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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:15:26 GMT -8
Some Jews celebrate Shabbat, just for the Challah of it.
Voldemort Says, "Not My Fault"
Vladimir Putin believes Russia is not to blame for the war in Ukraine, adding both countries are "sharing a tragedy".
During a televised address with senior military officials, the Russian president said he continued to see Ukraine as a "brotherly nation".
He claimed the conflict was "the result of the policy of third countries" and not down to Russian policy.
The theory, which implies Western expansion is the cause, has been repeatedly dismissed outside Russia.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:17:18 GMT -8
Why?
Vandals have destroyed sacred artwork in South Australia thought to be about 30,000 years old.
The Nullarbor Plain art, which are designs carved into the chalk limestone walls of the Koonalda Cave, has special significance for the region's Aboriginal Mirning people.
The vandals are thought to have dug under a steel gate before scrawling "don't look now, but this is a death cave" on the walls.
The authorities are investigating.
"This is quite frankly shocking," South Australia Attorney-General and Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Kyam Maher, told ABC Radio. "These caves are some of the earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of that part of the country."
The authorities have vowed to strengthen these laws following an inquiry into the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters.
The Pumps Won't Work 'Cause the Vandals Took the Handles"
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:18:26 GMT -8
Somehow, I Don't Feel Safer
US federal drug agents say they seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says they intercepted 379m potentially deadly fentanyl doses, which is just two milligrams.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:21:26 GMT -8
"Beautiful Clean Coal" in Action
In late September, an underground coal mine just outside the town of East Carbon in rural Utah caught fire. More than two months later, it’s still burning.
Now, the once-bustling mine called Lila Canyon faces permanent shuttering, which would leave its over 230 workers idled and result in gaps in raw materials for statewide energy production. The coal mine is one of the busiest in the state and produces about 28% of Utah’s coal.
For nearby residents to Lila Canyon, what happens next for the miners and the truck drivers who help deliver coal is up in the air. About a quarter of the residents in East Carbon are living in poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
“The younger people actually work in the mine and that’s their main source of income,” Janice Hunt, an East Carbon resident and former coal mine worker, said. “There could be big consequences, especially to our community. We’re already suffering as it is.”
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:23:57 GMT -8
Previous Guy's Ethics Attorney Suborned Perjury
Former Trump White House lawyer Stefan Passantino allegedly advised former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to mislead the probe when she appeared for testimony before the Jan. 6 committee.
Passantino was the senior ethics attorney at the White House during Trump’s presidency. The allegations were first reported by CNN on Tuesday.
Hutchinson, who served as an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, was reportedly pressured to “say that she didn’t recall something when she did,” according to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who sits on the soon-to-be-dissolved Jan. 6 committee.
Hutchinson and the committee disclosed Passantino’s alleged conduct to the Justice Department already. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office, which is investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, also has the information.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:25:13 GMT -8
You Are the Biggest Loser, Bu-Bye
On Tuesday evening, the House Ways and Means Committee voted 24 to 16 to release information it has obtained on Donald Trump’s tax returns. Some of that information has already been made available to the public. The report shows that Trump, while running as a successful billionaire, reported massive losses on his business dealings in the years just before entering the White House.
The information released to the public includes the years 2015 through 2020. In that first year, Trump claims almost $77 million loss in the form of “other income” and claims a $21 million charitable contribution in the form of a “conservation easement.” As Laura Clawson reported back in 2020, that easement was actually part of a shady real estate deal in which Trump used one of his typically overvalued assessments to turn a money-losing golf property into a tax break that he could spread out over years of returns. That’s just one in a long list of things that the House committee found questionable in Trump’s 2015 return.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:28:10 GMT -8
I Guess Ronna Wasn't Listening to the Ethics Attorney
Ronna McDaniel is in the catbird seat to retain her job as Republican Party chair.
The Republican National Committee chairwoman is far from what you would consider a “Never Trumper.” In fact, she has shown more fealty to the former president than just about anyone you can imagine.
But when all is said and done, she also may have played one of the larger roles than just about anyone if former President Donald Trump ultimately faces criminal charges.
The House Jan. 6 committee will release its full report on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Follow our live blog beginning at 10 a.m. ET for expert analysis in real time at msnbc.com/jan6report.
This possibility became clear Monday during the House Jan. 6 committee’s final public meeting, which laid out criminal referrals for Trump over his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Thanks to previous hearings, we already knew some of the details McDaniel told the committee’s investigators about Trump’s role in organizing people nationwide to submit false Electoral College slates to Congress declaring Trump the winner in their states.
In this video, for example, you’ll see her testify that Trump put her on the phone with John Eastman to discuss obtaining assistance from the RNC, on a call made from the White House switchboard.
As my colleague Chris Geidner noted for MSNBC’s live blog during Monday’s meeting, the committee’s executive summary of its findings laid out the evidence the committee used for its various referrals. And the report makes clear that McDaniel’s interview was key in establishing proof for the committee that Trump conspired to make a false statement in the fake electors plot. The phone call she described, the committee concluded, was “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:30:10 GMT -8
The Public Doesn't Care About Hunter Biden. Not Even Republicans Do.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:32:44 GMT -8
But Kevin and His Klan Have No Interest in Governing
Bills from Republican senators, including McConnell himself, will be "dead on arrival" in the House under his speakership, McCarthy warned, throwing his weight behind a letter signed by 13 Republicans in the House vowing to whip against legislation from lawmakers who cast a "yes" vote later this week on the spending bill.
McCarthy has publicly pressed McConnell to change course on the omnibus, but a conservative flank in the House wants McCarthy to go further and "declare war" on McConnell-backed bills if he votes for the $1.7 trillion spending bill. [emphasis added]
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:35:16 GMT -8
Did You Hear the One About Biden Doing Something Well?
Biden sold 180 million barrels of the strategic petroleum reserve at about $96ish per barrel and is now refilling it at about $73ish per barrel.
The US government will realize a $4 billion profit (180,000,000 X $22).
Probably Not
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:36:32 GMT -8
Broken News! Previous Guy Lied
he IRS failed to pursue mandatory audits of Donald Trump on a timely basis during his presidency, a congressional panel found on Tuesday, raising questions about statements by the former president and leading members of his administration who claimed he could not release his tax filings because of the ongoing reviews.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:38:20 GMT -8
Congress Punts On One of the Most Obvious Changes to the Law for a Dumb Reason
Lawmakers have decided not to change one of the federal government’s most outdated welfare rules as part of a government funding bill set to pass this week.
Disabled Americans receiving monthly benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program aren’t allowed to have more than $2,000 in savings or else the Social Security Administration docks their payments.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced a bill raising the asset limit to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for couples, but the measure has been omitted from end-of-year spending legislation that was its last chance to become law. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Social Security Administration, said the measure lacked broad bipartisan support, partly because lawmakers viewed it as opening a can of worms.
“It didn’t get into this deal because Social Security issues were not in this bill,” Crapo told HuffPost.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:40:06 GMT -8
Musk Continues to Compete For Title of "Biggest Loser" with Ye and Previous Guy
Tesla is reportedly implementing a hiring freeze and will be conducting another round of layoffs next quarter.
The electric vehicle company has already told some employees about the hiring freeze, although it isn’t yet clear how expansive that freeze will be considering Tesla’s planned expansion at some manufacturing locations, according to Electrek.
It is also not clear how many employees will be cut in the first quarter of 2023 or what teams those cuts will affect. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.
This isn’t the first time in the past year that Tesla has dialed back hiring. In June, CEO Elon Musk said in an email to Tesla executives that he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wanted to slash about 10% of the company's workforce. All hiring was also paused.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:41:19 GMT -8
Plunged?? 0.6% is a Plunge?
Retail sales in November fell more than economists expected as the economy begins to show signs of slowing .
Retail sales plunged by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in November from the previous month, double the 0.3% drop that economists were predicting.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 21, 2022 9:43:11 GMT -8
Trying to Down the Drones
President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to announce new export controls targeting Iranian drones and drone parts that Russia has used in Ukraine since its invasion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The export controls, set to be announced Wednesday to coincide with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s surprise trip to Washington, could be part of a larger sanctions package.
The new limits on Russia will add items to the existing export control list, the people said. The US and its allies imposed a broad range of sanctions and export controls on Russia after its Feb. 24 invasion.
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