Week In The News: French Terror Attack, A New Congress, Extreme Winter

Paris terror attack.   The  GOP Congress versus Obama .  The rift between NYPD and New York’s mayor. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

The agony of France, above all in the news this week.  Massacre in the heart of Paris.  Of cartoonists and more.  Alleged roots in al Qaeda.  Manhunt, fear and defiance.  In Washington, a Republican majority holds all of Congress now, House and Senate.  John Boehner crushes a challenge. Mitch McConnell looks at the Keystone pipeline, immigration, spending, and presidential veto threats.  In New York, police turn their backs on a mayor and arrest numbers plummet.  And it is cold all over.  Big chill.  This hour On Point:  our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Nancy Cordes, Congressional correspondent for CBS News. (@nancycordes)

John McCormack, senior writer at The Weekly Standard. (@mccormackjohn)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

The Guardian: Charlie Hebdo suspect Cherif Kouachi linked to network of French militants — "The prime suspect in the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was an active member of a loose network of French militants, active for over two decades, that stretched from Syria to the UK. Cherif Kouachi, 32, had been imprisoned for 18 months for his role in a network sending volunteers to fight alongside al-Qaida militants in Iraq between 2003 and 2005 and had been investigated for his involvement in a plan to break a veteran extremist out of prison in 2010."

POLITICO: McConnell meets Senate — "McConnell is now running an upstart GOP conference hungry for victories but at least six votes shy of the 60 needed to break a Democratic filibuster — much less the 67 votes needed to override a veto. He already faces divisions in his conference over how to handle thorny issues like immigration funding, raising the debt ceiling, confirming Loretta Lynch as attorney general and whether to raise the gas tax to help rebuild depleted highways. After the committee votes on the Keystone bill this week, McConnell will almost certainly have the support to pass it on the floor — but that process could take several weeks and ultimately result in a presidential veto."

Washington Post: The NYPD’s work stoppage is costing the city lots of money. That’s great for New Yorkers. — "For the past two weeks, the NYPD has drastically scaled back law enforcement. Criminal summonses and traffic tickets are down more than 90 percent from this time last year. In many precincts, the weekly tally of criminal infractions was near zero. Union leaders deny an organized movement. But the drop is viewed by many as a protest against Mayor Bill de Blasio and his perceived lack of support for police."