No Warm-up in Sight
Even though Wednesday's Valentine's Day Storm is long gone, the low-pressure is leaving behind windy conditions. The system continued to strengthen over Nova Scotia yesterday causing the pressure gradient to increase and consequently the blustery conditions that will stay with us for another 24 hours. For any curious readers, the 2.5 inches of snowfall in Boston brings the total to 4.3 inches this season. (According to one TV meteorologist, the record lowest snowfall total for the entire season is 9 inches.)
Defense Secretary Gates Meets With Pakistan President Musharraf Mon.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Monday for talks with one of America’s most complicated partners. He offered strong words of support for the government, even as he urged it to do more to halt the flow of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan.
Bush’s Claims About Iran Are Met With Skeptical Response
Three weeks after promising it would show proof of Iranian meddling in Iraq, the Bush administration has laid out its evidence — and received in return a healthy dose of skepticism.
Moves to Insure More Children Face Possible Federal Obstacles
In the absence of federal action, governors and state legislators around the country are transforming the nation’s health care system, putting affordable health insurance within reach of millions of Americans in hopes of reversing the steady rise in the number of uninsured, now close to 47 million.
In Book, Ex-CIA Chief Tenet Will End Silence on Role in Iraq War
For the past two years, George J. Tenet has maintained a determined silence even as senior White House officials have laid the blame for the prewar mistakes about Saddam Hussein on him. But now Tenet, the nation’s former spy chief, is preparing to return fire.
Shorts (left)
Jerusalem’s mayor late Sunday postponed plans for construction work near a religious compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, but Muslim protests continued Monday over preparatory work at the site.
Shorts (right)
Tracey C. Rembert, the coordinator of corporate governance and engagement for the Service Employees International Union, acknowledges that Wells Fargo is America’s largest purchaser of renewable energy offsets and has specialists on staff studying all of the implications of climate change on its businesses.
House Democrats Unveil Iraq Resolution, Vote to Be Friday
Democrats unveiled a resolution on Monday that would formally express the House’s disapproval of President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, beginning an intense debate and political struggle that is to end in a vote on Friday.
Valentine’s Day Storm
December, January, and the first half of February have passed without a major snowstorm. As a result of this remarkable calm, Boston has only received 1.8 inches of snowfall to date this season, which is over two feet short of the climatological norm. But the quiet streak will be broken Wednesday, as the Northeast Corridor braces for the first Nor’easter of 2007.
Democrats Sets House Debate To Rebuke Bush on Iraq Policy
House Democratic leaders persuaded members of their party on Thursday to limit the scope of an Iraq war resolution next week to a simple repudiation of President Bush’s troop buildup plan, hoping to temporarily set aside divisive decisions over war financing and troop redeployments.
Shorts (left)
Three illegal immigrants were shot to death Thursday and three others wounded near Tucson, Ariz., after gunmen accosted them as they traveled north from the Mexican border, the authorities said.
Defense Secretary Instructs NATO Allies to Send Troops
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, attending his first conference of NATO defense ministers, told these American allies that they must fulfill their commitments to provide troops for Afghanistan in time for a spring offensive against the Taliban.
Palestinian Factions Agree To Creation of National Unity Gov’t
The main rival Palestinian factions agreed late Thursday to form a government of national unity aimed at ending a wave of violence between them and an international boycott.
Caltech Unveils an Innovative But Costly Particle Accelerator Design
At a news conference in Beijing an international consortium of physicists released the first detailed design of what they believe will be the Next Big Thing in physics: A machine 20 miles long that will slam together electrons and their evil-twin opposites, positrons, to produce fireballs of energy recreating conditions when the universe was only a trillionth of a second old.
Pentagon Investigation Into Handling Of War Intelligence Criticizes Officials
A Pentagon investigation into the handling of prewar intelligence has criticized civilian Pentagon officials for conducting their own intelligence analysis to find links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, but said the officials did not violate any laws or mislead Congress, according to congressional officials who have read the report.
Shorts (right)
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned the United States on Thursday that Iran would retaliate against American interests worldwide if it is attacked — the latest volley in an escalating rhetorical war between the countries.
Democrats to Face Constraints In Revising $2.9 Trillion Budget
With its military spending increases, reductions in popular domestic programs and calls to extend tax cuts, President Bush’s $2.9 trillion budget for 2008 drew fire from Democrats the minute it landed on Monday.
Shorts (left)
In the week before the AFC championship game two weeks ago, Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy joked that one outstanding defensive performance might be considered an accident, and two might be a coincidence. Three, he said, would be a trend.
Once Just an Inconvenience, Orbiting Junk Now a Threat
For decades, space experts have worried that a speeding bit of orbital debris might one day smash a large spacecraft into hundreds of pieces and start a chain reaction, a slow cascade of collisions that would expand for centuries, spreading chaos through the heavens.
GOP Senators Thwart Debates Over US Troop Buildup in Iraq
Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.