Senate Dems block Syrian refugee bill

Senate Dems block Syrian refugee bill

WASHINGTON

Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a bill that would crack down on Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming to the U.S. as the debate turned into a referendum on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his policies.

Senate Democrats sought to force election-year votes as Trump – who holds a commanding lead in national polls for the Republican presidential nomination – has called for barring Muslims from coming to the United States. Republicans wanted similar votes on politically fraught amendments.

The Senate fell short of the three-fifths needed to move ahead. The vote was 55-43.

Rare brain-defect cases rise in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO

The suspected number of cases of microcephaly, a rare brain defect in babies, continues to rise in Brazil, reaching 3,893 since authorities began investigating the surge in October, Health Ministry officials said Wednesday.

Fewer than 150 cases of microcephaly were seen in the country in all of 2014. Brazil’s health officials say they’re convinced the jump is linked to a sudden outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue, though the mechanics of how the virus might affect babies remain murky.

Big storm looms

WASHINGTON

As people in the South and East readied themselves for a nor’easter that might bring heavy snowfall by week’s end, snow fell on much of Kentucky and Tennessee and contributed to at least one traffic-related death Wednesday.

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warns of heavy, “perhaps crippling” snow across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia, probably beginning Friday.

The District of Columbia was preparing for blizzard conditions and up to 2 feet of snow, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday. The city has requested Humvees from the National Guard to reach isolated people and places if necessary.

Transit agency to install real cameras on commuter trains

OAKLAND, Calif.

Officials with Bay Area Rapid Transit say they will replace all fake security cameras with working ones, after the shooting death of a passenger.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that BART officials made the announcement Wednesday.

Their decision comes less than a week after the newspaper revealed the majority of the security cameras on BART commuter trains are decoys.

Questions about whether the cameras work arose after BART officials refused to say if security cameras had captured the Jan. 9 killing of a passenger aboard a train.

Ore. governor: Feds must end occupation

SALEM, Ore.

Oregon’s governor expressed frustration with federal authorities’ handling of the continuing occupation of a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon by an armed group and said it’s time to end it.

“The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far. I have conveyed these very grave concerns directly to our leaders at the highest levels of our government: the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House,” Gov. Kate Brown said at Wednesday news conference.

Associated Press