Wednesday, February 7, 2024

2/7 WAKE-UP CALL: Senate Can't Revive House DOA Border Package

Senators threw in the towel Tuesday on a $118 billion national-security and border package after sharp opposition from Republicans scuttled the deal, forcing frustrated lawmakers to urgently seek for a backup plan to deliver aid to Ukraine as it loses ground in its campaign to repel Russia. The surrender to political reality left Democrats seething over what they called a bait and switch by Republicans after four months of talks, while GOP lawmakers said the deal’s border provisions weren’t strong enough. Both sides, however, signaled they could try to move to a narrower bill focused on foreign assistance and weapons once they get past Wednesday, when the doomed package will get a vote in the Senate.

“It looks to me and to most of our members as if we have no real chance here to make a law,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). He said lawmakers still “ought to tackle the rest of it because it’s important,” ticking off aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “Not that the border isn’t important, but we can’t get an outcome.”

➤50 HAMAS HOSTAGES BELIEVE DEAD: As many as 50 hostages whom Hamas abducted during its Oct. 7 attack could be dead, Israel said privately. The figure, presented during recent talks in Cairo, according to Egyptian officials, has been key in negotiating the release of hostages—alive and dead. Israel has publicly acknowledged 29 deaths. If the private estimate is correct, it would mean that around 80 of the 132 hostages believed to be in Gaza are still alive and that militants are keeping dozens of hostages’ corpses. None of the dead have been returned. Hamas militants and others from Gaza had seized more than 240 hostages in the early October assault on Israel. Meanwhile, Israel said it would send ground troops to fight Hamas in Rafah, a Gazan city on the Egyptian border, where more than 1 million civilians are sheltering from war, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to press for a cease-fire deal.

➤NEVADA GOES FOR BIDEN: Former President Donald Trump wasn't on the ballot in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary in the early voting state of Nevada. But his absence wasn't enough to help secure a victory for his last remaining major rival for the 2024 GOP nomination – Nikki Haley. Voters casting ballots in the state-run Republican nominating contest couldn't write in Trump's name, but they could vote for a "none of these candidates" option. And the Associated Press projected that the "none of these candidates" option would defeat Haley in a primary where no delegates to this summer's Republican convention were at stake. Trump supporters Fox News spoke with at polling stations said they were casting a ballot for "none of these candidates." While her name was on the ballot, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration ignored the Nevada primary. Haley didn't campaign in Nevada ahead of the primary and hasn't been in the state since speaking in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership conference.

President Biden hit the jackpot in Nevada, with a third straight ballot box victory in the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination race.

➤TRUMP LOSES IMMUNITY EFFORT: Donald Trump isn’t immune from prosecution on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel unanimously dismissed the former president’s arguments that his efforts during the final months of his presidency to undo his loss, including promoting false voter-fraud claims, fell within his official duties—a crucial tenet of his defense. The judges gave Trump until Monday to appeal to the Supreme Court before their decision takes effect. He said in a social-media post, “A President of the United States must have Full Immunity in order to properly function and do what has to be done for the good of our Country. A Nation-destroying ruling like this cannot be allowed to stand.” A spokesman for the office of special counsel Jack Smith, whose team brought the charges, declined to comment.

➤RNC CHAIR SAYS SHE'S RESIGNING: Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has told former President Donald Trump that she will step down from her post later this month, soon after the South Carolina primary. Trump, 77, is expected to back North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley as McDaniel’s replacement after the Palmetto State’s Feb. 24 primary, sources told the Associated Press Tuesday. The former president and GOP primary front-runner hinted on Monday that McDaniel, 50, should vacate her position after the RNC reported decade-low fundraising numbers entering the presidential election year. “I think she knows that, I think she understands that,” Trump said during a Newsmax interview when asked whether McDaniel should resign after three consecutive election cycles of Republican underperformance. 

➤MAYORKAS SURVIVES IMPEACHMENT EFFORT: The House rejected a GOP push Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a significant blow to the Republicans trying to make immigration and the border a top issue heading into the 2024 elections.  

The vote failed by a count of 214-216 to not impeach Mayorkas, with no Democrats supporting the move and a handful of Republicans joining them. It was always a heavy lift for House Republican leaders to push the impeachment effort through considering their razor-thin majority in the lower chamber. That means Republicans could hardly afford to lose any votes in the impeachment fight.  House Republicans voted on two articles of impeachment accusing Mayorkas of a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and a “breach of public trust.” Mayorkas, GOP lawmakers argue, has intentionally allowed the crisis at the border to continue. 

➤KILLER'S MOM FOUND GUILTY: The mother of a Michigan school shooter was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. This is the first time a parent has been convicted of homicide in connection with such an attack. 

Jennifer Crumbley’s son, Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and is serving life in prison for killing four students at his high school in 2021. Her husband, James, faces the same charges in a separate trial next month. Some legal experts cautioned that the case could open the door to charges against parents whose children use other deadly items around the house, like a baseball bat, while others said it wouldn’t necessarily open the floodgates because the claims are difficult to prove. Gun control groups praised the move as a way to make parents aware of the dangers of having unsecured weapons at home.


➤BOEING PLANE WAS MISSING IMPORTANT BOLTS:  Evidence shows that four bolts were missing from an Alaska Airlines Boeing aircraft's door plug when it blew out last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report. In the wake of the incident, 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, which had the same midcabin door plug, were grounded, and Boeing has been under intense scrutiny from regulators. 

The report said the bolts were removed to perform other repair work at the Boeing factory and were not replaced before the interior wall panels were reinstalled.

➤SNIPER KILLS ROBBER HOLDING HOSTAGES AT KNIFEPOINT AT SOUTH FORT MYERS: A man, identified as Sterling Ramon Alavache, was shot and killed by a SWAT sniper after reportedly holding hostages at a Bank of America in Fort Myers, Florida. The incident, initially reported as a "bank robbery in progress with multiple hostages," prompted the County Sheriff's Office to respond with a robodog, SWAT team, electronic surveillance, and drones. Armed with a knife and claiming to have a bomb, Alavache held two hostages. Negotiations took place, but when he became physically aggressive with one hostage, a SWAT sniper intervened, fearing for her safety, and shot and killed Alavache. The hostages are reported to be safe, and no injuries were reported.

➤FORMER CHILEAN PRESIDENT SEBASTIAN PINERA DIES IN HELICOPTER CRASH: Chilean ex-President Sebastian Pinera died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday, sending the country he led for two terms into mourning and prompting an outpouring of condolences from leaders across Latin America. The helicopter carrying Pinera, 74, and three others plunged into a lake in southern Chile. The former president was pronounced dead shortly after rescue personnel arrived at the scene. The other three passengers survived.

➤QUITTING SMOKING BEFORE 50 REDUCES LUNG CANCER RISK BY 57% COMPARED TO STOPPING LATER IN LIFE, STUDY OF 3 MILLION PEOPLE SHOWS: A study conducted in Korea involving over 2.9 million people suggests that quitting smoking before the age of 50 reduces the risk of lung cancer more effectively than quitting after 50. The research revealed that those who stopped smoking had a 17 percent lower risk of all types of cancer compared to those who continued smoking. The study focused on Koreans aged 30 and older, tracking their health checks from 2002 to 2019, and identified 197,000 confirmed cancer cases during an average follow-up of 13.4 years.

⚾SOURCES: ASTROS, JOSE ALTUVE REACH 5-YEAR, $125M EXTENSION: Jose Altuve has signed a five-year contract extension with the Houston Astros, ensuring that he will likely conclude his career with the team. The deal is valued at $125 million and will cover Altuve through his age-39 season. Astros' owner, Jim Crane, described Altuve as a franchise-type player and one of the best in Houston's history, expressing the hope that Altuve will eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The extension, labeled "Astro For Life," was announced by the team on social media.

⚾LAS VEGAS MAYOR SAYS ATHLETICS SHOULD PITCH NEW PLAN TO BAY AREA: Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has expressed skepticism and a lack of support for the Oakland Athletics' plan to construct a $1.5 billion stadium in her city. She stated that the team's stadium proposal "does not make sense" and suggested that the A's ownership should reconsider and present a new plan in the Bay Area. Mayor Goodman emphasized her belief that the A's should find a way to stay in Oakland to fulfill their aspirations.

⚾SOURCES: CLAYTON KERSHAW, DODGERS REACH AGREEMENT: Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreement on a new contract, securing the continuation of the pitcher's career with the team. The deal, reported to be a one-year contract with a player option for 2025, will be finalized after Kershaw undergoes a physical at the Dodgers' spring training complex in Glendale, Arizona. Kershaw, turning 36 in March, is expected to spend the first half of the upcoming season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:






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