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Monday, January 22, 2024

1/22 WAKE-UP CALL: DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, two days before the New Hampshire primary. DeSantis acknowledged in a video that he posted to social media that he did not have a clear path to victory.

"Now following our second-place finish in Iowa, we have prayed and deliberated on the way forward," DeSantis said. "If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome − more campaign stops, more interviews − I would do it.  But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory."

"Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign," he said. "I am proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises and I will not stop now." Added DeSantis, who was far behind former President Donald Trump and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in New Hampshire: "It's clear to me that a majority of Republican voters want to give Donald Trump another chance."

➤NOW IT'S TRUMP AND HALEY: Haley issued a very perfunctory statement about DeSantis’ withdrawal — and spent most of it talking about the remaining race with Trump. “Ron DeSantis has been a good governor, and I wish him well,” said Haley, whom DeSantis attacked in his withdrawal statement. "So far, only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not," Haley added. "We’re not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go down the road of Trump and Biden again, or we go down a new conservative road. "New Hampshire voters will have their say on Tuesday. When I’m president, I will do everything in my power to show them they made the right decision."

➤WHY RON QUIT: Ron DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire, turning his campaign towards the more conservative state of South Carolina. But on Saturday, he was given internal polling data that showed he had no chance of winning the state and would finish far behind former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with discussions. His aides canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next.

➤HUCKABEE SANDERS HINTS SHE'S NOT INTERESTED IN BEING TRUMP'S VP: Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, expressed disinterest in being considered as former President Donald Trump's vice presidential candidate during an interview on CBS News's "Face the Nation." Sanders, who currently serves as governor, stated her preference for remaining in her current role, emphasizing her love for the job. She mentioned being honored to serve as governor and expressed a desire to continue in that capacity for the next seven years, indicating she wouldn't want to leave the position early to run with Trump.

➤COUPLE ARRESTED AFTER LIVING WITH DEAD PARENTS IN HOME FOR SIX YEARS: A Kansas couple has been charged with fraudulently collecting a dead relative's retirement benefits while they hid his body in their home for more than six years. Federal prosecutors alleged that Lynn and Kirk Ritter, both 61, cashed in more than $216,000 from Michael Carroll's pension and Social Security Administration benefits, according to an indictment obtained by USA TODAY. Carroll, who was a retired telecommunications employee, began receiving retirement benefits in 2008 and received them until November 2022. But authorities say Carroll's pacemaker showed that he died in 2016 at 81 years old and police in Overland Park, a suburb in the Kansas City metropolitan area, didn't discover his body until 2022 after Kirk Ritter, his son-in-law, reported his death.

➤MISSING SEALS PRESUMED DEAD:  Two U.S. Navy SEALs who went missing in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month during a raid on a boat carrying Iranian weapons have not been located following an exhaustive search and their status has been changed to deceased, military officials said on Sunday. The SEALs were reported missing after boarding the vessel in a Jan. 11 operation near the coast of Somali, the U.S. Central Command said on X.


“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time,” CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. A joint operation carried out by the United States, Spain and Japan searched more than 21,000 square miles of ocean for the missing SEALs, CENTCOM said in the statement.

➤GOOGLE ENGINEER FOUND 'SPATTERED IN BLOOD' FOLLOWING ALLEGED MURDER OF WIFE IN UPSCALE CALIFORNIA HOME:  A Google software engineer, Liren Chen, allegedly murdered his wife, Xuanyi Yu, in a gruesome attack at their California home. Police discovered Chen "spattered in blood" after responding to a welfare check call from an acquaintance who expressed concern about the couple. Both Chen and Yu were confirmed as employees of Google at the time of the incident, according to a statement from the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office.

➤POLICE FATALLY SHOOT MAN IN NASHUA: A man was shot and killed by police in Nashua, New Hampshire, during a domestic disturbance response. Nashua police officers encountered an armed man outside a residence. After using a less-than-lethal projectile, three officers fired bullets at the man, who later entered the home and was found unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound. The man died at the scene, and no one else was physically injured during the incident. The identity of the deceased is pending release after an autopsy scheduled for Monday.

➤NASA SAYS IT'S REESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH THE INGENUITY MARS HELICOPTER: NASA successfully reestablished contact with the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars after it unexpectedly lost communication during its 72nd flight. The autonomous aircraft's transmissions are relayed through the Perseverance rover, and NASA had planned a systems check following issues in its previous flight.  Ingenuity has experienced blackouts before and resumed flight, it remains uncertain if the same will happen this time. The mini helicopter has exceeded its original mission timeline.

➤N.Y. MIDWIFE FINED $300,000 FOR GIVING 1,500 CHILDREN HOMEOPATHIC PELLETS INSTEAD OF VACCINATIONS FOR MEASLES AND POLIO: A midwife in New York, Jeanette Breen, has been fined $300,000 for administering homeopathic pellets instead of essential vaccinations to approximately 1,500 children. The state's Department of Health revealed the penalty as part of a "Stipulation and Order" due to false immunization records created by the midwife. Immunizations are mandatory for enrollment in public schools, and Breen allegedly entered 12,500 false vaccine reports in New York's Immunization Information System since 2019.

🏈NFL CHIEFS 27 BILLS 24: Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth consecutive season with a 27-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night at Orchard Park, N.Y. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 97 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on 15 carries for third-seeded Kansas City. Mahomes completed 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards in his first career road postseason game and Kelce had five receptions for 75 yards for the Chiefs.

"We did hear it all week about playing a road game," Mahomes said, "and we were here to prove a point and show we can play anywhere." Kansas City will visit the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens next Sunday for a Super Bowl berth. Buffalo had a chance to tie the score but Tyler Bass was way wide right on a 44-yard field-goal attempt with 1:43 remaining. Pacheco then rushed for a first down on Kansas City's second play as the Chiefs ran out the clock.

"All-time classic," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. "If we don't play them again, I'm good with that. ... Our guys kept our composure through the highs and lows of the game." Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one for Buffalo. Allen completed 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards and rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries and Khalil Shakir caught a touchdown pass for the second-seeded Bills. Buffalo had a 16-play, 54-yard drive stall at the Kansas City 26-yard line before Bass' wide-right boot brought back memories of Scott Norwood's 47-yard miss in the loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV nearly 33 years ago.

🏈NFL LIONS 31 BUCCANEERS 23: Jared Goff passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns and the Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 31-23 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. Seeking their first Super Bowl berth, the Lions will travel to California to face the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday. Detroit will be playing in the conference title game for the first time since the 1991 season.

Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards, including the go-ahead 31-yard score in the fourth quarter. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Sam LaPorta had nine receptions for 65 yards for Detroit. The Lions' second playoff win in as many weeks came three years to the day after Dan Campbell was introduced as the downtrodden franchise's new head coach. "I envisioned that we would have a chance to compete with the big boys, and that's where we're at," Campbell said. "All you've got to do is get in."

For the second week running, Lions fans chanted Goff's name. "This is our last one in front of them and they were special, as they were last week," Goff said. "They deserve it. They deserve this, they deserve to enjoy this and hope to give them a lot more coming forward. Baker Mayfield passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions for the Bucs. Mike Evans caught eight passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.


🏈TRAVIS KELCE SCORES: Travis Kelce scored his first touchdown in eight games for the Kansas City Chiefs and aimed a heart celebration at Taylor Swift in the stands - while brother Jason ripped his shirt off in freezing Buffalo and climbed out the window of his VIP suite in astonishing scenes. The older Kelce brother was watching from one of the best seats in the house - where he met his brother's girlfriend for the first time - at Highmark Stadium but couldn't contain his emotions when his brother scored a vital touchdown for the Chiefs - his first of two on the night against the Bills. The first gave the Chiefs a 13-10 lead in the second quarter and the Chiefs man celebrated with a heart-signal hand-gesture aimed at his pop star girlfriend before also blowing a kiss up at his loved ones in the stands.  1,203rd career victory as the Stanford women's basketball team defeated Oregon State 65-56. VanDerveer surpassed former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski's record. Following the achievement, VanDerveer expressed gratitude to her players and acknowledged the attention brought to women's basketball. Krzyzewski, who held the record since 2019, issued a congratulatory statement after the game.

🏈EAGLES FIRE DEMOTED DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR SEAN DESAI: The Eagles have fired demoted defensive coordinator Sean Desai, according to multiple reports. Desai, 40, was hired by Philadelphia in February to replace Jonathan Gannon, who became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Nick Sirianni demoted Desai in favor of Matt Patricia following blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in early December that dropped the Eagles to 10-3

🏈BAKER MAYFIELD EARNED TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS RETURN, BOWLES SAYS: Moments after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season ended with a 31-23 playoff divisional loss at the Detroit Lions, coach Todd Bowles said quarterback Baker Mayfield earned the right to return in 2024. Mayfield, who was on a one-year deal with Tampa, has indicated he would like to return, as would wide receiver Mike Evans, who was unhappy at the start of the season over not getting a new contract before Week 1.

⚾ANGELS, ROBERT STEPHENSON AGREE TO 3-YEAR, $33M DEAL: Right-hander Robert Stephenson and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a three-year, $33 million contract that includes a conditional option that could be triggered if Stephenson misses a particular amount of time due to an elbow injury. The contract, expected to be official once Stephenson completes a physical on Monday, landed the Angels the best reliever left on the market.

🏀HAWKS GUARD OUT: Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young was diagnosed with a concussion after leaving Saturday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Young exited the game in the fourth quarter after taking a charge and getting hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow from the Cavaliers' Isaac Okoro. There is no specified timetable for his return, as he must undergo the league's concussion protocol to ensure he is symptom-free before resuming basketball activities. Young had also missed Friday's game against the Miami Heat due to illness.

➤BIG WARM-UP: With much of the U.S. currently still enduring a deadly and dangerous deep freeze, it's hard to believe how warm most areas are expected to be this week.  In fact, according to the Climate Prediction Center, odds favor above-average temperatures all week across the entire contiguous 48 states. Highs could soar into the 60s and 70s in some areas of the South. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain calls it "weather whiplash," as some parts of the country could see record high temperatures, just a week or so after record lows. But along with the warmth will come the chance for flooding, forecasters said, thanks because of the combination of heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt.

➤MONDAY'S WEATHER MAP:




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