$100 billion emergency aid coming from Congress?

By OC Tribune Staff on December 17, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

SPEAKER of the House Mike Johnson (Wikipedia).

More than $100 billion in emergency aid would come from a “stopgap” spending bill that Congressional leaders have assembled, according to the Associated Press.

The package of the bill would help to keep the federal government funding through March 14 and provide help to states and communities struck by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other disasters that have struck the nation, primarily in the Midwest, East and Southeast.

Passage of the measure will leave final decisions on federal spending limits to the New Year, when Republicans will claim control of both houses of Congress and see Donald Trump inaugurated on Jan. 20.

In addition to the billions for disaster relief, the bill also includes $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers who are suffering from high costs and low commodity prices.

Mangione charged with murder

Luigi Mangione, suspected of killing UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, will face three murder charges and the prospect of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

United Press International is reporting that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Tuesday his office is charging Mangione with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism.
These charges each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mangione is accused of shooting Johnson at 6:44 a.m., using a 9mm 3d-printed “ghost gun” with a noise suppressor on Dec. 4.

Trump sues over political poll

FORMER President Donald Trump (Shutterstock).

A lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Gannett Co. (its parent company) has been filed by President-elect Donald Trump claiming a poll published constituted “fraud and election interference.”

The poll – published shortly before Election Day – showed the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leading Trump by 3 percentage points in Iowa. The actual margin was 13 percent.

A spokesman for the newspaper acknowledged that the poll’s numbers didn’t reflect the outcome but that “this lawsuit is without merit.”

Weather: Headed to Cool City

The slight warming trend that’s hit our West Orange County cities is expected to peak on Wednesday with a daytime high of 78 with an overnight low of 59 under sunny skies. The thermometer should slip to 73 (49) on Thursday, as partly cloudy skies return. On Friday it dips to 68 (45) and then again to 65 (47) on Saturday.