Well, that 41-day government shutdown should be over by mid-week or so. A few steps remain. From Time magazine:- Senate Democrats had been withholding their support for a House-passed funding bill over healthcare subsidies they wanted extended, but the eight Democrats who broke rank with their party leadership said they agreed to a handshake deal with the White House and Senate Republicans to back a stopgap measure to fund the government through January in return for a promised future vote on those healthcare subsidies, though the Republicans did not pledge their support for extending them.
The continuing resolution acts as a legislative vehicle to reopen the government, and will extend government funding till Jan. 30, 2026.- In exchange for the Democrats’ votes, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R, S.D.) promised a vote in mid-December on an extension bill for ACA subsidies of Democrats’ choosing.
Thune, members of the Appropriations Committee, and reportedly Trump, were in talks with several Democrats around a deal to end the shutdown. The seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats who sided with Senate Republicans on the bill were Jeanne Shaheen (D, N.H.), John Fetterman (D, Pa.), Tim Kaine (D, Va.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D, Nev.), Dick Durbin (D, Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D, N.H.), Angus King (I, Maine), and Jacky Rosen (D, Nev.).- Rand Paul (R, Ky.) was the sole Republican to vote against the bill.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.) said in a post that the average monthly ACA benefit per person of $550 outweighs that of SNAP at $177. “People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives,” she wrote.- Now that the Senate has voted to pass the stopgap measure, Senators are extended to amend the legislation with the broader bill appropriations package. The bill will then face more procedural votes in the Senate, which the group of eight Democrats pledged their support for.
After that, it returns to the House for final passage before it can be sent to Trump’s desk. That means the bill’s passage—and the government reopening—could face several more delays.- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D, N.Y.) said House Democrats would not support the funding bill when it returns to the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority to pass it without Democratic support. “I don’t think that the House Democratic caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer, from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years,” Jeffries said earlier Sunday on Meet the Press about the reported deal the eight Senate Democrats made.
- Even if the shutdown comes to an end soon, most of the government will only have funding secured through January, which could lead to further stalemate in the not too distant future.
In other news:
- President Donald Trump floated directly paying Americans for their health care costs and giving out $2,000 dividends from tariff revenue. Just top of his head notions at this time.
- I find it hard to be true, but this statement from NBC News is surprising (not the booing part):
Donald Trump was booed as he became the first sitting president to attend a regular-season NFL game since Jimmy Carter in 1978, appearing at the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders matchup.
- I went to several games when I worked for the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1982.
- The only other sitting president to attend an NFL game was Richard Nixon in 1969.
- Trump is the only sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, in February of this year.
- Barack Obama did go to numerous college sports games and an NBA finals game.
About sports betting, remember that alleged betting scheme involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and others? Well Major League Baseball just announced why Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase just disappeared from the roster in July of this year. I had him on one of my fantasy teams. He was with another Cleveland pitcher, Lelandro Ortiz Ribera, accused of rigging their pitches for betting purposes. Clase is a really good pitcher. He throws a 100 MPH cutter. No doubt this form of illegality has long been going on and never really detected. Read that article. Incredible.
Whatever happened to the torpedo bat?
- On April Fool's Day of this year, I posted on how the New York Yankees were hitting a lot more home runs this year with that bat. But this was no joke.
- Well after a whole season of use, the numbers say that the torpedo bat has a higher home run rate. According to Google AI, 5.6% to 3.1%. The sample size was, however, too small to take as fact.
- The design concentrates weight in the sweet spot of the barrel. The design moves the bat mass closer to the hands, reducing the moment of inertia, making the bat easier to swing quickly, while maintaining power.
- Also called bullet or bowling pin bat, where the widest part of the barrel, and therefore a higher concentration of mass, is located closer to the hitter's hands, rather than at the far end of the bat.
- This is the Google AI conclusion:
- Status? Legal in the MLB, as long as it adheres to the rules: single, smooth, round piece of wood no longer than 42 inches and with a maximum diameter of 2.61 inches.
- Some players, like Aaron Judge and Steven Kwan, no longer use it due to preference or wrist discomfort.
- Home run champion this year, Cal Raleigh, is a switch hitter, and uses a balanced torpedo bat for his left-handed swing and a top-heavy torpedo bat from the right.
- Note that since 1974, colleges have used aluminum bats.
- These last longer and is a cost savings.
- MLB does not allow aluminum bats because they generate higher exit velocities. The league also wants keeps wood for traditional and historical reasons.
- Thus, college player loses some offensive effectiveness when becoming a pro, for minor leagues also only use wooden bats.
- Watch this video on the numbers behind the torpedo bats three months later.
- Google AI speculates that more MLB hitters will use the torpedo bat next season.
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