10 things you need to know today: February 1, 2014

(Image credit: (Andrew Burton/Getty Images))

last updated 8 January 2015

1. Christie allegedly knew about lane closings as they happened

Despite claiming otherwise, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) knew all along about the politically motivated closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge, according to the former Port Authority official who oversaw the closings. A lawyer for the official, David Wildstein, released a letter Friday calling the closures a "Christie administration order," and said there is evidence to prove the governor lied about his involvement. The scandal, in which Christie aides caused a traffic jam to punish a Democratic mayor, has engulfed Christie's administration and threatened to dash his presidential aspirations. Christie's office denied Wildstein's accusations. [New York Times]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

A full seven months after the Senate passed a sweeping immigration overhaul bill, Republicans have finally countered with a proposition of their own. In a one-page document, released at the annual GOP retreat, the party outlined its "principles" for immigration reform — tighter border security, and an electronic employment verification system, among other things. Notably, the principles do not include a so-called "path to citizenship," which could be a deal-breaker for Democrats. [Politico]

A long-awaited State Department review concluded that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would not dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions. The finding puts pressure on the president to approve the project, which has been on hold amid strenuous opposition from environmentalists. Crucially though, the final assessment did not specify whether the multi-billion dollar pipeline met the the president's broader energy and climate change standards. [Washington Post]

A New York judge on Friday approved most of Bank of America's proposed $8.5 billion settlement over investors' mortgage security losses related to the bank's acquisition of Countrywide Financial at the height of the economic meltdown. State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick ruled that Bank of New York Mellon, which oversaw the securities, "did not abuse its discretion" and had mostly acted in good faith. BoA agreed to the settlement back in 2011, but it had been hung up in legal limbo until now. [Wall Street Journal]

The delicate peace negotiations between Syria's government and opposition forces came to a standstill Friday, with each side blaming the other for the violence that has killed more than 100,000 people since the uprising began in 2011. The government of embattled President Bashar Assad refused to set a date for the next round of talks, which a U.N. mediator had proposed for February 10, and rejected the opposition's demand that Assad step down. [BBC]

Russia's unusually low life expectancy may be the result of a widespread drinking problem, according to a new study. Researchers who tracked some 151,000 Russian men over ten years found that those who regularly drank large quantities of vodka had a 35 percent higher chance of dying before the age of 55. Russia's male life expectancy is just 64, and a quarter of Russian men die before hitting 55. [The Guardian]

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox