Friday, January 7, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Biden Puts Blame On Trump, Supporters


President Biden delivered a forceful speech on the one-year anniversary of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol Thursday in which he warned of the threat to U.S. democracy and blamed former President Donald Trump -- whose name he didn't use -- and his supporters. Addressing the issue as intensely and directly as he has since taking office just two weeks after the Capitol assault, Biden accused Trump of spreading a "web of lies" about the 2020 election, saying his predecessor values his power and interests over the nation's interest and has a "bruised ego" and, quote, "can't accept he lost." Speaking from Statuary Hall at the Capitol, where rioters rampaged a year earlier, Biden vowed, "I will defend this nation, and I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy," and stated, "You can't love your country only when you win." Biden used his speech to also call for voting rights legislation, which Democrats have been trying to get passed, as did Vice President Kamala Harris, who also spoke in Statuary Hall.
 
Congressional Republicans were almost entirely absent from events marking the one-year anniversary, including a moment of silence on the House floor, at which Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House committee investigating the January 6th attack, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, were the only Republicans present, and an evening candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who was with a contingent attending the funeral of former Senator Johnny Isakson in Georgia, issued a statement about the serious of the January 6th attack, but also charged some Democrats were trying to exploit it for other purposes.



🏫SCHOOL CANCELED IN CHICAGO FOR THIRD DAY AMID TEACHER UNION COVID NEGOTIATIONS: Leaders of Chicago's school district canceled classes for a third straight day today as negotiations continued with the Chicago Teachers Union over remote learning and Covid safety measures amid the nationwide surge being driven by the omicron variant. The union voted earlier this week to go back to remote learning temporarily amid the surge, and told teachers not to go to work starting on Wednesday, just two days after students came back from the winter break, while they negotiate with the district. The leaders of Chicago schools have said they don't want to go back to remote learning, saying it hurts academic performance, mental health and attendance, and makes racial inequities worse. They have spent some $100 million on a Covid safety plan, but the union charges not enough was done. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has called the union's actions an "illegal work stoppage," and the city has said teachers who don't come to work won't get paid.

 
➤SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS TODAY OVER TWO BIDEN COVID MANDATES: The Supreme Court will hear arguments today over two Biden administration Covid-19 mandates, one for large employers to require workers to be vaccinated or regularly tested, and one for most health care workers. Republican-led states and business groups have brought challenges against the mandates, saying they go beyond the administration's authority. But the solicitor general argued the mandates are needed to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths. Both cases are being heard on an emergency basis. A decision could come in weeks or even days.

(Philly Inquirer photo)
🔥FIVE-YEAR-OLD PLAYING WITH LIGHTER MAY HAVE STARTED PHILADELPHIA FIRE THAT KILLED 12: Philadelphia officials revealed yesterday that investigators are looking into whether a fire that killed 12 members of a family a day earlier was started by a five-year-old who was playing with a lighter and set a Christmas tree on fire. The disclosure was in a search warrant application as part of the investigation into the city's deadliest fire in more than a century, which took place in a three-story row house that had been converted into two apartments. Killed were three sisters and several of their children, with eight children among the dead.

➤STUDY..CONSUMING TRADITIONAL MEDIA HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON WELL-BEING:  People often assume that engaging with traditional forms of media—such as books, music, and television—improves well-being, while using other types of media, such as social media, worsens well-being. But science proves otherwise. Researchers polled UK adults about their media consumption habits between April and May 2020, and found those who consumed books, magazines, or audiobooks had similar happiness and anxiety levels to those who did not, while those who engaged with music, television, films and video games tended to have lower happiness and higher anxiety levels than those that did not. However, those differences were small and not casual. Those with lower happiness and higher anxiety levels were also more likely to engage with music, television, films and video games, but not books, magazines or audiobooks. Still, regardless of the types of media participants consumed, or how long they did so, researchers could not predict substantial changes in anxiety or happiness levels. Overall, the findings suggest that the impact of consuming traditional forms of media on short-term well-being are not at all significant.

➤FIVE DIED OF RABIES IN U.S. LAST YEAR, HIGHEST IN A DECADE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that five people died of rabies in the U.S. last year, the highest number in a decade. The CDC released a report on three of them, all the result of contact with bats, and said their deaths could have been prevented. One was an 80-year-old Illinois man who refused to take the shots after exposure that could have saved his life because of a fear of vaccines. An Idaho man and Texas boy didn't get the shots because they didn't believe a bat bite or scratch had broken their skin. One of the two other deaths was a Minnesota man bitten by a bat who got the shots, but they weren't effective because of an undiagnosed immune system problem, and the other was someone bitten by a dog in the Philippines who died after returning to the U.S. Rabies is usually fatal, but it can be prevented through a series of five shots given within two weeks of exposure.

Nicholas Kristof
➤OREGON SAYS EX-'N.Y. TIMES' AUTHOR KRISTOF CAN'T RUN FOR GOVERNOR: The state of Oregon has decided that former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof can't run for governor, saying he doesn't meet the three-year residency minimum. 

A Kristof spokesman said they are readying to appeal in court. Kristof, a political novice, announced last October that he was running for governor and would be doing so as a Democrat, after leaving the Times earlier that month. Kristof is originally from Oregon, but state law requires a candidate must have been a resident for at least three years before an election, and Kristof voted in New York state the previous November.
 
➤GOLDEN GLOBES WILL NOT STREAM: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has decided not to livestream the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. A spokesperson for HFPA told Deadline Thursday (Jan. 6th), “This year’s event is going to be a private event and will not be livestreamed. We will be providing real-time updates on winners on the Golden Globes website and our social media.”

➤JAMES CORDEN TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID: CBS’ Late Late Show with James Corden will go on hiatus through Monday, Jan. 17th following the host’s positive Covid-19 test. The host announced on Instagram Thursday, “I just tested positive for COVID-19. I’m fully vaccinated, boosted and because of this am fortunate enough to say I feel completely fine. The show will be off the air for the next few days. Stay safe everyone. TV Line reports that new episodes will resume on Tuesday, January 18th.

➤DIRECTOR PETER BOGDANOVICH DEAD AT AGE 82: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich died Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 82. His daughter, Antonia Bogdanovich, told The Hollywood Reporter that the legendary director of The Last Picture Show, What’s up Doc?, and Paper Moon passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
 

➤UBER RIDER STUCK IN I-95 MEGA JAM FOR NINE HOURS HIT WITH $600 FARE:  Talk about bad luck. Andrew Peters was returning home after visiting San Francisco when his flight out of Washington D.C. got canceled on Monday due to icy conditions. He decided to call an Uber, unaware of the severity of the situation. He ended up getting stuck on an icy stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia. Hundreds of other drivers were also stranded in freezing temperatures along a 40-mile stretch of I-95. The interstate fully reopened Tuesday night after more than a day of being blocked by jackknifed tractor-trailers. After a nine-hour drive, Peters made it home, and paid a $200 bill. But he says Uber then added $400 to his bill. He disputed the additional charge. Uber released a statement saying, “We have refunded Mr. Peters after this terrible ordeal and are so glad that he and his Uber driver got home safely.” They also noted that the driver’s pay will not be affected.

Antonio Brown
🏈BUCCANEERS RELEASE BROWN, DENY HIS CLAIMS: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially released Antonio Brown on Thursday, terminating his contract four days after he stripped off his pads and top and walked off the sideline shirtless during the Bucs game against the New York Jets. The Buccaneers also responded to claims Brown made Wednesday that he hadn't wanted to go back in the game because he was too hurt to keep playing on his injured ankle, and had told that to head coach Bruce Arians. The team said he been cleared to play by the medical team before the game, and, quote, "at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play." Arians also denied that Brown told him or the medical staff about his ankle during the game, and said Brown had been agitated at halftime about not getting the targets he was expecting. Arians said that when he asked Brown why he didn't want to go in, he answered, "I ain't getting the ball," and Arians said, "That's when I said [to him], 'You're done, get the F out of here.'"

🏀GOBERT, WHOSE POSTIVE COVID TEST SHUT DOWN NBA IN 2020, IS POSITIVE AGAIN: It was Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert's positive Covid test that led the NBA to shut down the league on March 11, 2020, for what would eventually be more than four months, followed soon after by other sports doing the same thing. And now Gobert has tested positive for Covid again. He was put on the NBA's protocols list yesterday (January 6th), but this time he may just miss a few days.

Novak Djokovic
🎾AUSTRALIAN COURT TO HEAR DJOKOVIC'S DEPORATION CASE MONDAY: A federal judge in Australia will hear top-ranked men's tennis player Novak Djokovic's deportation challenge on Monday, and until then he is confined to an immigration hotel in Melbourne. Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption to Australia's strict Covid vaccination requirements by the Victoria state government, but the Australian Border Force rejected the exemption as invalid when he arrived Wednesday to play in the Australian Open and canceled his visa. Djokovic, who has refused to say if he's vaccinated, hopes to win a record 21st Grand Slam title in the upcoming Open.

🏈USFL ANNOUNCES FIRST FOUR HEAD COACHES: The USFL yesterday announced the hiring of its first four head coaches, with the spring football league set to begin playing in mid-April. They are former NFL head coaches Todd Haley and Mike Riley, Bart Andrus, a former head coach in NFL Europe and CFL, and former college head coach Kevin Sumlin. Haley will coach the Tampa Bay Bandits, Riley the New Jersey Generals, Andrus the Philadelphia Stars, and Sumlin the Houston Gamblers. The league will have eight teams, with 10-game regular-season schedules from April 16th through mid-June. The USFL was first launched in 1983, but fell apart after three seasons.



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