Hochul flamed for asking people to stop ‘leaving’ New York after telling Republicans to ‘get out’ months prior

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Critics of Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., slammed the politician for admitting that her government must “reverse the trend of people leaving our state” on Sunday after she told Republican lawmakers in the state to beat it to Florida last year.

During a January 1 inaugural address following her November re-election, the governor vowed to make New York a better and safer place to live, acknowledging the fact that many New Yorkers have fled the state for other parts of the country in the past year. 

Local CBS anchor Anne McCloy tweeted about the telling moment in Hochul’s address, stating, “In a perhaps unexpected acknowledgment, @GovKathyHochul says New York State ‘must reverse the trend of people leaving our state.’”

NYPD SEARCHING FOR SUSPECTS WANTED FOR STRING OF ARMED ROBBERIES ACROSS NYC

McCloy also noted in the same post that “New York State saw the greatest population decline of any state in the last year according to the most recent U.S. Census data.”

The governor’s statement came several months after she told prominent Republicans to “get out” of New York. 

In August, during her gubernatorial campaign against Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., Hochul lambasted her opponent and his Republican allies, stating, “We’re here to say that the era of Trump and Zeldin and Molinaro – just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. Get out of town.”

Conservatives were outraged by the statement at the time, accusing the governor of “flat out attacking not just GOP politicians, but GOP voters.” Though Hochul insisted the comments were specifically directed at Zeldin, Trump and Molinaro, not voters. 

Conservatives blasted Hochul’s inaugural wish to get people back to New York considering her previous comments. 

On Twitter, reporter Jim Stinson reminded Hochul, “If you tell people to leave, they will. If you over-regulate them and overtax them, they will leave faster.”

The RNC’s Jake Schneider tweeted, “Woman who told Republicans to ‘jump on a bus and head down to Florida’ shocked they listened.”

SUSPECT IN NYC POLICE STABBING MAY HAVE ISLAMIC EXTREMIST TIES

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern asked, “Didn’t she recently tell people that’s if they don’t vote for her then they should just move to Florida?”

Conservative radio host Michael Berry said, “They all moved to Florida. People voted with their feet. The policies of @GovRonDeSantis created a safer, freer & better place to live. When self-described ‘NYC snob’ moved out, they should have just turned out the lights. It’s all about policy.”

Retired U.S. diplomat Alberto Miguel Fernandez summed up Hochul’s problem, tweeting, “New York State missing the citizens that have fled and the future citizens that have been killed in the womb.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin himself slammed his former gubernatorial opponent in a tweet, writing, “Here’s a great place for Hochul to start: Stop telling people to get on a bus and move to Florida if they disagree with your views.”

And National Review national affairs reporter John Fund remarked that Hochul missed her window to solve her state’s crisis. He tweeted, “This is so late, it basically counts as never….”

 

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Dubai nixes its 30% alcohol tax in a bid to attract more tourism

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Media, not the hotels themselves, often label hotels like Burj Al Arab as “six-star” or “seven-star” hotels.
Waitforlight | Moment | Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai is scrapping its 30% tax on alcohol sales for the rest of the year, the emirate’s municipality announced Monday, the latest move in a series of liberalizing policy changes over the last few years aimed at boosting tourism and attracting more foreign residents.

“Dubai Municipality has temporarily stopped collecting the 30% fee from alcoholic beverage companies for a period of one year from the beginning of 01/01/2023 to the end of 12/31/2023. The companies authorized to sell in the Emirate of Dubai have been notified of this decision,” Dubai Municipality wrote in a post from its official Twitter account.

The move is likely a bid to increase tourism and stimulate more business among both visitors and residents as Dubai pushes forward in its goal to become the “happiest place on Earth.” Booze is notoriously pricey in Dubai, with a pint of beer often costing $15 and a glass of wine as much as $20 or more.

Local alcohol distributors announced the news first, with Dubai-based alcoholic beverage chain Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI) writing on its Facebook page on Sunday, “You can now: save 30% municipality tax on alcoholic beverages. We have reflected this across all our pricing!” It added that the UAE’s 5% sales tax (VAT) still applies, however.

It also said that personal liquor licenses, previously a requirement for all Dubai residents for purchasing alcohol in shops and costing 270 dirhams ($73.50), are now free. Before Jan. 1, liquor licenses had to be renewed yearly and had a processing time of about four weeks. Buying alcohol in bars however, did not require any license.

It’s not certain whether the new free licenses will still have the same processing times or renewal requirements. Dubai is also the only emirate in the United Arab Emirates that required residents to obtain a liquor license for in-shop purchases; in five other emirates including Abu Dhabi, no license was required, and in the UAE’s more conservative emirate of Sharjah, the sale of alcohol is not allowed.

Some Dubai residents were unhappy about the abrupt announcement, having recently paid the full fee for their yearly license.

“Just done the licensing couple of days back and paid for it. Can someone explain how to this came about? Why wasn’t this mentioned then?!” one Facebook user wrote in a comment on MMI’s post.

“My husband paid for the license 2 days ago, we wish you had said something! And he didn’t get any vouchers as per mentioned on your page and website. Definitely feel cheated,” another user wrote.

One of the users said MMI offered her a free bottle of wine as compensation, which she described as “not acceptable.” CNBC has reached out to MMI for comment.

VIDEO6:2506:25
The UAE moved its weekend. Here’s what happened next

More broadly, residents celebrated and welcomed the news. The announcement also comes as neighboring Saudi Arabia ramps up its apparent drive to supplant the UAE as the tourism and commercial capital of the region. Saudi Arabia is still a dry country, and its strict laws and largely conservative society are barriers for many prospective foreign residents.

The UAE, by contrast, and in particular its commercial capital of Dubai is home to a diverse 90% expatriate population and has long offered lifestyles comparable to those in the Western world. The city has countless bars, nightclubs and restaurants serving alcohol, conservative dress is not required, every major religion can set up places of worship, and cohabitation before marriage is legal, whereas in Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states it is not.

Woman sunbathers sit along a beach in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 24, 2020, while behind is seen the Burj al-Arab hotel.
KARIM SAHIB | AFP via Getty Images

The UAE also recently changed its Islamic weekend of Friday-Saturday to the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday, to be in line with much of the rest of the world, and began offering a remote worker visa through the coronavirus pandemic as more people adopted a remote work lifestyle.

“Dubai has been a clear standout in terms of the speed of which its tourism market has recovered since the pandemic,” Karim Jetha, chief investment officer at Dubai-based asset management firm Longdean Capital, told CNBC.

“The decision to suspend alcohol taxes follows moves to change its weekend to Saturday-Sunday and the widening of access to long-term residency visas. As a collective, these initiatives are should boost tourism and encourage more expatriates to think of Dubai as their home,” he said.

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Fans raise millions for Damar Hamlin’s toy drive fundraiser after collapse

Just In | The Hill 

Story at a glance

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hamlin is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest following a tackle during the first quarter.

When the game was officially postponed, a GoFundMe for his charity “Chasing M’s” started circulating through social media.

BUFFALO (WPRI) — The NFL community was rocked after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 24-year-old is currently in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest following a tackle during the first quarter.


Bills’ Hamlin in critical condition after collapse on field

Hamlin collapsed at 8:55 p.m., and when he was taken off the field about 19 minutes later, the Bills gathered in prayer. A few minutes after the ambulance left the field, the game was suspended, and players walked off the field slowly and into their locker rooms.

When the game was officially postponed, a GoFundMe for his charity “Chasing M’s” started circulating through social media.

The online toy drive fundraiser was started by Hamlin in 2020 with the then-goal of raising $2,500. Since his collapse, fans have raised more than $3 million as of Tuesday morning.

“Following his injury on the field tonight, fans across the country are showing their support for him and his family by donating to his fundraiser,” GoFundMe tweeted Monday night.


Former Bills react to Damar Hamlin injury

Hamlin spent five years of college at Pittsburgh — his hometown — and appeared in 48 games for the Panthers over that span. He was a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior, and was voted a team captain.

Hamlin was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this season after teammate Micah Hyde suffered an injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Conservative writer David French joining New York Times

Just In | The Hill 

Conservative writer and author David French is joining The New York Times as a columnist, the newspaper announced on Tuesday.

French, who has emerged as a leading critic among conservatives of former President Trump in recent years, helped launch the anti-Trump conservative website “The Dispatch” before spending several years as a writer at The National Review.

The Times, in a note announcing French’s hire, described him as “forthright in his views, yet open to counterargument; sincere in his ideological commitments, yet willing to call out those who normally share his beliefs when he believes they’ve wandered astray.”

French begins at the Times later this month.

“Writing about politics and current affairs in the era of Donald Trump ideally requires a variety of traits that do not always, or even often, go together: factual and intellectual clarity, moral seriousness, and a spirit of generosity toward others and humility toward oneself,” the Times said.

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Victims of Michigan New Year's party shooting identified by police

Authorities have identified two men who died after being shot when a man fired a gun in celebration during a fireworks display at a New Year’s party in western Michigan.

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the shooting killed David Reed, 35, of Waverly Township and Jason McCreary, 40, of Sutter Creek, California.

FLORIDA NEW YEAR’S DAY SHOOTING LEAVES 2 DEAD AND 4 INJURED: POLICE

Reed, who was shot in the back, died at a hospital and McCreary, who was shot in the head, died at the scene, deputies said.

The two men killed by a Michigan man's celebratory New Year's gunfire have been identified as David Reed and Jason McCreary.

The two men killed by a Michigan man’s celebratory New Year’s gunfire have been identified as David Reed and Jason McCreary.
(Fox News)

The shooting happened around 12:05 a.m. Sunday, deputies said.

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOOTING IN SOUTH ALABAMA LEAVES 1 DEAD, 9 INJURED

A 62-year-old man was arrested on multiple counts of reckless discharge of a firearm causing death, WWMT-TV reported.

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Van Buren County is located in southwestern Michigan, where a portion of the county abuts Lake Michigan.

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[World] Kevin McCarthy's Speaker bid threatened by Republican rebels

Kevin McCarthyImage source, Getty Images

Republican Kevin McCarthy is struggling to secure enough support to ensure he wins a vote to become the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Californian congressman must win a majority vote in the House on Tuesday to get the role.

But a group of Republicans are refusing to back him, despite him making a number of last-minute concessions.

Mr McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than a handful of votes from his party if he is to win the vote.

The role of Speaker of the House is one of the most important jobs in US politics.

They control the legislative agenda and timetable in the House, as well as who sits on various committees.

Failure to win the speakership on the first attempt could therefore weaken both Mr McCarthy and the Republicans’ credibility, hampering House Republicans’ plans of acting quickly to investigate the Biden administration as well as President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

How did we get here?

In November’s midterm elections, the Republican Party narrowly secured control of the House of Representatives (the lower chamber of the US Congress) from the Democrats, winning 222 of the 435 seats.

Following the result, the Republican Party’s leader, Mr McCarthy, ran to be the party’s candidate for the new Speaker, and won with 188 votes.

Since then, he has been working to gain the support of Republicans ahead of the opening of the new Congress on Tuesday, when the vote will take place. Thirty five new US senators will also be sworn into the Senate.

If Mr McCarthy wins, he will replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

But some right-wing Republicans are refusing to support him, making his bid for the speakership less certain.

The narrowness of the Republicans’ majority in the House means that Mr McCarthy can only afford to lose four of their votes if he is to secure a majority of 218 and secure the position of speaker.

No Democrats are likely to vote for him.

Why are some Republicans refusing to back him?

Those who oppose Mr McCarthy’s bid for the speakership are Trump-supporting hardliners, dubbed the “Never Kevins” by some.

They include representatives Bob Good and Matt Gaetz, who believe Mr McCarthy represents too much of the mainstream and the establishment.

“I won’t be voting for Kevin McCarthy tomorrow. He’s part of the problem. He’s not part of the solution,” Mr Good told Fox News on Monday. “There’s nothing that indicates to me that he’s going to change his pattern since he’s been in leadership, where he’s part of the swamp cartel.”

“I think he’s just a shill of the establishment,” said Mr Gaetz in an interview with the Daily Caller website last week. “I think that Kevin McCarthy is little more than a vessel through which lobbyists and special interests operate.”

Some may also remain wary of his previous stance towards former President Donald Trump following the Capitol riots in 2021, having originally been critical of the then-President, who he said bore responsibility for the attack.

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Then and now: Kevin McCarthy on Donald Trump and the Capitol riot

What concessions has Mr McCarthy made?

Despite the opposition, Mr McCarthy said he remained confident he would win Tuesday’s vote. “I think we’re going to have a good day tomorrow,” he told reporters on Monday.

But he has had to make a number of concessions in order to try to win over Republicans who remain opposed to him or who remain on the fence.

One of the key demands Republicans have been asking for would make it easier for a small number of representatives to challenge his role as Speaker – weakening his own position in the House.

Mr McCarthy initially refused to acquiesce to the demand. But with time running out to win opposing Republicans over, he unveiled a package of rule changes on Sunday, including changes to how the Speaker could be removed. The concession means that any five Republican party members can call for the Speaker’s removal at any time.

These, however, did not satisfy some right-wing Republicans he was attempting to win over.

A letter released on Sunday, signed by nine Republicans, said Mr McCarthy’s concessions come “almost impossibly late to address continued deficiencies”.

And on Tuesday morning, one of those rebels, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, confirmed he was a definite no vote. “Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be Speaker of the House. He rejected it,” Perry said in a statement.

What happens if no one wins a majority?

No business can be undertaken within the House – not even the swearing in of new members of Congress – until a candidate has been chosen.

So if Mr McCarthy does not win the first vote, members of the House will keep taking part in successive votes until someone wins a majority.

Mr McCarthy has vowed to fight on even if he does not win immediately. And there is no other obvious candidate who could viably challenge for the speakership.

But having to hold more than one vote to decide on the speaker would be embarrassing – not only for Mr McCarthy, but for the Republican party too.

No other candidate running for the speakership for the first time has failed to win in the first vote for 100 years, so such a failure could weaken the Republicans’ credibility within the House.

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Mitch McConnell to set record for longest-serving Senate leader as Kevin McCarthy flounders

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Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is expected to set the all-time record for longest-serving Senate leader Tuesday, even as his counterpart in the House struggles secure the speakership.

McConnell plans to deliver a floor speech acknowledging the new record Tuesday afternoon. He will surpass the late Sen. Mike Mansfield, D-Mont. McConnell has served in the GOP Senate leadership since 2007.

“Designated party floor leaders have been a feature of the Senate for more than a hundred years. And no two have done the job exactly alike,” McConnell is expected to say during his speech, according to Punchbowl News. 

“There’ve been leaders who rose to the job through lower-key, behind-the-scenes styles; who preferred to focus on serving their colleagues rather than dominating them. And that … is how Senator Michael Joseph Mansfield of Montana became the longest-serving Senate leader in American history until this morning,” he will add.

NEWT GINGRICH BLASTS REPUBLICANS WHO OPPOSE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER: ‘IT’S HIM OR CHAOS’

McConnell easily fended off a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., last year to maintain his position as leader. Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is facing an uphill battle to secure the votes he needs to win the speakership on Tuesday.

KEVIN MCCARTHY MAKES MAJOR CONCESSION TO CONSERVATIVES AS HIS SPEAKER BID HANGS BY THREAD

McCarthy requires 218 votes to win the position, meaning he can only afford five Republicans to vote against him. At least 12 are threatening to do so as of Tuesday morning.

The California Republican has offered extensive concessions to his opponents, including allowing any five House members in the majority party to initiate a vote to remove the current speaker. Opponents like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., argue any one representative should be able to force such a vote, as was House policy until former Speaker Nancy Pelosi changed the rule under her leadership.

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McCarthy held a final meeting with the GOP conference Tuesday morning ahead of the noon vote. Allies say he plans to hold as many votes as necessary until he secures the position.

 

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Russia planning 'prolonged' drone attack: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in his New Year address to Ukrainians that Russia is planning a “prolonged” attack with drones supplied by Iran.

In an open letter published Monday, Zelensky said that since the start of 2023, the number of Iranian drones shot down over Ukraine numbers more than eighty.

“This number may increase in the near future. Because these weeks the nights can be quite restless. We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack with ‘Shaheds’. Its bet may be on exhaustion. On exhaustion of our people, our air defense, our energy sector,” he wrote.

Zelensky sought to provide hope and encouragement to Ukrainians and said that the Russian regime needs “mobilizing emotions” to demonstrate to their country that everything is going “according to the plan”.

“And our task is to give Ukraine every day successes, achievements, even small, yet victories over terrorists and terror. Each shot down drone, each shot down missile, each day with electricity for our people and minimal schedules of blackouts are exactly such victories,” he added.

Russia has also deployed a series of exploding drones around Kyiv during the New Year weekend, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. 

Zelensky’s warning comes a week after Ukrainian forces reportedly fired rockets from a U.S.-provided HIMARS multiple launch system in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed.

According to a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry, 63 troops were killed. Ukraine claims it killed around 400 Russian troops. However, neither of these claims have been verified by the U.S.

The Associated Press added that this was one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin’s forces since the war began more than 10 months ago leading to renewed criticism within Russia over the war with Ukraine.

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