Law enforcement agencies put out APB

Franklin County Sheriff’s office has reported there is an erratic driver on Route 14 at the Franklin-Hamilton county line.  They sent out an APB to the State Police and all local authorities.

Mug shot of this man

                      Mug shot of this man

He is a jolly fat man in a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.  He is weaving rooftop to rooftop and going down chimneys with homes that have them.  He is carrying a bag that is suspected to be full of toys for children.

Direction of travel is unknown.  He is suspected to either head to Ewing and Whittington, maybe head to Benton, or go down North Thompsonville road and hit Akin and T’ville next.

It is guaranteed that he will hit all houses in West Frankfort, Logan, Zeigler, Freeman Spur, Orient, Pulmfield, Royalton, Cleburne, Mulkeytown, Christopher, Coello, Valier, Sesser, Buckner, West City and all rural areas in between.

He prefers milk and cookies at every stop.  He will visit every house in the county.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

 

Donald Trump on nukes tweet: Let it be an arms race

President-elect Donald Trump told an MSNBC host Friday to “let it be an arms race” when asked to clarify a tweet he sent a day earlier about expanding the United States’ nuclear capability. “Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Mr. Trump told MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, she reported on “Morning Joe.” Mr. Trump had raised the issue in a post on Twitter Thursday. “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” he had said….Please click on the link to read the rest of the story from David Sherfinski of the Washington Times

U.S. rebukes Israel and allows U.N. condemnation of settlements

us-isreal1In a move seen by critics as a last ditch slap at Israel by President Obama before he leaves office, the administration allowed the U.N. Security Council to push through a resolution Friday that called Israeli settlement construction on territory Palestinians want for an independent state a “flagrant violation” of international law. Despite heated criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, other leading Republicans and some prominent Democrats, Mr. Obama broke with long-standing U.S. tradition of vetoing such resolutions — instead simply abstaining from Friday’s vote on a measure that demands a halt to “all Israeli settlement activities.” Critics slammed the development, which came a day after Egyptian diplomats, who worked with Palestinians to draft and put the resolution before the Security Council, had postponed a vote on it amid behind-the-scenes pressure from Israel, whose leaders were wary the Obama administration might embrace the measure. Please click to read the entire story from the Washington Times.

Princess Leah in ICU-suffers heart attack

Carrie Fisher has been hospitalized and is in intensive care after suffering a full cardiac arrest on Friday while aboard an airplane headed from London to Los Angeles. The actress was in critical

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in "Star Wars"

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in “Star Wars”

condition earlier in the day, an emergency official told Variety on Friday afternoon. She was moved from the emergency room to the Intensive Care Unit hours later, her brother, Todd Fisher, said Friday evening. The actor and filmmaker said his sister is not in stable condition, despite previous reports. “She’s in the ICU and everybody’s praying for her,” he told Variety in a phone interview. “There’s nothing new from the doctors. There’s nothing new at all. … There’s no good news or bad news.” Todd Fisher said media outlets are “writing between the lines” in reporting that she’s now in stable condition. The Associated Press reported earlier today that Todd Fisher said Carrie Fisher was in stable condition and “out of emergency.” Airport police responded at approximately 12:15 p.m. PT to a woman with a medical emergency on a plane at LAX International Airport’s Terminal 7, public information officer Alicia Hernandez told Variety…..please read the rest of the story from variety.com

Dense fog advisory in effect until 10 a.m.

1224-weather-graphic

The National Weather service has issued a dense fog advisory in effect until 10 a.m., for the areas shaded in grey.  The high today is supposed to be around 50 degrees.  Periods of showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast through Monday.  Highs will be in the sixties, with lows around 50.  Merry Christmas to everyone.

West Frankfort wins- Christopher falls in OT

The West Frankfort Redbirds goes on the road and picks up a 70-68 victory over the Goreville Blackcats tonight.  Christopher loses in overtime at home to Flora 46-45.  SIU beats UT Martin 78-70 at the Arena tonight.  Links to stories about all three games will be in the sports section of franklincounty-news.com tomorrow.

State lawmakers’ education funding talks continue

Despite a standstill over the state budget, a group of bipartisan lawmakers has been meeting more often in recent weeks to devise a plan to overhaul funding for public schools. Although Illinois’ top educationleaders aren’t meeting to discuss the budget, members of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education funding reform commission told the Springfield Bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers they’re optimistic that the group will be able to come up with at least outlines of a new school funding formula. “We’ve made meaningful progress on an incredibly difficult issue,” said Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman. Rauner set a Feb. 1 deadline for the group to complete its work when he announced its formation in July. Barickman said that if reform is going to happen, the group, and ultimately the legislature, must come to a consensus on complex issues, such as property taxes and achieving parity among school districts. Click to read the rest of the Associated Press story….

Obama’s team cancels Muslim registry to foil Trump’s plans for ‘extreme vetting’

The Obama administration rushed Thursday to cancel a program set up to track Muslim and Arab men in the wake of the Sept. 11

(AP file photo)

(AP file photo)

terrorist attacks, hoping to hamstring President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose “extreme vetting” on Muslim visitors. Known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), the program went dormant in 2011, but civil rights groups had feared Mr. Trump could kick-start it as the backbone of his new vetting plans. Homeland Security said the program is being ended immediately. “DHS ceased use of NSEERS more than five years ago, after it was determined the program was redundant, inefficient and provided no increase in security,” the department said in a statement. “The intervening years have shown that NSEERS is not only obsolete, but that its use would divert limited personnel and resources from more effective measures.”….Please click to read more of the story from Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times

Mississippi church arson-member of the congergation

State law enforcement officials say a member of the Greenville church that was burned and vandalized with “Vote Trump” in spray

The spray-painted graffiti on the burned out shell of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville MS. It became a rallying cry of some, claiming that all Trump supporters are racist.

The spray-painted graffiti on the burned out shell of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville MS.

paint is in custody for the Nov. 1 crime. Greenville police on Wednesday arrested Andrew McClinton, 45, of Leland for setting Hopewell Baptist Church on fire, according to Warren Strain with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. McClinton is charged with one count of first degree arson of a place of worship. Strain said the investigation is ongoing and declined to comment further. A motive has not been released. Hopewell Bishop Clarence Green could not immediately be reached for comment. However, Green told The Associated Press that McClinton is a member of the congregation. Kenya Collins, spokesperson for the city of Greenville, said McClinton was not currently being charged with a hate crime. Please the entire story from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger

Former Gov. Blagojevich again appeals prison term

By Michael Tarm, The Associated Press CHICAGO – Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is asking a U.S. appeals court to nullify his 14-year

Gov. Rod Blagoevich being arrested by US Marshalls for trying to sell president elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat back in 2008 (NBC News)

Gov. Rod Blagoevich being arrested by US Marshalls for trying to sell president elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat back in 2008 (NBC News)

prison term and order a third sentencing hearing, with a lawyer arguing on his behalf that the Democrat’s model behavior behind bars and other factors justified a reduction in his sentence. Attorneys for the Chicago Democrat filed the appeal late Tuesday with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The filing comes in the wake of Blagojevich’s re-sentencing on Aug. 9, when trial Judge James Zagel refused to lower the original 14-year sentence. The 7th Circuit had ordered that August re-sentencing after tossing five of Blagojevich’s 18 convictions in 2015. The 60-year-old’s remaining convictions include trying to trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat for campaign cash. Prosecutors will have a chance to respond to the filing, and oral arguments would then be scheduled before a three-judge panel of the Chicago-based appellate court. Please click to read the rest of the associated press story.

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