Friday, January 14, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Supreme Court Blocks Biden Mandate

Daily Mail graphic 1/14/22

The Supreme Court yesterday blocked the Biden administration's mandate for large businesses to require that their employees either get vaccinated against Covid-19 or test regularly and wear a mask at work. It did, however, allow the administration to move forward with a vaccine mandate for most U.S. health care workers. The conservatives all sided against the big business mandate in the 6-3 vote, finding that the administration overstepped its authority by trying to have the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) impose the mandate. The health care workers mandate was upheld on a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh siding with the high court's liberals. After the decisions, President Biden called on businesses to institute their own vaccination requirements, and noted that one-third of Fortune 100 companies already have.
 
➤11 OATH KEEPERS CHARGED WITH SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY IN JAN. 6TH CAPITOL ATTACK: Eleven members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, including founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, have been charged with seditious conspiracy, authorities said yesterday, the most serious charges brought by the Justice Department so far in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. It's charged that the Oath Keepers discussed trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results for weeks and prepared for an assault by buying weapons and setting up battle plans. The indictment alleges that on January 6th, they entered the Capitol with the large crowds who stormed the building, with one team splitting up to separately go after the House and Senate, and the second team confronting officers in the Rotunda. Additionally, the Oath Keepers are alleged to have stationed two armed "quick reaction forces" just outside Washington, D.C., quote, "in support of their plot to stop the lawful transfer of power." Rhodes, of Texas, and Edward Vallejo of Arizona were arrested yesterday. The other nine were already facing criminal charges related to the attack.


➤BIDEN SAYS UNSURE VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION CAN PASS: Two days after delivering a forceful speech calling on Congress to pass voting rights legislation and change the filibuster rules to get it done, President Biden on Thursday said he's unsure that it can pass Congress. Biden made the remarks after a lunch meeting with Senate Democrats intended to push them on the legislation. Shortly before he arrived, Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema unexpectedly took to the floor of the Senate to declare that she wouldn't go along with changing the filibuster rules. All 50 Democrats would have to vote in favor to have them changed. Biden told reporters, "The honest to God answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done." But he added, "As long as I’m in the White House, as long as I’m engaged at all, I’m going to be fighting."


➤NORTH KOREA FIRES TWO MISSILES AFTER NEW U.S. SANCTIONS: North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, in apparent response to the U.S. imposing new sanctions after the North's test launch of a hypersonic missile on Tuesday. North Korea had issued a statement hours earlier blasting the U.S. for the new sanctions, and warning there would be stronger and more explicit action if the U.S. maintains what the North called its "confrontational stance." North Korea has been increasing test of new missiles that are potentially nuclear-capable.
 

➤BIDEN SAYS DOUBLING FREE COVID TESTS, DEPLOYING MILITARY MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO HOSPITALS: President Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will double the number of rapid home Covid-19 tests to be sent for free to Americans through an upcoming website to one billion. The first batch of tests will be available starting next week. He also announced for the first time that the government is planning to make high-quality masks, including N95s, available for free, with details to be announced next week. Additionally, Biden said 1,000 military medical personnel will be deploying across the country to help overwhelmed hospitals that are dealing with staff shortages amid the omicron-drive Covid surge. These deployments are in addition to other federal medical personnel who've already been sent to help states.

➤STUDY..FACE MASKS ‘MAKE WEARERS LOOK MORE ATTRACTIVE’:  Wearing a face mask might actually make you appear more attractive. Cardiff University researchers measured how different types of face masks changed the attractiveness of 40 male faces. They found the type of mask makes a difference, as blue medical masks were found to increase attractiveness most. Researcher and expert in the psychology of faces, Dr. Michael Lewis, explains, “Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.” They also found faces were considered more attractive when covered by cloth masks than when not covered at all—and say that could be because masks can cover undesirable features in the lower part of the face—though the effect was the same for both attractive and unattractive participants. Lewis adds that the pandemic has changed our psychology—we no longer perceive someone wearing a mask as having a disease or needing to be avoided.

➤CALIFORNIA GOV. DENIES PAROLE FOR RFK ASSASSIN SIRHAN SIRHAN: California Governor Gavin Newsom denied parole yesterday to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Newsom, who rejected the recommendation of a parole commissioners panel that the 77-year-old Sirhan be freed, said that he is still a threat to the public and hasn't taken responsibility for the murder. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles minutes after speaking to cheering supporters when he won California's Democratic presidential primary. Sirhan's attorney said they will ask a judge to overturn Newsom's parole denial.


👑PRINCE ANDREW STRIPPED OF MILITARY TITLES, CHARITIES AMID SEX ABUSE LAWSUIT: Prince Andrew has been stripped of his honorary military roles and his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday. The move comes amid the lawsuit against him by American Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, trafficked to him by the late Jeffrey Epstein. A New York judge had rejected Andrew's effort to have the lawsuit dismissed a day earlier. Buckingham Palace also said that Andrew, quote, "is defending this case as a private citizen."

➤LOW PAY ISN’T CAUSING PEOPLE TO QUIT THEIR JOBS—TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE IS:  People are quitting their jobs in record numbers, and pay isn’t the number one reason. A new analysis of more than 1.4 million Glassdoor reviews found toxic culture is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to an employee leaving than compensation. Toxic culture includes: a culture failing to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion; unethical behavior; and workers feeling disrespected. The analysis, performed by CultureX, found apparel retailers are losing the highest numbers of workers, but the “Great Resignation” is also hitting white-collar industries like management consulting and software as well. SpaceX, Goldman Sachs, and Netflix also saw employees leaving at higher volumes than their industry peers, which CultureX attributes to their focus on innovation over workplace culture.



AUSTRALIA REVOKES DJOKOVIC'S VISA AGAIN: Australia has revoked Novak Djokovic's visa again, with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke saying Friday that he'd used his ministerial discretion to cancel the top-ranked men's tennis player's visa on, quote, "health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so." His action came just three days before the start of the Australian Open, where the Serbian player had hoped to set a new Grand Slam wins record. Instead, Djokovic, who is unvaccinated against Covid-19, is again facing deportation due to Australia's strict vaccination rules. His attorneys are expected to appeal in court, after they successfully did so last week on procedural grounds when Djokovic's visa was first canceled when he arrived in the country. Djokovic has claimed a medical exemption because he tested positive for Covid in mid-December and has recovered.

🏈TEXANS FIRE HEAD COACH CULLEY: The Houston Texans fired head coach David Culley on Thursday after one season, during which the team had a 4-13 record. General manager Nick Caserio said in a statement, "While a change after one season is unusual, we had philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program moving forward." Culley was in his first head coaching job after working as an NFL assistant since 1994.

⚾MLB-PLAYER TALKS RESUME, LITTLE PROGRESS: Talks between MLB and the players' union resumed yesterday for the first time in a month and a half, with little apparent progress made in the hour-long session. MLB imposed a lockout on December 2nd, right after the five-year collective bargaining contract expired hours after talks broke off. Spring training is due to begin in five weeks, and its start is in jeopardy.

🏀GRIZZLIES TOP TIMBERWOLVES FOR 11TH STRAIGHT WIN: The Memphis Grizzlies topped the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 last night for their 11th straight win. Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 21 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20.

🏀TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR ANTETOKOUNMPO IN BUCKS' WIN OVER WARRIORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo notched a triple-double last night in the Milwaukee Bucks' 118-99 win over the Golden State Warriors. Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks, his third triple-double of the season and 28th of his career.

➤LAST YEAR WAS SIXTH HOTTEST ON RECORD: The Earth had its sixth hottest year on record in 2021, according to newly-released data out yesterday from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a private measuring group. The scientists said La Nina, which cools parts of the central Pacific Ocean and changes global weather patterns, tamped down temperatures some, just as its reverse, El Nino, boosted them in 2016. However, 2021 was still the hottest La Nina year on record, and the last eight years have been the eight hottest on record. NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said, "[T]he long-term trend is very, very clear. . . . And it’s not going to go away until we stop increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."

⛄WINTER STORM IZZY FORECAST TO WALLOP MILLIONS:   A potent winter storm is forecast to wallop tens of millions of people across the central, southern and eastern USA with snow, ice, wind and rain over the next few days. "Get ready, a major snowstorm is coming," AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno warned. 

The Weather Channel, which named the sprawling storm Izzy, said it is likely to produce "major travel headaches" from North Dakota down to northern Georgia and up to Maine.


The first area to see snow Friday will be the upper Midwest, where winter storm warnings, watches and weather advisories were issued by the National Weather Service. A wide swath of 6 to 12 inches of snowfall is expected to encompass the eastern Dakotas to western Minnesota and Iowa, AccuWeather said. The storm’s last stops will be the mid-Atlantic and Northeast after it takes a sharp turn to the north-northeast along the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday and into Monday.

Heavy snow is forecast to paste portions of the region – especially the Appalachians and interior Northeast – with as much as 18 inches of snow by the time the storm winds down late Monday. The best chance for heavy snow is expected to be north and west of the Boston-Washington Interstate 95 corridor, from parts of Northern Virginia to Maine, Weather.com said.




 


Posted

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)