It’s hump day, which means you just have to get to lunch and you’re on the back half of the week. Kill a few minutes with a cup of coffee and these news headlines.
1. Neither is as cute as Matt Dillon
New Hampshire voters headed to the polls yesterday for that state’s primary and delivered a surprising verdict: Donald Trump triumphed for the GOP and Bernie Sanders for the Democrats. I mean, not surprising in that they were predicted to win, but surprising in that they are insurgents — political fringe candidates. This election season could easily be dubbed The Outsiders. — The New York Times
2. A wall built with a million individual contributions
The Huffington Post pulled no punches in announcing Trump’s victory, publishing the news with the headline “NH Goes Racist Sexist Xenophobic” after the race was called for the reality TV star. We do have to wonder, if half the state wants Trump and the other half wants Sanders, what are their cocktail parties like? — The Huffington Post
3. Supremes say no
On Tuesday the Supreme Court blocked Obama on an important part of his plan to reduce power plant carbon dioxide emissions. More than 24 states and coal and power companies complained that EPA was overreaching; the court granted a stay that will remain in place until 2017. An appeals court will hear the case in June. The plan had required states to come up with plans for alternative power and shift away from fossil fuel energy. — The Washington Post
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4. Crumbling cyberinfrastructure
Yesterday President Obama signed an executive order that will create a federal privacy council to increase the security of the government’s computer and data systems. This comes on the heels of a hacker group releasing contact information about Justice Department employees. Obama also included $19 billion in his annual budget proposal for cybersecurity; GOP lawmakers have already said, in essence, “talk to the hand.” — CNN
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5. Ask a teenager
The Feds can’t open the phones of the San Bernardino terrorists who murdered 14 people in early December. The director of the FBI noted that current phone technology that locks down phones offers no means for law enforcement to access the data — and is severely hampering their investigations. Maybe Obama can include some money for a 16-year-old computer nerd in his cybersecurity budget. — NBC News
6. Buckle up, stay sober, and get rid of your gun
Why do Americans die younger than people from other rich countries? A new report released Tuesday answers that question with three words: guns, accidents and overdoses. Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics said yesterday that car crashes, gun deaths and drug overdoses account for six percent of death among men and three percent among women and help explain why there is a life-expectancy gap in the under-age-50 population. The researchers wrote that at younger ages, “mortality is dominated by injury deaths and many decades of expected life are lost.” Americans are 20 times more likely to die by a gun than are people in other countries. — NBC News
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