Good-Size Earthquake In Los Angeles-Area Last Night

5.3 is pretty big for urban area; centered about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. I don't think there's a lot of fracking in La Habra but I could be wrong. My wife, who is out in LA, says it was 5.3; the LA Times says it was 5.1.

The Los Angele Times

 And now the lawsuits begin. Oregon, Massachusetts, and Maryland are considering exploring their legal options as they sever contracts with the creators of the "troubled" ObamaCare websites. The important word in that LA Times summary is that the LA Times also refers to the debacle as ObamaCare, not the Affordable Care Act any more.

GM mysteriously halts sales of some Chevy Cruze models. (Elsewhere, it was reported that GM has broadened the faulty-ignition recall.)

BP more than doubles estimate of oil spill in Lake Michigan.

Chris Christie defends bridge report; announces departure of key ally.

Mr Putin telephone President Obama about Ukraine crisis. It was supposedly an hour-long telephone call but because they were both using Spring iPhones, they were not charged minutes.

The Wall Street Journal

Top story: Putin telephones Obama.

GM recalls almost one million more vehicles world-wide due to faulty ignition switches.

Inflation below Fed target for 22nd month in a row.

Sen Mary Landrieu re-election big "inextricably" linked to her new job running the Senate energy committee.

Obama is holding back key funding for proposed international bridge linking Detroit and Windsor He is worried TransCanada will truck oil across the bridge if the Keystone XL is not approved.

We should see more Germany industrial activity in the US. Energy expenses were already getting out of hand, and now business leaders are begrudgingly agreeing to a minimum-wage increase.

American Airlines will sharply shrink its regional carrier American Eagle Airlines after its pilots voted down a contract proposal.

 The Dickinson Press

This is a must-read, the last column by Bryan Horwath, the regional reporter for The Dickinson Press who wrote about politics, energy, agriculture, water issues and the people of southwest North Dakota during his time at the newspaper. He is moving on to Aberdeen, South Dakota.