OBAMA'S STATE OF THE UNION -- LAPD MANHUNT SUGGESTS MEXICO -- NORTH KOREA CONDUCTS NUCLEAR TEST -- NAVY SEAL BETRAYED BY GOVERNMENT -- BENEFITS FOR MILITARY SAME-SEX PARTNERS -- RUBIO'S CHANCE TO SHINE -- NUGENT ATTENDING SOTU -- DOES DORNER HAVE A CASE?
OBAMA WILL FRAME LEGACY AND POLITICAL CALENDAR WITH STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
| Reuters |
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will give his State of the Union address on Tuesday with one eye on the political calendar as time ticks down on his bid to advance an agenda that will help shape his White House legacy.
Just three months after winning re-election on November 6, the Democratic president has a narrow window to push through policy priorities on the economy, immigration reform, and gun control.
Analysts say he has roughly a year before Washington turns its attention to the 2014 mid-term elections, which could sweep more Republicans into Congress and accelerate the subsequent "lame duck" status that defines presidents who are not running for office again.
DORNER MAY HAVE FLED TO MEXICO
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| Los Angeles Time |
A fugitive former Los Angeles police officer wanted in connection with a deadly shooting rampage may have fled toMexico as a massive manhunt was gearing up to capture him, according to federal court records obtained Monday by The Times.
The records state how authorities developed "probable cause" that Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, was possibly trying to escape to Mexico and provide new details on his actions since he allegedly killed three people, including a police officer, in a shooting rampage that police say began Feb. 3 in Irvine.
NORTH KOREA CONFIRMS THIRD NUCLEAR TEST
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| Associated Press |
SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday conducted an underground explosion of what it called a “miniaturized” nuclear weapon, testing a technology that could theoretically be paired with a long-range missile to threaten the United States.
Pyongyang confirmed the test nearly three hours after unusual seismic activity was detected near the secretive police state’s mountainous test site. The test follows weeks of threats from the North to build up its nuclear capacity and carry out an “all-out action of high intensity.”
SEAL WHO KILLED BIN LADEN FEELS BETRAYED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT
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| Getty Images |
The spotlight of fame is burning ever brighter for the SEALs who took down Osama bin Laden. Last year we had Matt Bissonnette’s No Easy Day about the mission. Now Esquire magazine has released a story, to appear in its March issue, featuring the SEAL who claims to have been first inside bin Laden’s bedroom and fired the shots that killed him.
While the former SEAL, who reporter Phil Bronstein calls only “the Shooter” (he is not named in the piece), tells a unique tale, he also gripes that he has nothing to show for his 16 years of service.
PENTAGON RELEASES NEW BENEFITS FOR SAME-SEX PARTNERS
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| Associated Press |
WASHINGTON — Soldiers’ same-sex partners will gain benefits ranging from use of the PX to emergency leave under a Pentagon order issued Monday.
The government is set to offer full coverage should the Supreme Court allow it.
The order provides perks like subsidized base shopping and dining but also includes key family benefits like child care and leave when a partner is ill or dies.
In a memo, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he went as far as he could under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which bars Uncle Sam from honoring gay marriage. The high court is considering DOMA’s legality.
STATE OF THE UNION REPLY IS MARCO RUBIO'S CHANCE TO SHINE
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| Getty Images |
WASHINGTON — When Marco Rubio gives the official Republican response to the State of the Union speech, it will be a chance for the party's fastest-rising star in years to impress millions of voters who have yet to form an opinion of him.
But along with the high-profile honor Tuesday night comes intense pressure. It could be particularly acute for Rubio, the first-term senator from Florida. Not only must he meet high expectations, but his speech must find a way to bridge serious splits within his party and, simultaneously, attract voters who have turned away from Republicans in recent elections.
TED NUGENT WILL ATTEND STATE OF THE UNION
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| Associated Press |
Cue the cameras: Ted Nugent is attending Tuesday’s State of the Union address as the guest of Rep. Steve Stockman. “He speaks for millions of Americans who own guns and do not support the president’s anti-gun agenda,” said Stockman spokesman Donny Ferguson. Neither the Texas Republican nor the rocker are fans of President Obama; the Secret Service had a little sit-down with Nugent last year after he told an NRA convention that he’d be “dead or in jail” if the president was re-elected.
Members of Congress are each allowed to invite one guest to the annual speech; many Democrats are bringing gun violence victims. Nugent won’t be packing Tuesday night, only firing soundbites. “I’m sure he’ll be fun — and respectable,” said Ferguson.
FRESH QUESTIONS OVER DORNER'S DISMISSAL FROM LAPD
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| Corbis |
Police records have raised the possibility that there is a legitimate grievance behind Christopher Dorner's homicidal vendetta against theLos Angeles police department.
Dorner, a former LAPD officer, was sacked in 2008 for falsely claiming a colleague kicked a homeless suspect, but a judge who examined the case concluded that he could not be certain whether or not the suspect had been kicked.
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