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Thursday, May 20, 2021

Wake-Up Call: House Green Lights Capitol Attack Commission


35 GOP JOIN WITH DEMS DESPITE LEADERSHIP OPPOSITION: The House voted yesterday to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. The measure passed on a 252-175 vote, with 35 Republicans joining all the Democrats in favor, despite opposition from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy as well as former President Donald Trump. Prospects for approval in the 50-50 Senate are uncertain, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell coming out against it yesterday, and trying to prevent fellow Republican senators from breaking ranks to support it. 


Both McCarthy and McConnell claimed the legislation was partisan, even though the commission's 10 members would be evenly split between both parties. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a February letter from McCarthy in which he asked for an even partisan split on the commission, equal subpoena power, and no predetermined findings, all of which she said the legislation includes.

➤NEW ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA AS NETANYAHU RESISTS U.S. PRESSURE TO END OFFENSIVE: Israel launched new airstrikes in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, with the country's military saying it hit at least four homes of Hamas commanders, military infrastructure and a weapons storage unit. The latest strikes came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted pressure from the U.S. to begin to bring the offensive to an end, saying yesterday that he was, quote, "determined to continue this operation until its aim is met" of returning "calm and security" to Israelis. Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza. The White House had said yesterday that President Biden told Netanyahu he expected, quote, "a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire."

 

➤COLONIAL PIPELINE CONFIRMS IT PAID HACKERS $4.4 MILLION AFTER BREACH: Colonial Pipeline confirmed yesterday (May 19th) that it paid $4.4 million to a hacker gang that breached its computer systems, disrupting fuel supplies for nearly a week and leading to panic-buying and shortages at gas stations from the mid-Atlantic to the southeastern U.S. Colonial Pipeline, which operates the nation's largest fuel pipeline that delivers about 45 percent of the gas consumed on the East Coast, said it needed to do everything in its power to quickly and safely restart its pipeline system after shutting it down when it learned of the May 7th ransomware attack. A spokesman said of paying the ransom, "This decision was not made lightly." CEO Joseph Blount told The Wall Street Journal he approved the payment because they didn't know the extent of the damage and weren't sure how long it would take to bring the systems back. He said, "[I]t was the right thing to do for the country."

➤TEXAS GOV. SIGNS LAW BANNING ABORTION AS EARLY AS SIX WEEKS, ALLOWING CITIZENS TO SUE DOCS, OTHERS: Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation yesterda that bans abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is as early as six weeks, before many women know they're pregnant. Additionally, it puts enforcement of the law in the hands of private citizens, not state officials, allowing anyone, even someone who's not a Texas resident, to sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion and seek financial damages of up to $10,000 per defendant. The law is set to go into effect in September, however federal courts have blocked states from enforcing most similar measures.

➤INDIA SETS NEW GLOBAL DAILY RECORD FOR COVID-19 DEATHS, PASSING U.S.: India on Wednesday set a new global daily record for coronavirus deaths, reporting that 4,529 people died of Covid-19 -- a number that experts believe is still an undercount. The U.S. had previously held the daily record, when 4,475 people died of Covid on January 12th of this year. India has been dealing with a horrific surge of the coronavirus for weeks, and while large cities have begun to see some signs of improvement in recent days, there is concern that it's now spreading through the large rural areas of the country.


➤THREE MINUTES OF EXERCISE FOR EACH SEATED HOUR CUTS RISK OF EARLY DEATH: If you spend most of your waking hours sitting down you’re living a sedentary lifestyle. Studies have shown that living this way can put you at higher risk of early death, but a new study finds that spending three minutes doing exercise for every hour spent sitting can lower that death risk. Glasgow Caledonian University researchers specifically found that balancing out your sedentary lifestyle with running or brisk walking can lower the risk of premature death by 30 percent. They also note that for those unable to do three minutes of intense exercise, 12 minutes of light activity (such as gentle walking or housework) can be substituted instead. They note the exercise can be spread across the day or be done in a single session. Lead study author Professor Sebastian Chastin adds that as far as hours you don’t spend seated “should be spent generally moving around as much as you can on getting a good night’s sleep.”

➤AMAZON’S RING IS THE ‘LARGEST CIVILIAN SURVEILLANCE NETWORK THE US HAS EVER SEEN’, WARNS SECURITY EXPERT: If it seems like everyone you know has Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera—you’re not kidding yourself. Lauren Bridges is a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and says that one in ten police departments across the U.S. have access to video from the civilian cameras after the company partnered with more than 1,800 local law enforcement agencies. Bridges says she’s very concerned that the police are able to request Ring videos from members of the public without a warrant, which she says is deliberately circumnavigating the Fourth Amendment. Her data shows that in 2020 alone, law enforcement agencies filed 22,337 individual requests for Ring videos. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (a nonprofit that is “defending civil liberties in the digital world”) has even started petitions calling on Ring to end its partnerships with law enforcement agencies. Amazon says that Ring owners are in full control of their footage and whether they decide to share it or not.

➤DIVORCES FALL IN CHINA AFTER 'COOLING OFF' PERIOD PUT IN PLACE: The number of divorces had been rising in China in recent years, but they've now started to fall after the country put a mandatory "cooling-off" period in place for married couples seeking to split. Under the new requirement implemented on January 1st, couples filing for divorce must wait 30 days after submitting their application, during which time either person can withdraw the petition. They must then apply again after the month is over for the divorce to be granted. Data released by China's Ministry of Affairs shows that the number of divorces has fallen by more than 70 percent since then. The requirement was widely criticized, with opponents saying it restricts personal freedoms and could trap people in marriages that are unhappy or even violent. But there are other countries that also have cooling-off periods for couples seeking a divorce, including France, which makes them wait two weeks, and the U.K., which makes them wait six weeks.

➤MORE PEDESTRIANS KILLED BY CARS IN 2020 DESPITE PANDEMIC: The number of pedestrians killed by vehicles spiked in 2020 despite there being fewer car on the road due to the pandemic, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) said yesterday. The organization said the pedestrian fatality rate rose 21 percent from 2019 for the largest-ever annual increase. GHSA's senior director of external engagement, Pam Shadel Fishcer, blamed "reckless" driving as well as distracted drivers. She told ABC News, "Speeding is a huge factor in pedestrian serious injuries and fatalities. We've got to get motorists to slow down." The National Safety Council earlier this year also found an increase in road deaths last year, saying that with fewer people on the roads, some motorists were driving more recklessly on the open roads.
 

➤BIDEN GIVES FIRST COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AS PRESIDENT AT COAST GUARD ACADEMY: President Biden gave his first commencement address since taking office at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut yesterday (May 19th). Biden used the speech to the 240 graduates to speak about the U.S. as a defender of global rules, trade and marine law, saying, "The best way to meet the wide array of threats we meet today is by investing in America’s enduring advantages and ensure we’re operating from a position of strength." He also praised the graduates for how they persevered through the pandemic, saying, "you met the threat head on, you adapted, you showed resilience, you led."

➤PHILADELPHIA DIMS SKYLINE LIGHTS BECAUSE MIGRATING BIRDS WERE BEING KILLED: Twenty buildings in Philadelphia's skyline are dimming their lights this spring after thousands of migrating birds died in the largest mass collision in recent history. CNN reports that the voluntary effort will continue until May 30th, to help allow for the safe semi-annual migration of some 100 million birds that pass over the city. Birds can get confused and disoriented by bright city lights if they have to fly at lower altitudes due to fog and rain. Philly's action was spurred in part when thousands of birds died last October 2nd after hitting buildings in the city.

➤AMERICANS ARE BOOKING WORKING ‘VACCI-CATIONS’ BEFORE OFFICE LIFE RESUMES: More and more people are getting vaccinated, and some pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted. So this summer gives some people a unique opportunity, as many office workers still work remotely, and their kids are going to be done with school soon. Some are using the opportunity to go somewhere else to work, and then to take some vacation time as well. Airbnb says it’s continued to see an increase in longer-term bookings, and last year it found that 60 percent of people booking longer-term stays were working or studying while there. Online reservation giant Booking Holdings, which owns Kayak, Booking, Priceline and OpenTable, said it’s seen an increase in travel reservations and expects it to continue for the summer. Some companies have even added a new option that could make remote vacations the norm—Google, for example, is giving workers up to four weeks of “work from anywhere” time a year after workers return in September.

⚾YANKEES' KLUBER PITCHED NO-HITTER, MLB'S SECOND IN TWO DAYS: The New York Yankees' Corey Kluber pitched a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers last night, MLB's second in two days and the sixth so far this season, the most-ever this early. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner struck out nine batters and came within just a third-inning walk of pitching a perfect game in New York's 2-0 win.


🏀LAKERS, GRIZZLIES WIN ON DAY TWO OF NBA'S PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT: The Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies won on the second day of the NBA's Play-In Tournament yesterday ahead of the playoffs. The Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 103-100, earning the Western Conference's seventh seed. LeBron James had a triple double for the Lakers -- with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists -- and scored a go-ahead three-pointer with 58.2 seconds left. Golden State will play for the Western Conference's eighth seed against the Memphis Grizzlies, who defeated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 in the day's other play-in game.

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 2 (2OT) - Boston leads 2 games to 1
  • Carolina Hurricanes 3, Nashville Predators 0 - Carolina leads 2 games to 0
  • Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 - Winnipeg leads 1 game to 0
  • Colorado Avalanche 6, St. Louis Blues 3 - Colorado leads 2 games to 0

🏒MACKINNON GETS HAT TRICK AS AVALANCHE BEAT BLUES IN PLAYOFFS GAME 2: Nathan MacKinnon had a hat trick last night as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoffs match-up. It was MacKinnon's first career playoff hat trick, and the first in the postseason by an Avalanche player in 24 years. Game 3 will be on Friday.

➤SEC GAVE EACH SCHOOL ANOTHER $23 MILLION FOR COVID LOSSES: The SEC announced yesterday that it has sent an additional $23 million to each of its 14 member schools to make up for their financial losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference estimates that each athletic program lost an average of $45 million.

🥊JAKE PAUL HAS SHOWTIME BOXING DEAL: YouTube personality-turned-boxer Jake Paul has a deal for his next match to be distributed by Showtime Sports, his adviser, Nakisa Bidarian, told ESPN yesterday. Bidarian said Paul's team and Showtime are in advanced talks about a potential opponent and a date and location for the bout. Paul had previously been associated with Triller Fight Club. While he has a 3-0 record, Paul has yet to compete against an opponent who has had any previous pro boxing experience.
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