Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
World War II’s Yalta Conference; O.J. Simpson found liable for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend; Patty Hearst kidnapped; the Massachusetts gay marriage ruling; aviator Charles Lindbergh born.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.
Breakfast News
Syria Peace Talks Are Suspended
The United Nations on Wednesday temporarily suspended the fledgling talks aimed at ending the war in Syria and called on the countries fueling the conflict to do more to yield results, as Syrian government forces sharply escalated an offensive on a strategic rebel-held city.
“I have concluded, frankly, that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but by the stakeholders,” the United Nations mediator, Staffan de Mistura, said after meeting with the opposition delegation on Wednesday evening at a Geneva hotel that serves as its headquarters.
Mr. de Mistura took pains to add that the pause did not mean “the end or the failure of the talks.” In a statement later in the evening, he suggested that the government’s failure to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Syria by allowing food and medicine into rebel-held towns had prevented any serious discussions.
Syrian refugees: world leaders aim to raise $9bn to reduce plight of millions
World leaders are heading to London for a conference aimed at raising $9bn for Syrian refugees and preventing the creation of a permanent underclass of uneducated, restless and jobless Syrians living in countries bordering their homeland.
Organisers want the aid to be diverted from food handouts towards work and education opportunities for Syrians in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
British officials acknowledge that unless refugees are offered the possibility of a better life both in and outside the camps, there is an increased risk that they will fall prey to extremism or give up waiting to return to their homeland, instead making the perilous journey to Europe. There is also a growing acceptance that countries neighbouring Syria cannot carry the burden without substantially more help.
Flint water crisis: Michigan officials ignored EPA warnings about toxicity
The Environmental Protection Agency warned of an unfolding toxic water crisis in Flint but was “met with resistance” by Michigan authorities, a fiery congressional hearing into the city’s public health disaster has heard.
Expert advice was dismissed, prompting Michigan’s government to issue an apology to the people of Flint at the hearing for sidelining people who raised concerns over dangerous levels of lead in in the city’s water.
Congress was also told that flawed water testing practices, now eliminated in Flint, are happening unchecked across the US, risking a much wider public health crisis in other cities.
A picture emerged at the hearing of failure, delay and resistance as state officials ignored scientists and kept the public in the dark about health risks. One senior official admitted there were still no guarantees that water was safe to drink, conceding: “We all let the people of Flint down.”
Julian Assange says he will ‘accept arrest’ on Friday if UN rules against him
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will agree to be arrested by British police on Friday if a UN investigation into his three years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in central London does not rule that he is being illegally detained.
In a statement issued by WikiLeaks on Twitter, Assange said: “Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.”
IRS computer problems shut down tax return e-file system
The IRS stopped accepting electronically filed tax returns Wednesday because of problems with some of its computer systems. The outage could affect refunds, but the agency said it doesn’t anticipate “major disruptions.”
A “hardware failure” forced the shutdown of several tax processing systems, including the e-file system, the IRS said in a statement. The IRS.gov website remains available, but “where’s my refund” and other services are not working.
Some systems will be out of service at least until Thursday, the agency said. “The IRS is currently in the process of making repairs and working to restore normal operations as soon as possible,” the IRS said.
Mammoth meat was never served at 1950s New York dinner, says researcher
Woolly mammoth was never served at a lavish 1950s New York dinner where rare and extinct species were trumpeted as being on the menu, a researcher has said after putting leftover meat through DNA analysis.
The Explorers Club soiree became folklore after it was said to have included 250,000-year-old extinct mammoth. Meat from a giant ground sloth was also promised.
But a DNA analysis from a fist-sized piece of meat kept as a souvenir showed something more mundane: sea turtle.
Breakfast Blogs
Ted Cruz Has More Than a Little Richard Nixon in Him Charles Pierce, Esquire Politics
If You Think Democrats Have The 2016 Election Locked Up, Read This Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog
In New Hampshire, TV Station Partners With Interest Groups That Push Candidates on War and Austerity Lee Fang, The Intercept
A little historical reminder for some people who may not remember digby aka Heather Digby Parton, Hullabaloo
Lenders’ Lies about Liar’s Loans and “Rigorous Underwriting” Bill Black, naked capitalism