And another day concerning Social Security and Medicare, FL House giving DeSantis more power, anti-LGBTQ+ in MO, racism in MS, thousands of missing school kids, the diabetes black market, banning teaching scientific theories in MT, and orca males comes to a close:
"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool." -- Voltaire
Covid Deaths
US: 1,139,675
World: 6,778,927
Covid Cases
US: 104,731,504
World: 677,088,951
Pence subpoenaed by special counsel leading Trump investigations. Special counsel Jack Smith is overseeing inquiries into Trump's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and the former president’s handling of classified documents after he left office.
US says China balloon could collect intelligence signals. The China balloon shot down by the U.S. was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday, citing imagery from American U-2 spy planes.
In GOP-held Florida, Biden vows no cuts to Social Security. Venturing into a state defined by its growing retiree population and status as the unofficial headquarters of the modern-day Republican Party, the president sees a chance to use Social Security and Medicare to drive a wedge between GOP lawmakers and their base of older voters who rely on these government programs for income and health insurance. -- Never forget that Republicans have said they plan on sunsetting Social Security and Medicare. That’s their plan. Stop voting for Republicans. They are literally trying to fuck you over.
Ron DeSantis once expressed support for privatizing Social Security and Medicare giving his rivals an opening. Former President Donald Trump and Democrats have already signaled plans to weaponize DeSantis’ comments against him, should he announce for president, and subsequent votes in Congress for non-binding budget resolutions that privatized Medicare and raised the retirement age to 70. -- Fuck DeSantis. He will fuck over everyone who is not rich if he becomes president.
Texas sues Biden administration for requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for abortion pills. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday against the HHS by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Western District of Texas Midland Division. In the lawsuit, Paxton claims the Supreme's Court decision over the summer shows that states can implement their own laws when it comes to governing abortion and that the federal government does not have any right to intervene. — If every state does whatever it wants then this is not The United States of America. It’s 50 seperate countries. That’s essentially what “state's rights” means. It’s a work around for people who don’t want unity. And yes, everything goes back to racism. ‘State’s rights” is no exception.
Republicans Leery of Compromise With Biden; Majority Want GOP To Focus on Investigations. Most Republicans say they want their party’s leaders to take a hard line in their dealings with Joe Biden and Democrats. Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by their leaders to find common ground with Republicans.
Florida House approves plan to give DeSantis new power over Disney. Under a fast-tracked bill that could be headed to the Republican governor’s desk by the end of the week, the state would take over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the 55-year-old government body that has effectively given Disney control over the land around its Orlando-area theme parks. The district’s existing board, made up of individuals with close ties to Disney, would be replaced by a five-member board hand-picked by DeSantis. -- Fascism increases its speed in Florida.
Anger grows in Turkey as earthquake death toll passes 20,000 and rescue hopes dwindle. Thousands spent the night in the debris-encrusted streets of Adiyaman with little shelter and huddled around small fires.
Tyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him. The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.
Missouri proposal goes further than 'Don’t Say Gay' bill. The bill would only allow licensed mental health care providers to talk to students about LGBTQ issues in grades K-12, and only with parental permission.
‘Only in Mississippi’: A white supermajority of the Mississippi House voted after an intense, four-plus hour debate to create a separate court system and an expanded police force within the city of Jackson — the Blackest city in America — that would be appointed completely by white state officials.
Thousands of kids are missing from school. Where did they go? She is among hundreds of thousands of students around the country who disappeared from public schools during the pandemic and didn’t resume their studies elsewhere. An analysis by The Associated Press, Stanford University’s Big Local News project and Stanford education professor Thomas Dee found an estimated 240,000 students in 21 states whose absences could not be accounted for. These students didn’t move out of state, and they didn’t sign up for private school or home-school, according to publicly available data. In short, they’re missing.
The high cost of diabetes drugs has led to a flourishing black market. To save money on insulin and diabetes equipment, people are turning to online groups where strangers offer their extra supplies. -- And every single fucking Republican voted against capping insulin prices at $35. Stop voting for Republicans. They literally try to kill you while forcing you into poverty.
Florida schools will not ask student-athletes about menstruation, following outcry. Florida schools will no longer ask student-athletes to share their menstrual histories in order to play high school sports, following months of opposition from parents, physicians and advocates. -- A win for freedom.
10 former NFL players sue league’s disability program, alleging board ‘engaged in repeated and substantial derelictions of their responsibilities’. A group of former NFL players is suing the league’s disability benefit program, commissioner Roger Goodell and the disability board, accusing them of routinely denying disability claims. -- Stop watching the NFL. Your entertainment should not come from watching men fuck over their health while the league they play for fuck them over even more.
Norovirus appears to be spreading as rate of positive tests spikes. The highly contagious virus' symptoms typically include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.
Bill would ban the teaching of scientific theories in Montana schools. The legislation’s sponsor says by banning scientific theories, the policy aims to prevent kids from being taught things that aren’t true. More than 20 people testified against Senate Bill 235, concerned that it could keep teachers from including gravitational theory, evolution and cell theory in curriculum. -- Republicans are hellbent on ushering in a new Dark Ages.
Super Bowl ads will tout Jesus ‘gets us’ to the masses. The religiously wary, the spiritually curious — and anyone inclined to appeal to a higher power on game day — are the target audience for a Super Bowl ad campaign with a simple message: Jesus loves them.
Canada pledges billions to help fix healthcare system. The Canadian government has pledged nearly C$200bn ($149bn; £124bn) in funding over 10 years to aid the country's ailing healthcare system.
Obesity in the age of Ozempic. The new class of obesity drugs — referred to as “GLP-1-based,” since they contain synthetic versions of the human hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 — are considered the most powerful ever marketed for weight loss. Since the US Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy for patients with obesity in 2021, buzz on social media and in Hollywood’s gossip mills has erupted, helping drive a surge in popularity that’s contributed to ongoing supply shortages. While celebrities and billionaires such as Elon Musk and Michael Rubin praise the weight loss effects of these drugs, regular patients, including those with Type 2 diabetes, struggle with access, raising questions about who will really benefit from treatment…Rather than viewing obesity as the result of personal failing or emotional issues, easily reversed with diet and exercise, patients like Juneja say they’re beginning to see it as medical researchers long have: as a condition that arises from complex interactions between our biology and our environments. Like other complex illnesses, such as diabetes, this means it can also benefit from medical treatment…Clinicians who have worked with patients with obesity shared a similar view: People on these drugs don’t just shed pounds, they shed food-related anxieties, too.
Twitter's new data access rules will make social media research harder. But in the latest change to the social media service since billionaire Elon Musk bought the company last year, Twitter announced Thursday that it would start charging users at least $100 a month for using its data pipeline starting Feb. 13, with one exception - users that tweet less than 1,500 times a month, an average of twice an hour or less.
Google Will Blur Explicit Images Even When SafeSearch Is Turned Off. According to the post, the feature will give searchers the option to view the image, but with the warning that it may contain explicit content. Fitzpatrick says that users can opt out of this feature in their SafeSearch settings.
If You’ve Ever Posted Anything Online, ChatGPT Has Probably Seen It. A much less discussed implication is the privacy risks ChatGPT poses to each and every one of us. Just yesterday, Google unveiled its own conversational AI called Bard, and others will surely follow. Technology companies working on AI have well and truly entered an arms race. The problem is it’s fueled by our personal data. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, fed the tool some 300 billion words systematically scraped from the internet: books, articles, websites and posts – including personal information obtained without consent. If you’ve ever written a blog post or product review, or commented on an article online, there’s a good chance this information was consumed by ChatGPT.
Vermont to become first state to ban CFL lightbulb sales. CFLs use 75% less energy than traditional light bulbs and can last up to six times longer, according to Earth911, an online recycling and conservation source. However, they contain roughly 4 milligrams of mercury per bulb, on average.
Orca males are burnouts who let their moms do all the hunting, surprising study finds. While it's no surprise that mothers make sacrifices for their young, researchers have found that orca (Orcinus orca) mothers are taking the mama's boy notion to the extreme, continuing to care for their sons into adulthood, even if it affects their future chances of reproduction.
Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94.
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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