So This Week....

What happens next?

On Wednesday, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis had a debate while rival former president Donald J. Trump had a town hall. CNN hosted a debate despite the Republican National Committee officially ending its affiliations. It was a race to be second. Fox held a town hall with Trump. As expected, Brett Baier and Martha McCallum did not fact check or asked the former president tough questions. They allowed him to push false and misleading claims.

In the ratings war, Fox ended up winning. With the Iowa Caucus on Saturday, the final debate before the event could be a make or break moment for DeSantis or Haley.

Also noting, Chris Christie dropped out that day. He was in New Hampshire announcing he suspended his bid. He aimed at Trump and slammed the remaining candidates for being willing to allow an unfit man return to the White House.

An Ohio woman escapes the iron college. Brittany Watts, 34, had been charged with abuse of a corpse after she miscarried into a toilet on Sept. 22 at her home in Warren, 60 miles south of Cleveland. Her case has drawn international attention and fears among reproductive rights experts who see it as a dangerous precedent in post-Roe America.

A Trumbull County grand jury decided against indicting Watts on the abuse-of-corpse charge Thursday afternoon, the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Watts, who is Black, was charged under a section of Ohio law that penalizes treatment of a human corpse in a “way that the person knows would outrage reasonable family sensibilities” or “community sensibilities.”

The charge is a fifth-degree felony, and, had she been convicted, Watts would have faced up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said in a statement Thursday that after a “careful evaluation of both sides’ positions,” the prosecutor’s office believed that Watts did not violate the Ohio criminal statute.

“We respectfully disagree with the lower court’s application of the law,” he said.

The grand jury had been deciding whether there was enough evidence for the felony indictment after Warren Municipal Court Judge Terry Ivanchak ruled there was “probable cause" to find her guilty, Watkins said.

Warren Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Guarnieri said at a preliminary hearing: “The issue isn’t how the child died or when the child died. It’s the fact that the baby was put into a toilet large enough to clog up the toilet, left in that toilet, and she went on her day.”

A statement on a GoFundMe page set up for Watts said "she did the same thing that many women who miscarry at home do. Brittany went into her bathroom, miscarried into her toilet, and flushed."

Watts’ attorney, Traci Timko, had argued that no law in the state requires a woman who has a miscarriage to bury or cremate the remains.

“This miscarriage took place in her home, on the toilet. Ms. Watts learned days before this that a miscarriage was inevitable and that the fetus could not survive outside the womb due to gestational age,” Timko said in a statement in December. “The medical examiner testified at a preliminary hearing that this fetus died in utero and showed no signs of injury.”

"Rather than focusing on healing physically and emotionally, she was arrested and charged with a felony and is fighting for her freedom and reputation,” Timko said in the statement.

Thanks to Ohio's backwards paws where you can legally carry firearms in public and have them without can conceal carry license, you more likely [if you're white] not to get shot by police. The Republicans overridden a veto by Republican governor Mike DeWine when it comes to stripping awayfreedoms. The Republicans passed a ban on transgender women playing sports and using public restrooms. They also passed a ban on gender affirm care which advocates for those who are over 18 to get treatment. Expect Ohio to lose population.

President Joe Biden earned the ire of Democrats on the U.S.-Mexican border, the military strike on Yemen and bypassing Congress to approve funding to Israel. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has vowed to not support the president due to his one sided support for the apartheid regime and its illegal war crimes. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) allegedly dog whistled a white supremacist conspiracy theory when he attacked South Africa for pursuing criminal charges against Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) praised Biden for the strike but warned him about bypassing Congress. Republicans refuse to support any bill to fund the government without any funding for a border wall.

The U.S. and Great Britain launched an attack on the Houthis of Yemen after ignoring their warnings about interfering with the shipping blockade on Israel.

Israel is facing the International Criminal Court of Justice for war crimes. South Africa took it to the court after repeat efforts for a ceasefire failed. Now Israel is calling South Africa allies of Hamas.

Trump's civil trial is wrapping up. He is at the verge of losing his company and operating license. Due to his willingness to showboat, New York Judge Arthur Engoron denied Trump his closing arguments. The former president wanted to complain about Attorney General Letitia James and Biden. He also wanted to deny the allegations that the Trump Organization committed fraud and intentionally lied about its finances.

Bill Belichick is fired from the New England Patriots. After wrapping up the season with the lowest wins in the franchise history, Robert Kraft decided to cut the longtime coach loose.

Nick Saban is also out. After losing to the University of Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoffs, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide coach announced his retirement. I am guessing he was fired too. The longtime coach who brought numerous SEC and National Championships has decided that he could do better on the sidelines.

Jim Harbaugh may also retire from the University of Michigan. After the Wolverines went undefeated and won the National College Football Championship against the University of Washington Huskies, the Wolverines earned the place despite rumors of alleged cheating and Harbaugh being sidelined during the first two and their three final games. Their two toughest teams were Penn State University Natti Lions and the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

J. Russell George was an American attorney who served as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at the Internal Revenue Service from 2004 until his death in 2024. He passed away on Jan. 1.

Tracy Tormé was an American screenwriter and television producer, known for his work on the science fiction series Sliders and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the film Fire in the Sky. She was the daughter of famed singer Mel Tormé. She passed away on Jan. 4.

Christian Oliver was a German actor who appeared in numerous American films and television shows. He and his daughters died in a plane crash. Oliver and his two daughters, Madita and Annik, were killed on Jan. 4 after the four-seater private plane they were on crashed off the coast of Bequia. Everyone on board, including the American pilot, Robert Sachs, was killed on impact. The crash is under investigation by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.