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Thursday, December 15, 2022

Wake-Up Call: At Least 3 Dead In NOLA Tornado


A devastating storm that spawned tornadoes across Louisiana left at least three people dead, destroyed houses and entire neighborhoods and cut power to tens of thousands of residents.

The storm dealt a cruel second blow Wednesday to Friscoville Avenue in Arabi, still reeling from a powerful twister that struck just nine months ago, after cutting across the west banks of St. Charles, Jefferson and Orleans parishes.  At least 21 tornadoes were reported across Louisiana in 24 hours, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. The National Weather Service plans to survey damage in southeast Louisiana on Thursday and possibly Friday to confirm the tornadoes.

➤UP AGAIN:  The Fed raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage point and signaled more increases in 2023 are likely to tame inflation.  It’s a step down after four consecutive increases of 0.75 point. Today’s move raised the benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, a 15-year high. Most officials penciled in plans to raise the rate to between 5% and 5.5% in 2023, with the median projection implying a further 0.75 percentage point in rate bumps. After a year of inflation and rising rates, financial advisers suggest Americans reset their priorities. U.S. stocks closed lower after the Fed’s decision.

➤FUSION INDUSTRY SUDDENTLY WHITE-HOT: The startups now can compete for a bigger slice of clean-tech and climate-focused investing, because the possibility of almost limitless energy is now real. Yesterday, the Energy Department announced that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the first time achieved ignition, generating more energy than it consumed. Commercialization of the process remains years away.

➤RUSSIA RELEASES ANOTHER AMERICAN: Another U.S. citizen has been released from Russian detention. Air Force veteran Suedi Murekezi was one of 64 soldiers handed over to Ukraine in return for Russian soldiers detained in Ukraine. The American was charged with attending anti-Russian protests and “inciting ethnic hatred.” Murekezi was described as a U.S. Air Force veteran and resident of Minnesota who moved to Ukraine in 2018.


➤THE WORLD’S RICHEST PERSON RIGHT NOW: Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, has just become the richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a wealth estimated at $141 billion, Arnault pushed Elon Musk down to second place in the latest ranking. Musk’s wealth plummeted as the stock price of his electric car company, Tesla, was cut in half. He also spent $40 billion buying Twitter, which didn’t help.

➤MUSK SAYS SON STALKED: Elon Musk posted a video of a 'crazy' man believed to have stalked the car his child was traveling in - before blocking the vehicle's path and climbing on top of its hood. The Daily Mail US reports the Twitter CEO said that his two-year-old son X Æ A-Xii, known as X, was followed by a balaclava-clad stalker in Los Angeles on Tuesday night - and he is now trying to hunt down the man. In the short video, the suspect was seen wearing a black hood and driving a white Hyundai - before picking up his phone to record the encounter himself. The video, believed to be filmed by Musk's driver, then panned towards the car's license plate. There was a short exchange with the alleged stalker - where the driver seemed to utter: 'Got it.' 

Also, Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family.' The stalking incident comes after Musk vowed to sue the man who set up a Twitter account which tracked the movements of his private jet. Musk declared he was pursuing legal action against Jack Sweeney, whose Twitter account @elonjet used publicly available records to tell the world where the chief twit's private jet was flying. It is unclear how Musk connected @elonjet to the incident, but both the account and Sweeney's personal account were suspended.

➤PELOSI ATTACKER HAD ‘HIT LIST’: The man accused of attacking the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a hit list of targets that included California Governor Gavin Newsom and actor Tom Hanks, according to testimony at a hearing yesterday. David DePape faces charges including attempted murder for the assault on Paul Pelosi in October. He has pleaded not guilty. At least two others were injured. A tornado in Union Parish caused up to 25 injuries in Union Parish. No fatalities were reported there.

Paul Pelosi was in Washington with the speaker yesterday for the unveiling of her portrait, which will hang in the speaker’s lobby. She is stepping down from her leadership role in the next session of Congress.

Daily Mail US Composite 12/15/22
🚨FLORIDA COP THANKS HER BACK-UP: The Lake County Florida cop who nearly lost her life following a routine traffic stop after she was exposed to fentanyl that perps had rolled up in a dollar bill has thanked her back up for saving her life. Concerning footage showed Officer Courtney Bannick go limp on the ground after supposedly touching the narcotics. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she was left drifting in and out of consciousness after the incident in Tavares on Tuesday. Earlier in the night she had pulled over a car and taken the passenger to jail before she started struggling to breathe and pleaded for help over the radio. Officers found her in her police uniform starting to pass out before administering Narcan to save her. In a Facebook post, Bannick said that there was nothing more that she could have done to keep safe and added: 'Without my back up there, I would not be here today.'

Daily Mail US Composite 12/15/22
➤SAM WEARS SUIT IN COURT: Sam Brinton, 35, who identifies as non-binary and uses 'they/their' pronouns, appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday where the judge set their bail at $15,000. The former Department of Energy official accused of stealing luggage at two airports in two separate incidents has been arrested on a felony grand larceny charge. Brinton was charged for the luggage theft earlier this year at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas that was captured on security footage. In court on Wednesday, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Joe Bonaventure also mentioned the theft at the Minneapolis airport and told Brinton to stay out of trouble. Their court date for that incident is on December 19 in Minnesota. Brinton, who was appointed to his Department of Energy position in June, was out of a job on Monday, according to a statement released by the agency.

➤A CRACKDOWN ON THE MS-13 IS CAUSING MORE ARRESTS AT US BORDER: In the last year, the U.S.-Mexico border has seen a 2-fold increase in the amount of people picked up by police related to MS-13 gangs. Experts say the growing number of crackdowns seems to be related to gang leaders fleeing their home bases to evade prosecution in the countries they committed or ordered crimes to be carried out. The rise in foreign arrests has resulted in questionable deaths in lockup, driving gang members to nearby borders to avoid untimely death in prison.

✞ELLEN SHOW D-J DEAD:  Ellen show DJ 'tWitch' said he was hoping to have another child with his wife just a month before he shot himself in a motel bathroom. Stephen Boss, 40, was found dead in a room at the Oak Tree Motel in LA - a 15-minute walk from his LA home - at about 11.15am Tuesday. He had celebrated his wedding anniversary with Allison Holker, 34, three days before. In an interview last month, the dancer told the Jennifer Hudson show that they were considering adding to their family - saying: 'I love the little babies, I love them. It's a constant conversation.' His wife paid tribute to him in a heartfelt statement - saying she would 'save the last dance' for him - before welcoming tearful family members to their home in Enrico, California on Wednesday.

⚾CORREA JOINS GIANTS IN RECORD DEAL: Shortstop Carlos Correa has accepted a 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. It’s the biggest deal ever for the Giants. Just 13 months ago, Correa reportedly turned down a five-year, $160 million offer from the Houston Astros. Correa was an Astro when he won Rookie of the Year in 2015. He was an All-Star in 2017, and helped the Astros win the World Series that year.

⚾BASSITT GETS A DEAL WITH THE BLUE JAYS: Former New York Mets starting pitcher Chris Bassitt is going to the Toronto Blue Jays for a reported $63 million over three years. Bassitt was with the Mets for just one season after six seasons with the Oakland A’s.

⚾SYNDERGAARD GOES TO THE DODGERS: Former New York Mets All-Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in a one-year, $13 million deal, The Los Angeles Times reports. Syndergaard had a sterling career with the Mets before arm trouble caused him to miss the entire 2020 season and most of 2021.

🏈FALCONS ROOKIE RIDDER GETS AN AUDITION: Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder is getting a four-week tryout starting with Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. There’s some confusion over the status of the team’s only experienced quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Mariota was placed on injured reserve last week, but coach Arthur Smith told TheAthletic that the Falcons are not quite sure he’ll be back at all.

🏈JETS REORDER QUARTERBACK CHART: The New York Jets have promoted Zach Wilson to backup quarterback, moving Joe Flacco down to number three on the list. Mike White is expected to start in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, although he was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a rib injury.

🏈MISSISSIPPI STATE NAMES ZACH ARNETT AS HEAD COACH: Mississippi State University will appoint Zach Arnett to head football coach, according to multiple sources. Arnett was defensive coordinator for three years alongside head coach Mike Leach. Leach died of heart failure on Sunday.

⚽WORLD CUP FINAL IS FRANCE VS. ARGENTINA: France will defend its World Cup title against Argentina in Sunday’s championship match. The semifinal round ended yesterday when France eliminated upstart Morocco 2-0. Morocco still gets to take on Croatia on Saturday in the third-place game.




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