7. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is the latest political talker to be attacked by liberal groups and the media; He fought back
— Multiple advertisers, including NerdWallet and Pacific Life insurance, have pulled advertising from the show. Others like Smile Direct Club have pulled all of their political advertising, which hurts shows that have nothing to do with this “controversy.”
— Multiple media outlets have carried lists of advertisers and boosted the outlets giving them steam, but Carlson and Fox News have made it clear they will not be cowed by efforts to silence opinions.
6. The sick Guatemalan child that was dragged across a desert to enter the United States illegally, not as an asylum seeker, died of sepsis, but her father lied and said she wasn’t sick
— After denying to border patrol agents that his daughter was sick when apprehended in the U.S., she had not been able to consume water or food for days and it has been determined she likely died of sepsis.
— In a statement issued by his lawyers, he said he was “grateful for the many first responders that tried to save young Jakelin’s life in New Mexico and Texas” and now says the daughter had food and water which contradicts what he told agents.
5. Bump stocks are banned — You have 90 days to turn them in
— Anyone who possesses bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more rapidly must destroy the weapons or turn them, which follows a promise President Donald Trump made in May of 2018.
— Bump stocks have been brought into the public purview after the Las Vegas massacre that killed 58 people, but other than that attack, bump stocks don’t seem to be much of a public safety threat.
4. Tax opponent Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform comes out against a gas tax increase in Alabama
— Grover Norquist sent a letter to Alabama state senators asking them to reconsider a newly proposed gas tax urging, “[T]hey reject the aggressive, but misguided push to hike the state gas tax, a proposal that would diminish and, in some cases, could totally erase the relief that your constituents have received from federal tax reform. ”
— The ATR president noted gas taxes were defeated at the ballot box in “Missouri, Utah, and Washington State” in November. He also mentioned the taxes hit poor citizens the hardest.
3. Prison reform bill passes in a rare feat of bipartisanship
—The bill has many measures, which includes changing the sentencing on crack to mirror powder cocaine, changes n the “3 strike law,” gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders, boosts prisoner rehabilitation efforts and allow some prisoners a path to early release.
— The president and supporters of this bill say that the bill will “keep our communities safe,” but a check of prison stats will tell you that people in prison are there for a reason: “74.4 percent of all prisoners in the United States were serving sentences for one of just 11 offenses: murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, car theft, fraud, “other” violent offenses, and weapons violations. Just 15.2 percent of them were serving time for drug offenses (only 3 percent for drug possession).”
2. Former General Michael Flynn has his sentencing delayed; he and the White House differ on whether he actually lied
— A federal judge delayed former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s sentencing. The judge also questioned whether Flynn committed treason and said he “sold” the county out before walking back both allegations.
— After months of talk about what happened with Flynn and the FBI, it becomes clear Flynn has cooperated, knew he was lying and now accepts that he willfully lied, but the White House continues to imply Flynn is a victim.
1. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby says a “continuing resolution” is likely as the White House signals they will be open to not shutting down the government for a wall
— After issuing a threat of a partial government shutdown if he did not get $5 billion for his wall, President Trump is apparently “extremely flexible,” according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on that issue and may be looking to get the wall done in another way.
— One-third of conservatives would pay for the wall with their own money, 19 percent said they would pay an additional $100, 19 percent said they would pay $300 and two percent said they would pay more than $1,000 per year.
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