Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered some bad news to Speaker Pelosi from the floor of the upper-chamber:

…”There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure. We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment. The House Democrats’ turn is over. The Senate has made its decision.”…

…Now, go make me a sandwich.

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[Transcript] – MITCH MCCONNELL – ‘Late last year, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats sped through a slapdash impeachment of President Trump in 12 weeks. Because, they insisted, the need to undo the 2016 election was urgent. Urgent, they said.
‘Since then, the same people have spent three weeks dragging their heels and refusing to proceed to a Senate trial.
‘Supposedly, the explanation for this shameless game-playing is that Speaker Pelosi wanted “leverage” to reach into the Senate and dictate our trial proceedings to us. I’ve made clear from the beginning that no such “leverage” exists. It’s nonexistent. And yesterday we made it clear it will never exist.
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One of the key sectors gaining benefit from the USMCA trade agreement is the auto sector.  Rules on steel and aluminum smelting/origination, and rules on part origination from North America are key aspects to the trade agreement that shifts focus from the import of Asian manufactured parts for assembly to manufacturing in North America.
Essentially, seventy-five percent of the component parts for the auto industry must be manufactured in North America.  This shift directly puts U.S. auto-workers at the forefront for job gains & stops the process of using manufactured parts from China, Asia or the EU.
The goal of the agreement was/is to make manufacturing investment in North America the main consideration for auto-manufacturers who want access to the U.S. market.  Today, as a direct result of future investment considerations, General Motors and Ford unexpectedly surprise 1,500 auto-workers with the announcement their jobs have gone from part-time to full-time status.  Great news for these families:

DETROIT – General Motors’ worker Adarrey “Ace” Humphrey was blindsided Sunday. That’s when his life changed.

Humphrey, 27, has been a part-time temporary worker at GM’s Flint Assembly in Michigan for the last three years. On Sunday morning, he and about 250 of his co-workers crowded into UAW Local 598’s union hall. Most thought they were there for a routine meeting.

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In the aftermath of Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 exploding and crashing just north of Tehran airport, the Iranian government is refusing to turn-over the black box flight data recorders recovered from the crash site.   Combined with the timing and location, their refusal is leading to increased speculation the flight may have accidentally been targeted by Iranian air-defense systems.  The tragedy is being compounded by Iranian politics.
The Boeing 737-800 is a very dependable aircraft with three decades of service.  This specific Ukraine aircraft was built in 2016 & just had a service inspection on January 6th. Immediately after the crash, Iranian officials stated the cause was “technical difficulties”, and after video surfaced showing the plane was on fire heading to the ground, Iran later stated the cause was one of the engines on fire.  However, there was no distress call or report of issue, from very experienced Ukraine pilots to Tehran air-traffic control.

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There were 176 passengers and crew aboard: 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainian passengers and crew, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons on board. Additionally, what appears to be the nose of an M1 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) has been identified in a debris field near the crash site.
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In a rather bizarre tweet without any background context New York Times columnist Paul Krugman denies responsibility for child pornography found on his computer:

In a follow-up tweet Krugman states: “The Times is now on the case”.   Apparently calling the police for a forensic review was out of the question, or something.  Very odd.
Next up: Crowdstrike!  Wait for it….

Speaker of the House “Tehran Nancy” has announced her intention for a vote on Thursday in an effort to limit President Trump’s authority to defend against attacks by Iran, and increase the democrat effort to protect Iran’s ability to target Americans in the region.

“Mullah Bin Schumer and Tehran Nancy”

“Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward. Our concerns were not addressed by the President’s insufficient War Powers Act notification and by the Administration’s briefing today,” Pelosi said in a statement.
 

A new ADP Payroll Report shows job gains of 202,000 from November to December 2019 far surpassing expectations. The increase was the largest gain since April ’19: “largest gain since April, driven mainly by professional and business services. Job creation was strong across companies of all sizes, led predominantly by mid-sized companies.”

(Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased by the most in eight months in December, pointing to sustained labor market strength though job gains last month were likely flattered by a seasonal quirk.
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since April, after an upwardly revised 124,000 rise in November.

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Earlier today President Trump addressed the outcome and ramifications from last nights’ missile attack by Iran against two bases in Iraq. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

Good morning. I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Horrific coincidence that might not entirely be a coincidence.  A Ukraine 737 Airliner, Flight 752 from Tehran to Ukraine, is lost shortly after take-off.  The incident takes place only hours after Iran fires ballistic missiles into Iraq targeting U.S. bases.

Video of the plane crashing shows the airliner in flames as it nears the ground and explodes.  Some preliminary reporting indicated the flight might have been accidentally shot down by Iranian anti-aircraft defenses.  [Note: All early details are sketchy]

(Via Daily Mail) A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 170 passengers and crew has crashed near Tehran just three minutes after takeoff.
The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport when it suffered ‘technical problems’, Iranian State TV reported.
Unverified video footage tweeted by the BBC’s Iran correspondent, Ali Hashem, appeared to show the plane burning in the sky before crashing in a huge explosion.

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