The Olympic hope for peace

February 07, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

The original Olympics were accompanied by a truce among the Greek city-states.

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The stock market had its best day this year, nearly erasing the steep losses from early this week. The gains came after encouraging news on the US job market and Disney and other companies reported solid earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 188 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 15628 Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 21 points, also 1.2 percent, to 1773. The Nasdaq composite gained 45 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4057.

State-run Syrian TV says an agreement has been reached to evacuate civilians from besieged parts of the central city of Homs. The TV network quotes Homs Gov. Talal Barrazi as saying the deal was reached with the United Nations to evacuate the civilians “very soon.” It did not give further details.

North Korea threatened Thursday to cancel reunions of Korean War-divided families because of upcoming US-South Korean military drills and accused the US of raising tensions by flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers near the Korean Peninsula. The apparent about-face a day after the rival Koreas agreed on dates for the emotional meetings fits a pattern analysts describe of North Korea pulling back until it gets what it wants.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans spent a second day without electricity Thursday as utility crews from as far away as Canada and Arkansas scrambled to restore power lost when a heavy coating of ice took down trees and limbs in the mid-Atlantic. Forecasters said a bone-chilling cold would remain in place for days. In Pennsylvania, where most of the outages were located, officials likened the scope of the damage to that caused by a hurricane.

Senate Republicans narrowly blocked the advance of legislation to restore benefits for the long-term unemployed on Thursday for the second time in less than a month, and Democrats said they intended to call yet another vote on the issue. The measure called for a three-month renewal of an expired program that provided up to 47 weeks of federal benefits when state-paid aid runs out, generally after 26 weeks.

The House approved a wide-ranging public lands bill Thursday that would speed logging of trees burned in last year’s massive Rim Fire in California.

The Obama administration is considering an extension of the president’s decision to let people keep their individual insurance policies even if they are not compliant with the health-care overhaul, industry and government officials said Thursday.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of a Syrian prison Thursday and rebels stormed in behind him, freeing hundreds of inmates as part of an offensive aimed at capturing key government symbols around the northern city of Aleppo. Government forces, meanwhile, dropped crude “barrel bombs” in deadly airstrikes as both sides escalated their fight for the strategic city ahead of a second round of peace talks set for next week.

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.

The House approved a wide-ranging public lands bill Thursday that would speed logging of trees burned in last year’s massive Rim Fire in California.

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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