Government shutdown: Elon Musk and Donald Trump suffered a defeat last night when the House of Representatives killed a stopgap government funding bill that they demanded, that included suspending the country’s debt ceiling for two years. Suspending the debt ceiling would have allowed the incoming Trump Administration to give huge tax cuts to the rich and spend unlimited funds on anything else. Thirty-eight Republicans and most Democrats voted against the bill. Musk and Trump had opposed passage earlier this week of a bipartisan bill that would have funded the government through mid-March.
Cavuto: Fox News and Fox Business News host Neil Cavuto has announced that he is leaving the network. Cavuto has been with Fox for about 28 years. He has received criticism from Donald Trump for factual reporting that presented a different picture than Trump wanted to paint. Cavuto frequently fact-checked Trump and did not hesitate to point out when Trump was not telling the truth. Cavuto did not reveal what he’ll be doing next in his career.
Recall: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that Tesla is recalling about 700,000 vehicles due to problems with the tire pressure warning system. The system is supposed to alert drivers when tire pressures drop. That could happen when there’s a slow air leak or a tire blowout. Tesla said it will begin mailing letters that notify owners about the problem in February and believes the issue can be dealt with through a software update.
Russian attack: Russia staged an early morning missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv. Ukraine’s military says five ballistic missiles were fired and all five were shot down. The Russians also sent about 60 drones to attack Kyiv. Ukraine says it shot down 40 and the other 20 did not reach their targets. Nevertheless, several buildings including foreign embassies were damaged and one person was killed.
Mangione: Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in federal court in Manhattan yesterday and pleaded not guilty to murder, two charges of stalking and a firearms violation. He was being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Mangione’s attorney did not ask for her client to be released on bail but said she may do so at a later time.
Beatles: The two surviving members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, appeared together last night in a London concert that was part of a tour by McCartney. His current concert tour began about two years ago. He is now 82 years old. McCartney and Starr performed a rendition of the title song from the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
