No-Huddle News

World News

·The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has been shelved by Congress and is dead in the water. The outcry from the public (many tipped off from the blackouts of sites such as wikipedia and reddit) actually trumped the many millions of dollars shelled out by corporate lobbyists. Seen as a victory for free speech and expression, the shelving of SOPA leaves the Internet safe from government-controlled censorship.

(Crap; may have spoken too soon…http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/26/meet-sopas-evil-twin-acta/?iid=T_Blogs)

·After nearly 10 months of brutal conflict between protesters and security/military forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the United Nations is discussing a draft resolution calling for the resignation of the Syrian president. The outcry over al-Assad's brutal crackdown on defectors and protesters is only growing as the days and months pass by. Syrian military defectors have formed the "Free Syrian Army" and are attempting to control several suburbs in the capital city of Damascus. 

About 100 people ransacked the Syrian embassy in Cairo, Egypt Friday in protest of al-Assad. The Syrian president is facing pressure to step down even from fellow-Muslim countries such as Morocco, who called for al-Assad to hand his powers over to his vice president. Anywhere between 5,000 and 7,000 people (largely civilians) have been killed since the upheaval began, including 60 more Friday.

·Political and economic sanctions over Iran's nuclear program (and its true intent) have pushed tensions between the Middle Eastern nation and the U.S. (plus its Western allies) to the brink of conflict. Recent Iranian threats to blockade the Strait of Hormuz are the most serious threats to a peaceful resolution yet. In his State of the Union address delivered Tuesday, president Obama stated of the situation, "Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better."

National News

·The GOP went toe-to-toe in Florida Thursday night during the most recent primary debate. Mitt Romney once again emerged as the front-runner after a terrible outing in South Carolina. The candidates avoided serving up any sitcom-esque blunders or slapstick to the blogosphere, but Newt Gingrich got the most vacant stares with his out-of-nowhere proposal to put a space colony on the moon within the time-frame of his possible presidency.

(Don't listen to the doubters Newt! This guy is behind you 100%! Reach for those stars! Oh and take Sarah Palin and the cast of "Two Broke Girls" with you.)

·President Obama gave what will be his last State of the Union Address before going up for reelection. In a fiery and optimism-laden address, Obama laid out the future of the country according to him should he be brought back for another term. Chief concerns were the economy, job creation (including the negatives of outsourcing), fair trade, the tax code, Iran and foreign affairs, energy production, and the renewal of the American Dream.

A great video of the complete address with helpful graphics can be found here.

Boston/Suffolk News

·If somebody calls you offering a wonderful sum of money or a prize, just be smart and hang up. Scammers have been instructing people via phone to buy a Green Dot Money Pack credit card and call the suspect back with the serial number information in order to claim the alleged prize. Once the scammer has the serial number, they essentially have the card, and you then get to wonder (if you're a bit slow that is) why the credit card you haven't used is accruing debt. 

(I want to believe no one fell for this, I really do.)

The second scam that has gained notoriety lately is quite a bit more devious. A number of people called Mayor Thomas Menino's office Thursday reporting a Rhode Island security company were offering to install free home security systems on behalf of the city. Once in the house, scammers would get the resident's credit card and social security information and then sign the resident up for monthly maintenance charges. Officials say Boston has no affiliation with the company involved in the scam.

(Now this one is a bit more understanding to fall victim to. From what I read the scammers had legit trucks and paperwork. It doesn't change the fact though that any time something is labeled "free" certain red flags should be raised. Especially when you are asked for personal information.)

·After an initiate from an unnamed youth coalition, the MBTA will be removing all ads selling alcoholic beverages in its T stations and from its trains. The coalition stated encouragement of healthy behavior as their reason. To many this is a seemingly senseless move for the already-eyeball-deep-in-debt transportation agency. Brian Kane, budget and policy analyst for the MBTA Advisory Board, sums up that point of view well in response to the ban. "It doesn't mean they won't see it [alcohol] on other media everyday. It's just going to cost the T $1.5 million every year that they really need."