Breaking News: Shooting At MIT, Car Chase - Two officers shot, one fatally -- 1/2 Suspects Apprehended

Developing News: Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects may be linked with 2010 New York Times Square incident in which 3 Pakistani men were arrested in the Boston, MA area. Per Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/13/pakistani-men-arrested-times-square-car-bomb-case-fbi-follows-money-trail/

BREAKING: Pete Williams on NBC News: A pressure cooker was found at the Watertown crime scene

WHDH law enforcement are saying that these guys are bombing suspects...this is the first time WHDH is willng to say this on air

BREAKING: MISSING STUDENT COULD BE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING SUSPECT. http://abcnews.go.com/US/sunil-tripathi-surveillance-footage-shows-missing-ivy-league/story?id=18845517#.UXDr0bV4LOU

This is the second suspect (on loose). Police announced name. Reddit had this name hours ago. pic.twitter.com/ETJhG4cj47

BPD scanner has identified the names : Suspect 1: Mike Mulugeta Suspect 2: Sunil Tripathi

Authorities have established a 20-block perimeter to search for the other Boston bombing suspect

CNN reporting that a second man has been taken into custody with short cropped dark hair.

Dispatcher: Man wearing white hat in Boston bomb photos is still missing in Watertown neighborhood

Scanner: Suspect "could have an IED explosive device on him. Please use extreme caution."

FBI comments on Watertown shootings: 'We are engaged with our partners trying to determine if there is a connection' [to Boston] -

Dispatcher described one suspect as white male, black curly hair, wearing grey hoodie, armed and dangerous

LOCAL WHDH REPORTER: Source says ONE SUSPECT IS DEAD

Just in: Shots fired in Mount Auburn neighborhood of Boston.

The Boston Globe ‏@BostonGlobe5m

One Marathon bombing suspect has been caught, and another is on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police, officials said.

One marathon suspect has been captured, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation.

Another remains on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police. Authorities have established a 20-block perimeter as they search for him.

FBI releases new photo of suspect in Boston Marathon Bombings

UPDATE: MIT News releases statement on Officer killed in the line of duty: 

"MIT is heartbroken by the news that an MIT Police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday night on campus, near Building 32 (the Stata Center). Our thoughts are now with the family.

At around 2 a.m., MIT Police determined that the suspect was no longer on campus, and that it is safe to resume normal activities. However, the MIT Police ask that members of the MIT Community remain vigilant in the coming hours.

MIT worked with multiple police departments in order to ensure the safety of the MIT campus. Police officers swept the campus in search of the shooter, and MIT sent text and email messages to the members of the MIT community asking them to stay indoors while the search continued.

We will provided fuller news of this tragedy in the coming hours."
Update: Line of cops walking down Dexter Rd is now well over 100.


Just In: MIT Gives all clear. Situation now centered in Watertown, MA

UPDATE: 1:50 AM EST

A local resident says that two men threw what appeared to be "pressure cooker bomb" at police. 

A connection to the Boston Marathon bombings has not been confirmed as of yet

A police officer has been killed in a shooting at Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

The suspect - which the police scanner described very specifically as a 5'11" 200lb "dark skinned white male" wearing a black top making a getaway "on foot in unknown direction" - shot a police officer, who died minutes later from his injuries.

Other scanner information claims the shooter used a fallen officer's gun. No information has so far pointed to his affiliation, or not, with the school.

Students have been advised to stay inside.

MIT, one of the world's best universities, is located in Cambridge, which borders Boston.

Emergency services have flocked to the university, which cordoned off an area of the campus and advised students to stay indoors. 

The situation is considered active and extremely dangerous 

The university is in Cambridge, which is across the Charles River from Boston, and a short distance from the site of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Massachussets Institute of Technology is just across the river from Copley Square, where the Boston Marathon finished.

Massachussets State Police confirmed via Twitter that an MIT campus police officer had been shot.

The shooter remained at large one hour after the shooting, which occurred at 10.48pm local time (12.48pm AEST) according to MIT's 'Emergency Information' website.

"The situation is considered active and extremely dangerous, an investigation is underway. Updates will be provided at this site when more information becomes available," an MIT statement said.

The MIT student newspaper tweeted that the campus police officer had been transported to Massachussets General Hospital.

UPDATE: 11:58 EST - MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE OFFICER INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING HAS DIED. 

The shooting happened around 10:30 pm near Building 32 (Stata), which is currently surrounded by responding agencies. The area is cordoned off.

State Police said they were assisting in the search for a suspect or suspects, processing the crime scene, and providing investigative support.

According to the University's website, "Responding agencies continue to investigate the situation.  The scene is outside of Building 32 (Stata) and 76 (Koch) near Vassar and Main Streets.  Injuries have been reported.  The situation is still very active and we ask everyone to stay inside."

What Adam Lanza Had In His Home

In December of 2012 Adam Lanza drove from his mothers' home to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Nobody was prepared for what he was about to do. Lanza took into the school with him two handguns and an assault rifle along with a large amount of ammunition. He forced his way into the school and, beginning in the school principle's office, began a rampage that ended with 20 children and 6 adults dead before finally he was shot and killed. In the months since there have been conspiracy theories, investigations, debunking articles on those conspiracy theories, debunking articles on the debunking articles on the conspiracy theories, and so forth. Likewise the rhetoric surrounding guns and gun control has vamped up. What will come of all the discussion is to be seen however a new piece of information has contributed to what could be the most eye-opening visual image we have to date on the incident. Recently the evidence produced from a set of warrants served just after the attack has given some written proof of what weaponry Lanza had, but now we have visual representation. See the image below:

All weapons were purchased by Lanza's mother legally and were stored properly. To gain access to the weapons he shot and killed his mother before stealing them and continuing down the road to the school to begin the attack. 

Army Denies Purple Hearts

The United States Army is worried that if the victims of the Fort Hood shooting receive Purple Hearts that Major Nadal Hassan won't get a fair trial.

The Army, in a position paper said that awarding the medal to those wounded and posthumously to those killed in the November 2009 attack would set the stage for a formal declaration that Major Hassan is a terrorist because the medal is presented to military members who are wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States. 

Read more at "Alert Net": http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/army-formally-declines-purple-hearts-for-ft-hood-shooting-victims/

The ACN Morning Report Thursday March 28, 2013

James Holmes To Plead Guilty -- Ashley Judd's Senate Outlook -- Microsoft Looks Past Windows 8 -- Casualties In Joint Nato-Afghan Operation -- Pakistani Girl Seals Book Deal -- Newtown Investigation Details Coming -- Loughner Details Released -- SCOTUS's Reluctance On Gay Marriage -- N. Korea Cuts Communications With South -- Obama Charm Offensive

JAMES HOLMES OFFERS TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN COLORADO MASSACRE

Pool Photo

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — James E. Holmes, accused of unleashing the Aurora movie theater massacre in July, has offered to plead guilty to killing 12 people and injuring 70 if prosecutors do not seek the death penalty.

In an unusual court filing, defense lawyers revealed Wednesday that they had made the standing offer weeks ago for Holmes to serve life in prison without possibility of parole for the July 20 mass shooting.

So far the prosecution has declined the offer, the document said.

Dist. Atty. George Brauchler of Colorado's 18th Judicial District is to announce Monday whether he will seek the death penalty. Capital punishment is rare in Colorado, with only three people on death row.

ASHLEY JUDD DECLINES KENTUCKY SENATE BID

Getty Images

ABC News’ Michael Falcone and Shushannah Walshe report:

After months of flirtation, actress Ashley Judd announced on Wednesday that she will not pursue a Senate bid against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

She made the announcement in a series of tweets late Wednesday afternoon:

“After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family. Regretfully, I am currently unable to consider a campaign for the Senate. I have spoken to so many Kentuckians over these last few months who expressed their desire for a fighter for the people & new leader. While that won’t be me at this time, I will continue to work  as hard as I can to ensure the needs of Kentucky families are met by returning this Senate seat to whom it rightfully belongs: the people & their needs, dreams, and great potential. Thanks for even considering me as that person & know how much I love our Commonwealth. Thank you!”

A source familiar with Judd’s decision-making process said the news that Kentucky Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes has also been considering a Senate run “gave her the space to really make a decision and decide what was best for her.”

MICROSOFT PREPARES WINDOWS BLUE

Microsoft has finally broken its silence about Blue, a code name that not only refers to a Windows 8 operating system update, but also encompasses a large swath of the software giant's product and services portfolio.

Apart from some fleeting job ads or casual mentions like the ones in a TechFest 2013 presentation featuring an upcoming version of the Fresh Paint app, Microsoft has largely remained mum on the topic of Blue. Lately, however, the company has been opening up a little.

After recounting some recent company milestones and accomplishments in a blog post, Microsoft's vice president of corporate communications, Frank X. Shaw, made one of the first official mentions of Blue. Just don't expect the code name to survive the journey to a commercial launch, he warned.

CIVILIANS KILLED IN JOINT NATO-AFGHAN EXERCISE

PAKISTANI GIRL SHOT BY TALIBAN SEALS BOOK DEAL

AP PHOTO

Malala Yousufzai will not go quietly.

The 15-year-old Pakistani activist was shot in the head at point-blank range by the Taliban for advocating girls' education. After a miraculous recovery, she returned to school in Britain last week, and today it was announced she will publish her life story in the memoir, I Am Malala.

The Guardian reported the deal was inked for around $3 million, though a spokesman for the publisher, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, would not confirm reports about the value of the deal.

SEARCH WARRANTS TO BE RELEASED FOR NEWTOWN INVESTIGATION

AP

NEW HAVEN, Conn. –  Search warrants used in the investigation of the Newtown school shooting are being released along with a statement from prosecutors about their work to unravel the motives of the 20-year-old gunman.

The warrants, which were to be released on Thursday, are related to searches of gunman Adam Lanza's home and car. They have been sealed under an order that expired Wednesday, and prosecutors have made few details available, despite pressure to do so.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has expressed concern about leaked information appearing in the news, and state lawmakers have requested a more complete accounting of the case as they address gun control and other issues raised by the shooting.

REPORTS DETAIL JARED LOUGHNER'S BEHAVIOR BEFORE SHOOTING

Pima County Sheriff's Department

TUCSON — In hindsight, the red flags seem to be everywhere.

By the time Jared Lee Loughner shot and killed six people, wounding 13 — including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — his parents had already taken away his shotgun, tested him for drugs and forbade him from using the family vehicle after dusk. Months earlier, officials at his community college had refused to allow him to return to campus until he passed a mental evaluation. Hours before he went on a shooting rampage, a Wal-Mart clerk had declined to sell him ammunition.

These details emerged Wednesday when authorities released nearly 3,000 pages of investigative reports, painting a picture of a man who had become unhinged and the people who had tried to intervene, worried he was a danger to himself and others.

JUSTICES SHOW RELUCTANCE ON BROAD GAY MARRIAGE RULING

WASHINGTON—Two days of arguments on same-sex marriage revealed a Supreme Court uneasy about making sweeping moves on gay rights and holding doubts about whether the cases belonged before the justices at all.

The arguments also brought to life more familiar fissures between the court's liberal and conservative wings. On Wednesday, liberal justices suggested that a 1996 federal law denying benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples was motivated by animus against gays, while Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, challenged assertions that gays and lesbians need judicial protection from repressive majorities.

NORTH KOREA SAYS IT IS CUTTING TIES WITH SOUTH KOREA

CNN

The Obama administration on Wednesday slammed North Korea's pugnacious rants toward South Korea and the West and a U.S. intelligence official called the strident remarks worrisome.

"The ratcheting up of rhetoric is of concern to us," the official said.

The question is whether this is "just rhetoric," he said. Or, "are things happening behind the scenes indicating the blustering has something to it."

Another U.S. official said there is a lot of uncertainty about North Korea's intentions.

"North Korea is not a paper tiger so it wouldn't be smart to dismiss its provocative behavior as pure bluster," that official said.

OBAMA, SENATE REPUBLICANS PLAN SECOND DINNER

Getty Images

Senate Republicans and President Obama plan a second dinner next month to talk about such legislative items as the budget, immigration and gun control, officials said.

An aide to Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said Obama called Isakson this month and asked him to line up another dozen or so GOP senators who were not able to attend a similar dinner on March 6.

The purpose of the get-together now scheduled for April 10 is "to build on the first dinner," said Joan Kirchner, Isakson's deputy chief of staff.

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.

The Morning Report -- Tuesday February 25, 2013

Cities To Feel Budget Pain -- Trial Begins For 2010 Gulf Oil Spill -- Surgeon General Dies -- More Snow Hits Midwest -- Warrant Issued After Vegas Strip Shooting -- White House Seeks Sequester Solution

JOBLESS CITIES COULD BE FIRST TO FEEL BUDGET PAIN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Who'll be the first to feel the sting?

Jobless Americans who have been out of work for a long time and local governments that are paying off loans to fix roads and schools are in tough spots when it comes to the automatic federal budget cuts that are scheduled to kick in Friday.

HIGH STAKES TRIAL BEGINS OVER 2010 GULF OIL SPILL 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP put profits ahead of safety and bears most of the blame for the disastrous 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Justice Department attorney charged Monday at the opening of a trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages.

The London-based oil giant acknowledged it made "errors in judgment" before the deadly blowout, but it also cast blame on the owner of the drilling rig and the contractor involved in cementing the well. It denied it was grossly negligent, as the government contended.

KOOP, WHO TRANSFORMED SURGEON GENERAL POST, DIES

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era - and one of the most unexpectedly enduring.

His nomination in 1981 met a wall of opposition from women's groups and liberal politicians, who complained President Ronald Reagan selected Koop, a pediatric surgeon and evangelical Christian from Philadelphia, only because of his conservative views, especially his staunch opposition to abortion.

2ND ROUND OF HEAVY SNOWS HIT PLAINS, MIDWEST

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- The nation's midsection again dealt with blizzard conditions Monday, closing highways, knocking out power to thousands in Texas and Oklahoma and even bringing hurricane-force winds to the Texas Panhandle. Two people have died.

Already under a deep snowpack from last week's storm, Kansas was preparing for another round of heavy snow Monday evening and overnight, prompting some to wonder what it could do for the drought.

WARRANT ISSUED FOR VEGAS STRIP SHOOTING SUSPECT

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Police said Monday they have a warrant for a 26-year-old ex-convict identified as the prime suspect in a shooting and fiery crash that killed three people last week on the Las Vegas Strip.

"We can say with certainty that Ammar Harris is the suspect who fired the fatal shots," Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones told reporters at an afternoon update about a manhunt that he said would be advertised on southern Nevada billboards.

WHITE HOUSE STEPS UP CAMPAIGN TO AVOID SPENDING CUTS

(Reuters) - The White House escalated a campaign on Monday to convince Americans dire consequences await if government spending cuts go ahead on March 1, warning of a slowdown in global trade, a stalled fight against cancer and Alzheimer's disease and compromised security at U.S. borders.

At the same time, prominent Republicans said President Barack Obama was overstating the potential damage of the $85 billion in government-wide cuts to frighten the public.

The Morning Report -- Saturday February 23, 2012

White House Expands Access To Research Findings -- Top UK Cardinal: Let Priests Marry -- Obama Drug Czar Targets CO and WA -- United States To Air-Drop Toxic Mice On Guam -- More Rumors Surface About Pope -- Manhunt Underway After Las Vegas Shooting -- NV Legalizes Online Gambling 

WHITE HOUSE EXPANDS PUBLIC ACCESS TO FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH

From the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

The Obama Administration is committed to the proposition that citizens deserve easy access to the results of scientific research their tax dollars have paid for. That’s why, in a policy memorandum released today, OSTP Director John Holdren has directed Federal agencies with more than $100M in R&D expenditures to develop plans to make the published results of federally funded research freely available to the public within one year of publication and requiring researchers to better account for and manage the digital data resulting from federally funded scientific research. OSTP has been looking into this issue for some time, soliciting broad public input on multiple occasions and convening an interagency working group to develop a policy. The final policy reflects substantial inputs from scientists and scientific organizations, publishers, members of Congress, and other members of the public—over 65 thousand of whom recently signed a We the People petition asking for expanded public access to the results of taxpayer-funded research.

TOP UK CARDINAL PUSHES TO ALLOW PRIESTS TO MARRY, HAVE CHILDREN

Britain's most senior Roman Catholic has said he believes priests should be able to marry if they wish to do so.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien said it was clear many priests struggled to cope with celibacy, and should be able to marry and have children.

The cardinal will be part of the conclave that chooses the next Pope.

He spoke of his surprise at the resignation of Benedict XVI, and said he was open to the new Pope coming from outside of Europe.

OBAMA DRUG CZAR: WE WILL GO AFTER MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTORS IN COLORADO AND WASHINGTON

In an interview with Canadian news magazineMaclean’s last week, Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, stated that despite recreational legalization in Washington and Colorado, they would still go after distributors and growers in both states.

"You’ll continue to see enforcement against distributors and large-scale growers as the Justice Department has outlined. They will use their limited resources on those groups and not on going after individual users," said Kerlikowske, who is also a former Seattle Police Chief.

US GOVERNMENT TO AIR DROP TOXIC MICE ON GUAM SNAKES

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AP) — Dead mice laced with painkillers are about to rain down on Guam's jungle canopy. They are scientists' prescription for a headache that has caused the tiny U.S. territory misery for more than 60 years: the brown tree snake.

Most of Guam's native bird species are extinct because of the snake, which reached the island's thick jungles by hitching rides from the South Pacific on U.S. military ships shortly after World War II. There may be 2 million of the reptiles on Guam now, decimating wildlife, biting residents and even knocking out electricity by slithering onto power lines.

WHY IS THE POPE LEAVING SO SOON?

The Pope cited his “incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me” in “today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes.” This was the same week the producers of Maker’s Mark announced they were lowering the alcohol content of their bourbon: Here was the leader of the Catholic church bemoaning his inability to adapt to a changing world. Has everyone forgotten their brand?

MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR SUSPECTS IN LAS VEGAS STRIP SHOOTING

Reuters

(Reuters) - A multi-state manhunt was under way on Friday for the men who shot dead an aspiring rapper as he drove on the Las Vegas Strip in a Maserati, touching off a fiery crash that killed a cab driver and his passenger.

Las Vegas police have not named any suspects in the dramatic pre-dawn shooting in the heart of the desert resort city on Thursday, but said they were still hunting for a black Range Rover used in the incident.

One or more gunmen in the apparently brand-new luxury sport utility vehicle opened fire on a silver Maserati being driven by 27-year-old Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. at the busy intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

NEVADA SEEKS JACKPOT WITH ACCEPTANCE OF ONLINE GAMBLING

Already home to a major gaming industry, Nevada is preparing to take its expertise online after officials rapidly approved a law to become the first state in the nation to authorize what could become one of the most lucrative gambling markets still to be tapped.

At the bill signing held in the same Capitol room where lawmakers legalized gambling some 80 years ago, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval formally put his signature to the law Thursday. By quickly moving the bill through the Legislature, Nevada gets ahead of rival New Jersey in the race to win the first slot in the online poker business, where billions of dollars are being wagered domestically and tens of billions of dollars are bet from around the world.

The Morning Report -- Wednesday January 23, 2013

House Defuses Debt -- Clinton Faces Congress -- Israeli Election Deadlock -- Gay Activists & Obama -- NRA Back On Offense -- North Korea To Up Nukes -- The Middle Class Hurt Most -- Shooting In Texas -- Beyonce Buzz

HOUSE GOP SEEKS TO DEFUSE DEBT CRISIS

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans are moving to try to defuse a potential debt crisis with legislation to prevent an economy-rattling fiscal crisis for at least three months. The GOP legislation marks a tactical retreat by House GOP leaders, eager to avoid a potential first-ever default on U.S. payment and debt obligations as they wrestle with President Barack Obama over taxes, spending and the deficit. 

For more visit the Associated Press. 

CLINTON TO FACE CONGRESS ON LIBYA ASSAULT

AP Photo/Win McNamee

AP Photo/Win McNamee

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton faces tough questions in her long-awaited congressional testimony concerning the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Clinton is the sole witness Wednesday at back-to-back hearings before the Senate and House foreign policy panels. They will cover the September raid, an independent panel's review that harshly criticized the State Department, and what the Obama administration is doing to beef up security at U.S. facilities worldwide.

For more visit the Associated Press.

ISRAELI ELECTION ENDS IN DRAMATIC DEADLOCK

AP Photo/Oded Balilty

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's parliamentary election ended Wednesday in a stunning deadlock between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc and center-left rivals, forcing the badly weakened leader to scramble to cobble together a coalition of parties from both camps, despite dramatically different views on Mideast peacemaking and other polarizing issues. Israeli media said that with 99.8 percent of votes counted, each bloc had 60 of parliament's 120 seats. Commentators said Netanyahu, who called early elections three months ago expecting easy victory, would be tapped to form the next government because the rival camp drew 12 of its 60 seats from Arab parties who traditionally neither are asked nor seek to join governing coalitions.

For more visit the Associated Press.

GAY ACTIVISTS LAUD OBAMA SPEECH, NOW WANT ACTION

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

NEW YORK (AP) - President Barack Obama's emphatic gay-rights advocacy in his inaugural address thrilled many activists. Yet almost immediately came the questions and exhortations as to what steps should be taken next. "I was very moved," said Jon Davidson, legal director of the gay-rights group Lambda Legal. "But there's a lot more to do in the four years to come. ... It's not like everything is fine."

For more visit the Associated Press.

AFTER UN ACTS NORTH KOREA VOWS TO BEEF UP NUKES

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea swiftly lashed out against the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its December launch of a long-range rocket, saying Wednesday that it will strengthen its military defenses - including its nuclear weaponry - in response. The defiant statement from North Korea's Foreign Ministry was issued hours after the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Pyongyang's Dec. 12 rocket launch as a violation of a ban against nuclear and missile activity. The resolution, which won approval from Pyongyang's ally and protector China after drawn-out discussions, also expanded sanctions against the North.

For more visit the Associated Press.

RECESSION, TECH KILL MIDDLE CLASS JOBS

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

NEW YORK (AP) - Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over. And the situation is even worse than it appears.

For more visit the Associated Press.

AUTHORITIES NEW MEXICO TEEN PLANNED MORE SHOOTINGS

AP Photo/Unknown

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The New Mexico teenager accused of gunning down five family members over the weekend ambushed his father as he returned home from an overnight shift at a rescue mission, then reloaded his rifles and planned to go to a Wal-Mart and randomly shoot people, authorities said Tuesday. Instead, 15-year-old Nehemiah Griego texted a picture of his dead mother to his 12-year-old girlfriend, then spent much of Saturday with the girl and her family, authorities said. That evening, the teen went to the church where his father had been a pastor, and Griego eventually confessed to killing his parents and three younger siblings.

For more visit the Associated Press.

NRA SAYS OBAMA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND GUN OWNERS

Evan Vucci, AP

National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told gun owners Tuesday that President Obama "doesn't understand you'' and wants a national registry of firearms in order to tax or confiscate the weapons.

"He doesn't understand you. He doesn't agree with the freedoms all of you cherish,'' LaPierre said at an evening gathering of a hunting and conservation foundation supporters in Reno. His dinner speech was aired on the NRA's website and in part by MSNBC.

For more visit the Detroit Free Press.

BEYONCE LIP-SYNC'S NATIONAL ANTHEM?

(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

Beyoncé has been widely praised for her beautiful rendition of the national anthem at Monday's presidential inauguration.

But even after seeing her triumphantly pull her earpiece out as she belted out the words, buzz is now bubbling up that the superstar wasn't singing it live.

For more visit USA Today.