Good Morning Australia!! - Chicago's killer deep freeze is colder than the Arctic - Banks are moving money out of the UK as a Brexit crash appears more and more likely - Queensland LNP suspends a member - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

The Brexit is about two months away, and there is no sense of order in Whitehall as Parliament continues to bicker.  British PM Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met for about 45 minutes at the prime minister's office in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.  When they walked away, neither side had budged.  Corbyn holds that the UK should agree to a customs union with the European Union before it leaves, and that Ms. May must guarantee that the country will not crash out of the EU without trade and diplomatic agreements in place to cushion the blow.  May told Corbyn that she insists the UK must be able to strike its own deals. 

Europe does not appear to be budging off of its hardline.  The European Commission said that the UK must pay the £39 Billion (US$51.1 Billion, AU$70.5 Billion) Brexit bill even if it leaves the EU without a deal.  London had earlier agreed to the sum, which includes EU Budget payments up to 2020, to cover its liabilities to the bloc and unlock talks over the future relationship.  Meanwhile, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he will not renegotiate the deal that's been rejected by the UK Parliament.  

The UK High Court approved Barclay's bid to move £166 Billion (US$217.7 Billion/AU$300 Billion) in assets linked to about 5,000 clients to Dublin in teh event of a messy break-up between the UK and European Union.  "Our preparations are well advanced and we expect to be fully operational by 29 March 2019," the bank said.  Barclay's Dublin unit is doubling its staff in anticipation.  Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has already moved to shift a third of its investment bank clients and billions worth of assets out of the UK to Amsterdam.

Anyway..

Queensland LNP has suspended state MP Jason Costigan after a member of the public filed a harassment complaint.  "I do not intend to canvas the detail of the complaint," said state LNP interim President Dave Hutchinson, "The decision to suspend the party membership of a sitting MP is a very serious one, and has not been taken lightly."  LNP leader Deb Frecklington also said that Mr. Costigan had "failed to meet" standards she set for her team.  

Russian police arrested a sitting Senator inside the upper house during dramatic closed door session in Moscow.  They accuse Rauf Arashukov of playing a role in two contract killings in 2010, and other charges may follow.  Mr. Arashukov of the North Caucasus republic of Karachay-Cherkessia was apparently taken by surprise and tried to walk out of the chamber until the "icy voice" of Federation Council speaker Valentina Mativiyeno urged him to give in. 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued a fresh rejection of demands he hold new presidential elections, in defiance of the threat from some countries to recognize unelected opposition leader Juan Guaido as president.  Mr. Maduro told Russian TV that he'd entertain the idea of new parliamentary elections, but he stands by last May's polls which returned him to office for another six year term.

And now..

A polar vortex has set in above the US Upper Midwest, plunging cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, and others into an insanely awful deep freeze - the weather there is literally worse than most of the Earth's two polar regions.  For Chicago, the morning low temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday were forecast to be -24 F Degrees (-31 Celsius), and -55 F Degrees (-48 Celsius) with the wind chill factored in.  Wednesday's high didn't exceed -9 F Degrees (-22 Celsius).  Schools were closed, mail deliveries were halted, and businesses that weren't run by total jerks took the day off.  At least seven cold weather deaths were reported by Wednesday afternoon. 

All of this is because of climate change, as this graphic from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
NOAA
Sea ice around the Arctic kept the Jet Stream steady, and confined the cold to the polar regions.  But that sea ice is melting away because of global warming, allow the polar vortex to get all lop-sided, spilling Arctic cold as far south as the Ohio Valley.  Wilder weather, more often: that's what climate scientists had been promising all along if Global Warming was unchecked.  Simultaneous, Australia is experiencing a destructive heat wave, which - in an ideal world - ought to be more than enough evidence that something is wrong for the "the weather is good in my neighborhood, therefore there's no climate change" crowd.