The second major winter storm of the week blasted the central U.S. Friday with blizzard conditions and artic temps. But that wasn’t the only “storm,” as USDA released a barrage of report data, which was mostly bearish. Tensions in the Middle East also escalated as the U.S. and Britain carried out air and sea strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen. The Houthis said the attacks “will not go unanswered and unpunished. Meanwhile, the Jan. 19 deadline to fund some government programs, including USDA, and avoid a partial government shutdown looms. We cover all these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.