And another day of relief bills, confirmations, H.R.1., phone calls, calls for investigations, more allegations, relationships, flooding, throwing out food, security camera hacks, and Texas once again goes off the rails comes to a close:
“I don’t try to describe the future. I try to prevent it.” -- Ray Bradbury
Deaths
US: 542,191 (+1617)
World: 2,631,996 (+9895)
Cases
US: 29,862,124 (+60,618)
World: 118,630,045 (+471,680)
Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems.
Nearly two-thirds of lower-income Republicans support Biden's COVID-19 relief plan, poll finds. Overall, Republicans backed the plan at 41 percent, a minority to be sure, but one that's significantly higher than zero. And that support grows even more among lower-income Republicans, 63 percent of whom approve of the plan, suggesting there may be some disconnect between the GOP Senate and its base on the issue.
Texas AG Ken Paxton has threatened to sue the city of Austin and surrounding Travis County after officials there, citing the continued threat of Covid-19, said they would continue to require residents to wear masks.
Texas Rangers allowing 100% capacity at stadium for opening day. As of Tuesday, Texas ranked 47 out of all 50 states in percentage of the population to receive at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Brazil plunges into crisis as a second wave and deadly new variant overwhelm hospitals. A second wave of Covid-19 is ripping through Brazil, pushing hospitals and ICUs toward collapse and claiming record numbers of daily deaths.
Senate confirms Merrick Garland as Biden's attorney general. The bipartisan vote came almost five years to the day after Garland was nominated for the Supreme Court — a nomination the Senate refused to consider. -- Because Mitch McConnell is an asshole.
Democrats rethink the U.S. voting system. What's in the massive H.R. 1. The legislation — a wish list of policies voting rights advocates have urged lawmakers to adopt for years — rethinks the entire voting process: how people register to vote, how ballots are cast and how states conduct elections. The goal is to improve access, particularly for voters of color.
Trump pressured Georgia investigator to find 'the right answer' in baseless fraud push. In a call to the Georgia secretary of state's office in December, Trump urged a top investigator to find fraud in the 2020 election, telling her she would be "praised" for overturning results that were in favor of Biden.
Jayapal asks for investigations into three GOP members for their role in instigating the Capitol Insurrection. Jayapal asks the two groups to "thoroughly investigate" the activity of the three members of Congress -- Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Paul Gosar of Arizona -- in the time leading up to the insurrection and refer all potential criminal wrongdoing to the Department of Justice.
Report: Cuomo groped female aide in governor’s residence. An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Democrat groped her in the governor’s residence, marking the most serious allegation among those made by a series of women against the embattled governor.
Another Texas GOP lawmaker is attempting to make abortion punishable by the death penalty.
Thousands of Texans are slated to lose their health care provider after a Texas judge allowed the state to remove Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program.
Five Oklahoma City officers charged with manslaughter in shooting of 15-year-old boy.
Journalist acquitted in Iowa case seen as attack on press.
Mexican women have been physically, sexually abused for participating in protests. The report found that women who protested peacefully saw security forces violate their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The women suffered unnecessary and excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and even episodes of violence and sexual abuse. “What we have found is that those who go out and march are seeking justice in cases of women who have suffered great violence either by the authorities or in the private sphere by their own partners. And these women find neither justice, nor truth, nor reparation when they go to the authorities.”
Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch owners charged with abuse after women spoke out on TikTok. The Missouri AG said this was “one of the most widespread cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse patterns against young girls and women in Missouri history.”
'Couples are struggling': Therapists say it's been a tough year for relationships.
Hawaii governor declares state of emergency following major flooding. Hawaii has experienced very heavy rainfall since Sunday, with some areas getting 1 to 2 feet of rain in just 24 hours. The rain caused catastrophic flooding for Maui and Oahu, which temporarily forced evacuations overnight in Haleiwa on Oahu.
We throw out more than 2 trillion pounds of food every year, UN says. The waste damages efforts to help the billions of people who are either hungry or cannot afford a healthy diet, but also harms the environment. Food waste and loss causes about 10 percent of the emissions driving the climate emergency, and intensive farming is a key cause of the biodiversity crisis and global pollution. If food waste were a country, it would have the third highest emissions after the US and China.
Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools. Hackers aiming to call attention to the dangers of mass surveillance said they were able to peer into hospitals, schools, factories, jails and corporate offices after they broke into the systems of a security-camera startup.
TikTok will warn users before posting ‘inappropriate or unkind’ comments.
Twitter plans to let anyone start hosting Twitter Spaces in April.
Meteor streaking over Vermont exploded so "violently," it shook buildings, NASA says.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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