Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Arizona may impose tough anti-immigration measures. Among them, in a law enacted last year, is a requirement that the police there question people they stop about their immigration status.
All-time warmest Autumn in Boston
In last Friday’s weather discussion, Austin DiOrio noted that this November was the second-warmest November recorded at Logan Airport. This fits in with the fact that this autumn (September-October-November) broke the record for all-time warmest autumn, with an average temperature of 58.5°F. This is 4°F above normal, and above the previous record of 58.3°F set in 1931. December started out warm as well, with the high temperatures on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of last week a whopping 18°F, 17°F, and 15°F, respectively, above normal. The past few days however, have seen a return to more seasonable temperatures, a trend that will continue today and tomorrow before a brief excursion into the low 50s on Thursday. Looking further ahead, the weekend looks to be chilly with highs in the mid 30s — good weather for staying inside and studying for finals!
Shorts (right)
COARSEGOLD, Calif. — The bottom line of the six-page, single-spaced letter that Nancy Dondero and about 50 of her relatives received last month was brutally simple: “It is the decision by a majority of the Tribal Council, that you are hereby disenrolled.”
Republican bill would benefit doctor-owned hospitals
WASHINGTON — The House Republican bill to hold down payroll taxes and extend unemployment benefits, coming up for a vote Tuesday, offers a special dispensation to doctors who invest in hospitals.
British regulator takes partial blame for RBS failure
LONDON — Britain’s financial regulator said Monday that it was partly to blame for the failure of Royal Bank of Scotland, and it proposed new preventive measures, including holding bank executives more accountable for bad decisions.
Shorts (right)
BEIRUT — A pipeline carrying oil to a refinery in the tense Syrian city of Homs was blown up Thursday, activists and the official Syrian news agency said, casting a huge pillar of black smoke over the city’s cloudy horizon.
T weighs options on fare increases
A single subway ride could soar to $3.25, a monthly bus and subway pass could hit $80, and a commuter rail pass from the farthest suburbs could climb to $338 under one proposal prepared for the MBTA to balance its budget, according to documents obtained by the Globe Wednesday.
2 dead in shooting on Virginia Tech campus
Two people, including a police officer, are dead after a shooting Thursday afternoon on the campus of Virginia Tech, the scene of a 2007 massacre in which 33 people were killed, university officials said.
Obama backs Sebelius stance on morning-after pill
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, who took office pledging to put science ahead of politics, averted a skirmish with conservatives in the nation’s culture wars Thursday by endorsing his health secretary’s decision to block over-the-counter sales of an after-sex contraceptive pill to girls younger than 17.
Shorts (left)
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of inciting unrest in Russia, as he grappled with the prospect of large-scale political protest for the first time in his more than decade-long rule.
Clinton warns against restricting internet access
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other international leaders urged countries and private businesses on Thursday to fight increasing efforts to restrict access to the Internet by repressive governments and even some democratic ones.
Cool, dry weather to persist after record rain
Wednesday’s miserable weather proved to be a record-setter here in the Boston area. Logan airport reported a Dec. 7-record 1.60 inches of rain, breaking the old high mark of 1.15” set back in 1959.
Central bank lowers rates but dashes hopes
BRUSSELS — A move by Europe’s central bank to bolster the region’s economy was overshadowed by worries that political leaders will not act boldly enough to contain the region’s debt crisis at a two-day summit meeting that began here on Thursday.
As stakes rise, Newt Gingrich seeks deep pockets
With just four weeks to go until the Republican primary season begins, Newt Gingrich spent his Monday not on the hustings of Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, but in Midtown Manhattan, prospecting for what his newly resurgent campaign needs most desperately: money.
Iran warns that penalties could mean soaring oil prices
Alarmed by the possibility of new Western penalties that could abruptly reduce or even halt its oil exports, Iran issued a warning Monday that crude oil prices could more than double to $250 a barrel if such sanctions were given serious consideration.
Shorts (left)
MADISON, Wis. — As states and cities struggle to resolve paralyzing budget shortfalls by sending workers on unpaid furloughs, freezing salaries and extracting larger contributions for health benefits and pensions, a growing number of public-sector workers are finding fewer reasons to stay.
US adds 120,000 jobs; rate drops to 8.6 percent
The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years in November, despite the many global crises batting against the economy.
United Russia’s losses may affect Putin’s presidential bid
MOSCOW — Vladimir V. Putin was not the subject of Sunday’s bruising vote in Russia, but you would not have known it from watching him when the early results came in. He looked like someone who has just received very bad news, and stumbled his way through a speech to his supporters, barely forcing a smile before stepping off the podium.
Shorts (right)
Standard & Poor’s on Monday warned that it may strip the eurozone’s two biggest economies, Germany and France, of their top-notch AAA credit ratings as a result of the continent’s economic crisis. The agency also said the ratings of 13 other eurozone countries were vulnerable.
Return to seasonal temps
While the usual temperature range in Cambridge for this time of year is between 31°F and 45°F, yesterday we saw highs over 60°F, and today will reach a similar high. However, with a low pressure system moving over the region, precipitation will increase and temperatures will drop closer to average over the next few days.