10 things you need to know today: February 7, 2014

The Senate fails to restore jobless benefits, the Sochi Winter Olympics get started, and more

Sochi olympics start
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Sergei Grits))

1. Jobless benefits extension stalls in the Senate

The Senate failed Thursday to move ahead with a bill that would have restored jobless benefits for the nation's more than 1.3 million long-term unemployed. Fifty-nine senators voted to advance the bill — one short of the number needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. Republicans weren't satisfied with how Democrats proposed to pay for the $6 billion cost of the three-month extension, a key part of President Obama's stimulus plan. [The New York Times]

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.