This is a step in the right direction. Per the NY Times, Senate Republicans and Democrats reached agreement on Tuesday on a stopgap spending plan that would head off a government shutdown on Sunday while providing billions in disaster relief and aid to Ukraine, but the measure faced resistance in the Republican-led House. The legislation cleared its first procedural obstacle Tuesday night on a bipartisan vote of 77 to 19. It would keep government funding flowing through Nov. 17 to allow more time for negotiations over yearlong spending bills and provide about $6 billion for the Ukraine war effort as well as approximately $6 billion for disaster relief in the wake of a series of wildfires and floods.
Senate leaders hoped to pass it by the end of the week and send it to the House in time to avert a shutdown now set to begin at midnight Saturday. But there was no guarantee that Speaker Kevin McCarthy would bring the legislation to the House floor for a vote, since some far-right Republicans have said they would try to remove him from his post if he did.
McCarthy needs to grow some.
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Per Fox News last week, a new government report detailed the dire living conditions some military members face in their barracks across the country, highlighting a problem military leaders have so far struggled to fix.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that young troops living in barracks on military installations have been forced to confront everything from pests such as roaches and bed bugs to toxic waste and even squatters, potentially putting the health and safety of members at risk while damaging morale. The 118-page report, which was published Monday by the GAO, concluded that military leaders at the Pentagon have not been able to provide proper oversight over the problem and have mostly left the issues up to each individual service to fix.
This is just another example of how poorly we treat our military personnel. They are willing to put their lives on the line for our country, yet we treat them like they are an expendable asset during and after their service. The conditions are bad enough when they are on the front lines. They shouldn’t have to endure deplorable conditions in non-combat situations.
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Democratic Senator Menendez of New Jersey must live a different life than those he serves. An F.B.I. search last year of the couple’s New Jersey home revealed some of the fruits of their scheme, prosecutors said. Federal agents found more than $480,000 in cash stuffed throughout the house in envelopes and in the pockets of jackets that were embroidered with the senator’s name. Inside the home were more than $100,000 worth of gold bars. A shiny Mercedes-Benz convertible sat in the garage.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, have been indicted for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for wielding his political influence to benefit the government of Egypt and business associates in New Jersey.
His also must think we were all born yesterday with his explanation. Per Menendez, who proclaims his innocence, it had been his habit to withdraw cash from his savings accounts to keep at home, a tendency he said was rooted in his parents’ experience in Cuba. Is it also his habit to keep $100,000 in gold bullion in his home?
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Per the NY Times, A New York judge ruled on Tuesday that Donald J. Trump persistently committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets, and stripped the former president of control over some of his signature New York properties. The surprising decision by Justice Arthur F. Engoron is a major victory for Attorney General Letitia James in her lawsuit against Mr. Trump, effectively deciding that no trial was needed to determine that he had fraudulently secured favorable terms on loans and insurance deals. Ms. James has argued that Mr. Trump inflated the value of his properties by as much as $2.2 billion and is seeking a penalty of about $250 million in a trial scheduled to begin as early as Monday.
Justice Engoron wrote that the annual financial statements that Mr. Trump submitted to banks and insurance companies “clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business.”
While the trial will determine the size of the penalty, Justice Engoron’s ruling granted one of the biggest punishments Ms. James sought: the cancellation of business certificates that allow some of Mr. Trump’s New York properties to operate, a move that could have major repercussions for the Trump family business.
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Matt Petry, 38, has been the most successful high school baseball coach in Michigan over the last ten years. His teams at Orchard Lake St. Mary won 4 state championships, including setting the Michigan record with 84 victories in a row. Thus, it was surprising to hear tonight that Matt has been fired. Per the Detroit News, the school said it learned Monday that Petry had violated the school’s employee conduct policy, and that it fired him the same day. The school said contact with students via phone call or text must be “solely for school and education-related matters.” The school said Petry violated that policy, declining to be more specific. More to come on this.
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One of the best third basemen of all time, and definitely the best third basemen in my generation, Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, 86, has died today. His play at third base was a human highlight reel. Robinson, whose deft glovework and folksy manner made him one of the most beloved and accomplished athletes in Baltimore history. Coming of age before the free agent era, Robinson spent his entire 23-year career with the Orioles. He almost single-handedly helped Baltimore defeat Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series and homered in Game 1 of the Orioles’ 1966 sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers for their first crown.
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Quote of the Day: “My message to everybody is, stay the course. Adversity, you know, you learn from it. I’m afraid … too many kids are gonna grow up with no adversity because they just transfer and leave. … I would tell them all to stick together, stick together, fight the fight, let’s grow and get better. That’s no Knute Rockne speech, but believe in yourselves and believe in your teammates, I think is a big thing right now.” Tom Izzo, in response to a question on what he would tell the MSU football team if he was asked to speak to them.
Orchid of the Day: The U.S. Senate for coming to agreement on a proposal to avert a government shut down
Onion of the Day: Notre Dame Head Coach, Marcus Freeman for not noticing that Notre Dame had only 10 players on the field for the last two plays of the game when Ohio State scored the winning touchdown.
Question of the Day: If the Senate can come to agreement, what is holding up the House?
Video/Image of the Day: Eleven Buckeyes against ten Irish with 7 seconds left. How did this happen?
