THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 6-12, 2019

JANUARY 12 MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF
LED ZEPPELIN’S FIRST ALBUM.

JANUARY 15 MARKS THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY BEING CHARTERED.

JANUARY 15 MARKS THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF

NASA’S SPIRIT ROVER STARTING ITS EXPLORATION OF MARS.

JANUARY 17 MARKS THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF POPEYE THE SAILOR DEBUTING IN THE THIMBLE THEATER COMIC STRIP.

JANUARY 18 MARKS THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE W🌍RLD THIS PAST WEEK…
*The fireball over New Zealand was…
*And in an ironic twist...

THE TERRORIST REPORT…
*The Free Choice E-zine does not support terrorism, no matter what the “cause” or alleged “justification”. Thus we will only be posting news items in this section whenever terrorists are brought to justice.

😢PASSING PARADE…
*Actor W. Morgan Sheppard (credits too numerous to mention) has taken his last bow on life’s stage.
*Sound Engineer Gregg Rudloff (Glory, The Matrix) is no longer with us.
*Artist Ron Smith (Judge Dredd) has passed away.
*Larry Cunningham of The Floaters is no longer with us.
*“Jumping” Johnny Wilson of the Harlem Globetrotters has passed away.
*Sadly, the Achatinella Apexfulva land snail 🐌 may now be extinct.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA…
THE BORDER-KIDS-IMMIGRATION ISSUES…

*A southern border wall and the lack there of still seems to be a major sticking point in finalizing a budget and ending the current government shutdown.
*President Trump addressed the nation January 8, making his case for the border wall, and the Democratic response to that speech. (There are 2/TWO separate links in this item.)
*Fact checking time, courtesy of the Associated Press and Fox News. (There are 2/TWO separate links in this item.)
*What people along the border think of the proposed wall.
*Just HOW MANY former Presidents actually support Trump’s border wall???
*And in an ironic twist...
NOTE: While we are doing our best to provide coverage, the above is a serious, ongoing issue. Especially since no one has yet to discuss the costs of separating families and who is truly responsible for the deaths of two minor detainees, let alone if anyone might actually be making a profit from this situation.
POLITICALLY…

*President Trump STILL doesn’t like the media.
*Trump wants to cut FEMA’s funding to California wildfire victims!
*Did the FBI once suspect Donald Trump of being a Russian asset???
*Was 2016 American Presidential Election Data shared with Russia???
*American farm bailout money to a Brazilian owned company???
*Did Donald Trump make some questionable real estate deals in 2018???
*What one member of Trump's administration believes women "need".
THE BUDGET BATTLE…

*The shutdown began at midnight December 22.
*Congress came back into session with its newly elected members January 3, 2019.
*Just how many people actually DO live from paycheck to paycheck???
*How can Trump and Congress come to an agreement when the President walks out of the meeting???
*The FBI isn’t happy with the shutdown.
*The Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Federal Food and Drug Administration, are now affected. (There are 2/TWO separate links in this item.)
*Although the shutdown continues, the government will continue its food stamp payments at least to February 1, but no paychecks were issued this week. (There are 2/TWO separate links in this item.)
*Despite rumors to the contrary during the government shutdown, while the Internal Revenue Service is still open this tax season, it WILL be paying refunds to qualified filers.
*Will Congressional Republicans ever do anything to resolve this situation???
*With this shutdown now being the longest historically and still on going, Trump's latest thoughts on the matter. (There are 2/TWO separate links in this item.)

MEANWHILE…
*Congress came back into session with its newly elected members January 3, 2019.
*The current Federal Budget Crisis has yet to be resolved, as reported in the section above this one.
ELSEWHERE…
*The Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy was NOT a hoax!
*Jayme Closs IS SAFE!
*Is there a truckers strike in our future???
*The daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives has been renewed for a FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON!
*And the 2019 Golden Globe winners are...

Although our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen was suspended when Blogger updated its gadgets, we have ADDED a new TRANSLATE feature in the upper right hand corner!

NOTE: All links were active at the time of posting.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 6-12, 2013

Amongst events happening within the first full week of the new year...

*A flu epidemic is running across the continental United States, due in part to many people not getting an anti-flu shot last fall when the supply was more abundant.
*The Church of England has agreed to allow gay Bishops, provided they stay celebiate.
*The 113th session of the United States Congress has been sworn in, re-electing Republican John Boehner Speaker of the House.
*Believe it or not, amongst all the ideas and petitions the White House receives each year, someone wanted the United States government to build a fully functional Death Star! A representative of the Obama administration politely explained why that wasn't feasible.  http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/white-house-answers-death-star-petition-no-171718726--politics.html
*Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid have all submitted bids in hopes of becoming the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics.
*Civil unrest still continues in Syria and Afghanistan.
*This is The Free Choice E-zine's 993rd post on the way to our career 1000th article on Blogger. Unfortunately, all records from our previous site host were lost when the company went out of business.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
*A new Miss America will be crowned at the end of the competition to be held later tonight, with representatives of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands competing.
*The 2013 Golden Globes Awards will be presented Sunday, January 13th.
*The Razzies (also known as the Golden Raspberries) nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Prequel/Rip-off/Remake or Sequel, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Screen Ensemble have been announced; with the concluding film of the Twlight Saga leading the way with 11 nominations. The awards will presented on February 23, the day before the 2013 Academy Awards are presented.
*On the opposite side of the aisle, the Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Animated Feature, Best Foreign Film, and other categories have been announced; with Lincoln leading with 12 nominations and Life of Pi a close second with 11. The Academy Awards will be presented February 24th.

IN SPORTS
*For only the second time within its history (the last time was in 1996), no one received enough votes to be nominated to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Amongst the potential candidates were suspected steroids users Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sousa.
*Players and owners have reached an agreement, allowing professional hockey games in the National Hockey League to resume a shortened season by January 19th; although the 2012-13 All Star Game is still cancelled.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.