For WORLD Radio, I am Kent Covington.
Climate » A monster winter storm claimed dozens of lives over the Christmas weekend.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul:
HOCHUL: This one is for the ages. And we’re nonetheless in the midst of it. We nonetheless have individuals who must be rescued. Now we have folks with their energy off of their communities and buildings the place their pipes are bursting and flooding is happening, as is happening, as is occurring in my own residence proper now.
Snow-buried areas across the Nice Lakes have seen the worst of it, however Richard Otto with the Nationwide Climate Service mentioned Sunday …
OTTO: Chilly numbers go all the best way all the way down to the Gulf Coast the place a lot of the Deep South is beneath freezing this morning. Central and northern Florida, they’re additionally beneath freezing this morning.
About 60% of the U.S. inhabitants confronted some form of winter climate advisory or warning over the weekend.
Journey » And, after all, the extreme winter climate precipitated nightmares for vacation vacationers.
After tens of hundreds of flight cancellations, many discovered themselves stranded at airports on Christmas Day. One traveler at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport mentioned he hoped for the very best.
AUDIO: I’ve my fingers crossed that we’re in a position to type of pull off one thing thrilling right here and get someplace, aside from Atlanta.
Beginning Friday and into Saturday, all the Seattle-Tacoma airport was shut down with all of its runways froze.
Fuel » However for vacation road-trippers in areas the place the roads are protected to drive, they’re having fun with decrease costs on the pump.
Patrick De Haan with Gasbuddy.com…
DE HAAN: The nationwide common up simply barely in a single day to $3.09 per gallon. That’s nonetheless 47 cents a gallon lower than a month in the past. And costs now 20 cents decrease than they have been final Christmas.
AAA says Texans are paying the bottom per-gallon common within the nation at $2.65.
California nonetheless has the most costly fuel within the continental US at $4.36 a gallon.
Omnibus reactions » Many Republicans are blasting the large spending invoice that Congress handed earlier than Christmas. The 4,000-page, $1.7 trillion omnibus invoice funds the federal government by means of September.
Florida Congressman Michael Walz mentioned the omnibus package deal was the mix of 12 totally different appropriations payments.
WALZ: We needs to be voting on each a type of individually. Protection after all, Division of Homeland Safety, Labor, and on down the listing of federal businesses.
Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer praised it as an aggressive funding in America. And a few Republicans supported it, together with 18 GOP senators. However most mentioned it’s loaded with pork and wasteful spending.
And Texas Congressman Pat Fallon mentioned …
FALLON: There was practically a half a billion {dollars} for securing the border in international locations like Egypt and Jordan and [SIC] and nothing for our border.
New border numbers » And Homeland Safety numbers counsel that although the Title 42 rule has not but subsequent expired, the border disaster is already getting worse.
Border authorities final month detained greater than 230,000 migrants who crossed illegally. That could be a file for the month of November.
The Biden administration has requested the Supreme Court docket to let Title 42 expire after Christmas. The rule permits the federal government to extra simply expel some migrants who cross the border.
I’m Kent Covington. For extra information, options, and evaluation, go to us at wng.org.
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