And another day of legal immunity, preparing for battle, semiconductor chips, Alito on “religious liberty,” R’s block helping military vets, a new political party called “Forward,” monkeypox an imminent threat, flooding in KY, and more book banning comes to a close:
“If this is America first, then America is fucked!” -- Jon Stewart
Deaths
US: 1,054,422 (+453)
World: 6,414,253 (+3705)
Cases
US: 92,917,658 (+755,793)
World: 579,439,686 (+1,088,113)
Trump presses his claim of legal immunity from Jan. 6 lawsuits. The former president’s lawyers are claiming he has legal immunity from civil lawsuits filed by Democratic members of Congress and U.S. Capitol police officers who said were injured during the siege. -- We can’t continue letting Trump believe he is above the law. No one is. Not even a president or a former president. This immunity claim is bullshit. No one should have immunity from breaking the law.
Prosecutors prepare for court battle to force former White House officials to testify about Trump's January 6 conversations. At issue are claims of executive privilege that prosecutors expect the former president to make in order to shield some information from the federal grand jury as the criminal investigation moves deeper into the ranks of White House officials who directly interacted with Trump.
Inflation and climate change tackled in new Senate deal that Biden calls 'historic'. President Joe Biden hailed as "historic" the Senate Democrats' agreement on a bill to fight the climate crisis and decrease the cost of prescription drugs – key pieces of his domestic agenda.
The House passes a bill boosting the production of semiconductor chips. The measure now goes to President Biden to be signed into law. The legislation is aimed at addressing a semiconductor chip shortage and making the US less reliant on other countries such as China for manufacturing. Supporters say the measure is important not only for US technological innovation, but for national security as well.
West Virginia House passes abortion ban in special legislative session. HB 302 would prohibit abortion at any stage of pregnancy with exceptions for a nonmedically viable fetus, a medical emergency or an ectopic pregnancy, a rare event in which the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus and cannot survive. The bill, as introduced, did not provide exceptions for abortions in cases of rape and incest. Under the bill, an abortion provider who violates the law would be subject to a felony and could face between three to 10 years imprisonment. — Republicans are so fucking loathsome.
Samuel Alito mocks foreign critics of repealing Roe v. Wade in Rome speech on religious liberty. “Religious liberty is under attack in many places because it is dangerous to those who want to hold complete power,” Alito said. “It also probably grows out of something dark and deep in the human DNA – a tendency to distrust and dislike people who are not like ourselves,” he added. -- Alito is dangerous. His talk of ‘religious liberty’ is not truly about religious liberty. For ‘religious liberty’ means freedom for all religions, as well as freedom from religion. He wants Christianity govern this nation.
Anger as Republicans block bill to help military veterans exposed to toxins. The comedian Jon Stewart ripped into Republican senators on Wednesday, after they abruptly halted a bipartisan bill that would expand healthcare access for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. The former host of the Daily Show, who now hosts The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, has lobbied for the bill. He called those who switched their votes “stab-vets-in-the-back senators”. He added: “PS: fuck the Republican caucus and their empty promise to our veterans.”…A version of the bill passed the Senate 84-14 earlier this year but was sent back to the House for some technical corrections. It easily passed there. But on Wednesday, 25 Republican senators who previously supported the measure declined to move it forward. — Republicans only talk about supporting military vets. Their actions rarely show that they actually do.
Pelosi’s husband sells off up to $5 million worth of chipmaker stock ahead of semiconductor bill vote. The latest regulatory filing came one day before the Senate passed legislation in a 64-33 vote to provide $280 billion to bolster the American semiconductor industry as the nation grappled with a chip shortage, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. — Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
“Anyone who says members of Congress and their spouses should own stocks is saying Americans don’t deserve lawmakers without conflicts of interest.” — Walter Shaub
Group of Republicans and Democrats form new political party to appeal to moderates.
A group of former Republican and Democratic officials are forming a new political party called Forward, in an attempt to appeal to what they call the “moderate, common-sense majority.”
New York state declares monkeypox an imminent threat; San Francisco issues state of emergency over virus. The declarations in New York and San Francisco come after the World Health Organization designated the disease a public health emergency of international concern over the weekend.
28 female inmates in Indiana jail claim they were sexually abused by mob of male inmates: lawsuits. Twenty-eight female prisoners at an Indiana jail claim in two federal lawsuits that they were subjected to a “night of terror” after they were attacked and sexually assaulted by male inmates who had allegedly bought a key to the women’s wing from one of the jailers for $1,000.
Miami considering plan to move homeless people to camp on island in Biscayne Bay. Miami is studying the possibility of taking people experiencing homelessness off the streets and moving them to a city-sponsored encampment on Virginia Key, an idea that has sparked opposition from some community advocates and could imperil federal funding for countywide homeless initiatives.
Flooding in central Appalachia kills at least 8 in Kentucky. Torrential rains unleashed devastating floods in Appalachia on Thursday, as fast-rising water killed at least eight people in Kentucky and sent people scurrying to rooftops to be rescued. Water gushed from hillsides and flooded out of streambeds, inundating homes, businesses and roads throughout eastern Kentucky. Parts of western Virginia and southern West Virginia also saw extensive flooding. Rescue crews used helicopters and boats to pick up people trapped by floodwaters.
All women should enjoy summer, Spain says on launch of beach body positivity campaign. There is no such thing as a body which is not beach-ready, according to a new campaign in Spain. “Summer is ours too,” the country’s equality ministry tweeted Wednesday alongside an image of five women of different ages and body types, including one who appeared to have a mastectomy scar.
Pennsylvania school district adopts policy to remove "sexualized content" in libraries. A selection committee appointed by the district’s superintendent will be tasked with selecting books for school libraries that do not contain “implied” or explicit written descriptions or visual depictions of sexual acts or nudity. Parents under the new policy are also given greater authority to challenge library books “on the basis of appropriateness,” which is not clearly defined in the policy. The document does, however, specify that materials may be challenged and removed based on a lack of educational suitability or prevalence of “sexualized content” or “pervasive profanity or vulgarity.”…The school district’s policy – considered one of the most restrictive in the state by the Pennsylvania Library Association, according to the Inquirer – is reflective of a national trend aiming to limit talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. — Any book that a group of people are trying to ban, is a book that needs to be read.
Chick-fil-A Is Asking for 'Volunteers' to Work for 5 Chicken Sandwiches Per Hour. North Carolina Chick-fil-A so hard up for people to work the lunch rush that it’s asking for volunteers from the community. “We get people all the time that want to be a part of what we’re doing. This is designed to be an opportunity for that.”
Rice University engineers have figured out a way to manipulate dead spiders to pick up small delicate electronic components.
RIP Bernard Cribbins. He was 93.
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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