NASA works to bring two stranded astronauts home

NASA is working on a plan to bring back two astronauts who have been stranded at the International Space Station for more than eight months. In an update Wednesday, the agency said the goal is to start bringing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth as soon as March 12th. The date is several weeks earlier than the previously scheduled return time. The two have been stuck at the ISS since June when their Boeing Starliner spacecraft was deemed unsafe to return. SpaceX is expected to help with their return flight.

OHIO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JIM TRESSEL

Ohio has a new lieutenant Governor. Completing the steps of transition in the state, Jim Tressel has been confirmed to take over the post. The Former Buckeyes head football coach succeeds Jon Husted, who was appointed last month to assume the U.S. Senate seat vacated by now-Vice President JD Vance. Tressel retired two years ago as president of Youngstown State University, a position for 9 years. He spent nearly a decade as head coach of Ohio State University’s football team, leading them to a national championship in 2002. SOC

TRUMP-INSPECTORS GENERAL

The Trump administration faces a new lawsuit. Eight of the recently fired government watchdogs have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to get their jobs back. Congress created the inspector general posts in 1978 against the backdrop of the Watergate scandals. Then-President Reagan had tested the law in his first year, when he fired 16 IG’s, some of whom he rehired following the uproar at that time. The departments participating this latest litigation are: Defense…Veterans Affairs… Health and Human Services… State….Education….. Agriculture…. and Labor… and the Small Business Administration. A Biden federal judicial appointment in DC has been assigned the case.

Trump wants to stop production of new pennies in cost-cutting move

President Trump orders the Treasury to end the production of new pennies in an effort to cut government spending.

US-ISRAEL

Israel’s Prime Minister specifically thanked President Trump for setting a strong tone when the two leaders met on Monday. He reiterated Israel’s position that Hamas cannot reconstitute on Gaza, and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. House Speaker Mike Johnson also reaffirmed the US commitment to its Middle East ally.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Johnson spoke following a closed meeting on Capitol Hill on Friday.

US employers added 143,000 jobs in December

US employers added just 143,000 jobs last month, as the jobless rate slips to 4% to start the year. Economists had expected 170-thousand jobs to be added at companies, government agencies and nonprofits. The job market is significantly lower than the post-covid recovery period. The trend has been down from the record 7.2 million in 2021…to 4.5 million in 2022 then 3 million in 2023. The Labor Department also reports that employers are posting fewer jobs, down from a record 12.2 million in March 2022, to 7.6 million this past December.

One of our nation’s last surviving Tuskegee Airmen has died

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stewart Jr was born on the Fourth of July, 1924 and lived to age 100! He had served as one of the renowned combat pilots of the famed 332nd Fighter Group who were the nation’s first African American military pilots. Stewart earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for downing three German aircraft during a dogfight on April 1, 1945. He was also part of a team of four Tuskegee Airmen who won the U.S. Air Force Top Gun flying competition in 1949. He passed peacefully at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on Sunday. SOC

VP Vance defends religious liberty at international summit

Vice President JD Vance defends Religious Liberty in his speech Wednesday to the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC

DC DEADLY AIR CRASH-FIGURE SKATING

In the aftermath of the fatal collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Helicopter Wednesday night in Washington, DC the figure skating world is experiencing unique grief. Two teenage figure skaters, their mothers, and two former world champions, who were coaching at a historic Skating Club of Boston, were among the 14 members of the skating community killed on the inbound flight from Witchita, returning from a development camp. Former American Olympians and medalists, Dr. Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan were among those gathered for a Thursday press conference. Separately, figure skating legend and broadcaster, Dick Button, has passed away.

DC DEADLY AIR CRASH-CONTROLLERS

Seven of the 67 people killed when an American Airlines jet collided midair with an Army helicopter were members of the two flight crews. The American Airlines crew members were traveling on a daily route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. The soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter were conducting an annual night proficiency training flight. As of Friday morning, at least 28 bodies have been pulled from the icy Potomac River. The inbound American Airlines flight carried 60 passengers and 4 crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter Meanwhile, air crash investigations can take months. Federal investigators are cautioning against speculation. One question centers on staffing levels in the control tower at the time of the collision.

A disappointing December for factory activity in China

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “50 in November.”

China has reported its factory activity expanded at a slower pace in December, despite recent stimulus measures and in the face of increasing trade risks.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Overall, new orders rose to an eight-month high, while the exports order index rose to the highest level in four months.

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VERBATIM: China’s National Bureau of Statistics says the official Purchasing Managers’ Index, based on a survey of factory managers, slipped to 50.1 from 50.3 in November. It was the third straight monthly reading above 50, a level that indicates an expansion of manufacturing activity. A parallel purchasing managers’ index for the non-manufacturing sector, which covers construction and services, rose to 52.2 up from 50 in November.

California sends a message to property insurers

( ) -v-32- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

California will start requiring property insurers to increase coverage in wildfire-prone areas after homeowners across the state increasingly struggle to find policies. Correspondent Jeremy House reports.

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VERBATIM: California’s new rule requires insurers to start increasing their coverage by 5% every two years until they hit the equivalent of 85% of their market share. That means if an insurer writes 20 out of every 100 state policies, they’d need to write 17 in a high-risk area. In exchange for increasing coverage, the state will let insurance companies pass on the costs of reinsurance to California consumers. Some worry it will increase premiums in California by 40%…JH reporting.

In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work

( ) -q-30– UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “photo editing tools.”

Just over two years after the debut of ChatGPT, the world is getting a little savvier about what artificial intelligence technology can do for us and what it’s not so great at.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The first 100 million or so people who experimented with ChatGPT upon its release two years ago actively sought out the chatbot, finding it amazingly helpful at some tasks or mediocre at others. Now such generative AI technology is baked into an increasing number of technology services whether one is looking for it or not. Such services include the AI-generated answers in Google search results or new AI techniques in photo editing tools.

Value-seekers drove 2024’s retail trends and dead ends

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and eating landscape.”

Value was in vogue in 2024.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Consumer research company Coresight Research tracked 48 retail bankruptcies as of Dec. 20 compared with 25 last year. And at least 22 restaurant chains — including Red Lobster and TGI Fridays — filed for bankruptcy, the highest number since 2020.

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VERBATIM: Shoppers and restaurant patrons in the U.S. were choosy about where and how to spend their money as they wrestled with high housing and food prices. Well-heeled shoppers traded down to Walmart and Aldi. Diners opted for fast food or home cooking instead of sit-down restaurants. Department stores struggled as people shopped online or at less-expensive chains like H&M. The behavior shifts changed the buying and eating landscape.

Jet crash disaster in South Korea marks another setback for Boeing

( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “earlier safety problems.”

2024 is year Boeing would likely sooner forget.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Alan Price, an airline consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019.

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VERBATIM: A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. Aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems.

Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “he takes office.”

President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Mr. Trump’s request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court. Oral arguments are scheduled for January 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The brief said Mr. Trump opposes banning TikTok at this time and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”

Florida condominium owners are facing a grim financial future

( ) -v-34- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year. Correspondent Jeremy House reports

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VERBATIM: A Florida condo safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022 requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs and to conduct a survey of reserves every decade. Because of this law, older condos are facing hefty increases to association payments to fund these reserves and repair costs. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the law in response to the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South that killed 98 people in Surfside in June 2021…JH reporting.

How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “prices kept growing.”

What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. In addition to BigTech, other winners were Bitcoin and gold.

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VERBATIM: U.S. stocks soared higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing.

Richard Parsons, prominent Black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76

( ) -v-33- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76.

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VERBATIM: Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015. He cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. Financial services company Lazard confirmed his death. Parsons was a longtime member of the company’s board. Parsons stepped down December third from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years…JH reporting.

Japan’s biggest airline company experiences a cyberattack

( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “few hours later.”

Japan Airlines was hit by a cyberattack today (THURSDAY), that caused delays to more than 20 domestic flights, but it managed to restore its systems within hours.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the vulnerability of Japan’s cybersecurity,

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VERBATIM: The carrier said there was no impact on flight safety. JAL said the problem started when the company’s network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said the cyberattack delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. JAL temporarily suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international fights scheduled for departure, but they resumed a few hours later.

Virtually no movement in the number of jobless claims filed

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “November 13, 2021.”

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits held steady last week.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Labor Department says jobless claim applications ticked down by 1,000 to 219,000 for the week of December 21. That’s fewer than the 223,000 analysts forecast. Meanwhile, continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Continuing claims climbed by 46,000 to 1.91 million for the week of December 14. That’s more than analysts projected and the most since the week of November 13, 2021.

Working Well: Returning to the office can disrupt life. Here are some tips to navigate the changes

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “days a week.”

Thousands of workers are facing an unsettling reality heading into 2025.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Experts have advice to share about how to navigate the changes when an employer calls you back to the office. Workers can convey what they need, seek flexibility and if all else fails, consider other options.

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VERBATIM: After years of working from the comfort of home, workers are being told it’s time to return to the office full-time for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. That can bring a host of challenges, including losing time with family. Workers at Amazon, AT&T and other companies have been called back to the office five days a week.

Japan to maximize nuclear power in clean-energy push as electricity demand grows

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to 30- to 40-percent.”

A Japanese government panel has largely supported a draft energy policy calling for bolstering renewables up to half of Japanese electricity needs by 2040.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The panel also recommends maximizing the use of nuclear power to accommodate the growing demand for power in the era of AI while meeting decarbonization targets. The cabinet is expected to formally approve the plan by March following a period of public consultation. The policy says nuclear energy should account for 20% of Japan’s energy supply in 2040, with renewables expanded to 40-50% and coal-fired power reduced to 30-40%.

North Carolina’s governor to step down

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “for Kamala Harris.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper leaves his job next week after eight years.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Cooper tells The Associated Press that he’ll take some time to “think about how I can best contribute to the things that I care about.”

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VERBATIM: State law barred Cooper from seeking a third consecutive term. Now the 67-year-old Cooper must decide whether to run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Cooper’s national profile grew during this year’s presidential campaign, launching him into the conversation as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris.