And another day with the crazy GOP in Arizona, restoring access to healthcare, political domestic terrorism, lots of Covid-19 stuff, outlawing most abortions, a lack of protections for LGBTQ people, and tuna sandwiches comes to a close:
“Life is beautiful but people are crazy.” -- Charles Osgood
Deaths
US: 443,769 (+4252)
World: 2,200,957 (+16,831)
Cases
US: 26,338,607 (+1472,406)
World: 102,036,438 (+601,475)
Arizona GOP lawmaker introduces bill to give Legislature power to toss out election results. One section grants the Legislature the ability to revoke the secretary of state's certification at any time before the presidential inauguration. -- Because Republicans can’t win with their platform of hate.
Multiple Arizona Republicans are demanding an audit of the state party's leadership elections after the party didn't allow observers to watch the vote-counting process, which resulted in top Trump ally Kelli Ward being re-elected as party chair.
In an executive order, Biden restored access to healthcare.gov, allowing Americans to sign up for insurance through the government exchange from Feb. 15 to May 15.
US alert warns of political domestic terrorism.
Parkland survivors call for GOP extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene's censure. “She hasn’t disowned any of it,” Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was among the 17 students and staff killed in the shooting, told the Guardian on Wednesday. “She hasn’t said, ‘I was wrong.’ She hasn’t said, ‘I’m sorry to the families I’ve hurt.’ She hasn’t said, ‘I accept the truth around Parkland, Sandy Hook, and 9/11.’ She has let the lie live. That makes her incapable of serving as a representative in Congress.” — She needs to be expelled from congress.
Republicans who cheered Trump's executive orders now grumble about 'record number' from Biden.
Early safety data from the first month of COVID-19 vaccination finds the shots are as safe as the studies suggested they'd be.
Manaus is collapsing again. Is a new coronavirus variant to blame? Four epidemiologists told CNN that a new coronavirus variant, called P.1, is likely driving the new round of devastation that's befallen Manaus. "I'm usually not an alarmist about these kinds of things, but I'm concerned about what we are seeing in Brazil right now," said Scott Hensley, a viral immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Scientists say the new version of the virus originated in Brazil, and though there is a lot still to be learned about it, there are multiple causes for concern.
How Covid-19 mutations are changing the pandemic. The emergence of the Brazilian P1 variant raises concerns that the virus may be developing an increased propensity for re-infecting individuals, according to the US's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Virus variant from South Africa detected in US for 1st time. The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in two cases in South Carolina. Public health officials said it’s almost certain that there are more infections that have not been identified yet. They are also concerned that this version spreads more easily and that vaccines could be less effective against it.
How many variants of the coronavirus are there? There are many circulating around the world, but health experts are primarily concerned with the emergence of three.
After a period of declining Covid-19 cases, India will allow swimming pools, cinemas, and large group gatherings of any size in areas outside of designated “containment zones” starting February 1, an official says.
Fauci backs CDC's school reopening plan: 'We need to try and get the children back to school'. “It's less likely for a child to get infected in the school setting than if they were just in the community,” Fauci said.
A Seattle-area hospital system was rebuked by Washington Gov. Inslee after it offered COVID-19 vaccination appointments to big donors. Overlake Medical Center emailed about 110 donors last week who gave more than $10,000 to the hospital system, telling them that vaccine slots were available.
Germany recommends Oxford Covid vaccine not be used on over-65s.
Don't take painkillers before your COVID-19 shot, doctors advise. Americans who get the COVID-19 vaccine may feel some mild side effects, health officials warn. However, doctors are urging people to avoid trying to ward them off with a preemptive dose of Tylenol, Advil or some other over-the-counter pain reliever — because it could have negative effects on the vaccine's efficacy.
Does Covid-19 impact male fertility? Experts urge caution about new evidence. "This report provides the first direct evidence to date that COVID-19 infection impairs semen quality and male reproductive potential," the study said.
'Covid tongue' may be another coronavirus symptom, British researcher suggests. Some patients report tongue discoloration, enlargement and other mouth problems.
“Racism doesn’t exist in America.” -- Marjorie Taylor Greene -- She needs to be expelled from Congress.
South Carolina Senate passes bill outlawing most abortions. The ” South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act ” requires doctors to use an ultrasound to try to detect a fetal heartbeat if they think pregnant women are at least eight weeks along. If they find a heartbeat, and the pregnancy is not the result of rape or incest, they can’t perform the abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger.
Pentagon declares climate change a 'national security issue'. The Pentagon will now consider climate change when planning war games and will incorporate the issue into its future National Defense Strategy.
Half of US states fail to offer basic protections for LGBTQ people, according to a report by the country's largest LGBTQ advocacy group. This year's report, which organized states into four categories based on their anti-discriminatory statutes, determined that there are 25 states in the lowest-ranked category, dubbed "high priority to achieve basic equality." "We have seen an increase in the number of states that are providing comprehensive protection," Alphonso David, president of HRC, told CNN. "Yet, it is important to highlight that half of all Americans live in states that lack those protections."
EXPLAINER: Why GameStop’s stock surge is shaking Wall Street.
Facebook's 'Oversight Board' overturns 4 cases in first rulings. The first-ever rulings, which Facebook has said it will abide by, come in the run-up to a far more consequential decision the board will make in the weeks ahead: Whether to overturn Facebook's decision to suspend former President Donald Trump's account in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots in Washington.
Navalny defiant as Russian court rejects his bid for freedom. A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny for his release from jail, while authorities detained several of his allies and warned social media companies about promoting more protests after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend demanding his freedom.
Two men in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province were publicly caned 77 times each on Thursday after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for having sex...It's the third time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Shariah law, has caned people for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion.
Naomi Osaka becomes co-owner of women's soccer team North Carolina Courage. "Currently reflecting on how the women who have invested in me growing up made me who I am today, I actually don't know where I would be without them," she wrote. "I feel that throughout my career I've always received so much love from my fellow female athletes so that's why I am proud to share that I am now a owner of @thenccourage I will keep continuing to pay the love I have received forward and I'm excited to continue the legacy of women empowerment."
No tuna in Subway's tuna sandwiches and wraps, lawsuit claims. What Subway bills as tuna is a "mixture of various concoctions that do not constitute tuna, yet have been blended together by defendants to imitate the appearance of tuna," according to the complaint.
73 Seconds to the Sky. A Look Back: January 28, 1986 by Dan Rather. As a reporter, you learn early that breaking news can happen at any time, anywhere. But you can never truly prepare yourself for the instantaneous whiplash that occurs when history suddenly arrives. It was the morning of January 28, 1986 and Challenger (in its tenth mission) lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:38am EST.
RIP Cicely Tyson. She was 96.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
