Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden will join Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a Wednesday event in Kentucky aimed at highlighting the effects of the $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure bill, a White House official said Sunday.

The pair, along with Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, are to appear at a ceremony highlighting the $1.64 billion in funding awarded to for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project connecting the two states across the Ohio River.

Funding for the crossing includes a new bridge and rehabilitation of the heavily congested 60-year-old one.

The new bridge is intended to rehabilitate a heavily congested 60-year-old span and add a second crossing.

McConnell, of Kentucky, was among the Republicans who voted for the infrastructure law, which was passed in November 2021, while many House Republicans including Representative Kevin McCarthy it.

McConnell said last week in a statement that “building a new companion bridge on the Brent Spence Bridge corridor will be one of the bill’s crowning accomplishments.”

The event is set to take place the day after McCarthy’s Republicans take the majority in the House, breaking Democrats’ control of Congress and ushering in a period of divided government.

Kentucky and Ohio had sought funding for the project for years.

“This project will not only ease the traffic nightmare that drivers have suffered through for years, but it will also help ensure that the movement of the supply chain doesn’t stall on this nationally significant corridor,” DeWine said.

Then President Barack Obama visited the crossing in 2011 and urged Congress to pass a jobs bill costing billions of dollars that he said could include rebuilding the bridge, which by then had already been declared functionally obsolete.

During his 2016 run for the White House, Donald Trump backed funding for the project, but he failed during his four years in office to secure money for it or to pass the big infrastructure bill he repeatedly promised.

The 2021 infrastructure law includes $27 billion over five years to fix and replace thousands of aging U.S. bridges.

Other administration officials including Vice President Kamala Harris will also tout infrastructure awards in other events this week.

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(NewsNation) — Accused Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger previously studied under an academic who is a serial killer expert.

Kohberger, who was a graduate student at Washington State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the time of the killings, also studied criminology during his time at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa.

It was there that he studied under Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist who has spent decades researching serial killers and mass murderers. She appeared on NewsNation in October to discuss the Delphi case.

She is known for having developed a close relationship with the serial killer Dennis Rader, more commonly known as BTK.

In an exclusive interview, Rader’s daughter, Kerri Rawson, spoke to NewsNation’s Brian Entin.

“It’s hard to be the kid of this guy and live with this,” she said, choking back tears. “You know? And then see somebody else go do this and wonder did your dad influence this? Did your dad talk to him? Was he studying my father outside of academics? Am I ever going to get answers to that, I don’t know.”

So far, Ramsland is not discussing the case publicly. “I cannot make media statements about him at this time,” she said.

The public defender representing Kohberger told Entin that his dad went out to Idaho and drove back with him to Penssyvalnia in the White Hyundai Elantra sought by police in mid-December.

Watch the interview with Kerri Rawson in the video player at the top of the page.

Mexican authorities said on Sunday at least 14 people died in an armed attack at a prison in the northern border city Juarez and two more died during a later armed aggression elsewhere in the city.

The Chihuahua state prosecutor said in a statement that among those who died in the prison attack were 10 security personnel and four inmates, while another 13 were hurt and at least 24 escaped.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack.

The prosecutor said initial investigations found the attackers arrived at around 7 a.m. local time at the prison in armored vehicles and opened fire.

Minutes earlier, authorities had reported a nearby attack against municipal police. After a chase, four men were captured and a truck seized.

In a different part of the city, two more drivers died later in the day following what authorities called an armed aggression.

The state prosecutor did not specify whether the three incidents were related.

In August, hundreds of Mexican soldiers were sent to Juarez after a prison face-off between members of two rival cartels caused a riot and shootouts that killed 11 people, most of them civilians.

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While the GOP promised to tackle the global problem of inflation if elected, there’s evidence suggesting pretty much the opposite will happen when they take power in January. Despite their concerns about government spending, they’ll waste taxpayer money on investigating their political opponents all in the name of fundraising – the exact same thing that Republicans have done every time they acquired a congressional majority since 1995.

In the past, these inquiries led to the impeachment of one president and the investigation into Benghazi, which proved no wrongdoing but revealed the fact that Secretary Clinton used a private email server – something they used to chisel away her support in 2016.

The problem is that this time, the Republicans are overplaying their hand. Getting support for an investigation into the Biden administration is already a steep hill to climb – as there’s not much there and the incoming House majority already has an abysmal approval rating – not to mention a bare bones majority to get anything to advance. The other problem is that already gearing up for this, the usual stooges – Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. James Comer managed to botch their requests for information – by sending records requests to the White House before they had the authority to do so – as neither are yet in charge of the House Judiciary Committee.

The requests were deemed illegitimate and at the end of 2022, we have just a slight foretaste of what imbecilic antics these two will be carrying out in 2023.

The post Here comes the big House Republican disaster appeared first on Palmer Report.

A rescue team dog, like this one, found the skier over two hours after the avalanche occurred.

AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

• A father and son went skiing in Breckenridge, CO Saturday and got caught in an avalanche. 
• The father was able to free himself and called 911, but his son was found dead two hours later. 
• Deadly avalanches are becoming more common as a result of climate change. 

A father was unable to help rescue his son after the two were swept up in an avalanche while skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado. 

The two had been backcountry skiing at some 11,600 feet, when, at 1 p.m., packed snow cascaded down the side of the mountain, partially burying the father and fully burying the son, according to a Colorado Avalanche Information Center report released Sunday. 

The father was able to free himself and searched for his son to no avail. He moved to find cell service and called 911, but his son was found dead by a rescue dog at 3 p.m. after authorities arrived, the report stated. 

The site of the avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center

The two skiers’ names were not publically released, but the Denver Post identified them as father and son. 

The son was one of two to die this season in an avalanche, according to the information center. 

Deadly avalanche accidents in Colorado are bound to become more common in the changing climate, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center Ethan Greene told CBS in November, because there is greater fluctuation in temperature throughout the ski season, so there are more “rain-on-snow” events even during the coldest months of the year, making avalanches more likely. 

While avalanches used to be common for a specific and narrow period of time each year, they are now happening throughout the season, according to CBS’ report. 

People look at literature for sale at the Boulder Public Library.

Jeremy Papasso/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images

• A Boulder, Colorado library closed after testing revealed meth contamination in the bathrooms.
• After a spike in reports of people smoking in the bathrooms, several employees got sick.
• The contaminated areas require professional clean-up and the bathrooms may never reopen, the city said.

A public library in Boulder, Colorado closed after testing revealed methamphetamine contamination in bathrooms and seating areas.

The library first closed on December 20, 2022. In a Wednesday update, the City of Boulder said that further testing had identified “nearly all” the contamination was on the surfaces and in the air ducts of public-facing bathrooms. Meth was also found in some high-traffic seating areas, according to the statement.

The city said these areas would require professional clean-up, and the furniture in the seating areas may be replaced with something that can be cleaned regularly.

“It is not yet clear if, and when, public restrooms will be brought back,” the update said.

The library building could reopen on Tuesday at the earliest.

“This is truly a sad situation and represents the impact of a widespread epidemic in our country,” David Farnan, the city’s library director, said in a statement.

Crystal Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth).

REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo

The city first ordered testing after a spike in reports of people smoking in the library’s public restrooms, and two incidents where employees reported symptoms consistent with exposure to meth. Medical staff evaluated and cleared those employees, Farnan said.

Symptoms of meth exposure include nausea, vomiting, headaches, confusion, and respiratory irritation.

“Meth contamination is not primarily transmitted through air. The issue is the residue on surfaces that individuals can come into direct contact with, through touch, and then transmit on their skin and clothing to other surfaces,” the update said.

According to the city, risk of serious health effects from one-off exposures is low.

“Nonetheless, the results in the impacted areas are troubling,” the update said.

The city said it was awaiting a full report and results from the contractor it hired for environmental testing. With that information, the city said it would confer with its health department to plan clean-up and reopening, and release the results within a week.

A Russian Su-25 at its base after being struck by a man-portable air-defense missile over Ukraine in March 2022.

Russian Ministry of Defense

• Russia’s air force has struggled in combat over Ukraine
• It entered the war lacking fully trained pilots and used the ones it has poorly, a British think tank says.
• Other decisions by Russian commanders are setting the air force up for future problems.

The Russian air force lacks fully trained pilots and has made poor use of the few good pilots that it has, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.

“Ukrainian assessments concluded that given limited flight hours and the practice of training being delivered in units, the VKS entered the conflict with fewer than 100 fully trained and current pilots,” the report said, referring to the Russian air force by its initials.

But Moscow is doing something even more dangerous for the long-term health of Russian airpower. It is committing instructor pilots to battle, which means that pilots being trained now and in the future will have fewer experienced mentors.

A Russian pilot at the Army 2022 forum near Moscow in August.

avel Pavlov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

“The mobilization of trainers from their flying schools to frontline formations has also hampered the ability to generate new pilots,” according to the report, which covers events between February and July. “The Ukrainian military has noted a rise in both very young and very old pilots in the VKS, with ageing pilots returned to frontline service.”

It is normal practice in many air forces for experienced pilots to be rotated from frontline duties to training units, where they can pass expertise to rookies. One reason Nazi Germany lost World War II was because a desperate Luftwaffe committed its instructor pilots to combat operations, which led to a progressive decline in pilot quality.

Russia, too, is relentlessly committing its experienced pilots to combat.

“With a military culture that assigns the most dangerous missions to the most experienced crews, attrition in the VKS has fallen disproportionately on this cadre, reducing the overall effectiveness of the force and its ability to train new pilots,” the RUSI report says.

That’s one reason Moscow has sought the return of veteran pilots in negotiations over prisoner exchanges with Ukraine.

The tail of a downed Russian Su-25 attack jet on display in Kyiv in May.

Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

It is possible for an air force to have well-trained pilots but otherwise be hobbled by obsolete aircraft or lack of spare parts. However, an air force that lacks qualified pilots is likely to have other problems.

Sure enough, the RUSI report pointed to issues with Russian ground crews. Among the most glaring was a failure to remove covers from aircraft sensors prior to combat operations over Ukraine — “an easily avoided mistake which has a severe impact on effectiveness and should be considered negligence. This suggests challenges in discipline and junior leadership among maintenance crews in the VKS,” the report says.

Another sign of poor discipline is the habit of stacking munitions next to aircraft parked at Russian air bases. With Ukraine now using drones to strike airfields hundreds of miles inside Russia, the failure to store ammunition safely could mean the loss of more precious aircraft and pilots.

How badly are all these problems undercutting Russian airpower? RUSI believes they have “corresponded with a significant reduction in the scale and complexity of VKS air operations over Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.”

An Su-57 fighter jet takes off the 15th MAKS air show in Russia in July 2021.

Mihail Siergiejevicz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Still more ominous are the implications for future Russian air operations over Ukraine. With a peace treaty or ceasefire appearing unlikely in the near future, the war could drag on for years, which may mean Russia will wage a protracted air campaign.

Long air campaigns – including the Battle of Britain, the Allied bomber offensive over Germany, and the US bombing of North Vietnam – required careful management to avoid wearing out aircraft and aircrews.

Russia needs to maintain a flow of properly trained pilots, as well as competent and disciplined ground crews. If it squanders its pool of veteran pilots for short-term gains, the skies of Ukraine will become even more unfriendly for Russian airpower.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master’s in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

People like George Santos are not supposed to exist outside of con artist films and literature. Santos could come straight out of one of those. Not content just to lie to everyone about pretty much everything, he refuses to resign, and — get this — he continues to lie.

Santos is now attempting to swindle Republican voters. He has sent out a fundraising email that may just be illegal. In this fundraiser, Santos gallantly offers a bus trip. Said trip would deliver people to Washington D.C. where — surprise — they would get lunch and a “Team Santos” tour of the Capitol.

“Team Santos?” How arrogant can you get? There is a catch though. Isn’t there always? All these prospective luncheon attendees have to do is send him some money. There are many problems with this fundraiser, number one being that it is illegal for Congressman to charge people to tour the Capitol.

By so doing, Santos might just be breaking campaign finance laws which would not be a shock because, after all, this guy has shown, loud and clear, his contempt for the rule of law. In the fundraiser, Santos begs “VIPS” to give over five hundred dollars, and for people who are not VIPS, they are asked for around $100.

He is also reportedly charging people to see him sworn in. That’s right. Santos fancies himself so important that he is charging people to watch him take the oath of office. Excuse me while I vomit. These defiant and sleazy acts reportedly are shocking even some Republicans, with one Long Island republican saying, “What a dumb idea.”

But nothing it seems can stop his lying. This is because he’s George Santos! Like a hurricane that’s come to shore, the Santos grift has been released into the ether and now it’s raining lies and sleaze. So perhaps this will launch yet another investigation into Santos. The guy is absolutely shameless, and even by republican standards, he’s insane.

The post What does George Santos think he’s even doing with this one? appeared first on Palmer Report.

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s son, Slater Vance, quickly posted an apology about participating in the TikTok trend.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

• Slater Vance joined in on a TikTok trend where users lie about celebrity deaths to their parents.
• He then apologized for lying about the death of Bassett’s Black Panther co-star, Michael B. Jordan. 
• Many social media users have called the trend distasteful. 

It was another TikTok trend that went too far. 

That’s what 16-year-old Slater Vance learned last week, after joining in on it using his own famous parents: actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance. 

The trend involves users pranking their families on camera, pretending that celebrities — usually ones beloved to their parents — have died. The trend grew in popularity over the holiday season as families gathered and children flocked home for vacation, with TikTok users temporarily bluffing in living rooms, kitchens, and grocery stores across the world.

As of January 1, the hashtag “celebritydeathprank” had over 174 million views on the app, with “deadcelebrityprank” clocking in nearly as many. 

Slater Vance joined in by pretending to read the news that actor Michael B. Jordan had died at the age of 35 years old, which Bassett reacted to in apparent shock and distress. 

Social media users were quick to note that Jordan actually being a colleague of Bassett’s — they co-starred in 2018’s Black Panther and its sequel together — might have escalated the prank from distasteful to harmful. Chadwick Boseman, another young Black Panther co-star of Bassett’s, died of colon cancer in 2020, news that also came abruptly to the film’s cast and crew. 

The elder Vance has also worked with Jordan, with the two executive producing the show “61st Street” on AMC. 

Vance has since removed the video from TikTok, and posted a remorseful apology about creating the video.

“I would like to apologize for taking part in such a harmful trend,” he said on Saturday. “I apologize to Michael Jordan’s entire family, extended family directly because he’s an idol of mine, and taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful.” 

Even as many continue to enjoy and share the videos, some social media users were prophetic about the trend’s potential to go south as it did with Vance, including Grammy-winner Finneas O’Connell. 

“I haven’t laughed once at any of your videos of you telling your parents somebody died when they didn’t actually die,” O’Connell, who often collaborates with his sister, Billie Eilish, said in his own TikTok video. “It’s mean. Your parents are showing vulnerability for a brief second and you’re laughing at them. It’s mean. Stop.”  

Twitter users say that Slater Vance’s New Year’s Eve TikTok may have killed the viral prank, which has seen the names of Jon Bon Jovi, Oprah Winfrey, and Cher taken in vain. 

“Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance just put an end to that TikTok trend and we owe them a debt of gratitude,” one user said. 

Slater Vance expressed his wish that others could learn from him. 

“I own this mistake and hope this can be a teaching lesson to anyone who uses social media as a tool and a source of entertainment to truly understand that their actions can have consequences that extend beyond you,” he said. 

President Donald Trump greets newly-appointed Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey before signing the Education Federalism Executive Order in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 26, 2017.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

• You don’t need a permit to carry guns in half of US states. 
• Alabama’s permitless carry law went into effect with the start of the new year. 
• Over the past two decades, gun control laws have weakened at the state and federal levels. 

With the start of the new year, it became significantly easier for Alabamians to legally carry guns.

The state passed a law last year allowing people to carry concealed handguns without state permits, a change that went into effect on January 1. 

The law signaled a gun rights landmark for the US: Now, half of the 50 states allow people to carry handguns without permits. 

It’s a mark of how gun control rights have expanded within the US over the past two decades. In 2010, for instance, only two states allowed people to carry guns without permits. In the 13 years since, however, almost 24 states have passed similar laws, 11 of which were greenlit in the last three years, The Huffington Post’s Roque Planas reported Sunday. 

State governments have loosened gun control over the past 20 years, even as activism in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, and others ramped up. More than 600 mass shootings transpired in the US in 2022, making it the second-highest annual total for mass shootings on record, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit tracking gun violence. 

There were more mass shootings in the last half decade than in any other five-year period going back to 1966, the Marshall Project found last year. 

One recent study from left-leaning public policy think tank Center for American Progress found that homicide rates were higher in states with weaker gun laws. 

Alabama lawmakers in particular faced pressure from pro-gun advocates and groups such as the National Rifle Association to pass the new law. 

It’s proved politically popular for many Republicans across the country. Over 100 television ads from GOP Midterm candidates have used guns as talking points or “visual motifs” last year, according to a New York Times analysis. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey highlighted her support for the law during her re-election campaign, which included an ad showing Ivey at her desk at the Alabama Capitol pulling a handgun out of her purse, followed by lipstick and a cell phone. 

“Lipstick, an iPhone, maybe a little Smith & Wesson .38,” she says.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that the US Constitution protects an individual’s right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense in a 6-3 decision that dramatically expanded Second Amendment rights — a move that the Department of Justice opposed. 

Guns have become a part of political protests, too, such as at an anti-trans rally attended by the Proud Boys, which the Southern Law Poverty Center classifies as a hate group, last year.