Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Dallas Convention Center To House Teens


Amid a surge of unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the border with Mexico, the administration plans to house up to 3,000 teenagers who've done so at a convention center in Dallas, the Associated Press reported yesterday, citing a memo that was sent to members of the Dallas City Council. The administration has been struggling to find space for the unaccompanied minors who've been straining the immigration system less than two months into Joe Biden's presidency. The AP report citing the memo says the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will be used for up to 90 days beginning as early as this week to house boys ages 15 to 17.

➤TWO MEN ARRESTED IN ASSAULT ON POLICE OFFICER WHO DIED AFTER CAPITOL ATTACK: Two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting a U.S. Capitol Police Officer during the January 6th attack on the Capitol who died afterward. George Tanios of West Virginia and Julian Khater of Pennsylvania were arrested Sunday on charges including assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon for allegedly using bear spray against Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. However, they don't know whether the deployment of the bear spray caused or contributed to Sicknick's death, which has emerged as a possible theory after investigators had initially believed based on statements gathered early on that he'd been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, which doesn't appear to be the case. Sicknick collapsed later on and died at a hospital the next day. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear, and a final cause of death hasn't yet been determined. The acting chief of the Capitol Police said officials consider it a line-of-duty death.


➤SECURITY FENCING AROUND CAPITOL TO BE SCALED BACK: The security fencing that was put up around the U.S. Capitol after the January 6th attack that has been drawing criticism for still being there from lawmakers from both political parties is going to be scaled back. Timothy Blodgett, who's the acting House sergeant-at-arms, said in a memo yesterday to members of Congress that it will be done in two phases after the Capitol Police said there isn't a, quote, "known, credible threat" justifying keeping it in place. Blodgett said the outer perimeter fencing will be removed in the latter part of this month and Independence and Constitution Avenues, the two major streets around the Capitol, will be opened for traffic. An inner perimeter will be moved closer to the Capitol this week, reopening access to nearby streets and some sidewalks. Additionally, razor wire on top of the fencing will be removed.

➤CAR PLOWS THROUGH SAN DIEGO HOMELESS CAMP, KILLING THREE: A 71-year-old man plowed his car through a sidewalk homeless encampment in San Diego Monday morning, killing three people and injuring six others, two of them critically. The driver, Craig Voss, was arrested and faces charges including vehicular manslaughter and a felony DUI. San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said Voss was driving through a tunnel when he drove his car up on the sidewalk. Nisleit said Voss got out of his car and tried to help people before telling police he was the driver.

➤ATTORNEY FOR OFFICER CHARGED IN GEORGE FLOYD'S DEATH ASKS FOR TRIAL DELAY OVER $27 MILLION SETTLEMENT: An attorney for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in George Floyd's death, asked the judge Monday to delay the trial after a $27 million settlement for Floyd's family was announced on Friday. Defense attorney Eric Nelson said he was concerned the news had, quote, "incredible potential to taint the jury pool," and also again brought up the possibility of moving the trial to another city, a motion which had previously been denied. Word of the settlement came during the current jury selection process for Chauvin's trial. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill agreed to consider the request for a delay.



➤PEOPLE FLYING IN U-S IN HIGHEST NUMBERS SINCE PANDEMIC STARTED:  As vaccinations continue to increase, coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decrease, and more states are lifting Covid restrictions, more Americans are taking to the skies. The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1.3 million fliers on both Friday (March 12th) and Sunday (March 14th), the highest numbers since the pandemic began a year ago. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said yesterday, "Our last three weeks have been the best three weeks since the pandemic hit, and each week has been better than the one prior." Airlines also say more people are booking flights for the spring and summer. Despite the improvement, passenger traffic is still down more than 50 percent this month compared to March 2019.


➤THE PRICE OF HAPPINESS IN THE UNITED STATES IS PROBABLY MORE THAN YOU MAKE: Happiness does come with a price, and it’s pretty high in the U.S. Purdue University researchers found that you’ll need to make $105,000, or nearly $36,000 more than the country’s median household income, to be happy. The scientists say this is the amount of money it takes to reach the state where increases in income no longer produce meaningful benefits to happiness. The good news is that happiness doesn’t require obscene wealth, but the bad news is that in a lot of “happy” countries, you need to be doing better than average when it comes to your income. They found that happiness costs the most in New York City ($139,183), Honolulu, and Bern, Switzerland. The least-expensive places to find happiness are Panama, Antigua, Costa Rica, and Mexico, each has a happiness index between roughly $16,000 and $38,000. In Europe, Portugal has the lowest happiness index at under $70,000.

🏀STANFORD NAMED NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT'S TOP SEED: Stanford was named the overall top seed in this year's women's NCAA basketball tournament on Monday. Stanford was joined by fellow Number 1 seeds Connecticut, South Carolina and North Carolina State in the 64-team bracket. It's the first time as a Number 1 seed for N.C. State. The tournament begins with first round games starting on Sunday (March 21st), with all games during the tournament to be played in the San Antonio, Texas, region because of the coronavirus pandemic. Bracket for the women's NCAA tournament: http://bit.ly/3qRnWGi

🏀UCONN WOMEN'S COACH AURIEMMA POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: On the same day that the bracket for the women's NCAA basketball tournament was released on Monday, it was announced that coach Geno Auriemma of UConn, one of the tournament's Number 1 seeds, had tested positive for the coronavirus. The 66-year-old Hall of Fame coach will miss at least the first two rounds of the tournament. Auriemma, who said he isn't experiencing any symptoms, received a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. He said he was told the full effect doesn't occur until 14 days after the last shot, and he believes he might be sicker now if he hadn't been vaccinated.

🏈GRONKOWSKI RETURNING WITH TAMPA BAY: Rob Gronkowski is staying with the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with his agent telling ESPN yesterday (March 15th) that the star tight end had agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal. Gronkowski, who'd retired in 2019, came back to re-team with quarterback Tom Brady after Brady signed with Tampa Bay last year after 20 years with the New England Patriots.

🏈QB FITZPATRICK AGREES TO ONE-YEAR, $10 MILLION DEAL WITH WASHINGTON: Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has agreed to a one-year free-agent deal with the Washington Football Team that's worth $10 million, ESPN reported Monday (March 15th). The report cited a source as saying the veteran 38-year-old quarterback is expected to head to camp as the starter, with competition from Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. He was with the Miami Dolphins over the past two seasons, starting seven games in 2020.

🏌THREE GOLFERS WITHDRAW FROM HONDA CLASSIC AFTER POSITIVE COVID TESTS: Three golfers, including former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, withdrew from the Honda Classic Monday (March 15th) after testing positive for the coronavirus. The other two were Scott Piercy and Doc Redman. Three players having to withdraw from a tournament because of a positive Covid tests matches the most who've had to do so since the PGA Tour returned last June after having suspended play due to the pandemic. Three players also tested positive before tournaments at the RSM Classic in November and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July. 
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