The news at a glance . . . United States

last updated 8 January 2015

Santa Ana, Calif.

Victory for Octomom: Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets, has defeated an attempt to appoint an independent guardian to protect her children’s finances. Children’s advocate and former Donna Reed Show child star Paul Petersen had petitioned an Orange County probate court to appoint a guardian, citing fears that Suleman might exploit her offspring. But an appeals court last week rejected Petersen’s move as “an unprecedented, meritless effort by a stranger” who’d never had any contact with Suleman or her family. When Suleman, 34, delivered the octuplets last year, public curiosity quickly turned to outrage when it emerged that she was a single, unemployed mother of six other children under 8. She is set to appear in a reality show with all 14 children.

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Missed warnings: Despite concerns over his increasingly erratic behavior, Maj. Nidal Hasan’s superiors repeatedly praised and advanced him before he allegedly killed 13 people at Ford Hood last November. An internal Pentagon review found that while training as an Army psychiatrist, Hasan openly wondered if the U.S. was waging war on Islam, suggested that Islamic law trumped the U.S. Constitution, and attempted to defend suicide bombings. He was counseled frequently for deficient performance, which included seeing few patients and inappropriately discussing religion with those he did see. Nonetheless, Hasan was usually given satisfactory evaluations, was twice rated as “outstanding,” and was promoted from captain to major in 2009.

New York

Maverick Senate bid: Defying the White House and the New York Democratic establishment, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. said this week that he was “strongly considering” seeking his party’s nomination as U.S. senator from New York this year. Ford, who moved to New York three years ago and became a TV pundit, faces an uphill battle: Many Democratic leaders, including President Obama, support incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to fill the seat Hillary Rodham Clinton vacated when she became secretary of state. During a failed 2006 Senate race in Tennessee, Ford supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, called himself “pro-life,” and boasted that he belonged to the National Rifle Association. He now says he supports gay marriage, abortion rights, and gun control.

Tallahassee, Fla.

Freakish cold: The lowest temperatures in decades engulfed Florida this week, causing significant damage to the state’s citrus crop. Monday’s low of 36 degrees in Miami broke an 82-year-old record; Tampa’s record-breaking low of 25 degrees that same day was one degree less than the low in Juneau, Alaska. Frigid air wreaked havoc throughout much of the region. In Atlanta, where temperatures did not climb out of the 20s, two teenagers died after falling through the ice of a partially frozen pond. In many Southern cities, icy conditions disrupted schools and businesses; in Jackson, Miss., state offices were closed after more than 70 frozen water mains broke.

New York

Terrorist connection: Two Queens, N.Y., men pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges stemming from their relationship with Najibullah Zazi, the former Manhattan coffee vendor arrested in September on suspicion of plotting to attack transit systems and sports stadiums with homemade bombs. Adis Medunjanin, 25, and Zarein Ahmedzay, 24, allegedly traveled with Zazi in 2008 to Pakistan, where Zazi received training from al Qaida. Police had been tailing both men since Zazi’s arrest. Medunjanin was arrested after he crashed his car into another vehicle following an FBI search of his apartment; just before the collision, he called 911 and yelled, “We love death more than you love life!” He was charged with training at an al Qaida terrorist camp and conspiring to commit murder; Ahmedzay was charged with lying to investigators.

Washington, D.C.

Campaign revelations: While running for vice president in 2008, Sarah Palin could not explain why North and South Korea were two separate nations, said she thought Saddam Hussein was behind the 9/11 terror attacks, and had to be tutored in the fundamentals of 20th-century history, a new book about the campaign reports. Game Change, by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, which relies heavily on unnamed sources, also says that Bill Clinton told Sen. Ted Kennedy in reference to Sen. Barack Obama, “A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.” Shortly afterward, a furious Kennedy endorsed Obama over Clinton’s wife, Hillary. Palin dismissed the assertions about her as “gossipy anonymous accusations.” A spokesman for Clinton declined comment.

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