Rubio's Moment: NBC News: "Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will deliver Republicans' response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday, GOP leaders announced Wednesday. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., selected Rubio -- an influential Latino conservative who was first elected in 2010 -- to speak for Republicans in their official response to the president's speech. The State of the Union response slot is often seen as a potential launching platform for politicians who harbor national ambitions; fittingly, Rubio is one of the most-hyped figures in the GOP, and is thought to have designs on the party's presidential nomination in 2016. The honor carries a degree of risk, however: many past figures to deliver their party's response have been panned for their performance."
Boy Scouts Punt Decision on Gay Ban: Associated
Press: "Faced with intense pressure from two flanks, the Boy Scouts of
America said Wednesday it needed more time for consultations before deciding
whether to move away from its policy of excluding gays as scouts or adult
leaders. Possible changes in the policy — such as a proposal to allow sponsors
of local troops to decide for themselves on gay membership — will not be voted
on until the organization’s annual meeting in May, the national executive board
said at the conclusion of closed-door deliberations. As the board met over three
days at a hotel in Irving, near Dallas, it became clear that the proposed change
would be unacceptable to large numbers of Scouting families and advocacy groups
on the left and right. Gay-rights supporters said no Scout units should be
allowed to exclude gays, while some conservatives, including religious leaders
whose churches sponsor troops, warned of mass defections if the ban were
eased."
Snow and Rain Won't Stop 'Em, But Saturdays Will: Wall
Street Journal: "The U.S. Postal Service is moving to end Saturday mail
delivery as part of a strategy to curb losses at the agency, which swelled to
$15.9 billion in the most recent fiscal year. Postmaster General Patrick R.
Donahoe said Wednesday that the Postal Service will halt Saturday mail delivery
to homes and businesses Aug. 5, but continue to deliver packages and Express
Mail that day. Post office boxes would continue to receive mail Saturdays as
well. The change will result in a $2 billion annual savings for the agency, it
said."
The Slatest: Your
New Monopoly Token Is a Cat. Of Course It Is.
Happy Tuesday and welcome to The Slatest
PM. Follow your afternoon host on Twitter at @JoshVoorhees and
the whole team at @slatest.
The Slatest: How
Beyoncé's Publicist Succeeded by Failing
Looking Ahead to Tomorrow: National
Journal: "John Brennan, President Obama's pick to head the CIA, faces a
frustrated Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, where he will be grilled
on the Obama administration's increased use of drones and the harsh
interrogations that took place during the Bush administration. Brennan was a top
aide to former CIA director George Tenet during the time just after the 9/11
attacks when harsh interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, were being
used. He has since said he opposed the program. ... The hearing could shed
further light on the drone attacks, which have been carried out from Yemen to
Pakistan but are rarely discussed publicly by administration
officials."
The Slatest: The
One-Paragraph Law Behind Obama's Drone War
Obama's Latest Cabinet Pick: The
Hill: "President Obama on Wednesday announced he is nominating Sally
Jewell, the CEO of outdoor gear giant REI, to succeed outgoing Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar. ... Jewell is the first new female Cabinet nominee for
Obama's second term. The president has come under some criticism for not
nominating more women to his Cabinet, though officials have said the group will
become more diverse as it is filled out. Jewell, who will need to be confirmed
by the Senate to succeed Salazar, spent two decades working in the banking
industry before becoming REI’s CEO in 2005, and began her career as an engineer
for Mobil Oil Corp., before Mobil merged with Exxon."
The Sequester: New
York Times: "Congressional Democrats, sensing a shift in political
momentum, said Wednesday that they were closing in on legislation to temporarily
head off deep across-the-board spending cuts, convinced that once federal
furloughs and layoffs begin next month, political pressure on Republicans to
accept more tax increases will become irresistible. At a closed-door retreat in
Annapolis, Md., this week, Senate Democratic leaders struck a populist tone,
urging the party to stand its ground in the battle over nearly $1 trillion in
military and domestic cuts over 10 years, set to begin March 1. Democrats want a
temporary reprieve from those cuts, financed by a mix of spending cuts and tax
loophole closings that they believe will rally public support. ... Republican
leaders are no less firm that the cuts — known as sequestration — will come into
force in three weeks unless Democrats agree to equivalent spending cuts
elsewhere in the budget, without tax increases."
Lance May Not Be Off the Hook Just Yet: ABC
News: "Federal investigators are in the midst of an active criminal
investigation of disgraced former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, ABC
News has learned. The revelation comes in stark contrast to statements made by
the U.S. Attorney for Southern California, Andre Birotte, who addressed his own
criminal inquiry of Armstrong for the first time publicly on Tuesday. Birotte's
office spent nearly two years investigating Armstrong for crimes reportedly
including drug distribution, fraud and conspiracy—only to suddenly drop the case
on the Friday before the Super Bowl last year. ... [A] high level source told
ABC News,'"Birotte does not speak for the federal government as a whole. ...
Agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering
and intimidation.'"
Kim Jong-Un's Even Getting on China's Nerves: NBC
News: "It remains unclear just when, if ever, North Korea will attempt its
controversial third nuclear test, but there are growing signs that the reclusive
nation's biggest political ally is growing weary of its behavior. A strongly
worded editorial in China's state-run Global Times newspaper Wednesday called on
Beijing to get tough with Pyongyang if it conducts a nuclear test. 'If North
Korea insists on a third nuclear test despite attempts to dissuade it, it must
pay a heavy price,' the paper said. It called on China to cut economic aid to
the struggling country as punishment."
Trouble in Tunisia: Reuters:
"The killing of an outspoken critic of Tunisia's Islamist-led government on
Wednesday sparked street protests by thousands who fear religious radicals are
stifling freedoms won two years ago in the first of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Chokri Belaid was shot at close range as he left for work by a gunmen who fled
on the back of a motorcycle; crowds poured on to the streets of Tunis and other
cities, attacking offices of the main ruling party Ennahda, and by the end of
the day the Islamist prime minister promised a national unity
government."
Is Google's Ad Delivery Racist? ABC
News: "A Google search for a 'racially associated name' is more likely to
trigger advertisements suggesting the person has a criminal background,
according to a study by a Harvard professor. Latanya Sweeney, a professor of
government and technology at Harvard University and a specialist in online
privacy, found that queries for a 'black identifying' name were more likely to
trigger an advertisement suggesting an arrest record than names traditionally
given to white babies. The study involved searches for 2,184 racially associated
names as determined by prior workplace discrimination studies. Sweeney focused
her analysis on Google.com and a highly trafficked news website that displays
the widely used Google AdWords advertisements. Names often given to black
babies, such as DeShawn, Darnell and Jermaine, generated ads suggesting an
arrest record in 81 to 86 percent of the searches on one website and 92 to 95
percent on the other
By Josh Voorhees
By Josh Voorhees
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