And another day of rail strikes, a new generation of leaders, GOP threats, China crackdowns, penalizing doctors, Trump’s tax returns, Amazon deforestation, same-sex households, a woman referee making history, and mind controlling parasites comes to a close:
“Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” -- Albert Einstein
Covid Deaths
US: 1,105,546 (+497)
World: 6,640,229 (+1551)
Covid Cases
US: 100,625,493 (+92,782)
World: 647,938,257 (+939,268)
House votes to avert rail strike, impose deal on unions. The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be signed by President Joe Biden, who urged the Senate to act swiftly.
Jeffries wins historic bid to lead House Dems after Pelosi. House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress at a pivotal time as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.
GOP senators threaten to delay major military bill over Covid vaccine mandate. The seven Republicans say they will prolong consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act unless they get a vote on their proposal to lift a vaccination requirement.
China vows crackdown on ‘hostile forces’ as public tests Xi. China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to “resolutely crack down on infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces,” following the largest street demonstrations in decades by citizens fed up with strict anti-virus restrictions. A massive show of force by the security services Wednesday sought to deter further protests.
AG: Penalize doctor who spoke of Ohio 10-year-old’s abortion. Indiana’s Republican attorney general on Wednesday asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect.
House committee receives Donald Trump’s federal tax returns from IRS. The House Ways and Means Committee now has six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns, ending a yearslong pursuit by Democrats to dig into one of the former president’s most closely guarded personal details.
Amazon deforestation in Brazil remains near 15-year high. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon slowed slightly last year, a year after a 15-year high, according to closely watched numbers published Wednesday. The data was released by the National Institute for Space Research.
Same-sex households in the U.S. surpass 1 million for the first time, data shows. The number of same-sex households increased 120% from 2008 to 2021, according to recently released Census Bureau data.
Stéphanie Frappart to be first woman to referee men’s World Cup match. It has taken 92 years, 942 matches, and a seismic shift in football’s attitudes to women, but on Thursday night an overdue slice of World Cup history will finally be made with a sharp parp of the referee’s whistle before Germany’s group game against Costa Rica. At that moment, Stéphanie Frappart, a 38-year-old from France, will become the first woman to take charge of a men’s match at the tournament finals. In a World Cup suffused with rancour and controversy it is an undisputed sign of progress.
‘Mind control’ by parasites influences wolf-pack dynamics in Yellowstone National Park. Wolves are pack animals, living in family groups led by a matriarch and her mate. Some wolves stay with their pack their whole lives, helping hunt and raise pups like aunts and uncles as they mature, but others split off to find a mate of their own and start their own packs. There are lots of factors that go into these types of behavior, such as quirks of personality and family relationships established as pups, but new scientific findings revealed a surprising influence on wolf-pack dynamics: a mind-controlling parasite that makes a gray wolf engage in riskier behavior.
RIP Christine McVie. She was 79.
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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