DML News Morning Briefing, Dec 25th

Today is December 25. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1.18 die as monster storm brings rain, snow, cold across U.S.
CNBC–A frigid winter storm killed at least 18 people as it swept across the country, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and leaving millions of people on edge about the possibility of Christmas Eve blackouts.

The storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, New York, with hurricane-force winds causing whiteout conditions. Emergency response efforts were paralyzed, and the city’s international airport was shut down.

Across the U.S., officials have attributed deaths to exposure, car crashes, a falling tree limb and other effects of the storm. At least three people died in the Buffalo area, including two who suffered medical emergencies in their homes and couldn’t be saved because emergency crews were unable to reach them amid historic blizzard conditions.

Ryan Lynch: I have not seen winter weather like this in all of my life.

2.Florida sheriff’s deputy killed responding to domestic violence call on Christmas Eve: ‘We are heartbroken’
FoxNews–A Florida community is mourning the loss of a sheriff’s deputy after he was shot and killed by a domestic violence suspect on Christmas Eve.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office announced Cpl. Ray Hamilton, a five-year veteran of the department, was fatally injured when 43-year-old Timothy Price-Williams allegedly opened fire on him from inside his residence. Williams was shot in the arm during the gunfire exchange, but is expected to be OK.

Hamilton, who served on the Special Response Team, died shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday at the Fort Walton Beach – Destin Hospital.

Ryan Lynch: We should always be grateful for the men and women in blue. They selflessly protect our families and communities. I’m praying for Cpl. Ray Hamilton’s family and loved ones.

3.Instagram v. reality! San Francisco unveils taxpayer-funded open-air Christmas market that’s become dystopian hellhole after being besieged by city’s famed druggies
DailyMail–San Francisco’s taxpayer-funded open air Christmas market, hoped to be a wholesome holiday outing for families, is in fact a dystopian hellhole besieged by the city’s famed drug addicts.

The ‘Winter Wanderland’ has been set up at Union Square in downtown San Francisco, just minutes from the now closed Tenderloin Linkage Center. It was set up to help addicts get clean, but DailyMail.com soon revealed widespread illegal drug use had been taking place.

The footage filmed by the concerned mother of two is in stark contrast to promotional material posted by the organizers of the holiday market on social media channels, who described the event as ‘family friendly.’

Ryan Lynch: San Francisco can’t even keep a ‘family friendly’ Christmas market safe and protected. That city needs to clean up its streets, policies, and leadership.

4.Putin says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine
Reuters–Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine but Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to engage in talks, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired on Sunday.

Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most deadly conflict in Europe since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

There is, thus far, little end in sight to the war.

The Kremlin says it will fight until all its aims are achieved while Kyiv says it will not rest until every Russian soldier is ejected from all of its territory, including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014.

Ryan Lynch: A diplomatic solution can always be made. I hope all the countries involved will soon come to terms with that.

5.Bus of migrants dropped off outside VP Kamala Harris’ home
FoxNews–Three buses carrying migrants from Texas arrived in Washington, D.C., late Saturday evening, including one which dropped its passengers near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is the official residence of the vice president of the United States and the Christmas Eve dropoff is the latest of several instances in which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bussed migrants to Washington, D.C.

The migrants were then helped by the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network and taken to a local church, according to 7News reporter Christian Flores.

Ryan Lynch: Good. Harris and Biden created an emergency at the southern border; keep sending the illegal migrants until something gets done in Washington.