Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Wake-Up Call: House Passes Measure to Protect Same-Sex Marriages


The House passed legislation yesterday to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, with 47 Republicans joining with all the Democrats in the 267-157 vote. The measure was introduced amid concerns that the Supreme Court overturning the five-decade-old Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide could put other rights criticized by many conservatives in jeopardy. Republicans largely avoided opposing gay marriage, instead portraying the bill as unnecessary, insisting the marriage rights weren't threatened. The legislation would likely be blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster.

➤SECRET SERVICE DELETED JAN. 6TH TEXTS DESPITE REQUESTS TO PRESERVE THEM: The Secret Service confirmed yesterday in response to a subpoena from the House January 6th committee that Secret Service texts from around the time of the attack on the U.S. Capitol were deleted, despite requests from Congress and federal investigators that they be preserved. Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a member of the committee, said on MSNBC that the Secret Service stated in the letter that the texts were erased due to agency phones being migrated to a new system in the weeks after the January 6th attack, and that the agency left it up to individual agents to decide what electronic records to keep and which to delete during the migration. The National Archives yesterday requested that the Secret Service investigate the, quote, "potential unauthorized deletion" of the texts.


➤JURORS SEE GRAPHIC VIDEO OF PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING: Jurors who will decide whether Nikolas Cruz will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole for the February 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed watched graphic video yesterday of him carrying out the mass shooting. The video was put together from 13 security cameras inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, showing Cruz stalking through the halls and firing on students and school employees, including going back to kill victims who lay wounded. Prosecutors are using the video to prove several aggravating factors to justify the death penalty, including that Cruz acted in a cold, calculated and cruel manner. The now 23-year-old Cruz, who had been expelled from the school a year before his attack, pled guilty in October to 17 first-degree murder charges.

➤GEORGIA PROSECUTORS SAYS 16 'FAKE ELECTORS' ARE NOW TARGETS OF CRIMINAL PROBE: The Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutors who are investigating the actions of then-President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 presidential election to try to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state said yesterday (July 19th) that the 16 "fake electors" who participated in the plan are now targets of a criminal investigation, not just witnesses. The 16 signed an "unofficial Elector Certificate" that was sent to the National Archives in late 2020, and court documents filed late yesterday said they'd all been informed that they may be indicted. CNN reported that Trump campaign officials oversaw efforts to submit illegitimate electors in seven swing states, including Georgia, that Trump lost.
 

➤NATIONAL AVERAGE GAS PRICE BELOW $4.50 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MAY: The national average price for gas fell below $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday (July 19th) for the first time since mid-May, according to AAA data. The national average is now $4.49, down more than 10 percent since its peak of $5.01 last month, according to AAA. There's been a continuing decline in gas prices over the past month, in part due to a decline in global demand.

➤17 DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS ARRESTED IN ABORTION RIGHTS PROTEST OUTSIDE SUPREME COURT: There were 17 Democratic lawmakers among 35 people arrested during an abortion rights protest in front of the Supreme Court yesterday, in the wake of the high court overturning Roe v. Wade last month. They included Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Jackie Speier, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Andy Levin, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Carolyn Maloney. U.S. Capitol Police said they had given three warnings before arresting protesters who were blocking the street. Maloney said in a statement, "There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their own health, including reproductive care. . . . We will be back."


➤STUDY REVEALS WHAT'S IS OFFICE APPROPRIATE: With more people returning to the office after working from home during the pandemic, they might not be that eager to resume wearing work clothes and would prefer more casual looks. But there are some clothing that just isn't appropriate, and a new OnePoll survey asked 2,000 workers about what that would be. Among the things they named were crop tops, flip-flops, cycling gear, overalls, Crocs, hot pants, undershirts, and even sneakers and jeans. The study also found that 40 percent have been spoken to by a manager or colleague about their work attire, and 21 percent have even been sent home for wearing inappropriate clothing. In other results, 77 percent said they miss office attire when they work from home, 38 percent believe there shouldn't be restrictions on attire at work, and 57 percent think traditional office wear will be phased out of the workplace in the next five to 10 years.

Top Items Workers Think are Inappropriate for Men to Wear to the Office: 1. Casual/gym shorts, 2. Gym gear, 3. Cycling gear, 4. Flip flops. 5. Overalls, 6. Crocs, 7. An undershirt, 8. Christmas sweater, 9. Tailored shorts, 10. Sneakers, 11. T-shirt, 12. Casual sweater, 13. Jeans, 14. Polo neck/roll neck sweater, 15. V-neck sweater

Top Items Workers Think are Inappropriate for Women to Wear to the Office: 1. Gym gear, 2. Bralette, 3. Crop top, 4. Crocs. 5. Flip-flops, 6. Hot pants, 7. Tube top, 8. Casual shorts, 9. Overalls, 10. Undershirt/chemise, 11. Playsuit, 12. Minidress, 13. Miniskirt, 14. Skort, 15. Leggings


⚾AMERICAN LEAGUE TOPS NATIONAL LEAGUE 3-2 IN MLB ALL-STAR GAME, NINTH STRAIGHT WIN: The American League defeated the National League 3-2 in the MLB All-Star Game last night at Dodgers Stadium in L.A., winning the Midsummer Classic for a ninth straight year. The AL has the historic advantage too against the NL, with a 47-43-2 record. The NL got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning off AL starter Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays, including a solo home run by the St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt. But the AL got all they needed in the fourth inning, with back-to-back home runs from the New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton and the Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton. Stanton, who was named the game MVP, hit a two-run, 457-foot homer, and Buxton then hit a solo shot, both off the Dodgers' Tony Gonsolin.

⚾JACKIE ROBINSON HONORED BEFORE ALL-STAR GAME: Jackie Robinson was honored before the start of the All-Star Game last night, 75 years after he broke baseball's color line as the first Black MLB player. The Los Angeles Dodgers were hosting the game, and it was with the Dodgers -- then in Brooklyn -- that Robinson made his MLB debut, spending his entire career with the team. Actor Denzel Washington was part of last night's tribute, highlighting the impact Robinson had both on and off the field, saying, "He changed the game of baseball and so much more." Yesterday was also coincidentally the 100th birthday of Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, and Dodgers star Mookie Betts led the other All-Stars and the fans in the stadium in shouting out, "Happy Birthday Rachel!" The wish was long distance, as Rachel wasn't at the game.

🏀HORNETS' BRIDGES FACING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES: The Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges is facing three felony domestic violence charges, accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Mychelle Johnson, in front of their two young children last month, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said Tuesday. The 24-year-old is set to be arraigned today, after being arrested on June 29th and freed on bond. Johnson posted several pictures of injuries and a medical report to Instagram on July 1st. The report said: "Assault by strangulation, Brain concussion; Closed fracture of nasal bone; Contusion of rib; Multiple bruises; Strain of neck muscle." The Hornets said, "These are very serious charges that we will continue to monitor. As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time."

➤CHICAGO TO BE SITE OF NASCAR'S FIRST STREET RACE: NASCAR announced Tuesday that it's going to hold its first-ever street race, to take place in downtown Chicago. The Cup Series race will be held on July 2nd next year, during NASCAR's 75th season. There will also be an IMSA sports car race the day before, as well as music and entertainment along the 2.2-mile street course. The 12-turn course will include Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue and South Columbus Drive, and pass through Grant Park. The start and finish line and pit road will be in front of Buckingham Fountain.

🏈SABAN: ALABAMA FOOTBALL PLAYERS MADE $3 MILLION FROM NIL DEALS LAST YEAR: Alabama football coach Nick Saban spoke favorably yesterday about the name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college players that were introduced over the last year. Speaking to reporters at the SEC's 2022 Media Days, Saban revealed how good its been for Alabama football players, saying, "Our players did extremely well last year. They made over $3 million in name, image and likeness, so I’m all for the players doing as well as they can and using their name, image and likeness to create value for themselves." But Saban also spoke about some NIL concerns he has, saying, "The biggest concern is how does this impact and affect recruiting, because . . . there’s a lot of people using this as inducements to go to their school by making promises that they may or may not be able to keep. That is what can create a competitive balance issue between the haves and have nots [schools]."

➤CREW MEMBER ON ‘LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME’ IS SHOT AND KILLED IN NEW YORK: Variety reports that a crew member for Law & Order: Organized Crime was shot and killed on Tuesday morning while on location to film the show’s third season. Johnny Pizarro, a resident of Queens, arrived in Brooklyn in the early hours of the morning. He was sitting in his car at approximately 5:15 a.m. ET, when an unknown person opened the door and opened fire. Pizarro was rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. NBC and studio Universal Television released a joint statement that reads, “We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result. We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate. Our hearts go out to his family and friends and we ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”


➤U.K. BREAKS RECORD FOR HIGHEST-EVER RECORDED TEMPERATURE: The U.K. broke its record yesterday for highest-recorded temperature as it sweltered in a heat wave that has been baking large parts of Europe. The U.K. Met Office weather agency recorded a temperature of 104.5 degrees at Coningsby in eastern England, breaking the record in normally temperate Britain, which before that had been 101.7 degrees, set in 2019. Because the U.K. doesn't usually see these kind of temperatures, many homes, small businesses and even public buildings don't have air conditioning. Met Office chief scientist Stephen Belcher said such temperatures in Britain were, quote, "virtually impossible" without human-driven climate change.


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