Joining today's show are Mike Barnicle, Nicolle Wallace, Sam Stein, Kasie Hunt, Katty Kay, Richard Haass, Harold Ford Jr., Chuck Todd, Robert Costa, Hallie Jackson, Nancy Kaffer, Jason Tanz, Brian Sullivan, Jim Wallis, Eddie Glaude, Amb. Tim Roemer and as reported yesterday here, the Dolphin Project Founder/Director Richard O'Barry has been detained by immigration in Tokyo for what is over 30 hours as of now.#IStandWithRicOBarry #DolphinProject.
CNN/WMUR Poll: Sanders trouncing Clinton in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders' lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire is on the rise, with the Vermont senator leading the former secretary of state by 27 points, 60% to 33%, a new CNN/WMUR poll has found.
The new poll, mostly conducted before Sunday night's debate, found Sanders' support has grown by 10 points since a late-November/early December CNN/WMUR poll, which found Sanders holding 50% to Clinton's 40%.
New Hampshire Democrats' views on the race are solidifying as well, with 52% saying they have definitely decided who they will support, up from 36% who felt that way in early December. Among those voters, Sanders holds an even broader 64% to 35% lead.
But the Vermont senator's support rests heavily on groups whose participation in New Hampshire primaries is less reliable -- notably younger voters and those who aren't registered Democrats.
There are some signs in the poll that the increasingly contested Democratic race is gaining attention among the state's undeclared voters, who are not registered as members of any party and are able to choose which party's primary they will participate in. In the December poll, 38% of undeclared voters who said they planned to vote said they would likely participate in the Democratic primary, a figure that is up to 48% in the new poll.
Those undeclared voters are critical to Sanders' support: 70% in the new poll say they plan to vote for him, 25% Clinton. Among registered Democrats, it's 50% Sanders to 41% Clinton. Still, that represents an increase for Sanders among registered Democrats. The December poll found him trailing Clinton, 47% to 40%, among that group.
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Sanders' rise in the poll comes as New Hampshire voters' focus on national security has faded.
The previous poll -- conducted in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Paris and as the attack in San Bernardino, California, unfolded -- found 23% of likely Democratic voters calling foreign policy and national security their top issue. That faded to 13% in the new poll, while the share naming the economy and jobs their top priority has climbed from 18% to 26%.
On the economy, New Hampshire voters now clearly give Sanders the edge over Clinton as the candidate more trusted to handle it: 57% say Sanders would best handle it vs. 33% for Clinton.
That's a massive shift since last summer, just as Sanders' campaign began to gain traction. In that poll, 37% said they preferred Clinton on the economy, 28% Sanders, and 22% were unsure which candidate would best handle that issue. In the new poll, Clinton maintains a broad lead over Sanders as the more trusted candidate when it comes to ISIS, 55% Clinton to 26% Sanders, about the same as in early December.
Sanders also has astonishingly high favorability ratings among those likely to vote in New Hampshire's Democratic primary, and is broadly seen as the candidate with the "personal characteristics and qualities that you think a president should have."
Overall, 91% say they have a favorable view of Sanders, while just 2% have an unfavorable opinion. That's improved since December, when 83% had a positive take on the neighboring state's senator. Almost 6-in-10 say they see Sanders as the more presidential candidate in the field, compared to 33% for Clinton.
While Clinton is also viewed positively, her numbers lag well behind Sanders' ratings, with 65% saying they have a favorable impression of the former secretary of state. The poll suggests Clinton continues to be dogged by questions about her honesty, with the share saying she is the least honest in the field now at 55%, up from 46% in December.
The CNN/WMUR poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center by telephone from January 13-18. The poll includes interviews with a random sample of 927 adult residents of New Hampshire, including 420 who say they plan to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. For results among the sample of likely Democratic primary voters, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.
Alarmed Clinton supporters begin focusing on Sanders' socialist beliefs. Democrats backing Hillary Clinton, nervously eyeing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ growing strength in the early nominating states, are turning to a new strategy to raise doubts about his candidacy, highlighting his socialist beliefs to warn that he would be an electoral disaster who would frighten swing voters and send Democrats in tight congressional and governor’s races to defeat.
It is a scenario many Democrats long dismissed as even remotely plausible: the 74-year-old Sanders, a registered independent who self-identifies as a democratic socialist, as their nominee. But the possibility of his defeating Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire next month has prompted some of her prominent supporters to discuss how they could attack Sanders if his candidacy began to look less like a threat and more like a runaway train: calling him unelectable and warning that Republicans would have a field day if he were the Democratic nominee.
“Here in the heartland, we like our politicians in the mainstream, and he is not — he’s a socialist,” said Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri, who is term-limited and working to elect a Democratic successor. “He’s entitled to his positions, and it’s a big-tent party, but as far as having him at the top of the ticket, it would be a meltdown all the way down the ballot.”
And after months of ignoring Republican cheerleading for Sanders, Clinton’s campaign has started aggressively highlighting how much the opposition is openly providing him aid and comfort — mostly recently in a new ad by Karl Rove’s group American Crossroads that echoes Sanders’ attacks on Clinton’s ties to Wall Street.
“Republicans and their ‘super PACs’ have made clear the candidate they’re actually afraid to face,” said Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director.
Sanders, for his part, has taken to highlighting polls that show him faring better than Clinton against some of the Republican candidates, and his aides insist that voters will look past labels to consider his record, ideas and proposals.
Yet Clinton herself has begun urging activists in Iowa to consider “electability and how we make sure we have a Democrat going back into that White House on Jan. 20, 2017.” And her supporters, with the campaign’s blessing, are aggressively moving to sow doubts about Sanders’ viability, a tactic aimed at alarming primary voters concerned about retaining the presidency and regaining the Senate.
For all the authorized fear-mongering, though, it is clear that few Democrats seeking re-election this year relish the prospect of running with Sanders on top of the ticket.
“It wouldn’t be helpful outside Vermont, Massachusetts, Berkeley, Palo Alto and Ann Arbor,” said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
Not many Democratic leaders believe they will ultimately face such a scenario, even if Sanders did take a 27-point lead over Clinton in a CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll released Tuesday. Yet their willingness to consider it underscores the uncertainty hanging over the race — and the growing frustration among Clinton’s supporters, who say her leading rival has received little scrutiny from the news media or Republicans.
“The Republicans won’t touch him because they can’t wait to run an ad with a hammer and sickle,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a supporter of Clinton’s.
Sanders and his supporters deny that he would be a drag on other Democratic candidates. And Tad Devine, Sanders’ consultant, recalled another election when Clinton’s supporters said her primary opponent was unelectable. “This is all so reminiscent about what they said about Obama in 2008,” he said.
Instead, he framed the primary as a choice between a candidate who is inspiring younger, new and independent voters or one running a 1990s-era race, focused on suburban swing voters, seizing the middle ground on issues like taxes and pushing “incremental change.”
As for the socialist label, Devine said: “Voters are going to be bombarded with a phenomenal amount of information about him, his life, his political philosophy and his plans, and they’re not going to let that word stop them from looking at him and considering him.”
Yet after largely ignoring Sanders as he raised tens of millions of dollars and built a robust grass-roots following, mainstream Democrats are now following Clinton’s lead.
“I can tell you, as somebody who ran the Democratic Governors Association, that candidates in purple states would face serious problems with him on top of the ticket,” said Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, referring to the most politically competitive states.
“Having somebody who is identified more as a socialist in many decades of public service than as a Democrat makes it impossible for Democrats in a state like Missouri,” McCaskill said of her state, which could have competitive races for governor and senator this fall. “And it makes it very difficult for Democrats in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida,” she added, referring to states where some of the hardest-fought Senate races will take place.
Some Democrats are even talking openly about a kind of cautionary Democratic attack on Sanders, to show how much the party could be harmed if he were the nominee and Republicans got to sink their teeth into him.
“Some third party will say, ‘This is what the first ad of the general election is going to look like,’” said James Carville, the longtime Clinton adviser, envisioning a commercial savaging Sanders for supporting tax increases and single-payer health care. “Once you get the nomination, they are not going to play nice.”
After the ranks of Democrats in Congress and state capitols thinned under President Barack Obama, the party’s standard-bearer is no small issue. Democrats need at least four seats to win the Senate, and their hopes are promising largely because the races will be fought in states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Nevada and Pennsylvania, which tend to vote for Democratic presidents or at least be hotly contested. They are unlikely to recapture the House, but they could pick up as many as a dozen seats under good conditions. And the outcome of at least five governor’s races will be determined in part by the national political environment.
A Sanders-led ticket generates two sets of fears among Clinton supporters: that other Democratic candidates could be linked to his staunchly liberal views, particularly his call to raise taxes, even on middle-class families, to help finance his universal health care plan; and that more mainstream Democrats would have to answer to voters uneasy about what it means to be a European-style social democrat.
“Hillary Clinton doesn’t have to explain socialism to suburban voters,” said Rep. Steve Israel of New York, the former head of the campaign arm for House Democrats, whose hardest-fought races this year include districts outside Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago.
House Democrats got a taste of those challenges last fall. As many of their candidates met in Washington with consultants, donors and reporters, word leaked that Sanders was to give a speech explaining what it means to be a democratic socialist. “We had candidates and consultants calling us, emailing us, saying: ‘What do we say about this? How do we explain this?’” recalled a House Democratic official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to intervene in the presidential race.
The official drafted a mock question-and-answer memo.
“Senator Sanders has caught fire in the Democratic primary. He is a democratic socialist. Are you a democratic socialist?” went one of the questions. “No,” was the recommended response.
Another question asked the difference between a Democrat and a socialist. Candidates were urged to express pride in being a Democrat but also belief in capitalism and small businesses, “the engine of our economy.”
To some Democrats, efforts to portray their party as extremist would be made easier were they to nominate a left-wing crusader.
“The things Republicans lied about when they attacked the president would be more true with Bernie in terms of how far left he is,” Markell said.
And Matthew Miller, a former top aide at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Sanders would be burdened with the two most glaring vulnerabilities of Republicans Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. “He is hard to see as president, like Trump, and his politics are so far to the left, like Cruz’s are to the right.”
As for whether Democrats risked turning off Sanders’ legion of youthful supporters by assailing his electability, McCaskill said the party would have no trouble healing.
“Six months ago there was a lot of nervousness about keeping the party united and walking gently because we didn’t want to offend millennials and progressives,” she said. “But I think Ted or Trump are going to take care of our need to be united.”
A new poll of Florida Republicans shows Donald Trump opening his biggest lead in the Sunshine State. The poll, from Florida Times-Union and Fox35, has Trump in first place, with 31 percent support, twelve points higher than Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)97%, who is in second place with 19 percent.
Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)79%
are locked in a battle for third, with Bush edging Rubio 13 percent to 12 percent. Rubio’s standing in this poll represents a 3 point decline from the Times-Union poll in December.
The Times-Union poll was conducted Sunday, after the Republican debate last week in Charleston. Nearly 70 percent of those interviewed for the poll reported watching the GOP debate.
Opinions of who won the debate closely match the head-to-head results. Nearly 37 percent of Republicans said Trump won the debate, while 25 percent said Cruz won the debate. The 12 point spread separating Trump and Cruz on debate performance is the same margin between them on a hypothetical vote.
Perhaps the most interesting finding is that the combined vote for Rubio and Bush is just 25 percent in their home state. This would put them below Trump and just slightly ahead of Cruz.
The findings are a serious blow to attempts by Florida Republicans, who moved the primary in a bid to help Bush or Rubio.
Florida moved its Presidential primary to March 15th, the first date at which primaries can be conducted under “winner-take-all” rules. Prior to March 15th, delegates in primaries and caucuses are awarded proportionally, i.e. even candidates finishing in second or third place can win delegates.
With “winner-take-all” rules in place, Florida, with 99 delegates, represents potentially the richest prize of delegates of all the early voting states. Even if Bush or Rubio failed to gain significant traction in other early voting states, taking all of Florida’s delegates could potentially have evened the delegate count.
That plan, obviously, lies in tatters. In a cruel twist, the Florida primary may end up killing off the campaign of either or both of the state’s native sons. It is especially telling that, even if their votes were combined, the support in Florida for Bush and Rubio wouldn’t be enough to prevent Trump from winning the state.
The combined vote of Rubio and Bush might not even be enough to ensure that one of them defeats Ted Cruz for second. Of course, unlike the states voting before Florida, coming in second in the Sunshine State is meaningless.
The wave of support for outsiders for the nomination is drowning more mainstream candidates across the country. Together, Trump, Cruz, and Ben Carson command 57 percent of the vote among Florida Republicans. This is more than double the support for Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, in their own state.
That is the 2016 Republican primary distilled.
Marco Rubio Encourages People To Buy Guns, Because ISIS. Marco Rubio bought a gun to be ‘last line of defense between ISIS and my family’.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he bought a gun on Christmas Eve to protect his family from Islamic State militants.
“I have a right to protect my family,” Rubio said in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us. In fact, if ISIS were to visit us or our communities at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability I have to protect my family from them or from a criminal or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way.”
In recent weeks, Rubio has been campaigning hard on the Second Amendment issue.
“The Second Amendment is not a suggestion,” Rubio said at last week’s Republican presidential debate. “It is a right.”
The Florida senator’s campaign wasted no time in trying to capitalize on his gun-liner.
During last week’s debate, Rubio took aim at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, accusing his GOP rival of flip-flopping on a variety of issues, including immigration, trade, defense — even crop insurance.
On Sunday, Rubio found another: Cruz’s critique of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s “New York values.”
“He raises money in New York and then criticizes New York values,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “He didn’t say that when he was there raising money. He says that in one state and then said something different in another. And time and again, it’s proven the sort of level of political calculation that voters are only starting to find out about now as the campaign gets deeper and more heated.”
Gunmen Storm Pakistan University, Shoot at Least 80: Official. Gunmen stormed a university in northwest Pakistan Wednesday morning, killing some 20 people and injuring around 60, according to a local lawmaker.
"There was heavy fog in the area when armed men entered ... and started firing at the security guards, students and teachers" at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, regional police chief Saeed Wazir said.
Eyewitnesses told local media the gunmen chanted "Allahu Akbar" — or "God is greatest" — as they launched the attack in classrooms and dormitories.
Shaukat Yousafzai, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), told NBC News that 20 people had been killed by the attackers, who scaled the walls around the campus. Some students and faculty were also taken hostage, he said.
AsimBajwa
Charsadda Update:clearance of university block by block continues by Army troops.No firing being heard
Four of the gunman were killed during an exchange of gunfire with security forces, according to military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Salim Bajwa. At least two of the attackers were wearing suicide vests they were not able to detonate, he added.
Student Bakhtiar Khan said he saw four militants firing at the security guards.
"They shot [and] injured three security guards and one of them later went to block number one, another climbed to upper floor of the building and the third one went towards administration block," he said.
Survivor Aizaz Khan thought he was hearing a fight when shooting started.
"We heard firing from the back of the campus," the student told Reuters. "Then the firing increased. Then we said, 'Get into the rooms — don't go out.' Then the security forces came. They showed great bravery."
Police chief Wazir said some of the students had been rescued from their dorms.
Bacha Khan University is named after Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a prominent progressive politician and champion of women's rights. Wednesday is the anniversary of his 1988 death.
Vice Chancellor Fazle Rahim Marwat said 3,000 students are enrolled at the university. There were move people than usual on campus on Wednesday because the school was holding a poetry symposium to honor Khan, professors told NBC News.
Authorities had been warned about the possibility of an attack about two weeks ago and had increased security at the site, an official said speaking on condition of anonymity told NBC News.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was "personally monitoring the situation" in Charsadda, according to a statement issued by his office.
"We are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland," he said in a statement. Sharif was attending the World Economic Forum (WEF), the annual gathering of world business and political leaders held in Davos, Switzerland.
While a Taliban commander initially claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesman for the group later denied the militants had been involved.
"This is a reaction to extrajudicial killing of our people by the Pakistani security agencies," Khalifa Omar Mansour, the head of the Pakistani Taliban's (TTP) military wing, told NBC News over the telephone as he took responsibility for directing the siege.
According to the Taliban, Mansour directed the December 2014 siege of the Army Public School in Peshawar that left 143 students and several soldiers dead. Peshawar is some 20 miles south of Bacha Khan University.
However, Muhammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the TTP, said on Twitter that the group "strongly" condemned the move.
Carson staffer dies in Iowa van accident. A 25-year-old staffer for Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson died Tuesday in a car accident that also injured three campaign volunteers. Carson suspended his campaign for the remainder of the day and planned to travel to Omaha where Braden Joplin was being treated at Nebraska Medical Center's trauma center.
The campaign confirmed Tuesday evening that Joplin died as the result of his injuries.
"Braden Joplin died following an auto accident on slick roads near Atlantic, Iowa," the campaign said in a statement. "Three other passengers in the van were treated and released from a hospital in Atlantic, but Joplin's injuries were severe, and he was brought to Nebraska Medical Center's trauma center in critical condition for treatment."
Rest In Peace Braden Joplin. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Carson released a statement Monday night saying it was a privilege to know Joplin.
"One of the precious few joys of campaigning is the privilege of meeting bright young men and women who are so enthusiastic about their country that they will freely give of their time and energy to work on its behalf. America lost one of those bright young men today," Carson said. "I had the privilege of knowing Braden Joplin personally, and am filled with a deep and profound sadness at his passing."
Carson also canceled campaign events for Wednesday.
"We unfortunately had some tragedy in our campaign today," Carson told CNN affiliate WCIV in Charleston, South Carolina, where he had been campaigning. "One of the vans in Iowa, with one of our staffers and three student volunteers, hit a patch of ice, flipped on its side, (and) was hit by another vehicle."
Iowa State Police Sgt. Nathan Ludwig told CNN that the accident happened on I-80 near Atlantic around 9:45 a.m. CT when the driver lost control of the van after attempting to change lanes. The van traveled through the median and was broadsided by a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck.
The campaign said three of the passengers, including the campaign staffer driving, were examined and released from Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, Iowa.
Earlier on Tuesday, Carson said he had spoken with a neurosurgeon who was attending to Joplin. Carson also said he had spoken with Joplin's family.
Carson's Iowa state director, Ryan Rhodes, asked for prayers in a Facebook post.
"Today is one of those days where it's about more than politics please pray for Braden a dedicated volunteer who put his heart and soul into this effort. Somehow the words Trust in God mean more now than can be expressed," he wrote.
Rivals offer thoughts, condolences
Several of Carson's GOP rivals offered their support over Twitter.
"Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the @RealBenCarson staffers injured in a car accident in Iowa. By His stripes, we are healed. Is. 53:5," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted.
Ted Cruz
Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the @RealBenCarson staffers injured in a car accident in Iowa. By His stripes, we are healed. Is. 53:5.
"Thoughts & prayers with @RealBenCarson's volunteers & staff- involved in a car accident this morning," tweeted Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's campaign manager.
Corey Lewandowski
Thoughts & prayers with @RealBenCarson's volunteers & staff- involved in a car accident this morning.
"Just heard about the serious car accident involving @RealBenCarson staff and volunteers. Please join me in praying for them," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted.
Marco Rubio
Just heard about the serious car accident involving @RealBenCarson staff and volunteers. Please join me in praying for them.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to @RealBenCarson, his campaign staff and their volunteers today. Praying for quick recoveries," former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum tweeted.
Rick Santorum
Our thoughts and prayers go out to @RealBenCarson, his campaign staff and their volunteers today. Praying for quick recoveries!
CNN's Tal Kopan, Janet DiGiacomo and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
Americans freed by Iran over the weekend reunited with their families at a US military base in Germany, but relatives of another hostage expressed serious disappointment he had not been released.
Tehran released four Iranian-American dual nationals, some of whom had been held for years, in a prisoner swap, while a fifth American was freed separately.
In exchange, Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians. And it withdrew international arrest notices for 14 Iranians.
The prisoner swap came as the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Iran had put a nuclear bomb beyond its immediate reach and the US and EU lifted their most draconian economic sanctions.
US diplomats insisted, to widespread skepticism, that the two breakthroughs were entirely separate.
On Monday, three of the freed Americans were receiving medical checkups at US military facilities in Landstuhl, Germany.
Relatives and supporters of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Marine veteran Amir Hekmati saw them for the first time since being released and shared group photographs.
The family of Saeed Abedini was expected to arrive later.
The fourth freed Iranian-American, named as Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, apparently chose to remain in Iran. Very little is publicly known about him.
- 'Feeling good' -
Rezaian, 39, told his editors he was "feeling good" physically as he met with them for the first time since his release from Iran's notorious Evin prison following a July 2014 arrest, The Washington Post reported.
In a photograph released by the paper, the usually portly Rezaian appeared to have lost a significant amount of weight.
"I want people to know that physically I'm feeling good," Rezaian told the Post, dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
"I know people are eager to hear from me, but I want to process this for some time."
The Post noted that recovery in similar cases can take months or even years.
Relatives met with Hekmati for about 15 minutes, along with Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan, according to a family statement.
On his Twitter feed, Kildee shared what he said was a personal message from Hekmati.
"Dear Mr President, thank you for making my freedom and reunion with my family possible. I'm humbled that you were personally involved in my case and proud to have you as my president," the message read.
The American released separately, Matthew Trevithick, returned home to Massachusetts on Sunday for an emotional reunion with his family after 40 days in prison, according to The Boston Globe.
His detention was not publicly acknowledged until his release.
"We're very excited. We were happy to hear Matt's voice today. We are thrilled he is out of Iran," his mother Amelia Newcomb told CBS Boston before his arrival.
But amid all the rejoicing and teary-eyed reunions, one family was left deeply disappointed.
"Why did Iran prisoner swap not include my father?" asked Sarah Moriarty, daughter of ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson, who has been missing for nine years.
Speaking on behalf of her "crushed and outraged" family, Moriarty denounced "the calculated risk that was taken to decide that five hostages were enough for this deal."
"A deadline to wrap up everything about our current relations with Iran in a pretty bow on January 16... meant to our family that our government was satisfied with leaving my father behind. Again," Moriarty added.
Futures Drop, Global Stocks Slide on Oil Rout. As of 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 320 points lower, or 2.02% to 15592. S&P 500 futures dropped 37 points, or 1.96% to 1836, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 88 points, or 2.12% to 4057.
(The following is the original story published by Dow Jones Newswires)
Global stocks resumed their recent selloff Wednesday as oil prices sank to a 12-year low and resurgent concerns about global growth snapped a brief bout of stabilization in financial markets.
Shares in Asia and Europe were sharply lower and investors favored perceived havens such as the yen, gold and U.S. Treasurys.
Analysts said investors were spooked by further declines in oil prices and a lack of stimulus announcements from Beijing in the wake of data released Tuesday showing slowing growth.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 3% in early trade, bringing losses for the year close to 12%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.7% to enter a bear market, as the dollar lost 0.6% against the yen to Yen116.7520. A stronger yen cuts into the profits of Japanese exporters who repatriate earnings from overseas.
Futures pointed to a 2.3% fall for the S&P 500. Changes in futures don't necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.
Wednesday's losses follow a more upbeat start to the week for markets, as concerns about China's slowing economy and weakening oil prices appeared to abate and hopes for more stimulus from China's central bank brought comfort to some investors.
However, by the time U.S. markets closed Tuesday, the Dow was left with minuscule gains, as further falls in commodities prices and mounting jitters about the world's second-largest economy returned to the fore.
Oil prices dropped further Wednesday, with Brent crude trading down 3% at $27.88 a barrel and WTI also falling, weighing on Europe's energy and basic resources sectors.
The International Energy Agency said in its latest report Tuesday that oil prices would likely slide further this year as the market adjusts to the extra oil from producers such as Iran.
Continued downward pressure on the oil price has hit equities hard in recent weeks. Many investors believe stock markets will remain volatile until oil prices find a floor, as pockets of the energy sector increasingly face the prospect of bankruptcies and economies that depend on natural resources come under pressure.
Fears about the global economy have also worried investors so far this year. On Tuesday, official data showed China posted its weakest annual pace of growth in a quarter century, while the International Monetary Fund once again cut its outlook for the world economy.
The brutal start to the year has left major indexes around the world with double-digit losses. While markets have staged small rallies, gains haven't lasted as renewed volatility in oil prices have kept buyers on edge.
Global markets are vulnerable, and "there isn't the same cushion as before," said Giles Fitzpatrick, a partner at Hannam & Partners, noting that increased concerns about China come at a time when investors also have to contend with a raft of other issues: The stronger dollar is weighing on emerging markets, the lifting of Iranian sanctions is adding further pressure to the oil price, and the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Fed raised benchmark interest rates in December, ending years of easy money policy that boosted asset prices.
"These things come in quick succession," Mr. Fitzpatrick said, adding "people wonder how much ability the world's central banks have to absorb the shock."
Elsewhere in Asian markets Wednesday, stocks in Hong Kong fell below 19,000 for the first time over three years as its currency dropped to its lowest level since 2007.
Losses in the volatile Shanghai Composite Index were comparatively muted, as the index lost 1%, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 1.3%.
In currencies, the euro was down 0.3% against the dollar at $1.0950 as investors looked ahead to consumer price data from the U.S. later Wednesday and a meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday.
While analysts don't expect immediate action, many expect the ECB to roll out additional stimulus measures later this year as the eurozone grapples with persistently low inflation.
Commodity linked currencies, such as those in Australia and Canada, came under pressure.
Gold, traditionally seen as a haven, gained 0.5% to $1093.90 an ounce. Riva Gold and Chao Deng contributed to this article.
Michigan Governor On Water Crisis: 'We Will Fix This'.
Embattled Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday of the water contamination crisis in the city of Flint, "I am sorry; we will fix this." Snyder addressed the debacle in his State of the State address.
Snyder is facing calls for his resignation over claims that he mishandled the crisis, in which pipe corrosion from a new water source resulted in high levels of lead in the water, poisoning residents.
He told the people of Flint, "You deserve accountability. You deserve to know that the buck stops here, with me. Most of all, you deserve to know the truth."
Snyder said he will release his emails from 2014 and 2015. The decision comes after the Detroit Free Press editorial board wrote: "Snyder, whose administration is now embroiled in a scandal emanating from the foul-ups that led to water poisoning in Flint and the inexplicably slow response, owes all of us better than what the law calls for. He owes us full transparency, and explication."
Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta explained the water contamination problem on Morning Edition:
"A state-appointed manager was in charge when the decision was made that Flint was going to stop using water from the city of Detroit system, where it was buying it and it was considered too expensive, and start drawing water from the Flint River at least on an interim basis. And it turned out that the water was very corrosive, so corrosive in fact that General Motors had a car plant nearby and wouldn't use it.
"And what that did was it caused lead in some water pipes leading into homes to leach into the water. And now we have a lot of kids in Flint who have elevated lead levels, and the fear is all the attendant health problems that go along with it."
Though complaints and questions about the water arose not long after the city began using the new source in April 2014, Snyder denied there was a problem. Despite efforts by local activists, researchers and a pediatrician from Flint to point out the dangers, Snyder didn't declare an emergency in the city until Jan. 5, 2016, nearly a month after the mayor of Flint implemented a state of a emergency.
Then on Jan. 16, President Obama declared an emergency, meaning federal funds will be used to help pay for bottled water and filters for city residents.
Snyder Says Detroit Schools Also Need Action
On another priority issue, the governor said: "Detroit schools are in a crisis. Detroit schools are in need of a transformational change." He called for legislative action, saying the "time to act is now." Snyder said he had commissioned new studies to help figure out how to improve schools.
Snyder did not mention teachers' strikes or school conditions.
Teachers in Detroit are protesting poor public school conditions, including black mold and collapsing ceilings, by calling in sick. Last week, some schools in Detroit were closed for three consecutive days as a result of the "sickouts."
New Evidence Shows Michigan Buried Water Test Results Showing Clear Danger of Lead Poisoning. Flint, Michigan, residents are still at risk of lead poisoning if they drink the city’s water—a public health crisis that leaders have designated a state of emergency for the last month.
But research by the ACLU and Michigan Radio suggests that state officials ignored water test results over the summer of 2015 to hide evidence of abnormally high lead levels.
Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech engineering professor who is leading an independent study of the Flint water system, has documented a series of missteps the Department of Environmental Quality made as problems with the water quality began to surface.
For one, the state never required Flint to have a corrosion control program as required by federal law to control levels of lead in drinking water. The state also failed to set “quality parameters” for Flint’s new water source when the city switched to the Flint River in 2014 to save money.
When concerns about lead levels started to rise in February 2015, state officials denied that testing had produced any unusual results, despite results from the University of Michigan-Flint that found otherwise.
Edwards research also found that the state failed to follow up as required on homes that had samples with high levels of lead. Furthermore, they altered tests so that the levels would appear to fall below the federal limits of 15 parts per billion.
The Department of Environmental Quality continued insisting the water was safe, even when doctors at the Hurley Medical Center in Flint began telling the public to stop drinking Flint water after finding abnormally high levels of lead in the blood of children in September.
Since then, at least 43 more children have tested positive for lead poisoning in the city, according to the first batch of test results released last week.
In can be years before lead poisoning shows the extent of its damage, but consequences can result in learning disabilities and behavioral issues, as well as damaged organs and compromised immune systems.
The number of infants and children with above-average levels of lead in their system nearly doubled since the city stopped using the Detroit water system and moved to the Flint River in 2014, according to a study by the Hurley Medical Center.
Parents of children who may have been affected permanently filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government. Last week, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan confirmed it had opened an investigation around the state’s handling of the water contamination.
Iowa governor wants Ted Cruz defeated. Iowa's Republican Gov. Terry Branstad called for Ted Cruz's defeat Tuesday, in a dramatic and highly public repudiation of the Texas senator just two weeks out from the Iowa caucuses.
Speaking to a small group of reporters at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, where several 2016 presidential candidates are slated to speak, Branstad labeled Cruz a "big oil" candidate whose victory would be "very damaging to our state."
"It would be a big mistake for Iowa to support him," Branstad said. "And I know he's ahead in the polls but the only poll that counts is the one they take on caucus night and I think that could change between now and then."
Asked by a reporter whether he wants to see Cruz defeated, Branstad answered: "Yes."
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Branstad's attack on Cruz is an extraordinary intervention in the caucus campaign. The state's caucuses take place on February 1.
"I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Ted Cruz is going to win this state," Branstad told CNN afterwards. "Because as Iowans learn about his anti-renewable fuel stand, and that it will cost us jobs, and will further reduce farm income, I think people will realize that it's not in our interest."
He added: "I don't think that Ted Cruz is the right one for Iowans to support in the caucus."
Cruz's stance on ethanol subsidies has emerged a significant vulnerability for the senator in Iowa, a state where farming and agriculture are hugely influential industries. His rivals -- particularly Donald Trump -- have been hitting Cruz hard for his opposition to ethanol subsidies, and voters here have expressed concerns about Cruz's rejection of ethanol subsidies.
Branstad's son, Eric, works with the group America's Renewable Future, which has targeted the Texas senator.
Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" last week, Branstad said Cruz has the best "ground game" in the Hawkeye State, but added that the Texas senator's stance on renewable fuels could "really hurt him here."
"He's opposed to the wind energy tax credit. He's opposed to ethanol and biodiesel. And we have tens of thousands of jobs and a lot of farm income dependent on that," Branstad said. "And I know there's a lot of people working in those ethanol refineries and farmers that are not going to vote for somebody that opposes something that's so important to our state's economy."
Cruz has been leading in some recent Iowa polls, and Trump is his closest competition, and the real-estate mogul quickly pounced on Branstad's statement Tuesday afternoon.
"Wow, the highly respected Governor of Iowa just stated that 'Ted Cruz must be defeated.' Big (shocker)! People do not like Ted," Trump tweeted.
Donald J. Trump
Wow, the highly respected Governor of Iowa just stated that "Ted Cruz must be defeated." Big shoker! People do not like Ted.
Iowa governors have typically stayed neutral in the caucuses, and Branstad did not endorse a candidate in the 2012 Iowa contest. In 2008, Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, did not pick sides between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton’s personal email server from her time as secretary of state included documents that go beyond “top secret” classification.
Fox News obtained an unclassified letter by Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III that shows Clinton’s server contained intelligence known as “special access programs,” or SAP. The Jan. 14 letter included the results of a comprehensive review by intelligence agencies identifying “several dozen” additional classified emails on Clinton’s “home-brew” server.
The letter was sent to the leadership of the House and Senate intelligence committees and leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and State Department inspector general.
Roughly 100 FBI special agents are assigned to an investigation that will determine if the former secretary of state violated a subsection of the Espionage Act related to “gross negligence” in handling government documents. Dozens of agents were required to sign non-disclosure forms before examining classified information and trying to determine whether co-mingling of the Clinton Foundation and State Department business violated public corruption laws.
At least three sources in the intelligence community told the network that FBI agents would be “screaming” if the Justice Department did not seek to prosecute Clinton.
“To date, I have received two sworn declarations from one [intelligence community] element. These declarations cover several dozen emails containing classified information determined by the IC element to be at the confidential, secret, and top secret/sap levels,” said the IG letter to lawmakers with oversight of the intelligence community and State Department, Fox reported. “According to the declarant, these documents contain information derived from classified IC element sources.”
The total number of classified emails found on Clinton’s server stands at 1,340 as of last week’s document dump by the State Department. Clinton disputed that number during a Sunday appearance on CBS’ “Meet the Press.”
“More and more and more of these messages that turn out to be classified is going to put more pressure on the prosecutors to make a decision as to what they’re going to do. It looks very serious, this many messages,” national defense attorney Ed Macmahon told Fox.
The ‘Stop Hillary’ campaign is on fire! Join the surging response to this theme: ‘Clinton for prosecution, not president’
A former senior law enforcement official told the network there was “absolutely no way” Clinton would not have recognized SAP material the moment it was received.
“It is the most sensitive of the sensitive,” the source said.
Representatives for intelligence community inspector general and ODNI had no comment on Fox’s investigation, but did not challenge its findings.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus was prosecuted by the Justice Department for sharing intelligence from special access programs with his mistress, Paula Broadwell.
The retired four-star general pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in April 2015. He was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
Jeb Bush Talks Foreign Policy In New York.
Presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush isn't a Donald Trump fan. The billionaire isn’t serious about strong American foreign policy, Bush said, adding that even if he’s ahead in the polls, Trump has been talking trash without backing it up.
“We have to restore a traditional role in foreign policy and you can't do that by rambling along and saying that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can take care of ISIS,” Bush said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on Tuesday, aimed at helping him rebuild his faltering campaign. “You can’t keep us safe by talking trash without backing it up with serious plans.”
But despite the tough talk, it's not at all clear that Bush’s clarion call for new American leadership abroad will differentiate him in a way that boosts his chances of winning the Republican nomination against candidates like Trump, according to political scientists and GOP strategists. Bush has branded himself as “the steady hand” and the adult in the room when it comes to foreign policy, but Republican primary voters right now aren’t interested in that sort of thing. To make a comeback, Bush will need to do one of two things: Show primary voters that opponents like Trump aren’t engaged in realistic foreign policy discussions, or start speaking in digestible soundbites like the popular New York businessman.
“The reason Trump is so popular is that he says the kind of things people say at the Keurig machine when they’re getting coffee in the morning,” Rich Galen, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with a presidential campaign said. In other words, people are more likely to say they want a president who will “ bomb the s--- out of ISIS ” like Trump has done, than one who talks about rebuilding international coalitions and partners in the Middle East, like Bush did Tuesday. But, Galen noted that the issues voters care about in the primary and general elections tend to contrast and can change quickly. Bush may still have time to make a splash in the Republican primary when voting starts in Iowa Feb. 1.
That chance to shine is quickly shrinking, though, and the competition for the more moderate conservative primary voters that Bush is trying to appeal to is getting more heated every day. While Bush was once talked about as the inevitable Republican nominee, he’s dropped in the polls noticeably since late July when Trump overtook him in national polls. Bush finds himself in fifth place with just 4.8 percent of the national vote in an average of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. Trump, in first place, takes in 34.5 percent of the national vote.
With those poll ratings, some GOP leaders aren’t so convinced that there’s still a chance for Bush no matter what he does.
“I honestly don’t think there’s a lot in Jeb’s portfolio at this point that he gets to play out. The main trouble for Jeb is he’s become perceived as unelectable, perceived as a guy whose campaign is falling apart,” Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist who is unaffiliated with a campaign said. “There’s no particular distinction in Jeb on anything right now that matters to voters on foreign policy that could be decisive in the race.”
Unless voters take a look at Bush from a different perspective, Trump and Cruz are going to continue to look strong on foreign policy, regardless of how unrealistic they may be.
“Yes, it can seem weak if you’re surrounded by chest thumping and you don’t thump your chest. Maybe you seem weak, but when you get past the primaries it also seems real,” Matthew Baum, a professor of global communications at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Massachusetts said. “I’m trying not to be flippant about this, but in the land in which this Republican primary debate is occurring, [Bush] may seem a little weak. Back in the real world [Cruz’s and Trump’s] policies are fantasies. They’re never going to happen.”
Bush listed a series of policy proposals in quick succession on Tuesday, criticizing President Barack Obama for allowing the U.S. military to shrink in power while letting international crises handle themselves and letting alliances with foreign partners deteriorate. The United States has seen shrinking economic activity, he said, and the country needs to reestablish its former glory while modernizing.
“We’re living in a 21st century world that has new threats, new challenges, new opportunities,” Bush said. “It’s important for us to, I think, reestablish the proper role of the United States in the world. The world has been torn asunder and our alliances have been tattered.”
“We need to make sure that there is a permanent source of security,” Bush added. “And, diplomacy needs to go hand in glove.”
But even those who showed up to hear Bush talk Tuesday said that while they appreciated Bush’s willingness to add his voice to complex conversations on foreign policy, they had little confidence that Bush would make a comeback. Bush may say that he's the more mature presidential candidate, but Trump is winning over voters with charisma that Bush doesn't seem to have — one audience member even joked they needed coffee before the "low-energy" Bush talk, a common Trump joke about Bush.
“I think his chances are very low. But this is a contribution to the collective conscious,” Barbara Kellerman, a professor of leadership at Harvard University in Massachusetts, said of Bush's talking points. Kellerman had come to Bush’s foreign policy event from Connecticut where she lives but didn’t expect to hear much she hadn’t heard before. She, like many others in the audience, wasn't planning on voting for Bush, although she said she was undecided about who would get her vote. “It's almost a relief to hear somebody talk about something like this in a campaign that is dominated by soundbites," she said.
Others showed up to simply try to understand what had happened to Bush’s once inevitable campaign. Trump’s rise is hard to understand, Sven Howles, who works at professional services firm KPMG in New York City, said.
“I’m here just to know what he has to say about the general campaign and why it’s different this year from other years,” Howles, a Democrat who would like to hear a more reasoned presidential debate, said. “I’d like to hear what’s his view on why this has happened.”
Bush, despite his probing rhetoric, didn't seem to have that answer.
"I’m the only guy confronting this because people are anxious about their future, they’ve latched onto the large personality on the stage but the reality is that he’s not a serious candidate,” Bush said. “And he’ll get wiped out in the general election."
He wrapped up his speech with a final nod at Trump's brazen debate skills, quipping, "I didn't insult anybody."
Jeb Bush Talks Foreign Policy In New York.
“We have to restore a traditional role in foreign policy and you can't do that by rambling along and saying that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can take care of ISIS,” Bush said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on Tuesday, aimed at helping him rebuild his faltering campaign. “You can’t keep us safe by talking trash without backing it up with serious plans.”
But despite the tough talk, it's not at all clear that Bush’s clarion call for new American leadership abroad will differentiate him in a way that boosts his chances of winning the Republican nomination against candidates like Trump, according to political scientists and GOP strategists. Bush has branded himself as “the steady hand” and the adult in the room when it comes to foreign policy, but Republican primary voters right now aren’t interested in that sort of thing. To make a comeback, Bush will need to do one of two things: Show primary voters that opponents like Trump aren’t engaged in realistic foreign policy discussions, or start speaking in digestible soundbites like the popular New York businessman.
“The reason Trump is so popular is that he says the kind of things people say at the Keurig machine when they’re getting coffee in the morning,” Rich Galen, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with a presidential campaign said. In other words, people are more likely to say they want a president who will “ bomb the s--- out of ISIS ” like Trump has done, than one who talks about rebuilding international coalitions and partners in the Middle East, like Bush did Tuesday. But, Galen noted that the issues voters care about in the primary and general elections tend to contrast and can change quickly. Bush may still have time to make a splash in the Republican primary when voting starts in Iowa Feb. 1.
That chance to shine is quickly shrinking, though, and the competition for the more moderate conservative primary voters that Bush is trying to appeal to is getting more heated every day. While Bush was once talked about as the inevitable Republican nominee, he’s dropped in the polls noticeably since late July when Trump overtook him in national polls. Bush finds himself in fifth place with just 4.8 percent of the national vote in an average of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. Trump, in first place, takes in 34.5 percent of the national vote.
With those poll ratings, some GOP leaders aren’t so convinced that there’s still a chance for Bush no matter what he does.
“I honestly don’t think there’s a lot in Jeb’s portfolio at this point that he gets to play out. The main trouble for Jeb is he’s become perceived as unelectable, perceived as a guy whose campaign is falling apart,” Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist who is unaffiliated with a campaign said. “There’s no particular distinction in Jeb on anything right now that matters to voters on foreign policy that could be decisive in the race.”
Unless voters take a look at Bush from a different perspective, Trump and Cruz are going to continue to look strong on foreign policy, regardless of how unrealistic they may be.
“Yes, it can seem weak if you’re surrounded by chest thumping and you don’t thump your chest. Maybe you seem weak, but when you get past the primaries it also seems real,” Matthew Baum, a professor of global communications at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Massachusetts said. “I’m trying not to be flippant about this, but in the land in which this Republican primary debate is occurring, [Bush] may seem a little weak. Back in the real world [Cruz’s and Trump’s] policies are fantasies. They’re never going to happen.”
Bush listed a series of policy proposals in quick succession on Tuesday, criticizing President Barack Obama for allowing the U.S. military to shrink in power while letting international crises handle themselves and letting alliances with foreign partners deteriorate. The United States has seen shrinking economic activity, he said, and the country needs to reestablish its former glory while modernizing.
“We’re living in a 21st century world that has new threats, new challenges, new opportunities,” Bush said. “It’s important for us to, I think, reestablish the proper role of the United States in the world. The world has been torn asunder and our alliances have been tattered.”
“We need to make sure that there is a permanent source of security,” Bush added. “And, diplomacy needs to go hand in glove.”
But even those who showed up to hear Bush talk Tuesday said that while they appreciated Bush’s willingness to add his voice to complex conversations on foreign policy, they had little confidence that Bush would make a comeback. Bush may say that he's the more mature presidential candidate, but Trump is winning over voters with charisma that Bush doesn't seem to have — one audience member even joked they needed coffee before the "low-energy" Bush talk, a common Trump joke about Bush.
“I think his chances are very low. But this is a contribution to the collective conscious,” Barbara Kellerman, a professor of leadership at Harvard University in Massachusetts, said of Bush's talking points. Kellerman had come to Bush’s foreign policy event from Connecticut where she lives but didn’t expect to hear much she hadn’t heard before. She, like many others in the audience, wasn't planning on voting for Bush, although she said she was undecided about who would get her vote. “It's almost a relief to hear somebody talk about something like this in a campaign that is dominated by soundbites," she said.
Others showed up to simply try to understand what had happened to Bush’s once inevitable campaign. Trump’s rise is hard to understand, Sven Howles, who works at professional services firm KPMG in New York City, said.
“I’m here just to know what he has to say about the general campaign and why it’s different this year from other years,” Howles, a Democrat who would like to hear a more reasoned presidential debate, said. “I’d like to hear what’s his view on why this has happened.”
Bush, despite his probing rhetoric, didn't seem to have that answer.
"I’m the only guy confronting this because people are anxious about their future, they’ve latched onto the large personality on the stage but the reality is that he’s not a serious candidate,” Bush said. “And he’ll get wiped out in the general election."
He wrapped up his speech with a final nod at Trump's brazen debate skills, quipping, "I didn't insult anybody."
Winter storm forecast for Northeast. A potent winter storm is forecast to bring heavy snow and howling winds to the East Coast on Friday and Saturday, potentially closing roads and schools, canceling flights and causing power outages.
The metro areas in and around Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston could all see heavy snow from the storm, according to AccuWeather.
As much as 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible near and northwest of I-95, the National Weather Service said.
Blizzard conditions are possible, meaning winds of 35 mph and visibility of only a quarter-mile for at least three hours.
It could be the first storm in 13 years to dump a foot of snow on the entire Northeast megalopolis, Weather.com reported. More than 50 million people could be affected by snowfall heavy enough to disrupt travel by road, rail and air.
Along the coast, high winds and pounding surf could lead to beach erosion, according to WeatherBell meteorologist Ryan Maue. The full moon will exacerbate the chance of coastal flooding as tides will be higher than average. The areas at greatest risk for coastal flooding and beach erosion are in New Jersey, Long Island and southern New England.
In the Deep South and Southeast, heavy rain, freezing rain and severe thunderstorms are possible Thursday.
The Weather Channel named the storm Jonas.
Ahead of the storm, ferocious cold kept most of the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in a deep freeze Tuesday. Temperatures remained in the single digits and teens across much of those three regions, with wind chill values below zero in many places, the weather service said.
Even Florida was relatively cold Tuesday, as high temperatures only reached the mid-to-upper 50s in Tampa and Orlando.
A separate storm not associated with the late-week blizzard was spreading light snow Tuesday across the central Plains and Ohio Valley, where 3-5 inches was likely by Wednesday. St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Nashville were all in the path of that storm.
AccuWeather.com
Snow will continue to spread across the Midwest through midweek: http://ow.ly/Xfu2d
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Regardless of it all mid week, please stay in touch!
