Sequence of low pressures to affect region
This week, a fairly active weather pattern is in place, with a sequence of low-pressure systems marching across the country and bringing periods of bad weather to New England. The first was a mid-level shortwave trough that passed through last night. Tomorrow will be calm, but clouds will increase tomorrow night as a warm front pushes through ahead of the next system. There is uncertainty as to how much precipitation that system will bring, but there remains the possibility of rain showers on Wednesday. More certain is a cold front that will pass through on Thursday, which will cause high temperatures to struggle to reach 50°F. The timing is subject to change, but as of now it looks like Thursday afternoon and evening have the highest chance of rain. That low should move out in time for Friday to be sunny, but chilly.
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ISTANBUL — At least 138 people were killed and about 350 were injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a news conference early Monday. The death toll was expected to rise, perhaps significantly, with many people reported to be stuck beneath dozens of collapsed buildings.
Kenyan offensive is not welcome, Somalia’s president says
NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia’s president Monday criticized Kenya’s military offensive into his nation to root out Islamist rebels, raising questions about how bilateral the military action is.
Microsoft and Google consider bid for Yahoo
As a host of potential bidders circle Yahoo, several of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are considering whether to jump into the fray themselves.
US secretly infiltrates criminal groups across Mexico
WASHINGTON — U.S. law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations, according to security officials on both sides of the border.
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ISTANBUL — Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militants this week is one of its largest military operation in years, with 10,000 troops backed by warplanes pursuing rebels in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, the Turkish army said Thursday.
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The owner of the Ohio wildlife preserve, who authorities say set dozens of lions, tigers, bears, and other animals free, was bitten by one of his large cats, apparently after he fatally shot himself, officials said Thursday. The head wound to the man, Terry Thompson, 62, was “consistent with a tiger bite,” Sheriff Matt Lutz of Muskingum County said, referring to results from Thompson’s autopsy report.
An erratic leader, Gadhafi was brutal to the end
Moammar Gadhafi, the erratic, provocative dictator who ruled Libya for 42 years, crushing opponents at home while cultivating the wardrobe and looks befitting an aging rock star, met a vengeful and violent death Thursday at the hands of the Libyan forces that drove him from power.
Tranquil weekend weather expected
Would the weather last Wednesday or Thursday be your ideal weather for the weekend? Ponchos and umbrellas were common across campus on Wednesday as a tight low pressure system moved north across the Mid-Atlantic states. The system brought heavy rain (1.64” at Logan Airport) and high winds to many areas. Then, as dryer air was pulled in from the South yesterday, the rain departed and the sun popped out. Well, the sunshine should stick around through this weekend, with winds slowly diminishing each day as a broad high pressure approaches from the southwest. Temperatures will also remain normal for this time of year, with highs in the lower 60s (15°C) and lows in the mid 40s (4°C). For the weather enthusiasts, sorry you couldn’t see Wednesday’s weather again this weekend.
Governor moves to take fiscal control of Penn. capital
The fate of Pennsylvania’s financially troubled capital city, Harrisburg, took another twist in a long road Thursday, when Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill permitting him to place the city into receivership.
Debt plan is delayed over French-German disagreement
FRANKFURT, Germany — The grand plan is on pause.
Obama’s jobs bill, now piecemeal, nears Senate fight
WASHINGTON — For the second time in 10 days, the Senate moved Thursday toward a showdown over Democratic efforts to take up a jobs bill championed by President Barack Obama.
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KIEV, Ukraine — President Viktor F. Yanukovich of Ukraine suggested Monday that he is not bending to international pressure to free his political rival, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, despite his desire to complete a deal that would integrate the country with Western Europe.
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AMMAN, Jordan — King Abdullah II of Jordan, under growing pressure to accelerate political reform and genuine anti-corruption measures, fired his government Monday, eight months after doing so for similar reasons in the early days of the Arab Spring.
US considered cyberwarfare in Libya attack plan
WASHINGTON — Just before the U.S.-led strikes against Libya in March, the Obama administration intensely debated whether to open the mission with a new kind of warfare: a cyberoffensive to disrupt and even disable the Gadhafi government’s air-defense system, which threatened allied warplanes.
Putin defends his decision to seek a return to the presidency
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin confronted criticism over his decision to seek a return to the presidency next year, warning in a television interview shown Monday of a return to the volatility of previous decades should Russia swerve from its current course.
Bank forecasts Eastern Europe will grow more slowly due to debt crisis
FRANKFURT, Germany — A major development bank sharply reduced its growth forecast for Eastern Europe on Tuesday and warned of risks to the region’s banks, another example of how the sovereign debt crisis is radiating outside the eurozone.
Pattern of beautiful weekends and rainy midweeks to continue
Fall has arrived in full force in Cambridge, accompanied by its variable sometimes-gorgeous and sometimes-miserable weather. After two beautiful weekends in a row, it looks as though we will continue the pattern of midweek rain and clouds on Wednesday to Thursday and then go on to have yet another sunny and pleasant weekend.
Supreme Court to hear two human rights cases
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a pair of cases on whether corporations and political groups may be sued in U.S. courts for complicity in human rights abuses abroad.
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A bankruptcy court on Thursday approved the hiring of a chief restructuring officer at the California energy company Solyndra. R. Todd Neilson, who served as the bankruptcy trustee for the boxer Mike Tyson and the rap impresario Suge Knight, will now lead Solyndra as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy.