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Thursday, October 7, 2021

Wake-Up Call: GOP Proposal May Put Off Debt Limit Crisis


With an October 18th deadline looming for Congress to raise the nation's debt limit or face the U.S. defaulting, which would set off a financial crisis, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made an offer that would temporarily put off the debt limit deadline until December. McConnell's Senate Republicans have been refusing to provide votes to lift the debt limit, saying Democrats should do it on their own, but also using the filibuster to prevent Democrats from doing it on their own. Democratic senators were receptive to McConnell's offer yesterday, which came as President Biden and business leaders have been increasingly raising concern about an unprecedented U.S. default. McConnell said in his offer that when the deadline comes around again in December, the Republicans will again not give their votes, wanting Democrats to use the cumbersome reconciliation process, while saying they are willing to, quote, "assist in expediting" it.
 
➤FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TEXAS TO SUSPEND NEW LAW BANNING ABORTION AFTER SIX WEEKS: A federal judge yesterday ordered Texas to suspend its new law that bans abortions after six weeks and is enforced by having private citizens sue anyone they believe provided an abortion or assisted a woman in getting one. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman called the law, which had been in effect since September 1st, a, quote, "offensive deprivation" of a constitutional right, and said Texas lawmakers had, quote, "contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme" by leaving enforcement to citizen lawsuits. Texas officials said they will seek a reversal of the judge's order from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit the judge ruled on was brought by the U.S. Justice Department, and Attorney General Merrick Garland called the order "a victory for women in Texas and for the rule of law."

Daily Mail graphic 10/7/21



➤FOUR INJURED IN TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING, STUDENT ARRESTED HOURS LATER: Four people were injured when an 18-year-old student opened fire after a fight broke out in a classroom at a high school in Arlington, Texas, yesterday, with one of them in critical condition. Three of the four were students. The suspect, Timothy George Simpkins, was arrested hours later without incident after fleeing Timberview High School, according to Arlington police, and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A spokeswoman for Simpkins' family said he'd been bullied and robbed twice at school, saying, "The decision he made, taking the gun, we’re not justifying that. . . . But he was trying to protect himself."

➤ADMINISTRATION TO SPEND $1 BILLION ON HOME COVID DIAGNOSTIC TESTS: The administration said yesterday that it will spend $1 billion on coronavirus diagnostic tests that can be taken at home and give results within 15 minutes, quadrupling the supply of such tests in the U.S. by December. White House pandemic response team coordinator Jeff Zients said the federal government will distribute the tests to community health centers, food pantries and other institutions. The news comes just two weeks after the administration announced a $2 billion purchase of 280 million rapid tests. There have been problems with delays in regulatory approval and in manufacturing of home rapid coronavirus tests that have until now affected their rollout.

 
➤NATO EXPELS EIGHT RUSSIAN SECRET INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS: NATO expelled eight members of Russia’s mission to the military alliance yesterday, saying they were secretly working as intelligence officers. NATO also cut the size of Russia's team able to work at its headquarters from 20 to 10. AP cited a NATO official as saying, "We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers."

➤WHO ENDORSES WORLD'S FIRST MALARIA VACCINE, CALLS IT 'HISTORIC MOMENT': The World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the world's first malaria vaccine yesterday, with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling it a "historic moment." WHO, which said its decision was based largely on results from ongoing research in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, said the vaccine should be given to children across Africa, the continent that is hit the hardest by the parasitic disease, killing 400,000 people every year. The vaccine, called Mosquirix, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. Despite its approval, it is only about 30 percent effective, requires up to four doses, and protection fades after several months. However, experts said it could still keep thousands of children from dying.

➤COLD CASE TEAM CLAIMS TO HAVE UNCOVERED IDENTITY OF ZODIAC KILLER: A team of more than 40 specialists who investigate cold cases claim to have identified the Zodiac Killer, a famous serial killer in the San Francisco area in the late 1960s, saying it's a man who died three years ago. The "Case Breakers" says it was Gary Francis Poste, who died in 2018, and also contend he was responsible for a murder hundreds of miles away in Riverside, California, in 1966 that was never linked to him. The Zodiac Killer has been connected to five murders in 1968 and 1969, and was known for sending letters with complex ciphers to newspapers and law enforcement. The investigators said they uncovered new forensic evidence and photos from Poste's darkroom, and deciphered letters sent by the Zodiac Killer that identified Poste, including one note that required knowing his full name to decipher.

➤WHY YOUR ALLERGIES MIGHT FEEL WORSE AS THOSE CRISP AUTUMN DAYS SET IN:  It might be feeling a little bit more like fall where you live lately, with crisp, cool air and pumpkins all over the place. But if you have fall allergies, they might feel worse than ever. Dr. Neeta Ogden, an allergist, says, “Allergies in the fall can be as intense as spring for many people. The biggest culprit is fall ragweed, other weeds, and grasses. As the leaves and branches fall, outdoor molds can also cause fall allergies.” People allergic to weeds will start to feel their symptoms in August, and they’ll last through October. The experts say your fall allergies might feel more severe this year due to forest fires burning in the US. Dr. Sanjeev Jain explains, “Smoke in the air as well as weed pollen and mold spores can trigger allergic responses that result in symptoms such as sneezing, runny or itchy nose, watery or itchy red eyes, congestion, cough, and asthma exacerbations.” To reduce your allergies you should limit your time outdoors on high-allergy days, see an allergy specialist, and then see if that specialist recommends taking allergy medication as a preventative measure.


🦃PEOPLE ARE STOCKING UP ON FROZEN TURKEYS:  The holidays are still a ways off, but that’s not stopping UK shoppers from buying frozen turkeys. Discount chain Aldi is selling around 1,500 frozen turkeys a day in the UK, four times the amount it normally sells at this time of year. This is happening as people fear supply chain bottlenecks will limit availability of the Christmas favorite. The US is dealing with similar problems, and experts say American consumers could also struggle to secure their turkeys for Thanksgiving, especially smaller birds. Retailers and restaurants across the US and the UK have faced delays and shortages over the past few months because of a breakdown in the supply chain driven by worker shortages, including lack of truck drivers.

Candy Power Rankings



🍬HOW LONG DOES HALLOWEEN CANDY LAST? WHAT ONE FOOD EXPERT SAYS:  You might end up with some extra Halloween candy this year, but how long is it good for? Dr. Abigail Snyder, with the food science department at Cornell University, says bags of candy are usually marked with a “best buy” date, but it’s “really just a recommendation by the producer to the consumer about how quickly the product should be eaten for optimum quality.” She adds, “There is no safety implication for eating gummy bears or candy corn after that date has elapsed.” Snyder says consumers can evaluate each piece of candy to see if it’s something they want to eat, saying, “Consumers might start to notice changes in flavor or texture over time, such as staling or the white bloom that appears on old chocolate. These are not representative of food safety issues, just quality deterioration.” It turns out candy is generally shelf-stable, so use your own discretion about eating it, especially if it starts tasting stale or bland or the textures begin to change. 



⚾DODGERS WIN NL WILD CARD GAME 3-1 ON TAYLOR WALK-OFF HOME RUN: The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Wild Card Game in dramatic fashion last night on a walk-off home run by Chris Taylor. The reigning World Series champions were tied 1-1 with the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth at Dodger Stadium when Taylor hit a two-out, two-run homer for the 3-1 victory. The Dodgers will now play the NL West champion San Francisco Giants in their Division Series, which begins Friday.

 
⚾PADRES FIRE MANAGER TINGLER: The San Diego Padres fired manager Jayce Tingler yesterday, three days after the team finished in third place in the NL West with a 79-83 record. The dismissal came after a late-season collapse in which the Padres went from a one-game lead for the second wild-card spot on September 9th to being eliminated from contention with seven games left to play. Tingler, who came in second in voting for NL Manager of the Year last season, was 116-106 in two years with the Padres.

🏈REPORT...JAYLON SMITH TO JOIN PACKERS: One day after the Dallas Cowboys unexpectedly released linebacker Jaylon Smith, the NFL Network reported Wednesday (October 6th) that the 26-year-old was finalizing a deal to join the Green Bay Packers. The report said the deal won't be finalized until Thursday morning.
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