And another day of going minute-by-minute, twisted appeals, a Russian brain drain, striking down part of FL election law, ‘political bias,’ 1M barrels of oil a day, law suits, lesbian sex is a human right, emotional abuse, missing indigenous people alert, and finishing decoding the human genome comes to a close:
“So at least we know: in the eyes of GOP leadership you can accuse Democrats of supporting ISIS or pedophiles or the "replacement" of white people or the destruction of the family...but you can't accuse Republicans of doing coke and having group sex. Good to know.” — Tim Wise
“Dear furious conservative, I guess I just can’t figure out what the fuck trans people did to make you so angry other than to exist. And that’s about you, not trans people. You’re the villain here.” -- The Rude Pundit
Deaths
US: 1,007,320 (+875)
World: 6,166,976 (+4847)
Cases
US: 81,780,503 (+39,781)
World: 488,566,474 (+1,475,065)
Trump’s 8-hour gap: Minute-by-minute during Jan. 6 riot. A lot is known about the few hours that shook American democracy to the core. The defeated president’s incendiary speech, the march by an angry crowd to the U.S. Capitol, the breaking in, the beating of cops, the “hang Mike Pence” threats, the lawmakers running for their lives, the shooting death of rioter Ashli Babbitt. All of that chaos unfolded over about eight hours on one day: Jan. 6, 2021. But for all that is known about the day, piecing together the words and actions of Donald Trump over that time has proved no easy task, even though a president’s movements and communications are closely monitored...The following account is based on testimony, timelines and eyewitness reporting.
This may be Trump’s most twisted appeal to Putin yet. Not only is Trump seeking to cook up a self-serving conspiracy with a Russian President much of the world now regards as a war criminal. He’s also asking an enemy of the United States, who has threatened nuclear war, to damage the American commander-in-chief who is leading the West in an effort to aid an innocent, invaded nation and to save democracy. -- Trump is a traitor. And if you support him, you are a traitor, too.
Republicans squirm as Trump presses Putin for dirt on Bidens. A handful of Republicans rebuked Trump for asking the Russian president to hand over damaging information on Biden's son, but most chose to stay silent on the matter.
“Endemic” Covid Doesn’t Mean Mild. But the science itself is not so simple. In a January opinion piece for the journal Nature, Aris Katzourakis, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Oxford, explained that “endemic” has a precise meaning to epidemiologists: A disease reaches an endemic state when “the proportion of people who can get sick balances out the ‘basic reproduction number’ of the virus, the number of individuals that an infected individual would infect.” In other words, endemic’s only “true dictate” is, as the Atlantic noted, “a modicum of predictability” in the spread of the disease.
As Russia sees tech brain drain, other nations hope to gain. Russia’s tech workers are looking for safer and more secure professional pastures. By one estimate, up to 70,000 computer specialists, spooked by a sudden frost in the business and political climate, have bolted the country since Russia invaded Ukraine five weeks ago. Many more are expected to follow. For some countries, Russia’s loss is being seen as their potential gain and an opportunity to bring fresh expertise to their own high-tech industries.
Judge strikes down parts of Florida election law; cites race. A federal judge struck down portions of a Florida election law passed last year, saying in a ruling Thursday that the Republican-led government was using subtle tactics to suppress Black voters. The law tightened rules on mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods — changes that made it more difficult for Black voters who, overall, have more socioeconomic disadvantages than white voters, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in his ruling.
New York judge blocks Democratic-drawn congressional map for ‘political bias’. A New York judge has blocked the state’s new congressional map, which would have given Democrats the advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional seats, from going into effect for violating the state’s constitution. Judge Patrick McAllister ruled Thursday that the map “was unconstitutionally drawn with political bias” by the Democratic-controlled legislature and created no competitive seats. The state legislature has until April 11 to pass a new map and submit it to the court for review, and McAllister further stated that the map had to receive “bipartisan support.”
President Biden announced a plan to draw 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next sixth months from the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve – an unprecedented push to try to take the edge off of soaring gasoline prices.
LGBTQ groups sue Florida over so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. The challenge filed in federal court in Tallahassee on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality alleges that the law violates the constitutionally protected rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families.
The UN has become the first international law body to declare that criminalising lesbian sex is a violation of human rights. The landmark ruling by the UN committee has global implications, and means that any government criminalising lesbian sex is violating international law.
Teens faced emotional abuse at home during the pandemic, CDC finds. More than half of high school students said they were victims of verbal outbursts during lockdown, according to a new CDC survey.
Washington OKs 1st statewide missing Indigenous people alert. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a bill that creates a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people, to help address a silent crisis that has plagued Indian Country in this state and nationwide.
Texas is one of a dozen states that hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. It’s also the state with the highest number of uninsured residents.
Fights over illegal fishing lead to armed conflicts, deaths. Around the world, from Sri Lanka to Argentina to the South China Sea, the ocean has become an expanding front in the armed conflict between nations over illegal fishing and overfishing, practices that deplete a vulnerable food source for billions of people worldwide.
Will Smith’s Oscars slap felt by comedians beyond Chris Rock. When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over an Oscars ceremony punchline, other comedians felt the sting. “I know Chris and I know what it’s like to be on a stage in front of an audience that doesn’t like your material,” said stand-up comedian Judy Gold. “But to be physically assaulted, that’s a whole other thing. It felt like every comedian was smacked across the face. It really felt like that.”
Some Skippy peanut butter products are being recalled because of small fragments of stainless steel that may be found in them from a piece of manufacturing equipment, parent company Hormel says.
Scientists finally finish decoding entire human genome. An international team described the first-ever sequencing of a complete human genome – the set of instructions to build and sustain a human being – in research published Thursday in the journal Science. The previous effort, celebrated across the world, was incomplete because DNA sequencing technologies of the day weren’t able to read certain parts of it. Even after updates, it was missing about 8% of the genome.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
