Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Quake Death Toll 11,000+, Biden-GOP Tangle


The death toll of a devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and Syria jumped to more than 11,000 people on Tuesday as rescuers worked against time in harsh winter conditions to dig survivors out of the rubble of collapsed buildings. As the scale of the disaster became ever more apparent, the death toll looked likely to rise considerably. One U.N. official said thousands of children may have died.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. But residents in several damaged Turkish cities voiced anger and despair at what they said was a slow and inadequate response from the authorities to the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1999. Turkey began deploying thousands of soldiers in areas struck by two massive earthquakes, following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement of a three-month state of emergency.

Tragic Photos:  Sad photos from Kahramanmaras, close to the quake's epicentre, showed father Mesut Hancer in a bright orange jacket crouching on a steep pile of rubble, his left arm stretched out to his side and holding on to the hand of his dead daughter. The body of the girl, who was named Irmakleyla Hancer and who died on Monday, lies on top of a mattress, crushed underneath a huge concrete block. Just her hand and a small portion of her face can be seen through a narrow gap in the wreckage of their home. On Mesut's Facebook account, the proud father had posted happy moments with his daughter during her childhood. One picture taken seven years ago, the pair is seen smiling into the camera while they are next to a water fountain.


➤THE SOU: President Joe Biden’s address to Congress foreshadowed his 2024 stump speech, if as expected he runs for a second term — but at times it was almost drowned out by the Republican heckling. A spirited Biden on Tuesday highlighted accomplishments on infrastructure, climate and consumer protections in his first two years in the White House. But an equally spirited GOP side interrupted him over entitlement spending, the border and other issues, putting the tensions in a divided government on live television.

Here are five main takeaways from Biden’s speech to the joint session:

1-Floor Fight: Biden lured Republicans into a messy shouting match, when he said the GOP was calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and others yelled “Liar!” while some booed and waved their fingers at the president when he said they wanted the cuts to the popular programs as a demand of raising the debt ceiling. Speaker Kevin McCarthy appeared to shush his colleagues at points when they shouted. “As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now,” Biden said. “We got unanimity!” Republicans stood and applauded.

2-Tough on China: Biden took a tough rhetorical line on China, after Beijing sparked a political and diplomatic row with a spy balloon that traversed the US before being shot down. “No mistake about it: As we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” Biden said. Biden also said Chinese President Xi Jinping is in an unenviable position, arguing his country has been weakened as it grapples with a struggling economy.

3-Clean Energy Confession: Biden touted his clean-energy initiatives, warning that climate change poses an “existential threat” to the US. But he drew laughter from Republicans when he conceded that “we are going to need oil for at least another decade” as the country transitions to other energy sources. That demonstrates the difficulty Democrats face as they seek to promote alternative energy sources, while acknowledging the reality that fossil fuels will remain a key source of energy, perhaps for more than a decade.

4-Populist Pitch for 2024:  Biden couched the accomplishments of his first two years in populist terms. He spent the first 20 minutes touting efforts to lower unemployment, bring back American manufacturing, and fix the nation’s infrastructure — nodding to laws Republicans helped him pass to achieve those goals.

5-Immigration Scale-back: Biden urged lawmakers to pass a pared-down package of changes to immigration law, as his administration continues to grapple with historic numbers of migrants crossing the southern US border. He called on Congress to approve more funding for officers and equipment to “secure the border” and a citizenship path for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, known as Dreamers, as well as farm workers, essential workers and migrants on temporary status.  This also elicited shouts from Republicans who yelled at Biden to “secure the border” and “it’s your fault,” when Biden mentioned fentanyl coming across the border.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee
➤REBUTTAL: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, known nationally for having served as press secretary in the Trump White House, gave the Republican response to Mr. Biden’s speech, stressing economic anxieties, as well as hot-button cultural issues such as critical race theory. While Mr. Biden spent a portion of his speech appealing to Republicans to work together on key issues, nearly all of  Sanders’s response was focused on assailing the president and his fellow Democrats “In the radical left America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves,” she said.


➤KEVIN MCCARTHY REPEATEDLY SHUSHES MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE DURING SOTU SPEECH:  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tried repeatedly to quiet Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and other members of his caucus after they interrupted and heckled President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech Tuesday. When Biden mentioned that some members of the Republican Party wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, Republicans loudly booed. A combative Greene shouted “liar” at the president, prompting McCarthy to shush and shake his head.

➤SMOKING LAPTOP FORCES PLANE TO LAND: A United Airlines flight bound for Newark had to return to San Diego due to a cabin fire caused by an external battery. The fire was contained by the flight crew but saw four passengers taken to hospital after breathing in smoke. It's the latest in a number of aviation incidents to happen in recent weeks. Left, the United Airlines Boeing 737 is seen parked at the gate following an onboard fire on Tuesday morning. Passengers on board including Caroline Lipinksi, inset, spoke of their terror. Right, the wings of two United planes clipped one another while on the ground at Newark Airport in New Jersey on Friday.

➤CHINA WANTS IT'S DOWNED SPY AIRCRAFT BACK, SAYING IT 'DOES NOT BELONG TO THE U.S.';  The People's Republic of China is requesting the return of its surveillance aircraft after the balloon was shot down over the continental United States on Saturday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning fielded questions Tuesday about the incident, which dominated news cycles and commanded attention from U.S. politicians. According to Fox News, when asked for additional information regarding the purpose of the spy balloon and reports of similar aircraft making routes through North American and South American airspace, Mao declined. "The Chinese side has given information about the unmanned airship on several occasions. I don’t have anything to add at the moment," she stated.


➤TWO MEN ARRESTED IN 1975 MURDER OF INDIANA TEEN WHO 'FOUGHT FOR HER LIFE': More than 47 years after a teenage girl went missing and was later found dead in northern Indiana, authorities say they have arrested and charged two men in connection with the crime thanks in part to a recent DNA match. In an announcement Tuesday morning, Indiana State Police confirmed the new developments after a homicide investigation spanning the better part of five decades. On August 6, 1975, Laurel Jean Mitchell, who was 17 at the time of her death, did not return home from her job at the Epworth Forrest Church camp. Her parents reported her missing to police, but the teenager's body was found the following morning in the water roughly 17 miles away from her home.

➤ELDERLY ARIZONA RANCHER CHARGED WITH MURDERING A MEXICAN MAN ON HIS PROPERTY: The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office in Nogales, Arizona, confirmed Monday that George Alan Kelly, 73, was arrested and is being held on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting of a man tentatively identified as a Mexican citizen. His bail was set at $1 million. Authorities believe the victim was Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, because of a Mexican voter registration card he carried. Details about the shooting were sketchy and it was unknown if the two men previously knew each other. Authorities have not given a motive.

➤ACCUSED MOM WAS DRUGGED ZOMBIE: A Massachusetts mother-of-three has pled not guilty to murder charges in a Zoom court appearance from her Boston hospital bed on Tuesday for the strangling of her three young kids. Lindsay Clancy remains in the hospital after trying to take her own life; she slit her wrists and jumped from a top floor window of her home after strangling her kids, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months. Her attorneys say she was overprescribed a cocktail of prescription drugs to treat post-partum depression, and that it had turned her into a 'zombie.' 


➤WALL STREET STARTING TO LOVE DeSANTIS: Business is starting to love Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s prospects in the 2024 presidential election so much that it is already eyeing stocks that will benefit, as well as those that could tank, if he wins the White House. Strategas Research Partners, an economic and market advisory firm run by the well-known market analyst Jason Trennert, is among the firms gauging the market impact of a DeSantis presidency, with a client report titled “DeSantis Winners & Losers Baskets.”  The report, published last week, was obtained and reviewed by Fox Business. It bases its research primarily on DeSantis’s policy positions as governor of Florida. It is yet another indication that major financial players are betting that DeSantis runs for President in 2024, can beat former President Trump in the GOP primary, and beat Joe Biden in the general election. 

➤TRUMP STIRS THE POT: Donald Trump reposted an image by a commenter who said rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was 'grooming' high school girls, and who posted a two-decades old photo allegedly from when DeSantis was a teacher. 'He would never do such a thing!' Trump wrote sarcastically, above a picture of a smiling man who resembles DeSantis in the bowl cut he had at the time. He is surrounded by three alleged high school seniors. One of the girls is holding what appears to be a brown glass bottle, but there is no evidence anyone photographed violated any laws.


➤MADONNA RESPONSES TO 'FACIAL' CHANGE: Madonna was up in arms on Tuesday as she responded to criticisms of her appearance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. The 64-year-old music legend shared a fun video of herself rubbing elbows with stars at the Grammys, including winner Sam Smith and Cardi B, but in her lengthy caption she took aim at photographers and a wave of 'ageism and misogyny' that she felt she was being accosted by. After she made an appearance on stage at the ceremony, some Grammy viewers took to social media to share their opinions on how the hitmaker had become 'unrecognizable' thanks to her particularly plump and smooth face.


🏀LEBRON JAMES PASSES KAREEM ADDUL-JABBAR TO BECOME NBA'S ALL-TIME SCORING LEADER: LeBron James has become the NBA's all-time leading points scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 34-year record amid a stunning performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Los Angeles. Fans shelled out thousands to secure a seat at the Lakers' arena to witness history, and James didn't make them wait - putting on a show to seal the record, while Abdul-Jabbar watched on from courtside. James went into the game against OKC needing 36 points to overtake the record of 38,387 - which was set by Abdul-Jabbar in 1989.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • New York Knicks 102 Orlando Magic 98
  • Phoenix Suns 116 Brooklyn Nets 112
  • New Orlans Pelicsn 116 Atlanta Hawks 107
  • Memphis Girizzlies 104 Chicago Bulls 89
  • Denver Nuggets 146 Minnesota Timberwolves 112
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 133 Los Angeles Lakers 130

🏈AARON RODGERS TO CONSIDER FUTURE DURING DARKNESS RETREAT: The Green Bay Packers' quarterback said Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he will embark on a four-day/four-night "darkness retreat" soon after the Super Bowl on Sunday. "I've got a pretty cool opportunity to do a little self-reflection in some isolation," Rodgers said. "And then after that I feel like I'll be a lot closer to a final, final decision." Aaron Rodgers, said he has not decided if he will play in 2023, whether that's with the Packers or another team, amid reports that he could be traded.



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