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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

3/13 WAKE-UP CALL: Biden-Trump Set For Election Rematch


President Joe Biden clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2024 election on Tuesday night after winning primary races in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington and the Northern Mariana Islands. He will not officially become the nominee until the Democratic National Convention delegates vote this summer. The incumbent president won his second nomination, surpassing the 1,968 delegates required to secure his spot as the presumptive Democratic candidate. The Democratic Party has 4,672 delegates in total, and the presidential nominee must win the majority of delegates at the DNC in Chicago in August to officially accept the nomination.

Meanwhile, Former President Donald Trump clinched the 2024 Republican nomination for president, eclipsing the 1,215 delegate threshold after wins in the Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state primaries.  The ex-commander in chief is also expected to win Hawaii’s GOP caucus, which was held Tuesday. Trump, 77, dominated the GOP primaries and caucuses, losing only one state – Vermont – and the District of Columbia to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign following her disappointing Super Tuesday performance last week.

The U.S. will see its first presidential-election rematch in 68 years. (Republican Dwight Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956.) The race will offer voters a stark choice between two candidates with very different demeanors and views on the economy, foreign policy, abortion and immigration. A rematch also could mean that Trump—who continues to make unfounded allegations that the electoral system is rigged against him—will deny the voting results if he loses, like he did in 2020.

➤TRUMP REBUILDING RNC:  Donald Trump's makeover of the Republican National Committee is now in full force, with layoffs of more than 60 people and plans to move some operations to South Florida. The RNC upheaval came less than a week after party members elected a new leadership team of allies to the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The new team is sending dismissal notices to around 60 people across the RNC's political, data and communications departments, according to two people familiar with the plans. Some employees will be allowed to re-apply for their jobs.

➤INFLATION STRONGER: U.S. inflation was slightly stronger than expected last month but didn’t change expectations that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates later this year. Consumer prices rose 3.2% in February from a year earlier, the Labor Department said, up slightly from economists’ expectations of 3.1%. Next week’s central-bank meeting will include discussions about how many cuts most officials continue to expect this year—three or fewer. Inflation has declined notably from 40-year highs following the most rapid rate increases in four decades. The S&P 500 hit a new record after the inflation-data release. Traders are now assigning a roughly 60% chance that the Fed begins cutting rates in June, according to futures markets.


➤TWH SENDING MILITARY AID NOW:  The White House on Tuesday announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine, as Russian forces make battlefield gains and a much larger aid proposal for ammunition and armor remains stuck in Congress. The White House's package announced Tuesday will include ammunition, anti-aircraft missiles and armor-piercing weapons, according to senior Defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly. "The people of Ukraine have remained unflinching against an adversary bent on their destruction," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. But, "they need our continued support and they needed it urgently." The White House and Pentagon have been warning that Ukraine's defenses are weakening under sustained Russian pressure. The last supplemental aid package for Ukraine was approved in Dec. 2022. Since Russia invaded in Feb. 2022, the Pentagon has provided about $30 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

➤UKRAINIAN DRONES STRIKE REFINERIES INSIDE RUSSIA: The strikes are part of an ongoing effort to disrupt fuel supplies to the front line and damage Moscow’s most important export industry. Kyiv’s recent attacks have caused damage severe enough to require monthslong repairs and prompted Russia to ban gasoline exports to preserve its domestic supply. That disruption has contributed to a recent rise in global diesel and gasoline prices, while crude prices have remained relatively stable. The war also has sparked a rare challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin from drafted men’s wives, mothers and sisters, who are protesting open-ended deployments. The Kremlin, which usually punishes dissenters, has allowed the women’s activism.

➤AIRLINES CUTTING SCHEDULES:  Airlines are cutting flight schedules and tempering hiring plans as they prepare to receive fewer Boeing planes. The aerospace giant has slowed production of its 737 MAX jets as it faces increased federal scrutiny. Boeing today announced steps aimed at improving quality and vowed to curb so-called traveled work, or working on planes out of sequence—a practice workers have warned raises the risk of mistakes in production. Alaska Air, however, said it anticipates a better-than-expected quarter, despite the door-plug blowout on a Boeing plane in January. Passengers aboard a Latam Airlines flight yesterday described a moment of horror as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner they were on experienced a “technical event.” The plane manufacturer said it will cooperate with an investigation. Other companies having a tough week include Archer Daniels Midland, which disclosed a Justice Department probe into its accounting; 3M, which named a new CEO; and Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD, which is running into problems overseas.

➤FOOD FOR GAZA BEING SHIPPED-IN:  The first boat carrying food for starving residents of Gaza departed Cyprus and will take two to three days to reach the enclave. The initiative, organized by aid group World Central Kitchen with backing from the United Arab Emirates, is separate from a U.S. military plan to build a floating pier on the coast to increase aid deliveries. Aid workers have said that the maritime deliveries won’t be nearly enough to meet the need. 

The Palestinian health ministry said that 27 people in Gaza, mostly children, died from malnutrition and dehydration recently. Meanwhile, authorities in Europe say they have foiled several terror plots—some focusing on Jewish and Israeli targets, possibly galvanized by the Israel-Hamas war. The incidents have European security services alarmed about a growing number of threats from extremists.

➤HUR FENDS OFF ATTACK FROM DEMS, TRUMPERS: Special counsel Robert Hur took heat from both Republicans and Democrats Tuesday as he defended his report on President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Hur appeared in front of Congress on Tuesday for nearly five hours to detail his February report, which concluded that charges should not be brought against Biden despite him willfully withholding classified documents. Ahead of the House hearing, most of the discourse surrounding the report had been about Hur’s notes regarding the president’s mental state — references the White House denounced as “flatly wrong,” “inappropriate” and “politically motivated.”


During the Tuesday hearing, however, Hur faced criticism not only from Democrats, but also from Republicans who argued he should’ve pursued charges against Biden. “Just so everybody knows, the ghostwriter didn’t just delete the recordings as a matter of happenstance,” Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz began. “Ghostwriter has recordings of Biden making admissions of crimes, he then learns that you’ve been appointed, he then deletes the information that is the evidence, and you don’t charge him.”


🏈MAHOMES GETS NEW DEAL: Patrick Mahomes is serious about becoming the first NFL quarterback to three-peat. The Kansas City Chiefs' superstar signal-caller has agreed to a restructured contract prior to the official start of free agency that will create over $20 million in cap space, as confirmed by CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones.  Kansas City virtually had no cap space prior to Mahomes' reworked deal. This move obviously gives the Chiefs some flexibility to add more pieces to the puzzle during free agency after having already re-signed defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Drue Tranquill. Kansas City also signed punter Matt Araiza shortly following its win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. 

🏀LOUISVILLE FIRES HOOPS COACH:  Louisville plans to fire men's basketball coach Kenny Payne on Wednesday, a source confirmed to CBS Sports. Barring any unforeseen delay, the process will be official after Payne and the team return to Louisville. This outcome has been expected for months and comes after the Cardinals' season ended Tuesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament against NC State with a 94-85 defeat. Louisville finished 8-24 this season — doubling its number of victories after going 4-28 in Payne's first season. It adds up to a 12-52 two-year calamity. Heretofore, it was near-impossible to think Louisville could have been as bad as it's displayed the past two seasons. 


⛄ WINTER STORM TO DUMP SNOW: Colorado this week could see its biggest snowstorm of the season with over a foot possible in the Denver metro area, forecasters said. Snow will begin in Utah late Tuesday, before spreading south and east into Arizona, southern Wyoming and Colorado into Wednesday, AccuWeather said. "Widespread snow amounts of 6-12 inches are expected as the second half of the week progresses," said AccuWeather meteorologist Renee Duff.  Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce said, "as for Denver, the heaviest totals will be in the foothills west of downtown and in the Palmer Divide south of the city, but the metro area has the potential to see 6 to 12 inches of snowfall." The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the Denver area, which goes into effect Wednesday at noon and lasts until Friday morning. Due to the predicted snow-covered roads, "travel could be very difficult to impossible," the weather service said. A Tuesday map from the weather service says the region could see 12-18 inches of snow.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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