Newsletter 12-23-24

Good morning, friends. It’s Monday, December 23rd, 2024, and you need to be getting cozy and settling in for Christmas this week. Here's what's in this issue:

🎄 NORAD Santa Tracker's heartwarming origin
A wrong number to a military hotline in 1955 led to NORAD's Santa Tracker, a global tradition bringing joy to millions.

📰 Biden Commutes Sentences of Almost All Federal Death Row Inmates
"President Biden" commutes the death penalty for 37 of the 40 current federal death row inmates.

🔫 Congress passes the EXPLORE Act
The bipartisan bill mandates new shooting ranges in underserved areas, aiming to improve safety and access for gun owners.

🌊 U.S. Navy pilots survive Red Sea incident
Two Navy pilots ejected safely after being shot down in a 'friendly fire' mishap off the coast of Yemen amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

🚇 New York subway arson suspect arrested
Police apprehend the illegal alien accused of murdering a woman on the Brooklyn subway by lighting her on fire as she slept.

🛠️ KRISS Vector Gen 3 revealed
The 2025 release boasts cutting-edge features for both civilian and military users, enhancing ergonomics and versatility.

Also:

• The Navy faces criticism over $1.84 billion wasted on cruiser rehabs
• Trump’s bold threat to reclaim Panama Canal (we should)
• Massive BlackRock land acquisitions stir controversy in Ukraine

Let's go...

A Wrong Number to a Top-Secret Military Phone Led to NORAD Santa Tracker With Millions of Fans Worldwide

In Short: NORAD's beloved Santa Tracker tradition began in 1955 when a child's misdialed call to a top-secret military hotline prompted Colonel Harry Shoup to embrace the holiday spirit, turning an accidental moment into a worldwide phenomenon.

• The NORAD Santa Tracker began in 1955 when a misprinted Sears ad led a child to accidentally call a top-secret military hotline, asking to speak to Santa Claus.
• Colonel Harry Shoup, responding to the call, embraced the situation by having his team play along, leading to a tradition of tracking Santa's journey on Christmas Eve.
• What started as a lighthearted joke grew into a global holiday tradition, with updates delivered via press releases, radio, TV, and now through digital platforms, including a free app and Amazon Alexa.
• Each year, more than 1,250 volunteers, including multiple generations from families, answer calls, emails, and inquiries about Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve.
• Colonel Shoup, who passed away in 2009, considered creating the Santa Tracker one of the proudest achievements of his life, preserving letters from children as cherished mementos.

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Biden Commutes All but Three Death Row Sentences

In Short: President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment to prevent the resumption of executions under incoming President Donald Trump.

• Only three individuals are still facing execution: Mother of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church shooter Dylann Roof, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Tree of Life Synagogue shooter Robert Bowers.
• Not all mass killers are still on death row, however. Pennsylvania's Kaboni Savage, convicted and sen­tenced to death for his involve­ment in the killings of 12 peo­ple in con­nec­tion with a drug enterprise, had his sentence commuted.

For a list of current death row inmates and their crimes:

Jump to Source: Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates so Trump can’t have them executed

Gun Lobby Applauds Congress for Passing EXPLORE Act

In Short: The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) applauds Congress for the bipartisan passage of the EXPLORE Act, which mandates the construction of public shooting ranges in areas lacking such facilities, thereby enhancing safe recreational shooting access and supporting wildlife conservation efforts while emphasizing substantial public safety benefits.

• Congress passed the EXPLORE Act, including the NSSF-priority Range Access Act, to enhance public shooting range access.
• BLM and USFS must build shooting ranges in areas lacking access, benefiting recreational shooters and hunting safety courses.
• The bill, now awaiting President Biden’s signature, is celebrated as a bipartisan win for gun owners and public safety.
• An immediate advantage is greater access to safe ranges, which is especially important as millions of new gun owners require practice facilities.

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New For 2025: KRISS Vector Gen 3

In Short: KRISS USA has unveiled the Vector Gen 3 for 2025, featuring enhanced ergonomics and customizability through refinements like a reduced pre-travel trigger, redesigned controls, a new magazine well, and adaptable options like AR-15-compatible grips and M-Lok accessory slots, available in various semi-automatic and law enforcement/military formats with different magazine capacities and state-compliant versions.

• Available in five semi-automatic variants: 16" CRB rifle, SBR, SDP pistol, and compliant versions for California and Massachusetts/New Jersey.
• Chambered options include 9 mm Luger, 10 mm Auto, and .45 ACP, with compatibility for Glock magazines and enhanced capacity using KRISS's extension kit.
• MSRPs range from $1,500 to $1,800 depending on the model and state compliance requirements.
• The selective-fire Vector submachine gun, for military and law enforcement, also receives Gen 3 enhancements.

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Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, US military says

In Short: Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in a "friendly fire" incident involving a U.S. warship amidst escalating tensions and ongoing military operations against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

• Both pilots survived the incident after ejecting, with one sustaining minor injuries, highlighting the heightened risks in the region amid ongoing Houthi attacks on shipping and military forces.
• The fighter jet, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 based in Virginia, had launched from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been operating in the Red Sea since mid-December as part of increased U.S. military presence.
• This event occurred during a period of intensified U.S. airstrikes targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have recently attacked approximately 100 merchant vessels and launched drones and missiles at military and civilian targets.

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New York City police apprehend suspect in the death of a woman found on fire in a subway car

In Short: New York City police apprehended an illegal alien suspected of setting a woman on fire in a Brooklyn subway car, a horrific crime captured on surveillance footage and reported by alert teenagers who recognized the suspect from widely shared images.

• New York City police apprehended a suspect in the death of a woman who was set on fire in a stationary subway car in Brooklyn around 7:30 a.m. The woman, believed to have been asleep, did not know her attacker.
• The suspect was identified and captured after high school students recognized him from surveillance and body cam footage. He was found on another subway train with a lighter in his pocket.
• Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the act as “one of the most depraved crimes” and confirmed that subway surveillance cameras, funded through efforts by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (who was quick to take a victory lap somehow), were instrumental in the swift identification and arrest.

Jump to Source: New York City police apprehend suspect in the death of a woman found on fire in a subway car

Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home

In Short: The debate over term and age limits for aging lawmakers in Congress is back at the fore after it was discovered that Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) has been secretly living in a senior health facility and suffering from dementia. The aged lawmaker had not been at work since July and calls to her office routinely went unanswered. We now know this is because she's been in a home.

• Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), who has been dealing with worsening health challenges, including dementia, has been living in an independent senior living facility in Fort Worth since July and has not voted in Congress since then.
• The lack of transparency about Granger's condition has reignited debates in Congress about the age and health of its members, prompting calls for term limits and better disclosure of elected officials' health statuses.

Jump to Source: Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home

Missing Radiation Source Found in New Jersey; State, Federal Agencies Say They Did Not Use Drones To Look For It

In Short: State and federal agencies confirmed they did not deploy drones to search for a missing Germanium-68 radiation source in New Jersey, which was recovered days after unexplained drone sightings sparked public speculation.

• A small radiation source, Germanium-68, went missing in New Jersey on December 2 and was recovered on December 10. It was repackaged and returned to its manufacturer.
• State and federal agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), clarified that they did not use drones to locate the missing material, despite widespread drone sightings in New Jersey during this time.
• The missing Germanium-68 isotope is used to produce Gallium-68, which is essential for PET scans, a procedure used to detect cancer and evaluate other medical conditions.

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‘Navy wasted $1.84 billion’: GAO slams cruiser-rehab effort

In Short: The Navy’s poorly planned and mismanaged cruiser modernization effort, mandated by Congress despite the service's objections, wasted $1.84 billion on ships that never redeployed and highlights critical flaws in oversight and coordination.

• The Navy spent $3.7 billion on a poorly planned modernization effort for Ticonderoga-class cruisers, with $1.84 billion wasted on four ships that were decommissioned without ever deploying again.
• The Government Accountability Office criticized the Navy for lacking key planning tools, oversight mechanisms, and quality assurance during the modernization process, leading to 9,000 contract changes, cost overruns, and delays.
• Out of the 11 cruisers initially planned for modernization, only three (Gettysburg, Chosin, and Cape St. George) will complete the effort, and none will achieve the intended five additional years of service life.

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Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over ‘ridiculous’ fees

In Short: Donald Trump has threatened to reclaim control of the Panama Canal from Panama over what he deems excessive fees and potential Chinese influence, signaling a more confrontational approach to global trade and diplomacy ahead of his second presidency.

• Trump described the canal as a "vital national asset" and "crucial" for US commerce and national security, indicating concerns about current management practices.
• The Panama Canal, completed by the US in 1914 and handed over to Panama in 1999 after the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977, is currently administered by the Panama Canal Authority. The US remains its largest customer, while China is the second-largest.
• The canal has seen a significant decline in ship transits—29% over the past fiscal year—primarily due to an ongoing drought affecting its operational capacity.
• The Nicaraguan government recently announced plans for an alternative interoceanic canal, reaching out to Chinese and US investors, further complicating regional dynamics around maritime trade routes.

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U.S. Corporate Land Grab in Ukraine Underlies War With Russia

In Short: Western corporations, primarily from the U.S., are exploiting Ukraine's fertile farmland through controversial land privatization reforms implemented under Volodymyr Zelensky, raising concerns about corporate profiteering, displacement of local farmers, and geopolitical motives tied to foreign aid and military support during the ongoing conflict.

• Ukrainian farmland, considered some of the most fertile in the world, has been sold on a massive scale to U.S. private equity firms like BlackRock, Cargill, and Goldman Sachs, as well as Saudi agro-industrial businesses, following land reform laws initiated under President Zelensky in 2021.
• Approximately 5 million hectares of land—equivalent to the size of two Crimeas—have reportedly been acquired by corporations as part of a Western-backed structural adjustment program, despite widespread opposition from Ukrainians fearing corruption and land concentration.
• Critics claim that U.S. corporate land acquisitions reflect broader geopolitical motives, enabling the U.S. to consolidate economic and political influence in a post-war Ukraine, further intertwining military aid with private profit-making ventures.

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Tether Takes $775M Stake in Video-Sharing Platform Rumble; RUM Shares Soar 41%

In Short: Tether has made a $775 million strategic investment in video-sharing platform Rumble, sparking a 41% surge in RUM shares, with plans for collaboration on advertising, cloud, and crypto payment solutions.

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