Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 24 and December 25
Welcome to the Weekend! Christmas Edition.
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday, December 24, and Sunday, December 25.
It’ll seem just slightly less like living in the arctic tundra this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, areas of blowing snow will continue Saturday morning in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be sunny and the high will be near 7 degrees, with wind chills as low as -25 degrees. On Christmas Sunday there will be a high near 11 degrees, with lessening winds. There will be a chance of snow Sunday night, with accumulation of between 1 to 3 inches possible.
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson voted against a $1.7 trillion spending package that includes nearly $28 million in earmarked funding Hinson requested for projects in her district.
Hinson, in a statement, said House Republicans “were shut out of the last-minute negotiations, and the end product did not respect taxpayers or address the dire border crisis.”
The bill — which also includes emergency assistance to Ukraine, a 4.6 percent pay raise for the military and funding to expand eligibility for health care services and benefits to veterans exposed to toxins during their service — passed mostly along party lines in the Democratically controlled Congress and is headed to President Joe Biden for his expected signature.
Iowa’s other Republican U.S. House members, Reps. Randy Feenstra and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, also voted against the spending package. U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, the lone Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, voted in favor.
Hinson criticized the bill for transferring $800 million from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter humanitarian program to help cities and organizations struggling to provide for thousands of migrants arriving from the southern border seeking asylum. Hinson argued that the money transfer encourages more illegal immigration.
Among the largest recipients that Hinson requested for her district that will receive funding is $7 million for The Eastern Iowa Airport Taxiway Expansion Project, $7 million for an Alburnett Road extension, and $4 million for rural road construction in West Union.
Last Tuesday Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered that the popular TikTok social media platform be banned from state-owned devices and prohibited state agencies from subscribing to or owning a TikTok account.
This week, Board of Regents President Mike Richards issued a statement clarifying what the ban meant for Iowa’s three public universities — which the regents govern.
First, he said, the universities should remove the TikTok software application from “all electronic devices that are owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the institution” and prevent the installation of TikTok on those devices.
He also said that the universities should cease running TikTok accounts affiliated with the university. In an Iowa State University news bulletin on the ban, officials noted ISU employees still can access TikTok on personal devices, “even if connected through the university Wi-Fi network.”
Gov. Reynolds’ move followed similar bans in other states and proposed legislation before the U.S. Congress to ban TikTok on all federally owned or operated devices. The worry is that the Chinese government may be able to use the app to conduct surveillance on Americans.
Other states that ban TikTok from government devices include Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Maryland and South Carolina. The U.S. military also has banned the app on government devices.
Have a good weekend everyone. Much warmer weather is coming next week.
