TEMECULA, Calif. — A moderate earthquake struck early Monday in a remote area of the Cleveland National Forest in northern San Diego County. There were no reports of damage or injury. The magnitude-4.1 temblor struck at 4:35 a.m. about 10 miles north of the Palomar Observatory and about 20 miles east of the Riverside County community of Temecula, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by a magnitude-3.8 aftershock five hours later, the USGS said. The observatory was closed when the quake struck. The quake was felt from San Diego to Palm Desert, said Caltech seismologist Anthony Guarino. (Read the full post about ‘Quake Hits Remote California Area’…)
Capitol Watch has a great piece about a looming primary in Waterbury between board of aldermen president Paul Vance and Mayor Mike Jarjura. Vance has been planning this run since at least last July, when he announced his intentions. It’s unclear whether Jarjura will run again, but if he does Vance will almost certainly face him in a primary. Here’s a snippet:
“Some days he’s in, some days he’s out,” Vance said. “He told me after last election, he’s done.” But if Jarjura indeed runs again, Vance indicated he’s prepared for the possibility of a primary next year: “Any job worth having is worth applying for.” […] “Waterbury always has primaries.
According to an article in the Huffington Post, President-elect Obama has informed party leaders that he’d rather not see Joe Lieberman exiled to Republican ranks:
President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.
Obama’s decision could tie the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been negotiating to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee while keeping him within the caucus.
More on the jockeying for position in the House, and the fortunes of Rep. John Larson, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen decides to stay as DCCC chair.
With Van Hollen taking himself out of the race to replace Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Pelosi avoids a fight for the number four position. The job is now virtually assured to go to Emanuel’s vice chairman, Connecticut Congressman John Larson.
Larson now has the opportunity to become one of the highest-ranked members of the House from Connecticut. Jonathan Trumbull Jr. was Speaker of the House back in the 1790s, and Rep. John Q.
It seems like we ask this question every two years. Democrats walked away with huge wins last week, leaving Connecticut Republicans without a member of Congress in either house for the first time since the 1965-67 session, when Democrats Daddario, St. Onge, Giaimo, Irwin, Monagan and Grabowski were in the House, and Thomas Dodd and Abe Ribicoff were in the Senate. Since then, they’ve had at least one member, and most years they’ve had more (though never more than four)–until now. In the House the GOP is down to 37 seats from 44, and back to 12 after a brief fling with 13. All the state constitutional offices save Governor and Lt. Governor are controlled by Democrats. What now? (Read the full post about ‘For GOP, What Now?’…)
NEW YORK — Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has unloaded a painting for $13.5 million.The 1982 painting “Untitled (Boxer)” by Jean-Michel Basquiat was sold at auction in New York this week.Christie’s auction house did not identify the buyer.The painter shows a black heavyweight fighter with his arms in the air in front of a background of graffiti. Before the auction, it was expected to bring in $12 million. (Read the full post about ‘Metallica Drummer Sells Painting For $13.5M’…)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Police said a laid-off worker returned to his former office in Northern California and fatally shot three people.
Santa Clara police are searching for 47-year-old Jing Wu after the shooting Friday afternoon. They won’t release the name of the company that had apparently laid him off.
Lt. Mike Sellers said the shooting happened just before 4 p.m. The victims are two men and one woman.
Police told KCRA-TV in Sacramento the bodies were found in Building 7 of the office complex.
Sellers said Wu is about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, and may have been driving a silver Mountaineer SUV.
BOSTON — First dog Barney is a nippy little thing. He’s apparently bitten two White House visitors. Boston Celtics public relations director Heather Walker disclosed Friday that Barney bit her on the wrist and drew blood in September as she tried to pat the Scottish terrier. Walker was at the White House for a ceremony honoring the team’s 17th NBA championship. She told The Associated Press it was “very strange.” She didn’t expect him to bite her. Just last week, Barney made news when he bit a reporter’s finger as the reporter reached out to pet the seemingly docile dog. A spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush said she didn’t know about the Walker incident and can’t comment on it. Previous Stories (Read the full post about ‘Turns Out White House Dog Is Repeat Offender’…)
WASHINGTON — A federal safety board has decided the probable cause of last year’s deadly collapse of a Minneapolis bridge was a design flaw that went unnoticed for 40 years.
The National Transportation Safety Board voted unanimously Friday that the highway bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River because of the failure of steel plates connecting the bridge’s beams. The board said the plates weren’t the required thickness.
They said federal and state officials were also to blame for not catching the problem.
