THE SHOW NOTES: NFL Ratings Dominance, Obama's Warning to Biden, & Where’s The Defense Secretary?

Welcome! 93 of last year’s 100 most-watched broadcasts were NFL games.

NEW: Police were called to a Colorado restaurant after Lauren Boebert allegedly punched her ex-husband in the face. - Newsweek

DEAL: Congressional leaders have reached a tentative budget deal. - Politico

DATA: 19.6% of American office space is vacant. - WSJ (paywall)

DUMBEST HEADLINE OF THE DAY: Nearly 300,000 lives could be saved in the next decade if states followed California’s example on gun laws, study says - CNN

BIOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT: A female D1 track star barely beat some random dude in a foot race. - Twitter

HEADLINE: Democrats question whether Biden should agree to debate Trump - The Hill

LISTEN: I am turning on the microphone now to talk about Lloyd Austin, the NFL playoffs, & Biden’s campaign problem. You can listen live to my show here.

Where’s The Defense Secretary?

Joe Biden’s 70-year-old Secretary of Defense was hospitalized for four days following complications from an elective surgery before notifying the Biden administration of his medically induced leave of absence.

Details: Lloyd Austin returned home from elective surgery on December 22nd but was hospitalized on January 1st due to complications from the procedure. It was not until January 5th that Austin alerted the Biden administration and the appropriate military chain of command that he had been medically indisposed. Austin's absence was first noticed when he missed high-level White House meetings on Iranian-backed proxies and the deteriorating situation in Haiti.

It gets worse: The Secretary of Defense claimed it was a nonissue because he transferred “certain operational responsibilities that require constant secure communications capabilities” to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on January 2nd without telling her why. However, Hicks was in Puerto Rico on vacation and chose not to return to Washington.

Why this matters: The jaw-dropping lack of communication from Biden’s highest-ranking defense official at a time of international turmoil is reminiscent of Pete Buttigeg’s secret two-month paternity leave in the midst of a supply chain crisis. As an anonymous Pentagon official told CNN, “I’m surprised no one is using the word ‘cover-up’ yet.”

Biden Campaign Problems

On the heels of a highly touted speech about Donald Trump and January 6th, the Biden team is reporting that the president’s campaign raised an uninspiring $1 million in the 24 hours following the address.

Context: The underwhelming fundraising number mirrors concerns raised by Barack Obama about Biden’s reelection efforts. Obama grew “animated” in a private conversation with Biden and his top aides regarding the need for the President to move his top staff away from the White House and to his Wilmington-based reelection campaign.

Bonus: Biden is not breaking through the ‘MAGA wall,’ Clyburn warns - MSN

US Intelligence Shows Flawed China Missiles Led Xi to Purge Army

US intelligence indicates that President Xi Jinping’s sweeping military purge came after it emerged that widespread corruption undermined his efforts to modernize the armed forces and raised questions about China’s ability to fight a war, according to people familiar with the assessments.

The corruption inside China’s Rocket Force and throughout the nation’s defense industrial base is so extensive that US officials now believe Xi is less likely to contemplate major military action in the coming years than would otherwise have been the case, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing intelligence.

Full story on Bloomberg (paywall).

Why Are The Chinese Fleeing To The US By Foot?

These arrivals are part of a staggering new trend. In the first 11 months of 2023, more than 31,000 Chinese citizens were picked up by law enforcement crossing illegally into the US from Mexico, government data shows – compared with an average of roughly 1,500 per year over the preceding decade.

Their numbers are still dwarfed by those from regional neighbors like Mexico, Venezuela, and Guatemala, and they are not alone in coming from other parts of the world. But the influx of people from China making that crossing spotlights the urgency many now feel to leave their native country, even in the midst of what leader Xi Jinping has claimed is a “national rejuvenation.”

Full story at CNN.

Buying Home and Auto Insurance Is Becoming Impossible

For many Americans, getting insurance for both their cars and homes has gone from a routine, generally manageable expense to a do-or-die ordeal that can strain household budgets.

Insurers are coming off some of their worst years in history. Catastrophic damage from storms and wildfires is one big reason. The past decade of global natural catastrophes has been the costliest ever. Warmer temperatures have made storms worse and contributed to droughts that have elevated wildfire risk. Too many new homes were built in areas at risk of fire.

As losses mounted, inflation only made matters worse, boosting the cost of repairing or replacing cars or homes.

Full story at The Wall Street Journal (paywall)

Trending news:

• Israel kills a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon - Yahoo

• Felon who jumped at judge to attack her in court set to appear before her again Monday - NY Post

• Ecuador is in panic after the country’s most-wanted prisoner escaped. Fox News

• Mysterious model-turned-pilot Nadia Marcinko — Epstein’s ‘Global Girl’ —hasn’t been seen since document reveal - NY Post

• Israel shifts to deadlier strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria - Reuters

• Biden Makes It All About Trump. Will That Be Enough? - The Free Press

• Are Young People Actually Progressive? The Mistaken Assumption of Democrats Have Put The Party In Peril - NY Mag (paywall)

• A Natural Gas Plant Guarding US Northeast From Winter Blackouts Is at Risk - Bloomberg (paywall)

• Washington Heats Up Nuclear Energy Competition With Russia, China - WSJ (paywall)

• Golden Globes: Winners List - The Hollywood Reporter

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