Biden to award Citizens Medal for defending Capitol; McCarthy offers deal; NFL won’t resume Bills-Bengals game | Hot off the Wire podcast
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On this version of Hot off the Wire:
» President Joe Biden is set to present the nation’s second highest civilian award to 12 individuals involved in defending the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and safeguarding the will of American voters in the 2020 presidential election.
» The House stalemate over choosing a new speaker has held firm through a long, excruciating third day and evening of voting with no conclusion. But glimmers of a deal began to emerge late Thursday that could get Kevin McCarthy the votes needed to become Speaker.
» Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, Ukraine, about 40 minutes after a Russian cease-fire was to come into effect, but no explosions were heard.
» Police say multiple people have been wounded in a shooting between two groups of people outside a restaurant in south Florida.
» Damaging winds and heavy rains in California have knocked out power to tens of thousands, caused flash flooding and contributed to the deaths of at least two people.
» Europe ended a bad year for inflation with some relief as price gains eased again. While the cost of living is still painfully high, the slowdown is a sign that the worst might be over for weary consumers.
» In sports, the NFL won’t resume the Bills-Bengals game, Lauri Markkanen had a career night for the Jazz, a Predators franchise record is set and the top two college basketball teams won.
From the original version of Hot off the Wire:
» Two people familiar with the decision say the NFL won’t resume the Bills-Bengals game that was suspended Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league is still figuring out how to determine playoff seedings and scheduling.
» Hamlin has shown what physicians treating him are calling “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours.” The team announced that three days after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field.
» The House stalemate over choosing a new speaker is continuing. Kevin McCarthy is determined to win over enough fellow Republicans, but he failed again on Thursday.
» President Joe Biden says the U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally.
» The U.S. will send Ukraine nearly $3 billion in military aid, in a massive new package that will for the first time include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles. Also Thursday, Germany announced it was sending armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
» Texas has fired basketball coach Chris Beard, who faces a felony domestic family violence charge after his fiancée told police he strangled and bit her.
» As COVID-19 surges in China, the U.S. is expanding its traveler surveillance program, an early warning system for detecting new variants. With the addition of Los Angeles and Seattle, there are now seven airports where volunteer passengers can swab themselves on arrival.
» U.S. officials say federal agents have arrested a Puerto Rican woman accused of assaulting two Spirit Airlines employees after she was removed from a plane and tried to get back on it.
» Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow has announced she won’t run for a fifth term in 2024. Her surprise announcement opens up a seat in a critical battleground state.
» Shortages of computer chips and other parts continued to hobble the U.S. auto industry last year. That led to sales dropping 8% from 2021 to the lowest level in more than a decade.
» Prince Harry alleges in a much-anticipated new memoir that his brother Prince William lashed out and physically attacked him during a furious argument over the brothers’ deteriorating relationship.
» A family member says rapper Theophilus London has been found safe after disappearing for months.
