Good morning, Brew Daily Show.

I'm Neil Fryman.

And I'm Toby Howell.

Today, Congress thought it had a deal to avoid a government shutdown this Saturday.

Then Elon Musk entered the chat.

Then the Fed issued its final rate cut of the year.

So why did your stock portfolio tank?

It's Thursday, December 19th.

Let's ride.

Good news, Neil. You can finally plan that trip to Washington State you've been putting off. That's because officials announced yesterday that the so-called giant murder hornets have been successfully eradicated from the state

following a year's long effort to find and eliminate the non-native pest.

Murder Hornets were first sided in the area all the way back in 2019, but state officials quickly mobilized to try and contain their presence due to the threat the giant insects posed to their honeybee and other pollinators.

Consider that threat contained,

too. No hornet has been cited in the last three years. Thank goodness, Neil. Giant murder hornet is probably the most appropriate name ever given to an animal. These thing

can be two inches long. Just think about a hornet that's two inches long in your head right now.

They can wipe out an entire honeybee hive in less than 90 minutes by decapitating the bees there

and then defending the hive as their own, all while using the brood to feed their baby hornets.

They can also sting through beekeeper suits, deliver almost seven times the amount of venom as a honeybee and sting multiple times.

That's why an entomologist in the Washington State Department of Agriculture said,

I've been doing this for over 25 years now.

It is a rare day when the humans actually get to win one against the insects.

I'm not going to lie.

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