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🚨Your 401k Jumping: Stocks Hit All-Time Highs
🏠Home Sales Lowest In Over 25 Years
🎢 Haley Questions Trump's Mental Fitness
🤖AI: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
📝Sports Illustrated Laysoff Most of Staff
💣Mideast War Expands: Houthi Attacks on US Ships
❄️SnowJob: Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses
🎓Teachers Turn to ‘OnlyFans’ to Subsidize Low Pay
🚨Your 401k Jumping: Stocks Hit All-Time Highs
The S&P 500 and Dow rose to all-time highs on Friday after the Tech-Heavy Nasdaq100 closed at an all-time high Thursday. The rally rooted in gains among influential tech stocks like Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia.
It all comes despite Donald Trump predicting the U.S. economy will crash and hoping it does so within the next year on President Biden’s watch.
In an interview with Lou Dobbs, on the Mike Lindell Network (yes, the ‘My Pillow’ Guy has a TV Network!) Trump explained that, if he were elected again, he would not want to serve a term similar to President Hoover’s — who took office when the economy was stable but later oversaw the start of the Great Depression.
🏠Home Sales Lowest In Over 25 Years
Sales of previously owned homes in 2023 dropped to the lowest level in 28 years, as home-buying affordability worsened and the supply of homes for sale remained low, according to just released numbers from the National Association of Realtors.
Skyrocketing HOUSING costs drove more than half of consumer price gains contributing to higher inflation.
But, SitusAMC’s Tim Rood a GisermanGroup.com client tells Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto nevertheless things are improving.
SitusAMC’s Rood with more on NewsNation:
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🤖AI: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Artificial Intelligence, the good, the bad, the ugly, dominating the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels, a GisermanGroup client, is there and spoke with NewsNation.
Brandon Daniels joins Bloomberg TV Monday at 10:30AMET
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Facebook parent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his company is joining the pursuit of creating super artificial intelligence, putting it in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google.
Sometimes called artificial general intelligence or AGI, the goal is to create AI that can problem solve and rationalize on the same level as humans.
AGI is the oft-stated goal of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, and is the central pursuit by the AI departments at Google.
Zuckerberg said general intelligence was now his company's goal, largely to help attract the best engineers in the fast expanding AI field.
🎢 Haley Questions Trump's Mental Fitness
Nikki Haley questioned Donald Trump’s mental fitness, seizing on a flub at a rally in which Trump repeatedly called Nancy Pelosi by Haley’s name when attacking the former House speaker.
Trump’s mix-up came as he repeated unsubstantiated claims that he made a “recommendation for troops” to be brought in to quell the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol while Pelosi was derelict in her duties as speaker when it came to keeping the complex safe.
Trump holds 50% of support among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire versus 39% for Haley, according to the latest CNN poll .
Trump won big in the Iowa caucuses putting him a step closer to the rematch he wants with President Biden. Trump immediately went to his defamation damages trial in New York, sitting roughly 10 feet away from E. Jean Carroll, the writer whom a civil jury last year said he was responsible for sexually abusing in the 1990s. The judge threatened to bounce Trump from the courtroom after he ignored warnings to keep silent during testimony by Carroll .
Carroll detailed from the witness stand some of the death threats that she received after Trump publicly attacked her -- including one saying she should die "by execution" or "firing squad."
In Iowa a surprising second place finish by Ron DeSantis narrowly pulling ahead of Nikki Haley, gives both a rationale for continuing their campaigns, which is likely to help Trump..
Get This:
The 110,000 voters who participated in the caucuses account for just under 15% of the state's 752,000 registered Republicans. That’s in a country of 330 million plus people.
It was the coldest ever recorded for the Iowa caucuses with temperatures hitting -20 degrees.
Now it’s on to New Hampshire which holds its first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday.
📝Sports Illustrated Laysoff Most of Staff
Much of the staff of Sports Illustrated, and possibly all remaining writers and editors, received layoff notices Friday, which essentially could spell the end of the iconic a publication.
The union representing the staff tweeted that it would continue to fight for the publication of the magazine but that its future is now in the hands of the magazine’s owner, Authentic Brands Group.
🚨Mideast War Expands: Houthi Attacks on US Ships
Another sign the Israel-Hamas war is widening.
The US launched more strikes on Yemen’s Houthis as the Iran-backed militant group continues to upend global shipping markets with Red Sea attacks.
US jets shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea from Houthi militant-controlled areas of Yemen, according to U.S. military.
These strikes on the terrorists will not prove to be a quick-fix to world-wide shipping problems, which are driving up consumer costs, as shippers have tripled the prices they charge to take cargo from Asia to Europe, according to Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels, a supply-chain expert and GisermanGroup client on Bloomberg:
Exiger’s Daniels on NewsNation says so far the situation has been contained, but that could quickly change:
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🪙SEC Approves Bitcoin ETF
Bitcoin in volatile trading. The digital currency briefly hit the $49,000 mark this morning before falling back below $47,000, for a gain of less than 1%, according to Coin Metrics.
The Securities and Exchange Commission authorized 11 applications by financial firms to offer what are known as “exchange traded funds” tied to Bitcoin, a potentially simpler way for people to invest in digital assets on traditional platforms like the Nasdaq.
Some of the largest financial companies in the world, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have been approved to offer the products, known as E.T.F.s.
It comes as the FBI is investigating after the Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X account was hacked. The accounted falsely posted a day earlier that the SEC had approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, forcing Chair Gary Gensler and the regulator to disavow the erroneous post.
GisermanGroup client Exiger’s Bob Kolasky, former Cyber Czar at the Department of Homeland Security says, “This hack is shocking given that the SEC wants to be a credible cyber player in the government and collect sensitive info from industry about cyber incidents this puts a spotlight on their need for strengthening internal practices.
Exiger’s Samar Pratt, a GisermanGroup.com client, Client, on FinTechTV says Crypto has also gained a foothold at one bank
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🍀Fed Scientists Recommend Easing Marijuana Rules
Government scientists have concluded Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs.
The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued Health and Human Services officials for its release and published it online on Friday night.
The records shed light for the first time on the thinking of federal health officials who are pondering a momentous change. The agencies involved have not publicly commented on their debates over what amounts to a reconsideration of marijuana at the federal level.
🧑⚖️Trump Brings Campaign to Court
Donald Trump’s fraud trial reached a dramatic finale at closing arguments Thursday when the former president made an end-run around a judge’s strict orders to get his two cents on the record.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron shot down Trump’s unheard-of request to personally deliver a summation on Wednesday because he wouldn’t promise to veer off topic — but the GOP presidential front-runner still managed to get his way.
Once his lawyers had finished their closing arguments, his attorney, Chris Kise, made a final plea to the judge to let the former president speak. When Engoron then asked Trump if he would abide by the previously laid out ground rules — which commanded him not to enter new testimony or evidence, “deliver a campaign speech,” or disparage the judge, his staff, Attorney General Tish James, and the court system — an emotional Trump didn’t give him an answer, instead launching into a tirade defying the judge’s directive on nearly every level.
“I’m an innocent man,” he told Engoron, who is deciding the case without a jury. “I’ve been persecuted by someone running for office, and I think you have to go outside of the bounds.”
Trump’s remarks later veered more personal toward the judge. He said Engoron had an agenda and made a crack about his listening skills, at which point the judge interrupted. “Mr. Kise, please control your client,” Engoron said, addressing Trump’s lead lawyer, Chris Kise.
Engoron, who started his day dealing with a bogus bomb threat at his Nassau Countyhome, let Trump riff for around six minutes before a stunned courtroom, cutting him off when he chided Engoron’s “agenda” and told the judge, “You can’t listen for one minute.”
“Mr. Kise, please control your client,” Engoron then said.
With that, Trump left the 60 Centre St. courthouse with his Secret Service entourage and son Eric, his codefendant, as the judge adjourned for lunch. Trump headed to his Wall Street skyscraper to address reporters instead of sticking around for the AG’s closing argument.
📈Biden Gains Ground in Key State
In the key swing state of Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remain in a too-close-to-call hypothetical 2024 general election matchup with 49 percent of registered voters supporting Biden and 46 percent supporting Trump, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters in Pennsylvania released today. This marks the first time in Pennsylvania that Biden has a numerical advantage over Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
In October, a Quinnipiac University poll in Pennsylvania showed Trump with 47 percent support and Biden with 45 percent support. In June, Trump received 47 percent support and Biden received 46 percent support.
In today's poll, Democrats back Biden 96 - 4 percent and Republicans back Trump 89 - 7 percent. Independents are divided, with 45 percent supporting Trump and 44 percent supporting Biden.
🎢Boeing Jets Grounded BlownOut Panel Found
Hundreds of flights a day cancelled as United Airlines has found loose bolts on door plugs of several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes during inspections.
It comes after a 63 pound, 4-foot-long panel that blew-off an Alaska Airlines plane in midair was found in a backyard outside Portland Oregon. It gives investigators a key clue as they try to piece together why a gaping hole opened midair in the airplane’s side.
Airlines ordered by the FAA to stop using some 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes until they are inspected, less than a day after an incident in which a chunk of the body of a Max 9 plane operated by Alaska Airlines was blown out in flight.
The plane with more than 170 passengers and six crew, returned safely to Portland, Ore., after experiencing an incident that flight attendants described as an “explosive” decompression. Photos and video that passengers posted on social media showed a gaping opening in the plane. Oxygen masks dangled down.
…Get This
An iPhone sucked out of that Alaska Airliner has been found undamaged after a fall of 16,000 feet. The NTSB reportedly says it’s the second working iPhone it found from the wreck.
💣Fears Of Full-Blown Mideast War
In the last week alone, Israel has killed a senior Hamas militant in an airstrike in Beirut, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel, the U.S. has killed a militia commander in Baghdad and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have traded fire with the American Navy.
Each strike and counterstrike increases the risk of the already catastrophic war in Gaza spilling across the region. And in the decades-old standoff pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and allied militant groups, there are fears that any one party could trigger a wider war if only to avoid appearing weak.
The divisions within each camp add another layer of volatility: Hamas might have hoped its Oct. 7 attack would drag its allies into a wider war with Israel. Israelis increasingly talk about the need to change the equation in Lebanon, even as the U.S. aims to contain the conflict.
💣Shocking Allegations In Epstein Docs
A Jeffrey Epstein accuser once claimed former President Donald Trump allegedly had “sexual relations” with one of her unnamed friends at the late pedophile’s New York home “on regular occasions,” according to another trove of court documents unsealed Monday.
Sarah Ransome, in a string of emails in 2016, also claimed that she had copies of tapes Epstein had made of some of his high-profile friends — including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and British business magnate Richard Branson — allegedly having sex with an unnamed woman.
She confided in me about her casual ‘friendship’ with Donald. Mr. Trump definitely seemed to have a thing for her and she told me how he kept going on about how he liked her ‘pert nipples,’” Ransome wrote about her friend in one email, made public when the latest batch of newly unsealed documents dropped.
“I also know she had sexual relations with Trump at Jeffery’s NY mansion on regular occasions,” she added.
Ransome walked back the salacious allegations in an Oct. 23, 2016 email with a columnist, writing, “I would like to retract everything I have said to you and walk away from this,” according to the filing.
She added that “only bad things” and “pain for my family” would come from going public.
Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex slave” Virginia Roberts Giuffre had sex with a “prince” in France, newly released documents reveal.
Giuffre — who has claimed that she was pimped out for sex with disgraced Prince Andrew — says she once had sex with another prince at the late sex offender’s direction, according to a 2016 deposition for a lawsuit.
😷NY, CA Hit With COVID, Flu
New York and California hospitals are busier with more COVID-19 and flu patients, some of whom are suffering from both viruses at the same time.
The simultaneous sickness is another wrinkle in an already hectic respiratory virus season. Although hospitals are not nearly as crowded as during the emergency phase of the pandemic, they are becoming increasingly so — with Los Angeles County recently entering the "medium" COVID-19 hospitalization category outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the first time this winter.
🤖Open AI’s Plan To Prevent Robot Uprising
OpenAI is putting together a new team of experts solely dedicated to preventing a potential robot uprising. The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT announced on Monday its plans for mitigating the dangers that may emerge from its technology—including cybersecurity risks and the potential that their bots may be used to create nuclear or biological weapons.
The company outlined the goals for the new “Preparedness Framework” in a 27-page document, saying that it would be used specifically to conduct regular tests and monitor their advanced models for any dangers it may eventually pose. The team would be dedicated to preventing such threats from emerging, while also ensuring that their products are deployed responsibly.
Exiger’s JC Herz tells NewsNation the AI Genie is already out of the bottle - and can’t be put back:
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📉It’s The Economy Stupid
A rising stock market plus two new surveys released in recent days suggest consumers may be starting to feel more optimistic about inflation.
This could be welcome news for President Joe Biden, whose 2024 reelection campaign is battling a stubborn economic gloom tied directly to high consumer prices.
The New York Federal Reserve’s November consumer survey, released Monday, found that consumers expect inflation will be 3.4% over the coming year. That’s a drop of 0.2 percentage points from what consumers predicted in October, and the lowest expected level of inflation the survey has seen since April 2021.
A separate survey from the University of Michigan released Thursday recorded an even sharper shift in consumer confidence.
Year-ahead inflation expectation fell by around 30% in a single month, a remarkable turn
🏈Michigan Defeats Washington to Win Championship
Michigan defeated Washington to win college football’s national championship. It’s the first title for the sport’s winningest program since 1997.
The victory marks the crowning achievement for Jim Harbaugh, who arrived in Ann Arbor almost a decade ago with a promise to restore glory to the Wolverines’ football program.
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🎓Teachers Post Pics to ‘OnlyFans’ to Subsidize Low Pay
Teachers don’t make enough money!
At a small Missouri high school, two English teachers shared a secret: Both were posting adult content on OnlyFans, the subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content to supplement income.
But a new approach to Early Child Education hopes to help teachers avoid the stigma. GisermanGroup client Imagine Early Learning Centers is the nation’s only employee-owned childcare company.
Laura Tulchin, Chief Strategy Officer at Imagine Early Learning tells Bloomberg and CBS, “Employee-ownership means teachers' voices are not only heard in the classroom, but in the boardroom as well:
According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, teachers earned 74 cents, on average, for every dollar that other professionals make.
🎸Hope For Us All: Keith Richards Turns 80
Keith Richards, who admittedly has done more drugs and carousing than most of us, is celebrating his 80th birthday with tributes from his Rolling Stones bandmates. Proof there’s hope for all of us.
Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood, as well as the late Charlie Watts' estate, all took to social media to mark Richards' special day.
"Happy birthday @officialkeef! Love Mick," Jagger wrote in a simple Instagrampost featuring a photo of him and Richards.
Wood posted a slideshow of images of him and Richards to Instagram, writing in the caption, "🎂🎉❤️😎Happy 80th birthday @officialkeef!🎸❤🥳."
🏛️Biden’s Age Denialism
Speaking of 80 year olds
President Biden's reluctance to acknowledge his physical limitations at age 81 is causing some tension on his team, Axios reports.
In conversations with aides and friends, Biden frequently says some version of: "I feel so much younger than my age."
First Lady Jill Biden and her team are deeply involved in the president's day-to-day schedule.
She often works to get him as much rest as possible, and to improve his diet.
After resisting, Biden has made very occasional self-deprecating jokes about his age. He quipped at a September fundraiser:
I've never been more optimistic about our country's future in the 800 years I've served." Biden jokes.
👨⚖️Giuliani Files Bankruptcy Rather Than Fork Over $148 Million in Damages
Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy a day after a federal judge ordered him to start paying the $148 million in damages he owes to two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies that they had tried to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump.
The award came after Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court in Washington had ruled that Giuliani, who helped lead Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his defeat, had defamed the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. The jury in the civil trial had been asked to decide only on the amount of the damages.
⚡️Trump Promises to be a Dictator
Donald Trump said it again on Saturday, If elected promises be a dictator for the first day of his term.
President Biden says ‘If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running'
Biden says Trump must be stopped.
The President made the comment after Former Congresswoman, Republican Liz Cheney said "there's no question" that Donald Trump will refuse to leave office if he wins a second term.
Cheney says the “U.S. is sleepwalking into dictatorship.”
GOP Presidential candidate Chris Christie, at the last Presidential debate, called Trump a dangerous man that other candidates refuse to talk about,
Could a second Donald Trump presidency slide into dictatorship?
A sudden spate of dystopian warnings in addition to that from Cheney has got America talking about the possibility less than a year before the elections.
Dark scenarios about what could happen if the twice-impeached Republican former president wins in 2024 have appeared in the space of a few days in major outlets that include The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Atlantic.
Together, they paint a bleak picture of an angrier yet more disciplined Trump than during his first spell in the White House, one who would wreak vengeance on his perceived enemies and possibly try to stay in power beyond the two-term limit.
Trump responded to the warnings in typical style by laughing them off -- with an edge.
"He says, you're not going to be a dictator, are you? I said no, no, no -- other than day one," Trump said when asked in a televised Fox News townhall on Tuesday if he would abuse power or seek retribution.
"We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling (for oil). After that I'm not a dictator."
Meantime, the Supreme Court has agreed to a request from Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, to rule on Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution. Smith asked the justices to rule before an appeals court acted, and he urged them to move with exceptional speed.
It’s a trying time for all of us.
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💉Wegovy Reduces Heart Problems
The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in a large, international study that experts say could change the way doctors treat certain heart patients.
The research is the first to document that an obesity medication can not only pare pounds, but also safely prevent a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death in people who already have heart disease — but not diabetes.
Zepbound, a new weight loss drug from Eli Lilly has been approved by the FDA, the latest entrant in the field which includes Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.
The drug was shown in clinical trials to help people lose up to 52 pounds in 16 months. It will carry a list price of about $1,060 for a month's supply. Despite the steep price, some analysts have anticipated it will become the best-selling drug in history.
The cost may put the new drug out of reach for many people given that insurance companies are often reluctant to cover weight loss medications, and Medicare, by law, does not cover them.
In the United States, 4 in 10 adults have obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
🩺Doctor Amazon
Amazon announces a new health care benefit program for Prime Members for $9 a Month (or $99 a Year)
“Prime members get high-quality, convenient care from One Medical, including 24/7 on-demand virtual care nationwide and easy to schedule office visits at any of One Medical’s hundreds of locations across the U.S”
💻TikTok Ban
New York City has banned China-owned TikTok on government devices, citing security concerns, joining a number of cities and states that have put such restrictions on the app.
The Biden administration is demanding TikTok’s Chinese-owners sell their stakes in the video-sharing app or face a full U.S. ban.
Matt Hayden Former Cybersecurity Czar at the Department of Homeland Security and a GisermanGroup.com client on Scripps News says TikTok is dangerous:
💻They Want Your Password
Warning-New Scams to steal your passwords.
If you've had a password hacked recently, you aren't alone. The volume of password attacks has soared to an estimated 921 attacks every second. That's a 74% rise in one year, according to the latest Microsoft Digital Defense Report.
Exiger's Robert Kolasky with more on Bloomberg & CBS:
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