Tip News Daily Brief

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December 14, 2023

Good morning and happy Thursday! Many will watch It's A Wonderful Life over the next few weeks. Did you know Jimmy Stewart starred in another acclaimed Christmas movie that mixed joy with gloom and doom? In The Shop Around The Corner, Stewart plays a leather salesman who cannot stand his co-worker as he unwittingly falls in love with her through an exchange of anonymous letters. If the concept sounds familiar, the film inspired You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Hunter Biden: Defies GOP subpoena
Israel: U.S. puts hold on arms deal
NFL: Belichick's future in question
Tesla: Autopilot sparks mass recall

... and more

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Top Tips

Fed forecasts rate cuts in 2024

The Federal Reserve signaled it plans to cut interest rates several times in 2024, sparking a historic day on Wall Street.

Unexpected news: The Fed held rates steady again at their final meeting of the year, as was expected. The unanticipated news: If inflation continues to ease, policymakers believe three cuts will occur next year — dropping rates 3/4 of a percentage point. Most analysts expected fewer cuts. The Fed also thinks it could be able to cut a whole percentage point in 2025. Higher interest rates reduce demand and curb costs, impacting cultural touchstones such as vehicle purchasing and credit card debt.
Markets roar: The Dow Jones Industrial average rocketed on the Fed guidance, hitting an all-time high before closing above 37k points for the first time. The Dow was up 1.40% on the day. The Nasdaq jumped 1.38% and the S&P 500 was up 1.37%. All three major indexes hit new 52-week highs. The Nasdaq is now up 40.8% YTD, followed by the S&P 500 at 22.6% and the Dow at 11.9%.
Some caution: The economy has weathered higher rates better than analysts expected. But inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2% target; it fell to 3.1% YoY in November. The Fed stopped short of saying prices are under control, saying it “remains highly attentive to inflation risks” in a statement.

House GOP formalizes impeachment inquiry

House Republicans voted to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

The measure: The vote was on party lines, with 221 Republicans voting yes against 212 Democrats voting no. The GOP previously did not have enough internal support to formalize an investigation into the Biden family's foreign business dealings. Moderates warmed to a vote as a legal necessity to advance the probe.
Next steps: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the vote was not a decision to impeach Biden and it is not inevitable the GOP will pursue that avenue. Republicans said the vote allows House committees to enforce subpoenas and document requests; they have accused the White House of stonewalling their investigation, which Democrats have dismissed as politically motivated.
Looking ahead: Republicans in both the House and Senate have already expressed skepticism there will be enough evidence to impeach Biden. The Senate would unlikely have enough votes for the required two-thirds majority to convict in a trial. If Biden is impeached, there will have been more presidential trials (three) in the last five years than in the first 211 years of the presidency (two).

Supreme Court to hear another abortion case

The Supreme Court will wade into the nation's reproductive rights debate again.

The case: The high court has agreed to hear appeals from the Justice Department and drug manufacturer Danco related to the availability of mifepristone, an oral medication commonly used in medical abortions. A lower court has ruled the drug can be sold in states that allow abortion, but FDA regulations that enable telehealth prescription and delivery by mail violated protocols. The drug's opponents argue the drug should be outlawed entirely.
At present: Access to the drug remains unchanged while the appeals play out. The Supreme Court ruled the Constitution does not confer the right to an abortion with its Dobbs v. Jackson decision last year. But it also blocked a lower court ruling earlier this year that would have invalidated the FDA's approval of the drug. The eventual ruling is expected to address the availability of the drug rather than the legality of it.
Big picture: Reproductive rights will be critical in the 2024 elections. The Supreme Court will likely rule on this case next June, so the issue will receive fresh attention entering the summer campaign season and the major party conventions. Kellyanne Conway, who served as an adviser and campaign manager for former President Donald Trump, visited Capitol Hill yesterday to urge Republicans to embrace contraception availability as policy next year.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

Hunter Biden did not sit for a closed-door deposition and said he will only comply with a House subpoena if he can testify publicky. House GOP leaders said they will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against the president's son (More)
A federal judge has paused former President Trump’s election interference case while he argues he has presidential immunity from prosecution. Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked the Supreme Court to expedite a ruling on Trump’s claims (More)
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is pushing to keep the upper chamber in session to hammer out a deal on Ukraine aid and border security after talks have made some progress. The Senate is set to begin its holiday recess tomorrow (More)

World News

The Biden Administration will reportedly delay selling over 20K American-made M16 rifles to Israel due to concerns about West Bank violence. The U.S. previously placed visa restrictions on extremists it says attacked Palestinians in the occupied territory (More)
The European Union is playing hardball with Hungary ahead of today’s summit in Brussels, delaying a transfer of $11B in funds. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he will veto Ukraine’s ability to begin accession talks to the bloc and could stand in the way of aid packages for the country amid its war with Russia (More)
The COP28 climate summit concluded with a landmark non-binding agreement by almost 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Pacific Island states expressed frustration and said they were excluded prior to the announcement (More)

Entertainment & Sports

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick deflected questions about his future following a report he will part ways with the team after this season. The Patriots are 3-10 and will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years (More)
Country music star Luke Combs apologized after his legal team sued a fan in federal court and won $250K in damages after she sold unlicensed merchandise. Combs said he never intended to sue the woman and plans to compensate her and assist with her medical bills (More)
Apollo 13, Home Alone and Terminator 2: Judgment Day were among 25 movies added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Films deemed to have cultural significance are added each year (More)

Business & Markets

Almost every Tesla car in the country has been recalled due to a defect in its autopilot programming. The recall impacts over 2M vehicles; Tesla says a software patch should fix the issue (More)
OpenAI has struck a deal with media company Axel Springer to use its journalism to inform ChatGPT. The German publisher's portfolio includes Business Insider, Politico and Rolling Stone (More)
The WWE settled an antitrust lawsuit with Major League Wrestling. MLW filed the suit last year before Endeavor bought the sports entertainment company and merged it with the UFC under the TKO umbrella (More)

Tips & Tricks

New Idea: Advocates in Kentucky are pushing the state to explore using ibogaine, a psychedelic derived from the Central African iboga shrub, to treat opioid addiction. The drug is not a cure but has shown promise as a therapeutic. It is currently a Schedule 1 drug in the U.S. but is unregulated in many countries, including Mexico.
Sneak Peek: A24 made waves yesterday when it dropped a trailer for Civil War. The upcoming thriller stars Kirsten Dunst as a news photographer reporting on the breakdown of American democracy after several states, including California and Texas, secede from the union and spark armed conflicts across the country.
Less Filling: Does your favorite drink or snack suddenly taste slightly different and not as good? You are not crazy. Many food companies make minor but noticeable tweaks to their recipes to avoid passing inflation-related cost increases to consumers.
Go Deep: The state of Alabama plans to execute a prisoner in January using nitrogen gas, a capital punishment method never used before in the U.S. The novel nature of the process has raised concerns about the safety of witnesses and whether it violates the religious liberty of the prisoner and his spiritual adviser.
Many Questions: The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines -- which carry natural gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea -- was a massive event for myriad reasons. There is evidence Ukraine carried out the operation, but no one knows for sure over a year later. And, a new report says, the entire world seems to want this mystery to remain unsolved.
Cyber Crime: North Korea is cash-starved due to crippling sanctions, but it still manages to afford its nuclear weapons program as well as fund dictator Kim Jong Un's lavish lifestyle. How? The U.S. believes the regime has used hackers to steal $3B in cryptocurrency in the last five years. And that is just the start of the country's digital malfeasance.
Life Hack: Are you dreading an upcoming holiday party? Just don't go. A new study says 75% of people have accepted an unwanted invitation because they did not want to offend someone. But experts say the negative impact that has on one's mental health is often worse than whatever consequences would result from politely declining.

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Tip-Offs

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Looking Ahead …

The Colorado River Water Users Association began its annual meeting yesterday in Las Vegas. Seven states rely on the waterway, and negotiations on how to disperse resources will be fraught as climate change impacts its flows. The results will have a massive impact on communities across a significant part of the country. The most compelling figure in talks: A 27-year-old who, despite limited experience, has risen to be California's top representative.

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