 |  | 
January 14, 2012 | | DEJA VU Up against a vulnerable incumbent, Republicans are set to pick a rich, bloodless Bay Stater as their nominee—just as Democrats did when they lost in 2004. But Michelle Cottle says Romney has a few crucial virtues that Kerry didn't. SINKING A cruise ship carrying 4,200 on board ran aground near the Italian island of Giglio late Friday, killing at least three. The Costa Concordia reportedly hit a sand bank by the island, sustained a 160-foot tear in its hull, and tipped into the cold water. An emergency operation using helicopters was underway to rescue those on board, though "scores" are reportedly still missing. Passengers said that the lights went out during dinnertime, and people rushed for lifeboats as the ship leaded to its side. Some survivors blamed the disorder on the crew, who they said lacked an emergency plan. NBC News reports that 129 Americans were onboard. HAVE/EAT CAKE It’s easy to take the high road when you helped build the low road. Republican candidate Newt Gingrich is asking that the film that shows Mitt Romney as a corporate takeover artist and job killer be edited to fix errors or removed entirely. The film, which covers Romney’s time at the private equity firm Bain, was made by the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future, whose members say that they’ll only alter the film if Mitt addresses some of their questions. The harsh nature and widely-reported errors in the film have pushed many to ask Gingrich to denounce it. It also brings in to question the power of super PACS, who sometimes run as many ads per day as the candidates they support. VOTE Now this is great voter turnout. Taiwanese polls closed Saturday, as an estimated 80 percent of the 18 million eligible voters turned out to choose the next president. Incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou's Kuomintang party has declared victory over the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen and James Soong with a comfortable margin of 51.9 percent to 45.3 percent, though not all votes have been counted yet. On the eve of the election, Ma and Tsai were deadlocked. The win for the pro-China Kuomintang gives the incumbent a renewed mandate for closer ties with the mainland, as tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased over the last few years. IT'S ABOUT TIME Qatar¹s Emir has had enough of the violence. In an interview to be aired on 60 Minutes, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became the first Arab leader to ask for troops to be deployed in Syria. Qatar has always criticized the Assad regime for the chaos that has roiled Syria for 10 months. The calls come as the Arab League warned of civil war in the nation. Saturday, a Lebanese man was reportedly killed after being struck by a bullet, and troops opened fire at a checkpoint in Homs, killing two. Since March, an estimated 5,000 people have been killed and another 5,000 have fled to Lebanon. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment