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Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Wake-Up Call: U-S To Include Long-Range Rockets In Aid Package


The United States is readying more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two U.S. officials briefed on the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The aid is expected to be announced as soon as this week, the officials said. It is also expected to include support equipment for Patriot air defense systems, precision-guided munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, they added. One of the officials said a portion of the package, expected to be $1.725 billion, would come from a fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which allows President Joe Biden's administration to get weapons from industry rather than from U.S. weapons stocks.


➤NIKKI HALEY EXPECTED TO DECLARE: Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina Governor and Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, plans to announce that she’s running for president. She’d become the first Republican to officially challenge her former boss for the 2024 GOP nomination. Haley is preparing to declare her candidacy in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 15, according to a person familiar with the plans. That sets her on a collision course with Trump, who announced a comeback campaign in November and who just visited South Carolina this past weekend.  The daughter of Indian immigrant parents has long indicated that she harbors presidential aspirations but her candidacy also presents another glaring indication of Trump’s waning grip on the party. 

➤ALLEGATIONS SAY WATERS FUNNELED MONEY TO DAUGHTER: US Rep. Maxine Waters paid her daughter, Karen, $192,300 from her campaign fund over the last two years to run her 'slate mailer' operation. The practice involves Waters, a popular California Democrat, accepting payments to appear on the mailers, a common practice in the state but notably rare for politicians on the federal level. Water was cleared to run the operation in 2004, with Karen earning more than $1.2 million since then, as critics continue to call out the apparent nepotism highlighted in Federal Election Commission filings 

➤MIGRANTS REFUSE TO RELOCATE IN NYC: Migrants have remained camping outside The Watson Hotel in Hell's Kitchen, refusing to relocate to a New York City housing shelter in Brooklyn. Residents expressed outrage at the sight of migrants sleeping on the street in sleeping bags and openly smoking cigarettes and marijuana. The city has urged the migrants to board busses bound from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, but the asylum seekers and advocates claim the current shelter is ill-equipped to accommodate their basic needs. 'I am paying $2,000 a month to witness this,' said a local man, who identified himself as Steven. 'I have kids in school. This is ridiculous.' The migrants are among 43,000 asylum seekers who have flooded the Big Apple since last spring, leading the city to set up emergency shelters at hotels while constructing mass emergency housing.

➤TESLA DRIVER CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER ALLEGEDLY PLUNGING HIS FAMILY OFF A CALIFORNIA CLIFF: California prosecutors on Monday filed attempted murder charges against a motorist who was behind the wheel of a Tesla that went over a cliff, nearly killing himself, his wife and two children. Dharmesh Patel was charged with three counts of attempted murder, two of those charges include special allegations of domestic violence and intent to cause great bodily injury.


➤BALDWIN FORMALLY CHARGED: Alec Baldwin had not been fully trained with firearms ahead of the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust,” and shortly after admitted to officers he had fired the weapon, New Mexico prosecutors said Tuesday. The Santa Fe County district attorney called his actions during the fatal shooting a “reckless deviation from known standards and practice,” as they officially hit him with felony charges. The “30 Rock” actor, 64, and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie’s armorer, were each handed two felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, according to the complaint filed Tuesday. Hutchins, a 42-year-old married mother of one, was fatally wounded on Oct. 21, 2021, when Baldwin fired a prop gun containing a live round. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the accident.

➤PAMELA ANDERSON DIDN’T KNOW TOMMY LEE’S LAST NAME WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED: Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee eloped in Mexico in 1995, after just a few days of knowing each other—and it shows in Anderson’s new memoir titled Love, Pamela. “On the flight home, I asked him what our last name was, and he said, ‘Lee,'” she writes. “I said, ‘Oh, I thought it was Tommy Lee … something. Jones?'” She added that she also asked him “where he lived.” He replied, “Malibu Road.” While getting married in this way was “definitely out of character” for the Baywatch actress, she writes that she was “genuinely happy” and “lost in a sea of love.”

➤4TH STRAIGHT WEEK TO GAS PRICES TO INCREASE: Following over thirteen straight weeks of price declines, Washington fuel prices increased again for the fourth week in a row. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was sitting at $4.12 statewide on Monday, up from $4.06 the week prior, according to AAA data. This 6-cent increase per gallon continues the reversal in Washington state’s over three-month-long trend of fuel prices. “January’s weather was relatively mild in much of the nation, which led to more drivers hitting the road. However, a return of wintery conditions in February may see a revival of seasonal driving patterns,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross in a statement. “But with the cost of oil stubbornly hovering around $80 per barrel, drivers probably won’t catch a big break at the pump over the next week or two.”

➤A MYSTERIOUS FLYING SPIRAL ABOVE HAWAIIAN NIGHT SKY LIKELY CAUSED BY SPACEX LAUNCH: A Japanese telescope captured images and video of a flying blue whirlpool shape over Hawaii on Jan. 18. "The Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured a mysterious flying spiral over Maunakea, Hawaii" which "seems to be related to the SpaceX company's launch of a new satellite," the Subaru Telescope tweeted on Jan. 19. The telescope is mounted atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii, and is operated by The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.


➤YOUR GMAIL IS PERMANENTLY CHANGING SOON, HERE'S WHAT TO EXPECT: Your Gmail account will soon look a little bit different as the company finally rolls out its long-expected makeover to all users. In a bid to offer users a more complete Google Workspace experience, the updated Gmail will now provide not just email services, but video conferencing and chat options, all in a single location. Users won't have to do anything to activate the new-look Gmail, which will be updated by default over the next few days to users across the world in a bid to help modernize the platform.


📺TV RATINGS: NFL SCORES: CBS Sports’ broadcast of Kansas City’s AFC Championship Game win over Cincinnati on Sunday averaged 53.124 million viewers per Nielsen finals, up 11% from last year’s AFC contest to mark the most-watched NFL Conference Championship in four years and the most-watched television program on any network since the 2022 Super Bowl. Earlier in the day, over on Fox, the Eagles’ NFC Championship win averaged 47.5 million viewers.

➤CHICKEN WINGS MAY BE THE BEST SNACK FOR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY: Do you have your snacks ready for the big game? In 2022, the National Chicken Council predicted that 1.42 billion wings would be eaten during the Super Bowl. Of people surveyed by the website Mashed, 35% said chicken wings were the best food to bring to a Super Bowl party. Fortunately, for those worried about inflation, wings are 22% cheaper in 2023 than they were in 2022. The chicken chain Buffalo Wild Wings claims to sell about 13,500 wings per location on Super Bowl weekend! Chips and beer have risen in price, so you may want to grab another order of wings instead of filling the chip bowl!  An unexpectedly popular Super Bowl snack? Popcorn.

🏈BRONCOS REACH DEAL WITH SAINTS FOR SEAN PAYTON: Sean Payton is set to become the next head coach for the Denver Broncos. The New Orleans Saints and Broncos have finalized trade compensation for head coach Sean Payton removing the final hurdle for Payton to become Denver's next head coach. The Saints will receive the Broncos' 2023 first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and their 2024 second-round pick for Payton and the Saints' 2024 third-round selection.

🏈TEXANS HIRE 49ERS DC DEMECO RYANS AS HEAD COACH: The Texans agreed to terms to hire San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach Tuesday. The Texans and Ryans agreed to a six-year contract to become the franchise's sixth full-time coach.

🏈TITANS SWITCH TO NEW SYNTHETIC TRUF AS NISSAN STADIUM: The Tennessee Titans are tearing up the grass field at Nissan Stadium and replacing it with a synthetic surface before the 2023 season.  The Titans announced the change Tuesday. The team, which already has started work, is making the change after reviewing injury rates and knowing how difficult it has been to grow grass at Nissan Stadium since it opened in 1999.

🏈QBS TYLER HUNTLEY, TREVOR LAWRENCE, DEREK CARR TO PRO BOWL: The Baltimore Ravens announced Tuesday that they're sending quarterback Tyler Huntley to the Pro Bowl. Huntley was added to replace Josh Allen (elbow injury), becoming one of the most unlikely participants ever in the Pro Bowl. Huntley threw two touchdown passes this season, the fewest by far for a quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl since the 1970 merger. The previous low was six touchdown passes by the Philadelphia Eagles' Mike Boryla in 1975.

⚾FORMER ALL-STAR DEXTER FOWLER RETIRES AFTER 14 YEARS IN MLB: Former All-Star center fielder Dexter Fowler is retiring after 14 years in the big leagues, according to a social media post by him. "It's here. I'm hanging up my cleats," Fowler wrote Tuesday. Fowler, 36, played for five different teams in his career, bursting onto the national scene in 2015 and 2016 when he was the leadoff man for the Chicago Cubs. Chicago lost in the NLCS in '15 but won the World Series the next year, as Fowler was the catalyst for their first title in 108 years.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Miami Heat 100 Cleveland Cavaliers 97
  • Los Angeles Lakers 129 New York Knicks 123
  • Los Angeles Clippers 108 Chicago Bulls 103
  • Milwaukee Bucks 124 Charlotte Hornets 115
  • Denver Nuggets 122 New Orleans Pelicans 113

➤FLIGHTS CANCELED, AT LEAST 2 DEAD AS ICE STORM FREEZES U.S.: Winter weather brought ice to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, canceling more than 1,700 flights nationwide and snarling highways. At least two people died on slick roads in Texas and two law officers in the state were seriously injured, including a deputy who was pinned under a truck. As the ice storm advanced eastward on Tuesday, watches and warnings stretched from the western heel of Texas all the way to West Virginia. Several rounds of mixed precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet, were in store for many areas through Wednesday.



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