And another day of investigations, debt limits, ‘born alive’ abortion bills, stricter dress codes for women in MO state House, allowing ‘conversion therapy,’ outing trans kids, poor households, sex workers, song lyrics, and UFOs comes to a close:
"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship." — George Orwell, 1984
Covid Deaths
US: 1,125,020
World: 6,727,225
Covid Cases
US: 103,482,187
World: 670,825,123
Top Brazil court greenlights probe of Bolsonaro for riot. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday authorized including former president Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation of who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation’s capital, as part of a broader crackdown to hold responsible parties to account. According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-general’s office, which cited a video Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wasn’t voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil’s electoral authority.
Yellen tells Congress US expected to hit debt limit Thursday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Friday that the U.S. is projected to reach its debt limit on Thursday and will then resort to “extraordinary measures” to avoid default.
House passes ‘born alive’ abortion bill. The GOP-led House voted on Wednesday to pass a bill that would require health care providers to try to preserve the life of an infant in the rare case that a baby is born alive during or after an attempted abortion. The bill is not expected to be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but passage in the House serves as a messaging opportunity for the new Republican majority. The vote was 220 to 210. -- There are no good Republicans. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Missouri lawmakers adopt stricter dress code for women in state House. Lawmakers in the Missouri House of Representatives this week adopted a stricter dress code for women as part of a new rules package, and now requires them to cover their shoulders by wearing a jacket like a blazer, cardigan or knit blazer...“Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it’s appropriate or not?” Democratic state Rep. Ashley Aune proclaimed from the House floor.
Wisconsin Republicans block 'conversion therapy' ban. Wisconsin Republicans voted Thursday to again allow therapists, social workers and counselors to try to change LGBTQ clients’ gender identities and sexual orientations — a discredited practice known as conversion therapy. — There are no good Republicans. They are full of hatred toward those different from themselves.
Virginia schools would be forced to out trans kids under chilling Don’t Say Gay copycat bill. A new House bill introduced on Monday (9 January) would require school officials in Virginia to notify parents if their children were transgender…Disturbingly, the new Virginia bill states: “Any person licensed as administrative or instructional personnel by the Board of Education and employed by a local school board who, in the scope of his employment, has reason to believe, as a result of direct communication from a student, that such student is self-identifying as a gender that is different than his biological sex to contact, as soon as practicable and in accordance with board guidelines, at least one of such student’s parents to ask whether such parent is aware of the student’s mental state and whether the parent wishes to obtain or has already obtained counselling for such student.”
Children in Australia’s poorest households have about 10% chance of becoming top earners, research shows. Children born into Australia’s poorest households will have little more than a 10% chance of becoming top income earners in their lifetime, according to new Treasury research. However, Treasury research on intergenerational income mobility, to be released on Friday, found children in the bottom fifth of households were “60% more likely” to make this leap than in the US, where just 7.5% make it into the top fifth by income. — This is by design in the US.
Sex workers display heightened openness, conscientiousness, and Machiavellianism. The results revealed that those in the sex work group had higher conscientiousness and openness to experience scores. They also scored higher in the Dark Triad trait of Machiavellism. Finally, sex workers were also likelier to have started menstruation earlier and tried drugs earlier in life than the control group.
Black rappers call out double standard of using hip-hop lyrics as evidence in rapper Young Thug’s criminal trial. As the high-profile criminal trial of rapper Young Thug began this week, Black rappers who have had their lyrics used against them by prosecutors as evidence of criminal activity have renewed calls to end the practice, saying that although violence and other dark themes are frequently referenced in many artistic works, they are weaponized only against hip-hop artists...Authorities had no physical evidence or weapon that linked Phipps to the shooting, and the then 22-year-old had no criminal record. Yet Phipps’ trial was largely focused on lyrics used in his rap songs, which prosecutors likened to a likelihood of violence, he said.
Carrying a concealed loaded gun without a permit may soon be legal in most states. Florida could soon become the 26th state to allow individuals to carry concealed loaded guns anywhere without permits — a growing trend that has alarmed gun safety groups.
Another Earth-size exoplanet discovered in habitable zone of nearby star. Named TOI 700 e, the planet is one of four known planets orbiting a cool star approximately 100 light-years away. The system was already known to host one planet, called TOI 700 d, in the habitable zone, but recent research that will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals it is joined by another planet inside its orbit. The other two planets in the system, TOI 700 b and TOI 700 c, orbit closer to the star and, as such, are likely to have higher temperatures, putting them outside of the habitable zone.
UFO reports by US troops skyrocket to over 500. Nearly half of the new sightings were deemed "unremarkable" and attributed to human origins, according to the report. However, more than 100 of the encounters remain unexplained.
RIP Lisa Marie Presley. She was 54.
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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