While no one can predict earthquakes, the study of natural hazards and their causes and impacts has put us on the path to creating more effective tools to prevent these hazards from becoming disasters,” says Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The White House is gearing up for an “Earthquake Resiliency Summit.”

California, where small, unfelt shakers occur daily, has a 99.7 percent chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“We have the real opportunity to mitigate damage and save lives if we act now on an early warning system,” declares summit participant Rep. Adam Schiff, (D-Calif.), adding, “the federal government cannot, and will not, fund the system in its entirety.”

So you know what that means.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

A bill introduced in the House requires eligible women in to sign up for the military draft. If passed, women 18 to 26 years old, for the first time, would have to join men in registering with the Selective Service program --- and face fighting in future wars…Despite glowing economic reports on U.S. employment (non-farm payrolls increased by 151,000 jobs --- questioned by some --- last month) out of the White House, investors are rethinking expectations for interest-rate increases this year, as more feel the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise rates next month --- and possibly not this year…The Daily Caller reports a YouGov poll of 18,000 people in 17 countries finds only 9.2 percent of Americans rank global warming as their biggest concern…Would this happen in World War II? The Pentagon releases 198 photos in connection with allegations of abuse or mistreatment of detainees held by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2009, reports ABC News…Eight-year-old Fox Business Network posts its highest overall ratings and highest ratings in the key 25-to 54-year-old demographic in January, tallies Nielsen Media Research…Low oil prices sparks new tax talk. President Barack Obama is seen proposing a $10-a-barrel oil tax to fund a transportation spending plan. That would translate into 25 cents a gallon more for consumers…In the ho-hum department: Congress (as for decades, with the open-ended, never-settled Korean War in the 1950s) is moving to approve new sanctions on North Korea…The Chicago Stock Exchange says Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group agreed to acquire it, giving the Chinese investor group entry into the U.S. equity market…Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Henry Cuella (D-Texas) pressed the Department of Homeland Security to explain why the agency plans to reduce aerial surveillance on the Texas-Mexico border…CNSNews reports the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy says if the U.S. seeks to humiliate Iran, the IRGC would release footage of the 10 U.S. sailors detained last month that is much more embarrassing than images released earlier…Risky business: A KGTV, San Diego reporter-photographer team is injured when a tree toppled on them in Mira Mesa.

Oops!

A Wall Street Journal story reports Linkedin Corp. fourth quarter revenue incorrectly as $861.9 billion rather than million.

Major Garrett deserves a boost in "rank" to colonel

In pursuit of information, journalism students are urged to ask solid, often tough, questions in efforts to gain a full picture, reminds Grumpy Editor, who once taught a news writing course at a California university.

So when Major Garrett, CBS News’ chief White House correspondent asked President Barack Obama at a press conference last Wednesday why he was “content” with the Iran nuclear deal --- with nothing said about negotiations on releasing four Americans (including two journalists) being held in Iran --- an irritated president admonished Garrett by saying, “that’s nonsense, you should know better,” adding, “nobody’s content and our diplomats and our teams are working diligently to try to get them out.”

Garrett, a 1984 University of Missouri graduate with journalism and political science degrees, later said it was odd that the hostages were not part of the negotiations and he didn’t mean to imply that the president was “content” leaving Americans hostage, adding the administration has used the phrasing multiple times before with families of the hostages.

Surprisingly, some members of the White House press corps attacked Garrett as “disrespectful.”

“All I was trying to do was elicit from the commander-in-chief where these four Americans in Iran fell in his prioritization of obtaining a nuclear deal and whether he fought for their release,” said Garrett.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

President tackles two New York City fundraisers in four days.  After a Friday night fundraiser that raised nearly $1 million, President Barack Obama and his two daughters strolled through Central Park late Saturday morning.  But it wasn’t a quiet, hardly-observed walk.  With them were about four dozen Secret Service agents plus New York police officers on scooters and an overhead helicopter.  The president was due to fly in for another New York fundraiser on Tuesday…Not getting attention of news editors in the wake of shooting deaths of four Marines and a sailor at a military post in Chattanooga, Tenn., were quick decisions by governors of several states directing their state flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those victims --- yet President Obama has not directed the U.S. flag be lowered to half-staff at the White House and other public buildings…A bit off course.  Covered heavily on television, a major brush fire Friday that ignited about two dozen vehicles and halted traffic on California's busy I-15, a key highway to and from Las Vegas, was pinpointed by a MSNBC host as “east of San Diego” when the precise location was 115 miles to the north, near Victorville…A Friday Wall Street Journal opinion piece on “immigrant bashers” mentioned “immigrant” or “immigrants” 16 times without reference to “illegal.”  The material came close, however, with “immigrants in this country unlawfully, whether they overstayed a visa or crossed a border, should be required to face serious consequences to make amends”…Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's new book, “A Time for Truth,” finally made the New York Times best seller list (as No. 7 in the non-fiction category) a week after the newspaper rejected it as a best seller, claiming sales were inflated by "bulk purchases”…A tally by Rasmussen Reports found 55 percent of likely voters are opposed to the president’s immigration amnesty while 34 percent favor.  In addition, 63 percent feel “gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States” --- highest level of support for more border control since December, 2011…Democrat California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that eliminates reference to husband and wife, replacing each with the generic term “spouse”…After publishing for 46 years, The National Journal will end publication of its print magazine at year end and shift resources to digital journalism.

Tired of constant media references, with accompanying stock market gyrations, to upcoming rising interest rates?

No end is in sight.  First it was by June, then September, then October, now “later this year.”

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Mrs. Obama, daughters gear up for Japan, Cambodia trip

 

While President Barack Obama stays behind, wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha are quietly scheduled for another trip to the Far East next week, finds Grumpy Editor.

The First Lady and teenage daughters are taking a spring break trip to Japan, March 18 to 20, and Cambodia, March 21 and 22.  

Going overseas is an annual ritual.

Last March, Mrs. Obama, her mother and the girls visited China.  Earlier trips took the First Lady and daughters to Ireland, Germany and South Africa.

The likely aircraft that will be used in the upcoming trip is a C-32A, a specially configured military version of the Boeing 757-200 extended range aircraft, that usually provides transportation for the nation’s leaders.

(A typical 757-200 accommodates between 178 and 214 passengers.)

In the past, the Obama daughters were listed as “senior staff.”

Others on board, aside from regular staffers, have included Mrs. Obama's mother, Marian Robinson; niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, along with the First Lady’s makeup and hair stylist.

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…

Tired of this reasoning from Wall Street?  Stocks tumbled 278.94 to 17856.78 on Friday, with media again reporting --- as investors brace for higher interest rates…Poof!  An older weather satellite --- technically known as Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13, DMSP-F13 --- used by the U.S. military, encountered some problems, causing it to lose altitude and disintegrate into 43 pieces…Time magazine marked its 92^nd year on March 3…After Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress, House Speaker John Boehner gifted the Israeli prime minister with a bust of Winston Churchill because Netanyahu and Churchill were the only foreign leaders who addressed Congress three times.  Presentation of a Churchill bust may also carry a subtext --- President Obama’s return of a Churchill bust from the White House to the British Embassy shortly after he took office…The Wall Street Journal hired a “financial enforcement correspondent.”  Sounds sinister. But Chris Roush, senior associate dean at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication explained it: “It is a person who covers federal government agencies that regulate businesses”…While the U.S. reduces its military ranks and equipment, China, home to the world's largest standing military, will increase its military budget by about 10 percent this year…A Columbia Journalism Review study found the current White House-press relationship is the least open in history…Contrasting headlines.  From the Las Vegas Review-Journal March 5 (based on information from California research firm RealtyTrac):  With rising foreclosures, it’s not looking good for Nevada homeowners.  Meanwhile, from Las Vegas TV station KLAV, same day (with input from California real estate analytics company CoreLogic):  Las Vegas foreclosure rate continues to fall.

 

Power of the press.

President Obama said he learned about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email account only after "reading news reports."

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