>>Congressional Budget Agreement Reached To Avoid Gov't Shutdown
(Washington, DC) -- Congressional leaders are announcing a budget agreement that will keep the government funded through 2024. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson made a joint announcement of the nearly one-point-seven-trillion-dollar deal on Sunday. The spending agreement will reportedly keep a number of domestic and social programs funded despite GOP calls for extreme budget cuts. News of the breakthrough comes as both the House and Senate are set to return from holiday break this week.
>>U.S. Economy Added 216-Thousand Jobs In December
(Undated) -- The final snapshot of the 2023 labor market is showing hot hiring. On Friday, the Labor Department said 216-thousand jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month, which is well-above the roughly 170-thousand jobs economists expected. The unemployment rate held at three-point-seven-percent in December. Friday's jobs report also showed hiring increased in sectors including government, health care and construction, but jobs were shed in transportation and warehousing.
>>CES Trade Show Kicks Off This Week
(Las Vegas, NV) -- The annual CES trade show kicks off this week in Las Vegas. Ahead of tomorrow's formal open, NVIDIA is scheduled to hold a press conference today that promises to offer details on a broad spectrum of "cutting-edge technologies." The tech company says that will include 'the latest generative AI breakthroughs," from robotics to gaming.
>>New Law Requires CA Bars, Nightclubs To Offer Roofie Tests
(Sacramento, CA) -- A new law aimed at making a night on the town less stressful for women in California goes into effect later this year. The law requires bars and nightclubs in the Golden State to offer "roofie" tests to bar patrons to see if their drink has been spiked. The tests come with a strip or straw that detects common date-rape drugs like ketamine or GHB. The goal is to protect bar patrons from potential sexual assaults. Bars and nightclubs have until July to start offering the kits. It's up to each business to decide if they want to charge customers for the kits.
>>Gas Prices Basically Unchanged
(Heathrow, FL) -- Gas prices are unchanged from where they were yesterday. Triple-A puts today's national average at three dollars and seven cents. California drivers continue to see the highest prices at four-67 on average. Washington and Hawaii are the only other states with prices above four bucks. Oklahoma boasts the lowest prices at the pump, with drivers shelling out two-57 a gallon, down a penny from Sunday.
>>"Wonka" Tops Box Office Again
(Hollywood, CA) -- Movie-goers apparently prefer swimming in chocolate over swimming at night. "Wonka" edged the suspense film "Night Swim" to claim the top spot at the box office for the second-straight week and third time in its four weeks of release. "Wonka" took in an estimated 14-point-four-million-dollars, while "Night Swim" opened with 12-million-dollars. "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" and "Migration" both topped the ten-million-dollar mark and each dropped a spot to third and fourth respectively. "Anyone But You" came within 500-thousand-dollars of joining the ten-million-dollar club and stayed in fifth place.
