NEWS OF THE WEEK

 The rains came to SOCAL.  Now, no fires just landslides.  This year's drought might be over.  They had above average rains the two years prior to this year, but still, the reservoirs were empty.  Next year's forecast is for stronger but fewer winds.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs each won their playoff game and will meet in the Super Bowl next weekend.  The Chiefs are hard to beat when they have their favorite refs on duty.  The game will be played in New Orleans (pronounced Norleans by the locals). 

TikTok went dark for a few hours but is back on line while negotiating a way to stay in business in this country.

The President's selections for cabinet and other important positions are going through the gauntlet of Senate approval.  The whole process seems out of whack to me.

Columbia declined to accept some of it's citizens deported from the U.S. who had not entered our country in the proscribed manner...and then changed it's mind after a little arm twisting. 

Our stock market reached all-time highs this week but settled into modest gains by week's end.  We're in a  continuing period of both inflation up and economy up.  The housing market is especially troubling.  The sales of previously owned homes is now at it's lowest in three decades.

The AI wars are ongoing.  A Chinese stock called DeepSeek shocked our markets with a cheap way of operating.  

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is in turmoil as the largest city was taken over by rebels this week.  It's ugly there.

The Trump administration is trying to freeze spending until it can establish if it thinks the spending is necessary.  That's meeting a lot of push-back, of course.  Not sure how this will turn out.

They have released the largest study yet on cannabis and it's impact on brain function.  If you dare and  remember, you could look up the results in JAMA.

The drug to fight diabetes, Ozempic, is now also approved for chronic kidney disease.  They brand it Wegovy for weight loss.

Karoline Leavitt, 27, took her place on the hot seat as White House press secretary.  She's the youngest ever.

A regional jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew flying from Wichita, KS  collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter as the plane was on it's landing glidepath into Ronald Reagan airport in Washington D.C.  The helicopter carried three, two military and one unknown as I write.  All perished in the Potomac River.  

The Cincinnati Reds have made several additions to their roster in the past two weeks.  The pitchers and catchers report to spring training camp on Feb 12 and the rest of the team by the following weekend.  Regular season opening day is Thursday March 27 with the San Francisco Giants in town.