Week In The News: Polar Vortex, Christie's 'Bridge Gate' And Al Qaeda In Iraq

Polar vortex. Chris Christie and “Bridge Gate.” Al Qaeda in Iraq. Dennis Rodman in North Korea. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Polar vortex to the max this week.  Al Qaeda flags in Iraq.  And a bridge full of traffic puts Chris Christie in a political jam.  We’ve had Arctic cold in much of the country.  Fallujah and Ramadi overrun with jihadis.  And New Jersey’s governor and his presidential aspirations on a tightrope.  Unemployment’s down to 6.7 percent, but the numbers aren’t so great.  Former defense secretary Bob Gates hits Obama and Biden on Afghanistan.  Dennis Rodman jumps the shark in North Korea.  Apologizes.  This hour On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Margaret Brennan, CBS News State Department correspondent. (@margbrennan)

Charles Babington, Associated Press Congressional and political reporter. (@cbabington)

Jack Beatty, On Point News analyst.

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Leverage in Iraq Tested As Fears of Civil War Mount — "Iraq's Shiite-led government paused on Wednesday on the brink of a military assault against al Qaeda-linked Sunni militants that posed the risk of exacting a high civilian toll and plunging the country deeper into sectarian conflict. Senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden, have urged Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to secure the support of local Sunni leaders before attacking to drive the extremists from Fallujah, which sits in the heartland of Iraq's Sunni minority. Many Sunni tribal leaders, alienated and angered by Mr. Maliki, have refused."

WNYC: N.J. Gov. Christie Faces Traffic Jam Scandal — "Uncovered emails and text messages link Gov. Chris Christie's administration to a scandal involving the closing of lanes leading to the country's most traveled bridge. It snarled traffic for days. The emails add evidence to claims from state Democrats that the closure was political retribution for a mayor who did not endorse Christie for re-election."

Washington Post: A Deep Dive Into the Polar Vortex — "The polar vortex is really just a large air mass that is extremely cold (temperatures fall below -78C, or -108F, during the Northern Hemisphere winter). This concentrated area of cold is encircled by a fast-flowing river of air called the polar night jet. Basically, the jet – with its swiftly moving air current – traps the vortex over and near the poles, north and south."