U.S. and world news for Feb. 5

Border bill: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said this morning he believes enough Republicans will join Democrats to ensure Senate passage of the bipartisan bill that would fix border issues and provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. Schumer also expressed confidence that there would be enough votes from both parties in the House to pass the legislation if House Speaker Mike Johnson allows it to come up for a vote. Donald Trump has been pressuring Johnson to kill the bill because he wants the border situation to get worse so he can continue to use it as a campaign issue.

Blinken’s trip: Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia this morning on his latest trip to the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. He is scheduled to also visit Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank. Blinken plans to continue diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages captured by Hamas and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The State Department said he will continue work to prevent the spread of the conflict, while reaffirming that the United States will take appropriate steps to defend its personnel and the right to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

California rain: An estimated 14 million people in California are under flood warnings today as torrential rains fall in sections of the state from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. Downtown Santa Barbara was flooded and the city’s airport had to be closed. Los Angeles received more than four niches of rain yesterday, more rain than typically is received during the entire month of February. For the first time in recorded history, hurricane force winds hit the San Francisco Bay area and parts of California’s Central Coast.

Financials for McDonald’s: McDonald’s announced this morning that its revenues for 2023 totaled $6.4 billion, an 8% increase from the $5.9 billion in revenues of 2022. Net income for 2023 was $2 billion, up from $1.9 billion in 2022. Sales at restaurants operated by McDonald’s itself were up 12% for 2023 versus 2022 while revenues from franchised restaurants were up 6%. CEO Chris Kempczinski pointed out that since 2019 sales have grown by more than 30%.

Boeing’s new issue: In a message to employees, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal says a new problem has been discovered that affects about 50 Boeing 737 MAX airliners that have not yet been delivered to customers. In a message to Boeing employees, he says that a supplier discovered that two holes used in fuselage sections were not drilled to specifications. Deal said that the condition is not a safety issue but will be require inspections and possibly reworking the fuselage sections. He also said that Boing employees who work on 737s have submitted more than 1,000 suggestions for making improvements at Boeing.

Grammy Awards: Taylor Swift won her fourth Album of the Year award at last night’s Grammy Awards. Her win set a record for the awards, beating the record of three Album of the Year Awards held by Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. The Record of the Year award went to Miley Cyrus for her recording of “Flowers.”

Cover photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons