Not war, but not without consequences

March 14, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

Despite escalating tensions, the West won’t go to war over Ukraine.

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The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said Thursday it had agreed to halt a wave of rocket fire on Israel, signaling an end to the heaviest fighting between the sides since 2012, though soon after the announcement seven rockets fired from Gaza exploded inside Israel. The Islamic Jihad denied it launched the attack and it wasn’t immediately clear who fired the rockets. Cease-fire declarations have not always been honored by militants, and the barrage raised doubts about the cease-fire offer.

Seeking to influence workers’ incomes when possible, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum Thursday directing the Labor Department to devise new overtime rules that would make more workers eligible for time-and-a-half pay for their extra hours of work. The memorandum does not specify what the rules or new salary thresholds should be, leaving the rulemaking to the Labor Department. A proposed rule is not expected until the fall.

US retail sales bounced back in February after suffering a steep decline during a bitterly cold January. Shoppers spent more on autos, clothing and furniture. The Commerce Department said Thursday that seasonally adjusted retail sales rose 0.3 percent in February. Spending had fallen 0.6 percent in January, revised down from the 0.4 percent decline initially reported. Retail spending also fell 0.3 percent in December.

A late-season storm dumped more than two feet of snow on parts of northern New England before finally tapering off Thursday to end a trek that dashed hopes of spring, caused deadly pileups in Ohio and left numbing cold in its wake.

Even while the exact cause remains unknown, a deadly blast that leveled two Manhattan buildings served by a 127-year-old gas main has provided a jarring reminder of just how old and vulnerable much of the infrastructure is in New York and many other cities nationwide. A detailed report issued only a day before Wednesday’s explosion in East Harlem estimates that $47 billion is needed for repairs and replacement over the next five years.

Russia conducted new military maneuvers near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, and President Vladimir Putin said the world shouldn’t blame his country for what he called Ukraine’s “internal crisis.”

Dozens of gunmen on motorbikes have killed more than 100 villagers in an ongoing conflict over land in northern Nigeria, survivors said Thursday. The attacks, which began Tuesday night, left scores of people fleeing on foot from the four targeted villages about 110 miles south of Katsina city.

A journalist on trial in Britain’s phone hacking scandal testified Thursday that Princess Diana provided him with information on the royals, including a phone directory, as part of her feud with her estranged husband, Prince Charles. Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman said Diana handed over the data after her separation from Charles.

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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