By Lauren Weber
Tuesday November 18th, 2014
TOP STORIES
MISSOURI GOVERNOR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY As a grand jury prepares to hand down a decision on the indictment of officer Darren Wilson, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) declared a state of emergency. The National Guard has been activated, and the FBI is warning that violence is expected from extremist protesters. [HuffPost]
PUTIN, MERKEL TRADE BARBS "The leaders of Russia and Germany squared off over Ukraine from opposite sides of the globe, with Vladimir Putin warning that Moscow will not accept a defeat for the pro-Russian rebels and Angela Merkel accusing the Kremlin of undermining peace across Europe." World leaders, however, declined to press Russia with further sanctions. [AP]
PRESIDENT ORDERS HOSTAGE POLICY REVIEW The Obama administration is conducting an interagency review of their hostage policy in light of condemnations from hostages' family members, like James Foley's mother, who says the U.S. "failed" her son. [WSJ]
MEGA-MERGERS MAKE A COMEBACK With more than $100 billion worth of deals already announced, the markets are witnessing a prerecession number of mergers. [NYT]
EUROPE HOPES TO AVOID JAPAN'S RECESSION PULL "Fiscal belt-tightening and tax increases, while leaning on the central bank to pump money into the economy, was expected to help overcome a malaise." Sound familiar? Japan's strategy was supposed to be Europe's plan. But this strategy failed to stop Japan's dip into a recession, and now the EU is reconsidering its own route to recovery. [NYT]
EXECUTIVE ORDER ON IMMIGRATION: A REFERENDUM ON OBAMA'S PRIOR PROMISES "President Obama is poised to ignore stark warnings that executive action on immigration would amount to 'violating our laws' and would be 'very difficult to defend legally.' Those warnings came not from Republican lawmakers but from Mr. Obama himself." Here's a reminder on who would be affected by the executive action. [NYT]
NATIONAL COLD SNAP Temperatures hit record lows for mid-November as snow blanketed more than half of the U.S. yesterday. [USA Today]
WHAT'S BREWING
WITH SNAPCASH, YOUR MONEY DISAPPEARS EVEN FASTER Snapchat has paired up with Square to create Snapcash, a program where users can send each other cash. This pivot sets up the app for a lucrative future in the retail ad space. [Snapchat Blog]
WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH So thankfully J. Cole's new album drops December 9. [HuffPost]
NOT HIS DAY "The Today Show" showrunner Jamie Horowitz has been fired after ten weeks, as "The Today Show" continues to lose the ratings battle to "Good Morning America." [HuffPost]
LITERARY BUFFS REJOICE Jonathan Franzen's new novel, "Purity" comes out next September. [NYT]
ALL THE CUTE BRITS ARE TAKEN First Benedict Cumberbatch, and now Eddie Redmayne is gushing about his wedding plans. [Entertainment Tonight]
DE NIRO, J-LAW AND COOPER IN NEW DAVID O. RUSSELL FLICK? All but Bradley have signed on for a biopic of Joy Mangano, the Miracle Mop inventor. [Entertainment Weekly]
SNACK SMARTER, AND THEN YOU CAN SNACK HARDER A little trickery goes a long way. [HuffPost]
ON THE BLOG
SENATOR BOXER: 'ACT NOW ON IMMIGRATION' "Mr. President, I don't remember hearing one Republican in Congress complain when Republican presidents took executive action on immigration. I urge you to ignore the angry voices of the do-nothing crowd in Congress who have repeatedly blocked progress on immigration reform. If they really cared about fixing our broken immigration system, they would not be threatening to shut down the government or file wasteful lawsuits -- they would just do their job and pass comprehensive immigration reform." [HuffPost]
BEFORE YOU GO
~ Because life as an Uber rider isn't posh enough, now you can control your ride's music through Spotify.
~ Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi couldn't let Kim Kardashian have all the "Paper" fun.
~ Solange and her son's wedding dance proves smooth moves are inherited.
~ "Twilight" was first released six years ago -- feel old.
~ Sarah Hyland dyed her hair blond to bring out her own Sasha Fierce.
~ The holiday anthem we deserve: "Text Me Merry Christmas."
~ Meet the Marlins' $325 million-dollar-man.
~ Wikipedia: epidemic predictor?
~ "Vape" is the Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year.
~ You can finally get in on the YouTube paid subscription today.
~ Charles Manson, soon-to-be newlywed?
~ Your airport drink might get an upgrade.
~ And could Google Glass's future be less than rosy?
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