1. On what was the coldest night of the year, power went out last night to 40,000 customers of Cleveland Public Power for about three hours. The power outage stretched all across the west side, including popular areas like The Flats, Ohio City and Tremont. The blame goes to a blown transformer at the substation at I-90 and West 44TH. It was fixed and the power was back on by nine last night.
2. United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has announced a reduction of $285 million dollars in funding to the international body for its 2018-19 budget. With regard to pulling the funding, Haley said: "We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked." How do you feel about the U.S. giving the United Nations less money?
3. With up to 92% of Americans doomed to fail at keeping their New Year’s resolutions – “get out of debt” is among both the most popular and most commonly broken according to WalletHub, the personal-finance website. The best cities for keeping New Year’s Resolutions are Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego. Some of the worst cities for keeping New Year’s resolutions are Columbus, Detroit and Newark. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? If so, do you keep them?
4. Some of the top stories of 2017 include in no particular order: President Trump getting sworn into office, the Russian investigation into the U.S. Presidential election, North Korea threats, Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment, Republicans shot at a charity softball game, the terror attack in Manhattan, the number of opiate overdoses, the Las Vegas shooting, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, the solar eclipse, the Charlottesville riots and NFL players taking a knee. What is the biggest single story of the year?
5. A wild recount in a razor-thin Virginia House of Delegates election that ended in a tie will be decided when the state board of elections draws a name from a bowl today. The State Board of Elections will break the tie between Republican incumbent David Yancey and Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds. The drawing will be held live on public TV at 11 a.m. What do you think of the luck of the draw determining the winner?
6. A topless female protester was detained on Monday for trying to steal the baby Jesus from the Vatican's Christmas display. The woman tried to pull off the stunt as thousands of people were gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear the Pope's Christmas Day message. She was stopped by Vatican police before she could get the baby Jesus doll. The lady is part of an international feminist group called Femen. The act was meant to protest the "Vatican's infringement of the rights of women to their own bodies." How do you feel about the protest? Did you see the photo of the topless woman?
7. The list of top baby names are out for 2017 and topping the list for girls is Olivia followed by Cora, Amelia, Charlotte, Isla, Isabella, Maia, Aurora, Amara and Ava. The number one name for boys is Atticus followed by Asher, Jack, Theodore, Jasper, Milo, Oliver, Silas, Henry and Wyatt. Mike and John don’t make the top ten. What do you think about Oliva and Atticus being the top baby names?
8. Top civil servants in England have one wish for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Don't invite the Obamas. Officials fear an invite to the Obamas and a snub to President Donald Trump could jeopardize relations. Harry and former president Barack Obama are good friends and have a close relationship. Obama has been a supporter of Harry's Invictus Games for wounded warriors. A source told The Sun, "Harry has made it clear he wants the Obamas at the wedding, so it's causing a lot of nervousness." What do you think?
9. Dateline: The United Kingdom. A mother took to the UK social forum “Mumset” to complain about a woman who was sunbathing topless at a pool in front of her kids at a family vacation resort. One mother posted “if looking at her boobs makes you uncomfortable, stop looking” while others “Mums” agreed with her. What do you think? Is it OK for women to go topless in front of children who are not her own?
10. The French government will ban students from using mobile phones in the country’s primary, junior and middle schools at the start of the next school year. Reports say that children will be allowed to bring their phones to school, however they will not allowed to use them until they leave, even during breaks. The French education minister said the ban was also a “public health message to families”, adding: “It’s good that children are not too often, or even at all, in front of a screen before the age of seven.” Do you agree with the French government's efforts?