Senators are likely to recess for the holidays before reaching an immigration compromise with the White House. House and Senate Republicans refuse to pass a $110 billion package of mostly military aid for Ukraine and Israel unless President Joe Biden agrees to new restrictions, including for asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution. ANTI-IMMIGRATION: Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump told a rally in New Hampshire that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." That line, echoing comments Trump made in October, was widely pointed out as similar to passages in Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf. |
Trump on immigrants: "All over the world they're pouring into our country." (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) |
MOTORCADE CRASH: President Joe Biden was uninjured when a car crashed into a parked Secret Service SVU that was guarding the president's motorcade at his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del. Biden was exiting the headquarters when the mishap occurred. |
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A late-season storm, which flooded streets and cut power in parts of Florida and South Carolina, is barreling up the East Coast and into inland Northeast areas. Minor to moderate floods could hit parts of the New York City metropolitan region and farther north through today, according to National Weather Service forecasts. |
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New York City has begun evicting migrants, including families, from the city's emergency shelter system, even if they have nowhere else to go. The evictions are part of a 60-day cap on the temporary shelter ordered by Mayor Eric Adams in October. Families can reapply for admission to the system, but no beds are guaranteed. Chicago will follow suit next month. |
Migrants line up outside an assistance center in New York this month. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) |
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Quaker Oats recalled multiple flavors and sizes of its granola cereals and Chewy granola bars over possible salmonella contamination. They've asked customers to throw out the products and request a refund online or by phone. Each year in the U.S., about 1.35 million people get salmonella, of whom 26,500 are hospitalized and about 420 die. |
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Vermont is often ranked as one of the safest states, but last month's shooting of three Palestinian college students near the University of Vermont drew attention to a spike in gun violence there. While firearm homicides fell 6% nationwide last year, Vermont's increased from seven homicides to 20. Since October, the state has recorded 10 homicides and one suspicious death. |
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Arlington National Cemetery will remove its Confederate Memorial in the coming days — ignoring more than 40 Republican Congressmen who have demanded that the Pentagon keep the monument, which includes an enslaved man following his owner to war during the Civil War. The broader plan includes renaming military bases honoring Confederate soldiers, including slaveholders; earlier this year, Fort Bragg became Fort Liberty. |
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Volunteer groups that promote forest health by starting controlled fires are growing, especially in the Southeast, where prescribed burns are helping restore a range of drought-resistant pines that are well-suited for a future of increasingly severe droughts. More than 100 groups now exist from South Dakota through Texas and California to North Carolina. |
A prescribed fire sweeps through longleaf pines in 2019 at the Nature Conservancy's Calloway Preserve in North Carolina. (Margaret Fields/The Nature Conservancy via AP) |
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8. COUNTING BALLOTS BY HAND |
What is still a longshot effort could make North Dakota the first state to require hand-counting of all voting ballots. Activists are gathering signatures for a June 2024 ballot measure. Other Republican-controlled states have tried to require hand-counting after years of former President Donald Trump alleging, without proof, that electronic voting machines were rigged against him in the 2020 election.
What happens if they run out of fingers?
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Wonka, the musical prequel to 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, won its debut weekend at the box office with $39 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. The strong start has been credited to Timothée Chalamet's star power, especially with younger movie-goers, as well as to strong reviews. At least a few million had to be from fans who went just to see Hugh Grant play an Oompa Loompa. |
What a charming young man. (Giphy) |
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10. CAN YOU SPOT A KNOCKOFF BAG? |
Eight luxury handbags sat on a table in pairs that looked identical, but only one of each pair was real. Could we tell which was a fraud? Can you? Play along and learn from a luxury resale site how to spot small differences in stitching, hardware, fading and even smell.
"A fake? What? We got you that Coach bag from the flagship store on Canal Str— on Fifth Avenue." |
Which ones are real? (Cheddar News) |
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We didn't know this, but there are clubs where people get together and jam on harmonicas. This one in New Jersey made us feel as warm and fuzzy as the notes they were playing. |
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