1 Big Snow Set To Slam New York
A historic snowstorm is already beginning to bury parts of Western New York. A state of emergency and travel ban has already been issued in the Buffalo area, with officials saying the region could get 12-to-18 inches of snow overnight and is expected to peak through tonight. A state of emergency is also in effect for eleven counties in upstate New York with several feet of snow expected including in Buffalo and the Watertown areas. Governor Kathy Hochul is urging drivers to stay off the roads in the impacted areas. Buffalo has closed schools for the day and all commercial traffic is banned on a huge stretch of the New York State Thruway. State's emergency services unit says it's going to be white out conditions through this evening.
2 Pelosi Ends An Era, Steps Down As House Speaker
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not seeking re-election to House Democratic leadership. She made the announcement on the House floor yesterday after Republicans were projected to retake the House next year. The California Democrat has served as Speaker on two separate occasions. She first got that position in 2007 and then got the Speaker's gavel back in 2019. Her decision to aside from leadership comes weeks after her husband was badly injured during an attack in their California home. Among those congratulating her? Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is congratulating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she steps down as the leader of the House Democratic caucus. McConnell later gave her praise for concluding her "historic tenure."
3 Ticketmaster Cancels Public On Sale For T-Swift's "Eras" Tour
Fans frustrated at the process of buying tickets to Taylor Swift’s newest concert got some bad news yesterday. Ticketmaster announced they were cancelling all ticket sales for Swift’s “The Eras Tour.” Even though Ticketmaster boasted the two-million single-day sales was a record for a single artist, the ticketing giant was ultimately unable to process the “extraordinarily high demands." Critics cite a number of issues that contributed to the disaster, including pre-sale that seemed to exceed the supposed allotment and a “Verified Fan Process” that “didn’t work as intended this time.” To put things in perspective, the company was 'expecting' about 1.5-million people logging on - what they got? About 14-million...and that includes bots. Backlash has been swift, and ranged from angry and disappointed fans on social media to lawmakers. Even former Presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar weighed in, writing “that Ticketmaster isn't subjected to competition, which means it isn't forced to innovate or create a better service for consumers.”