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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Aug 26, 2014
August 26, 2014
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Today is Women's Equality Day, the anniversary of all U.S. women winning the right to vote in 1920 (19th Amendment signed). Per Marie Claire magazine, here's how women have rocked the vote over the years:
--1869: Wyoming becomes the first state to give women the vote.
--1916: Rep. JEANNETTE RANKIN (R-MT) is the first woman elected to Congress.
--33 percent: Eligible U.S. women who voted in 1920.
--64 percent: Eligible U.S. women who voted in 2012.
--$1000: Suffragette SUSAN B. ANTHONY's bail after she was arrested for voting in 1872 (about $20K today).
--1964: the last time more men than women voted for PresidentThe President at play:
Did PRESIDENT OBAMA wait too long to launch a failed rescue mission to try and grab American journalist JAMES FOLEY, who was recently murdered by ISIS jihadists? That's reportedly what happened, according to a story in the Sunday Times of London.
Pentagon sources tell the paper that Foley and others might well have been rescued but Obama was concerned about the ramifications of US troops being killed or captured in Syria and took too long to authorize the mission. ANTHONY SHAFFER, a former lieutenant-colonel in U.S. military intelligence who worked on covert operations, tells the Times, "I'm told it was almost a 30-day delay from when they said they wanted to go to when he finally gave the green light. They were ready to go in June to grab the guy (Foley) and they weren't permitted." (Pacelli)Fast Food:
McDonald's may be offering even more delectable cuisine. PerezHilton.com reports the burger giant, which also serves coffee drinks, salads and ice cream is testing out mozzarella sticks in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Word is the feedback is phenomenal --particularly because they're part of the Dollar Menu offerings, but a spokesperson claims it's "premature to speculate" on whether the McMarinara treats will be a permanent addition. (Lee)
On, off and way-off Broadway:
As we predicted last week, the departure of NEIL PATRICK HARRIS was enough to knock "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" out of the top-10 at the Broadway Box Office... down to 17th place.
Neil's star power was obviously the attraction with last week's box office take dropping by a huge 43 percent. And Playbill says the show is now barely making its nut at the Belasco Theatre.Today's police blotter:
Cops in Juneau, Alaska, locked down an area because of a possible bomb.
A local resident spotted a strange device near the road, causing cops to set up a protective perimeter. A highly trained officer with formal Explosive Ordnance Disposal experience was quickly dispatched. The bomb expert's taining paid off and he was able to immediately idenify the object: a Star Wars lightsaber toy. The device was retrieved and residents went back to their homes. (Still) -
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