News Round-Up: Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Two people are dead and another nine injured after a helicopter crashed into a crane Wednesday morning in a busy part of London. The helicopter hit the crane and then several vehicles on the ground before catching fire. “When I heard the explosion—it was like a little earthquake,” eyewitness Sarah-Beth Casey told The Telegraph.Interior Secretary Salazar to leave in March, http://rtvote.com/Wduf2M
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that he will leave President Obama’s cabinet at the end of March. Salazar, a former Colorado Senator, tried to focus his time on energy issues, but they ended up taking a backseat after the BP oil spill. A replacement has not yet been announced.

HOUSE APPROVES $50.7B FOR SANDY AID, http://rtvote.com/Wdv4bH
The House has approved $50.7 billion in aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Political leaders in New York and New Jersey pressured Congress to pass the legislation after House Speaker John Boehner pulled a bill that would provide relief to victims. The Senate will vote on the measure next Tuesday.

Six bombers attack Afghan spy agency, kill two, http://rtvote.com/13DEUIB
At least two people were killed and another 22 injured in attacks aimed at the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main spy agency. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near the entrance of the agency’s building. Shortly after, Afghan officials strapped to explosives fired shots while trying to enter the building. The Taliban sent a text message to the media about the attacks but did not outwardly claim responsibility for them.

All Nippon Airways has grounded all Boeing 787 Dreamliners after experiencing a multitude of problems with the aircrafts. On Wednesday in Japan, one of the flights made an emergency landing after a battery alarm alert went off. Last week, the FAA said it would investigate the 787s.Feds round up 27 in massive metro-area mob sweep, http://rtvote.com/13DqgSv
The FBI arrested 27 people in a Mafia raid in New York Wednesday morning. The arrests reportedly stemmed from an investigation into the Mafia’s control of the private garbage industry. The suspects are from three out of five mob families in the area.

In a press conference Wednesday, President Obama will announce gun-reform measures that he hopes to implement. The measures include a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as universal background checks. On Tuesday, New York passed its own gun reform laws, which the gun lobby has called “schemes.”

(via Reuters) Facebook search to generate revenue, no rival to Google – analysts, http://rtvote.com/13DIF0M
Facebook Inc’s new search tool has strong potential to generate revenue for the social networking company, though it is unlikely to challenge Google Inc as the world’s dominant search engine, Wall Street analysts said on Wednesday. Facebook’s “graph search” tool, rolled out on Tuesday, lets its more than 1 billion users trawl their network of friends to find everything from restaurants to movie recommendations and is the company’s biggest foray into online search.

Jessica Simpson Sitcom in the Works at NBC, http://rtvote.com/13DEKRz

Frank Ocean, Chely Wright Up for GLAAD Awards, http://rtvote.com/13DJ0k7

Honey Boo Boo’s Uncle Poodle Reveals He’s HIV Positive, http://rtvote.com/13DutFO

Jennifer Lawrence Explains Her ‘I Beat Meryl’ Golden Globes Comment, http://rtvote.com/13DJ82U

Justin Timberlake’s ‘Suit & Tie’ headed for huge debut, http://rtvote.com/13DuGcf

Caitlin Maguire Bio: Caitlin is the Marketing & Operations Manager for Rock the Vote @caitlinmagu Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com