Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Hostage crisis in Algeria: “Kidnappers and at least some of their hostages were killed on Thursday as Algerian forces raided a gas facility where a heavily armed group of Islamist extremists was holding dozens of captives, including Americans and other foreigners, the Algerian government announced.”
* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the situation with reporters this afternoon.
* More good economic news: “Groundbreaking to build new homes accelerated in December to its fastest pace in over four years, supporting the view that housing is poised to provide a substantial boost to the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that starts at building sites for homes surged 12.1 percent last month to a 954,000-unit annual rate.”
* VAWA: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has several big-ticket items on his agenda this year — gun violence and comprehensive immigration reform among them — but he singled out one as his first priority: the Violence Against Women Act.”
* Replacing Lew: “Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough is expected to be named White House chief of staff, according to a source familiar with the process.” * Rewarding failure: “Fox News Channel is expected to announce shortly that Karl Rove has signed a multi-year deal to remain a Fox contributor through the 2016 election.” * The NRA doesn’t worry about keeping those on the federal terrorist watch list from buying guns because “there’s no evidence terrorists are buying guns.” Well, I guess that settles it. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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