Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Buffalo Battered, Travelers Stranded


State and military police were sent Tuesday to keep people off Buffalo’s snow-choked roads, and officials kept counting fatalities three days after western New York’s deadliest storm in at least two generations. Even as suburban roads and most major highways in the area reopened, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned that police would be stationed at entrances to Buffalo and at major intersections because some drivers were flouting a ban on driving within New York’s second-most populous city.

More than 30 people are reported to have died in the region, officials said, including seven storm-related deaths announced Tuesday by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office. The toll surpasses that of the historic Blizzard of 1977, blamed for killing as many as 29 people in an area known for harsh winter weather.

Greg Monett turned to social media to beg for help shoveling a 6-foot (1.8-meter) pile of snow from the end of his Buffalo driveway so he could get dialysis treatment Tuesday.


Southwest Airlines said it would limit new bookings as it struggles to stabilize operations hampered amid the bad weather. The carrier came under more scrutiny from Washington for its holiday storm meltdown; it has canceled close to 11,000 flights since Thursday. Southwest has called the disruption unacceptable and said it was working to address it. To keep people from booking flights that might be canceled and to give various systems time to sync up, the airline removed some seats for sale on its website. Most flights scheduled soon are shown as unavailable to book.

➤U-S HOME PRICE FALL AGAIN: U.S. home prices fell in October for the fourth straight month. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, dropped 0.5% compared with September. Existing-home sales fell for 10 straight months through November. A jump in mortgage rates curbed pandemic-driven demand; many economists expect prices to continue sliding from their spring peaks.

➤TESLA'S STOCK IS HEADED FOR IT'S WORST MONTH, QUARTER AND YEAR ON RECORD: Tesla's stock plunged by 11% on Tuesday, poised to end 2022 on a grim note after having shed over 70% of value this year. The latest drop comes after The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla will continue a weeklong production halt at its Shanghai facility, facing a fresh onslaught of Covid cases within its Chinese workforce.  According to Axios, Tesla shares have fallen 73% from their record high in November 2021. The stock is down 69% in 2022, more than double the decline in the Nasdaq. According to filings in mid-December, Elon Musk sold about 22 million more shares of Tesla, which were worth around $3.6 billion, Earlier this year  After his latest stock sale, Musk said on Twitter Spaces on Dec. 22 that he would not be selling any stock for 18 to 24 months.


➤WHOOPI STEPS-IN IT AGAIN: The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg issued an apology on Tuesday following backlash for repeating her claim in a recent interview that the Holocaust wasn't about race. The Oscar-winning actress was suspended from The View in February for saying the Holocaust was not about race, but rather 'white on white' violence and 'man's inhumanity to man' - and the TV personality was told in advance not to discuss the daytime talk show. Goldberg readily repeated her controversial comments last week, when it was pointed out that the Nazis certainly believed the Holocaust was about race. On Tuesday, she apologized, saying that it was 'never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in.'

➤GOV. ABBOTT TO BIDEN: WAKE-UP! Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is firing back at the White House after it harshly criticized him for busing migrants to Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve in sub-freezing temperatures.  D.C. officials reported 139 migrants were dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence, many of them lacking proper winter clothing. As White House officials called the move “cruel, dangerous and shameful,” Abbott Communications Director Renae Eze blamed the White House for not doing more to secure the border. 

Since April, Abbott has bused thousands for migrants to cities with Democratic mayor and governors. On Tuesday, Abbott announced he has now sent 15,900 migrants to D.C., New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. More than 8,900 people have been dropped off in Washington, D.C. 

➤SUPREME COURT KEEPS TITLE 42..FOR NOW: The Supreme Court is keeping pandemic-era limits on asylum in place for now, dashing hopes of migrants who have been fleeing violence and inequality in Latin America and elsewhere to reach the United States.  Tuesday’s ruling preserves a major Trump-era policy that was scheduled to expire under a judge’s order on Dec. 21. The case will be argued in February and a stay imposed last week by Chief Justice John Roberts will remain in place until the justices make a decision.

The limits, often known as Title 42 in reference to a 1944 public health law, were put in place under then-President Donald Trump at the beginning of the pandemic. Officials have expelled asylum-seekers inside the United States 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Immigration advocates sued to end the policy, saying it goes against American and international obligations to people fleeing to the U.S. to escape persecution. They’ve also argued that the policy is outdated as coronavirus treatments improve.

➤PALM BEACH MAN IMPREGNATED A 13-YEAR-OLD, HE BLAMES THE RAPE ON VOODOO: A West Palm Beach man accused of the incestuous rape and impregnation of a 13-year-old child didn’t deny the charge. During a post-Miranda interview with Mr. Jean Innocent, he stated that he believes VOODOO caused him to rape the girl.   Innocent remains in Palm Beach County Jail, charged with one count of incest, one count of impregnation of a child and two counts of sexual battery of a child in familial or custodial care. His bond is $28,000.

➤MEXICO'S PRESIDENT ASKS RESIDENTS TO REJECT DRUG GANG GIFTS: Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked the country’s citizens on Tuesday to not accept holiday handouts and gifts from drug gangs. This request comes after videos posted online showed pickup trucks handing out loads of gifts while bystanders described the drivers as members of the Jalisco drug cartel. Lopez Obrador confirmed that some drug gangs were looking to resume such giveaways to gain the support of the local population.

➤BOSTON SCHOOLS LOOKING INTO POSSIBLE TEMPORARY MASK MANDATE FOR 2 WEEKS AFTER WINTER BREAK: Boston Public Schools are looking into the possibility of bringing back a "temporary masking mandate" when students and teachers return to classes after the holiday break next week.  In a letter to families and staff, Superintendent Mary Skipper said administrators will meet with the Boston Public Health Commission during the break to "discuss any possible changes to our COVID protocols, such as a temporary masking mandate for the first two weeks of school after the break."  Any decision would come by the end of this week, Skipper said.


➤WHATSAPP TO END SUPPORT FOR IPHONE 5 AND 5C ON DECEMBER 31: WhatsApp will drop support for over 40 devices from December 31st. Yes, in just a few days, depending on your phone, you’ll no longer be able to use WhatsApp. The list of devices losing support from WhatsApp includes Apple's iPhone 5 and 5C, Samsung, Huawei, and LG smartphones just to name a few.

🏈RANDY GREGORY, ODAY ABOUSHI HAVE SUSPENSIONS OVERTURNED: A day after the NFL suspended Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory and Los Angeles Rams guard Oday Aboushi for one game each for trading blows after L.A.'s victory on Sunday, the discipline has been reduced to fines.  The NFL announced Tuesday that appeals officers Derrick Brooks and James Thrash reduced the discipline to a fine of $50,000 for Gregory and a fine of $12,000 for Aboushi.


⚾DOMINICAN COURT CONVICTS 10 OF 13 ACCUSED IN ATTACK ON DAVID ORTIZ: A court in the Dominican Republic on Monday convicted 10 of the 13 people accused of attempting to murder former Major League Baseball star David "Big Papi" Ortiz in Santo Domingo on June 9, 2019. Rolfi Ferreyra Cruz, who is accused of shooting Ortiz, and Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia were sentenced to 30 years each in prison, the longest sentences among the defendants.  Eight other defendants received sentences of between 5 and 20 years in prison, according to the verdict from the First Collegiate Court of Santo Domingo.

⚾NATHAN EOVALDI AND THE TEXAS RANGERS AGREE TO 2-YEAR $34 MILLION DEAL: Free-agent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers agreed to a deal on Tuesday, the deal is worth $34 million over 2-years and it includes a third-year vesting player option. Performance bonuses in the contract can take the total value even higher for the veteran.


🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Los Angeles Lakers 129 Orlando Magic 110
  • Washington Wizards 116 Philadelphia 76ers 111
  • Boston Celtics 126 Houston Rockets 102
  • Indiana Pacers 129 Atlanta Hawks 114
  • LA Clippers 124 Toronto Raptors 113
  • Phoenix Suns 125 Memphis Grizzlies 108
  • Oklahoma Thunders 130 San Antonio Spurs 114
  • Dallas Mavericks 126 New York Knicks 121
  • Golden State Warriors 110 Charlotte Hornets 105
  • Denver Nuggets 113 Sacramento Kings 106


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