Thursday, February 25, 2021

And another day of desires, records, powers, equality, rulings, warnings, bombings, spending, disturbing details, quitting, raises, the good old days, ‘super follows,’ butterflies, a UFO, a potato head, and dying for the World Cup comes to a close:

"You used God to put me in the back of the bus. Have you no shame?... This is not about God. This is about men who discriminate against other people because they have the power to do so." — Representative Al Green

Deaths

US: 520,785 (+2422)

World: 2,519,255 (+10,374)

Cases

US: 29,052,262 (+77,639)

World: 113,544,308 (+447,206)

Trump supporters 'want to blow up the Capitol' during a speech by Biden, police chief warns. Acting chief of the Capitol Police Yogananda Pittman told politicians that Donald Trump supporters who launched a deadly assault on the Capitol last month indicated they want to "blow up" the building and kill members of Congress. "Members of militia groups that were present on January 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union.”

Trump's tax returns and related records turned over to Manhattan district attorney. The millions of pages of documents, sources say, contain Trump's tax returns spanning from January 2011 to August 2019, as well as financial statements, engagement agreements, documents relating to the preparation and review of tax returns, and work papers and communications related to the tax returns.

Republican legislators around the country seek to strip governors and officials of emergency election powers. — Republicans are literally trying to steal the next election. 

In case you missed my post yesterday about how horrible of a person Marjorie Taylor Greene is. Her actions became a little more visible today:

Marjorie Taylor Greene posts anti-transgender sign across hall from lawmaker with transgender child. The antagonizing move by Greene comes as the House is expected to pass the Equality Act, a bill that would ban discrimination against LGTBQ Americans, later Thursday, after the Georgia Republican's attempt to block the act failed on Wednesday. It also follows a string of incendiary statements and actions by the freshman Georgia congresswoman, who was removed from her committee assignments earlier this month after violent past comments were unearthed. -- She is creating a hostile work environment and should be immediately removed from Congress.

House passes Equality Act aimed at ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Senate ruling says Democrats can't put $15 minimum wage in Covid relief bill. The parliamentarian said the provision violates the rules and cannot be included.

Capitol Police chief says intel warned of possible violence, but nothing the scale of riot.

US carries out air strikes in Syria targeting Iranian backed militias.

The U.S. military spends more than $700 billion a year on weapons and combat preparedness, more than the next top 10 nations *combined*.

Pentagon report reveals disturbing details about White supremacists in the ranks. A Pentagon report on extremism obtained by CNN gives disturbing insight into how White supremacists are active in the military and offers recommendations to better identify domestic extremists and prevent them from serving.

New coronavirus variant spreading in New York City.

Traumatized and tired, nurses are quitting due to the pandemic. Almost a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, America's nurses -- who for almost 20 years have been voted the country's most trusted professionals -- are running on empty. They've reused PPE, canceled PTO and worked extended shifts for employers they don't always feel value their safety.

Majority of Americans support $15 minimum wage.

Costco raises its minimum wage above rivals like Amazon, Target and Best Buy. Costco has around 180,000 US employees, and 90% of them work hourly. It will hike its minimum wage to $16 beginning next week.

Republicans Recommend Time Travel to Struggling Low-Wage Workers. The majority of Americans want a $15 minimum wage. The GOP wants everyone to remember the good old days. But if we know one thing about Republicans, it’s that they’re not going to let the will of the people upend their relentless conviction to screw over poor people at every turn imaginable.

New public report to blame Saudi crown prince for 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi. The release will mark a new chapter in U.S.-Saudi relations and a clear break from Trump's policy of equivocating about the Saudi state's role in the brutal murder.

Former US Olympics women's gymnastics coach John Geddert died by suicide on Thursday, his body found hours after prosecutors filed human trafficking and sexual assault charges against him.

Twitter is exploring a subscription option called "super follows" that would allow people on the site to charge money for an extra, exclusive layer of content, the company announces.

Following Google’s footsteps, Facebook plans to invest $1B to “support the news industry” over the next 3 years. The tech giant has already invested $600M in news.

Report: More than 6,500 migrant workers have died during Qatar's World Cup prep.

Monarch butterflies down 26% in Mexico wintering grounds.

Mr. Potato Head brand goes gender neutral, sort of. Hasbro announced the change as it launched a "Create Your Potato Head Family" kit, with two potato parents and a potato baby, made for "modern families." The company, which has been making the potato-shaped plastic toy for nearly 70 years, announced Thursday morning that it was dropping Mr. from the brand in an effort to make sure “all feel welcome in the Potato Head world.” That set off a social media frenzy over the beloved toy.

Pilot reports UFO, says missile-like object flew over plane during flight to Phoenix. “I hate to say this — looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing moving really fast. It went right over the top of us," the pilot said in the radio transmission.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.