A political signal is sent

November 14, 2013 - Daily News Briefing

The Affordable Care Act is in trouble. That’s not news.

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted during a heated City Council debate Wednesday that he had bought illegal drugs in the past two years, but he firmly refused to step down even after nearly every councilor stood up to ask him to take a leave of absence. The mayor made the confession under direct questioning by a former ally, Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong. Ford publicly admitted last week that he smoked crack cocaine last year in a “drunken stupor.”

Syrian troops captured a contested suburb of Damascus on Wednesday as the government forged ahead with a punishing military offensive that already has taken four other opposition strongholds south of the capital, state media said. For more than a year, much of the belt of neighborhoods and towns just south of Damascus has been a rebel bastion and a key arms conduit for the opposition.

Putting a statistic on disappointment, the Obama administration revealed Wednesday that fewer than 27,000 people signed up for private health insurance last month in the 36 states relying on a problem-filled federal website. States running their own enrollment systems did better, signing up more than 79,000, for a total enrollment of over 106,000.

The families of people killed by South Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger and his gang finally got the chance Wednesday to tell Bulger how his long reign of terror damaged their lives, calling him a “terrorist.” A stone-faced Bulger refused to look at them, again declared his trial a sham, and didn’t take his opportunity to address the judge. His back to the families, Bulger stared straight ahead and scribbled on a legal pad. Judge Denise Casper is slated to hand down Bulger’s sentence today.

Medford, Ore.’s police chief says more federal agents are arriving to help investigate the detonation of an explosive device that damaged the Jackson County prosecutor’s office. Police Chief Tim George also said Wednesday he considers the early-morning explosion an act of domestic terrorism, but the FBI said it was too early to call it that. No one was hurt in the blast.

The Smithsonian Institution launched a new 3D scanning and printing initiative Wednesday to make more of its massive collection accessible to schools, researchers, and the public worldwide. A small team has begun creating 3D models of some key objects representing the breadth of the 137 million objects kept in the collection of the world’s largest museum complex.

Egypt’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, accused the military chief who deposed him of treason in a message from prison read by lawyers on Wednesday, saying the country cannot return to stability until the coup is reversed and those behind it are tried. The statement was part of a bid by Morsi to rally his supporters since his emergence from the secret military detention where he had been held, with virtually no contact with the outside world since his July 3 ouster.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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