Friday, January 26, 2024

1/26 WAKE-UP CALL: Trump..I Don't Get Angry, I Get Even'

By the time she made her defiant concession speech in the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday night, Donald Trump had already attacked Nikki Haley’s Indian ethnicity, called her a patsy for China, and amplified a “birther” lie that the former South Carolina governor is ineligible to run for president. Now, as Trump’s sole remaining challenger has rebuffed GOP calls for her to drop out of the race before her home state’s primary next month, Haley faces what analysts say may be a tsunami of political slime. “Nikki knows this and knows there’s nothing she can do about it,” said former Republican campaign guru Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. “South Carolina has the dirtiest politics in America. She is going into a buzzsaw.”

It's Nikki Haley's turn in the barrel, as the former president and his supporters turn their fire on his last remaining challenger. In his New Hampshire victory speech on Tuesday night, Trump – who faces four felony indictments in federal and state courts – went after his former U.N. ambassador’s character and her appearance, and suggested without evidence that Haley was ripe for a criminal investigation.  “I don’t get too angry," Trump said. "I get even."

➤TRUMP ERUPTS: Donald Trump erupted in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday as a judge sought to restrict his testimony in a case over the costly damages he could face for defaming advice columnist E. Jean Carroll when he denied her sexual assault allegations in 2019. "I don't know who the woman is," Trump said out of turn, as Judge Lewis Kaplan was speaking to a lawyer. "I wasn't at the trial," he added, referring to an earlier civil trial that Trump chose not to attend, in which a jury found him liable for sexually abusing Carroll. "Mr. Trump, keep your voice down," Kaplan admonished. Before long, Trump was interjecting again, although the judge quickly put a stop to it.

What's next with the trial? An anonymous jury will determine what, if any, monetary damages Trump might owe Carroll for two statements he made denying her allegation that he had raped her in a department store changing room in the mid-1990s.

➤U-S WARNED IRAN OF TERROR ATTACK: The U.S. secretly warned Iran that Islamic State was preparing to carry out the terrorist attack early this month that killed more than 80 Iranians in a pair of coordinated suicide bombings, U.S. officials said. The Wall Street Journal reports the confidential alert came after the U.S. acquired intelligence that Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIS-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, was plotting to attack Iran, they said. American officials said the information passed to Iran was specific enough about the location and sufficiently timely that it might have proved useful to Tehran in thwarting the attack on Jan. 3 or at least mitigating the casualty toll. Iran, however, failed to prevent the suicide bombings in the southeastern town of Kerman, which targeted a crowd that was commemorating the anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds force. Soleimani was killed in a January 2020 drone attack near the Baghdad airport ordered by then-President Donald Trump.

➤ALABAMA EXECUTES CONVICTED MURDERER:  Alabama on Thursday executed convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who held his breath in vain as officials asphyxiated him with nitrogen gas, the first use of a new method of capital punishment since lethal injections began in the U.S. four decades ago. Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, was a rare prisoner who had already survived one execution attempt. In November 2022, Alabama officials aborted his execution by lethal injection after struggling for hours to insert an intravenous line's needle in his body. The state has called its new closely watched protocol "the most painless and humane method of execution known to man." It predicted Smith would lose consciousness in under a minute and die soon after, although witnesses on Thursday said it appeared to take several minutes longer. Alabama has touted asphyxiation as a simpler alternative for prison systems that struggle to find either veins or the required drugs for lethal injections.

➤PROSECUTOR TELLS JURY THAT MOTHER OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER IS AT FAULT FOR 4 STUDENT DEATHS: In the trial related to the school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the armed teen, is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors argue that the shooting, which killed four students, could have been prevented if Jennifer Crumbley had taken action after seeing her son's violent drawings on the same day as the incident. 

The prosecution contends that she was aware of her son's deteriorating mental health and social isolation and knew about his access to a gun.

➤SEATTLE AGREES TO PAY BLM PROTESTORS $10 MILLION IN LAWSUIT STEMMING FROM 2020 RIOTS: The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $10 million to 50 Black Lives Matter protesters who sued the police department, alleging the use of excessive force during the 2020 riots. The settlement, announced by attorneys from both sides, aims to resolve the case and avoid the costs and risks associated with a scheduled three-month trial.

➤ECONOMY JUMPS: The U.S. economy continued to grow at a healthy pace at the end of 2023, capping a year in which unemployment remained low, inflation cooled and a widely predicted recession never materialized. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. That was down from the 4.9 percent rate in the third quarter but easily topped forecasters’ expectations and showed the resilience of the recovery from the pandemic’s economic upheaval. The latest reading is preliminary and may be revised in the months ahead.

🏠HOUSING MARKET JUMPS: Is this the bottom of the housing market?  Last week, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales for December and all of 2023 tumbled to new lows. On Thursday, though, the Census Bureau's preliminary report for December showed new home sales jumped 8% from November and grew 4% from 2022 to 2023. Is that a good sign? New home sales are just a fraction of existing home sales and can fluctuate significantly from month to month. But still, the 668,000 new homes purchased in 2023 ends a two-year decline. It also points to two key concerns that have bogged down the market struggling with higher mortgage rates: too few buyers and too few homes for sale. 

SUSPECT TO STAND TRIAL IN KILLING OF TV NEWSMAN: Keith Moses right) was found competent to face murder charges for last February’s killing of three people in Pine Hills, including a television reporter, after court-appointed psychologists found no evidence of a mental illness that would prevent his prosecution. Orange County Circuit Judge Leticia Margues heard testimony from two psychologists, Chelsea Bennett and Katherine Oses, who said they believe Moses understands the charges against him and the legal process he will undergo. Both also said he provided vague and often contradictory information throughout their evaluations, including that he hasn’t been in contact with his family even as Oses said jailhouse phone calls showed he has spoken with his mother and grandmother. Along with interviewing Moses, the psychologists reviewed Moses’ court and school records, as well as his mental health history. Although the 20-year-old has reported experiencing auditory hallucinations, Bennett and Oses believe he doesn’t have the sort of mental illness that would keep him from standing trial.

➤BILL PASSES FLA HOUSE TO BAN SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THOSE UNDER 16: The Florida House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would ban social media for minors under the age of 16. The bill, known as HB 1, passed Wednesday in a 106-13 vote, with only a portion of Democrats in opposition. A priority for House leadership, the bill is moving to the upper chamber less than three weeks into the Florida legislative session. The bill would require social media platforms to prohibit minors from creating new accounts, terminate existing accounts of those younger than 16 and use age verification for account holders, without a parental permission exemption. The proposal will still have to pass the state Senate before making it to Gov. Ron DeSantis's desk. In that case and barring any legal trouble, it would go into effect in July. But if similar measures in Ohio and Utah are any indication, legal trouble may be difficult to avoid.


🏈FALCONS HIRE RAMS DC RAHEEM MORRIS AS HEAD COACH: The Atlanta Falcons have hired Raheem Morris as their coach, marking a departure from their past coaching choices. Owner Arthur Blank, in his over 20 years of ownership, has never before hired a former NFL head coach. Morris's appointment is historic as he becomes the first full-time Black head coach in the franchise's history, signifying a positive step towards diversity and inclusion in coaching roles.

🏈PANTHERS HIRE BUCCANEERS O-COORDINATOR DAVE CANALES AS COACH: The Carolina Panthers have appointed Dave Canales, the former offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as their new head coach. The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Panthers are optimistic that Canales, known for his success with quarterbacks, can have a positive impact on young quarterback Bryce Young. Panthers owner David Tepper expressed confidence in Canales, highlighting his innovative mindset, positive energy, and ability to bring out the best in players.

⚾SOURCES: RANGERS REACH 1-YEAR DEAL WITH DAVID ROBERTSON: The Texas Rangers and free agent relief pitcher David Robertson, who has 175 career saves, reached a one-year deal in the $11 million-$12 million range. The deal is pending a physical, sources said. Robertson, who turns 39 in April, had 18 saves last season between the Mets and the Marlins, he was traded to Miami for two minor leaguers before the deadline.

🏀LAKERS' LEBRON JAMES MAKES HISTORY WITH 20TH ALL-STAR SELECTION: LeBron James became the first player to be named to 20 All-Star teams Thursday night, when he was selected for the Western Conference as part of the league's unveiling of the 10 starters for next month's All-Star Game in Indianapolis. James, who passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star nods in NBA history, was joined in the West starting five by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

➤FRIDAY'S WEATHER MAP: 



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