Many thanks to those who subbed for me while we were in Vietnam….Besame, jck, maggiejean, Magnifico, and any and all contributors. My KTK dairy on the trip is HERE.
NPR
Heavy snow pummels the Northeast as storms form in the South and Midwest
A winter storm blanketed parts of the Northeast U.S. with over a foot of snow in several areas over the weekend. It's just a preview of what's forecast to be an even stronger and wider storm in the coming days, with the potential to bring snowfall not seen in years to several cities in the region.
The National Weather Service said a "rapidly strengthening storm" will develop in the central U.S. on Monday. Up to a foot of snow may fall on parts of the Midwest through Tuesday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Atlantic coast, especially North and South Carolina, are at risk of severe coastal flooding.
In the South, parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are forecast to receive severe thunderstorms and even some tornadoes late Monday night.
"Widespread wind gusts in excess of 50 mph are likely in the eastern Gulf Coast so prepare for power outages," the NWS wrote.
BBC
Taiwan election: China sows doubt about US with disinformation
The rumour was old, but effective: the Taiwanese were being fed "poisonous" pork imported from the US.
The weeks-old claim followed another: the Taiwanese government was secretly harvesting blood from citizens and giving it to the US to make a bioweapon to attack China.
Both were swiftly debunked.
But this is a narrative that has been blooming in Taiwan ahead of Saturday's presidential and legislative elections.
"Yimeilun" or US scepticism, questions the faithfulness of Taiwan's biggest ally, portraying the island as a pawn exploited by America. Its ultimate goal, say analysts, is to drive a wedge between Taiwan and the US - and push the Taiwanese into the welcoming arms of China. But most of the sources were Taiwanese politicians and media organisations friendly to China. There has long been suspicion of Chinese state influence and a 2019 Reuters report found evidence of mainland officials paying Taiwanese outlets for coverage.
BBC
US budget: Spending deal reached as shutdown deadline looms
US Congress leaders have reached a deal over the total amount of spending for the rest of 2024 as they seek to avoid a partial government shutdown, local media report.
The $1.6tn (£1.2tn) figure includes $886bn for defence and more than $704bn for non-defence spending, according to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
However, there appears to be some discrepancy over the numbers.
The deal now needs approval from the House of Representatives and Senate.
They have less than two weeks to finalise funding and stop the suspension of some federal services.
According to a statement from Democrats Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer - House Minority Leader and Senate Majority Leader respectively - the non-defence spending amount agreed is $772bn.
Mr Johnson, announcing the deal had been reached in a letter to colleagues, accepted that the amount of funding "will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like."
The Guardian
Snookered by China? Masters tournament owner plots Asia expansion Pool!!
The owner of the Masters snooker tournament is plotting an expansion trail across Asia after the pandemic exposed the company’s reliance on China, its chair has revealed.
Steve Dawson, the chief executive of World Snooker Ltd, told the Guardian it was considering staging tournaments in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, after its business was held back by three years of Beijing-imposed Covid lockdowns.
He also hopes young players in the sport can take inspiration from 16-year-old Luke Littler’s astonishing run to the PDC World Darts Championship final, which is also run by World Snooker’s owner Matchroom. The sports promotion firm was founded by veteran Barry Hearn and is now led by his son, Eddie, and spans boxing, darts, snooker, basketball and gymnastics.
The Guardian
Israel says Gaza fighting could last a year, amplifying fears of regional war
Israeli defence officials and former senior intelligence officers have said they expect fighting in Gaza to continue for at least a year, raising the prospect of thousands more civilian casualties, a deepening humanitarian crisis and a continuing grave threat to regional stability.
In a briefing, R Adm Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the centre and south of Gaza, where military efforts are now focused, was “dense and saturated with terrorists” with “an underground city of branching tunnels”.
Three months would be needed to clear the area and fighting would “continue during the year 2024”, Hagari said.
He said scattered fighting was to be expected in northern Gaza, along with rockets sporadically being launched from there toward Israel, but that Hamas militants were “without a framework and without commanders”.
Christian Science Monitor
UN has a plan to curb farm emissions. Are farmers willing to try it?
The first-ever United Nations roadmap for cutting climate-heating emissions from the world’s farming sector, unveiled at the COP28 U.N. climate summit in December, has stirred debate around how to share fairly the burden of shifting to greener ways.
Some agricultural experts are calling for fertilizers and other agro-chemicals – whose production relies heavily on fossil fuels – to be completely phased out, while others say poorer countries will continue to need them to improve low crop yields.
Food systems – including growing methods, inputs like fertilizers, storage, transportation, and waste – account for nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
The new plan, presented by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), targets an end to hunger and malnutrition without breaching the most ambitious Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Al Jazeera
Israel signals bombardment of northern Gaza set to end
Israel has signalled that it is ready to end its bombardment of northern Gaza, saying it has “dismantled” Hamas in that part of the Gaza Strip.
The claim from the military spokesperson that Israel has nullified the Palestinian armed group in the north of the enclave extends the signs that it plans to shift to a more precise campaign. It came as top American and European envoys toured the region on Sunday, stepping up the international pressure over the mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The spokesperson said Israeli forces have now completely dismantled Hamas’s “military framework” in northern Gaza after killing about 8,000 fighters, and will now end major combat operations.
Hamas fighters “without a framework and without commanders” are still present, he continued, and scattered fighting is to be expected, along with rockets sporadically being launched towards Israel. But Hamas no longer operates in an organised manner in the area, he asserted.
Al Jazeera
Putin praises Russian ‘defenders’ as Ukraine deflects another barrage
Celebrating Orthodox Christmas, President Vladimir Putin has pledged to support soldiers defending Russia as his army sent another barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight.
Speaking on the eve of Sunday’s Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin chief promised military families that his government would offer increased backing to “Russian warriors” engaged in the invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. Unlike last year, Putin did not call this year for a ceasefire.
“Many of our men, our courageous, heroic guys, Russian warriors, even now, on this holiday, defend the interests of our country with arms in hand,” he said as he met bereaved families of Russian soldiers who have died in Ukraine.
However, anger persists in some quarters over Russia’s treatment of its soldiers in the “meatgrinder” of Ukraine. In particular, following a mobilisation drive in September 2022, a lack of training and equipment was criticised.
Reuters
Mass killer Breivik sues Norway in bid to end prison isolation
OSLO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in Norway in 2011, will ask a court on Monday to end his isolation in prison, saying it violates his human rights.
The 44-year-old, who emailed out copies of a manifesto before his attacks setting out his theories, is also suing the state in a bid to lift restrictions on his correspondence with the outside world.
Breivik killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo then gunned down 69 others, most of them teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp in Norway's worst peacetime atrocity.
His case has been a grim test for a country that is still shaken to its core by the horror of his acts but has also long taken pride in the rehabilitation efforts of its justice system.
Breivik spends his time in a section of Ringerike high-security prison, 70km (40 miles) northwest of Oslo - the third prison where he has been held.
Deutsche Welle
Germany's flooded farmers brace for winter frost
The German Weather Service (DWD) announced the arrival of frost in the north of the country on Saturday as large areas of land remain covered in flood water.
While the below-freezing temperatures are expected to help the overloaded dykes hold back the water, experts have warned of the long-term impacts. For already-flooded houses, in particular, standing water freezing and expanding can seriously exacerbate damage.
Whether the frost has a positive or negative effect depends on the individual case, Anne Rickmeyer, director of the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN), told the German press agency DPA.
Frost can firm up the dyke, making it more stable and impermeable to water accumulation.
However, in many places, the water level is still too high and water is pressing against the dykes.
Raw Story
'100% Satan': Rudy Giuliani comes out against 'money' after bankruptcy filing
Former New York City Mayor
Rudy Giuliani declared that money was "100% Satan" after filing for bankruptcy.
Giuliani made the proclamation during his Sunday WABC radio program with longtime girlfriend Maria Ryan.
While discussing U.S. immigration policy, Ryan suggested problems stemmed from money.
"It becomes about money," Ryan chimed in. "This is how I feel our government is. Like they look at money and we, you know the old adage, money is the root of all evil?" "I believe that, and I believe they put money as their god," she remarked. "Money is now their god."
New York Times
California’s Ban on Guns in Most Public Places Is Blocked Again
California is barred again from enforcing its ban on guns in most public places after a federal appeals court ruled on Saturday that a lower court’s block on the ban should stand.
The case centers on Senate Bill 2, a state law that sets several restrictions on gun ownership, most notably a ban on firearms in a long list of public places.
Since the ban was introduced, there has been a lot of back and forth over whether the law, which took effect on Jan. 1, could be enforced. After concealed-carry permit holders and other gun-rights organizations sued the state, arguing that the law was unconstitutional, Judge Cormac J. Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California blocked enforcement of the law, on Dec. 20.
Judge Carney said at the time that the ban would unconstitutionally “deprive” citizens of their right to bear arms. He granted a preliminary injunction on the law, saying it was “repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”