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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Rain Pounds Cali, Dawgs Pound Frogs


Exactly five years after a devastating mudslide killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in coastal Montecito, California, about 10,000 residents of the Santa Barbara County community and its surrounding canyons were ordered to evacuate Monday amid the downpours that continue to pound the state. The National Weather Service said up to 8 inches of rain had fallen in 12 hours, and plenty more was expected. The canyon communities under evacuation orders around Montecito are below hillsides burned bare in recent years by wildfires. There were also evacuations in the city of Santa Barbara. Showbiz personalities like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres and former sports stars Troy Aikman and Jimmy Connors were among the celebrities impacted by the 2018 disaster in Montecito, now also home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Evacuation warnings or orders were issued in parts of Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, with forecasts suggesting that swollen rivers could flood businesses and homes.  San Jose officials were gearing up for what could be the worst flooding to hit the San Francisco Bay Area’s most populous city since the surprise flooding in 2017 of Coyote Creek, which forced more than 14,000 residents out of their homes.

➤TODDLER'S GUN WAS LEGAL: The 6-year-old student who shot and injured his teacher at a Newport News, Virginia elementary school last week used a gun legally purchased by his mother, authorities said on Monday. The student had taken the gun from his residence and put it in his backpack before bringing it to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said Monday. Drew said the 9mm handgun had been legally purchased by the student's mother in York County. Drew previously said the shooting was not accidental and reiterated that it was a deliberate shooting on Monday. “It was intentional,” Drew said. Drew said the student had "the gun on his person" before firing it at his teacher, Abby Zwerner, while she was teaching his first-grade class on Friday. Before the gun was fired, there was no physical struggle over the gun, and no students were injured, he added.  Zwerner, 25, was struck by a bullet through her hand and chest. Although her wound was initially considered life-threatening, Zwerner was in stable condition on Monday at an area hospital.


Security for Harry (Daily Mail 1/10/23)
➤PRINCE HARRY MAKING THE MEDIA ROUNDS: Prince Harry was in Manhattan on Monday to tape an interview with Stephen Colbert. The interview will be broadcast on Tuesday night, as part of Harry's media tour to promote his memoir. Harry was accompanied by a guard carrying a Glock lock-box, used to carry his gun and ammunition. The prince has become increasingly concerned for his security since moving to the United States, and has frequently said he feels vulnerable. He took legal action against British authorities after he was blocked under U.K. law from having private armed guards with him in the country. Harry and Meghan are believed to rely on Gavin de Becker and Associates, a private LA firm that charges up to $8,800 per day.

➤ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE: In his controversial autobiography 'Spare', Prince Harry reveals he would 'roll a joint' and smoke it by himself at night, at the age of 36. The Duke of Sussex, 38, wrote that he smoked marijuana while he and his family were staying at US actor Tyler Perry's house in Los Angeles in 2020, after they left Canada. He wrote: 'Late at night, with everyone asleep, I'd walk the house, checking the doors and windows. Then I'd sit on the balcony or the edge of the garden and roll a joint. The house looked down onto a valley, across a hillside thick with frogs. I’d listen to their late-night song, smell the scented air.’ Cannabis was made legal in California for recreational use in 2016. 

➤LOUISIANA WOMAN SHOOTS AND KILLS HOME INVASION SUSPECT TO PROTECT HER CHILDREN: A Louisiana woman shot and killed a man who broke into her home during the early morning hours on Sunday. Deputies responded to reports of shots being fired at a residence just after 5 a.m. on Sunday. When they arrived, deputies learned the suspect, Robert Rheams, 51, of Hammond, Louisiana allegedly forced his way into a home while armed with a lug wrench and shovel.


➤GEORGETOWN MAN GETS FEDERAL PRISON TIME AFTER TAKING MORE THAN $500,000 FROM A CHURCH: A Georgetown man was sentenced in federal court Monday for wire fraud after he stole half a million dollars from a local church over the course of four years while acting as their treasurer. Ralph Tackett stole $512,042 from the church and used the money for his own personal benefit. He was sentenced by Judge Danny Reeves to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay $532,807 in restitution. He will have to self-report to a Bureau of Prisons facility in March.

➤WILL FEDs RAID TWH?: The Justice Department is reviewing a number of classified documents recovered last fall in a storage closet connected to an office used by President Joe Biden prior to his presidential campaign, the White House confirmed Monday. The undisclosed number of records were discovered Nov. 2 by Biden's personal attorneys in a locked closet as they were preparing to vacate a Washington, D.C., office space known as the Penn Biden Center used by the then-former vice president from 2017 until the launch of the 2020 presidential campaign. Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president, said the documents were immediately turned over the National Archives.

➤FEDERAL AGENCY CONSIDERS BAN ON GAS STOVES FOLLOWING REPORT LINKING THEM TO CHILDHOOD ASTHMA: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering a federal ban on gas stoves in response to a growing body of scientific research has linked them to a variety of health problems. The agency will begin public comment sessions this winter as it begins weighing restrictions on emissions from gas stoves that have found to be harmful to human health. Last week, a study in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that gas stoves are responsible for giving asthma to 650,000 children in the U.S.

➤INSTAGRAM'S REDESIGNED HOME SCREEN DITCHES THE SHOPPING TAB: Instagram has revealed a home screen refresh, due in February, that axes the Shop tab and moves the Create button back to the center of the bottom navigation bar. That, in turn, shunts the Reels tab to the side.  Instagram started testing the new design in September.

➤AI-POWERED 'ROBOT' LAWYER WILL BE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO REPRESENT DEFENDANT IN COURT: A "robot" lawyer powered by artificial intelligence will be the first of its kind to help a defendant fight a traffic ticket in court next month. Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay, said the company's AI-creation runs on a smartphone, listens to court arguments and formulates responses for the defendant. The AI lawyer tells the defendant what to say in real-time, through headphones. The artificial intelligence firm has already used AI-generated form letters and chatbots to help people secure refunds for in-flight Wifi that didn't work, as well as to lower bills and dispute parking tickets, among other issues, according to Browder.

🏈GEORGIA BEATS TCU: The Bulldogs are the first team to repeat as national champions since Alabama in the 2012 season with a blowout victory over the Horned Frogs on Monday in Inglewood, Calif. The title establishes Georgia as the preeminent program in college football going forward. TCU fell short of its first title since the 1938 season.


🏈HAMLIN TRANSFERED TO BUFFALO HOSPITAL: Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and transferred to a Buffalo hospital, doctors shared during a conference call Monday. Hamlin tweeted he was taken to Buffalo General Medical Center where he will continue his recovery, one week after he was revived after going into cardiac arrest during a game. "He’s doing well, and this is the beginning of the next stage of his recovery," Dr. William A. Knight IV said. 

"We continue to be ecstatic about his recovery," Dr. Timothy Pritts added. Doctors were able to upgrade Hamlin from critical to fair or good condition on Monday morning, which allowed doctors to clear him to fly home from Cincinnati to Buffalo. 

🏈CARDINALS FIRE KLIFF KINGSBURY; GM STEVE KEIM STEPS ASIDE: The Cardinals have fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury 10 months after signing him to a contract extension through the 2027 season. The team also announced that general manager Steve Keim has decided to "step away from his position in order to focus on his health." Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said during a news conference Monday that Keim offered his resignation last week.

🏈TEXANS WR BRANDIN COOKS, 'DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF A REBUILD': Houston Texans wideout Brandin Cooks was candid about his future with the franchise after the team fired coach Lovie Smith after just one season. "I'm not going into this offseason thinking I want to be a part of a rebuild," Cooks said Monday. Cooks finished with a team-high 699 yards and three touchdowns in his third season with the club. He signed a two-year extension with Houston before the season.

🏈REGGIE BUSH AMONG 18 ELECTED TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: Reggie Bush, whose Heisman Trophy victory for Southern California in 2005 was vacated because of NCAA violations, is among 18 players in the latest College Football Hall of Fame class announced Monday. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman in 2007, was also elected to the Hall by the National Football Foundation, along with Dwight Freeney of Syracuse; Luke Kuechly of Boston College; LaMichael James of Oregon; and Michael Bishop of Kansas State.

⚾SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS AGREE TO 2-YEAR DEAL WITH LUKE JACKSON: The San Francisco Giants have agreed to terms on an $11.5 million, two-year contract with right-hander Luke Jackson. The 31-year-old Jackson missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 13.b Jackson had a strong season in 2021 when he helped Atlanta win the World Series. He went 2-2 with a career-low 1.98 ERA in a career-high 71 games. He recorded 70 strikeouts and 29 walks in 63 2/3 innings and ranked second in the majors with 31 holds.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • New Orleans Pelicans 132 Washington Wizards 112
  • Boston Celtics 107 Chicago Bulls 99
  • Milwaukee Bucks 111 New York Knicks 107
  • Memphis Grizzlies 121 San Antonio Spurs 113
  • Denver Nuggets 122 Los Angeles Lakers 109
  • Sacramento Kings 136 Orlando Magic 111


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