International
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A passenger flight from Egypt en route to St. Petersburg, Russia crashed in the Sinai Peninsula
killing all 224 people on board. Islamic militants immediately claimed credit for the crash
leading the major European airlines to announce a suspension of flights over the embattled
region. Early evidence indicated the plane broke apart while in flight and the US confirmed that
satellites had detected a ‘heat bloom’ prior to the planes crash. Investigators believe a bomb
may be responsible for the crash possibly placed in the cargo hold by an airport worker.
The Chinese government official ended the state 1-child policy that had been in effect for 35
years. The policy has been blamed for an aging population, unwanted abortions and a gender
imbalance. The Communist Party had eased enforcement of the policy in recent years. Many
consider the move as coming too late to reverse the declining fertility rate.
Elections results in Myanmar are slow in coming but it appears that the military-backed ruling
party is headed for a lopsided defeat. The Opposition party, led by Aung Suu Kyi, has won over
90% of the votes that have been counted so far. Despite the apparent success, Kyi is remaining
quiet until final results are announced. She previously one elections in 1990 only to be placed
under house arrest by the ruling party after the elections results were ignored.
National
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The University of Missouri is looking for new leadership after both the President and the
Chancellor announced their resignations amidst complaints that campus officials were not doing
enough to quell racism on campus. According to minority students there has been an increase
in racially charged incidents and campus leaders were not getting involved. The issue came to a
head when a graduate student started a hunger strike pledging not to eat until the President
resigned.
The Republican National Congress has suspended its agreement with NBC News for a televised
presidential debate scheduled to be held in February. The RNC decision came on the heels of
complaints by the Republican candidates who felt that CNBC had conducted their late October
debate “in bad faith” by asking questions designed to create infighting between them. The
televised debate was widely criticized immediately upon its conclusion by Republicans and
media outlets.
President Obama has killed the proposed Keystone XL pipeline claiming it would undermine US
efforts to secure an international plan for global climate change and citing a perception of lower
quality oil. The State Department had previously concluded that the pipeline wouldn’t advance
US national interests.
The TSA called in police and the FBI to help locate man who had passed through security while
his carry-on bag was flagged as suspicious. Authorities shut down the entire terminal while they
searched for the owner of the bag. The man was eventually found on his flight and was
removed. The owner of the bag was not charged. TSA admitted that they had erred in flagging
the bag but did not have the owner wait for it to get checked.
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The murder of an Illinois policeman that sparked a man-hunt for the alleged killers turned out to
be a staged suicide. The investigation into his death turned up evidence that he had embezzled
money from the Police Explorers program dating back the past 7 years and had sought out a hitman to kill an official that had discovered the crime.
SeaWorld is bringing an end to its famous Orca ‘circus’-style shows and will instead focus on
their natural behaviors. The company announced the change citing customer opinions. The
decision will only affect the San Diego location which has seen the biggest drop in attendance
since the release of the documentary “Blackfish” showing how the whales were mistreated as
part of their training.
A Federal Circuit court upheld a lower court ruling that blocked President Obama’s plan to
protect approximately 5 million immigrants from deportation. The majority of immigrants are
the parents of US citizens or others with permanent legal status and anyone brought into the
country illegally as children. The President issued his plan under an Executive Order and was
immediately challenged by courts in Texas. The President plans to appeal the Circuit Court
ruling to the Supreme Court.
Boeing has appealed the Pentagon’s decision to award a lucrative Long Range Bomber contract
to Northrop Grumman claiming the decision makers did not adequately consider the cost
savings that would be derived from recently developed secret manufacturing technology. The
technology, code-named Black Diamond, is allegedly capable of increasing the speed and
efficiency in design and construction while reducing costs. The government has 100 days to
make a ruling based on the appeal.
Local
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Chipotle restaurants across Washington and Oregon were voluntarily closed after an e-coli care
was linked to their chain. The restaurants are now re-opening after all old ingredients were
replaced and the kitchens underwent a thorough cleaning. While 11 of the restaurants were
connected to the outbreak, investigators could not trace it back to a single product or
ingredient.
Snohomish County has joined the ranks of Washington counties that have instituted bans on
vaping and use of e-cigarettes in public areas. The Snohomish Health District expressed their
concerns of the sudden spike in vaping, the potential long-term health impacts, and the risk of
exposure to the liquid nicotine that is used in e-cigs. There were over 180 calls made to the
Washington Poison Center in 2014 related to children who had been exposed to the liquid.
Washington State’s request for an extension to meet federal ID requirements was denied by the
Federal Government. The Dept. of Homeland Security denied the extension after the state
Congress failed to move on a Legislative proposal to create a two-tiered license system that
would meet the federal REAL ID Act requirements that include proof of citizenship. The Federal
Government has plans to require REAL ID’s to board commercial flights or enter federal
buildings although there is no specified date that might become a requirement.
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Traffic on I-5 in West Seattle came to a standstill during morning rush hour when an expansion
joint failed causing the DOT to make emergency repairs. This was the second failure of a 50year old expansion joint in the past 15 months. WSDOT has replaced similar steel joints with
epoxy sealants in SODO and in Marysville but there are no plans for replacing the joints in West
Seattle despite the recent failures and the cost of monthly inspections and repairs.