Monday, June 14, 2021

And another day of an increasing Trump DOJ scandal, the GOP censuring the ‘Squad,’ Reality Winner moves to home confinement, punishing heat, quashing a sex abuse probe, and Mitch McConnell once again showing who he really is comes to a close:

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’” -- Isaac Asimov

Deaths

US: 615,232 (+179)

World: 3,827,648 (+8348)

Cases

US: 34,335,239 (+14,081)

World: 177,027,654 (+314,184)

Trials begin in Cambridge to see which Covid vaccine works best as third "booster" jab.

CDC says vaccine link to heart inflammation is stronger than previously thought.

McConnell signals GOP would block Biden Supreme Court pick in '24. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled Monday that Republicans, if they win back control of the chamber, wouldn't advance a Supreme Court nominee if a vacancy occurred in 2024, the year of the next presidential election. "I think it's highly unlikely — in fact, no, I don't think either party, if it were different from the president, would confirm a Supreme Court nominee in the middle of an election," McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

In the Democratic Senate, the path to making law still goes through Mitch McConnell. The top Republican is wielding the 60-vote filibuster rule to stymie Biden's biggest ambitions. -- No one has done more damage to this country than Mitch McConnell.

Justice Department to tighten rules on seizing Congress data. The Justice Department will tighten its rules around obtaining records from members of Congress, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday, amid revelations the department under former President Donald Trump had secretly seized records from Democrats and members of the media.

Top DOJ national security official resigns amid fallout over seizure of Dems' records.

The scandal over Trump's leak investigations keeps getting worse. The rat-a-tat revelations raise more questions than they answer about why the Justice Department -- the federal agency charged with upholding America's rule of law, regardless of politics -- was so into the business of people the then-President viewed as his enemies.

House GOP trio introduces resolution to censure the "Squad".

Reality Winner, NSA contractor in leak case, out of prison. A former government contractor who was given the longest federal prison sentence imposed for leaks to the news media has been released from prison to home confinement.

Teachers across the country are protesting laws that stop them from talking about systemic racism. “We, the undersigned educators, refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history and current events—regardless of the law.”

Punishing heat for the West could smash records as experts sound alarm for wildfire conditions. About 43 million Americans are under heat advisories as extreme heat exacerbates drought and wildfire conditions.

Southern Baptists quash expanded sex abuse probe, for now. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee on Monday quashed a push for an independent committee to lead a probe of its handling of sex abuse cases, but the proposal is almost certain to resurface when the nation’s largest denomination holds its biggest and most contentious annual meeting in decades.

Police seize enough opioids "to wipe out San Francisco's population four times over" amid California drug surge.

Major US mall owner files for bankruptcy. Washington Prime Group, a major mall owner of more than 100 locations across the United States, filed for bankruptcy, citing pandemic-related shutdowns.

Tokyo Olympic organizers plan to give away about 150,000 condoms at the Games, but are telling athletes to take them home rather than use them in the Olympic village where social distancing rules and coronavirus measures are the top priority.

Patriarch of the 'world's largest family' with 39 wives, 94 children dies in India. — Yes, you read that correctly. Now read the rest. It’s short. 

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

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