Good morning, I'm Craig Degrelli.
It's Monday, December 2nd, 2024 and these are your unbiased
updates.
Saying it is clear that his son was treated differently
and singled out by the justice system.
President Biden pardons his son of his felony convictions.
More from his statement and reaction.
And let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Winter comes on the first weekend in December for Western
New York.
The whopping totals as the lake effect snow pounds the
area.
From the Straight Arrow News Studio bringing the stories that
matter to you from across the United States and around
the world.
These are today's unbiased updates.
This morning, a reaction is coming in after President Biden's
decision late Sunday night to pardon his son Hunter, with
his time in office ending in a matter of weeks.
The president reversing previous statements he made when he said
he would not use his power to keep his son
from facing prison time due to felony convictions.
Hunter faced sentencing later this month related to two separate
criminal cases.
Last September, he pleaded guilty to 9 tax charges.
Last June, a jury found him guilty of lying on
a gun purchase form.
Hunter faced up to 17 years in prison for the
tax charges and 25 years in the gun case.
The president says he decided to issue the pardon because
he believes his son was, quote, selectively and unfairly prosecuted
and that the prosecution of his arrest led to, quote,
a miscarriage of justice.
President Biden says the charges in his son's cases came
to be after several of his, quote, political opponents in
Congress instigated them to attack the president and oppose his
election.
The president's move is a reversal from last month when
White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said there would
be no pardon, and this past summer when President Biden
said the same thing at another press briefing and during
an interview with ABC News.
But let me ask you, will you accept the jury's
outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?
Yes.
And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?
Yes, you have.
Hunter Biden issued his own statement on Sunday, saying in
part he has admitted and taken responsibility for mistakes he
made during his addiction, adding quote, I will never take
the clemency I have been given today for granted and
will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those
who are still sick and suffering.
President-elect Donald Trump also issuing a statement on his Truth
Social platform asking if Biden's pardon also includes those arrested
in connection with the January 6th riots.
Donald Trump using President Biden's own words, saying this is,
quote, a miscarriage of justice.
President Biden's pardon covers any potential federal crimes that Hunter
committed from January 1st of 2014 through December 1st of
2024, which includes his time on the board of Ukrainian
gas company Burisma.
He faced criticism for his foreign business transactions and a
lofty salary despite having a lack of energy experience.
This official grant of clemency cannot be rescinded by president-elect
Trump.
Canadian officials are now stepping up security at the country's
border with the United States after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
met with president-elect Donald Trump in Florida for dinner on
Friday.
That's according to a top Canadian government official who was
there for the talks.
Donald Trump announced last week he would levy 25% tariffs
on Canada and Mexico if they did not stop undocumented
immigrants and drugs from crossing their respective borders into the
US.
Canada's ambassador to the US says Trudeau was successful in
getting the president-elect to understand that lumping the flow of
migrants and drugs into the US from Canada with those
from Mexico is unfair.
Still, Trudeau has promised to increase northern border security in,
quote, a visible and muscular way.
After their meeting, Donald Trump posted on social media that
it was productive and Trudeau has, quote, made a commitment
to work with us.
Cold temperatures are sweeping across a large part of the
United States, combining with record warm temperatures in the Great
Lakes.
And that equals lake effect snow and lots of it.
Some parts of the Northeast received a few feet of
snow.
It is not expected to stop until Wednesday, with up
to two feet or more feet of snow expected to
blanket the area through tomorrow.
More than two feet of snow was on the ground
when the Buffalo Bills put out a call on Sunday
for fans to volunteer to shovel snow ahead of their
Sunday night game against the San Francisco 40 Niners.
There was an online sign up sheet over the weekend
and lots of people turned out for 20 bucks an
hour, warm refreshments and a ticket to the game.
There is a state of emergency in effect this morning
in parts of New York State.
Meantime, millions of people are under winter weather warnings.
The The cold is expected to last well into this
week, with nearly 70% of the continental US set to
feel temperatures below freezing.
Some cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Cincinnati
will experience below average temperatures for the entire week.
Did you see this?
A college football rivalry game over the weekend ended with
both teams fined $100,000 each.
The Big 10 issued the fines on Sunday against Michigan
and Ohio State due to a post game brawl between
players after the game that saw police officers using pepper
spray to break up that big fight.
It began after players from Michigan planted their flag in
midfield at the so-called horseshoe that's Ohio State Stadium following
the Wolverines 13 to 10 upset victory over the number
2 Buckeyes.
After 5 minutes.
The melee ended with some players and coaches bloodied.
The Big 10 said both teams violated the league sportsmanship
policy.
You think, but does not plan to suspend any player
for that incident as shoppers seek Cyber Monday deals today.
Just a few days ago, Black Friday saw record spending
in the United States.
But many shoppers chose to forgo the mall crowds, instead
opting to buy online.
Shoppers spent a record $10.8 billion online Friday.
That's according to Adobe Analytics.
That's over 10%, or $1 billion more than they did
last year and more than double what consumers spent in
2017.
Adobe said online shoppers shelled out roughly $11.3 million per
minute between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Friday.
Friday's in store shopper traffic was down more than 8%
compared to 2023.
That's according to Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks retail store foot
traffic.
Finally this morning, it seems getting full of Turkey then.
Stuffing was not the only plan for Americans over the
holiday weekend, because many also went to the movies to
see the latest from Disney.
Moana 2 broke a Thanksgiving box office record.
The animated sequel took in $221 million over the five
day holiday period from Wednesday through Sunday.
This top Frozen twos Thanksgiving earnings of $125 million in
2019.
Moana 2 also overtook last year's the Super Mario Brothers
movie to have the biggest five day debut in history.
Together with blockbusters Wicked and Gladiator 2, the three films
brought in $420 million.
Now the highest grossing Thanksgiving weekend ever at the box
office.
That is great to see.
Remember when COVID was around and movie theaters were vacant?
What a far cry.
Those who run biased updates for this Monday, we'll see
you back here tomorrow.
For all of us here at Straight ARROW News, I'm
Craig Degrelli.
Have a great day.