Nation
Denver mayor flies to visit family for Thanksgiving, despite telling people to avoid travel
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D) boarded a flight on Wednesday to Houston, going against his warnings that people should avoid traveling for Thanksgiving this year and try to stay close to home if possible, with coronavirus cases spiking across the country, NBC 9 News in Denver reported.
According to 9 News, Hancock’s spokeswoman confirmed that the mayor was traveling to Houston on Wednesday to visit his daughter in Mississippi, and that his wife is already there.
30 minutes before his flight, Hancock tweeted that people should “avoid travel, if you can” in order to fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“As he has shared, the Mayor is not hosting his traditional large family dinner this year, but instead traveling alone to join his wife and daughter where the three of them will celebrate Thanksgiving at her residence instead of having them travel back to Denver,” a statement from the mayor’s spokesperson reads. “Upon return, he will follow all necessary health and safety guidance and quarantine.”
Additionally, 9 News obtained an email in which Hancockās assistant said the mayor would be out of office from Wednesday to Friday.
In a November 18 email sent to city staff, per 9 News, the mayor wrote, āas the holidays approach, we all long to be with our families with person, but with the continued rise in cases, Iām urging you to refrain from travel this Thanksgiving holiday. For my family that means cancelling our traditional gathering of our extended family.ā
Hancock also said in this email that anyone who travels out of state should quarantine for 14 days and that employees who canāt work from home will need to use their paid time off for the leave, 9 News added.
As of Wednesday, there have been 33,971 total coronavirus cases in Denver and 494 deaths. This all comes as the seven-day moving average of new cases in the county is 688, according to the Denver Public Health COVID-19 monitoring dashboard, .
Furthermore, one in 41 Coloradans is currently infectious with COVID-19, which the highest level since the pandemic began, Gov. Jared Polis (D) said on Tuesday.
This also comes after the governor of California, Gavin Newsom (D), was caught breaking his own COVID-19 restrictions by attending a birthday dinner that had more guests than legally allowed in that area of California and had to publicly apologize last week.
RELATED: Gov. Newsom apologizes for attending guideline-breaking party, says it was a ābad mistakeā
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
Former President Donald Trump stated bluntly on Truth Social, Ā “FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES. Get this crazy war ended, NOW. So easy to do!”
Trump was referring to the escalation of war in Ukraine. He, like many other commentators and lawmakers, are warning that the decision to continue sending weapons – and now tanks – could potentially lead to the use of “nuclear weapons.”
It’s mission creep and it’s dangerous, they say.
Why? Because Russian President Valdimir Putin has indicated in two different speeches that he would use nuclear weapons to defend Russia, if needed. Those warnings are not just bluster but a very real possibility.
And the escalation of war is visible.
Russia launched 55 missiles strikes across Ukraine Thursday, leaving 11 dead. The strikes come one day after the United States and Germany agreed to send tanks to Ukraine in an effort to aide the country. 47 of the 55 missiles were shot down according to Ukraine’s Air Force command.
Eleven lives were lost and another 11 were injured additionally leaving 35 buildings damaged in the wake of the attacks. According to The New York Times, Denys Shmyhal, said in a post on Telegram. āThe main goal is energy facilities, providing Ukrainians with light and heat,ā he said.
Ukraine is now demanding that they need F-16 fighter jets. In a post on twitter Ukrainian lawmaker, Oleksiy Goncharenko said, āMissiles again over Ukraine. We need F16.ā
Morning. Missiles again over Ukraine. We need F16.
ā Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) January 26, 2023
The US has abstained from sending advanced jets in the chances that a volatile decision could foster more dangerous attacks like former President Trump’s post on Truth referred to. If the US did authorize the decision to lend Ukraine the F-16 jets Netherlandsā foreign minister, Wopke Hoekstra, would be willing to supply them. According to The New York Times, Hoekstra told Dutch lawmakers, “We are open-minded… There are no taboos.ā
F-16 fighter jets are complex to work on, they are not the average aircraft that can be learned in a matter of weeks. It can take months for pilots to learn how to fly these birds. European and US officials have the concern that Ukrainian forces could potentially use the jets to fly into Russian airspace and launch attacks on Russian soil.
Western allies are trying to avoid such a provocation, because that could lead to nuclear warfare in reference to what Putin has said he would do to defend his country.
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