President Biden Not On New Hampshire Primary Ballot; Florida Bans Some Flags; Kanye West's Metal Teeth

Florida: Real And Imagined

Meteorologists are warning that over 115 million residents from Iowa to New Jersey should prepare a winter storm on Friday.

The storm is forecast to bring 1-3 inches of snow to the Midwest and Northeast, with some areas receiving 3-6 inches or more by Friday evening, AccuWeather said.

Snow is expected to impact travel Friday on Interstate 80, in addition to snarling traffic on local roads and state highways from the Midwest to the Northeast, according to AccuWeather.

Meteorologists said to expect de-icing operations at airports, including major hubs such as Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York City, and Boston. Flight cancellations could also increase due to delayed crews and displaced planes towards the end of the week and beginning of the weekend.

Why Biden isn’t on the NH primary ballot — and other things you should know ahead of the state’s presidential primaries next week

The 2024 presidential primary season continues next week in New Hampshire, where primary voters will cast their ballots on Jan. 23.

The election comes just eight days after the Iowa Republican party held in-person caucuses, in which former president Donald Trump claimed a major victory over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who came in second and third, respectively.

While Iowa is first in the nation to hold caucuses — which are different from primaries — the Granite State has prided itself for over a century on holding the first official presidential primary. However, primary day in New Hampshire will look a little different this year — starting with the fact that President Biden’s name will not appear on the Democratic party ballot.

What happens on primary day?

New Hampshire will hold two simultaneous elections on Tuesday, Jan. 23: one for the Republican party and the other for the Democratic party.

As in every other presidential primary, New Hampshire Republicans will cast their ballots, selecting who they want to choose as the GOP’s nominee for president. There are 22 GOP delegates for the 2024 Republican National Convention up for grabs in the state.

New Hampshire uses a proportional method to allocate delegates to different candidates based on the statewide vote. As long as the candidate receives at least 10% of the statewide vote, they receive delegates. If there are leftover delegates, they are awarded to the candidate that got the most votes in the primary.

There will also be a Democratic primary on Jan. 23 in New Hampshire, but it will be unsanctioned by the Democratic National Committee.

What’s going on with the Democratic primary? And why won’t Biden’s name appear on the ballot?

In an effort to make the primary process more diverse, President Biden urged the DNC to hold the first official Democratic primary of 2024 in South Carolina. (It also doesn’t hurt that Biden won South Carolina’s primary in 2020, while coming in fifth in New Hampshire).

As a result, South Carolina scheduled its Democratic primary for Feb. 3, and the DNC instructed New Hampshire to hold its primary on Feb. 6, the same day as Nevada’s.

But New Hampshire state law says it has to hold its primary one week before any other similar contest. The state’s GOP-led legislature refused to break with tradition to change that law. So, New Hampshire decided to go ahead with an unsanctioned Democratic primary on Jan. 23, while threatening the DNC with legal action.

Biden is prohibited by DNC rules from competing in the New Hampshire primary, which is why his name won’t appear on the ballot, though there are efforts independent of his campaign to get the president’s name added as a write-in.

Because New Hampshire is going against DNC rules, none of the state’s 33 delegates will be awarded based on the results of the primary. This means that whichever Democrat wins the primary won’t actually advance toward the presidential nomination.

To get on a primary ballot in New Hampshire, candidates are required only to fill out a form and pay $1,000. This means voters will have their pick of a long list of candidates, including characters like perennial Libertarian candidate Vermin Supreme, best known for wearing a boot on his head.

Republican voters will select from among 25 candidates, including Trump, DeSantis and Haley. GOP candidates who have since dropped out of the race — such as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — will also appear on the Republican ballot, but they cannot be awarded delegates.

And while Democrats will not be able to vote for Biden, they’ll get to choose from a list of 21 other candidates, including self-help author Marianne Williamson and Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips.

Florida lawmakers have voted to move forward with a bill that would effectively ban Pride flags from government buildings and schools.

HB 901 says that "a governmental entity may not erect or display a flag that represent a political viewpoint, including, but not limited to a politically partisan, racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint."

The proposal, introduced by Florida state Republicans Rep. David Borrero of Sweetwater and Rep. Randy Fine of Brevard County, was approved Wednesday in a 9-5 vote along party lines in the Republican-led House's subcommittee on constitutional rights, rule of law and government operations. It's now in the State Affairs Committee.

The bill's supporters say the bill doesn't affect flags being flown at homes and other private places, and is intended to counter "indoctrination," especially in schools.

Rep. Fine said, “I don’t want the 'Trump for president' flag flying in this room," he said, according to the News Service. "They’re not appropriate in this room, they’re not appropriate in our schools, they’re not appropriate in our government buildings.”

The bill has drawn opposition from the LGBTQ community, who point to other anti-LGBTQ laws passed by the Legislature, according to reporting by the News Service of Florida. They argue that it amounts to intolerance.

St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross said: “I think we should be fostering communities of inclusion, and I think this bill is moving us backwards and not forwards.

Veteran department-store chain Macy’s is laying off about 3.5% of its workforce, or roughly 2,350 employees, and closing five stores as it continues to shrink its massive retail business for the online-shopping era.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Retailers often lay off employees and announce store closures after the holidays, especially if they had a sluggish sales season.

However, Americans spent at a faster clip in December from the month prior, the Commerce Department said this week.

The company opened its first Macy’s in 1858 and now operates about 500 Macy’s branded stores, as well as 55 of the more upscale Bloomingdale’s chain.

Macy’s is emblematic of the holiday season, sponsoring both the Thanksgiving Day Parade In New York City that traditionally kicks it off and as the setting for, and employer of, Santa Claus in the 1947 classic film “Miracle on 34th Street.”

But it has struggled against rising competition and a migration of shoppers away from department stores.

A group of investors in December reportedly proposed to take Macy’s private at a vulnerable moment for the famed company. Macy’s has not commented on the activist attempt.

Macy’s has attempted numerous strategies in recent years to revitalize business, such as new brands and smaller stores, but the moves have not altered its long-term trajectory.

Macy’s stock price has dropped 75% from a peak of $73 a share in 2015. Since then, it has closed nearly 300 stores — almost one third of its stores — and operates about 700 across its brands.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

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AMC Theatres

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Regal Cinemas

Regal Cinemas is offering Regal Crown Club members a free small popcorn (excluding gourmet popcorn) when they buy a ticket on Jan. 19. Customers with a Regal Refillable can also get one free popcorn refill.

The Popcorn Factory

You can save 30% off sitewide at The Popcorn Factory on Jan 18 and 19 using the code POP30.

LOS ANGELES - Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shared a picture on Instagram of what appeared to be metallic dentures. The titanium implants were worth a whopping $850,000, the Daily Mail reports.

In a second picture, West compared his new mouthpiece to the character Jaws from the James Bond movies "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker," who had metal teeth.

According to the Daily Mail, West's teeth were completely removed and replaced with custom titanium dentures by Beverly Hills-based dentist-to-the stars Dr. Thomas Connelly, and cosmetic dental technician Naoki Hayashi.

Shortly after West shared his news with his 18.7 million followers, Dr. Connelly reposted West's story to his own page. Dr. Connelly, however, denied the report West's natural teeth were removed.

"He did not have his teeth removed. He still has a full dentition," he told Complex.

"The technical term is fixed prosthodontics. They are fixed and permanent. This goes way beyond veneers or grills. It’s quite unlike anything that has been done before," a person close to Ye told The Washington Post. "It’s experimental dentistry to say the least."

The prosthodontics were designed by Ye and a team of dentists and cosmetic surgeons, the Post reported.

Reba McEntire, Post Malone and Andra Day will be warming up the Super Bowl audience for Usher's headlining performance.

The NFL named the country singer, Malone and Day as this year's Super Bowl pregame entertainment on Jan. 18.

McEntire will perform the national anthem, Malone will sing "America The Beautiful" and Day will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the Black national anthem.

They will each be accompanied by American Sign Language performers in Daniel Durant of "CODA," model Anjel Pinero and actor Shaheem Sanchez, respectively.

Usher was announced as the halftime performer in September. It will mark his first time with the lead gig, though he did perform at the Super Bowl in 2011 when the Black Eyed Peas headlined.

The game will be played in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11 between two yet-to-be-decided NFL playoff teams. CBS will broadcast the game.

McEntire said on X that performing on football's biggest stage is "historic."

"I’m honored to be part of something as big and historic as the Super Bowl coming to Las Vegas for the first time!" the country legend wrote.

Day thanked God for the opportunity.

"Peace & Blessings!!! Performing the Anthem at the Super Bowl yall! Grateful! Thank You God," the singer and actor said on X. "See you on February 11th."

Green Day was joined Tuesday by Jimmy Fallon in the subways of New York City to film a segment for "The Tonight Show" in which the band performed a surprise gig in front of commuters.

Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool didn't show up sporting spiky hair while clad in leather clothes and signature black eyeliner. Instead, the band was initially disguised along with Fallon as run-of-the-mill subway buskers rocking out for spare change.

As the crowd began to swell – perhaps sensing something was afoot when they noticed beefed up security and plenty of cameras to boot – the performers ripped away their unkempt wigs and fake facial hair to reveal their true identities.

The raucous set also had "Tonight Show" host Fallon jamming alongside the band, tambourine in hand.

Though "the Tonight Show" has not yet announced when the segment will air, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are gearing up for a tour later this summer alongside Smashing Pumpkins and other acts. The Saviors Tour begins May 30 in Europe before the U.S. leg kicks off July 29 in Washington, D.C.

The new music – the album drops Friday – isn't all the band will be celebrating during the upcoming tour. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Green Day's major-label debut, “Dookie,” and the 20th anniversary of "American Idiot."

In an interview with USA TODAY, the band members said they plan to perform both albums in their entirety during the The Saviors Tour, as well as new material and plenty of fan-favorites.