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The shooting at a congressional baseball practice reminds us of something we too often forget: We are one country, and we’re all in this together. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR BOMB TEST
CAMPAIGN 2016
Birthers are back!: Ted Cruz birtherism is officially a thing now, after Donald Trump said he wasn’t sure Cruz – who was born in Canada to an American mom – was even eligible to be president. And John McCain of all people agrees with Trump, saying it’s “worth looking into.” Remember, McCain faced his own birther questions during his 2008 run because he was born in Panama (but on a U.S. military base). Another reason why McCain is jumping into the fray: he pretty much hates Cruz’s guts.
OBAMACARE
GERMANY ASSAULTS
Bad advice: Germans were shocked by New Year’s Eve sex assaults and muggings in a number of cities. Groups of men of Arab or North African descent preyed upon women out celebrating the holiday. More than 100 complaints were filed in Cologne, while dozens of other attacks were reported in Hamburg and Stuttgart. The whole thing has reignited the debate over Germany’s open embrace of migrants. And Cologne’s mayor is in hot water after advising yesterday that women protect themselves by holding strange men at “an arm’s length.” Pfui!
In pictures: Aung San Suu Kyi
FINANCIAL MARKETS
Winter’s coming: Brace yourselves, investors. It’s probably going to be another crappy day. Once again things started off badly this morning in China, where stock trading was halted just 30 minutes after markets there took a 5% dive. Over here, the Dow dropped 252 points yesterday, as Wall Street tried to absorb not only the Chinese turmoil, but also North Korea’s alleged nuke test along with the latest belly flop in oil prices. It’s the Dow’s worst start to the trading year since 2008, and we all remember how great that turned out.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
That’s billion with a B
Bill Gates says he memorized employees’ license plate numbers to keep tabs on when they came and left work. Not cool, dude.
The show must go on
Vanessa Hudgens sang and danced through last night’s “Grease: Live” with a heavy heart: her father died of cancer the night before.
Like a boss
The video of 1-year-old Sloan hitting the slops like a pro will make you question all your accomplishments.
Oh buoy
This is an actual hotel in South Korea. The rest are even weirder.
Yes, it is a snake. A pregnant, poisonous eastern brown roosting under your refrigerator, relying on the radiation to incubate its eggs.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s happening today.
1.4 million. That’s how many people just in the U.S. who’ve been scammed out of their life savings after falling for letters from a psychic named Maria Duval. Even though governments around the world have tried to stop the fraud, not a single one has been successful. Starting today, our friends at CNNMoney goes in search of Duval, the face behind one of the biggest cons in history.
Just like how the Ebola virus scared the heck out of us in 2014, Zika virus has us spooked in 2016. The WHO holds an emergency meeting today to figure out how to stop the darned thing.
AND FINALLY …
A Canadian family takes 35 Great Danes for a walk in the snow. It’s as chaotic and cute as you’d expect.