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Monday, January 8, 2024

1/8 WAKE-UP CALL: Congress Close To A Deal


Congressional leaders have reached an agreement that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. The plan largely hews to spending caps for defense and domestic programs that Congress set as part of a bill to suspend the debt limit until 2025. But it does provide some concessions to House Republicans who viewed the spending restrictions in that agreement as insufficient. In a letter to colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday the agreement would secure $16 billion in additional spending cuts from the previous agreement brokered by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden and is about $30 billion less than what the Senate was considering. The deal speeds up the roughly $20 billion in cuts already agreed to for the Internal Revenue Service and rescinds about $6 billion in COVID relief money that had been approved but not yet spent.

➤WHO'S IN CHARGE?  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin passed authority to his deputy last week without telling her that he'd been hospitalized with a serious medical condition, according to senior administration officials. On Jan. 2, the day after Austin was admitted to the hospital, he transferred authorities that required “constant secure communications capabilities” to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement on Sunday. Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico, “keeps a complete suite of communications and capable staff with her at all times, regardless of geographic location,” Ryder said, and she took up Austin's duties from the U.S. territory. Hicks, however, was not aware that Austin had been hospitalized until Jan. 4, according to a senior defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly. In fact, he had been in the intensive care unit after complications set in after an elective procedure.

➤U-S FEARS WIDENING WAR: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday before heading on to Israel after warning that the Gaza war could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts. Blinken started a five-day Middle East diplomatic effort in Jordan and Qatar on Sunday, seeking to avert a wider war in the region. He is also due to visit the West Bank and Egypt this week. "This is a moment of profound tension for the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering," Blinken told a press conference in Doha before heading to Abu Dhabi. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the intensity of the offensive in Gaza signalled his country's determination to destroy the militant group Hamas that rules the enclave and deter other potential Iran-backed adversaries, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.


🛬BLOWN OUT DOOR RECOVERED: A key piece of the Alaska Airlines plane that suffered a serious blowout on the evening of Jan. 5 has been found, according to US federal air safety investigators, aiding their probe into the plane’s “explosive” rapid decompression. “I am excited to announce we have found the door plug,” National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said at a second press briefing in Portland, Oregon on Sunday night in the US. The door plug was found in the backyard of a Portland-based school teacher.

Accident investigators have hailed the miracle that allowed everyone on board the Boeing 737 Max 9 to survive after the 'truly terrifying' disintegration on the flight from Portland to Ontario International in California. Toys, phones and clothes were sucked into the night after the plug door 'departed the aircraft' causing instant decompression with 171 passengers aboard Flight 1282 on Friday evening. But the fact that most people were still wearing their seat belts just 10 minutes into the flight probably stopped them following their possessions through the hole, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 'We are very, very fortunate here that this didn't end up in something more tragic,' NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told a press conference on Saturday night.


📺MSNBC ANCHOR QUITS: Mehdi Hasan, who caused controversy criticizing Israel's war on Hamas, was initially set to remain with MSNBC as an on-camera analyst and fill-in host but announced he was quitting on the final episode of his show that aired Sunday. He briefly referenced the war and the current state of the world and America as he confirmed the decision. 'As we begin 2024, with an election coming, a war still ongoing, and too many Trump trials honestly to even keep track of, and with this show going away, I've decided that it's time for me to look for a new challenge,' he said.

➤SUPREME COURT ALLOWS IDAHO TO ENFORCE ABORTION BAN: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Idaho to enforce its abortion ban while it considers whether emergency room doctors can legally use the procedure in order to stabilize a patient. The Biden administration sued Idaho in 2022, arguing that ER doctors must be allowed perform abortion if needed to stabilize a patient. Idaho’s abortion law punishes anyone who performs or assists in an abortion with up to five years in prison. It allows exceptions for instances in which the life of the woman is in danger and for victims of rape and incest. The high court will hear oral arguments in the case in April.

➤MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN'S JAN. 6TH EVENT CANCELED: Marjorie Taylor Green’s event commemorating the Jan. 6th riot was canceled this weekend. According to NBC News, Westgate Resorts in Kissimmee, Florida was told the January 6th event was a book signing for the Georgia Representative’s new memoir, “MTG.” However, the event’s organizer had been marketing it as an “exclusive” event to commemorate the “3rd Anniversary of Jan 6.”

➤NO MARTIANS, JUST THUGS IN MIAMI: Miami police have spoken out once and for all to declare there was officially no extraterrestrial activity during an incident on New Year's Day that appeared to show an alien-type creature floating around. Video widely shared by conspiracy theorists on social media claimed a 10-foot-tall silhouette walking near cop cars was from another planet, with one user claiming a 'glowing figure' was walking through smoke during the chaotic scene. It came after roughly 50 teenagers started a riot outside Bayside Marketplace and caused a panic by setting off loud fireworks. Every available patrol car in the city was summoned to the scene - but over the weekend Miami police officer Rafael Horta put to rest any conspiracy theories with a partly factual and partly tongue-in-cheek message.

➤NEW YORK CITY HOSPITALS REINSTATE MASK MANDATES: New York City public hospitals are reinstating mask mandates. According to reports, the indoor mask requirement is in effect at 11 hospitals, 30 health centers and five long-term care facilities that are part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system. The mandates are in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases and influenza respiratory infections, although the current increase is minimal compared to the spikes seen during the pandemic.

➤LAUREN BOEBERT INVESTIGATED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband, Jayson Boebert, are the subjects of an investigation after a physical fight between the two on Saturday evening. The incident happened at a restaurant in Silt, a town in Lauren Boebert's congressional district, according to The Daily Beast. The outlet reported that Jayson Boebert called the police to the scene, claiming he was a victim of domestic violence. However, an aide to Lauren Boebert denied these allegations, asserting that the congresswoman did not engage in any form of domestic violence.


🏈NFL BILLS 21 MIAMI 14: Josh Allen passed for 359 yards and two touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills notched a 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night at Miami Gardens, Fla., to win the AFC East for the fourth straight season. Allen tossed the go-ahead touchdown to Dawson Knox midway through the final quarter as Buffalo (11-6) won its fifth straight contest. Taylor Rapp sealed the victory with an interception with 1:13 remaining. Trent Sherfield also caught a touchdown pass and Khalil Shakir had 105 receiving yards for the second-seeded Bills, who will host the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in next Sunday's playoff contest Allen rushed for 67 yards and also completed 30 of 38 passes with two interceptions. 

He improved to 11-2 as a starter against Miami (including last season's playoff victory) and has thrown 36 touchdown passes in those 13 games.

🏈NFL GIANTS 27 EAGLES 10: Saquon Barkley rushed for two touchdowns, and the New York Giants dominated the struggling Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams at East Rutherford, N.J. Tyrod Taylor passed for 297 yards and one touchdown as the Giants (6-11) snapped a five-game losing streak against the Eagles. Xavier McKinney had two interceptions as New York defeated Philadelphia for just the third time in the past 16 meetings. Jalen Hurts was just 7-of-16 passing for 55 yards and one interception before being pulled in the second quarter for the Eagles (11-6), who lost for the fifth time in six games. Philadelphia is an NFC wild-card team, and the No. 5-seeded Eagles will visit the No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week in the playoffs. Marcus Mariota finished up for Philadelphia and was 13-of-20 passing for 148 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Eagles committed four turnovers.


🏈ATLANTA FALCONS FIRE HEAD COACH: The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith on Sunday night after a 48-17 loss to the New Orlean Saints. The team’s 7-10 season makes this the third season without a playoff appearance or a winning record for the coach. Falcons owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay will lead the search for a new coach.

🏈PUKA NACUA BREAKS TWO ROOKIE RECORDS: Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua broke two NFL Rookie records Sunday night. While playing against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, the wide receiver broke Bill Gorman’s 63-year-old record for the most receiving yards - 1,473 - by a rookie in NFL History. He also caught his 105th pass, giving him the rookie record for receptions in a season.

🏈SAINTS PLAYERS GO ROGUE IN FINAL MINUTES OF THEIR VICTORY OVER THE FALCONS: The New Orleans Saints players went rogue in the final minutes of their 48-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The team was intended to kneel to run out the final 1:13, but instead the team ran Jamaal Williams up the middle for a 1-yard score. Falcons coach Arthur Smith angrily approached Allan after the game and the two did not exchange a postgame handshake. Allen confirmed the exchange was about the late touchdown and said in a postgame news conference, “That's not who we are, that's not how we operate. We should've taken a knee."

🏈CFP CHAMPIONSHIP TONIGHT: We've nearly reached the final College Football Playoff National Championship of the four-team era as No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington will square off on Monday in Houston, Texas. The winner of this much-anticipated showdown will emerge as the last undefeated team standing in the FBS ranks while bringing home the first college football national title for their school of the CFP or BCS era.



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