Texas Rep Controversy Reignites Term Limits Debate

Good Monday morning. A Ugandan man arrived in London yesterday over 500 days after he started a 7.7K mile journey on foot from Cape Town in South Africa, overcoming illness and imprisonment along the way. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

• Colorado: Resort rescue

• Red Sea: Friendly fire

• Congress: No shutdown

• CFPB: Zelle lawsuit

• Rickey Henderson: Dies at 65

... and more

First time reading? Sign up here

Top Tips

1) Age-old question

The curious case of a retiring Texas Congresswoman is a new flashpoint in the debate over elderly legislators and potential term limits.

• The news: A Dallas-based website published a report alleging outgoing Rep. Kay Granger, 81, is currently living in an assisted living and memory care community. The former Republican mayor of Fort Worth has represented Texas' 12th Congressional District since 1997, but she has not voted in the House since late July. The report also questioned the quality of Granger's constituent services.

• The response: Granger's son told the Dallas Morning News that his mother is suffering from "dementia issues" and does live in a retirement community. Her office did little to counter the initial report beyond denying she resides in a memory care facility. A statement attributed to Granger cited "unforeseen health challenges" that have made traveling to Washington difficult. Rep.-elect Craig Goldman will take office next month.

• Big picture: The Granger revelation renewed calls for Congressional term limits in some corners while shining a new spotlight on the narrow GOP majority in the chamber. It also speaks to the fact ailing House members have little reason to resign given their seats will then sit empty indefinitely while awaiting a special election or the next federal one.

2) Art of the deal

President-elect Donald Trump proposed a few improbable real estate transactions over the weekend.

• What happened: Trump indicated his administration will try to purchase Greenland. The comment came a day after the president-elect threatened to repossess the Panama Canal if Panamanian officials do not lower transit fees for American ships.

• On Greenland: The U.S. has tried to buy Greenland, a Danish-owned autonomous territory and the world's largest non-continent island, several times (including an overture by Trump during his first term). But Denmark has said it is not for sale. Greenland has valuable natural resources; it also presents a strategic advantage for the U.S. military in its effort to contain Russia in the Arctic region.

• On Panama: The U.S. built the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and opened it in 1914 with complete control. Former President Jimmy Carter agreed to a handover in 1977 if it remained a neutral operation; Panama took over in 1999 after over two decades of joint management. Trump has criticized the decision to give up the canal in the past amid concerns about growing Chinese influence.

• Big picture: It's unlikely either situation goes anywhere. Trump may negotiate concessions with Panama, but he has no mechanism to retake the canal. And it is more likely that Greenland votes for independence than Denmark sells at this point.

3) A holiday tragedy

A Saudi Arabian national allegedly killed five people in an attack on a Christmas market in Germany.

• The news: Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a psychiatrist who has voiced anti-immigration and anti-Islamic views, is accused of plowing his car into a crowd in the city of Magdeburg. Over 200 people were injured in addition to the five deaths -- foutadults and a child. The man is in custody and has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

• More details: Al-Abdulmohsen was known to authorities and previously sought asylum in Germany. He expressed inflammatory views online and has expressed support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has surged in popularity despite accusations its platform is tinged with Nazi overtones (and recently earned support from billionaire Elon Musk).

• Big picture: Authorities believe al-Abdulmohsen acted alone but have not established a motive. The attack comes at a divisive time in Germany. The country will have snap elections early next year after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed. Migrant crime has become a major political issue in the nation.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• Over 170 skiers and snowboarders were rescued from a Colorado mountain resort after a ski lift failure. The structure of the gondola at Winter Park Resort, located about 70 miles from Denver, cracked; no one was hurt (More)

• A man drove a truck through a Texas mall before being killed by police. At least five people were injured when the driver crashed through the front of a JCPenney in Killeen after leading cops on a car chase (More)

• A Virginia college student allegedly plotted an antisemitic mass casualty event. An 18-year-old Egyptian national attending George Mason is charged with planning to attack an Israeli government building in New York City; the man was previously on the FBI's radar for showing interest in joining ISIS (More)

World News

• Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down by apparent friendly fire over the Red Sea during operations against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Both aviators successfully ejected and were later rescued (More)

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will likely be ousted next month. The New Democratic Party has signaled it will support a parliamentary non-confidence vote to boot him, giving opposition parties enough votes to trigger snap elections (More)

• A businessman piloting a small plane crashed in Brazil, killing himself and nine family members. The aircraft went down over a popular shopping area in Gramado; 17 people were injured on the ground, including two with life-threatening issues (More)

Political News

• Congress averted a government shutdown early Saturday morning. President Joe Biden signed a bill funding the government through mid-March; the legislation did not include a provision addressing the national debt ceiling (More)

• Lara Trump withdrew her name from consideration for Florida's soon-to-open Senate seat. The former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman, President-elect Trump's daughter-in-law, was connected to the anticipated vacancy when Sen. Marco Rubio is approved as Secretary of State (More)

• Trump appointed The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett as a special envoy to the United Kingdom. Businessman and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta was nominated to be Ambassador to Italy; Ex-Vatican Ambassador Callista Gingrich was tabbed to be Ambassador to Switzerland (More | More | More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed higher on Friday. The Dow Jones jumped almost 500 points and the Nasdaq was up close to 200 following November inflation data (Dow +1.18%, Nasdaq +1.03%, S&P 500 +1.09% | More).

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused three major banks of failing to address Zelle crimes. Regulators sued Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, alleging the institutions did not protect consumers from losing over $870M due to fraud on the payments network since 2017 (More)

• Party City plans to close all stores after initiating mass corporate layoffs. The retail chain filed for its second bankruptcy in less than two years, citing continued financial woes; it has close to 700 locations nationwide (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died at 65 after battling pneumonia. The colorful, well-traveled 10-time All-Star stole a major league-record 1,406 bases; he is also the sport's all-time leader in leadoff home runs and runs scored (More)

• Blake Lively lodged a sexual harassment complaint against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging a retaliatory "smear campaign" against her. WME fired the actor and director as an agency client following the actress' filing in California's civil rights court (More | More)

• Netflix won exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the next two Women's World Cups. FIFA unbundled the tournament from the men's event for the first time; the U.S. is expected to bid to host in 2031 after Brazil hosts in 2027 (More)

Quick Hitters

• Feel Good: A single mom in California lost her bank card and was afraid she could not buy Christmas presents for her autistic son. And then a helpful stranger miraculously appeared at her front door.

• Be Safe: Federal regulators are warning against using liquid-burning fire pits. There have been two deaths and 60 injuries in incidents involving the devices over the last five years.

• Go Deep: The Oregon Trail was once American schools' most widely distributed software. Controversies about the iconic educational video game still rage 50 years after its debut.

• True Dedication: A former English teacher and minister from Washington state kept the world's most obsessive journal for 25 years. He only slept two hours a night and documented everything, composing over 37M words.

• Life Hack: Cleaning plastic containers can be a pain. This simple tactic will make things much more manageable.

Watch This

Did you watch a movie set in New York City? It was probably filmed in Vancouver.

Links

• Jeff Bezos denied he's about to have a $600M wedding 💍

• How you get on TSA's naughty list 🛃

• The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are set 🏈

• Rare snowballs form on a Siberian beach ☃️

• Cities that have become magnets for remote workers 👨‍💻

• Alcohol to drink if you are counting calories 🍸

• Prison aide cops to a lasagna smuggling scheme 🥫

• College degrees no longer guarantee jobs 🎓

• AI may soon do all of our holiday shopping 🤖

• Charlie Woods hit his first hole-in-one ⛳️

Looking Ahead …

Malaysia announced it has agreed in principle to resume its search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, over 10 years after it mysteriously disappeared. An exploration firm will spearhead the initiative and receive $70M if it makes a substantive find.

Question of the Day

Yesterday’s results:

Trivia: Who is third in the line of presidential succession?

The Senate President Pro Tempore comes after the vice president and House Speaker.