Wednesday, January 17, 2024

1/17 WAKE-UP CALL: U-S Attacks Houthi Missile Sites For Third Time


The U.S. military launched its third strike Tuesday against Houthi militants in Yemen, destroying four anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch at ships in the Red Sea, according to U.S. Central Command.

  • What's been going on? The U.S., along with Great Britain, had attacked dozens of missile and radar sites used by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen since Thursday. The Biden administration defended moving ahead with strikes last week on Houthi targets even though the actions have not deterred Houthi militants from conducting more attacks in the Red Sea.
  • What's the reason for the attacks? The Houthis have launched about 30 attacks aimed at commercial and military ships in the Red Sea since November. They maintain the attacks are in response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. 

➤TRUMP IN COURT: Donald Trump capped off his Iowa victory with a return to the courtroom Tuesday for a federal civil trial to determine how much money he may owe former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll for defamation after, as president, he denied raping her in the mid-1990s. Trump, whose 2024 presidential campaign will collide with a crowded schedule of criminal cases and lawsuits, sat attentively in Judge Lewis Kaplan's Manhattan courtroom, glaring and scowling at times as about six-dozen prospective jurors answered questions posed by the judge over everything from their prior involvement with the judicial system to their political beliefs. When Kaplan asked if any members of the jury pool felt he they'd been mistreated by the court system, Trump subtly raised his hand, to laughter from the gallery. “We know how you stand,” the judge said.

U-S Daily Mail

➤WHAT'S NEXT FOR DeSANTIS, HALEY: Donald Trump is setting his sights on New Hampshire, while his two remaining opponents for the GOP nomination try to adjust their strategies. The former president won the Iowa caucuses Monday night with the largest margin in the history of the first Republican presidential nominating contest. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in a distant second, isn’t as strong in the Granite State as the third-place finisher, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and is facing pressure from some allies to drop out. DeSantis’ team rejected the idea. Haley will seek to tap in to New Hampshire’s more-centrist electorate in the Jan. 23 primary by saying Trump did a good job as president, but the controversies surrounding him hurt the party’s chances of defeating President Biden in November. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech founder Vivek Ramaswamy suspended their campaigns.

➤RAMASWARMY BOARDS TRUMP TRAIN: Ramaswamy joined Trump a day after dropping out of the race to publicly implore voters to support the former president in next week's New Hampshire primaries at a rally in Atkinson. After Ramaswamy pledged to help him beat President Joe Biden in November, Trump seemed to suggest that there was much the tech entrepreneur could do for his campaign. 'He's going to be working with us and he'll be working with us for a long time,' Trump said, as many in the crowd chanted for Ramaswamy to become the vice presidential nominee.

➤CANDIDATES' DEBATE CANCELED: ABC News canceled the Thursday Republican primary debate it had planned in collaboration with New Hampshire TV station WMUR, citing a lack of candidate participation.  “Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. “While our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire.”


Former President Donald Trump has not attended any debates this campaign and unsurprisingly declined ABC News’ invitation. Nikki Haley also refused to partake in this debate, saying that Trump is the only one she has left to debate. Nine jurors were selected for the trial, which Kaplan said is likely to last three to five days. Jurors will remain anonymous, even to Trump, Carroll, lawyers and judicial staff, and will be driven to and from the courthouse from an undisclosed location for their safety, the judge said.

➤HUNTER SEEKS TO HAVE GUN CHARGES DISMISSED: Federal prosecutors are urging a judge to reject Hunter Biden's efforts to dismiss gun charges against him, revealing that investigators found cocaine residue on the pouch he used to hold his gun. According to Politico, prosecutors argue that the evidence against President Joe Biden's son is overwhelming and push back against claims of political targeting. In addition to incriminating statements in Hunter Biden's 2021 memoir, investigators found a white powdery substance on the pouch he used to store the gun, determined to be cocaine by an FBI chemist.

Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying about drug use on a gun purchase form. Prosecutors refute claims of selective charging for political purposes and emphasize the evidence against him. The criminal proceedings resulted from a plea deal breakdown last year, and Hunter Biden is now facing trial while his lawyers have sought dismissal but prosecutors argue the charges are a result of his own choices. The proceedings coincide with congressional Republicans' efforts to link Hunter Biden's business dealings to his father, President Biden.

➤JUDGE BLOCK AIRLINE DEAL: A federal judge blocked JetBlue’s $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, agreeing with the government that the deal would weaken competition. The Justice Department said the acquisition would remove an ultra-low-cost carrier that benefits travelers and pressures other airlines to keep down fares, and without Spirit as a rival, JetBlue could raise prices by as much as 30%. JetBlue and Spirit are the country’s sixth- and seventh-largest carriers, respectively. JetBlue had argued it needed the merger to get big enough to compete with the four biggest airlines: United, American, Delta and Southwest. A merged JetBlue-Spirit would rank fifth. The two airlines said that they were evaluating next steps and that the merger was still the “best opportunity” to increase competition and keep fares low.

➤MARTINSVILLE SCHOOLS RESPOND TO SUPREME COURT AVOIDING TRANSGENDER BATHROOM CASE: The Metropolitan School District of Martinsville expressed deep disappointment in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to not intervene in a lower court ruling that allows transgender students in Indiana to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The district's petition to uphold its policy, requiring transgender students to use bathrooms based on their assigned biological sex at birth, was denied by the Supreme Court. The case, involving a transgender boy identified as A.C., centers on the student's claim of being denied access to the boys' restroom at John R. Wooden Middle School. The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by A.C.'s parents and the ACLU of Indiana.

➤IOWA SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, OLDEST MEMBER OF SENATE, HOSPITALIZED WITH INFECTION: Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the oldest member of the U.S. Senate at 90, has been hospitalized in Washington with an infection and is receiving antibiotic infusions. His office stated that Grassley will return to work as soon as possible following doctors' orders and is in good spirits. No additional details about his condition were provided. Grassley, who had hip surgery last year, has appeared otherwise healthy, and the statement did not specify the nature or severity of the infection.

🏈JIM HARBAUGH INTERVIEWS WITH FALCONS: The Atlanta Falcons are actively conducting a head coaching search and recently interviewed high-profile candidates. After interviewing Bill Belichick on Monday, the team announced that they also interviewed Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday. Harbaugh had also interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the Los Angeles Chargers.

🏈SOURCES: MIKE TOMLIN TELLS STEELERS HE'LL BE COACH IN '24: Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh Steelers players and coaches Tuesday that he plans to coach the team in 2024, a day after he walked out of a news conference when asked about his contract. Tomlin, who has a year left on his contract, has given no indications of wanting to step away in recent weeks. The source added that contract extension talks could intensify this offseason.

🏈SOURCES: RAMS' TYLER HIGBEE HAS TORN ACL FROM LOW HIT: Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee sustained a torn ACL from a hit he took in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 24-23 wild-card game loss to the Detroit Lions.  The nature of his injury was confirmed by an MRI. Higbee suffered the injury on a low hit from Lions safety Kerby Joseph, whose tackle sparked criticism.

🏀NUGGETS ARRIVED IN PHILADELPHIA NEARLY 9 HOURS LATE ON MONDAY: The Denver Nuggets were stuck on a plane for over eight hours due to cold weather freezing the engines in Denver before their flight to Philadelphia. The scheduled departure around noon Mountain time on Monday was delayed, and they left around 5 p.m. local time, landing in Philadelphia at around 10 p.m. The delay impacted the timing for their game against the Philadelphia 76ers, originally set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip on Tuesday night.

➤ICE STORM HITS OREGON: While the vast majority of Americans grappling with freezing temperatures could find comfort inside heated homes and businesses, more than 50,000 were out of power Tuesday evening in Oregon, where half of the 14 deaths attributed to the arctic blast have occurred. 

The Pacific Northwest in general was bracing for freezing rain and ice, but western Oregon was expecting the worst of it as the state's three largest cities − Portland, Salem and Eugene – were forecast to get up to half an inch of ice through early Wednesday before a reprieve later in the day. Many of their residents will have to brave the frigid weather without heat after power in some areas was knocked out by a weekend storm and the harsh weather hindered restoration efforts. Though smaller blackouts have hit other parts of the country, no other state has as many as 10,000 electric customers in the dark, according to poweroutage.us.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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