Just One Thing: Grocery merger blocked
Yesterday, a federal judge sided with the government in opposition to the proposed merger between Kroger (King Soopers/City Market, in Colorado) and Albertson's (Safeway in Colorado). This is a win for the federal government and a significant win as well for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser who has been one of the leaders against the merger. The companies argue that they need to merge to compete with Walmart and insurgent Aldi among others. The companies had agreed to sell many Safeway stores to a third company that would continue to operate them and compete with Kroger-Albertsons but Weiser and the judge believed the third company was not a credible operator. Unions also opposed the merger as a possible risk to their revenue...I mean to the number of unionized employees. I think this one was a tough call. I generally want gov't to permit mergers unless the anti-competitive impact is clear. I think this one was close. Clearly there places in this state where there's a Safeway and a King Soopers or City Market but not a nearby Walmart and at least in those places this would have been distinctly anti-competitive. Is that enough to block the deal? The judge thought so.
$20 Billion Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked by Federal Judge - WSJ
Oh, mom and dad are fighting now: Albertsons Companies, Inc. - Albertsons Files Lawsuit Against Kroger for Breach of Merger Agreement
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Today's Guests
Bill O'Reilly joins the show to talk about various stuff going on in the world. Congrats to Bill for his latest book, "Confronting the Presidents: No-Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden" reaching #1 on the NY Times Bestsellers list!
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James Pampush returns after just being on the show Monday. I don't do that often but it was such an interesting first conversation -- about why only humans have chins (for which there is no certain answer) -- that I wanted to have him back to talk about bigger-picture issues regarding evolution, natural selection, etc. I think you'll love this.
James Pampush, PhD | High Point University
The enduring puzzle of the human chin - PubMed
A Chin-Stroking Mystery: Why Are Humans the Only Animals With Chins? | Smithsonian
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Other Stuff
This doesn't make me happy, but they earned it: Fresh humiliation for CNN as ailing news channel is overtaken by Food Network in ratings war | Daily Mail Online
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Unsurprising that FBI officials abused their power. This is some of what Trump wants to clean up but let's not assume he wouldn't be OK with using the FBI to go after media organizations because for Trump it's not about any principle, it's just about how it impacts him. Trump’s DOJ secretly obtained records of his FBI pick Kash Patel, lawmakers, staffers and media in leak investigations | CNN Politics
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Interesting choice: Donald Trump announces he is making Kimberly Guilfoyle his ambassador to Greece in stunning move | Daily Mail Online
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Unfortunately there’s likely no punishment available: Johnson calls for disciplinary action over Gaetz Ethics report leaks
Susan Wild absent from Ethics Committee meeting after Matt Gaetz leaks to press
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Israel is doing what it needs to do: Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country | AP News
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Devastating report about a non-profit funded by Denver taxpayers leads to...their getting another contract, albeit only one year long: Denver voted for high-quality mental and addiction care, but millions have gone to unlicensed providers with limited transparency
Caring for Denver contract renewed for just 1 year - Axios Denver
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One of the worst people in the US gets to keep his website for now: Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after sale to The Onion is rejected | AP News
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Much too close to the plot of "Defense Protocol", the Andrews & Wilson novel we just talked about (with the authors) on the show: China begins military movements around Taiwan as the island braces for potential drills | CNN
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This day in history: Today in History: December 11, King Edward VIII abdicates British throne | AP News
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This is a most unusual brain: A New Zealander studied for a year to win the Spanish world Scrabble title. He doesn’t speak Spanish | AP News
(See video below)
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There's no satisfying answer here: Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death and fled to Eastern Europe is in custody, online records show | AP News
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Today's Videos
Check out this wonderful cultural event in northeastern India: In India’s northeast, Nagas showcase traditional culture at Hornbill Festival | AP News
Kristen and I have some beautiful jewelry (mostly necklaces) from Nagaland. We really want to visit there.
Necklace examples (from the internet, not from our little collection): IMG_3918-rotated.jpg (810×1080)
Video about Nigel Richards, the unbelievable Scrabble player mentioned above