Important Takeaways:
- 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, causing material damage in several regions as the island continues to recover from widespread blackouts and the impact of two hurricanes over the past few weeks.
- The earthquake was reported about 39 km (24 miles) south of Bartolomé Masó before noon local time, about an hour after a 5.9 magnitude quake rocked the area, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
- “There have been landslides, damage to homes and power lines,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, adding that authorities are evaluating the situation to start recovery efforts.
- Residents in eastern Cuba told Reuters that the tremor was as powerful as any they’ve felt before.
- The quake was also felt in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin and Guantánamo, where the deadly Hurricane Oscar struck last month.
- Another storm, Rafael, slammed into western Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, knocking out power across the island, in the latest major blackout in recent weeks.
- The quake was apparently not felt in the capital Havana, but shockwaves did reach southern Florida, with footage on social media showing swaying ceiling lights from a tower in Miami.
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Important Takeaways:
- Biden-Harris Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell announced Saturday a federal disaster relief official who advised her survivor assistance team to ignore homes displaying Trump signs in Lake Placid, Florida, following Hurricane Milton has been fired.
- Criswell said in a post on X:
- More than 22,000 FEMA employees every day adhere to FEMA’s core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors.
- Recently, a FEMA employee departed from these values to advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump. This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.
- This was reprehensible. I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct.
- We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously. This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.
- Multiple government employees told the Daily Wire that Washington also relayed this message verbally.
- The employees told the outlet that “at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags” were skipped from the end of October and into November — about the same time as the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
- The report said, “It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country.”
- One of the employees wrote in a whistleblower complaint filed to DHS: “If they had damage or lost power for over thirty-six hours, it was my duty to inform them of benefits to which they are entitled through FEMA.”
- The employee added, “This behavior raises significant concerns of discrimination against United States citizens because of their political views… . These actions not only undermine the integrity of our agency and create a hostile work environment for those who may hold differing political beliefs but they also threaten the very democracy of our country.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Former President Trump’s decisive victory Tuesday led to a shock wave that was felt in newsrooms across Washington, D.C., and New York. Everyone knew the polls were close and that a Trump win was a strong possibility, sure, but the scale of Trump’s win left one senior producer at a broadcast network stunned: “We are questioning our relevance right now,” they said Wednesday morning.
- It was a sentiment shared by former Sen. Claire McCaskill, who lamented on MSNBC’s Morning Joe: “I think we have to acknowledge that Donald Trump knows our country better than we do.”
- Ratings for the broadcast and cable news channels saw steep declines in ratings from Nielsen (finals showed an average of 42.3 million people, down from nearly 57 million four years ago), with the lowest ratings in decades. The steepest drop was felt at CNN, which saw its numbers fall below MSNBC for the first election night since that channel launched nearly three decades ago.
- Meanwhile, emergent platforms and programs outside of the traditional media thrived…
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Important Takeaways:
- Not even 24 hours after President-elect Donald Trump won more votes in Illinois this general election than in the previous two, and after winning the US election in a massive red wave sweep, far-left protesters gathered outside the Trump Hotel in Obama’s Chicago.
- The protests appear to have been highly organized and well-planned before the election, given the coordination among activists, the hundreds—if not thousands—of protesters—many holding signs—and the likely pre-approved protest routes from City Hall.
- Organizers shouted into megaphones, “Trump is a fascist” and “racist,” echoing hate speech spewed by the defunct Harris-Walz campaign in the months leading up to November 5.
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Important Takeaways:
- Amsterdam police on Friday said ten people were in custody after Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans were attacked by what Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described as “anti-semitic hit-and-run squads”.
- “This is a very dark moment for the city, for which I am deeply ashamed,” Halsema said at a news conference.
- “Anti-semitic criminals attacked and assaulted visitors to our city, in hit-and-run actions,” Halsema said, adding perpetrators had managed to escape a large police presence.
- The Dutch Organization for Central Jewish Consultation issued an urgent call on Friday for immediate, tough measures following apparent antisemitic attacks after an Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match.
- “The terrible scenes we witnessed last night show that there is no time to wait before taking tough measures”, the CJO said in a statement.
- Authorities say that the situation has calmed down over the last hour, and Israelis have been instructed to shelter in place. A Dutch police spokeswoman said 57 have been arrested so far.
- Footage circulating on social media has shown fans being beaten, chased with knives, and narrowly avoiding being hit by vehicles. Dutch riot police were sent in to respond to the attackers.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed of the incident and has sent two rescue planes to assist Israeli citizens. The IDF is coordinating the rescue mission, and are sending cargo aircraft and two planes from the Hercules squadron with medical and rescue teams.
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Important Takeaways:
- Satellite imagery of a large fire burning outside of Los Angeles shows dozens of homes that were destroyed as Santa Ana winds helped drive the flames of the Mountain Fire.
- CAL FIRE estimates that more than 20,000 acres have burned, fueled by what officials described as favorable weather conditions.
- “The fire began in the Somis area and was driven by winds into the Camarillo Heights and the Camarillo Estates areas, where numerous homes were damaged or destroyed. Fire remains active on the northeast portion of the fire, moving downslope towards the Santa Clara River…All evacuation orders and warnings remain in place due to the extreme fire danger. Residents are strongly encouraged to heed the warnings and orders,” the agency said in a statement.
- So far, no life-threatening injuries have been reported among firefighters or residents fleeing the flames.
- According to emergency management, more than 10,000 homes and businesses were under evacuation alerts around Ventura County as the fire quickly spread through the hills of South California.
- Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Ventura County due to the large wildfire.
- The cause of the Mountain Fire is still unknown, but authorities are working to determine if utility lines played any role in its ignition.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Federal Reserve announced the second consecutive cut in its interest rate benchmark on Thursday, a move widely anticipated by investors.
- The Fed said it will now target a range of 4.50 percent to 4.75 percent for the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other to borrow reserves, one-quarter of a point below the target announced in September.
- This marks a moderated approach compared to the Fed’s earlier, sharper 50 basis point cut in September, reflecting a recalibration of monetary policy. The Fed’s decision to announce the larger rate cut in September, just weeks before the presidential election, was widely criticized by Republicans as creating the appearance of inappropriate politicization.
- President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, coupled with expected Republican majorities in Congress, could set the stage for significant shifts in the economic landscape, with potential changes to taxes, spending, immigration, and trade policies on the horizon. This anticipated alignment in Washington has fueled a rally in stocks, with many investors expecting economic growth to be recharged by Trump’s policies.
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Important Takeaways:
- On Tuesday, voters in Missouri narrowly passed an amendment writing abortion into the Missouri Constitution. On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging virtually all of Missouri’s good, pro-life laws.
- Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and the organization consistently opposes policies that protect women and unborn children from abortion.
- Wednesday’s lawsuit challenges Missouri’s many pro-life measures, including the state’s good laws that:
- Prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother
- Require abortionists to give women information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives
- Require abortionists to give women 72 hours to consider all options before an abortion
- Protect unborn children from being aborted due to their race or sex or due to being at risk for Down Syndrome
- Require abortion facilities to be licensed and inspected by the state
- Require abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges in case the woman experiences complications from abortion
- Outline how abortion data is recorded and reported to the state for statistical purposes
- Prohibit telemed abortions in Missouri
- Prevent healthcare professionals other than doctors from performing abortions
- Require abortionists to maintain various plans and agreements for handling abortion complications
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Important Takeaways:
- Some consumers have been weighed down by a “vibecession” for a while now — and those feelings might get worse, experts say.
- A “vibecession” is the disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data, said Kyla Scanlon, who coined the term in 2022. Scanlon is the author of “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work.”
- “It’s this idea that economic data is telling us one story and consumer sentiment is telling us another,” she tells CNBC.
- Nearly half, 45%, of voters say they are financially worse off now than they were four years ago, and the highest rate since 2008, according to NBC Exit Poll data.
- Yet economic metrics show the economy is booming.
- “Americans’ lingering frustration with the economy and their personal circumstances appears rooted in the persistently high prices that remain post-pandemic,” he said. “This makes for daily sticker shocks when buying groceries, getting a burger, paying rent and filling up the car.”
- The consumer price index, a gauge measuring the costs of goods and services in the U.S., grew to a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Important Takeaways:
- A fast-moving wildfire fueled by heavy winds was tearing through a community northwest of Los Angeles for a second day Thursday after destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee when it exploded in size in only a few hours.
- The Mountain Fire prompted evacuation orders Wednesday for more than 10,000 people as it threatened 3,500 structures in suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
- The fire was at 0% containment late Wednesday, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
- Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.
- The Mountain Fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years.
- The fire grew from less than half of a square mile to more than 16 square miles in little more than five hours.
- First responders pleaded with residents to evacuate. Deputies made contact with 14,000 people to urge them to leave as embers spread for miles and sparked new flames.
- Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews were scrambling to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly shut down the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties.
- Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre Broad Fire.
- By late Wednesday, the fire was at 60% containment and its forward progress was stopped, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a statement. Fire officials said two structures burned.
- With predicted gusts up to 50 mph and humidity levels as low as 9%, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said. Wind gusts topped 61 mph on Wednesday.
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