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Friday, November 19, 2021

Wake-Up Call: House Passes Biden's Social Safety Bill

UPDATE 9:45 AM:  House Has Narrowly Passed Biden’s Social Safety Net and Climate Bill. The vote was months in the making for the roughly $2 trillion measure, one of the most consequential bills in decades. Now it faces a difficult path in the Senate.

Earlier Posting..


The House moved a planned vote last night on President Biden's Build Back Better legislation to today after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delayed the vote yesterday evening by giving a speech for more than four hours. The chamber's Republican leader blasted the bill during his marathon speech, calling it a "spending binge," and times talking about U.S. history and his own life. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office issued several news releases during McCarthy's speech, refuting several of his points and in one calling it a "temper tantrum." The vote had been set to take place after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its full cost estimate of the bill earlier in the day.
 
➤STILL NO VERDICT IN RITTENHOUSE TRIAL: A third day of deliberations in Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial ended without a verdict yesterday, with the jurors to be back at the Wisconsin courthouse today for more. At the end of the day, one juror asked the judge if she could take home the lengthy jury instructions, which he allowed, but said she couldn't talk to anyone about them. In the most action for the day, Judge Bruce Schroeder banned MSNBC from the courthouse after a freelancer working for the network was accused of following the jurors in their bus and may have tried to photograph them. NBC News said the man was a freelancer who received a citation for a traffic violation that took place near the jury vehicle, and he "never photographed or intended to photograph them."

➤OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR GRANTS CLEMENCY TO JULIUS JONES HOURS BEFORE PLANNED EXECUTION: Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Sitt spared the life of Julius Jones yesterday, commuting the 41-year-old's death sentence to life imprisonment without parole hours before he was to be executed. Jones' death sentence had drawn widespread protests, including from celebrities, over doubts about his guilt in the shooting death of businessman Paul Howell during a 1999 carjacking. The state's Pardon and Parole Board had recommended in a 3-1 vote earlier this month that Sitt commute Jones' sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Jones alleges he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and co-defendant who was a key witness against him.

 
➤DEFENSE ATTORNEYS REST CASE IN ARBERY TRIAL: The defense rested its case yesterday in the Georgia murder trial of three white men accused in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was running through their neighborhood. They did so after the prosecution cross-examined one of the defendants, Travis McMichael, who fired the shots that killed Arbery. McMichael acknowledged that Arbery hadn't shown a weapon or spoken to him at all before he raised his shotgun, but he said he was "under the impression" Arbery could be a threat because he was running straight at him and he'd seen him trying to get into the truck of a neighbor who'd joined the chase of him. Also on trial are McMichael's father, Greg McMichael, and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, who joined the two in chasing Arbery in their pickup trucks and recorded the killing on his cellphone. Closing arguments are set for Monday.

➤TWO EXONERATED IN MALCOLM X KILLING: Two men convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X were exonerated Thursday by a Manhattan judge. The convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam were dismissed, after prosecutors and the men’s lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that undermined the case against them and that authorities withheld some of what they knew. Aziz and Islam had always maintained their innocence in the murder at the Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan. Both were paroled in the 1980s and Islalm died in 2009.

➤TEN STATES LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO INSTAGRAM'S EFFECT ON KIDS: Ten states have launched a joint, bipartisan investigation into whether Meta, formerly Facebook, broke consumer protection laws by trying to attract kids to its platforms, prosecutors announced on Thursday (November 18th). CBS News reports it will look into the techniques used to encourage kids to use and engage with its platforms. This comes after a series of reports and a whistleblower coming forward saying Instagram's internal research showed it had a negative effect on teens' mental health.


🚨POLICE STOP A BUNCH OF THE WRONG CARS WITH SPIKE STRIPS ON HIGHWAY: This is pretty bad. Police in Tucson, Arizona, deployed spike strips on Saturday to stop a high-speed chase on I-10. But they ended up disabling seven of the wrong cars in the process. A woman says she and several other drivers hit the strips at highway speed, then struggled to pull over without causing a crash. They didn’t learn until later that they were in the middle of a 31-mile police chase. And to add insult to injury, the suspect kept on going as they pulled over with their blown tires. Witnesses say when all was said and done there were seven cars disabled on the side of the highway. The woman said the police response was lacking, and they offered an apology and called a tow truck for her, but that she is out more than $700 for the tow and the two tires– it’s money she’s trying to get back from the police.


💑STUDY..OLDER COUPLES SUBCONSCIOUSLY SYNCHRONIZE THEIR HEART RATES WHEN THEY ARE CLOSE TOGETHER: This is undeniably cute. University of Illinois researchers found older couples subconsciously sync up heart rates when close together. They found, when in close proximity, one member of each couple would influence the other’s heart rate, and vice versa, in a complicated dance. The scientists looked at couples who’d been in their relationship 14 to 65 years and were ages 64 to 88. Researchers say their findings are important for relationship research going forward.

🐶STUDY..EVERYDAY HOUSEHOLD NOISE STRESSES DOGS OUT: Your dog might be affected by the noises in your household more than you might think. University of California researchers surveyed dog owners, and found high-frequency, intermittent household noises such as the battery warning of a smoke detector are more likely to cause a dog anxiety, rather than low-frequency, continuous noise. They also found that many owners underestimate their dogs’ frightened reactions to household noises, and often respond with amusement rather than concern. Experts say common signs of anxiety in dogs include cringing, trembling or retreating. There are also more subtle clues such as panting, licking their lips, turning their head away, stiffening their body, turning their ears back and lowering their head below their shoulders. Lead study author Emma Grigg says, “We hope this study gets people to think about the sources of sound that might be causing their dog stress, so they can take steps to minimize their dog’s exposure to it.”

🦃HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE REALLY THINK OF CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE: Sales of canned cranberry sauce have increased 32 percent over the past two years, and last year, Instacart reports that it delivered so much cranberry sauce that if you stacked the cans, it would equal almost 1,200 Statues of Liberty. Instacart’s trends expert Laurenita Romaniuk explains, “There are different reasons why consumers may prefer canned cranberry sauce, including tradition, flavor, nostalgia, texture, convenience or the fact that it can be served on a dish in the shape of a can, which adds an element of levity to the meal.” Registered dietician Whitney Linsenmeyer notes that canned cranberry sauce tends to be high in added sugar, but also notes that Thanksgiving isn’t the time to worry about eating too much sugar, saying, “I say eat whatever version you enjoy. At my table, we have both the homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries and we definitely have that delicious can.”

🏈PATRIOTS BLANK FALCONS 25-0: The New England Patriots shut out the Falcons 25-0 last night in Atlanta for their fifth straight win. The Patriots defense continued their recent shutting down of opposing offenses, allowing just 13 points in New England's last three games. Patriots' rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, while Atlanta's Matt Ryan was sacked four times and intercepted twice.

⚾ANGELS' OHTANI, PHILLIES' HARPER WIN MVP: The Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani and the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper won the MVP award yesterday, Ohtani in the American League and Harper in the National League. Ohtani was the unanimous AL winner after a two-way performance of both pitching and hitting not seen since Babe Ruth, performing both as a starter and a designated hitter. It was the second MVP for Harper after winning with the Washington Nationals in 2015

 
🏈REPORT CLAIMS BUCCANEERS' ANTONIO BROWN HAS FAKE COVID VACCINATION CARD: A report in the Tampa Bay Times yesterday cites a former personal chef for Antonio Brown as saying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver has a fake Covid-19 vaccination card. Steven Ruiz claimed that Brown asked him to get a fake card for him, offering $500. Ruiz said he couldn't get one, but claimed Brown showed him one a few weeks later that he said he'd bought. The Buccaneers said in a statement, "All [players'] vaccination cards were reviewed by Buccaneers personnel and no irregularities were observed." Brown's attorney Sean Burstyn told ESPN that Brown is vaccinated, adding, "If Antonio's doctors and the guidelines require a booster shot, then at that time, he'll be happy to do it live on TV and everyone can come watch."

🎾WTA HEAD SAYS 'WILLING TO PULL OUR BUSINESS' FROM CHINA OVER MISSING PLAYER: The chairman and chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Steve Simon, told CNN on Thursday that he is "willing to pull our business" out of China and lose millions of dollars if recently retired Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai's allegations aren't fully investigated and she is not spoken with directly. Shuai has accused a former high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party of sexual assault on November 2nd. Since then, she's reportedly not been heard from directly.

🏈NFL MEMO TO TEAM REAFFIRMS TAUNTING CRACKDOWN: The NFL sent a memo to team this weeks reaffirming its crackdown on taunting that has drawn complaints from some players and teams, ESPN reported yesterday (November 18th). NFL senior VP of officiating training and development Walt Anderson said in it, "Appropriate celebration, enthusiasm and sharing great moments with our teammates and fans is encouraged. The emphasis by the NFL to discourage acts of taunting or disrespect, when you direct actions toward an opponent or his bench, will continue."

🦃STORM THREATENS TURKEY TRAVEL:   A potentially disruptive storm is in the forecast for early next week for portions of the central and eastern U.S., meteorologists warned. Though forecast details are still being worked out, the storm could lead to travel troubles for millions as they head out for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. "We could be looking at a huge mess and a real wrench in holiday travel," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said. Travel for Thanksgiving is expected to reach nearly pre-pandemic levels this year, according to AAA.

The National Weather Service said "this storm remains a prominent weather focus due to its timing right before Thanksgiving, but it will likely still take a while to resolve the details."

Various scenarios are still in play with the storm; one forecast indicates heavy snow in portions of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Under this scenario, shifting bands of lake-effect snow and snow squalls are then likely to unfold and could bring locally heavy accumulations from northern Indiana and Michigan to parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York state from Monday to Wednesday, AccuWeather said.



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