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| TOP STORIES |
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| After midterm romp, GOP hopefuls lining up for 2016 |
| With no front-runner in the party, more than a dozen senators and governors are rushing to attract supporters. |
| WorldViews: Tower of London’s stunning poppy installation creates national sensation |
| The poppy exhibition at the Tower of London commemorates soldiers who died in the First World War. |
| 2 Americans freed by North Korea back in U.S. |
| Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper won the release of Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae. |
| Rabbi accused of voyeurism presents a disturbing paradox |
| Almost since his arrival in D.C., Rabbi Barry Freundel has elicited intense feelings — from opposite directions. |
| FBI agent’s transgressions puts suspected dealers back on streets |
| Matthew Lowry’s actions laid waste to a police sting operation that stretched from coast to coast. |
| Nominee Lynch called ‘the soul of grace under pressure’ |
| President Obama’s choice to be the next attorney general has a long history with Eric Holder and his wife. |
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| POLITICS |
| Obama, Xi to meet in Beijing amid political and economic strains |
| When President Obama arrives in Beijing on Monday for his first visit since 2009, Chinese President Xi Jinping will welcome him with all the pomp of a state visit. That evening, fireworks will open a meeting of Asia Pacific leaders. Read full article >> |
| Deconstructing the ‘decline’ of health-care spending |
| “Health care inflation has gone down every single year since the law [the Affordable Care Act] passed, so that we now have the lowest increase in health-care costs in 50 years—which is saving us about $180 billion in reduced overall costs to the federal government and in the Medicare program.” — President Obama, news conference, Nov. 5 Read full article >> |
| Romney tells Israeli Americans Obama is ‘divisive and dictatorial and demeaning’ |
| “I know you’re not one to say, ‘I told you so,’ ” Mitt Romney’s former senior foreign policy advisor, Dan Senor, told his old boss, onstage and among friends at the Israeli American Council’s inaugural conference dinner at the Washington Hilton on Friday night. “So I’ll say it for you.’’ Read full article >> |
| OPINIONS |
| Obama’s big immigration mistake |
| Back in July, when President Obama was deciding whether to take executive action on immigration before the midterm elections, I got into one of those cable-news debates that offer the president unsolicited advice from the unqualified. Read full article >> |
| Which Republican Party won the midterms? |
| So what happens when a party that has defined itself as an insurgent outlier, scornful of compromise and dismissive of the legitimacy of its opposition, actually takes charge in Washington? The Republicans now control both the Senate and the House. The people have spoken — and loudly. Mitch McConnell is exultant, finally achieving a lifetime goal. The new majority leader will get a wonderful office with a better view of the Mall, a nicer car and the ability to control the agenda on the Senate floor. But he will also get a deeply divided party and a constant headache trying to keep all of his colleagues in town to vote, especially with several of them on the presidential campaign trail, raising cash and appealing to the most extreme elements of the base. Read full article >> |
| Ban Ki-moon: The Ebola fight is far from over |
| The Ebola outbreak is moving into a new phase that, in many ways, requires even greater attention and action than it has to this point. In addition to fears about the reach of the unforgiving virus and the spread of unfounded global panic, another concern has been added to the list: declaring “mission accomplished” too soon. Read full article >> |
| LOCAL |
| With new Congress, D.C. region is losing clout |
| When veteran Virginia congressmen James P. Moran, a Democrat, and Frank R. Wolf, a Republican, announced their plans to retire, then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had a plan to mitigate the damage. He would make the case that the commonwealth should get one and possibly two new seats on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Read full article >> |
| D.C. area forecast: Early-week warming trend precedes late-week winter chill |
| WEATHER GANG | A late-week Arctic blast is coming — but first some warmer and sunny skies. |
| Psychologist in Prince Rams custody case paying mother $550,000 legal settlement |
| The mother of a 15-month-old boy who died while on a visit to his father in Manassas in 2012 will be paid a $550,000 wrongful death settlement from the psychologist who testified that it was safe to leave the boy with his father, Joaquin Rams. Read full article >> |
| SPORTS |
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| Capitals beat Blackhawks, 3-2, to end five-game skid |
| CHICAGO — Barry Trotz entered the visitor’s locker room at United Center without a victory speech in mind. Since the Washington Capitals last won nearly two weeks ago, their coach had spoken so much about staying true to the process, preached so often about remaining patient, that now words escaped him. So Trotz kept it simple. He congratulated several players. He relished the applause. He walked away as his players hollered, bidding farewell to the skid and cheering some newfound prosperity. Read full article >> |
| Bernard Hopkins, 49, seeks to unify third title against 31-year-old Sergey Kovalev |
They say 40 is the new 30. Well, in Bernard Hopkins’s case, 50 can knock out 30 and any other age he pleases. The 49-year-old boxer is gearing up to win and unify a third title belt on Saturday, when he will take on formidable Russian light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1). Kovelev, 31, is the favorite with 4/11 odds, compared with Hopkins’s 2/1, according to PaddyPower.com. That said, Hopkins isn’t going to make it easy. He also might win.
Read full article >> |
| FEDERAL GOVERNMENT |
| Investigators: Nepotism was rampant with U.S. immigration court’s interns |
| Federal investigators found rampant nepotism in recent years within the agency that oversees U.S. immigration courts, including three top officials who used their positions to help relatives land paid internships. Read full article >> |
| Some fed-worker health plans to cover sex changes and transgender care next year |
| Federal workers will be eligible for sex-change operations next year through some of the government’s employee health-insurance plans. Aetna, which participates in the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, announced last month that it will cover gender-reassignment surgeries for federal employee members in all 50 states. Read full article >> |
| VA chief considering disciplinary action for up to 1,000 employees |
| Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald is considering disciplinary action for up to 1,000 employees at the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, he told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview scheduled to air Sunday. Read full article >> |
| WORLD |
| Map: The countries that recognize Palestine as a state |
Last week, Sweden became the 135th member of the United Nations to officially recognize Palestine as an independent state. The act sparked a tetchy diplomatic incident with Israel, which WorldViews discussed here. Read full article >> |
| 2 Americans freed by North Korea back in U.S. |
| The last two Americans being held prisoner by North Korea have been released and allowed to return home after an extraordinary trip to that isolated nation’s capital by the United States’ top intelligence official, U.S. officials said Saturday. Read full article >> |
| With exercises in Asia, U.S. Army searches for relevance |
| CAMP KITA-ENIWA, JAPAN — First came the whistle, then the thud and the plumes of dust as the “mortar” landed in the area where the “enemy” had been spotted. The Japanese soldiers, having bundled out of tanks so they could lie in wait behind clumps of tall grass, then let loose. Two American Apache helicopters came in low to avoid detection, then suddenly soared up to (pretend to) unleash their weaponry on the enemy forces. Read full article >> |
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| BUSINESS |
| Santa Muerte’s promise of prosperity |
Every morning before opening her shop to customers, Cristina Perez says “buenos días” to a green-cloaked, three-foot skeleton covered in dollar bills — offerings folded in triangles and taped to the statue. Big money Revenue from Holy Death products has skyrocketed at Victor & Son Distributors, a wholesale company with factories in Miami and New York. $10,000 in 2004 $350,000 in 2014 Read full article >> |
| When it comes to car loans, it pays to stay in the fast lane |
| There are some things you want to run long. I like two-week vacations, so I can have time to wind down. A week is just not enough. If you’re an investor, the best thing going is that you have a long time to let your money work for you. Read full article >> |
| Significance of secular market should not be underestimated |
| People who work in specialized fields seem to have their own language. Practitioners develop a shorthand to communicate among themselves. The jargon can almost sound like a foreign language. Finance is filled with colorful phrases such as “Spoos,” “Vol,” “Monte Carlo simulation,” and “Gaussian Copula.” In these columns, I try to eschew the usual Wall Street jargon. But I have used the phrase “secular cycles” (most recently here), and a reader recently called me on it. To redress that error, this week I will discuss what a secular — vs. cyclical — market is, its significance and what it might mean to your portfolios. Read full article >> |
| TECHNOLOGY |
| U.S., European authorities strike against Internet’s black markets |
| U.S. and European law enforcement agencies Friday announced the largest strike ever against the Internet’s thriving black markets, shutting down more than 400 sites and arresting 17 people for allegedly selling drugs, weapons and illegal services to anonymous buyers worldwide. Read full article >> |
| Up-vote all you want, but the Internet isn’t a democracy |
The front page of The Washington Post is carefully plotted by a small team of people with very particular and unyielding tastes. The front page of the Internet, it turns out, may not be all that different. Read full article >> |
| Disney movies, now playing on Android devices |
| Disney movies, now playing on Android If you’re a fan of Disney on the really small screen, then you’ll be happy to hear that the company has added support for its online movie service, Disney Movies Anywhere, to allow you to watch films on your Android devices. Previously, the Disney app had only given iOS users the option to stream or download movies from its 450-title collection. The added support means that not only can users watch movies on nearly every mobile phone and tablet, but they can buy a movie just once and watch it on any device they own. (As long, that is, as they download the app.) Read full article >> |
| LIFESTYLE |
| ‘Getting On’ season 2: Hilarious medicine, in a weaker dose |
| “Getting On” was a nice little surprise when it took a six-episode spin late last year on HBO. It’s a morbid comedy set in the Billy Barnes Extended Care Unit at Mt. Palms, a fictitious Southern California hospital. In a neglected wing of the building, a small staff is tasked with the care of elderly patients, most of whom are clearly making their last stop before kicking the inevitable bucket. Read full article >> |
| Tension-inducing Swedish comedy ‘Force Majeure’ lays bare a man’s cowardice |
| Movies thrive on heroes. Real life is more cowardly. The new Swedish comedy “Force Majeure” appreciates this, as the shameful frailties of human nature yield a bounty of cringe-inducing moments, and the delicate bonds of a superficially happy marriage get tangled and untethered in the aftermath of a sudden, shocking occurrence. Read full article >> |
| Lisa Kudrow returns to her role on ‘The Comeback’ almost a decade later |
| Today marks the unlikely comeback for Lisa Kudrow’s dark series “The Comeback.” When it first aired on HBO in 2005, the comedy about a fading sitcom star struggling to revive her career with a bit role in a bad new show and a reality show about the process was “happening exactly how I thought it was going to happen,” Kudrow says, “Which was: slow build.” Read full article >> |
