Historical Events 1356 - Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scots 1919 - International Lawn Tennis Challenge‚ Double Bay‚ Sydney: Gerald Patterson beats Algernon Kingscote 6-4‚ 6-4‚ 8-6 to retain title for Australasia over the Great Britain‚ 3-1; ends 4-1 1968 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming 1990 - Black January - crackdown of Azerbaijani pro-independence demonstrations by Soviet army in Baku 2013 - AFC Championship‚ Gillette Stadium‚ Foxborough: Baltimore Ravens beat New England Patriots‚ 28-13 2017 - Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America and Mike Pence as the 48th Vice President More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1880 - Walter W. Bacon‚ American politician (d. 1962) 1907 - Paula Wessely‚ Austrian actress and producer (Masquerade)‚ born in Vienna‚ Austria-Hungary (d. 2000) 1952 - Patrick Smith‚ Australian sports journalist (The Age‚ The Australian‚ SEN; Walkley Award 1997‚ 2002‚ 04)‚ born in Melbourne‚ Australia (d. 2023) 1955 - Hiromi ÅŒta‚ Japanese pop singer (Momen no handkerchief)‚ born in Kasukabe‚ Saitama Prefecture‚ Japan 1956 - Maria Larsson‚ Swedish politician‚ born in LÃ¥ngasjö‚ Sweden 1975 - Kati Agócs‚ American-Canadian composer (The Debrecen Passion)‚ and educator (New England Conservatory)‚ born in Windsor. Ontario More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1707 - Humphrey Hody‚ English theologian (b. 1659) 1936 - George V‚ King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions‚ and Emperor of India (1910-36)‚ dies at 70 after being euthanized by his doctor 1979 - Gustav Winckler‚ Danish pop singer ("Skibet skal sejle i nat"- "The Ship Is Leaving Tonight")‚ dies in a car crash at 53 1994 - Aar van de Werfhorst [pseudonym for Pieter Gerhardus Jansen]‚ Dutch writer‚ dies at 87 2007 - Anatol Rapoport‚ Ukrainian-American mathematician and biologist (game theory)‚ dies at 95 2018 - John Coleman‚ American journalist‚ co-founder of The Weather Channel and broadcaster (1953-2014)‚ dies at 83 More Famous Deaths »

Ford said this week that it will make significant cuts to the number of employees who produce its touted F-150 Lightning truck as demand for electric vehicles continues to plummet. Bloomberg News reported that 1‚400 employees will be cut from production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center‚ which is cutting all the way back to having a single shift. Ford planned to produce around 3‚200 F-150 Lightnings per week in 2024 at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn‚ Michigan‚ which assembles all of the electric pickup trucks produced by Ford. Ford announced last month that it was cutting its production of the trucks in half‚ all the way down to 1‚600 per week. Ford has slashed $12 billion in EV investments as it struggles to sell its all-electric vehicles to consumers who have numerous concerns about transitioning from gas to electric‚ especially as retail prices for most EVs remain high. Bloomberg News noted that the demand for gas vehicles remained so strong that the automaker was hiring approximately 900 new employees and transferring 700 employees who are being pulled off the F-150 Lightning to its Michigan Assembly plant to create a third shift of workers. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The news comes after Hertz‚ one of the largest rental car companies in the U.S.‚ announced last week that it was dumping tens of thousands of electric vehicles from its fleet‚ citing low demand and high repair costs. “The dramatic about-face‚ after Hertz announced plans in 2021 to buy 100‚000 Tesla Inc. vehicles‚ underscores the waning demand for all-electric cars in the US‚” Bloomberg News reported. “EV sales growth slowed sharply over the course of 2023‚ rising just 1.3% in the final quarter as consumers were put off by high costs and interest rates.” U.S. consumers have had serious concerns about the electric vehicle market ranging from the price of the vehicles and the serious lack of charging stations throughout the U.S. to electric vehicles experiencing dramatic losses in their driving range during weather conditions that feature extreme cold or heat. “The elevated costs associated with EVs persisted‚” Hertz Chief Executive Officer Stephen Scherr said. “Efforts to wrestle it down proved to be more challenging.” The company hopes that its decision to sell off 20‚000+ electric vehicles better balances “supply against expected demand of EVs‚” it said in a regulatory filing. Morgan Stanley analysts said told Reuters that Hertz’s move should be a warning to the entire auto industry about the reality of the electric vehicle market‚ that they are not that popular and expectations for their growth need to be significantly reduced. The news comes after nearly 4‚000 auto dealers across the U.S. said in a letter to President Joe Biden late last year that his push to make two out of every three new cars sold by 2032 electric was highly unrealistic. While there were good options for people wishing to buy electric vehicles‚ “the reality‚ however‚ is that electric vehicle demand today is not keeping up with the large influx of BEVs [Battery Electric Vehicle] arriving at our dealerships prompted by the current regulations. BEVs are stacking up on our lots.” The dealerships said they’ve seen a drastic shift in demand for electric vehicles in just the last year and that they are arriving on their lots faster than they can be sold despite “deep price cuts‚ manufacturer incentives‚ and generous government incentives‚” the letter said. “Mr. President‚ no government agency‚ no think tank‚ and no polling firm knows more about the automobile customer than us‚” it continued. “Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles‚ and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change.” Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

Law enforcement officials in Florida will not charge former state Republican Party chairman Christian Ziegler with rape after conducting a months-long investigation. Florida Republicans stripped Ziegler of his authority and reduced his salary to $1 last month after he refused to resign following accusations that he raped a woman last October. In an emergency vote earlier this month‚ they voted 199-3 to oust him‚ which comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other top Florida Republican officials had called on him to resign. The Sarasota Police Department said that after an extensive investigation‚ they concluded that the sexual encounter “was likely consensual.” “Therefore‚ detectives were unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with Sexual Battery‚” police said on Friday. However‚ police said that they are seeking a felony charge for Video Voyeurism against Ziegler “after conducting an additional follow-up interview with the victim and after showing the victim the video recording of the sex act” in which the victim “advised Sarasota Police detectives that she was unaware and did not consent to being video recorded.” Police said that they prepared a probable cause affidavit for Video Voyeurism and forwarded it to the State Attorney’s Office for further review. Police said that Ziegler has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Ziegler attorney Derek Byrd said in a statement that “since day one‚ we have been confident Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated from these baseless allegations.” “He has been completely honest‚ forthright‚ and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation‚” Byrd said. “While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department ‘punted’ the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney’s office‚ we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.”