Border security, brown Christmas, and guard geese.

Adam Rogers
December 22, 2023

Happy Friday! Today’s edition is 1,164 words, a 4 minute read.

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Big Stories

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, is urging President Biden to secure the southern border through executive action.

Details: Johnson emphasized in a letter that meaningful steps to address the border situation must start with the President. He specifically calls for the reinstatement of Trump-era policies, including resuming the construction of the border wall and ending parole programs releasing individuals who crossed the border.
Key recommendations: Johnson urged Biden to revive the Remain in Mexico agreement. Additionally, he supports expediting the removal process for individuals who can’t demonstrate asylum eligibility, along with limiting work authorizations for those in the U.S. on parole. These recommendations aim to address concerns related to border security and immigration policies, echoing the broader debate on these issues.
Legislative Challenges: Senators were trying to make a deal before the holidays, frequently meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to find an agreement before the funding for Ukraine ends at the year's end. However, lawmakers left Washington, D.C., without getting it done, saying they'll keep talking and hope to reach an agreement in early 2024. Senate Republicans insist on attaching substantial border policy changes to any Ukraine funding measure, citing concerns about the influx of fentanyl and human trafficking. Both sides will have to figure out a way to comprise to push both agendas through.

A gunman killed at least 15 people and injured dozens in Prague on Thursday, per Czech officials.

Details: The shooter was a student at Charles University where police evacuated the arts faculty building to search its balconies for possible explosives. Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said the gunman was killed on the scene. His father was found dead early on Thursday, the BBC reported.
Shooter profile: Police believe he killed his father earlier in the day and had also been planning on killing himself. Chief Vondrasek said the shooter was an excellent student with no criminal record, although he did own several guns legally and “planned his attack thoroughly.” Currently, officers are working on a theory that ties Thursday’s shooter to the deaths of two people last week in the Klonocicky forest near Prague.
Big picture: Mass shooting in the Czech Republic are rare. Before Thursday, the country’s worst mass shooting was in 2015, when a gunman killed eight and fatally shot himself in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod.

The Midwest and East will experience record warmth this year, instead of a white Christmas.

What’s happening: Warm air is spreading across the U.S. due to a strong jet stream connected to El Niño which is preventing cold air flow from Canada. During Christmas week, places like Dallas and Minneapolis will be 20°F to 35°F warmer than usual, possibly breaking temperature records by 5°F to 10°F. Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota will likely have the warmest conditions relative to average.
Brown Christmas: One of the most reliable regions for a white Christmas - far northern Minnesota and Wisconsin — will probably have bare ground. It will be the first time on record that much of northern Minnesota has not seen snow during the holiday. Midwestern cities are forecasted to be in the low 40s on Christmas morning, with rain falling as well.
Mild winter: The 14.3% of snow cover in the Lower 48 states is the lowest amount since monitoring began in 2003. The absence of snow in the U.S. and Canada is stopping the formation of cold air masses — snow-covered ground usually cools the air more than bare ground. The warmer weather could stick around until mid January when a broad-scale weather pattern shift is predicted to bring snowier conditions.

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