Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Senate To Start Debate On Voting Rights

The Senate is set to begin debate today on voting rights legislation, but it faces very slim odds against united Republican opposition that would require overcoming a filibuster. President Biden and other leading Democrats have called for changing the filibuster rules to allow the legislation to pass on a majority vote, but they would need all 50 Democrats to vote in favor of it, and Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have said they are opposed to doing so. Biden used the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday yesterday to again call on senators to change the filibuster rules for the legislation, as did Martin Luther King III, the son of the late civil rights leader, who called out Manchin and Sinema specifically, saying, "History will not remember them kindly." Civil rights leaders and Democrats say action is needed as Republican-led states have passed laws that they argue will make it harder for Black Americans and other to vote. However, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell contends that the legislation amounts to federal overreach into state-run elections.

➤RUSSIA REJECTS U.S. ASSERTION THAT READYING PRETEXT TO INVADE UKRAINE: Russia's foreign minister yesterday rejected the U.S. assertion that Russia is readying a pretext to invade Ukraine, his denial coming as the estimated 100,000 Russian troops that have been massed on the border with Ukraine carried out more drills on Monday. The U.S. said Friday that intelligence officials had concluded Russia had sent operatives to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage and then falsely blame them on Ukraine to create a pretext for possible invasion. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called that "total disinformation." During negotiations with the U.S. last week, Russia wanted guarantees that NATO will not accept Ukraine or any other ex-Soviet nations, or station its forces and weapons there. But the U.S. and its NATO allies rejected those demands.
 

ࣸ➤AID TO TONGA DELAYED BY VOLCANIC ASH FROM HUGE UNDERSEA ERUPTION: Aid to the Pacific island nation of Tonga has been delayed by thick volcanic ash on the airport runway after the massive undersea volcanic eruption and the tsunami it caused on Saturday. New Zealand's military Monday said it hoped the airfield would be opened by either Wednesday or Thursday. A huge ash cloud had prevented earlier flights. 


There's been limited communication with Tonga because the eruption damaged the single underwater fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world. However, New Zealand and Australia sent military surveillance flights to assess the damage Monday, and aerial photos showed ash covering the landscape. There were reports from Tonga's government of "significant" damage in some areas. So far, two deaths were confirmed from the tsunami.
 

➤MAN WHO TOOK HOSTAGES IN SYNAGOGUE WAS IN HOMELESS SHELTERS: The 44-year-old armed man who held four people hostage in a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue for 10 hours on Saturday had been in homeless shelters in the area in the two weeks before the attack. British national Malik Faisal Akram, who flew into the U.S. around to weeks ago, was brought to a shelter in Dallas on January 2nd by a man who seemed to know him, according to pastor and CEO Wayne Walker of Our Calling, which provides services to homeless people, AP reported. The FBI said Akram spoke repeatedly during negotiations about a Pakistani woman who's serving an 86-year sentence in the U.S. Aafia Siddiqui, who is suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings Monday that he and two other hostages escaped when he threw a chair at the gunman. He said, "The exit wasn’t too far away. I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door. And all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired." The fourth hostage had been released a few hours earlier. Akram was killed after the hostages ran out.

➤RESEARCH: ONLY LIMITED DEFENSE AGAINST OMICRON FROM FOURTH SHOT: Preliminary research shows that a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose gives only limited defense against the omicron variant, according to an Israeli hospital that began giving a fourth dose to more than 270 medical workers last month. Sheba Hospital said Monday that the recipients showed antibody increases that were "slightly higher" than after their third vaccine shot last year, but those antibodies didn't prevent the spread of omicron. Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the hospital’s infection disease unit, said, "The vaccines, which were more effective against previous variants, offer less protection versus omicron." Full vaccination and a booster, however, still give strong protection from serious illness, hospitalization and death.

➤JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN, HEAD OF MARINES POSITIVE FOR COVID: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing very minor symptoms, a spokesperson said Monday. Milley is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot. He was isolating and working remotely. The Marine Corps said its commandant, General David Berger, also has tested positive, saying only that his work is unaffected. Other Joint Chiefs of Staff members tested negative.

➤STUDY..POLITICS MAKING AMERICANS FEEL SICK:   Our politics have gotten so toxic that they're making Americans feel sick, according to a new study. University of Nebraska researcher Professor Kevin Smith says that four in 10 people cited politics as top stressor in their lives, and many say it causes them to lose sleep, causes fatigue, leads to feeling of anger and loss of temper, hurts their relationships, and triggers compulsive behaviors. He found that one in 20 even said thinking about or discussing politics leaves them feeling suicidal. The findings come from a survey of Americans conducted two weeks before the 2020 election and two weeks after, and the results mirrored an earlier survey carried out in 2017. Smith said, "It’s . . . unpleasant to think that in that span of time, nothing changed. A huge chunk of American adults genuinely perceive politics is exacting a serious toll on their social, their psychological and even their physical health." Those most likely to be affected this way tend to be younger, lean Democratic, show more interest in politics, and actively engage in more political causes. However, those who were more politically knowledgeable were less likely to be negatively affected.


➤YOUR BRAIN LISTENS FOR UNFAMILIAR VOICES WHILE YOU SLEEP:  It seems your brain is always working, even when you are asleep! According to a new study, your brain continues to monitor your environment, essentially balancing both the need to sleep and the need to possibly wake up at the same time. One example is in the voices that surround you: when you hear a familiar voice, your brain triggers a small reaction; but when an unfamiliar voice is heard, the brain wave associated with sensory disturbances becomes larger. It’s nice to know you can count on your brain to protect you, even when you’re catching some Z’s.




🏈RAMS ROLL OVER CARDINALS 34-11: The Los Angeles Rams rolled over the Arizona Cardinals 34-11 last night at home in their NFC wild card playoff game. The Rams dominated from the beginning, leading 28-0 before Arizona finally got on the board in the third quarter. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, getting his first career playoff victory. L.A. will play the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round on Sunday.


🏈GAROPPOLO HAS 'SLIGHTLY' SPRAINED SHOULDER: San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said yesterday that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has a "slightly" sprained throwing shoulder, an injury he suffered in the second quarter of the 49ers' wild card playoff game win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. However, Shanahan said that Garoppolo should be ready to play against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round game on Saturday night, and in fact believes he'll be fine for practice starting today.

🎾MEDVEDEV WINS, FERNANDEZ OUT IN FIRST ROUND AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Defending Australian Open men's champion Novak Djokovic arrived back home in Serbia Monday after losing his legal challenge to stay in Australia despite being unvaccinated against Covid-19. But back in Australia, second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who won last year's U.S. Open, started off well with a first-round win. On the women's side, Leylah Fernandez of Canada, who was the runner-up at the U.S. Open, lost in the first round to 133rd-ranked Maddison Inglis. Other winners included third-seeded Garbine Muguruza for the women and Number 5 Andrey Rublev among the men.

🏒MEIER SCORES FRANCHISE-RECORD FIVE GOALS IN SHARKS' 6-2 WIN OVER KINGS: Timo Meier scored a franchise-record five goals for the San Jose Sharks last night (January 17th) in their 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The 25-year-old Meier had a hat trick in the first period, then got his fourth goal less than two minutes into the second period, and his fifth just 27 seconds before the second intermission. The NHL's single-game record is seven goals, made by Joe Malone with the Quebec Bulldogs in 1920. Seven players have had six-goal games.

🏀DONCIC HAS TRIPLE-DOUBLE AS MAVERICKS TOP THUNDER 104-102: Dallas' Luka Doncic had has third triple-double in five games last night (January 17th) as the Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-102. Doncic had 20 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, with 12 of his points coming on free throws.


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