In a Time when Nothing could Unite the Country, Damar Hamlin Did
Damar Hamlin Continues to Get Stronger
In what is a rare occurrence, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s story has united the country. On January 2nd, Hamlin collapsed on the field during a matchup between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin had to be given CPR for over nine minutes until he was able to be taken off the field and rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. We now know Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. This led to the Bills vs. Bengals ultimately being postponed and eventually canceled. The NFL came under fire for handling the initial situation, including taking so long to call the game to an end.
As days went on, Hamlin’s medical team constantly kept everyone updated, and progress was being made. On January 5th, Hamlin’s physician reported that he woke up on Wednesday. To help his breathing, he had a tube down his throat, but he could communicate through writing. His first question: “did we win?”. His physician responded, “You won the game of life.” Damar continues to progress significantly with his neurological condition, although he is still in critical condition.
The show of love and support for Damar Hamlin has been a sight. Most of the country has been united on their reaction….aside from one poorly written tweet by Skip Bayless. The entire NFL has supported Damar with shirts, and videos, switching their social media profiles, and so much more. Perhaps the biggest show of support came in the form of donations to his charity, “The Chasing Ms Foundation.” The foundation launched a gofundme campaign in 2020 seeking donations for a toy drive. The original goal amount was $2,500. As of today, it has now reached over $8 million.
As the NFL wraps up its regular season this week, thoughts and prayers continue to flood in for Damar. We wish him a full recovery. Rumble, Young Man Rumble.
Political Roundup
Kevin McCarthy was elected as House Speaker. After 15 ballot rounds, Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. This was the longest time it took to select a speaker in 160 years. McCarthy’s main opposition came from members of the freedom caucus. Congressman Matt Gaetz and Congresswomen Lauren Boebert were the most vocal in their opposition to McCarthy’s speakership, citing his willingness to compromise with the Democratic Party. While McCarthy eventually won, it came with numerous concessions, including allowing only one house member to vote no confidence and potentially remove him from power. Many have noted that concessions such as this will make him the weakest majority speaker in recent memory. Democrats also raised concerns that it would make it much more difficult for McCarthy to negotiate deals with Democrats on the debt ceiling and to prevent government shutdowns.
Hakeem Jeffries officially makes history. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries was officially elected as the minority speaker of the Democratic party. This cements Jeffries as the first Black person to attain this role. Jeffries thanked former speaker Nancy Pelosi before handing the gavel to Kevin McCarthy.
The Return no one Wanted
In July 2022, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon shocked the sports and entertainment world when he announced his retirement from the company. This stemmed from an internal probe that found McMahon used company money to make hush payments to women who had accused him of sexual misconduct. Upon his retirement, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Kahn became CO-CEO and Paul “Triple H” Levesque was placed as the head of creative.
Many wondered if this was indeed the end of Vince McMahon’s reign. Welp turns out that wasn’t the case. On January 6th, the WWE announced via SEC filings that Vince is back on the board of directors. Before this, McMahon released a press release citing his desire to return to the company to pursue a sale of the company. Company stock soared over 20% from the news of his willingness to shop WWE. The board unanimously informed Vince that there was a desire to have him back after the sexual misconduct allegations. Vince made it clear that as majority owner, he would not approve any new media rights deals or possible acquisitions without his return to the board.
WWE fans have not been happy with the news. They argue that the product has been much more enjoyable with Triple H at the helm. Many hope Vince is back only to sell the company, and he will be hands-off with the actual wrestling product.
Many potential suitors could buy WWE. Some of the predicted favorites are:
Comcast
Fox
Disney
Amazon
Netflix
Endeavor
Liberty Media
For years, WWE has been viewed as a great acquisition target. They generate large media rights deals, have their own self-sustaining content, and a built-in loyal audience. No matter who buys the company, one thing is certain: the wrestling world will change forever.
Other Headlines
Jay-Z joins a team looking to add a casino to Times Square.
Walmart and CVS will begin to offer abortion pills.
Tech layoffs continue to pile up, including 18,000 by Amazon.
Meta fined over $400 by EU regulators after it was decided that they tried to “force consent” of personal user data used for personal ads.