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Hearing, document release likely in Idaho slayings case

January 4, 2023 Published by

Top News: US & International Top News Stories Today | AP News 

An Indiana sheriff’s deputy gave Bryan Kohberger a verbal warning for following too closely, about a month after four University of Idaho students were killed. Kohberger was later found in Pennsylvania and charged in the killings (Jan. 4)

Bryan Kohberger is escorted by law enforcement after arriving at Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Pullman, Wash. Kohberger was extradited from Pennsylvania earlier Thursday, for the alleged murder of four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13, 2022. (Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune via AP)

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The man accused in the November slayings of four University of Idaho students is back in Idaho, where he’s charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, and could make his first court appearance as early as Thursday.

Bryan Kohberger’s return to the state also means sealed documents that could answer key questions in the closely watched case will soon be released publicly.

Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student at Washington State University, was flown by Pennsylvania State Police to a small regional airport near the Idaho border and handed over to local authorities Wednesday evening. Uniformed law enforcement officers were waiting on the tarmac for the plane to land, and then escorted the handcuffed Kohberger to a caravan of five vehicles for the short drive from Washington across the Idaho border.

The public release of court documents could shed some light on Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson’s reasons for accusing Kohburger in the Nov. 13 stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin and answer key questions about how authorities built a case against him.

Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania last week and agreed to be extradited to Idaho. His attorney Jason LaBar said Kohberger was eager to be exonerated and described him as “an ordinary guy.” The attorney said that Kohberger would be represented by the chief public defender in Idaho’s Kootenai County upon his return to the state.

Hub peek embed (Crime) – Compressed layout (automatic embed)

Police have released few details about the investigation and a magistrate judge has issued a sweeping gag order barring attorneys, law enforcement agencies and other officials from discussing the criminal case.

The nighttime attack at a Moscow home near the University of Idaho campus spread fear through the surrounding community, as authorities seemed stumped by the brutal stabbings. Investigators appeared to make a breakthrough, however, after searching for a white sedan that was seen around the time of the killings and analyzing DNA evidence collected from the crime scene.

Investigators have said they were still searching for a motive and the weapon used in the attack.

The bodies of Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington, were found Nov. 13 at the rental home where the women lived. Kernodle and Chapin were dating, and he had been visiting the house that night.

Latah County, Idaho, prosecutors have said they believe Kohberger broke into the victims’ home intending to commit murder.

Although Moscow police have been tightlipped about the investigation, investigators last month asked the public for help finding a white sedan that was seen near the scene of the crime — specifically, a 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra. Tips poured in and investigators soon announced they were sifting through a pool of around 20,000 potential vehicles.

Meanwhile, Kohberger apparently stayed in Pullman, Washington, through the end of the semester at WSU. Then he drove across country to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, accompanied by his father. They were in a white Elantra.

While driving through Indiana, Kohberger was pulled over twice on the same day — first by a Hancock County Sheriff’s deputy and a few minutes later by an Indiana state trooper.

Body camera video of the first stop released by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office shows Kohberger behind the wheel and his father in the passenger seat on Dec. 15. Both men told the law enforcement officer that they were traveling from WSU before the officer sent them on their way with a warning for following too closely.

The Indiana State Police released bodycam footage of the second stop. The agency said that at the time, there was no information available to the trooper that would have identified Kohberger as a suspect in the killings. Kohberger was again given a warning for following too closely.

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Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Manuel Valdes in Seattle contributed to this story.

 

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Winnebago Teases New Electric RV Concept Based On The Ford E-Transit

January 4, 2023 Published by

Carscoops 

Winnebago will present the world with its second all-electric RV concept on January 18, 2023, at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa. Although the zero-emission prototype is still heavily camouflaged, a shot of the interior—specifically the Ford-badged steering wheel—reveals that this new RV concept will be based on the blue oval’s platform.

The Ford badge on the exterior, though, has been replaced by Winnebago’s own W logo, which rests in the center of a hexagonal grille, and above a charging port. Both elements are located in similar locations as the standard E-Transit’s, though higher on the grille, which also appears to differ slightly from the factory Ford’s.

The headlights, too, are different from the Ford E-Transit’s. Thanks to the LED light ring around their perimeter, they look more like the Ford Puma’s lights. Similar lighting elements were seen on a preproduction version of the 2024 Transit Courier small van testing in Europe in September.

Read: The Winnebago e-RV Concept Previews The Electric Motorhome Of The Future

While it’s unclear what all of this means, what is clear is that this new Winnebago will mark an update over the concept RV that it revealed at the Florida RV SuperShow in 2022. That model was equipped with an 86 kWh battery pack that was capable of taking holidayers up to 125 miles (201 km) on a charge.

Although that might not sound like a lot, Winnebago argued last year that it was enough to cover the needs of around 54 percent of RV buyers, who prefer to make drives of less than 200 miles (322 km) per day.

That concept included a rooftop air-conditioner, a shower, a marine-grade refrigerator, a bathroom, residential-grade Wi-Fi, and more. This new model, though, looks like it will attempt to improve the camping experience with a roof-mounted solar array that’s likely to help handle some of the electrical load while the RV is parked.

If you’re looking forward to seeing what new technology Winnebago has planned for the electric future of RVing, check back in with us on January 18 for full details when they become available.

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[World] China Covid: EU officials ‘strongly’ urge testing for travel

January 4, 2023 Published by

BBC News world 

EPA

People arriving from China in London on Tuesday. England – outside the EU – is asking for pre-departure tests for Chinese arrivals from Wednesday
By Kathryn Armstrong
BBC News

European Union officials are “strongly” recommending that all member states insist on negative Covid tests from Chinese arrivals before they travel.

Travel in and out of China gets easier from Sunday, as part of the scrapping of the “zero-Covid” policy.

China is currently seeing a surge in Covid cases, with reports of hospitals and crematoriums being overwhelmed.

Some EU countries have already introduced testing – despite earlier advice that it was “unjustified”.

Wednesday’s recommendation on negative tests came from the EU’s Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR), a body made up of officials from the EU’s 27 governments.

It also advised that:

All passengers on flights to and from China wear face masksRandom testing of flights from China be introduced, andWastewater monitoring be conducted at airports.

The recommendation comes a day after the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, said an “overwhelming” number of member states favoured restrictions on Chinese arrivals.

France, Spain and Italy have already introduced testing – but others, such as Germany, had been monitoring the situation. England, outside the EU, requires pre-flight testing on China arrivals from Wednesday.

Despite the recommendation, it’s not known if an EU-wide policy will be introduced – but individual states can set their own policy.

The advice from the IPCR is a change in tack from the body’s disease prevention agency, which last week advised against the introduction of mandatory Covid tests.

The ECDC said testing was “unjustified”, given the high rates of vaccination in Europe, and that variants circulating in China were already in the European Union.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said there was no evidence of new variants in China, despite the surge in cases. However, experts warned this could be due to a lack of testing and data.

The WHO has also said that China was under-representing the true impact of Covid in the country – in part due to what they said was a “too narrow” definition of a Covid death.

Beijing has confirmed only 22 deaths since December, which is at odds with data from analysts.

The UK science data company Airfinity estimates there are more than two million Covid cases a day in China, and 14,700 deaths.

The Chinese government suggested earlier this week that travel restrictions on Chinese arrivals are politically motivated – and has warned that it may retaliate.

 

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EXPLAINER: Why has Syria’s economic crisis hit a new low?

January 4, 2023 Published by

Top News: US & International Top News Stories Today | AP News 

A woman sits by a wood heater in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2022. Syria’s economy has hit its lowest point since the country’s civil war began nearly 12 years ago, with severe fuel shortages in both government and rebel-held areas, spiraling inflation and the Syrian currency hitting an all-time low on the black market. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s economy has hit its lowest point since the start of its civil war nearly 12 years ago, with spiraling inflation, a currency plunge and severe fuel shortages in both government-run and rebel-held areas.

Life in Damascus has come to a near standstill. Streets are almost empty of cars, households receive a few hours a day of electricity at best, and the cost of food and other essentials has skyrocketed.

The increasing economic pain has led to protests in areas controlled by the government of President Bashar Assad, sometimes met by a violent response.

Here’s a look at why the economic situation has gotten so dire and at the potential implications.

HOW BAD IS THE CRISIS?

The Syrian pound hit an all-time low of 7,000 pounds to the dollar on the black market last week before rebounding to around 6,000. It’s still a significant plunge, given the rate was around 3,600 one year ago. The central bank increased the official exchange rate from 3,015 to 4,522 on Monday, apparently trying to entice people to use the official rate rather than trade in the black market.

Amid fuel shortages, the government has hiked the price of gasoline and diesel. At the official price, 20 liters (5 gallons) of gas now cost nearly a full month’s salary for an average civil servant, which is about 150,000 Syrian pounds, or $25 at the black market rate. Some employees have stopped showing up for work because they can’t afford transportation.

Hub peek embed (Russia-Ukraine) – Compressed layout (automatic embed)

Since wages don’t come close to meeting the cost of living, most people “live on remittances, they live on two or three jobs and on humanitarian assistance,” said Joseph Daher, a Swiss-Syrian researcher and professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, told the U.N. Security Council on Dec. 21 that the “needs of the Syrian people have reached the worst levels since the conflict began.”

Protests have broken out in some government-controlled areas, particularly in the towns of Sweida and Daraa in the south. In Sweida last month, a protester and a police officer were killed after a demonstration turned violent.

WHAT IS DRIVING THE DETERIORATION?

Apart from years of war, sanctions and widespread corruption, Syria’s economy has gone through a series of shocks since 2019, beginning with the collapse of Lebanon’s financial system that year.

“Given the open borders between Syria and Lebanon and both of them (being) increasingly cash based economies,” their markets are inextricably linked, said Nasser Saidi, a former Lebanese economy minister The currency collapse and removal of subsidies in Lebanon has driven devaluation and higher prices in Syria, he said.

Syria was also hurt by the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has driven up global fuel prices and pulled away the attention and resources of Damascus’s ally, Moscow.

But the most crucial factor is a recent slowdown in oil shipments from Iran, which has been Damascus’s main source of fuel since the early years of the conflict, analysts said. Before the war, Syria was an oil exporting country. Now its largest oil fields, in the country’s east, are controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led groups, so Damascus must import oil.

Jihad Yazigi, an economist and editor-in-chief of the Syria Report, noted that Damascus buys oil from Iran on credit, but “when they sell the oil into the markets…they sell it for cash.” So the oil supply showdown also diminishes the government’s cash supply.

Syria’s Oil Minister Bassam Toamah, speaking to state TV in November, blamed fuel shortages on Western sanctions and lengthy delays in oil supplies, without explaining the reasons for the delays.

Iran officials did not respond to a request for comment.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN OPPOSITION-CONTROLLED AREAS?

Every year, residents of makeshift displacement camps in the last rebel-held stronghold in the northwestern province of Idlib suffer through storms and freezing weather.

This winter, they have also been hit by the economic crisis in neighboring Turkey, which controls large swaths of territory, as well as by rising prices and shrinking aid caused by the Ukraine war, analysts said. Idlib has seen lengthy fuel lines.

Meanwhile, a recurrent battle between Russia and other international players over allowing aid to cross the border from Turkey into northwest Syria is playing out at the United Nations.

A six-month extension of the cross-border aid mechanism is set to expire Tuesday, with a vote by the U.N. Security Council to renew it scheduled the day before. Russia wants the aid deliveries to come through Damascus, arguing that the aid coming from Turkey is exploited by armed groups and that the international community is providing insufficient help to people in government-held areas.

Humanitarian organizations, however, paint a dire picture of the consequences of cutting off the cross-border assistance.

Tanya Evans, country director for the International Rescue Committee, said that fuel and food prices are rising, while funding for humanitarian aid is shrinking. This along with winter weather and a cholera outbreak “will be a deadly mix should the only lifeline left to this part of Syria be closed,” she said.

COULD ANOTHER MASS UPRISING OCCUR?

If the crisis continues, there will likely be more protests, analysts said. But they largely dismissed the possibility of a new nationwide anti-government uprising like the one that erupted in 2011, prompting a bloody crackdown that threw the country into civil war.

Daher noted that recent protests have been fragmented and localized.

For now, he said, the country will likely continue to limp along with the help of aid and remittances from abroad. Syrians surveyed as part of a soon-to-be-published study reported receiving on average $100 to $200 a month from relatives abroad, Daher said.

“People are very tired and thinking first of all to survive,” he said. “And there’s no political alternative to translate this socio-economic frustration into a political one.”

___

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Albert Aji in Damascus, and Ghaith al-Sayed in Idlib, Syria, contributed to this report.

 

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Alpine slopes face snow shortage in unseasonably warm winter

January 4, 2023 Published by

GENEVA (AP) — Much of the Alps just don’t look right for this time of year. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in Europe’s central mountains are allowing grass to blanket hillsides across the region, causing headaches for ski slope operators and aficionados of Alpine white.

Patches of grass, rock and dirt were visible Monday in some of Europe’s skiing meccas — like Innsbruck in Austria, Villars-sur-Ollon and Crans-Montana in Switzerland, and Germany’s Lenggries and far beyond. The dearth of snow has revived concerns about temperature upheaval linked to climate change.

On a swath stretching from France to Poland, but with the Alps at the center, many parts of Europe were enjoying short-sleeve weather. A weather map showed Poland racking up daily highs in the double digits Celsius — or more than 50 Fahrenheit — in recent days.

It’s a sharp contrast to the frigid weather and blizzards in parts of the United States late last year.

Swiss state forecaster MeteoSuisse pointed to some of the hottest temperatures ever this time of year. A weather station in Delemont, in the Jura range on the French border, already hit a record average daily temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius (nearly 65 Fahrenheit) on the first day of the year, over 2-1/2 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record high for January. Other cities and towns followed suit with records.

MeteoSuisse quipped on its blog: “… this turn of the new year could almost make you forget that it’s the height of winter.”

Forecaster Anick Haldimann of MeteoSuisse said a persistent weather system that brought in warmer air from the west and southwest has lingered, locking in warmer temperatures expected to last through the week. While slopes above 2,000 meters (over 6,500 feet) have gotten snow, lower down, “the order of the day is patience” for skiing buffs, she said.

The shortage has been particularly burdensome around Switzerland’s Adelboden, which is set to host World Cup skiing on Saturday, and generally draws 25,000 fans for a single day of racing. Resorts like these look for such races to offer up bucolic wintertime images to draw amateur skiers, but grassy, brown sides to the course can mar the landscape — and dampen the appeal.

Course director Toni Hadi acknowledged that the race will be run on 100% artificial snow this year.

“The climate is a bit changing but what should we do here? Shall we stop with life?” he said by phone, noting that other challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and war show “life is not easy” these days.

“Everything is difficult — not only to prepare a ski slope,” Hadi said.

The start to 2023 picked up where many countries had already left off: Last year was the hottest on record in both Switzerland and France. More broadly, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record. Its final tally on global temperature figures for 2022 will be released in mid-January.

Next door in France, national weather agency Meteo France said 2022 ended with some of the warmest weather the country has ever experienced at this time of year — capping an exceptionally warm year that saw temperature records broken and rampant forest fires and drought conditions.

Meteo France says the southern Alps and, in the northern Alps, slopes above 2,200 meters, have seen close to normal snowfalls. But snow is notably lacking at lower altitudes in the northern Alps and across the Pyrenees, it said.

To be sure, the Alps cover a lot of territory and not all of it is bereft of snow: Perhaps counterintuitively, some of the best snowfall has been reported in the Italian Dolomites, to the south of the Swiss Alps.

Early in the ski season, fortunes looked bright for snow lovers: In France, freezing weather into mid-December raised hopes that ski resorts in the Alps, the Pyrenees and elsewhere might see plenty of early snow and the lasting subzero temperatures needed to keep runs open.

But exceptionally warm weather followed, prompting some resorts at lower altitudes to close down as snow cover melted away.

“There was a good start to the season with a cold wave in mid-December which provided some white to pretty much everyone. Then, last week, there was quite a bit of rain and warm temperatures, so a certain number of runs had to close again,” Laurent Reynaud of the Domaines Skiables de France industry group that represents French ski resorts, lift operators and others, said on C-News television.

Germany too has seen unusually springlike temperatures — as high as 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country on Monday. New Year’s Eve is believed to have been the warmest since reliable records began. The German Weather Service reported readings of 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) and just above at four weather stations in southern Germany, news agency dpa reported.

Wim Thiery, a professor of climate science at the University of Brussels, said the same jet stream that pulled down cold air from the Arctic into the U.S. has fanned warm air from subtropical zones into Europe. He warned that climate change hasn’t finished its work — unless people cut use of fuels that trap heat in the atmosphere.

”By the end of the century (it’s) just going to be over … skiing in the Alps as we know it,” he said, adding that lower-altitude mountain areas already feel the impact. “In the future, these problems will get worse, because the snow will continue to melt as long as the climate warms.”

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Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.

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Biden speaks with parents of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin

January 4, 2023 Published by

Just In | The Hill 

President Biden on Wednesday spoke with the parents of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is in the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest on the field Monday night.

Biden spoke to Hamlin’s mother and father “at length,” he told reporters upon arriving back at the White House from a trip to Kentucky.

Hamlin, 24, is in intensive care at a Cincinnati hospital. The Bills player went into cardiac arrest in the first quarter of the team’s game on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals after making a tackle.

Medical personnel performed CPR on the field before loading him into an ambulance. The game was suspended, and the NFL has not said whether it will be made up at any point.

The Bills tweeted on Wednesday that Hamlin is still in critical condition “with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight.”

“He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him,” the team tweeted.

The president earlier Wednesday was asked about the dangers of football, acknowledging that it was unavoidable.

“I think working like hell on the helmets and the concussion protocols, that all makes a lot of sense. But … it is dangerous. We’ve got to just acknowledge it,” he said.

The White House had previously said Biden was aware of what had happened in the game and that officials were hoping Hamlin’s condition improves.

“We hope his condition and his health improves quickly, and like the rest of the nation our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and his teammates,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.

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Mark Cuban's Plans Pose Major Threat to CVS and Walgreens

January 4, 2023 Published by

Mark Cuban wants to start 2023 riding the momentum he’s developed as the chief disruptor of the pharmaceutical industry. 

In one year the 64-year-old tech entrepreneur has managed to do what Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Jamie Dimon could not do by uniting their names, their influence and the power of their respective companies: sharply reduce the prices of pharmaceuticals in the U.S.

To do this, Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, co-founded the online pharmacy CostPlus Drug. 


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California governor declares state of emergency ahead of winter storms

January 4, 2023 Published by

Just In | The Hill 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency Wednesday as the Golden State braces for winter storms.

The declaration allows Newsom to mobilize the National Guard to aid in disaster response and obtain assistance from the Federal Highway Administration if necessary. The state has also secured equipment and personnel to quickly respond to disasters such as flash flooding, avalanches and mud flows, Newsom said in a statement Wednesday.

The proclamation comes as the National Weather Service has projected heavy rain and snow in coming days. Late December and last weekend, the state saw two so-called atmospheric rivers, long, narrow corridors of vapor that bring high winds and flooding.

The system is projected to bring heavy rains to the northern and central parts of the state and potential flooding in southern California as well. With much of the state’s soil already saturated from earlier rainfall, the state is at higher risk of spillover effects like falling trees. The storms have already led to two reported deaths, including a Santa Cruz resident killed by a falling tree and a motorist who drowned in Sacramento County, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Northern California is subject to a high wind watch, with officials warning of wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour.

“California is mobilizing to keep people safe from the impacts of the incoming storm,” Newsom said in a statement. “This state of emergency will allow the state to respond quickly as the storm develops and support local officials in their ongoing response.”

The governor’s office is particularly warning residents to avoid any non-essential driving Wednesday night and Thursday morning and to develop contingency plans for alternative sources of power if necessary.

At least one city, Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, announced evacuation orders for a number of at-risk neighborhoods

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Former Ohio lawmaker ignites Twitter debate over jobs, need for ‘side hustles’: ‘Does that mean I’m poor?’

January 4, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Former Ohio lawmaker and left-wing activist Nina Turner sparked a Twitter debate about the job market after tweeting that “side hustles” shouldn’t need to exist.

“Side hustles shouldn’t need to exist,” Turner wrote Monday. “One job should be enough.” 

Several users replied with their explanations as to why one job is not always enough in the current U.S. economy.

TWITTER ERUPTS AFTER BEING ASKED TO DEFINE ‘WOKE’: ‘MARXIST OPPRESSION NARRATIVES’

“One job would be enough if the State didn’t take its undeserved cut from each and every paycheck,” the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania replied.

Others explained why they work multiple jobs, and suggested Turner’s argument was arrogant.

JOB OPENINGS REMAIN ELEVATED IN NOVEMBER DESPITE FED EFFORTS TO COOL LABOR MARKET

“People should be free to work and make as much as they want. It should not be up to government to shackle anyone to any specific job,” another user said.

Some, though, high-fived Turner’s argument. 

“Countries need to speed up their economic transformation. Side hustles and advances that come with getting good jobs for young people are evidence of a failed economy @ninaturner you so right,” one user said.

NOVEMBER JOBS REPORT WAS NOT A BLOWOUT, IT WAS A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

“Yes! I was talking to someone today about how messed up it is that needing more than one job to just meet living expenses is so normalized and how wrong that is. Imagine living in a country where no matter what job you have you have enough money to afford a 1br [1 bedroom] on your own,” comic artist Jason Piperberg wrote.

U.S. job growth rose faster than expected in November despite higher interest rates and soaring inflation. Employers added 263,000 jobs that month, according to the Labor Department.

But some analysts have argued it’s nothing to celebrate.

“The seemingly robust headline number of 263,000 jobs comes from the establishment survey of businesses, while the unemployment rate comes from the household survey,” The Heritage Foundation’s E.J. Antoni wrote. “But the household survey also has a measure of employment, and that fell by 138,000. In fact, the household survey has been flat since March of this year, with essentially no jobs added over that time.”

It’s not the first time Turner, the former co-chair for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, ignited a Twitter debate. When she challenged Twitter CEO Elon Musk last month to define the word “woke,” she got several entertaining responses from social media users who took the opportunity to slam the progressive movement as being based on “Marxist oppression narratives,” or “radical socialism philosophy.” 

 

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10 Unique Planners for Every Habit You Want To Build In 2023 (No, It’s *Not* Too Late To Get One)

January 4, 2023 Published by

Well+Good 

Whether you set resolutions, goals, or intentions, suffice it to say that the glimmering promise of the new year has inspired us all to embrace some form of change, big or small, in 2023. And if you’re the kind of person who lives by lists and planners, you’re probably in the process of swapping out your outdated stationery in favor of fresh, blank pages. But before you add that run of the mill planner to your cart, consider how your new planner can help you stick with new habits more effectively. It’s not about what you can write in your planner, but what your planner can do for you.

Say you want to start budgeting this year, for example. A planner with financial tracking sections for daily expenses, bills, and savings goals would serve you way better than the typical daily, weekly, or monthly calendar layouts found in most planners. If 2023 is the year of reprioritizing you, get yourself a planner that puts self care first. If you want to order less takeout, there are food-specific planners that’ll help you plan meals at home and drop some essential cooking tips along the way. And if you want to hit a fitness goal or just work more movement into your daily routine, there are planners for that too. (Pro-tip: You can also follow our Renew Year 2023 plan to help you achieve some of these goals as a W+G community!)

To save you the trouble of having to find all of these amazing planners yourself, though, we scoured the web to find the best planners for every habit you want to build in the new year.

The best planners if you want to…

 

Save money

Clever Fox, Budget Planner — $22.00

If you want to take charge of your finances this year, this Clever Fox Budget Planner will help you do it. The user-friendly planner has everything from pages to list your financial goals, expenses, savings, and debt trackers, to monthly budget charts and yearly spending recaps. What’s more, it has over 19,900 5-star ratings on Amazon, so it’s clearly delivering. Reviewers love the comprehensive instructions that make filling it out easy, and the motivating stickers (that highlight important due dates, pay days, and financial milestones) that make tracking your finances fun.

“What I love about this journal is that it has just enough structure to be helpful, but enough flexibility to use it the way that works best for you,” wrote one Amazon shopper in a 5-star review. Another shopper says she bought hers as part of a 2020 New Years resolution, and has been using it ever since! “I needed something that would really make me think about how I spend my hard earned money and make goals about how I was going to achieve better spending habits. This book does exactly that.”


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Boost productivity at work

Smart Planner, Smart Planner Pro — $17.00

Originally $35, now $17

For folks with a steadily growing to-do list, the Smart Planner Pro will help you boost productivity and get the absolute most out of your work day. The non-dated, hard cover planner includes weekly and monthly layouts that break down even the most hectic of work days into manageable chunks. The monthly layout provides space to brainstorm, take notes, set affirmations, and keep track of looming deadlines; while the weekly section delivers plenty of space to track daily habits and to-dos, highlight priority projects, and keep an hourly schedule. What’s more, it comes with four sticker sheets that add color to your work week and block off important events like meetings and PTO.

Among the 800 5-star reviews, the Smart Planner’s straightforward layout and durable, high-quality feel are key standouts. “I love how I can see my entire week on a single spread, and each day broken up by hour,” wrote one shopper in a 5-star review. “It has REALLY helped me stay on top of meetings, appointments, homework and project deadlines throughout my graduate program. I recommend this planner to everyone who notices it, and will continue to get these forever!”


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Level up your fitness

Cossac, Fitness Journal & Workout Planner — $19.00

If you’re looking to improve your fitness level in the new year, consider this Cossac Workout Planner your newest gym bag essential. The hardcover spiral planner has 140 day’s worth of exercise logs—where you can record your exercises, sets, weights used, and more—motivating goal sheets, monthly calendar pages to track the frequency of your workouts, and spaces to record your own personal fitness stats to better understand your progress. The flexible, fitness-forward layouts are whatever you make them, making this workout planner a must for anyone who wants to get more movement in this year, regardless of their unique goals or fitness level.

“I am on my 3rd one!” wrote one Amazon shopper in a 5-star review. “I have been using fitness journals for years, but wanted a change to fit my own needs. This one does it, and it is sturdy and nice-looking as a bonus.”


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Cook more

Poketo, Food Planner — $28.00

Whether you’re trying to order less takeout, improve your cooking skills, or just be more mindful about what you eat in 2023, this design-forward food planner is thoughtfully designed to help you do it. Between its gorgeous, graphic covers, you’ll find 128 high quality pages with layouts that include open-ended prompts (like “what was the best thing you ate this year?”), shopping lists, recipe pages, an open dated weekly calendar to help plan out meals, and an always useful measurement guide that’ll save you time in the kitchen.

“I work as a chef and this planner has changed the game for me,” wrote one Poketo customer in a 5-star review. “This little gem has everything you need to keep things organized, prevent food waste, and ensure you stay on top of the food game. I highly recommend it to anyone no matter the degree of cook you might be.”


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Go on more trips

Lamare, Travel Journal — $14.00

This Lamare Travel Journal is a must for staying on top of your 2023 travel plans. Designed to accommodate six trips, the undated, hardcover planner is complete with a map page to mark your destinations, bucket list pages to jot down activities and sights to see, budget pages to help keep track of spending, and journaling pages primed for documenting the highlights of your trips, and attach photos along the way. Factor in the modern design on the cover and the spiral binding, and you’ve got yourself a travel planner you’ll want to take with you on all of your adventures this year.

“Perfect for someone who likes to track budgets, flights, packing, and memories,” shared one Amazon customer in a 5-star review. “Nice hardcover, cute design, and a good size. I think this travel book will be quite useful and fun.”


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Anne Bogel, My Reading Life Book Journal — $14.00

If you set lofty reading goals for yourself this year, this Reading Journal by Anne Bogel makes for the ultimate ‘planner.’ The compact, hardcover journal has plenty of space to record your thoughts, ratings, and impressions for up to 100 books—making it the perfect place to track your 2023 reading goal with intention. There’s a habit tracker to help build up your reading cadence, fun questionnaires that help you learn more about your reading preferences, and a TBR (to be read) page fit for tracking the books you want to add to your shelf. What’s more, Anne Bogel included seasonal and genre-specific book recommendations, and useful reading tips throughout! Guaranteeing that you’ll discover something new and improve on your reading habit this year.

“Love this reading journal!” gushes one Amazon shopper in a 5-star review. “It’s wonderful to not only have a place to write about the books I read, but all the extra features are great too. The table of contents makes it easy to find each book I’ve reviewed, and the lists of suggestions are great also!”


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Keep a cleaner space

Ashlem Press, Cleaning Planner — $6.00

Everyone loves a clean and tidy space, but maintaining it can take some practice. Enter the Cleaning Planner—a simple, fuss-free guide that’ll put your 2023 cleaning aspirations to paper and help make tidying up a regular part of your routine. It includes a master cleaning checklist household cleaning task you can imagine, from small daily habits like making your bed and putting away clothes, to larger monthly tasks, such as cleaning behind furniture and washing your shower curtains. The cleaning schedule pages have spots for personal cleaning goals, daily and monthly tasks, and free-writing space for notes and necessary supplies. The only thing more satisfying than a clean space is the satisfaction of checking off each task when it’s done.

“I’m not a clean freak and I get overwhelmed when I think of cleaning our entire 4 bedroom, 4 bath house weekly in addition to other things life throws at us,” wrote one Amazon shopper in a 5-star review. “This cute notebook may help bring some “fun” to it as well as help me focus on one room a day instead of looking at it all at once and getting tired before I start. It’s nice to be able to write in my own tasks so I can change it up weekly.”


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Prioritize self-care

Ban.do, Wellness Planner — $30.00

If you’re making 2023 the year of you, this self-care guided planner by Ban.do is a no-brainer. It’s split up into five sections designed to support overall wellness: intention, self-care, headspace, physical wellness, and nutrition. The daily pages have spots to set intentions, write affirmations, set priorities (and decide what can be left for later), remind yourself about calls, and jot down to-dos. But that’s not all—it’s sprinkled with gorgeously laid out pages full of helpful info and advice that’ll inspire you to take better care of you—like how to embrace growth, and build a healthy and empowering movement practice. And because every planner needs cute stickers, the Wellness Planner includes two pages full of them.

“I’m a sucker for focusing on self development and these journals make it so easy and fun,” wrote one Ban.do shopper. “It takes what would normally be a stressful occurrence and turns it into something positive and helpful.”


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Become a planner

Papier, Daily Planner — $29.00

Originally $32, now $29

For the person who’s not really a planner, but wants to become one in 2023, Papier’s Daily Planner is a solid choice that’ll help you get the most out of planning your days. Unlike blank planners that require some finessing to work for you, this undated,16-week planner has daily and weekly layouts and easy to follow fields that’ll take the guesswork out of planning. Want to write a to-do list? There’s a space for that. Write monthly goals? There’s one for that, too. There are sections designed to help track your progress with new habits, and even dedicated shopping list sections to make meal prep easy. What’s more, there are tons of stunning cover art designs to choose from on Papier’s site.


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Be more creative

Jstory, Large Monthly Planner — $10.00

Originally $12, now $10 

Move over bullet journal, creatives are all about the Large Monthly Planner in 2023. With its simple, undated monthly calendar layout, this magazine-sized planner is a blank canvas for the artistically inclined looking to keep organized and flex their creative muscles in the new year. Every calendar month takes up a two-page spread in this oversized beauty, and the daily squares offer plenty of space for notes, to-dos, event reminders, and due dates—it’s pretty much begging to be personalized with illustrations, colorful highlights, stickers, and whatever else you can think of. Even the cover provides plenty of real estate for customization, which any budding creative will appreciate.

Amazon shoppers love the oversized design and the flexible layout. “I really like the size of the planner and the large squares. You must write the month and days yourself but that provides you an opportunity to be creative!” wrote one Amazon shopper in a 5-star review.


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