The Week: Most Recent from Frances R. Catanio

10 things you need to know today: June 16, 2013

By Frances R. Catanio — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:10:00 -0400

1. MODERATE HASSAN ROWHANI WINS IRAN'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani won 50.7 percent of the vote in Iran's six-way presidential race, according to results released Saturday. Rowhani's victory was "a striking repudiation of the ultraconservatives who wield power in Iran," as Iranians voted to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose tenure was defined largely by confrontation with the West and a hobbled economy at home. Rowhani, who once served as Iran's lead nuclear negotiator, has advocated for greater personal freedoms in the country and more conciliatory relations with the world...

8 fragrances you probably don't want to wear [Updated]

By Frances R. Catanio and Samantha Rollins — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:10:00 -0400

It's apparently no longer enough for fragrance companies to simply have a celebrity create a signature scent and market it to adoring fans. Scent developers (or perfumers, as they prefer to be called) are now coming up with all sorts of creative fragrances to grab consumers' attention, sometimes even improbably teaming up with fast-food joints like Burger King and Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut Canada, in fact, announced last year that it had produced a limited number of bottles of its own perfume, called Eau de Pizza Hut. And the out-there fragrances just get weirder and weirder...

1. Eau de Pizza Hut...

10 things you need to know today: May 27, 2013

By Frances R. Catanio — Mon, 27 May 2013 09:40:00 -0400

1. OBAMA VISITS TORNADO-RAVAGED OKLAHOMA TOWN
President Obama visited Moore, Okla., on Sunday, about a week after the town was destroyed by a monstrous EF5 tornado that left 24 people dead. "There's no doubt they will bounce back," Obama said. "But they need help." The White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has already provided $57 million in rebates and incentives to help build about 12,000 storm shelters in Oklahoma. On Monday, the president will visit Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown in honor of Memorial Day. [Associated Press (2)]
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WATCH: The new trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

By Frances R. Catanio — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:45:00 -0400

The trailer: Director Francis Lawrence, taking over the second film in the franchise from Gary Ross, kicks off this two-and-a-half minute trailer with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) being presented as the champions of the Hunger Games just as they are to begin their victory tour. The two start to see evidence of the revolution that has touched off across Panem because of their unprecedented and defiant double-win in the arena. Director Francis Lawrence juxtaposes scenes of their journey and the burgeoning revolution with a conversation between...

WATCH: The 14-year-old golfer who's beating seasoned pros at the Masters

By Frances R. Catanio — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:08:00 -0400

Chinese golf phenom Guan Tianlang is just 14 years old — the youngest player in Masters' history. And in the opening round of the major tournament at Augusta on Thursday, he finished one over par, carding a first-round 73. That left him ahead of seasoned golf pros like defending champion Bubba Watson and England's Ian Poulter, ranked number 12 in the world. "Phil Mickelson said he could not believe how well the 14-year-old Guan putted," says Karen Crouse at The New York Times. "Tiger Woods praised his pinpoint accuracy with his hybrid club." As one spectator remarked, "Can you imagine...

10 things you need to know today: April 6, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:29:00 -0400

1. DISAPPOINTING JOBS REPORT SCARES INVESTORS
The U.S. economy added just 88,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The gains — the weakest in nine months — fell far short of the nearly 200,000 analysts expected, and sent stocks tumbling as investors feared the economic recovery might be losing steam. The unemployment rate edged down to 7.6 percent, from 7.7 percent, the lowest it's been since December 2008, but the dip was largely attributed to the 500,000 people who either left the workforce or stopped looking for work entirely. The White House...

10 things you need to know today: March 23, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 08:45:00 -0400

1. CYPRUS DELAYS KEY TAX VOTE
Leaders in Cyprus are rushing to revise a formula for scoring a $13 billion European bailout, but still may not win the approval of foreign lenders. Indeed, parliament still hasn't voted on a controversial proposal to confiscate up to 25 percent of savings account holders' uninsured deposits above 100,000 euros. Europe's central bank has threatened to pull the plug on Cypriot banks on Monday if the country doesn't come up with a new rescue plan to help offset the cost of the $13 billion bailout with a tax on bank accounts. [New York Times]

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10 things you need to know today: March 16, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:25:00 -0400

1. ROMNEY TO GOP: LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES
Defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday to deliver his first speech since election night. Romney told conservatives to learn from his campaign's mistakes. "As someone who just lost the last election, I'm probably not the best person to chart the course for the next election," he said. Romney went on to urge the party to embrace successful Republican governors, especially those who represent the states in which he lost to President Obama. "Yes, they are winning elections," Romney said of...

10 things you need to know today: March 9, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:15:00 -0500

1. UNEMPLOYMENT AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2008
The Labor Department on Friday reported that the economy added 236,000 jobs in February, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in January. The jobless rate is now at its lowest level since December 2008 — before Barack Obama was sworn in for his first term as president. The report was almost uniformly positive, greatly outpaced analysts' expectations, and bolstered optimism that the labor market could finally escape the years-long pattern of plodding improvement that has so far characterized the economic recovery. "It...

10 things you need to know today: March 2, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:15:00 -0500

1. OBAMA BLAMES CONGRESS FOR SEQUESTER
As the dreaded $85 billion in government spending cuts known as the sequester took effect Friday, President Obama blamed Congress for failing to agree on a deal that would avert those reductions. Obama said middle-class families will "have their lives disrupted" and as many as 750,000 jobs could be cut. When asked at a press conference why he couldn't reach a compromise with Republicans, the president responded with a somewhat botched mashup of Star Wars and Star Trek references, saying he couldn't do a "Jedi mind-meld and convince them...

10 things you need to know today: February 24, 2013

By Frances R. Catanio — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:48:00 -0500

1. NASCAR CRASH INJURES 28
NASCAR driver Kyle Larson's car hit a fence at the Drive4COPD 300 race at Daytona Speedway in Florida on Saturday after he was involved in a 12-car wreck, injuring 28 spectators, including two critically. Daytona Speedway president Joie Chitwood said Daytona would conduct a safety review of its fencing and is replacing the section that was hit by Larson's car. A mesh crossover gate in the fencing won't be replaced for Sunday's Daytona 500. "We don't anticipate moving any fans," Chitwood said. "We had our safety protocols in place. Our security maintained a buffer...

10 things you need to know today: February 23, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:20:00 -0500

1. OSCAR PISTORIUS RELEASED ON BAIL
After a four-day hearing, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled Friday to set South African track star Oscar Pistorius free on $112,000 bail. Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp, who was found dead of gunshot wounds in his home. While Pistorius doesn't deny that he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door early on Valentine's Day, he claims that he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar. The case has also garnered much attention for its missteps: The lead prosecution witness, Detective Hilton Botha, was recently...

10 things you need to know today: February 17, 2013

By Frances R. Catanio — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:33:00 -0500

1. RUBIO REJECTS OBAMA'S IMMIGRATION PLAN
After USA Today obtained the first draft of President Obama's immigration plan — which would create a new visa for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and allow them to become legal residents in eight years — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) issued a press release signaling his opposition. "It's a mistake for the White House to draft immigration legislation without seeking input from Republican members of Congress," Rubio's statement begins, before he calls the bill "half-baked and seriously flawed" and declares that it would...

10 things you need to know today: February 16, 2013

By Samantha Rollins and Frances R. Catanio — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 08:50:00 -0500

1. CARNIVAL HIT WITH FIRST LAWSUIT AFTER TRIUMPH DISASTER
Less than 24 hours after the disabled Carnival Triumph cruise ship reached land after several days helplessly adrift at sea, the company has been hit with the first of what will likely be many lawsuits. The suit, filed by Cassie Terry of Brazuria County, Texas, alleges that Carnival "failed to provide a seaworthy vessel and sanitary conditions" and details the "horrifying" conditions aboard, where passengers were forced to wade through human feces from overflowing toilets. Terry says she suffered "physical and emotional harm...

WATCH: Stephen Colbert makes his pick for the next pope

By Frances R. Catanio — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:35:00 -0500

Stephen Colbert has spoken. After using his Papal Speculatron 7500 (beginning at the 4:40 mark in the video above) to go through a list of possible successors to Pope Benedict XVI, the Comedy Central host makes his allegiance to a particular cardinal known — extending his virtual "Colbert bump" to the clergyman, and urging "all you Catholics out there to vote for him."

10 things you need to know today: February 10, 2013

By Frances R. Catanio — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 10:30:00 -0500

1. NORTHEAST DIGS OUT AFTER BIG WINTER STORM
Utility workers braved temperatures in the teens on Saturday and Sunday to restore power to some 650,000 people in the Northeast who lost electricity during Winter Storm Nemo. Road crews continue to clear snow and ice from streets and sidewalks. More than three feet of snow fell in parts of Connecticut, and more than two feet accumulated on Long Island and in Massachusetts, where the storm caused coastal flooding that forced evacuations of some communities. Airlines were also trying to resume operation on Sunday after canceling some 5,000 flights...