News N Things
January 6th investigation gets closer to Trump; the Rittenhouse homicide trial is set to wrap up Monday and I will be there covering it; the ridiculous number of job openings.
Top 3 Stories:
1) January 6th Investigation Ramps Up:
“The congressional attempt to expose any direct role that Donald Trump and his top associates played in the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol is intensifying. This week, the House select committee investigating the attack issued subpoenas to sixteen former senior Trump Administration and campaign officials, including the former White House adviser Stephen Miller and the former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. A federal judge roundly dismissed Trump’s effort to block his allies from having to testify before the committee, including his erstwhile strategist Steve Bannon. Legal experts suggested that the judge’s ruling could prompt Attorney General Merrick Garland to criminally prosecute Bannon for refusing to testify, a step that may induce others to coöperate. And, late on Thursday, the committee threatened to hold Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who spent hours with Trump on January 6th, in contempt if he does not testify on Friday morning.” (THE NEW YORKER)
2) Rittenhouse Trial to Close Monday:
“The defense wrapped up its case Thursday at the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old charged with killing two people and wounding a third last summer. Closing arguments are expected to begin on Monday — both parties will have two and a half hours each for arguments and rebuttals. Defense lawyers tried to drive home the point that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense when he killed two protesters and wounded another at a police brutality protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. The final three witnesses took the stand: John Black, a use-of-force expert; Brittni Bray, a Kenosha police officer; and Frank Andrew Hernandez, a self-identified journalist, who filmed the riots. The testimonies come one day after Rittenhouse broke down when he was questioned about killing the first victim. "I didn't do anything wrong, I was defending myself," he said. But the prosecution attempted to discredit the core of his defense by questioning why a teenager who illegally possessed an AR-15 style rifle would feel that his life was in danger. Thomas Binger, the lead prosecutor, tried to paint Rittenhouse as an armed threat.” (CBS NEWS)
3) The Record Number of Job Openings:
“The U.S. economy has had more than 10 million open jobs since June, an extraordinary stretch of imbalance in the labor market that also includes record numbers of workers quitting their jobs. As of Nov. 5, there were a projected 11.2 million U.S. job openings, according to estimates from the jobs site Indeed, exceeding 7.4 million unemployed workers in the U.S. labor force last month. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate a different measure of job openings—a September report by the Labor Department—to show a slight dip in openings but a total still above 10 million. The department will release its report on Friday. Total job openings have been well above their pre-pandemic peak—about 7.5 million in November 2018—since February, when Covid-19 vaccinations initially ramped up and the U.S. economy started to more broadly reopen. Many of the open jobs are in warehousing, shipping and consumer-facing retail, a trend that is likely to be supercharged by the holiday shopping season and strong consumer demand.” (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Daily Verse:
Proverbs 18:2 NIV A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.
The President’s Schedule:
2:30 p.m. ET - The President holds a Cabinet Meeting to discuss implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the results it delivers for the American people.
This Day in History
“On November 12, 1954, Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, tens of millions of Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant Samuel Ellis, who owned the land in the 1770s.” (HISTORY)
Daily Quote:
“The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them." - Benjamin Jowett
Daily Joke:
Just spent $100 on a belt that doesn’t fit! Huge waist.
Environment:
CAN INDIA DEVELOP WITH CLEAN ENERGY? “India faces a difficult choice that will have consequences for the world. No country’s energy needs are expected to grow faster in coming decades than India’s. Even under the most optimistic projections, a part of the demand must be met by dirty coal power -- a key source of heat trapping carbon emissions. India can either compromise on development needed to lift millions from poverty, or it can continue burning coal from the country’s vast domestic reserves, said India’s top environmental official Rameshwar Prasad Gupta in New Delhi, the week before the United Nations climate summit at Glasgow, known as COP26. With just days remaining for the crucial talks, a fundamental question remains: Will there be enough “carbon space” in the atmosphere for India’s developmental needs to coexist with the global ambition of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country would aim to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2070 -- two decades after the U.S., and at least 10 years later than China.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Culture:
U.S. JOURNALIST ARRESTED ON BOGUS CHARGES IN MYANMAR: “A Myanmar military court has sentenced US journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in jail. Fenster was found guilty of breaching immigration law, unlawful association and encouraging dissent against the military. He was earlier this week slapped with two additional charges of sedition and terrorism, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. His trial on the new charges will begin on 16 November. Fenster, 37, who was the managing editor of online site Frontier Myanmar, was detained at Yangon international airport in May. He is one of dozens of local journalists that have been detained since a military coup in February. According to Frontier, Fenster had earlier worked for Myanmar Now, an independent news site that has been critical of the military since the coup. "The charges were all based on the allegation that he was working for banned media outlet Myanmar Now. Danny had resigned from Myanmar Now in July 2020 and joined Frontier the following month, so at the time of his arrest in May 2021 he had been working with Frontier for more than nine months," said the news site.” (BBC NEWS)
Sports:
THE RAMS SIGN BECKHAM: “When he was available for trade in 2018, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was near the top of the list of players the Los Angeles Rams wanted to acquire. When the Rams finally landed him Thursday, Beckham had become a player they needed. That need was evident in two ways: The Rams required help for their banged-up receiver group and needed to keep adding talent in their obsessive quest to win Super Bowl LVI in their home stadium on Feb. 13, 2022. To be sure, Beckham is the latest big name the Rams have added to a star-filled galaxy of players on a loaded roster. In case it wasn't already clear, the Rams are all-in on winning the Lombardi trophy this season, and adding Beckham eight days after trading for pass-rusher Von Miller drives that point home further. But this move isn't just about collecting another former Pro Bowler capable of moving "Rams Royal" and "Bone" jerseys in the team store, though the Rams don't mind adding more star power in a Hollywood market that craves it. This was about finding a receiver who could help a painfully thin receiver group that has been battered by injuries and a premature divorce from veteran DeSean Jackson.” (ESPN)
Health:
VETS ARE LEADING LOBBYISTS IN DRUG LEGALIZATION: “Jose Martinez, a former Army gunner whose right arm and both legs were blown off by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, has a new calling: He’s become one of the most effective lobbyists in a campaign to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs across the country. On a Zoom call this spring with Connie Leyva, a Democratic legislator in California who has long opposed relaxing drug laws, Mr. Martinez told her how psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in “magic” mushrooms, had helped to finally quell the physical pain and suicidal thoughts that had tormented him. Ms. Leyva says she changed her mind even before the call ended, and she later voted yes on the bill, which is expected to become law early next year. “We ask these men and women to go fight for our freedoms,” she said in an interview. “So if this is something that is helping them live a more normal life, I feel like I shouldn’t stand in the way.” In the two years since Oregon, Washington, D.C., and a half-dozen municipalities decriminalized psilocybin, vets have become leading advocates in the drive to legalize psychedelic medicine, which they credit with helping ease the post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression that are often tied to their experiences in the military.” (NEW YORK TIMES)