The Morning Report -- Thursday March 7 2013

South Korea Pushes Back -- House GOP Averts Shutdown -- Obama Pays For GOP Outreach Dinner -- Rand Paul Holds Senate Floor...For 12+ Hours! -- Menendez Scandal: How? -- Giffords Returns To Shooting Scene -- Arkansas Bans Abortions Past 12 Weeks -- Can President Obama Kill Americans? -- Study: More Gun Laws = Less Crime

SOUTH KOREA PUSHES BACK ON NORTH'S THREATS 

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean military warned on Wednesday that if it was provoked by North Korea, it would strike the North’s “command leadership,” escalating a war of words and hinting at an attack on a North Korean headquarters.

The day before, the North Korean People’s Army threatened to attack the United States and its ally South Korea with “lighter and smaller nukes,” apparently in reaction to the United Nations Security Council’s consideration of new, toughersanctions against the North over the nuclear test it conducted in February.

HOUSE GOP PASSES SHORT-TERM BUDGET DEAL TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Washington — House Republicans approved legislation Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month while creating more flexibility in cutting $85 billion from this year's budget.

The budget bill, passed 267-151 mostly along party lines, would fund the government until the new fiscal year in October at the reduced levels set by the automatic sequester.

"We have won an important battle in the war to wean our nation off of this addiction of debt," said U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford.

GOP OUTREACH DINNER: OBAMA PICKS UP TAB

As part of his effort to improve relations between the White House and Capitol Hill, President Obama dined with a small group of Republican senators this evening and, according to the White House, he paid for the dinner out of his own pocket.

Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; John Hoeven, R-N.D.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Mike Johanns, R-Neb.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Dan Coats, R-Ind., Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; and Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; are among the senators who joined the president for dinner tonight. The group dined at the Jefferson Hotel a few blocks from the White House.

RAND PAUL (R-KY) USES RARE FILIBUSTER TO BLOCK OBAMA CIA NOMINEE

WASHINGTON — A Republican senator and tea party favorite from Kentucky used an old-style filibuster lasting nearly 13 hours to take control of the chamber and block Senate confirmation of John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director.

Sen. Rand Paul ended his filibuster Thursday shortly after midnight, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also a Kentucky Republican, said he would continue to oppose Brennan’s confirmation and resist ending the debate on President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the spy agency.

MENENDEZ PROSTITUTION SCANDAL: HOW IT HAPPENED

New Jersey Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez is demanding an investigation into the political operatives who may have been behind an elaborate plot to embroil him in an international sex scandal.

"I have no idea who is behind these efforts, but I hope that the press will pursue them as vigorously to find out who was behind these efforts as they did in the first place," Menendez said Tuesday. "All I know is obviously there must be interests [who] were trying to defeat me in my election and who obviously did not want to see me in my role as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

GIFFORDS URGES BACKGROUND  CHECKS IN EVENT AT SHOOTING LOCATION

TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to the scene of the horrific shooting that wounded her and killed six people two years ago, urging senators Wednesday to pass background checks for gun purchases in her first public event at the site since the rampage.

Giffords, who is still recovering from her injuries, spoke fewer than 20 words in the parking lot of the Safeway grocery store in her hometown of Tucson in a brief but emotional call for stricter gun control measures.

ARKANSAS ADOPTS RESTRICTIVE BAN ON ABORTIONS AFTER 12 WEEKS

Arkansas adopted what is by far the country’s most restrictive ban onabortion on Wednesday — at 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected by abdominal ultrasound.

The law, the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, was passed by the newly Republican-controlled legislature over the veto of Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, who called it “blatantly unconstitutional.” The State Senate voted Tuesday to override his veto and the House followed suit on Wednesday, with several Democrats joining the Republican majority.

KILLING AMERICANS ON U.S. SOIL: ERIC HOLDER'S EVASIVE, MANIPULATIVE LETTER

On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Six decades later, Al Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Neither President Franklin Roosevelt nor President George W. Bush targeted and killed Americans on U.S. soil in the aftermath of those attacks. Doing so wouldn't have made any sense. 

How strange, then, that Attorney General Eric Holder invoked those very attacks in a letter confirming that President Obama believes there are circumstances in which he could order Americans targeted and killed on U.S. soil. "It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws ... for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States," he wrote. "For example, the President could conceivably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances of a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941 and on September 11, 2001."

STATES WITH MORE GUN LAWS HAVE LESS VIOLENCE

States with more gun laws have fewer gun-related deaths, according to a new study released Wednesday by Boston Children's Hospital.

The leader investigator behind the research hopes the findings will drive legislators to pass gun reform across the country and increase federal funding to research on gun laws and violence. However, at least one critic argues that the study fails to take into account several important factors such as the types of laws, enforcement of laws, and gun ownership rates in states.

Video: Attorney General Holder Admits Killing Americans With Drones On U.S. Soil Is Unconstitutional

The Morning Report -- Monday February 11 2013

Thousands Stranded After Storm -- Senator To Stall Nominations -- Drones To Be Used By LAPD -- Apple's Latest Invention -- Gen. Dunford Becomes US Commander -- Phillipine Town Mourns Crocodile -- Tornado Strikes Southern Mississipi -- Obama Girds For State Of The Union -- Budget Cuts Certain -- CISPA Returns

THOUSANDS STRANDED AND IN DARK AFTER 'NEMO'

Associated Press

Grabbing shovels large and small, residents and emergency workers across the Northeast struggled to dig out on Sunday after a gigantic midwinter storm left much of the region buried under drifting snow.

City streets resembled ski slopes or mountain passes, with cars and even some houses obscured by a thick blanket of white. More than three feet of snow fell in parts of Connecticut, and more than two feet accumulated on Long Island and in Massachusetts, where the storm caused coastal flooding that forced evacuations.

SENATOR GRAHAM VOWS TO STALL NOMINATIONS UNTIL MORE INFORMATION COMES ON BENGHAZI

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A leading Republican senator said Sunday that he will hold up Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees to head the Pentagon and the CIA until the White House provides more answers about the Sept. 11 attack against a U.S. installation in Benghazi, Libya.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina accused the White House of "stonewalling" requests to release more information about the attack, which killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. "We're going to get to the bottom of Benghazi," he told CBS' Face the Nation.

US TO USE DRONES IN CHRIS DORNER MANHUNT

Yesterday, as a task force of 125 officers, some riding Snowcats in the rugged terrain, continued their search, it was revealed that Dorner has become the first human target for remotely-controlled airborne drones on US soil.

A senior police source said: “The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: “We are using all the tools at our disposal.”

APPLE WORKING ON 'SMART' WATCH

Apple Insider

Dick Tracy had one. As did Inspector Gadget and James Bond. A watch that doubled as a computer, two-way radio, mapping device or television.

Though such a device has been lost to science fiction comics and spy movies of the era before smartphones, the smart watch might soon become a reality, in the form of a curved glass device made by Apple.

In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate on Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.

GEN. JOSEPH DUNFORD BECOMES U.S. COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN

Getty Images

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. took over Sunday as the newest and probably last U.S. commander in Afghanistan, charged with ending America's longest war even as insurgents continue to challenge the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Dunford, a four-star Marine officer, arrives as the U.S.-ledNATO coalition has closed three-quarters of its 800 bases and as it watches to see whether the Afghan security forces it trained can keep the Taliban insurgency at bay.

PHILLIPINE TOWN MOURNS DEATH OF LARGEST CAPTIVE CROCODILE

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The world's largest saltwater crocodile in captivity has died, sending villagers to tears in the backwater southern Philippine town that had started to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile.

The crocodile had been blamed for deadly attacks on people before it was captured in 2011 and sent to live at an eco-tourism park that was built to house the giant. The reptile quickly became a star attraction of marshy Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people in Agusan del Sur province about 515 miles southeast of Manila.

TORNADO RAKES ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Reuters

(Reuters) - A swarm of tornadoes tore through several counties in southern Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday, injuring at least 10 people and ripping apart hundreds of homes and other buildings, including parts of the University of Southern Mississippi, authorities said.

The Forrest County seat of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the adjacent town of Petal, both about 100 miles southeast of Jackson, the state capital, bore the brunt of storms that struck less than an hour before dark.

OBAMA GIRDS FOR STATE OF THE UNION, REPUBLICANS DO TOO

Associated Press

It’s unlikely that anybody will shout “You lie!” at President Obama as he delivers his State of the Union speech this week (unless it’s at home in front of the TV). Rep. Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina had to apologize and he was formally reprimanded by the House of Representativeswhen he did that during a joint session of Congress the President was addressing in 2009.

But Mr. Obama will face a tough crowd Tuesday night – at least among Republicans, who still control the House and have filibuster power in the Senate – as he lays out his plans for job creation and economic growth at a time when unemployment remains high.

AUTOMATIC BUDGET CUTS ARE ALMOST CERTAIN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In less than a month, a budget ax is set to fall on the federal government, indiscriminately chopping funding for the military and slicing money for various programs, including preschools and national parks.

The $85 billion in cuts that would take effect from March 1 through September — the first installment of $1.2 trillion in reductions over the next decade — would strike just about every agency and service in an attempt to ease the budget deficit.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SET TO ENACT CYBER SECURITY ORDER AS CONGRESS REVIVES CISPA

Bloomberg is reporting that the White House plans to introduce an executive order on cybersecurity sometime after next week's State of the Union address. The order, which has been in the works for months at this point, would arrive after several high-profile attacks have highlighted the danger posed by online threats. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times revealed they'd been the victims of attacks — thought to have originated in China — while Twitter announced it could have had as many as 250,000 user accounts compromised.

According to the report, the order will set up a set of voluntary cybersecurity standards that companies operating important US infrastructure will be able to participate in. Federal agencies will be encouraged to adopt the new protocols into existing regulations, and as expected, the order will instruct the government itself to share information about potential threats with companies in the private sector.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/10/4612488/senator-vows-to-stall-nominations.html#storylink=cpy

The Morning Report -- Thursday February 7, 2013

Solomon Islands Tsunami -- Tunisian Government Dissolved -- North Korea Makes New Threats -- Delayed Decision On Gay Ban -- 17yr Old Locked In Basement -- Dell Goes Private -- Free Wifi In Every US City? -- Obama To Justify  Drones

SOLOMON ISLANDS TSUNAMI DEATHS CONFIRMED

AP

Aid workers struggled to reach remote villages in the Solomon Islands on Thursday as the death toll rose from a tsunami triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake.

At least nine people were killed when an earthquake set off a small but powerful tsunami that sent 1.5-metre (4ft 11in) waves roaring inland on Santa Cruz Island, in the south Pacific, on Wednesday. Around 100 homes across five villages were damaged or destroyed.

Elderly people and at least one child were among those who died after being sucked under the rushing water, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister.

Dozens of strong aftershocks were keeping frightened residents from returning to the coast, Herming said.

TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT DISOLVES

Reuters

(Reuters) - Tunisia's ruling Islamists dissolved the government and promised rapid elections in a bid to restore calm after the killing of an opposition leader sparked the biggest street protests since the revolution two years ago.

The prime minister's announcement late on Wednesday that an interim cabinet of technocrats would replace his Islamist-led coalition came at the end of a day which had begun with the gunning down of Chokri Belaid, a left-wing lawyer with a modest political following but who spoke for many who fear religious radicals are stifling freedoms won in the first of the Arab Spring uprisings.

During the day, protesters battled police in the streets of the capital and other cities, including Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the Jasmine Revolution that toppled Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.

NORTH KOREA THREATENS TO TURN BORDER FACTORY INTO MILITARY ZONE

Reuters

Rising tensions on the Korean peninsula are jeopardizing a joint industrial project that has served as one of the few remaining symbols of reconciliation between Seoul and Pyongyang.

North Korea has warned the South it will abandon the Kaesong Industrial Complex and turn the border area back into a military zone if Seoul follows through on its pledge to tighten inspections there.

Earlier this week, Seoul's Unification Ministry said it would more closely monitor industrial parts and other cargo shipped into the facility, as a result of expanded U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang following a banned November rocket launch.

DECISION ON BAN OF GAYS IN BOY SCOUTS DELAYED

Rotary Club

It was disappointing Wednesday when the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America delayed a decision to let local troops make their own decisions on whether to allow openly gay participants. Still, the delay also came with a commitment to hold a definitive vote on the policy at the BSA’s national meeting in May. So the 103-year-old organization has forced a choice upon itself: Either it will emerge from this debate with a commitment to diversity, or behave like an intolerant relic of the past.

POLICE SAY TEENAGER WAS HANDCUFFED IN BASEMENT SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Kansas City police are investigating a 17-year-old boy's report that his father and stepmother kept him handcuffed and barely fed in the basement of his home since September of last year.

Police reports say an officer and a social worker found the teenager Monday handcuffed to a steel pole, cold and "very thin for his height." They went to the home after receiving a call about the boy. The report does not say who made the call.

The teenager told police that he had been kept in the basement since being removed from school by his father. He said his father generally brought him only instant oatmeal, Ramen noodles and two bologna sandwiches every day.

The police report does not indicate any reason for the boy's treatment.

DELL GOES PRIVATE

Dell has officially closed a buyout of the company, taking the company off the publicly-traded stock market and into private hands. The deal is being financed by cash and equity from CEO Michael Dell, funds from investment firms Silver Lake and MSD Capital, a $2 billion loan from Microsoft, plus debt financing from a number of banks as well as Dell's cash on hand. Dell's shareholders will receive $13.65 for each share of common Dell stock they hold, up about 25 percent from Dell's closing share price of $10.88 back on January 11th, which Dell says is the last day prior to rumors of the buying starting to circulate. Those rumors have escalated in the last week, when Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that discussions to bring Dell private were serious, and that a deal could be reached in the following six weeks.

Bloomberg also reports that board members met last night to vote on the move, while the Wall Street Journal cites top execs as saying company founder Michael Dell is a man "increasingly worried about his legacy." Michael Dell has reportedly lost enthusiasm for the day-to-day running of the company since reclaiming his position as CEO of the company in 2007.

NO, FREE WIFI ISN'T COMING TO EVERY US CITY 

An amazing story circulated today through much of the mainstream media and tech press. The US government is going to build gigantic Wi-Fi networks across the country, giving free Internet access to everyone.

Or perhaps the US would somehow force wireless providers to build these networks—in which case, it's not clear why this amazing new Internet service would be free, unless the goal was to destroy the entire business model of both cellular carriers and Internet service providers in one fell swoop.

The headlines were literally too good to be true, and so outlandish no one should have written them in the first place. "FCC Proposes Free Wi-Fi For Everyone In The US," Popular Science reported. "FCC wants free Wi-Fi for all," said The Daily Caller. On Mashable, it was "Government Wants to Create Free Public 'Super Wi-Fi'," and Business Insider breathlessly reported, "Telecom Corporations Are Trying To Stop The Government From Offering Free 'Super Wi-Fi'"

OBAMA TO RELEASE DOCUMENT ON TARGETED KILLINGS USING DRONES TO CONGRESS

Washington (CNN) -- The Senate Intelligence Committee will receive a classified document Thursday that seeks to justify the administration's policy of targeting Americans overseas via drone attacks, chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said.

"I am pleased that the president has agreed to provide the Intelligence Committee with access to the OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion regarding the use of lethal force in counterterrorism operations," the California Democrat said in a statement Wednesday.

"It is critical for the committee's oversight function to fully understand the legal basis for all intelligence and counterterrorism operations."

The announcement came shortly after an administration official said President Barack Obama had yielded to demands that he turn over to Congress the classified Justice Department legal advice that seeks to justify the policy.

White House To Give Lawmakers Classified Drone Info

House and Senate intelligence committees will get classified information from the Justice Department that the White House feels will show the rationale for drone strikes against American citizens, according to a senior White House official.

Several lawmakers have pressed the White House for more information on how decisions are made to target U.S. citizens abroad follow the release this week of an unclassified "white paper" that the Justice Department sent key lawmakers last year. The unclassified memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans.

The official said Obama made the decision to send lawmakers the classified rationale on Wednesday as part of his "commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters." Obama directed the Justice Department provide the Senate and House intelligence committees access to classified advice from its Office of Legal Counsel that the white paper is based on, the official said.

The Morning Report -- Wednesday February 6, 2013

Earthquake, Tsunami Strikes Solomon Islands -- North Korea Shows US In Flames -- Gay Marriage in UK -- Obama Pushes On Congress -- AL Kidnapper Killed In Shootout -- Obama Administration Drone Powers -- Americans Buying Guns -- 2nd Grader Suspended

TSUNAMI DAMAGES HOMES ON SOLOMON ISLANDS

SYDNEY (AP) — A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands generated a tsunami of up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) that damaged dozens of homes and likely killed several people in the South Pacific island chain on Wednesday.

Authorities canceled warnings for tsunamis on more distant coasts.

Solomons officials reported two 1.5-meter (4 foot, 11-inch) waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz Island, damaging around 50 homes and properties, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister. Many villagers had headed to higher ground as a precaution, Herming said.

NORTH KOREA VIDEO SHOWS US CITY IN FLAMES

It begins benignly enough, with an image of a sleeping young North Korean man, and a genteel piano version of the US feel-good pop anthem We Are the World providing the musical backdrop.

But the YouTube video recently posted by Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's official website, quickly takes a more sinister turn as the man's dream continues into the realms of Stalinist fantasy.

Within seconds he is aboard a space shuttle, launched into orbit by the same type of rocket the North successfully launched in December. The shuttle orbits Earth, at one point passing over a jubilant and reunified Korean peninsula, before the focus switches to an unidentified city draped in the Stars and Stripes.

What appear to be missiles rain down on the city, setting fire to high-rise buildings in scenes reminiscent of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York.

"Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing," the Korean-language caption says. "It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze."

GAY MARRIAGE: PARTY LEADERS HAIL VOTE

Party leaders at Westminster have hailed the significance of the backing for same-sex marriage in England and Wales in a key Commons vote.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday's vote had been "an important step forward" and Labour leader Ed Miliband called it a "proud day".

MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by 400 to 175, a majority of 225.

But 136 Tory MPs opposed the bill and have continued to voice their concerns.

MPs were given a free vote on the bill, meaning they were not ordered to vote a particular way by party whips.

OBAMA URGES CONGRESS TO STOP CUTS

New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to quickly pass a new package of limited spending cuts and tax increases to head off substantial across-the-board reductions to domestic and military spending set to begin on March 1, but his appeal for more revenue was dismissed by Republicans.

Trying to gain the upper hand in the latest fiscal clash, Mr. Obama said Congress should delay the reductions for at least a few months to give lawmakers a chance to negotiate a full deficit reduction package that permanently resolves the threat of a so-called sequester.

“They should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester for a few more months,” Mr. Obama said Tuesday afternoon in the White House briefing room. He said there was no reason to put at risk “the jobs of thousands of Americans.”

FBI SAYS ALABAMA KIDNAPPER WAS KILLED IN SHOOTOUT

AP

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. -- The Alabama man who held a 5-year-old boy captive for nearly a week engaged in a firefight with SWAT agents storming his underground bunker before he was killed during the rescue, the FBI said Tuesday night.

Bomb technicians scouring his rural property also found two explosive devices, one in the bunker and one in a plastic pipe that negotiators used to communicate with the man.

Officers killed 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes on Monday, said an official in Midland City, speaking on condition of anonymity. The bunker raid came six days after Dykes boarded a school bus, fatally shot the driver and abducted the boy, identified by only his first name, Ethan. By all accounts, the boy was unharmed.

MEMO GIVES U.S. BROAD POWER TO KILL AL QAEDA TARGETS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In a newly revealed memo, the Obama administration claims authority to target and kill overseas Al Qaeda members, even American citizens, in broad terms that go beyond previous statements by the president and his top aides.

The administration's position has brought objections from some longtime critics. However, the response from Congress has been muted, reflecting the degree to which once-controversial practices in drone warfare have become mainstream after more than a decade of conflict.

The administration's legal justification for drone strikes, outlined in a Justice Departmentpaper that became public Monday night, states that an "informed, high-level official" can approve a strike against an Al Qaeda official, including an American citizen, even without evidence that the targeted person is planning a specific operation."

FBI SHOWS RECORD NUMBER OF AMERICANS BUYING GUNS

AP

Americans are lining up to buy guns in unprecedented numbers in the wake of the Newtown school shooting and the debate around tightening gun controls, with federal background checks on prospective buyers running at record levels.

New figures released by the FBI show that 2,495,440 gun background checks were initiated in January. That is the second highest number since records began in 1998, and is exceeded only by the entry for December 2012, which reached a peak of 2,783,765.

The Newtown shooting, in which 20 young children and six of their school carers were killed in Connecticut, took place on 14 December.

Since 1998, anyone wanting to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer such as a gun shop must undergo a federal background check to ensure that they are not a criminal, mentally ill or otherwise disqualified from ownership. The check is carried out in reference to a national database, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, operated by the FBI.

7 YEAR OLD PLAYING IMAGINARY GAME GETS SUSPENDED

LOVELAND, Colo. — A 2nd grader has been suspended from school in Loveland for a make believe game he was playing.

The 7-year-old says he was trying to save the world. But school administrators say he broke a key rule during his pretend play.

“I was trying to save people and I just can’t believe I got dispended,” says Alex Evans, who doesn’t understand his suspension any better than he can pronounce it.

“It’s called ‘rescue the world,’” he says.

He was playing a game during recess at Loveland’s Mary Blair Elementary School and threw an imaginary grenade into a box with pretend evil forces inside.

“I pretended the box, there’s something shaking in it, and I go ‘pshhh.’”

The boy didn’t throw anything real or make any threats against anyone. He explains he was pretending to be the hero. “So nothing can get out and destroy the world.”

The Morning Report - Friday January 25, 2013

Al Qaeda Operative Killed -- Mentally Ill Man 'Tortured' -- Microsoft Surprises -- VA  & The Electoral College -- Senate To Vote On Sandy Aid -- Gun Ban Measure Introduced -- Brown Signals Historical CA -- 

KEY AL QAEDA FIGURE KILLED BY DRONE

AP

SANAA, Yemen — Al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen died in a U.S. drone attack last year in southern Yemen, the country's official news agency and a security official said Thursday.

Saeed al-Shihri, a Saudi national who fought in Afghanistan and spent six years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, was wounded in a missile attack in the southern city of Saada on Oct. 28, according to SABA news agency.

MOM PLANS PROTEST OVER 'TORTURE' OF MENTALLY ILL SON

PNG

A mother whose adult son is being detained in a criminal psychiatric hospital for a crime six years ago is planning to live in a box at the Vancouver Art Gallery for nine days and nights to draw attention to what she calls the “torture” he endures there.

Chahna Verney said her son, Ben, (she doesn’t want his last name published) has been held for almost four years at B.C.’s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, where he has spent “the vast majority of his time locked up in an isolation cell.”

MICROSOFT REPORTS RECORD REVENUE IN 2ND QUARTER

REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 24, 2013 — Microsoft Corp. today announced quarterly revenue of $21.46 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $7.77 billion, $6.38 billion, and $0.76 per share.

These financial results reflect the net deferral of revenue for the Windows Upgrade Offer, Office Upgrade Offer and Pre-sales, and the Entertainment and Devices Division Video Game Deferral, partially offset by the recognition of previously deferred revenue for Windows 8 Pre-sales. The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to non-GAAP financial results. We have provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance.

VIRGINIA STATE SENATE MOVES AHEAD WITH ELECTORAL-COLLEGE RIGGING BILL

Getty Images

These guys are swiftly becoming my favorite state legislative body. From the AP:

Virginia's Republican-ruled legislature has taken the first steps toward ending the state's winner-takes-all system of apportioning its 13 presidential electoral votes. A Senate subcommittee recommended Sen. Bill Carrico's bill on Wednesday on a 3-3 party line vote.

SENATE SETS SANDY AID RELIEF VOTE FOR MONDAY

AP

WASHINGTON — The Senate is set to vote Monday on a $50.5 billion emergency relief bill to help victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Northeast lawmakers from both parties hope to win Senate approval of the measure and send it to President Barack Obama, who has said he would sign it. The House passed it last week.

SENATOR FEINSTEIN ROLLS OUT GUN BAN MEASURE

Getty Images

Washington -- - Nearly two decades after she championed a nationwide ban on assault weapons, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other Democratic lawmakers rolled out a new ban on military-style rifles Thursday in the wake of the mass shooting last month at a Connecticut elementary school.

The measure, proposed more than eight years after the 1994 ban expired, would prohibit 157 rifles, including the Bushmaster XM-15 that Adam Lanza used in the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 children and six adults. It also would outlaw ammunition magazines with a capacity above 10 rounds.

BROWN DELIVERS UPBEAT STATE OF THE STATE

Sacramento -- - Gov. Jerry Brown, riding a wave of remarkable political success from the first two years of his term in office, delivered a State of the State speech Thursday that cast California as being on the cusp of an era akin to the grand times of state history.

It was the kind of optimistic and enthusiastic address to the people of California that was not possible when Brown came into office two years ago facing a nearly $26 billion deficit.