Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's planned retirement was officially announced Thursday, one day after it had been reported, and in a joint White House appearance with Breyer, President Biden reaffirmed his campaign trail pledge to nominate a Black woman to the high court. Biden, who said he'll make his choice by the end of February, stated: "I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be somebody of extraordinary qualifications, character and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It is long overdue."
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer says he plans to step down when the court begins its summer recess, "assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed."
— NPR (@NPR) January 27, 2022
President Biden says he intends to name a Black woman as nominee by the end of February. pic.twitter.com/Um4YkxgwhF
Breyer, who will retire at the end of the current term after serving since 1994, spoke briefly, talking about what he called the "miracle" of America's constitutional democracy. Speaking to what seems to be an ever more divided nation, Breyer spoke about the concept of American democracy as an experiment, saying, "It’s an experiment that’s still going on."
➤BIDEN TO UKRAINE PREZ: RUSSIAN INVASION 'DISTINCT' POSSIBILITY' IN FEBRUARY: President Biden warned in a phone call to Ukraine's president yesterday that there is a, quote, "distinct possibility" that Russia could invade his country in February, according to the White House, and also repeated U.S. and allied support for Ukraine. The U.S. has warned of devastating sanctions against Russia if it invades, and senior U.S. officials said yesterday that Germany won't allow a newly-built gas pipeline from Russia to Germany to begin operations if there's an invasion. For its part, a Kremlin spokesman said there was, quote, "little ground for optimism" after the U.S. and NATO responded in writing this week saying they won't meet Moscow's demands on Ukraine. However, he also said, "there always are prospects for continuing a dialogue, it’s in the interests of both us and the Americans."
🤑U.S. ECONOMY GREW AT FASTEST PACE LAST YEAR SINCE 1984: The U.S. economy grew last year at the fastest pace since 1984, with the Commerce Department reporting yesterday, that the nation’s gross domestic product, which is its total output of goods and services, expanded 5.7 percent. As the economy bounced back from the short but deep coronavirus-caused recession, the economy actually grew in the last quarter, from October through December, at 6.9 percent, as businesses replenished their inventories. Growth is expected to slow from that pace this year, however, due to factors including inflation, the omicron variant, and the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.
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| Daily Mail Graphic 1/28/22 |
➤BIDEN TO UKRAINE PREZ: RUSSIAN INVASION 'DISTINCT' POSSIBILITY' IN FEBRUARY: President Biden warned in a phone call to Ukraine's president yesterday that there is a, quote, "distinct possibility" that Russia could invade his country in February, according to the White House, and also repeated U.S. and allied support for Ukraine. The U.S. has warned of devastating sanctions against Russia if it invades, and senior U.S. officials said yesterday that Germany won't allow a newly-built gas pipeline from Russia to Germany to begin operations if there's an invasion. For its part, a Kremlin spokesman said there was, quote, "little ground for optimism" after the U.S. and NATO responded in writing this week saying they won't meet Moscow's demands on Ukraine. However, he also said, "there always are prospects for continuing a dialogue, it’s in the interests of both us and the Americans."
🤑U.S. ECONOMY GREW AT FASTEST PACE LAST YEAR SINCE 1984: The U.S. economy grew last year at the fastest pace since 1984, with the Commerce Department reporting yesterday, that the nation’s gross domestic product, which is its total output of goods and services, expanded 5.7 percent. As the economy bounced back from the short but deep coronavirus-caused recession, the economy actually grew in the last quarter, from October through December, at 6.9 percent, as businesses replenished their inventories. Growth is expected to slow from that pace this year, however, due to factors including inflation, the omicron variant, and the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.
"Heroic gift": NYPD officer who was shot and killed saved five people's lives with organ donations https://t.co/Y0QzVUkKYw
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 27, 2022
➤COAST GUARD SUSPENDS SEARCH FOR MISSING MIGRANTS FROM CAPSIZED BOAT: The Coast Guard last night suspended its search for migrants who were on a boat that capsized off the eastern cost of Florida late Saturday. A total of five bodies were found, leaving 34 missing who were on the boat headed from the Bahamas to Florida. The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the case as a human smuggling operation. The lone survivor was found clinging to the overturned boat about 40 miles off Fort Pierce. He said no-one on the overloaded boat had been wearing a life jacket.
➤DEFENSE SECRETARY ORDERS PLAN FOR IMPROVING LIMITING CIVILIAN CASUALTIES FROM AIRSTRIKES: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday ordered his staff to develop a plan within 90 days for improving how the Pentagon limits and responds to civilian casualties caused by U.S. airstrikes. He called protecting civilians "a strategic and a moral imperative." The move comes after criticism of a U.S. airstrike in Kabul last August 29th as the U.S. was in the last days of its withdrawal from Afghanistan in which 10 civilians were killed. The Pentagon later acknowledged that the strike was a mistake, with the person targeted not a militant, as had first been claimed.
➤AVENATTI, REPRESENTING HIMSELF, BEGINS QUESTIONING STORMY DANIELS IN HIS TRIAL: Attorney Michael Avenatti, who rose to fame when he represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against Donald Trump in 2018 and became a cable news favorite for his brash attacks on the then-president before his fall over allegations of embezzlement, began questioning his former client yesterday in his trial for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 of her autobiography advance. Avenatti, who is representing himself, began questioning Daniels near the end of the day, and she is due back on the stand today. Earlier, Daniels had said she felt, quote, "betrayed and stupid" when she was told Avenatti had stolen from her. Among his questions, Avenatti asked Daniels how he was supposed to have been paid for his work for her since their contract only called for her to pay him $100. She said it was supposed to come from a crowd-funding website that raised $650,000 for her legal expenses, as well as a share of any proceeds won in her lawsuits against Trump. She said they didn't agree on any other compensation. He's claimed the money from the book was part of his compensation.
➤NYC MAYOR WANTED TO PAY BROTHER $210k FOR SECURITY JOB: A controversy over office-holders hiring family members for high-paid city jobs erupted within days of New York's City's new mayor taking office on January 1st when Mayor Eric Adams wanted to hire his brother to a $210,000 city job managing his security detail. In response, Adams asked for guidance from the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board and said he'd follow its determination. The ruling was made public yesterday -- and it's not happening, at least not the way Adams wanted. His brother, Bernard Adams, can still work for the city, but he'll be paid just $1 a year. Additionally, he won't be "executive director of mayoral security" within the New York Police Department, but will instead be "senior adviser for mayoral security" within the office of mayor. The NYPD will continue to oversee the mayor's security detail, while Bernard will advise the mayor on his security and community engagement issues. Further, no city personnel will be allowed to report to him, and he can't have any command authority at the police department. Bernard will continue to receive his city pension for the 20 years he worked as a police officer before his 2006 retirement.
A Florida bill that would limit classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity and encourage parents to sue schools or teachers that engage in these topics is speeding through the state House and Senate. https://t.co/4Y1345Ltca
— ABC News (@ABC) January 26, 2022
📱SECRET BUTTON’ ON IPHONES A BIG HIT AFTER GOING VIRAL ON TIKTOK: A TikTok post has gone viral after claiming the iPhone has a “secret button.” TikTok creator @ellyawesometech explains the “Back Tap” feature is available on any iPhone running at least iOS 14. It allows users to tap the back of their phone near where the Apple logo is, and their phone will do whatever feature they’ve programmed it to do through the settings menu. You could set the Back Tap feature to open the camera, take a screenshot, or even control the volume of your device, for example.
— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) January 28, 2022
To set it up, go to Settings, scroll to Accessibility, go to Touch, and then at the bottom hit “Back Tap.” You can choose whether you want to enable a two tap, three tap, or both, and then choose from the options to pick what the secret button can do for you. The Back Tap feature even works with a phone case on the device. Even though this is not a new feature, many are claiming this is the first time they’ve heard of it.
A message from Ben:@steelers #NFL #SteelersNation #ThankYou#HereWeGo #LoveAndHonor pic.twitter.com/pUbKGO1nUs
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) January 27, 2022
🎾NADAL TO PLAY IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL, AMERICAN COLLINS IN WOMEN'S FINAL: Sixth-seeded Rafael Nadal will play in the Australian Open final, hoping to win a men's record 21st Grand Slam singles title, after beating Number 7 Matteo Berrettini in their semifinal match early today in four sets. He'll play for the championship against the winner of today's semifinal between second-seeded Daniil Medvedev and Number 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. On the women's side, American Danielle Collins, who's seeded 27th, will face off against top-seed Ashleigh Barty in the final on Saturday. Barty beat American Madison Keys in her semifinal and Collins topped seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek.
🏀NBA NAMES ALL-STAR GAME STARTERS: The NBA named the All-Star Game starters yesterday with the L.A. Lakers' LeBron James chosen for the 18th straight time and returning as a captain for the Western Conference. Making their All-Star Game debuts will be Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins and Memphis' Ja Morant. The others voted as starters from the Western Conference were Nikola Jokic of Denver and Golden State's Stephen Curry. The starters from the Eastern Conference were: Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Atlanta's Trae Young, and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan. Durant will be the captain for the Eastern conference as he, like James, had the most votes in his conference. They will draft players for the rosters for the February 20th All-Star Game.
🏈BRONCOS REPORTEDLY HIRING HACKETT AS HEAD COACH: The Denver Broncos are hiring Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach, according to media reports yesterday. It will be the first time as head coach for the 42-year-old Hackett. He'll be replacing Vic Fangio, who was fired after a 7-10 season, Denver's sixth in a row without making the playoffs. The news about Hackett sparked speculation that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who's contemplating his future, might join him in Denver.
🏈BEARS HIRE EBERFLUS AS HEAD COACH: The Chicago Bears announced last night that they'd hired Matt Eberflus as their new head coach. It will be the first NFL head coaching position for Eberflus, who was the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator for the past four years. The Bears fired coach Matt Nagy after a 6-11 season.
The “powerful coastal storm” is expected to arrive Friday night and stick around through Saturday night, forecasters with the National Weather Service said in an online discussion forum. There will be “significant” snowfall across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the potential for “near blizzard” conditions for southeastern Massachusetts.
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