News N Things
Kyle Rittenhouse spoke with Tucker Carlson in an exclusive interview; the driver who plowed through a Christmas parade in Waukesha has a long RAP sheet; the U.S. will tap its strategic oil reserves.
Top 3 Stories:
1) Kyle Rittenhouse Speaks After Being Acquitted:
“Rittenhouse told Carlson that he was staying at the home of a friend during the Kenosha riots and was mystified and troubled by the lack of resources provided to the police force in trying to quell the violence after the shooting of Jacob Blake. "I'm not really sure [where the police presence was], because they have a hard job – but I didn't really think they got the support they needed," he said. "The governor, Tony Evers, failed the community and there should have been a lot more resources to help with that." Evers, a Democrat, was critiqued at the time by several observers including then-President Trump, for that perceived inaction as the Wisconsin city was engulfed in violence. Rittenhouse recalled the first time he saw Rosenbaum, who he noted he had never met, and was taken aback by the violent nature of the man. Rosenbaum, a convicted child abuser, also appeared to unsettle nearby rioters at the time, Rittenhouse said. "There was actually a second time [I encountered him and] he said to the group, he said, this is the second time he threatened to kill everybody -- He said, 'I’m going to f-ing kill you, I'm going to cut your hearts out you f-ing N-words.'" (FOX NEWS)
2) Waukesha Parade Driver Has a Long RAP Sheet:
“The suspect in a Christmas parade crash in suburban Milwaukee that killed five people was free on $1,000 bail posted just two days before the deadly event, a fact that is leading to a review of what happened and renewed calls for giving judges more power to set higher bails. One pending case against Darrell Brooks Jr. included an allegation that he deliberately hit a woman with his car in early November after a fight. Prosecutors in Milwaukee County on Monday called their bail recommendation “inappropriately low” given the facts of that case and the Sunday crash, and said they would review it. Julius Kim, a defense attorney and former assistant prosecutor, said the bail could easily have been set more than twice as high. “He was accused of running over the mother of his kid, and to put it at $1,000 strikes me as low,” Kim said. “It could have been an inexperienced attorney who happened to be reviewing cases that day.” Police said Brooks, 39, was behind the wheel of the SUV that sped through the parade route in Waukesha on Sunday, killing five and injuring 48 others. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said Brooks was leaving the scene of a domestic dispute that had taken place just minutes earlier.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
3) Biden Taps Strategic Oil Reserves as Prices Soar :
“The U.S. and several other countries will tap their national strategic petroleum reserves, senior Biden administration officials said Tuesday, in an attempt to bring down rising gasoline prices that have become a big contributor to inflation. Other countries participating in the release include China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K., the White House said. “The president stands ready to take additional action, if needed, and is prepared to use his full authorities working in coordination with the rest of the world to maintain adequate supply as we exit the pandemic,” the White House said in a statement.” (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Daily Verse:
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
The President’s Schedule:
2:00 p.m. E.T. - The President delivers remarks on the economy.
4:00 p.m. E.T. - The President, The First Lady, The Vice President, and The Second Gentleman participate in a service project.
7:00 p.m. E.T. - The President and The First Lady arrive in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
This Day in History
“On November 23, 1936, the first issue of the pictorial magazine Life is published, featuring a cover photo of the Fort Peck Dam's spillway by Margaret Bourke-White.” (HISTORY)
Daily Quote:
“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." - Pablo Picasso
Daily Joke:
Did you hear about the T-rex who sells guns? He's a small arms dealer.
Environment:
THE NEXT ANIMAL TO GO EXTINCT, MINI DOLPHINS: “As scientists planned an expedition in Mexico this fall to count one of the world’s most endangered animals, a shy porpoise called a vaquita, they dreaded the possibility that there would be none left to find. The last survey, in 2019, estimated that only about 10 remained. At the same time, fishermen in the area were preparing to set out with the illegal nets that scientists say are driving the porpoises to extinction: walls of mesh that hang upright below the surface, up to 20 feet deep and stretching the length of several football fields. Called gill nets, they trap shrimp and fish. They also entangle vaquitas, drowning the mammals. Researchers say the nets are the only known cause for the species’ catastrophic decline, but getting rid of them has turned out to be a challenge. Amid a global biodiversity crisis, with an estimated million species threatened with extinction, the story of the vaquita shows how even obvious solutions — in this case, putting a stop to illegal fishing — require political will, enforcement and deep engagement with local communities to meet the needs of both people and animals. “The government still hasn’t given us a solution or an effective way to support our families without going out to fish illegally,” said Ramón Franco Díaz, president of a federation of fishing cooperatives in San Felipe, a town alongside the vaquitas’ habitat. “The children need food and clothes.”’ (NEW YORK TIMES)
Culture:
FREEDGES, THE NEW TOOL TO FEED YOUR COMMUNITY: “In the year since Victoria Jayne placed four community refrigerators across Philadelphia with free food, she has been amazed at how quickly they empty out. And hungry Philadelphians seem to be picking up food at every fridge they can find: in front of a medical office, by an art space, next to an apartment building and even by a playground. “The fridges, they roll over completely every eight hours,” she said. “You put something in at night. You show up the next morning and it’s gone.” The fridges are just a handful of the vast network of ever-expanding community food hubs that have been started across the country, in cities big and small. During the coronavirus pandemic, as the economy has been upended and demand at food banks has continued to surge in many places, so, too, has local food activists’ desire to create small locations where anyone can pick up a few items at any time with no questions asked. While the concept has existed for many years, the pandemic has inspired the creation of hundreds of new free fridges across dozens of cities over the last 18 months and made them something that is here to stay. Ernst Bertone Oehninger, who runs freedge.org, an online list of free fridges worldwide, estimates conservatively that the U.S. has 400 free fridges and that nearly all of them have been created in the past 18 months.” (NBC NEWS)
Sports:
CHINA CONTINUES TO CENSOR CONVERSATION ON TENNIS STAR: “Tennis star Peng Shuai's sexual assault allegation and its aftermath have brought the realities of China's censorship and secrecy around its leadership to global attention just as Beijing prepares to host the Olympics. Peng, who was not publicly heard from for nearly three weeks after alleging that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her, told International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Sunday by video call that she was safe and well. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which has led calls for an investigation into her allegations, remained unconvinced. Some Western governments and top current and former tennis players have called for reassurance that Peng is safe. While the international furore has been awkward, experts say the priority for an increasingly confident Beijing is avoiding embarrassment at home for the ruling Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, an approach it will likely stick with even as the Olympics puts it on the global stage. "For some years now, China has responded to negative global attention either by giving an unconvincing explanation, or by stoically pretending the criticism isn't there," said Zhang Ming, a retired professor of politics at Renmin University.” (REUTERS)
Health:
GOVERNMENT WORKERS GOT THE SHOT: “More than 90% of federal workers received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday's deadline set by President Biden, a senior administration official said. Mr. Biden announced in September that more than 3.5 million federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no with option to get regularly tested instead, unless they secured an approved medical or religious exemption. The official said the vast majority of federal workers are fully vaccinated, and that a smaller number have pending or approved exemptions to the mandate. In all, more than 95% of federal workers are in compliance with the Biden mandate, the official said, either by being vaccinated or having requested an exemption. Workers who are not in compliance are set to begin a "counseling" process that could ultimately result in their termination if they don't get a shot or secure an approved exemption to vaccination.” (CBS NEWS)