Tip News Daily Brief

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December 19, 2023

Good morning and happy Tuesday. A volcano in Iceland finally erupted last night after a month-long waiting game. The eruption appeared to be significant, but nowhere near as severe as was originally feared when the country began bracing in mid-November. The eruption occurred 2.5 miles north of the evacuated village of Grindavik; officials believe precautionary measures taken over the last few weeks will lessen the impact. Have a great day.

In Today’s Brief

Trump: Supreme Court deadline tomorrow
UN: Another Gaza ceasefire vote today
Jonathan Majors: Fired after conviction
Apple Watch: Sales freeze announced

... and more

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U.S. Steel sale runs into bipartisan backlash

Politicians and union leaders recoiled yesterday after a foreign company agreed to purchase U.S. Steel.

Proposed deal: Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steelmaker, has committed to pay $15B for U.S. Steel and its debt. The price tag is nearly double what domestic rival Cleveland Cliffs offered in a rejected acquisition offer earlier this year. Nippon Steel said it will keep the U.S. Steel name, maintain the company's Pittsburgh headquarters and honor all existing union contracts. If the deal goes through, the combined company would be the one of the world's top-3 steel producers.
The reaction: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat, vowed to work to block the deal. Fetterman said the deal is "wrong for workers and wrong for Pennsylvania" and would endanger economic and national security. Ohio's Senate delegation -- Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican J.D. Vance -- also said they oppose the deal, as did Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, also a Democrat. The United Steelworkers International also panned the proposed deal.
The history: U.S. Steel was founded by J.P. Morgan in 1901 when he financed the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel with two other steelmakers. It was once the world's biggest company and was instrumental in building the country's infrastructure and winning World War II while its logo inspired the Pittsburgh Steelers' emblem. But it is now just the world's 27th-largest steelmaker and has been surpassed by Nucor nationally.

U.S. forms alliance to defend Red Sea

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the U.S. will lead an expanded multinational maritime security task force to defend the Red Sea.

The issue: The U.S. Navy and other nations have spent the last few weeks defending commercial and military vessels from drone and missile attacks in the region launched by the Houthi rebels. The Houthis are a Yemeni insurgency group backed by Iran. They support Hamas in the Gaza war and have attacked warships as well as shipping vessels it believes are headed to Israel.
Participating nations: The U.S. will be joined by nine other countries, including Canada, France and the United Kingdom, in Operation Prosperity Guardian. It was not immediately clear whether all participating nations had agreed to shoot down drones and defend commercial ships under attack, as France, the UK and the U.S. have done. The U.S. is reportedly still considering direct attacks on the Houthis in Yemen; the rebels have also fired drones and missiles at Israel.
The impact: The Houthis do not present much of a military threat to Israel presently and the U.S. has been able to hold them at bay in the Red Sea with assistance from allies. But the attacks have significantly impacted worldwide commerce given the critical commercial lanes in the region, which flow into the Suez Canal. Several of the world's largest shipping companies have halted travels in the region due to the attacks; the coalition aims to allow them to resume normal operations.

New Texas border powers established

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has expanded the authority of law enforcement and judges in enforcing the state's border with Mexico, setting the stage for a potential showdown with the Biden Adminstration.

New law: Illegal border crossing will become a Texas state crime in March. The bill Abbott signed will give state police the ability to arrest migrants who enter the state illegally. State judges will now have the authority to deport migrants who enter illegally. The law will likely meet challenges. The federal government had traditionally enforced international borders.
In Washington: The Senate returned to work yesterday as efforts to hammer out a supplemental spending deal continue without much progress. President Joe Biden has said a deal must get done to send $61B in aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. But Republicans have said they must get stricter border security measures in return. Biden has indicated he is open to compromise, but there is doubt whether he can go far enough to appease the GOP without losing the support of Democrats. Any Senate deal would also need to pass the House.
At the border: Customs and Border Protection announced it will suspend international rail service at two Texas locations due to a surge in border crossings. The freeze will impact railways in El Paso and Eagle Pass. Personnel will be deployed to handle processing migrants at other locations.

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U.S. News

Former President Donald Trump has until tomorrow to respond to Special Counsel Jack Smith's motion to the Supreme Court. Smith has asked the high court to expedite a ruling on whether Trump cannot be prosecuted for election interference due to presidential immunity (More)
The White House reiterated it will run out of funding for Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress does not pass a spending bill. President Biden is expected to approve a final round of military aid for the Ukrainians later this month (More)
Over 400 Jewish institutions received emailed bomb threats last weekend, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL said it believes an individual or small group is responsible (More)

World News

The UN Security Council will attempt to approve a Gaza War ceasefire resolution for the second time today. The vote was delayed due to negotiations over the language of the measure; the U.S. vetoed the first resolution but has since expressed growing frustration with Israel (More)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the United Kingdom will hold a general election in 2024. He has until mid-December to schedule a vote before Parliament dissolves by law (More)
Pope Francis said Catholic priests are permitted to perform blessings for same-sex couples. The blessings cannot coincide with a civil union or resemble a wedding mass (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Actor Jonathan Majors was fired from Marvel Cinematic Universe films after he was convicted of assault and harassment yesterday in Manhattan. Majors will likely avoid jail time for the incident involving his ex-girlfriend (More)
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has begun counseling after being suspended indefinitely for repeated on-court incidents. Green is expected to miss at least three weeks (More)
Comedian Ziwe Fumudoh's YouTube interview with disgraced former New York Rep. George Santos was released. Santos, who was expelled from the House, claimed he may run for office again (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes all closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones enjoyed a minimal gain of under a point while the Nasdaq continued its hot streaks and the S&P 500 bounced back (Dow +0.00%, Nasdaq +0.61%, S&P 500 +0.45%).
Apple will pause sales on two of its newest Apple Watch models later this week. The move comes amid a patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo regarding blood oxygen monitoring (More)
Southwest Airlines was hit with a record $140M fine by the Department of Transportation following its 2022 holiday scheduling meltdown. A winter storm caused the airline to cancel 17K flights (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Winter temperatures can be tough on everyone, especially the less fortunate and unhoused. An Arizona woman and her niece have devised a unique way to help. They have begun leaving hats and scarves on public statues, allowing easy access for anyone who needs something extra to stay warm.
Sneak Peek: Ryan Reynolds leads a star-studded ensemble cast in IF, playing a man who works with a girl who lives in his building to reunite forgotten IFs -- imaginary friends -- with their now grown-up creators. You can check out a trailer here.
Olive Branch: Jeff Bezos is willing to give Elon Musk a chance. The Amazon and Blue Origin founder said he would "love the idea" of starting a friendship with Tesla founder Elon Musk, who owns cosmic rival SpaceX. Bezos said he does not know Musk well; Musk has taken jabs at Bezos in the past (but has never tried to fight him like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg). Musk is the world's richest man while Bezos is its third-richest.
Holiday Road: Kim Jong Un wants to turn North Korea into a popular vacation destination. No, really. The dictator has instructed officials to revive plans to build a sprawling resort on the country's eastern coast. The project -- which would feature hotels, water parks and an airport -- is supposed to resemble Benidorm in Spain.
Go Deep: ProPublica has released another significant report from its ongoing investigation into Supreme Court ethics and Justice Clarence Thomas. The latest: Thomas was in debt and complained about the justices' salaries to a House Republican in 2000, sparking concerns he could retire. Thomas pushed to change financial rules involving the court and, the report states, soon began benefitting from donations and gifts.
Take Note: Experts have already made it clear the odds of a white Christmas are pretty low this year for most of the country. But if you want a reason to hold out hope, check out this map. It examines the historical chances of holiday snowfall over the last 30 years.
Life Hack: We typically think about the spring as a time to clean your home from top-to-bottom. But why not start a few months early to ring in the new year? Here are 64 helpful tips to get the most out of your cleaning process and make your living space sparkle.

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Tip-Offs

The U.S. Surgeon General has made fighting loneliness a priority.

... and the Biden Administration is sending $21B to America's ports.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams made a head-scratching Sept. 11 reference.

George Clooney has absolutely no desire to return to the Batcave.

... while late night TV programming faces another year of upheaval.

Jail populations are now climbing back to pre-pandemic levels.

NYT reporters push back on union interference in the newsroom.

Here are some mesmerizing photos of Steven Seagal at the zoo.

Looking Ahead …

It sounds like something you would make up to fill out the late-night schedule on ESPN8 The Ocho. But it is a real thing. The World Snow Sculpting Championships will be contested from Jan. 17-21 in Stillwater, Minnesota. The event will feature snow artists from eight different nations.

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