Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Storm Threatens Major Holiday Travel Delays


Confidence continued to grow among AccuWeather's expert team of meteorologists on Monday that a significant storm would evolve later this week, threatening to bring a wide swath of snow, rain and fierce winds from the Plains to the Atlantic Seaboard.  The intensifying storm will coincide with a surge of frigid air that will send temperatures to bone-chilling levels through the holiday weekend and could be one of the most intense and prolonged periods of Arctic air in decades during Christmastime. The plummeting temperatures with the storm could also lead to concerns of a rapid freeze-up.

The storm’s timing could not be worse given the increased number of travelers leading up to Christmas as well as the pressure retailers and shipping companies face to keep shelves stocked and items on track for delivery. Snow during at least part of the storm is likely to extend from parts of the southern Plains to the Midwest, Northeast and perhaps even the interior Southeast states during the period from Thursday, Dec. 22 to Saturday, Dec. 24. The first stage of the storm can cause snow to break out as early as Wednesday across the interior West, with Denver expected to pick up several inches of accumulation Wednesday night.

The track is key to which areas end up with the heaviest snow, but confidence is also growing that even a small or moderate amount of snow when combined with plunging temperatures and strong winds will lead to a quick freeze-up and slippery travel from parts of the south-central Plains to the Midwest and Northeast states.  This means that cities such as St. Louis and Nashville, and perhaps as far south as Dallas and Atlanta could be looking at some snow, as well as the more traditional wintry trouble spots farther north such as Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh.


➤1/6 COMMITTEE REFERS TRUMP CASE TO DOJ: The Jan. 6 House committee voted to refer Donald Trump to the Justice Department for criminal charges. Key findings of the panel’s 18-month probe included allegations that the former president disseminated false claims of fraud related to the 2020 election, provoking his supporters to violence on Jan. 6. The four criminal referrals, the first time such recommendations have been made against a former president, include incitement of an insurrection. Trump last year was impeached in the House and acquitted in the Senate on a similar count. He has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong and has called the Jan. 6 committee a partisan witch hunt. The Justice Department and the White House declined to comment.

➤SUPREMES DELAY ENDING OF TITLE 42: The Supreme Court has  temporarily extended a pandemic-era asylum policy that was scheduled to expire on Wednesday.  Title 42 allows migrants to be quickly expelled after crossing the border illegally in an effort to protect Americans from Covid-19, and may have deterred some asylum seekers. A federal court ruled in November that Title 42 violates federal immigration law. The Biden administration had been racing to implement a proposal to address the expiration of the measure, including subjecting migrants to quick deportation unless they were able to pass a tougher initial asylum screening, according to people familiar with the plans. Border cities, the federal government and shelters had been bracing for a surge of illegal crossings. Chief Justice John Roberts’ brief order maintains the status quo.

➤CRYPTO CON AGREES TO EXTRADITION: Sam Bankman-Fried agreed to his extradition to the US Monday to face charges he defrauded investors to the tune of $1.8 billion. “Mr. Bankman-Fried wishes to put the customers right, and that is what has driven his decision,” said Jerone Roberts, the former CEO’s Bahamian defense attorney. Roberts said the voluntary decision by the alleged crypto grifter was against “the strongest possible legal advice,” the New York Times reported. It came after a confusing day of court hearings and week-long effort by Bankman-Fried to stay in the Bahamas, where he is currently in custody. The embattled former CEO of FTX appeared before a court in Nassau Monday morning on the heels of widespread reports he’d agree to extradition, catching Roberts by surprise.


➤IN THE SOUTHEAST, POWER COMPANY MONEY FLOWS TO NEWS SITES THAT ATTACK THEIR CRITICS:  Six media outlets across Alabama and Florida took almost $1 million collectively from a consulting firm that represents powerful utility companies across the South. These private power companies charge some of the poorest communities in the United States the highest prices for public electricity. The company denies bribing the media outlets but reports that the company has influenced past ballot measures, offered high-paying jobs to politicians, and surveilled critics of their schemes continue to follow the questionable business.

➤GUILTY..AGAIN: A jury found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in his Los Angeles trial Monday, adding to legal woes for the disgraced film producer as he continues to face repercussions from sexual assault allegations that kickstarted the #MeToo movement.  After deliberating for nine days, the jury reached the verdict at the second criminal trial of the 70-year-old former movie mogul. Weinstein is already two years into a 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York.

➤SHARON OSBOURNE IS ‘BACK AT HOME’ AFTER BEING HOSPITALIZED: Jack Osbourne has updated fans about his mother, Sharon Osbourne, being released from the hospital. "She has been given the all clear from her medical team and is now home," he wrote in his Instagram stories. "Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support. As to what happened to my mum — I'm gonna leave it to her to share about when she is ready."

➤CHILDREN'S MEDICINE SHORTAGE HITS AS FLU SEASON STARTS FAST: An unusually fast start to the annual U.S. flu season has become extra stressful for many U.S. parents due to shortages of Children’s Tylenol and other medicines. "There are more sick kids at this time of year than we have seen in the past couple years,” said Dr. Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis. Experts say that's the main factor behind the shortages, which vary around the country and even within communities.

➤THE TWITTER FILES: The FBI set up a classified briefing for Twitter lawyer James Baker weeks before news reports emerged about incriminating information found on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop, according to internal Twitter documents.  Baker, a former FBI lawyer chosen for the top-secret briefings, would later push Twitter to block the reports that threatened then-candidate Joseph R. Biden’s presidential run in October 2020.

Internal emails, released Monday by independent journalist Michael Shellenberger in the latest installment of Elon Musk’s “Twitter Files,” revealed the depth of ties between federal officials and social media platform. It included the scheme to grant Twitter executives access to classified information as the FBI sought to discredit the laptop computer that had been in the bureau’s possession for 10 months before The New York Post broke the story in October 2020.

Daily Mail US Composite (12/20/22)

➤KARI LAKE TO GET HER DAY IN COURT:  Kari Lake's election case will be going to trial, after attempts to throw it out were squashed on Monday. Lake was the Republican nominee for governor in Arizona and has launched legal action to have her defeat overturned or have the election rerun because of problems at polling stations. The two phases that will be moving forward to trial are her chain of custody challenges and intentional malice regarding widespread printer breakdowns. 

Lake's lawsuit contends that machines tabulating votes on election day 'intentionally' malfunctioned, leading to her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs (right). She tweeted this evening: 'Our Election Case is going to trial. Katie Hobbs attempt to have our case thrown out FAILED. She will have to take the stand & testify. Buckle up, America. This is far from over.' Lake is now tasked with proving that the tampering, did, in fact, take place, and that the machines and the printer malfunctions directly caused her to lose votes. Officially, Lake lost to Hobbs, who had served as Arizona's 21st secretary of state before her win, by more than 17,000 votes.

➤WOMAN SNORKELING IN HAWAII LIKELY EATEN BY 'AGGRESSIVE' SHARK WITH 'SOMETHING RED' AROUND GILLS: A 60-year-old woman from Washington was likely killed by an "aggressive" shark as she and her husband snorkeled 50 yards from shore near Maui. The woman's husband told investigators he and his wife were not snorkeling together and he could only see his wife from time to time. Then a shark started to circled him but he still couldn't find his wife. He told officers the shark swam off but shortly after he spotted something in the distance and then the shark came back. He could see something red around the shark’s gills but at the time people on the beach began yelling at him to get out of the water because a shark was feeding in the area.

➤A SHIP THAT SANK MYSTERIOUSLY 86 YEARS AGO HAS RESURFACED AS UTAH'S GREAT SALT LAKE CONTINUES TO DRY UP: Plunging water levels in Utah's Great Salt Lake have revealed the wreckage of a 120-year-old ship, officials from the Great Salt Lake State Park announced. According to the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the ship was originally part of the Southern Pacific Railroad fleet, transporting workers building the Lucin Cutoff, a 102-mile railroad.



🏈MNF NFL: Green Bay Packers 24 Los Angeles Rams 12

🏈EAGLES QB JALEN HURTS HAS SPRAINED SHOULDER: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sprained his right (throwing) shoulder against the Chicago Bears, putting his availability for Saturday's game vs the Dallas Cowboys in question. It is not considered a long-term injury, if Hurts can't play Christmas Eve, veteran Gardner Minshew will get the call.

🏀DAMIAN LILLARD BECOMES TRAIL BLAZERS' ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER: Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard passed Clyde Drexler to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Drexler, had 18,040 points for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard, entered the night needing 21 to move ahead of him, he tied Drexler's mark on a 3-pointer from well beyond the line in the third quarter. Then, broke the mark on a free throw with 1:33 left in the period.

⚾DODGERS CLAYTON KERSHAW TO PITCH IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: Clayton Kershaw will pitch for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, Major League Baseball announced Monday, making him the latest in a long line of high-profile stars to represent the United States. The World Baseball Classic, which pits 20 countries against one another in a bracket-style tournament, runs March 8-21, 2023.


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