By Lauren Weber
Thursday February 12th, 2015
TOP STORIES
UKRAINE PEACE AGREEMENT REACHED "European leaders announced Thursday that a cease-fire deal beginning Sunday had been agreed for eastern Ukraine and that the warring sides had committed to pulling back heavy weaponry from the front line, although powerful disagreements remain over the grinding conflict. After more than 15 hours of non-stop overnight negotiations in Belarus, Minsk, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France broke without signing a more comprehensive peace agreement, however -- a sign of the difficulty of the negotiations. That raised questions about the durability of any deal." The IMF has also approved a $17.5 billion bailout for the country. [WaPo]
ALL YOUR EMAILS OVER SIX MONTHS OLD ARE FAIR GAME FOR THE GOVERNMENT "The federal government can read any emails that are more than six months old without a warrant. Little known to most Americans, ambiguous language in a communications law passed in 1986 extends Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure only to electronic communications sent or received fewer than 180 days ago. The language, known as the '180-day rule,' allows government officials to treat any emails, text messages or documents stored on remote servers -- popularly known as the cloud -- as 'abandoned' and therefore accessible using administrative subpoena power, a tactic that critics say circumvents due process." [McClatchy]
FBI DIRECTOR TO ADDRESS RACE RELATIONS IN SPEECH "The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, on Thursday will wade into the national debate about the relationship between police officers and African-Americans that was highlighted by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., in August. It will be the first time one of the bureau’s directors has publicly addressed the issue of race at length." [NYT]
OUTRAGE FOLLOWING CHAPEL HILL SHOOTINGS "A simmering dispute over parking may have provoked Tuesday's triple homicide in a North Carolina college town, authorities said. But police in Chapel Hill said they had no inkling of the animosity among neighbors until the violence. Police have charged Craig Hicks, 46, with three counts of first-degree murder in the shootings of Muslim students Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; Barakat's wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19." Worldwide social media outrage has resulted in the viral hashtag, #MuslimLivesMatter, and prayer vigils are planned across the country. [HuffPost]
'60 MINUTES' CORRESPONDENT BOB SIMON DEAD AT 73 The legendary correspondent and foreign reporter died from injuries sustained in a car accident last night. He is survived by his wife and daughter. [HuffPost]
HOUSE PASSES SENATE'S KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE BILL President Obama is expected to veto the bill, which proposes a pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. [HuffPost]
THREE WIN $564 MILLION POWERBALL The lucky winners of the fifth largest lottery prize in U.S. history hail from Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Texas. [HuffPost]
WHAT’S BREWING
YOU CAN NOW LEAVE YOUR FACEBOOK TO SOMEONE Your "legacy contact" can decide what to do with your social media account after your death. [USA Today]
NETFLIX LEAKED 'HOUSE OF CARDS' TWO WEEKS EARLY It was live for all of 20 minutes, but you can read all the episode descriptions. [HuffPost]
KANYE + T-SWIFT = WIN WIN The two are teaming up in the studio, and somewhere Katy Perry is fuming. [HuffPost]
THE FIRST CLIP OF DANIEL CRAIG IN 'SPECTRE' Boy does Bond look good. [USA Today]
FOUR UNRELEASED SPICE GIRLS SONGS LEAKED Make it last forever. [Vulture]
HBOGO A 'PREMIUM PRODUCT' "To be priced accordingly" says HBO's top brass. Better hope they don't start cracking down on passwords … [Variety]
WATCHING WAR CRIMES FROM SPACE "Human rights satellite imaging takes place within a geography of closed territories and open skies -- the geography of a world in which repressive regimes can prevent reporting of any human rights abuse and surveillance satellites can report freely on every such abuse." [The Atlantic]
COUNTING SHEEP NOT CUTTING IT? Fall asleep faster with these breathing exercises. [HuffPost]
ON THE BLOG
MY FIFTEEN-DAY-OLD SON MAY HAVE MEASLES "You know what vaccines protect your children from? Pain. Suffering. Irreparable harm. Death. And you would be the first to line up if you had an inkling of what the death of a child feels like. You would be crawling through the streets on your hands and knees, begging, begging to get that vaccine into your precious babies because that is what I would have done, if I could, to save my daughter. The fact is, there was no vaccine for her. Not for her illness. And she died. She died at age five and a half, and she is gone. So, Griffin is now Schrödinger's baby. Simultaneously with measles, and without it. Until he develops symptoms, or until a further 7 days pass. One or other." [HuffPost]
BEFORE YOU GO
~ Need to zone out? Watch this popcorn pop in slow-motion.
~ 40 years of Saturday Night Live backstage photos.
~ That time llamas took over Vogue's homepage.
~ The best day to buy your flights is 47 days before you travel.
~ The former Korean Air executive who flew into a rage over the serving of her peanuts on a flight has been sentenced to a year in prison.
~ A sandwich toasting trick for the ages.
~ Break out that pocketbook: here are 12 private islands you can actually afford (maybe).
~ Behind a three-parent in vitro process.
~ Judd Apatow's latest movie "Trainwreck" looks pretty darn fantastic -- and it stars LeBron.
~ Laverne Cox of "Orange is the New Black" fame landed a prime time role designed for a transgender actress.
~ A first look at Cinderella's wedding gown.
~ After that Super Bowl performance (Katy Perry who?), Missy Elliott is back in the studio with Timbaland.
~ When you let your toddler style you for a week, magic happens.
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