Let's Do The News! (January 8, 2019)

- The Quirino Grandstand in Manila will again be filled with millions of maroon and yellow clad devotees of the Black Nazarene who are expected to participate in the annual “Traslacion” of the image tomorrow. Expect 5 million devotees will take part of the hour-long procession of the image alone.

- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte favors higher sin taxes to fund government health care program. The President endorsed the proposal of the Department of Health and the Department of Finance on the higher taxes on sin products during a Cabinet meeting on Monday in Malacañang, according to his spokesman Salvador Panelo.

- The Court of Tax Appeals said that religious-ran hospitals are not exempted from income tax.

- The White House’s National Security advisor will meet with Ankara officials on Tuesday to discuss the surprise withdrawal of US troops from Syria, as the Turkish president hailed the pullout as “the right call”.

- US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed reducing the US trade deficit with India and increasing their cooperation in Afghanistan in a telephone call on Monday, the White House said.

- A federal appeals court said a Virginia politician violated the Constitution by temporarily blocking a critic from her Facebook page, a decision that could affect President Donald Trump’s appeal from a similar ruling in New York.

- Indonesia will launch a renewed search effort as early as Tuesday to find the cockpit voice recorder from a Lion Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea in October, according to the head of the accident investigation.

- The US Supreme Court refused to reinstate the murder conviction of a member of the Kennedy clan, a case that has fascinated Americans for decades. Michael Skakel, nephew of Robert Kennedy — president John F. Kennedy’s younger brother — was convicted of murder in 2002 but freed in 2013 after a judge ruled he had been badly defended.

- Scuderia Ferrari named Mattia Binotto as their new F1 team principal, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene ahead of the 2019 F1 season.

- The original actor from the Gridman TV series of 1993 has his restaurant endangered by prank callers which results to ending reservations.

- Chris Tiu retires from the PBA.

- Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose apologized for saying that his doubters should "kill yourself." Rose used the phrase twice when asked to move on from coach Tom Thibodeau, who was fired Sunday.

TTFN!!!