Monday, January 15, 2024

1/15 WAKE-UP CALL: Much Of U-S In Deep Freeze


A deep freeze that settled in across much of the nation Sunday threatened to wallop dozens of states with snow and ice, bring freezing temperatures as far south as Florida and create chaos for travelers, football fans and even voters in the Iowa Caucuses. Wind chill advisories or warnings were in effect Sunday for more than 100 million Americans, and over 44 million were under a winter weather advisory. Much of the country faced temperatures 20-40 degrees below normal. The severe cold was expected to push as far south as northern Texas while Montana and the Dakotas could see subfreezing wind chills. The National Weather Service said North Dakota could see "life-threatening wind chills as low as 60 below zero."

“It takes a matter of minutes for frostbite to set in,” the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in a statement Sunday urging people to stay indoors. A winter storm with snow and ice will threaten the mid-Atlantic and New England from Monday night to Tuesday night, AccuWeather said. The storm, and a wall of arctic air, is expected to ride the jet stream across most of the nation over the next few days.

"For much of the country, this will end up being the coldest and most persistent outbreak of arctic air in a couple of winters," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz said.

Power Prices Jump

The US Pacific Northwest had the highest prices Sunday, with spot power trading in the afternoon around $1,000 a megawatt-hour near Seattle and Portland, Oregon. That’s about ten times higher than the day-ahead price for the same time, according to data from the California Independent System Operator.

For Texas — during the tightest period on Monday — the average grid price of electricity on the state grid rose to $1,072 a megawatt hour for supplies secured in the day-ahead market Sunday, from about $79 a day earlier, Ercot data show.

Texas is a particular focus because the current blast is one of the few freezes to hit the state since an extremely cold system in February 2021 killed more than 200 people and left millions blacked out for days amid failures in the state’s power and natural gas infrastructure.


CAUCUS DAY ARRIVES: The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted in Iowa this past week, ahead of the all-important meeting Monday where Republicans will pick their preferred nominee. Trump, despite the bevy of cases against him, has surfaced as a frontrunner, with most polls forecasting that he will take roughly 50 percent of the vote. Of the 705 polled, some 61 percent said it doesn't matter to them if the former president is convicted of a crime before the general election. The results come as voters in the battleground state will commence balloting Monday evening, kicking off the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hit out at former President Donald Trump on Sunday, issuing a warning to Republican voters just one day before the crucial Iowa Caucuses. DeSantis in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” was asked to deliver his closing argument to Iowa voters on the eve of the first GOP contest of the 2024 presidential election. The Florida governor said the former president is “running for his issues,” while he’s “running for your issues and your family's issues.” DeSantis accused the former president of failing to deliver on his signature 2016 and 2020 campaign promises, such as building a wall along America’s southern border. He also accused Trump of being distracted by his four sets of criminal charges, investigations into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and other legal challenges.

“I think that ends up focusing the election on things that are going to be advantageous for Democrats because you're not going to be talking about the border. You're not going to be talking about the economy. You're going to be talking about all these things to make the election a referendum on Donald Trump,” DeSantis said. But DeSantis on Sunday didn’t reserve his criticism for for the Republican frontrunner. He also hit out at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, accusing her of picking up support from independents, not core GOP voters.

➤CHINA ISSUES CALL FOR PEACE TALKS: China called for a large-scale and authoritative peace conference on the war in Gaza, while the militant group Hamas aired video of three Israeli hostages and said their fate would be disclosed on Monday. Speaking in Egypt at the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for "the formulation of a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the 'two-state solution' and support for the prompt resumption of Israel-Palestinian peace talks".


\Hamas aired video on Sunday showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza and urged the Israeli government to stop the offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group and bring about their release. The undated 37-second video of Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, ended with the caption: "Tomorrow (Monday) we will inform you of their fate." 


Of some 240 people seized by Hamas in a cross-border killing spree that sparked the war, around half were released in a November truce. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza and that 25 of them have died in captivity. Israel also says more than 1,200 people were killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 assault. The Gaza health ministry has said almost 24,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive that followed with more than 60,000 wounded.

➤U-S JET DOWNS CRUISE MISSILE: A US fighter jet shot down anti-ship cruise missile fired toward an American destroyer by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea Sunday, their first response to a series of drone strikes fired by the Americans in recent days. The United States and its allies began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration. A Shiite rebel group allied with Iran that seized Yemen's capital in 2014, the Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the attack. It wasn't immediately clear whether the U.S. would retaliate for the latest attack, though President Joe Biden has said he 'will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.'


➤FED EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY PLANNING WALKOUT: Federal employees “deserve” to be fired if they participate in a planned walkout to protest President Biden’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday. The Louisiana Republican made the statement on X, commenting on an AL-Monitor news article that reported workers in at least 22 agencies plan to protest Biden’s policy involving Gaza by joining the work stoppage Tuesday.   “Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers,” Johnson posted. 

“They deserve to be fired.” Johnson vowed to work with fellow Republican, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, to “ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job.” A group of dozens of federal workers billing itself as Feds United for Peace is reportedly planning to hold a “Day of Mourning” that would mark the 100th day of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, per AL-Monitor.

➤2 NAVY SEALS MISSING OFF SOMALIA COAST WERE ON A NIGHTTIME BOARDING MISSION: US OFFICIALS: Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after having fallen into the water during a nighttime boarding mission on Thursday, according to two U.S. officials. The officials said that the SEALs had fallen into the water one after the other during the boarding of a vessel by boat in the Gulf of Aden. It was unclear what had prompted them to board the vessel. Search operations for the missing SEALs continued Sunday, according to a defense official.

➤THREE MIGRANTS DROWN IN RIO GRANDE AFTER TEXAS BLOCKS BORDER PATROL FROM RESCUE: A woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on Friday night as they were attempting to cross the U.S. southern border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection told TPR that Border Patrol was prevented from deploying lifesaving efforts by agents with Operation Lone Star, the controversial Texas border security initiative. Under the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, Operation Lone Star this week seized control of Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, which faces the Rio Grande and has denied access to the Border Patrol.


➤TOP GUN CROWNED MISS AMERICA: A United States Air Force fighter pilot training to be a Top Gun has been crowned Miss America. Madison Marsh, 22, who comes from Fort Smith, Arkansas, won the top award at a ceremony in Orlando, Florida on Sunday night. Second Lt Marsh was crowned Miss Colorado in May 2023 before competing in the finals to scoop the top award. Marsh is the first active duty officer from any branch of the military to represent at the national level of the Miss America organization.  This year's runner-up is Miss Texas, Ellie Breaux who would be called to step in if Marsh is unable to complete a full year of service. Miss Indiana Cydney Bridges came third, Miss Kentucky Mallory Hudson placed fourth while Miss Rhode Island Caroline Parente came fifth. Fifty-one contestants participated in the event, representing all 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia. 

🏈NFL LIONS 24 RAMS 23: Jared Goff passed for 277 yards and a touchdown as the host Detroit Lions won their first postseason game in over 30 years by holding off the Los Angeles Rams, 24-23, on Sunday night. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for touchdowns for the NFC North Division winners in their opening-round victory. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven passes for 110 yards for the Lions, whose last playoff win came on Jan. 5, 1992, against Dallas. "Just really proud of him and what he means to us," Detroit coach Dan Campbell said of Goff. "He's one of the reasons that we won this division and he's another reason why we just won our first playoff game here in 30 years. What a stud."

The Lions (13-5) will host the winner of Monday's Philadelphia-Tampa Bay game in the conference semifinals next weekend.



🏈NFL PACKERS 48 COWBOYS 32: Aaron Jones rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers stormed to a 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC wild-card playoff game on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas. Jordan Love completed 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns to win his first career playoff start for Green Bay. Romeo Doubs caught six passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, and Darnell Savage had a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Dak Prescott completed 41 of 60 passes for 403 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions for Dallas. Jake Ferguson caught all three touchdown passes for the Cowboys, who were bounced out of the wild-card round for the second time in the past three seasons. Green Bay tied a team record for most points scored in a playoff game. The Packers also scored 48 against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC divisional round in the 2010 season.


🏈SOURCES: CHARGERS FIRST TO MEET WITH JIM HARBAUGH ABOUT VACANCY: The Jim Harbaugh derby for NFL teams is about to heat up. The Los Angeles Chargers are set to be the first NFL team to meet with Harbaugh about their head-coaching vacancy. Atlanta, Carolina, Las Vegas, Seattle, Tennessee and Washington also have openings. Harbaugh, who previously coached in the NFL, has a prior relationship with the Chargers.

⚾DODGERS REHIRE LONGTIME MLB'ER RAUL IBANEZ TO FRONT OFFICE: The Los Angeles Dodgers have rehired former major leaguer Raul Ibanez as their new vice president of baseball development and special projects. Ibanez, who spent the last two years with MLB as a senior vice president of on-field operations, will now be involved in issues related to rules, equipment, and on-field technology for the Dodgers. Previously, he served six years as a special assistant within the team's baseball operations department.

⚾JUAN SOTO, YANKEES AGREE TO RECORD $31 MILLION SALARY FOR '24: Juan Soto and the New York Yankees avoided arbitration with a record-setting, $31 million salary for the 2024 season, topping the list of dozens of arbitration-eligible players who agreed on their compensation ahead of Thursday's 8 p.m. ET cutoff.  Soto's salary, reached minutes before the deadline for players and teams to submit their desired figures ahead of a potential arbitration hearing, topped the $30 million Shohei Ohtani obtained last offseason. Soto, like Ohtani last year, is heading into his final season before free agency.





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