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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Biden Summits With Canada, Mexico


President Biden will be meeting at the White House today with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in a return of the North America Leaders Summit. It will be the first trilateral meeting of the three North American leaders since 2016, returning to a tradition that began in 2005, after the summits didn't take place under former President Donald Trump. The three will discuss issues including trade, immigration and climate change, including disputes among them on those and other matters.


➤RITTENHOUSE JURORS DELIBERATE FOR ANOTHER DAY, DEFENSE MAKES NEW MISTRIAL REQUEST: Jurors in Kyle Rittenhouse's Wisconsin murder trial deliberated for a second day on Wednesday, and made a request to re-watch video from the trial that led the defense to make a new request for a mistrial. The issue was drone video shown by prosecutors during closing arguments in an effort to challenge Rittenhouse's claim of self-defense and portray him as the instigator of the violence that led him to shoot three people, two of them fatally, in Kenosha in August 2020 during protests after a police shooting of a Black man named Jacob Blake. In asking for a mistrial, the defense contended they got a smaller compressed version of the video and didn't get the higher-quality version used by the prosecution until the evidence part of the trial was over, and that they would have approached things differently if they had it earlier. The judge didn't immediately rule on the mistrial request. Jurors will be back for more deliberations today.

➤McMICHAEL, WHO FATALLY SHOT ARBERY, TESTIFIES IN HIS MURDER TRIAL: Travis McMichael, who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020 after chasing him as the 25-year-old Black man ran through McMichael's Georgia neighborhood, testified in his murder trial yesterday, saying he made a, quote, "life or death" decision to fire because Arbery attacked him and grabbed his shotgun. McMichael, who like the two other defendants is white, claims he fired in self-defense. 


Also on trial with the 35-year-old McMichael is his father, Greg McMichael, and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan. McMichael said there'd been break-ins in their Santilla Shores neighborhood, and that security cameras had shown Arbery inside a house a man was building five doors down four nights and on the day he was killed. He said that on that day, his father said he'd seen him run past the house, so they got weapons and chased him in their pickup truck. Bryan eventually joined the chase in his pickup, and he recorded the shooting on his cellphone. McMichael had stopped and gotten out of the truck and he testified he pointed his gun at Arbery to get him to back off, and Arbery ran around the passenger side and attacked him. McMichael fired three times, and Arbery was hit twice.

➤JANUARY 6TH CAPITOL RIOTER WITH HORNS, SPEAR SENTENCED TO 41 MONTHS IN PRISON: The January 6th rioter who was seen wearing a horned hat and face paint and carrying a spear, making him one of the more recognizable people from the attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 41 months in prison yesterday. Jacob Chansley had pled guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding, and before sentencing yesterday, he told the judge his actions were wrong and he accepts responsibility for them, saying, "I have no excuse. . . . My behavior is indefensible." Chansley has already been in jail for 10 months. His attorney said he has longstanding mental health problems and needs mental health treatment.

➤HOUSE CENSURES REP. GOSAR OVER VIOLENT VIDEO TARGETING AOC: The House voted yesterday to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona over an anime-style video he tweeted that depicted him killing Democatic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword, the first member of Congress censured since 2010. The 223-207 vote was almost entirely along party lines, with Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger the only Republicans to vote for censure. The vote also removed Gosar from his House committee assignments. Democrats said the video was a threat to a fellow member of Congress' life that wouldn't be tolerated in any other workplace, but Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the censure an "abuse of power" by the Democrats. Gosar denied the video was dangerous or threatening, saying, "I do not espouse violence toward anyone." He'd deleted the tweeted video days ago, but retweeted it soon after yesterday's vote. Ocasio-Cortez spoke during the proceeding, not only condemning the tweet from Gosar, who she said hadn't apologized, but also McCarthy for not condemning Gosar. She said, "What is so hard about saying this is wrong? This is not about me. This is not about Representative Gosar. But this is about what we are willing to accept."


➤100,000 AMERICANS DIED OF OVERDOSES IN ONE YEAR FOR FIRST TIME: An estimated just over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year for the first time, from May 2020 to April 2021, according to new data out yesterday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overdose deaths, which have been rising for more than 20 years, sped up in the past two years, including a spike of nearly 30 percent in the latest year. Health officials blame the pandemic leaving many drug users socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support, and a more dangerous drug supply due to fentanyl, which dealers mix with other drugs. The number of U.S. deaths from drug overdoses is now close to that for diabetes, the nation's Number 7 cause of death.

➤APPLE TO LET CUSTOMERS FIX THEIR PHONES: Apple will finally let customers fix their phones and other devices, announcing yesterday that it will provide instructions on home repairs, and start selling more than 200 parts and the necessary tools. The program, which Apple is calling "Self Service Repair," will begin early next year in the U.S. with the iPhone 12 and 13. Owners will be able to replace the phone's display, battery and camera. Customers have until now had to take their devices to an Apple store or third-party store, and Apple in fact is saying most people should still do so, with this program intended for, quote, "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices."
 
➤BIG RETAILERS SAYS THEY'RE STOCKED FOR CHRISTMAS:  You might not have to worry so much after all about the warnings to get your Christmas shopping done early because of product shortages due to the supply chain backlog. Big retailers are saying that they planned ahead and did what they needed to be ready and have enough stock for the holidays, the most important time of the year for them. Among them: Target reported yesterday (November 17th) that its inventory at the end of the third quarter was strong, at 17.6 percent higher than last year; Walmart's inventory was up 11.5 percent in the third quarter over last year; and the CEO of TJX, which owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, said it's in, quote, "an excellent inventory position, with most of the product needed for the holiday season either on hand or scheduled to arrive at our stores and online in time for the holidays."

➤NEW ‘POCKETING’ DATING TREND: PEOPLE REFUSE TO ENGAGE WITH THEIR PARTNER ON SOCIAL MEDIA:  There’s a new dating term to learn– “Pocketing.” It’s when a new partner is actively avoiding acknowledging your existence online and is going out of their way to avoid introducing you to any of their friends and family. Relationship expert at eHarmony Rachel Lloyd says the behavior doesn’t necessarily mean the person is cheating, but says those who do it often want to reap the benefits of a relationship while also living a “single life online.” Signs you’re being “pocketed” could include your partner never replying to your social media comments, removing your tagged pictures from their profile and never adding your tagged stories to their account. Elaine Parker, dating expert and CEO of Safer Date says this behavior can also be a sign of a controlling partner who is “insecure or jealous” about their other half. The experts say if you think you’re being “pocketed” you should have an open and honest conversation with your partner about how you’re feeling, and if they do not open up, or get defensive, it might be time to re-evaluate the relationship.

➤BIDEN LEANING TOWARD BOYCOTT OF BEIJIN OLYMPICS: President Biden is leaning toward a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics next February over China's human rights abuses, particularly towards its Uyghur Muslim minority, with CNN reporting yesterday (November 17th) that all discussions have been leaning that way, citing a senior administration official, after The Washington Post first reported the development. Lawmakers from both parties have been calling for a diplomatic boycott, meaning no U.S. government delegation, including Biden, would attend. Some Republicans have even called for a full boycott, meaning no U.S. athletes would participate in the Beijing Games, but CNN cited the official as saying that's unlikely. The Beijing Olympics will begin on February 4th and run through February 20th. 

🏀SUNS WIN 10TH STRAIGHT, 105-98 OVER MAVERICKS: The Phoenix Suns notched their 10th win in a row last night with a 105-98 win at home over the Dallas Mavericks. Devin Booker led the Suns with 24 points and Deandre Ayton had 19. Dallas was playing its first game this season with star Luka Doncic, who sprained his knee and ankle against the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
⚾TORONTO'S RAY, BREWERS' BURNES WIN CY YOUNG: Pitchers Robbie Ray of the Toronto Blue Jays and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers won the Cy Young Award yesterday in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Ray in the American League and Burners in the National League. Burnes led the majors with a 2.43 ERA and Ray was the best in the AL with a 2.84 ERA.

⚾VERLANDER STAYING WITH HOUSTON WITH ONE-YEAR, $25 MILLION DEAL: Pitcher Justin Verlander has reached a $25 million one-year deal to stay with the Houston Astros, according to media reports yesterday. The 38-year-old will be coming back from Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss all of the 2021 season. The two-time Cy Young winner and 2011 American League MVP also only made one start in the Covid-shortened 2020 season because of his arm troubles before having the surgery.

➤RUGGS ORDERED FOR COURT APPEARANCE AFTER MISSING ALCOHOL TEST: Former Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III was ordered by a judge yesterday to appear before her on Monday after he missed a required alcohol test. Ruggs is on house arrest after a fatal November 2nd crash in Las Vegas that killed one person in which he was allegedly driving up to 156 miles per hour while drunk, with a blood alcohol level twice the Nevada limit. The Raiders dropped Ruggs hours after the crash. The 22-year-old's attorneys told the judge he "self-tested" negative soon after missing one of the calls for a breath test last week, and blamed the delay on trouble with testing equipment. Ruggs must undergo alcohol checks four times a day.

🦃THANKSGIVING WEATHER COULD BE IMPACTED BY ‘SIGNIFICANT’ STORM, FORECASTERS WARN:  Thanksgiving (November 25th) is looking like it will be stormy in the Northeast and Midwest. Forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) predict a “large-scale” weather pattern will extend into midweek. The NWS says a cold front will sweep across the Midwest into the Northeast on Sunday to Monday (November 21st & 22nd), with rain expected across much of the eastern US. Forecasters say some snow is expected as colder air arrives behind the storm, and gusty winds will develop in the wake of the storm exiting New England, but they should not have a dramatic impact on air travel. The West and parts of the High Plains will see “variable but generally above normal temperatures through Tuesday (November 23rd)." But even minor weather issues could mean more traffic, as the AAA predicts more than 53 million people will travel for Thanksgiving this year, up 13 percent since 2020.




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