10 things you need to know today: February 2, 2014

1. Christie sends scathing email about former associate

Embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sent an email Saturday to donors, columnists, and pundits trashing David Wildstein, whose lawyer released a letter on Friday calling the Fort Lee bridge closures a "Christie administration order." Wildstein was the first of four people with Christie connections to lose a job because of the bridge scandal, of which Christie has repeatedly denied knowledge. Much of Christie's letter quoted previous newspaper articles that took critical looks at Wildstein. [Huffington Post]

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2. Protests interrupt Thailand's election

Nonviolent protests have disrupted Thailand's general election, halting voting in parts of Bangkok and the south. Officials still say that 89 percent of polling stations operated normally in the election, which Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called to head off weeks of mass protests. Her party is widely expected to win, but legal challenges may create a political limbo. [BBC News]

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3. Death toll from Indonesian volcano rises

The death toll from the sudden eruption of Mount Sinabung, an active volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, has risen to 15 as toxic clouds of hot ash hampered search and rescue teams looking for more victims and survivors. Around 30,000 people have been evacuated from the area in the weeks after the volcano resumed erupting in November. [New York Times]

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4. Cantor dings Obama on immigration

President Obama must gain the trust of Republicans and the American people before the House can move forward on immigration reform, House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor says. "Some things have got to happen, which is the president has got to demonstrate, frankly, the country and the Congress can trust him in implementing the laws," the Virginia Republican said on CBS's Face the Nation. Republicans unveiled an immigration plan on Friday. [Politico]

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5. Iranian foreign minister promises nuclear cooperation

Mohamad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, said Sunday his country is prepared to move ahead in negotiations over its nuclear program. Zarif told a gathering of the world's top diplomats and security officials that Iran and Western nations are at a "historical crossroads" and just beginning to build the trust necessary for a long-term agreement. The comments came after Zarif met one-on-one with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the conference Sunday morning. [Associated Press]

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6. Broncos to play the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII tonight

Super Bowl XLVIII will pit the Seattle Seahawks against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, tonight. The potentially frigid game is the first Super Bowl played outdoors in the cold in 48 years. [ESPN]

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7. Groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter

Handlers say Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Sunday morning, forecasting six more weeks of winter. The rotund rodent exited his subterranean residence at Gobblers Knob in the western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney around 7:20 a.m. today, otherwise known as Groundhog Day. [Chicago Tribune]

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8. New Baumgartner freefall footage released

More than a year after daredevil Felix Baumgartner set a world record for longest freefall, newly released footage provides a better, more vertigo-inducing, view than ever. The extended cut also shows Baumgartner talking over the radio with mission control and retired Air Force colonel Joe Kittinger, who set the previous record for freefall in 1960. [NBC News]

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9. Dylan Farrow speaks out about Woody Allen's alleged abuse

Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, wrote a letter to the New York Times this week, speaking out for the first time in detail about how Allen allegedly sexually abused her. Allen has been dogged for two decades by abuse claims. Allen has long denied the charges and avoided prosecution two decades ago. [New York Daily News]

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10. Maximilian Schell dies

Actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Oscar for his role as a defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, died at the age of 83 early Saturday. Schell, a fugitive from Hitler Germany, passed away following a sudden illness in Innsbruck, Austria. [ABC News]