STORM DELIVERS RECORD SNOW IN PENNSYLVANIA
PA.» A Christmas storm ERIE, dumped a record amount of snow on Erie and surrounding areas. The National Weather Service office says Monday’s storm left 34 inches of snow, a daily snowfall record for Erie.
An additional 19 inches fell before dawn Tuesday, bringing the total to 53 inches, the greatest two-day total in commonwealth’s history. The previous record was the 44 inches that fell in Morgantown in March 1958.
Trump predicts Republicans, Democrats will agree on health care plan.
PALM BEACH,
FLA.» President Donald Trump is predicting that Democrats and Republicans eventually will come together on a new health care plan for the country.
Sending a Twitter post early Tuesday from his Florida resort, Trump said “the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate has been terminated as part of our Tax Cut Bill, which essentially Repeals (over time) Obamacare.”
Much of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act remains intact, however, and the sign-up period for the various options was carried out as normal this year.
Kremlin says call for election boycott may be illegal.
The Kremlin hinted Tuesday at possible legal repercussions for Russian opposition leader Alexei
Rochelle Carlotti, 28, on Tuesday shovels steps near her home after a record snowfall in Erie, Pa. The National Weather Service office said the storm, spanning Monday and Tuesday, brought 53 inches of snow to the area.
Greg Wohlford, Erie Times-News Navalny over his calls for a boycott of the March presidential election.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, wouldn’t comment on the Election Commission’s decision to bar Navalny from running but said the “calls for boycott ought to be carefully studied to see if they are breaking the law.”
As expected, Russia’s top election body on Monday formally barred Navalny from a presidential run. Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and Putin’s most prominent rival, promptly put out a video statement saying that the ban shows “Putin is terribly scared and is afraid of running against me.” He called on supporters to stay away from the vote in protest.
Trump administration eases rule against killing birds.
The Interior Department quietly has rolled back an Obama-era policy aimed at protecting migratory birds, stating in a solicitor’s opinion that it will no longer prosecute oil and gas, wind and solar operators that accidentally kill birds.
The new interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, issued Friday, marks a win for energy interests that described the federal government’s previous position as overreaching. On Jan. 10, before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Interior Department had issued an opinion declaring that operators could face legal liability for the incidental deaths of birds ensnared in uncovered oil-waste pits or unmarked transmission lines. The law in question, enacted in 1918, makes it illegal to “pursue, hunt, take, capture” migratory birds without a permit, and the dispute centers largely on how to interpret “take.”
In the new opinion, Daniel Jorjani, the department’s principal deputy solicitor, wrote that applying the law “to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of Damocles over a host of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 fine for each and every bird injured or killed.”
Before joining the Trump administration, Jorjani worked as general counsel for Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a project of the billionaire oil executives Charles and David Koch.
White House to cut back magnolia tree planted by Andrew Jackson.
WASHINGTON» The enormous magnolia tree stood watch by the South Portico of the White House for nearly two centuries. Its dark green, glossy leaves shaded politicians and heads of state. Its ivory flowers bloomed through times of peace and war. It is the oldest tree on the White House grounds, a witness to Easter egg rolls and state ceremonies, a resignation, a plane crash, all the tumult and triumph of 39 presidencies.
But the iconic magnolia is now too old and badly damaged to remain in place, the White House announced Tuesday. At the recommendation of specialists from the National Arboretum, first lady Melania Trump called for a large portion of the tree to be removed this week.
The decision, first reported by CNN, comes after decades of attempts to hold the aged tree up with a steel pole and cables. Arboretum experts said that rigging is now compromised and that the wood of the magnolia’s trunk is too delicate for further interventions. Any other tree in that condition would have been cut down years ago.
Fruitcake temporarily halts ferry service.
SEATTLE» Authorities say a wrapped present that turned out to be a fruitcake temporarily halted service at a Seattle ferry terminal while police investigated.
Trooper Kevin Fortino said the State Patrol was notified Tuesday that a suspicious package was found beneath a Christmas tree in the pedestrian waiting area. Fortino says the package was suspicious because it was unmarked and was the only gift under the tree.
Officials evacuated the terminal and kept inbound ferries away for about a half-hour while the bomb squad investigated.
Fortino says the gift was found to be a fruitcake.
He says it wasn’t clear why it was left at the terminal.