And another day of now or never, voting legislation, McCarthy threats, Rounds and Trump sparring, Fox moves to ‘less news,’ going backwards, Covid news, CA Gov proposes tax cuts and health care, a ‘sea dragon,’ and the first pig to human heart transplant comes to a close:
“Imagine if Clinton had refused to participate in the Benghazi investigation.” — Molly Jong-Fast
“Every time Republicans get what they want, the American people lose something they need.” — John Collins
Deaths
US: 861,336 (+1980)
World: 5,512,185 (+6302)
Cases
US: 62,661,272 (+1,398,242)
World: 311,051,135 (+3,160,303)
It’s Now or Never for Democrats to Protect Voting Rights. This week is one of most pivotal in history of American democracy. If Dems don’t pass federal legislation now to stop voter suppression, extreme gerrymandering & election subversion, GOP will make it impossible to have fair elections going forward.
Invoking Jan. 6, Dems pivot to fight for voting legislation. Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation, arguing dark forces unleashed by Donald Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election demand an extraordinary response.
McCarthy vows to remove Democrats from committees if Republicans win House. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to remove three Democratic lawmakers from key committee assignments if Republicans win back the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections. Citing a "new standard" that Democrats had created last year by removing GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees for inflammatory rhetoric and posts, McCarthy told Breitbart he would strip Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both of California, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota of their committee assignments. Schiff and Swalwell serve on the House Intelligence Committee, while Omar serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. -- The Republican Party is irredeemable. It must be rendered to the dustbin of history.
GOP senator spars with Trump after calling out stolen election lie. Trump vowed to never again endorse Sen. Mike Rounds after the South Dakota senator said the 2020 election was "fair." Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., hit back at Donald Trump on Monday after the former president issued an insult-laden statement blasting the senator for not supporting his baseless claims of a stolen election. The back and forth began when Rounds told ABC News in an interview Sunday that the 2020 presidential election was "as fair as we have seen." -- One of the few Republicans not afraid of Donald the shitstain Trump.
Fox installs right-wing flame-thrower Jesse Watters to 7 p.m. slot, cementing network's new programming strategy. Jesse Watters, the right-wing talk show host who throughout his career has courted controversy with incendiary commentary, will be Fox's new 7 p.m. host, the network announced on Monday. The installment of the flame-thrower Watters into the key time slot cements a strategy Fox initiated soon after President Donald Trump lost re-election: More right-wing commentary, less news. -- Fox News is “entertainment.” It is not a news source. Don’t be fooled.
'We have gone backwards': Covid confusion snarls Biden White House. A half dozen former health policy makers, including members of Biden’s transition team, said the Biden administration needs an urgent strategy reset. President Joe Biden is urging schools to stay open, but there’s a widespread Covid testing shortage. He calls it the “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” but that’s only confused boosted Americans home sick with the omicron variant. And the administration hasn’t changed its guidance to urge high-filtration masks despite calls from the medical community, while recent isolation guidance has only added to the uncertainty. The White House’s stay-the-course strategy on Covid is increasingly colliding with the realities of a roaring pandemic that is forcing schools and businesses to close.
Health officials let COVID-infected staff stay on the job. Health authorities around the U.S. are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers infected with the coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. The move is a reaction to the severe hospital staffing shortages and crushing caseloads that the omicron variant is causing.
Omicron-specific vaccines could be ready by March. Will we need them? Experts say it’s unclear if Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant will be necessary.
Amid Omicron surge, we know startlingly little about who's getting boosted. The data is, frankly, a mess. And that stops public health workers on the state and local level from taking the actions they need to combat the coronavirus.
How to get insurance to pay for at-home COVID tests, according to the White House. Under the new policy announced by the White House, individuals covered by a health insurance plan who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test that has been authorized, cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration will be able to have those test costs covered by their insurance beginning this Saturday. -- What about those without insurance? Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
Canada deemed 'very high' risk for travel. The world's second-largest country by total area, Canada has seen a steep rise in cases as the Omicron variant spreads. The country recorded 294,437 new cases for the week ending January 8, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, its highest weekly total of the pandemic.
Italy targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions Monday, with proof of vaccination or recovery from a recent infection required to enter public transport, coffee shops, hotels, gyms and other everyday activities.
Uganda reopens its schools to students after nearly two years—ending the world's longest school closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Djokovic won his court case but few Australians are cheering. An Australian judge's stunning dismissal of the government's hasty attempt to deport the world No. 1 men's tennis player is a spectacular defeat for an administration that prides itself on strong borders. Judge Anthony Kelly's ruling that Novak Djokovic be freed to contest the Australian Open overruled the government's insistence that he should be barred for failing to prove he is exempt from being inoculated against Covid-19.
Chicago public school students will return to classroom Wednesday after teachers union suspends work action, mayor says. Chicago teachers will be back in school Tuesday and students are scheduled to return to in-person learning on Wednesday after the Chicago Teachers Union house of delegates voted to end the teachers' work action, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a Monday night news conference.
California governor proposes tax cuts, expanded health care. With state revenues at an all-time high, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed a budget that would cut taxes while also promising to pay the health care expenses of all of the state’s low-income adults who are living in the country illegally.
Ex-'American Idol' star Clay Aiken announces bid for Congress. Clay Aiken, widely known for his stint on "American Idol," announced Monday that he's launching another bid for Congress in North Carolina. "If the loudest and most hateful voices think they are going to speak for us, just tell them I'm warming up the old vocal chords," Aiken said in an announcement video posted on Twitter, taking a jab at Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. He cited challenging White supremacy, racism and homophobia as contributing reasons for his campaign launch.
In 1st, US surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient. While it’s too soon to know if the operation really will work, it marks a step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center say the transplant showed that a heart from a genetically modified animal can function in the human body without immediate rejection.
South Korean actor O Yeong-su won the country's first Golden Globe award for his role in Netflix hit ‘Squid Game’.
Huge prehistoric 'sea dragon' fossil discovered in U.K. reservoir. The ichthyosaur fossil measures over 32 feet in length and has a 6-foot skull weighing around one ton. It lived about 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period when dinosaurs walked on land. “It’s the most complete and larger than any dinosaur skeleton ever found here, so it’s a mega-find for so many reasons.”
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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