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Israel strikes at military bases in Syria

(Reuters) — Israel launched airstrikes on military airbases and infrastructure sites in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Hama and Homs on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.

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The attack almost completely destroyed the Hama military airport and led to dozens of injuries among civilians and military personnel, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israel spent years carrying out airstrikes on Syria during former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, targeting Iran-linked military installations and weapons transfers from Tehran intended for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which was deployed in Syrian territory.

That arms route was cut when Assad was toppled but Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Syrian military bases.

The strikes targeted the military airport in the Syrian city of Hama, and the vicinity of the scientific research centre in the Barzeh neighbourhood in Damascus, Syrian state media and officials said.

Israel bombed facilities of the scientific research centre shortly after Assad was ousted by Islamist rebels on December 8, claiming it was used to develop guided missiles and chemical weapons.

Storm system brings tornadoes to US South and Midwest

(NYT) — Multiple tornadoes were reported to have touched down across parts of the South and the Midwest on Wednesday, knocking down trees, disrupting power and damaging homes and businesses, as the regions braced for a powerful storm system over the next several days.

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings on Wednesday across an area that stretched from northeastern Arkansas to central Illinois.

A tornado was reported to have touched down in Nevada, Missouri, on Wednesday. Gary Edwards, city manager of Nevada, said that there was “extensive damage,” and that an assessment was underway. “While storm sirens were blaring, the tornado skipped through town causing extensive damage where it touched down,” Edwards said in an email. There were no reports of fatalities and only one injury, he said.

The weather service said that it had visual confirmation that a tornado had touched down in Almyra, Arkansas, a largely rural area, on Wednesday.

Lacey Kanipe, a public information officer with the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, said the agency had received reports of tornadoes on the ground. “We are working with local emergency management offices for situational awareness and still learning of impacts as they come in,” Kanipe said.

Tornado watches were also in effect for millions of residents across parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Supreme Court rules against flavored vapes

WASHINGTON (NYT) — The Supreme Court handed a victory to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, tossing out an appeals court decision that had found the agency acted unlawfully in rejecting applications from two manufacturers of flavored liquids used in e-cigarettes with names such as Jimmy the Juice Man Peachy Strawberry, Signature Series Mom’s Pistachio and Suicide Bunny Mother’s Milk and Cookies.

In a unanimous decision written by Justice Samuel Alito, the justices left in place, for now, an FDA order that prohibited retailers from marketing flavored tobacco products, sending the case back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for further review.

The justices rejected a ruling by the appeals court that the agency had acted arbitrarily and capriciously and had tried to change the rules in the middle of the approval process.

In the opinion, Alito highlighted the possible dangers of the flavored products appealing to middle and high school students, writing that “the kaleidoscope of flavor options adds to the allure of e-cigarettes and has thus contributed to the booming demand for such products among young Americans.”

Beatles audition tape surfaces in record shop

(NYT) — The tape sat unremarkably on a shelf behind the counter, collecting dust for five, maybe 10 years — so much time that Rob Frith says he lost track.

Frith, 69, could not seem to recall how it had found its way to Neptoon Records, his store in Vancouver, British Columbia, which in its 44 years has become a repository for tens of thousands of vinyl records and other musical relics.

The label on the cardboard box said it was a Beatles demo tape, but, having heard enough bootleg recordings over the decades, Frith was skeptical until he enlisted a disc jockey friend, Larry Hennessey, to load it onto his vintage tape player a few weeks ago.

Frith said the tape appeared to be a professionally edited recording of the Beatles’ New Year’s Day 1962 audition for Decca Records in London, a session that notably ended with the band’s rejection.

The 15 songs — all but three of them covers — matched the group’s set list from the audition, according to Frith.

“The fidelity is astounding,” Hennessey said.

In 2012, a safety master tape of the Beatles’ Decca audition was sold at auction to a Japanese collector for 35,000 pounds, or over $56,000 at the time, The Telegraph reported. But that recording contained only 10 songs, raising questions about its provenance.