Today's LBN E-Lert

LBN-INVESTIGATES: Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents?

ROMNEY LEADING FLORIDA POLLS: It looks like Mitt Romney’s debate smackdown of Newt Gingrich was successful—the two are no longer tied in the polls. According to the latest Quinnipiac survey, Romney is Florida leading with 38 percent, which will hold it’s primary in just four days.

ECONOMY GROWS AT 2.8 PERCENT: The American economy grew at its fastest rate in over a year and half. The Department of Commerce announced Friday that the U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.8 percent between October and December despite continuing turmoil in the global markets. The three-month period was the fastest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2010.

UN SHRINKS FROM SYRIA SANCTIONS: The UN Security Council will meet Friday to discuss the situation in Syria ahead of a possible vote on the matter next week. But according to Reuters, which obtained a copy of a possible resolution, the draft does not call for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, instead only urging a “political transition.” Russia, an old ally and an arms supplier to Syria, opposes sanctions. Meanwhile, fighting erupted in Homs on Friday, a day after sectarian militiamen killed 14 members of a Sunni Muslim family.

HILLARY CLINTON READY TO LEAVE POLITICS: It’s not the first time she’s said she’s getting out of politics after her current job, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear Thursday that she’s ready to call it quits. In a meeting with State Department employees, Clinton said she’s tuckered out after 20 years on “the high wire of American politics.” She said she will finish her term and, if President Obama wins re-election in November, will serve with him until he finds a replacement. She hasn’t been following the election season or the GOP debates, which she acknowledged was “a little odd” for her. But after being first lady, senator, an aspiring presidential candidate and finally Secretary of State, Clinton said “it would probably be a good idea just to find out how tired I am.”

32 KILLED IN FUNERAL ATTACK: A suicide car bomber killed at least 32 people Friday and injured some 60 more when he targeted a funeral procession in a predominantly Shiite district of Baghdad in Iraq. It’s the latest in a wave of attacks on Shiites across Iraq, where sectarian violence has spiked since the withdrawal of American troops last month. On Tuesday nine people were killed in a series of explosions in Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad.

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CRUISE VICTIMS GET $14K EACH: The operator of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise ship will offer a lump sum of $14,400 to passengers to compensate them for lost baggage and psychological trauma, the Italian Association of Tour Operators said Friday. There were about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members on board with the ocean liner ran aground on Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. Divers found a 16th body Tuesday, but 16 others are still missing.

FORD POSTS PROFIT FOR THIRD YEAR: Have you driven a Ford lately? The Detroit auto company reported a $20.2 billion profit for 2011, the third straight year it has made money. And the earnings were the largest in 13 years and the second-highest ever for the carmaker. The increase is significant over 2010 profits—it earned $6.6 billion a year earlier. The improvements were driven by business in North America, since Ford actually lost money in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.a

CONN. KILLER SENTENCED TO DEATH: Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of the defendants found guilty of the 2007 home-invasion rape and killings of a Connecticut woman and her two daughters that shocked the country, will be sentenced to death Friday in New Haven Superior Court. Komisarjevsky will join Steven Hayes on death row. The court found Hayes guilty of raping and strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit while Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted her 11-year-old daughter Michaela. Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied to their beds, doused with gasoline, and died of smoke inhalation when the house was set on fire. Their father, William, survived the horrific crime.

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TWITTER MAY CENSOR TWEETS: Twitter announced Thursday that it can now censor tweets only in some countries, whereas before a message would disappear throughout the world if the operators erased it. The flexibility might be welcomed by users in nations with more of a commitment to free speech, but it could also be a sign that Twitter might be giving in to more repressive states, especially as the company expands globally.

‘KOTTER’ STAR ROBERT HEGYES DIES: Robert Hegyes, who played Jewish Puerto Rican Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein in the 1970s show Welcome Back Kotter, died of an apparent heart attack Thursday at the age of 60. Hegyes also co-starred on Cagney and Lacey, and taught classes at Rowan University. He was a New Jersey native and said he modeled Epstein on Chico Marx.

ROCKETS FIRED NEAR BIN LADEN COMPOUND: Nine rockets were fired Friday morning from a hilltop at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad, near the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed in May. Three rockets hit the wall of the school, Pakistan’s equivalent to the U.S.’s West Point. It was an unusual attack, but there was no loss of life. The assailants have not been identified yet and no one has claimed responsibility.

I, LBN: Sherri B. Brownstein, an LBN E-Lert reader from Portland, Oregon.

UN SENT 35 POUNDS OF COCAINE: Okay now, who ordered the 35 pounds of cocaine? The UN received two fake diplomatic pouches filled with the drug last week. The packages, not intended for anyone at the United Nations, were delivered on January 16. While there was no recipient address, the packages originated in Mexico City. The UN logos were probably forged to help get the shipment over the border.

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LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:

LBN-THIS DAY IN HISTORY (January 27, 1888): The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.”

LBN-QUOTE: “A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” -Tom Stoppard