Friday, December 23, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Nightmare Before Christmas


More than 200 million people were under some type of winter weather warning Thursday, as a powerful winter storm is expected to intensify. Dangerous weather: Temperatures dropped quickly as the Arctic front moved east, bringing life-threatening wind chill. Montana hit -50 degrees.

 

High winds and snow combined to create whiteout conditions, and flash freezes are a concern in many areas. Governors declared states of emergency as schools canceled classes and cities opened more warming centers and rushed to move homeless people off the streets. President Biden urged the public to heed the warnings of local officials.




  • Deaths: At least three people have died due to storm conditions, according to authorities. Oklahoma police reported three deaths in separate crashes on icy roads.
  • Air travel: Airlines have canceled thousands of flights, disrupting travel during one of the busiest weeks of the year. Time is of the essence if your goal is to make it to your holiday destination.
  • Ground conditions: The storm has also prompted some road closures, and officials are urging people to limit travel. Rail and bus lines have cut service.
  • Delivery delays: FedEx and UPS said the storm could delay deliveries ahead of the holiday weekend. Amazon said it is closing a few Midwest facilities.

➤COMMITTEE RELEASES 1/6 RETPORT: The Jan. 6 House select committee released its long-awaited final report Thursday, capping an 18-month probe of the 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump.  The damning 845-page report was issued three days after the bipartisan committee voted unanimously to refer Trump to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation and possible prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

Among the recommendations is that congressional committees with such authority consider creating a “formal mechanism for evaluating whether to bar” Trump from holding future federal office due to evidence that he violated his constitutional oath to support the U.S. Constitution while engaging in an insurrection.

The report comes weeks after Trump announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.  “Our country has come too far to allow a defeated President to turn himself into a successful tyrant by upending our democratic institutions, fomenting violence, and, as I saw it, opening the door to those in our country whose hatred and bigotry threaten equality and justice for all Americans,” wrote committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in a foreword to the report.The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, wrote in her own foreword, “Every President in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority, except one.”

➤"WITCH HUNT": Donald Trump quickly dismissed the findings of the January 6 report. Trump tried to shift blame, claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had ignored his recommendation for troops to be in used in Washington, D.C. - a claim repeatedly rejected by fact checkers. 'The highly partisan Unselect Committee Report purposely fails to mention the failure of Pelosi to heed my recommendation for troops to be used in D.C., show the 'Peacefully and Patrioticly' words I used, or study the reason for the protest, Election Fraud,' he wrote on Truth Social with a characteristic display of capital letters and misspellings.


➤HE'S A DIRT-BAG: The Five's Judge Jeanine Pirro on Thursday said she believes Sam Bankman-Fried will never be put on trial, because two of his top executives have pled guilty and are cooperating. Pirro said she thinks the weight of evidence against Bankman-Fried will mean he cannot claim he did not know that his company was engaged in a massive fraud. Bankman-Fried, founder of collapsed cryptocurrency firm FTX, appeared in court in Manhattan on Thursday and was freed on a $250 million bail - a new record. He will await his fraud trial at his parents' $4 million home in California. Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who served as chief executive of Alameda Research, a hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried, and Gary Wang, FTX's former chief technology officer both pleaded guilty on Wednesday, and are now cooperating.

➤COPS CHECKED ON 'WILD PARTY' WEEKS BEFORE STUDENT MURDERS: Newly released bodycam footage reveals authorities previously responded to a wild party at the off-campus house where four University of Idaho students were slain on November 13, and even spoke to one of the victims via phone. In the video obtained by the true crime YouTube channel “Truth & Transparency,” Moscow police officers are seen addressing a noise complaint at 1122 King Road on the night of Sept. 1, 2022.  After knocking on the door for about 10 minutes, the officers are greeted by a raucous party of young people, one of whom informs them that the residents are not home. “They left and went to another party,” a man tells the frustrated officers, seemingly referring to Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, as well their two other housemates.

Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death at the King Road house just over two months later, on Nov. 13. The two additional housemates, who were home at the time of the murders, were unharmed. 

➤SPENDING BILL PASSES SENATE: The Senate passed a $1.65 trillion spending bill after a deal related to immigration policy was reached. The legislation includes $858 billion in military spending, changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act that would make it harder to block the certification of a presidential election, revisions to the U.S. retirement system and a wider ban on TikTok on government devices. A sticking point was Title 42, the pandemic-era public-health measure allowing migrants to be returned to Mexico after crossing the border illegally. The policy was set to end this week, but the Supreme Court has kept it in place temporarily. The bill goes to the House, where it is expected to pass.

Daily Mail US Composite 12/23/22
➤F-BOMB JOE:  The situation on the U.S.-Mexico border made Joe Biden's 'blood boil', according to a new book charting the first year of his presidency. Biden was angered by the 'lack of solutions'. Chris Whipple's book, The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House, details how the Biden administration struggled to deal with surging migrant arrivals from Mexico throughout 2021 - and faced mounting criticism. 'From all over the West Wing, you could hear the president cursing, dropping f-bombs (he'd always apologize when women were present).' There were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters in 2021, and more than 2.3 million this year.

➤CAR PRICES STABILIZING AND MAYBE EVEN DROPPING: Prices of both new and used cars are finally expected to stabilize and even drop a little in 2023, according to a report in USAToday. High demand and low inventory led to much higher than normal prices through this year, exacerbated by supply chain problems during the pandemic. Prices may drop up to five percent for new cars and 10 to 20 percent for used vehicles.


➤ECONOMY IS STILL GROWING: The U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, rising at an annualized pace of 3.2 percent between July and September. Healthy consumer spending was a big factor in the increase. Wall Street hated the news, which suggests that the Federal Reserve will have to keep raising interest rates to cool inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 349 points to 33,027.

➤FLORIDA TO PROBE VAX MAKERS: Florida's Supreme Court approved Gov. Ron DeSantis's request Thursday for a grand jury to investigate manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccines. DeSantis petitioned the court for a grand jury last week, blasting vaccine manufacturers for touting questionably high efficacy rates and other claims that led to government mandates.  The Florida governor's request for a grand jury was one of several steps taken to "hold the federal government and Big Pharma accountable." Raising concerns about the safety of Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines, DeSantis argued that the grand jury was necessary to protect Floridians.

⚾TREVOR BAUER REINSTATED: Trevor Bauer has been reinstated to Major League Baseball after an arbitrator reduced his suspension from 324 games to 194 games. He had been on paid administrative leave since July 2021 after allegations of sexual misconduct from three women. Bauer denies the allegations and no criminal charges have been filed. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers have until January 6th to decide whether to put Bauer on their active roster or release him.


🏈THURSDAY’S NFL SCORE: Jacksonville Jaguars 19, New York Jets 3

🏈THE BEARS ARE NOT HIBERNATING: The Chicago Bears home game against the Buffalo Bills is still on for tomorrow (Saturday), despite a prediction for extreme cold and dangerous winds. If you’re determined to see the game anyway, the Bears will be offering hot chocolate and coffee throughout the stadium. There also will be warming stations at the Gate 31 Plaza and near the Dr. Pepper Patio. Fans will be permitted to wear battery-operating clothing. Tailgating is strongly discouraged.

 
✞RONNIE HILLMAN DIES AT AGE 31: Former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman has died of a rare form of kidney cancer at the age of 31. His family announced his passing. He joined the Broncos from San Diego State during the 2012 NFL draft and later played for the San Diego Chargers.



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