Ukrainian troops repel rebels
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine – As Ukrainian troops fought Monday to defend a strategic railway hub, Russian-backed separatists pledged to boost the size of their force, and Washington pondered whether to expand its assistance to Ukraine to include lethal aid.
President Barack Obama so far has opposed sending lethal assistance, but an upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine has spurred the White House to take a fresh look at supplying Ukraine with such aid, a senior administration official said.
Since the unrest in eastern Ukraine surged anew in early January, the separatists have made notable strides in clawing territory away from the government in Kiev. Their main offensive now is directed at Debaltseve – a government-held railway junction once populated by 25,000 people that lies between the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Almost 2,000 residents have fled in the last few days alone.
Rebel forces have mounted multiple assaults on government positions in Debaltseve but all were repelled, a spokesman for Ukrainian military operations in the east, Andriy Lysenko, said Monday.
Super Bowl sets new viewing high marks
NEW YORK – An estimated 114.4 million people watched New England’s thrilling win over Seattle, making it the fifth time in six years that a Super Bowl game has set a record for the most-watched event in U.S. television history.
The viewership eclipses the 112.2 million who watched Seattle beat Denver in the 2014 game, the Nielsen company said. The game also set standards for online and social media.
But that finish – a circus catch to put the Seahawks on the doorstep of a last-minute win and a game-saving interception by the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler – kept viewers glued to the tube. An estimated 120.3 million people were watching during the last 10 minutes that the game was being shown, Nielsen said.
The ratings attest to the continued strength of the NFL as a television property despite a year of controversy over the league’s response to domestic violence and also to the ongoing power of live events to bring viewers together before their televisions.
GM death toll rises to at least 51 people
DETROIT – The families of 51 people who died in crashes caused by faulty ignition switches in small General Motors cars will get payments from a company fund, but others will have to wait months for decisions on thousands of new claims.
Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg also deemed 77 people injured in crashes as eligible for payments from the fund, which received at least 4,180 claims by a Saturday deadline, including more than 1,100 in the last week.
But attorneys, lawmakers and at least one family member say some were forced to settle with Feinberg rather than run the risk that they would not be able to sue GM because of its 2009 bankruptcy agreement.
Falling oil prices raise alarm in N.D.
WATFORD CITY, N.D. – High crude prices catapulted North Dakota into the top tier of the global oil market and doubled or tripled the size of once-sleepy towns that suddenly had to accommodate a small army of petroleum workers.
But now that those prices have tumbled, the shifting oil market threatens to put the industry and local governments on a collision course. Farming and ranching communities that committed to building homes, roads and schools for the swelling population are worried about how they will pay for those improvements as oil-related tax revenue evaporates.
“Everyone is asking the same question: ‘Holy cats, where do we go from here?’” said Dean Bangsund, an economist at North Dakota State University who has tried to help oil-rich McKenzie County gauge its needs, with an eye toward balancing growth against revenues. But none of his economic models was pessimistic enough to match how low oil prices dropped.
Christie pro-choice for vaccinations
TRENTON, New Jersey – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday parents should have some choice on whether to vaccinate their children, a position he’s taken before but one that drew a new level of attention amid a U.S. measles outbreak and his recent moves toward running for president.
The political significance of Christie’s remarks was amplified by his office a short time later, when it released a statement saying the governor believes “with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated.”
Christie’s stumble into the vaccine issue came as a measles outbreak centered in California has sickened more than 100 people in several states and Mexico, putting a new spotlight on parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. Some do so for philosophical or religious reasons, while others cite a concern that vaccines can lead to autism and developmental disorders – a link debunked by rigorous medical research.
Associated Press
Korea and U.S. have ‘talks about talks’
TOKYO – North Korea and the United States actively have been discussing the possibility of returning to de-nuclearization talks, raising the prospect of a new round of diplomacy even as Washington takes a tougher line against Pyongyang.
The countries’ nuclear envoys have been discussing the idea of “talks about talks,” according to multiple people with knowledge of the conversations. But they have not been able to agree on the logistics – in no small part because of North Korea’s continuing Ebola quarantine.
“We want to test if they have an interest in resuming negotiations,” a senior U.S. administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “I think we’ve made it very clear that we would like to see them take some steps first.”
Washington Post
