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Thursday, February 8, 2018

Should government workers set their alarm clocks? TBD

 
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The Short List
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This again?

With the clock ticking toward a midnight funding deadline, the White House told federal agencies to prepare for a government shutdown as Congress had not yet approved a spending bill to keep the government open. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., temporarily blocked a vote Thursday evening on a bipartisan deal. Some fiscal conservatives are fuming and sure of one thing: They are getting boxed out on the bipartisan spending deal, and Republican leaders are not even trying to negotiate to get their vote. And some are not mincing words about how they feel.

What do you mean you can't Prime me organic freshly ground peanut butter?

Attention Whole Foods fans: You may want to set down your asparagus water for this one. Widespread shortages of everything from strawberries to canned beans have left shelves empty quicker than you can say "first world problems." The problem stems from a change in the upscale supermarket's inventory system. But don't blame Jeff Bezos. The new system was put in place before Amazon bought the supermarket chain for $13.7 billion in late August. While you're waiting for those gluten-free vegan cookies, set up an Amazon Prime account. Amazon is testing free, two-hour delivery from Whole Foods stores to Prime members in Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach, Va.

Who knew what when about accused abuser Rob Porter?

There's a lot we don't know about Rob Porter, who kept his high-profile job as White House staff secretary after his security clearance was held up:

Who knew about the allegations Porter abused two ex-wives?
When did President Trump and Chief of Staff John Kelly first become aware?
Did the alleged abuse come up in his FBI background check?

White House officials aren't saying much to clear the air. "His background investigation was ongoing," White House spokesman Raj Shah said Thursday. Kelly and Trump were not apprised of the "full nature" of the accusations until Wednesday, Shah said, but wouldn't detail when Kelly and others first learned about them. Porter has denied the allegations.

An impressive reason to dislike asparagus

What do asparagus, potatoes and seafood all have in common? A possible link to cancer. The foods have high levels of asparagine, an amino acid that researchers say may be linked to spreading cancer. A study of lab mice published in the journal Nature found that lowering levels of asparagine "dramatically" reduced the spread of triple-negative breast cancer. Don't give up your veggies just yet — more research is needed to see if the same results are reproduced in humans.

Flag feuds, tear-jerkers and how to watch the Olympics without cable

Long-track speedskater Shani Davis won't be carrying the U.S. flag during Friday's opening ceremony for the Olympics, and he's not happy about it. In fact, he may not even walk at the ceremony . Team representatives from each U.S. Winter Games federation were split on who to pick and a tie-breaking coin toss gave the honor to luge athlete Erin Hamlin. We're also talking about ...

Moms are superheroes, and these two Olympian siblings made us sniffle with this 'thank you' video to theirs.
No cable? No problem. Here are other ways you can tune in to the Games.

Amal is amazing. George says he always knew it.

Amal Clooney was a star long before she married George. The accomplished international human rights lawyer made a name fighting abuse and genocide before she met the actor at a dinner party in Italy in 2013. So how does an actor make a social justice warrior swoon? Ask her to drop by while you're recording a movie score with a 150-piece orchestra. Via George: "I said, 'You should come to Abbey Road' and Amal's like, 'Well, I'm at the Muslim Brotherhood right now but I'll come over right after.'" The rest, as they say, is history. See Amal and George through the years. 




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