Friday, September 16, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Chaos At Martha's Vineyard



The posh liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard has been thrown into chaos by the arrival of two planeloads of migrants sent there by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Roughly 50 mostly male migrants were flown to the famed Massachusetts island — constituting what the local tourism board called a “humanitarian crisis’’ Thursday. “This is an ongoing situation,’’ wrote a county emergency-management rep in a statement, noting that local authorities “are actively collaborating to develop a coordinated regional response. We have reached out to our State and Federal partners for additional and long term support and assistance.’’


➤NATIONWIDE FREIGHT RAIL STRIKE AVERTED: A nationwide strike by railroad freight workers was averted early yesterday when a tentative agreement was reached between the opposing sides. President Joe Biden called both parties as today’s deadline approached to underscore the importance of reaching a deal. About a third of the nation’s goods are shipped by rail, and a disruption of that service was seen as economically disastrous. Rail workers are getting some money in the deal, but the critical issue for them was the long hours they were working due to staffing shortages on the railroads.

➤SPECIAL MASTER TO REVIEW DOCUMENTS SEIZED AT MAR-A-LAGO: A U.S. District judge has refused a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately resume its criminal investigation into classified documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida. Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the investigation must remain on hold while the documents are first reviewed by an independent arbiter. The judge is allowing the arbiter to review all of the documents, including those marked classified. Senior Judge Raymond Dearie, of Brooklyn, New York, was named the arbiter, called a special master. Politico has revealed that at least one of Trump’s attorneys in the case is being paid by Save America, the political fundraising group set up by Trump two days after the 2020 election. A $3 million payment was arranged for Florida lawyer Kris Kise, who will represent Trump on both the documents case and the January 6th investigation.

✞THE ELIZABETH LINE: The line of mourners waiting to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth the Second stretched across London for more than nine miles yesterday. The queen is lying in state at Westminster Hall. The government’s funeral planners warned them that they would almost certainly be there overnight if they expect to enter the hall.

➤JACKSON RESIDENTS FINALLY GET SAFE WATER: Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have clean water flowing from their taps for the first time in more than 40 days. Flooding along the Pearl River in August caused the collapse of the city’s aging water plant. The fix is not permanent. The city’s water system has been neglected for years.


➤MORTGAGE RATES TOP 6%: Home mortgage rates topped six percent this week for the first time since 2008. Last week’s 6.02 percent average nationwide rate is more than double the rate in the same week a year earlier. They may get higher soon, since the Federal Reserve is expected to raise the federal funds rate again next week.


➤BIG JUMP IN FOOD PRICES: If you pay attention to the prices you pay at the supermarket, you’ll have noticed that a dozen eggs costs 40 percent more now than they did a year ago. In its latest monthly report, the Department of Agriculture said food prices climbed 13.5 percent overall in August. That’s the worst increase in food prices since 1979. The department blamed continuing supply chain issues plus higher transportation and labor costs in the food industry. But it said that the worst may be over, and prices should begin to fall soon.

Daily Mail 9/16/22
🔥9000 HOMES THREATENED BY CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE: The largest fire in California this year is burning more than 64,000 acres of land in the northern part of the state. In addition, the Mosquito Fire threatens around 9,000 homes and is so intense that it will impact the air quality of cities such as Chicago and New York City. The fire began on September 6 along Mosquito Road close to the town of Foresthill in Placer County, around 110 miles northeast of San Francisco. As of Thursday evening, the Mosquito Fire was 20 percent contained after destroying at least 70 homes and other buildings. That same day, Calfire spokesman Scott McClean said conditions at the Mosquito Fire were 'looking a whole heck of a lot better.' The 100-square-mile blaze on Wednesday surpassed the size of the previous largest fire in 2022 - the McKinney Fire - although this season has seen a fraction of last year's wildfire activity so far. The smoke will billow to California's neighboring states to create hazardous air quality in Oregon and Wyoming but making its way to the east coast, reports ABC News.

➤POLITICIAN MAKES AN AMAZING FLIP-FLOP: Right up until Don Bolduc won the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, he insisted that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from former President Donald Trump. Now, not so much. On Thursday, Bolduc was on Fox News saying that he had come to the conclusion that the election was not stolen and that “unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country.”

John Fetterman
➤POLITICAL DIRTY TRICK AIMED AT PENNSYLVANIA CANDIDATE: In other political news, a widely circulated video of Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman speaking with difficulty is a fake. The video is edited to make it appear that the U.S. Senate candidate is still experiencing severe speech difficulties from a stroke he suffered in May. NBC News compared the original video and the edited version to reveal the tampering.

➤WORK FROM HOME: The U.S. Census Bureau's latest findings showed that DC has paved the way for remote work as nearly half of all employees were reporting working from home. Seattle followed closely behind with 46.8 percent of employees working from home. San Francisco had 45.6 percent of its labor force working remotely, wile Austin and Atlanta had 38.8 and 38.7 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Memphis, El Paso, Texas and Wichita, Kansas, all trailed at the bottom with only 10 percent of employees working from home. Overall, the US reported that nearly 18 percent of its workforce was enjoying remote work, nearly three times as much prior to the pandemic.

➤LIFE ON MARS! Life has been found on Mars, or at least something resembling it. The Perseverance rover has collected samples of volcanic rock that contain a high concentration of organic matter from an ancient river delta on the planet’s surface. The samples suggest that the riverbed was possibly a habitable environment about 3.5 billion years ago. NASA notes that the presence of organic matter suggests the possibility of life but does not prove it.

🎾ROGER FEDERER IS RETIRING: Roger Federer announced yesterday that he plans to retire from pro tennis after next week’s Laver Cup in London. During his 24-year career, Federer won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles including a record eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open titles and five U.S. Open titles. He was ranked Number One by the Association of Tennis Professions for a record 237 straight weeks from February 2nd, 2004, until August 17th, 2008. Now 41, Federer has been struggling with knee injuries.

🏀PHOENIX SUNS GET AN INTERIM GOVERNOR: Sam Garvin, vice chairman of the Phoenix Suns, has been named interim governor of the NBA team while Robert Sarver is serving his one-year suspension for inappropriate conduct. Garver was one of the members of the ownership group who signed a statement defending Sarver after an ESPN report detailed the team owner’s history of racist and misogynist language and bullying behavior.
🏈DAVID ANENIH TO FILL IN FOR STEELERS’ T.J. WATT: Former Tennessee Titans linebacker David Anenih will fill in for Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt for at least four weeks. Watt was officially placed on injured reserve yesterday. He’s being treated for a torn pectoral muscle and needs four to six weeks to recover.

🏈SEAHAWKS SAFETY JAMAL ADAMS OUT FOR THE SEASON: Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is now expected to be out for the season after an injury to his quadriceps tendon suffered in the team’s opening game, the NFL Network reported yesterday. The Seahawks have signed defensive back Teez Tabor of the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad to fill in for Adams.

🏈NFL WEEK 2 -- THURSDAY NIGHT: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Los Angeles Chargers 24

Daily Mail Graphic 9/16/22

➤FIONA EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN: The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tropical Storm Fiona is on a path to threaten the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. Fiona has formed in the Atlantic, becoming the sixth named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm is heading towards the Leeward Islands and packing winds of 60 mph with even higher gusts. Strong winds currently extend 140 miles from the center of the storm leading to multiple governments to issue tropical storm warnings. Tropical storm warnings currently cover Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, and St. Martin.



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