Monday, February 5, 2024

2/5 WAKE-UP CALL: House Speaker Says Aid Package Is DOA


Lawmakers on Sunday revealed a $118 billion package that includes a long-awaited bipartisan deal to address the migrant crisis at the southern border and new aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies, embarking on a challenging path forward in the House where Republican leadership quickly panned it. Reports about the agreement have swirled for months, and the text of the bill being released will allow leaders – including those Republicans who have already sworn off the proposal – to evaluate the legislation for themselves. The 370-page bill includes the supplemental aid package requested by President Joe Biden for foreign conflicts, which would appropriate $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $10 billion for humanitarian aid, including in Gaza.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he plans to begin the process of considering the legislation this week as "the overwhelming majority of Senators want to get this done." But the agreement has already faced sharp criticism from former President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders, and its odds of passing in Congress aren't clear. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday evening that the bill is "even worse than expected" and said it will be "dead on arrival" if it reached the House. 

\ven some Republican senators immediately slammed it: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said, "I cannot understand how any Republican would think this was a good idea."

➤HALEY SUPPORTER SOUNDS WARNING: Republican Nickey Maxey doesn’t care that his former governor lost the first two 2024 GOP presidential primary contests. He's fully behind Nikki Haley. And he has a warning for those calling on Haley to drop out: don't underestimate her. prominent conservative activists and GOP officials − including former President Donald Trump − are bellowing for Haley to exit, supporters of hers like Maxey, who helped organize a fundraiser when she first ran for governor in 2010, see glimmers of an alternative pathway to victory. "She can win this if she stays in there," Maxey, 67, said. "Trump's going to mess up at some point, and so she's going to be in the driver's seat."  There's a method to Haley's South Carolina bid. In part, she's aiming to be the last person standing should Trump's balloon burst at any point during the 2024 election cycle. It's also a test of whether there's an appetite for an alternative to the former president, who has shown electoral cracks in his armor even when winning Iowa and New Hampshire.

➤REBELS VOW MORE STRIKES: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed Sunday that a wave of joint U.S.-British retaliatory airstrikes "will not pass without response and punishment" as the Israeli-Hamas war teetered on the brink of a far broader and more deadly regional conflict. "These attacks will not deter us from our moral, religious and humanitarian stance in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," Houthis spokesman Ameen Hayyan said in a statement. U.S. and British forces struck 36 rebel targets in Yemen on Saturday, one day after targeting 85 sites linked to other Iran-backed militant groups in Syria and Iraq. The airstrikes Friday were in response to months of attacks on U.S. bases, including a drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan near the Syrian border that killed three Americans.

NYPost 2/5/24
➤SOUTH DAKOTA TRIBE BANS GOVERNOR FROM RESERVATION OVER U.S.-MEXICO BORDER REMARKS: The Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota has banned Republican Governor Kristi Noem from the Pine Ridge Reservation. This decision comes after Noem expressed her intention to send razor wire and security personnel to the Texas border to address immigration issues and claimed that cartels were infiltrating the state's reservations.

➤BOEING FINDS ANOTHER PROBLEM: Boeing is reworking 50 undelivered 737 MAX jets after a supplier’s employee recently found misdrilled holes on some fuselages, a new production snafu for the aircraft manufacturer.  Spirit AeroSystems, which has been at the center of quality issues affecting 737s, supplied the fuselages.  Boeing said that the issue could delay some deliveries in the near term and that existing 737s can keep flying. 

✞NAMIBIAN PRESIDENT HAGE GEINGOB DIES IN A HOSPITAL WHERE HE WAS RECEIVING TREATMENT: Namibian President Hage Geingob passed away on Sunday while receiving medical treatment for cancer at Lady Pohamba Hospital. Despite efforts from his medical team, the 82-year-old leader died with his wife, Monica Geingos, and children by his side. The treatment included a colonoscopy, gastroscopy, and biopsy, as revealed by his office last month.

✞MIKE GILL, FORMER TRUMP OFFICIAL, DIES DAYS AFTER BEING SHOT IN DMV CARJACKING SPREE: Mike Gill, a married father of three and former member of Donald Trump's administration, died in a carjacking rampage in Washington, D.C. His wife, Kristina Gill, expressed profound sadness in a statement, thanking the community for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time.


➤GLOBAL CANCER CASES WILL JUMP 77% BY 2050, WHO REPORT ESTIMATES: New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that global cancer diagnoses are projected to reach 35 million in 2050, marking a 77% increase from the 20 million cases diagnosed in 2022. Lung cancer is identified as the most common form worldwide in 2022, responsible for 2.5 million cases (12.4% of the total), followed by female breast, colorectal, prostate, and stomach cancers. Lung cancer also leads in cancer-related deaths, accounting for 1.8 million or nearly 19% of the total. In high-HDI countries, 1 in 12 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, while in low-HDI countries, 1 in 27 are diagnosed, but 1 in 48 will die, largely due to late diagnosis and limited access to treatments.

➤PATRICK MAHOMES' FATHER ARRESTED IN TEXAS ON SUSPICION OF DWI: Patrick Mahomes Sr., the father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was arrested in Tyler, Texas, on Saturday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Mahomes Sr., 54, is facing a third-degree felony charge of Driving While Intoxicated 3rd Or More, with a bond set at $10,000. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, as per state law. Mahomes Sr. had previously pleaded guilty to a DWI charge in Texas in 2018, serving a 40-day jail sentence on weekends.

✞FORMER JETS TE, PRO BOWLER RICHARD CASTER DIES AT 75: Former New York Jets tight end and wide receiver Richard Caster, a three-time Pro Bowler, has passed away at the age of 75. Caster, who was selected in the second round of the 1970 NFL Draft from Jackson State, died in his sleep on Friday morning in Long Island, New York, after a prolonged illness. Throughout his 13-year NFL career, Caster recorded 322 receptions for 5,515 yards and 45 touchdowns.

⚾ANGELS, RELIEVER JOSE CISNERO AGREE TO 1-YEAR CONTRACT: Reliever José Cisnero has agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. The 34-year-old right-hander, who spent the last five seasons with the Detroit Tigers, posted a 3-4 record, two saves, and a 5.31 ERA in 63 games during the previous season. Cisnero recorded 70 strikeouts and 25 walks in 59⅓ innings but allowed a career-high 10 home runs.


➤ FIERCE WINTER STORM RAGES IN CALIF: A fierce winter storm fueled by a raging atmospheric river was thrashing Californians on Sunday with intense downpours, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, flooding roadways and prompting a rare warning of hurricane-force winds. Up to 37 million people, about 94% of the state's population, were at risk for life-threatening floods from the storm, Accuweather meteorologists warned. The atmospheric river − like a river in the sky − is the second to pound the state in recent days, but forecasters said this storm would be the season's most potent, particularly in Southern California. The National Weather Service issued a rare hurricane-force wind warning for the Central Coast: Wind gusts up to 92 mph were possible from the Monterey Peninsula to the northern section of San Luis Obispo County.

San Francisco officials sent out alerts about flooded and blocked streets, fallen trees − including a large one that brought down power lines − and a hillside landslide. About 100 miles down the coast in Monterey County, the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament was postponed until Monday, when weather conditions don't look favorable either. The storm was expected to head south and hit the Los Angeles area with downpours, flash floods, and high-elevation mountain snow Sunday afternoon into the evening, then to pound Orange County and San Diego on Monday and Tuesday. Los Angeles and Orange were among eight Southern California counties were Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.

➤MONDAY'S WEATHEER MAP:




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